Predictions: Which Actresses Are Going to Win a Tony in 2018?

We shared our predictions about the male actors yesterday, and now here are our predictions for the female actors. Check back this week for our picks for direction, new works, and revivals.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical

THE NOMINEES:
Lauren Ambrose, My Fair Lady
Hailey Kilgore, Once on This Island
LaChanze, Summer: The Donna Summer Musical
Katrina Lenk, The Band's Visit
Taylor Louderman, Mean Girls
Jessie Mueller, Rodgers & Hammerstein's Carousel

David Gordon:

Will win: Lauren Ambrose, My Fair Lady
Should win: Katrina Lenk, The Band's Visit
Given how massive the role of Eliza Doolittle is, it's surprising that it has never won a Tony Award for any of its portrayers. Lauren Ambrose will buck the trend, though Katrina Lenk's sultry, stunning work in The Band's Visit will provide stiff competition.

Hayley Levitt:

Will win: Lauren Ambrose, My Fair Lady
Should win: Katrina Lenk, The Band's Visit
Lauren Ambrose was the surprise of the spring with her unexpectedly spectacular musical debut in My Fair Lady. But Katrina Lenk has been giving a magical performance in The Band's Visit since the fall — and is owed for her Indecent snub last season. Voter amnesia will probably give Ambrose the edge, but I have to stay Team Katrina.

Zachary Stewart:

Will win: Katrina Lenk, The Band's Visit
Should win: Katrina Lenk, The Band's Visit
The Eliza curse will continue. Not only does Katrina Lenk commit every molecule to the role of Dina, but the guilty vote behind her Indecent snub will be enough to send her across the finish line.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical

THE NOMINEES:
Ariana DeBose, Summer: The Donna Summer Musical
Renée Fleming, Rodgers & Hammerstein's Carousel
Lindsay Mendez, Rodgers & Hammerstein's Carousel
Ashley Park, Mean Girls
Diana Rigg, My Fair Lady

David Gordon:

Will win: Lindsay Mendez, Rodgers & Hammerstein's Carousel
Should win: Ariana DeBose, Summer: The Donna Summer Musical
Lindsay Mendez is absolutely delightful in a true-blue breakout performance as Carrie Pipperidge, a role that won a Tony in 1994 for then-rising star Audra Ann McDonald. Ariana DeBose carries Summer: The Donna Summer Musical as Donna Summer in her heyday, and sings disco hits like "Hot Stuff" and "MacArthur Park" as if she were born doing it.

Hayley Levitt:

Will win: Lindsay Mendez, Rodgers & Hammerstein's Carousel
Should win: Ariana DeBose, Summer: The Donna Summer Musical
Both women have impressive Broadway résumés and are due for some large-scale recognition. Being in a classic Rodgers and Hammerstein musical (and standing out in a pretty starry cast), Mendez is more likely to get the vote. But set aside the jukebox musical stigma, and take an objective look at what DeBose does physically and vocally night after night. And don't underestimate the acting talent it takes to not sound silly saying things like, "Mr. Geffen, I'm all yours. Or to put it another way…I'm all mine."

Zachary Stewart:

Will Win: Lindsay Mendez, Rodgers & Hammerstein's Carousel
Should Win: Lindsay Mendez, Rodgers & Hammerstein's Carousel
Unfortunately, DeBose still sounds silly saying the lines in Summer, a self-serving memoir masquerading as a musical. It's really not her fault, but she's in a category with Mendez, a phenomenal actress who is making fresh choices with an already great role. The last dance will go to her come Tony night.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play

THE NOMINEES:
Glenda Jackson, Edward Albee's Three Tall Women
Condola Rashad, Saint Joan
Lauren Ridloff, Children of a Lesser God
Amy Schumer, Meteor Shower

David Gordon:

Will win: Glenda Jackson, Edward Albee's Three Tall Women
Should win: Glenda Jackson, Edward Albee's Three Tall Women
Next question.

Hayley Levitt:

Will win: Glenda Jackson, Edward Albee's Three Tall Women
Should win: Glenda Jackson, Edward Albee's Three Tall Women
For the majority of Three Tall Women, Glenda Jackson is either in a chair or a bed and nothing is happening except the ramblings of an old woman trying to remember her favorite life stories. In a lesser actor's hands, it could be deadly, but I could listen to Glenda Jackson's husky voice for the length of The Iceman Cometh (and would rather do that than sit through The Iceman Cometh).

Zachary Stewart:

Will Win: Glenda Jackson, Edward Albee's Three Tall Women
Should Win: Glenda Jackson, Edward Albee's Three Tall Women
In her big comeback to Broadway, Jackson's performance towers over the other three women in this weak category. This is a lock.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play

THE NOMINEES:
Susan Brown, Angels in America
Noma Dumezweni, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
Deborah Findlay, The Children
Denise Gough, Angels in America
Laurie Metcalf, Edward Albee's Three Tall Women

David Gordon:

Will win: Denise Gough
Should win: Denise Gough
Denise Gough came out of nowhere with her stunning, heartbreaking performance as Harper Pitt in Angels in America, and deserves this prize.

Hayley Levitt:

Will win: Laurie Metcalf
Should win: Denise Gough
The Tony Awards like a good repeat win, so Laurie Metcalf might get the benefit of her Doll's House, Part 2 momentum from last year. Denise Gough, however, has made a heck of a Broadway debut as Harper in Angels in America — on top of her phenomenal off-Broadway debut in People, Places & Things at St. Ann's Warehouse. In other words, she's a keeper, and we should bribe her with a Tony Award so she doesn't go back to London.

Zachary Stewart:

Will Win: Laurie Metcalf
Should Win: Denise Gough
Metcalf is a great lady of the stage, and her performance in Three Tall Women effortlessly blends humor with pain. She's a prime candidate for a repeat win, but Denise Gough is a thrilling new face that I hope we New Yorkers have the pleasure of seeing more often.