Elisabeth Vincentelli

Elisabeth Vincentelli

Theater

One critic’s dream Tony nominations

Broadway loves two things: arguing about the Tony nominations and arguing about the awards themselves.

Fortunately it’s been an action-packed season since “Forever Tango” — remember that?! — opened in July. Without a clear frontrunner à la “Book of Mormon,” several categories are wide open, leading to more suspense, more conspiracy theories and more outraged cries of “He was robbed!” and “Her again?”

Some categories are so hotly contested that it’s pointless to even try to predict who’ll be nominated. Much more fun is to play “If I ruled Broadway for a day” and come up with my own dream short lists — not who will be nominated but who should be nominated.

Then I’ll just curl up in a ball and weep when the actual names are announced Tuesday morning.

Best Musical

Brooks Ashmanskas and Helene Yorke star in “Bullets Over Broadway.”Paul Kolnik

It wasn’t so long ago that Woody Allen and Susan Stroman’s “Bullets Over Broadway” loomed large — not just as a surefire nominee, but as a potential Tony winner.

Then the show opened.

I suspect it may get snubbed on Tuesday, but hey, I liked it a lot, so “Bullets” makes my short list.

Joining it are the flawed but often rewarding “If/Then” and “The Bridges of Madison County.” The first has a middling score and a wonderful book, the second a middling book and a wonderful score.

Rounding up this hot hot hot category is the sensational Duke Ellington revue “After Midnight,” a show that’s hard to beat for sheer pleasure.

Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical

Jessie Mueller stars in “Beautiful” (left) and Idina Menzel stars in “If/Then.”Joan Marcus (2)

Ooh, this is a fun one! Fairly easy, too: Sutton Foster in “Violet,” Idina Menzel in “If/Then,” Kelli O’Hara in “The Bridges of Madison County” and Jessie Mueller in “Beautiful.”

Rounding out the group is Michelle Williams in “Cabaret.” Her Broadway debut performance starts tentatively but ends on a strong note.

Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical

Zachary Levi stars in “First Date” (left) and Andy Karl stars in “Rocky.”Joan Marcus; Startraks Photo

Common wisdom has it that men take a back seat to women in musicals, but this year was packed with good performances. Andy Karl (“Rocky”), Steven Pasquale (“The Bridges of Madison County”) and Zachary Levi (“First Date”) immediately come to mind, followed by Will Swenson in “Les Misérables.”

Last, but least to me, is Neil Patrick Harris in “Hedwig.” I didn’t entirely buy what he was selling — and selling hard — but there was enough to keep me interested.

Best Play

Bryan Cranston stars in “All The Way.”Evgenia Eliseeva

A category with decent but not great options. Aside from a certain groupie over at the New York Times, nobody seems to love “The Realistic Joneses.” I didn’t hate it, though, which is enough to qualify in this weak season for new plays.

Also good enough to pass muster are Robert Schenkkan’s “All the Way” and Harvey Fierstein’s “Casa Valentina.”

I can’t bring myself to nominate any of the other potential entries.

Actor in a Leading Role in a Play

Denzel Washington and Sophie Okonedo star in “A Raisin in the Sun.”Brigitte Lacombe

The men have been just as busy in plays as in musicals, but leading the pack are Bryan Cranston (“All the Way”), Ian McKellen (for either “No Man’s Land” or “Waiting for Godot”), both Mark Rylance and Samuel Barnett (“Twelfth Night”) and Denzel Washington (“A Raisin in the Sun”).

Well done, gentlemen.

Actress in a Leading Role in a Play

Audra McDonald stars in “Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill” (left) and Rebecca Hall stars in “Machinal.”Reuters; Joan Marcus

Since “Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill” was declared to be a play with music rather than a musical, Audra McDonald vaulted from one highly competitive category to a rather weak one — meaning she could very well score her sixth (!) Tony.

McDonald makes my list because her performance is technically flawless — and OK, I needed a fifth nominee.

Joining her is my favorite of the bunch, Rebecca Hall (“Machinal”), followed by Toni Collette (“The Realistic Joneses”), Tyne Daly (“Mothers and Sons”) and LaTanya Richardson Jackson (“A Raisin in the Sun”).

Revival of a Play

The cast of “Machinal.”Joan Marcus

Remember “Betrayal”? Thought so. It says something about this field’s strength that a Pinter revival directed by Mike Nichols is unlikely to get nominated. Sacrilege! But you know what? It was a bore.

Much better were “Machinal,” “A Raisin in the Sun,” “Twelfth Night” and “The Winslow Boy.” That two of those are from the Roundabout suggests how good a year this company had — not bad for a place often used as an example of everything wrong with big nonprofits.