The 2007 Tony Awards

As I was watching the Tony Awards last night, my mother asked, "How many people in Columbus have been to New York to see a play?"

Good question. I'm guessing it's a small percentage. It's probably true of the whole country. And that's probably why the ratings for the Tony Awards are usually so low. Though not as low as NHL hockey. But that's another story.

Every year, I get an e-mail from David S. Thompson, the associate professor and chair of the department of theater and dance at Agnes Scott College in Atlanta. Thompson picks the winners of the Tony Awards about a week before the actual ceremony.

He has a 79 percent of making correct predictions. Four years ago, he led all the theater critics with 86 percent.

I don't think he beat that percentage this year. I'm no good at math, so I'm not even going to try to figure it out! You're gonna have to do that yourself.

Here are the Tony winners and Thompson's picks:

Best Play:
"The Coast of Utopia." Thompson picked correctly.

Best Musical:
"Spring Awakening." Thompson picked correctly.

Best Book of a Musical:
"Grey Gardens." Thompson picked "Spring Awakening."

Best Original Score:
Duncan Sheik (music) and Steven Sater (lyrics) for "Spring Awakening." Thompson picked correctly.

Best Revival of a Play:
"Journey's End." Thompson picked correctly.

Best Revival of a Musical:
"Company." Thompson picked correctly.

Best Special Theatrical Event:
"Jay Johnson: The Two and Only." Thompson picked "Kiki & Herb Alive on Broadway."

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play:
Frank Langella in "Frost/Nixon." Thompson picked correctly.

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play:
Julie White in "The Little Dog Laughed." Thompson picked Vanessa Redgrave in "The Year of Magical Thinking."

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical:
David Hyde Pierce in "Curtains." Thompson picked Raul Esparza" in "Company."

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical:
Christine Ebersole in "Grey Gardens." Thompson picked correctly.

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play:
Bill Crudup in "The Coast of Utopia." Thompson picked Anthony Chisholm in "Radio Golf."

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play:
Jennifer Ehle in "The Coast of Uptopia." Thompson picked Martha Plimpton in "The Coast of Utopia."

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical:
John Gallagher Jr. in "Spring Awakening." Thompson picked David Pittu" in "LoveMusik."

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical:
Mary Louise Wilson in "Grey Gardens." Thompson picked correctly.

Best Scenic Design of a Play:
Bob Crowley and Scott Pasak for "The Coast of Utopia." Thompson picked correctly.

Best Scenic Design of a Musical:
Bob Crowley for "Mary Poppins." Thompson picked correctly.

Best Costume Design of a Play:
Catherine Zuber for "The Coast of Utopia." Thompson picked correctly.

Best Costume Design of a Musical:
William Ivey Long for "Grey Gardens." Thompson picked Bob Crowley for "Mary Poppins."

Best Lighting Design of a Play:
Brian MacDevitt, Kenneth Posner and Natasha Katz for "The Coast of Utopia." Thompson picked correctly.

Best Lighting Design of a Musical:
Kevin Adams for "Spring Awakening." Thompson picked correctly.

Best Direction of a Play:
Jack O'Brien for "The Coast of Utopia." Thompson picked correctly.

Best Director of a Musical:
Michael Mayer for "Spring Awakening." Thompson picked correctly.

Best Choreography:
Bill T. Jones for "Spring Awakening." Thompson picked Rob Ashford for "Curtains."

Best Orchestration:
Duncan Sheik for "Spring Awakening." Thompson picked correctly.

The surprise of this whole thing?

Duncan Sheik, who ended up with two Tony Awards. He's the one-hit wonder who spent 55 weeks on the Billboard charts with "Barely Breaking" in 1996-97. I had one of my colleagues download the song. I barely remember.

I guess like Rupert Holmes earlier, Sheik can turn his career around on the stage.