Tony Award Contenders: Best Actress in a Play

On Tuesday, May 1, the Tony Awards will announce their nominees, and their ceremony will be in June. So over the next couple of weeks, I will examine the main categories and eventually go back and predict the nominees. First let's look at each category, and list the potential contenders

Angela Bassett "The Mountaintop"
Cynthia Nixon "Wit"
Stockard Channing "Other Desert Cities"
Rachel Griffiths "Other Desert Cities"
Tyne Daly "Master Class"
Linda Emond "Death of a Salesman"
Kim Cattrall "Private Lives"
Nina Arianda "Venus in Fur"
Rosemary Harris "The Road to Mecca"
Tracie Bennett "End of the Road"
Lily Rabe "Seminar"
Carla Gugino "The Road to Mecca"
Jennifer Lim "Chinglish"
Linda Lavin "The Lyons"
Nicole Ari Parker "A Streetcar Named Desire"
Annie Parisse "Clybourne Park"
Crystal A. Dickinson "Clybourne Park"
Rosie Benton "Stick Fly"
Celia Keegan-Bolger "Peter and the Star Catcher"

Commentary - There are some names that are sticking out of the pack. Cynthia Nixon won this award in 2006, and returns this year for her work in Wit. Angela Bassett has never been nominated for a Tony Award, but her role in The Mountaintop is receiving a lot of praise, and she will be a top contender for not only a nomination, but the win as well. Stockard Channing is a favorite among the Broadway community, but she will face stiff competition from her co-star Rachel Griffith, who would be a first time nominee. Tyne Daly returns to the race in Master Class, but she will have some stiff competition from previous-nominee Linda Emond from Death of a Salesman, and popular actress Kim Cattrall for her role in Private Lives. Of the rest of the names, Rosemary Harris, Nina Arianda. Lily Rabe, and Carla Gugina are ones to look out for come nomination morning.