Overall, musicals An American in Paris (based on the 1951 Best Picture winner starring Gene Kelly) and Fun Home (based on Alison Bechdel's powerful graphic novel/memoir) lead all shows with 12 nominations apiece, while Wolf Hall Parts One & Two was the most-nominated play with 8. In a welcome change from recent years, only one of this year's Best Musical nominees is based on a movie; the other three boast substantially original music.
Below is a complete list of this year's nominees, with my shamefully sparse commentary provided. You can learn more about the nominated shows here.
BEST MUSICAL
Fun Home
An American in Paris
Fun Home
Something Rotten!
The Visit
In addition to the previously-mentioned An American in Paris and Fun Home, Something Rotten! is a new snarky musical about the (fictional) creation of the world's first musical, while The Visit stars the inimitable Chita Rivera as a wealthy woman who returns to her hometown. Truth be told, all of these sound excellent on paper, and the reviews for Paris and Fun Home in particular have been ecstatic. Either of those will likely end up winning.
BEST PLAY
Hand to God
The Curious Case of the Dog in the Night-Time; author: Simon Stephens
Disgraced; author: Ayad Akhtar
Hand to God; author: Robert Askins
Wolf Hall Parts One & Two; authors: Hilary Mantel and Mike Poulton
The Curious Case... is based on Mark Haddon's terrific 2003 novel of the same name, following an autistic teenager as he tries to solve the mystery of his neighbor's dog's death. Based on the available information, it looks inventive onstage. Disgraced won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2013, having only recently found its way to the stage. It centers on a Muslim-American man and his wife who have an explosive dinner conversation with another couple. Hand to God hits really close-to-home with me; it's about a young man, Jason (he even shares my name!), who finds an outlet for his creativity in his deeply-religious town's Christian Puppet Ministry. And Wolf Hall is based on Mantel's novels about the volatile court of King Henry VIII. All of these sound fascinating; I suspect, however, that Wolf Hall or The Curious Case... will take the prize.
BEST REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL
The King and I
The King and I
On the Town
On the Twentieth Century
The King and I is perhaps best known to the general public, thanks to the classic 1956 film version starring Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr. In this revival, Oscar nominee Ken Watanabe (The Last Samurai) stars as the King of Siam, while Broadway darling Kelli O'Hara takes on the role of the English schoolteacher for whom he swoons. On the Town and On the Twentieth Century, on the other hand, are both lighthearted comedies with roots in the Golden Age of Broadway (the former first premiered in 1947, the latter is set in the 1930s). I suspect, however, that The King and I will prevail.
BEST REVIVAL OF A PLAY
The Elephant Man
The Elephant Man
Skylight
This Is Our Youth
You Can't Take It With You
The big-name ticket here is The Elephant Man, which starred Bradley Cooper as John Merrick, a man with severe genetic facial disfiguration. Skylight starred Carey Mulligan and Bill Nighy as a schoolteacher and her former lover, while This Is Our Youth is a Kenneth Lonergan (You Can Count on Me, Margaret) play starring Michael Cera, Kieran Culkin, and Rookie Magazine editor Tavi Gevinson. And You Can't Take It With You is best remembered for the classic 1938 film directed by Frank Capra. I suspect that The Elephant Man will win, but You Can't Take It With You likely has a good shot as well.
The rest of the categories, including the acting honors, after the jump.