Who will say, "It's an honor just to be nominated" this year? Guess right and win.

The nominations are pouring in!  The Outer Critics, The Drama Desks, The East Lansing Twitterers of America Club, and on May 13th (insert dramatic music here), The Tony Awards!

Nominations and awards are important.  After a focus group on Altar Boyz, we learned that the #1 compelling piece of information that we could tell people to get them interested in buying tickets was that we were the "winner" of the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Off-Broadway Musical.  It didn't matter that they didn't know what the Outer Critics Circle was . . . they just knew that we won something.  And that something piqued their interest.

So the people that get nominated, especially for the "Big 3" (Best Musical, Best Play and Best Revival of a Musical - the only awards that can have considerable impact on a box office), are one step closer to having another tool in their marketing toolbox.

Who will it be?

The real interesting category is Best Musical.  The fight for the Big One is almost as unprecedented as our upcoming presidential election!  As I've mentioned before, this is an extremely competitive year, with 8 new musicals duking it out for 4 spots.  That's means a lot of producers are going to have nothing to do on June 15th. 

Here are my picks, in order of how sure I am:

1. In The Heights
2. Passing Strange
3. A Catered Affair
   
   and
4. Young Frankenstein

It's the 4th spot that's the wild card.  There are a lot of middlin' musicals out there this year.  Will Disney finally get a break?  Is everyone over Mel Brooks and his cockiness?  Will the critically revered but box office beleaguered Xanadu triumph?  What about Glory Days?  And don't count out Diet Hairspray aka Cry Baby.

What do you think?  Am I right?  Wrong?

Here's my challenge to you.  If you disagree with me, go ahead and make your differing prediction in the comment section.  If you're get all four nominations right and I'm wrong?  Free $10 Starbucks gift certificate.  To every one of you who gets it right.

But you must make your prediction by Thursday at 6 PM, and only one prediction per person!