Audra McDonald and John Cullum in 110 in the Shade.
Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt followed up their 1960 off-Broadway hit The Fantasticks with a show based on N. Richard Nash's The Rainmaker. As the spinster farm woman who blossoms when a smooth con man comes to town promising to end the town's draught, four-time Tony-winner Audra MacDonald is almost laughably miscast, but she's an impassioned force of nature. Still, the show's old-fashioned, patronizing view of women is less quaint today than off-putting.
Tony Outlook: McDonald is the only nominee who could give Ebersole a scare for Best Actress, but the musical is outclassed in this category.