What are some of the key races?

Best New Piece: This Tony Award seems certain to go to “The Lehman Trilogy,” a gripping history lesson that chronicles the rise and fall of Lehman Brothers’ financial empire. Two black comedies are also in the running: “Clyde’s”, by Lynn Nottage, takes place in a sandwich shop employing recently incarcerated people; and Martin McDonagh’s “Hangmen” is set in a bar run by Britain’s second-best executioner just after that country banned capital punishment. Other contenders are ‘Skeleton Crew’, Dominique Morisseau’s play about a group of workers at an auto plant threatened with closure, and ‘The Minutes’, Tracy Letts’ look at dark secrets kept by the board. from a small town.

Best New Musical: The season’s most nominated show, “A Strange Loop,” is favored to win the all-important race for Best New Musical. The show, a meta-musical about an aspiring composer facing his doubts and demons, earned 11 Tony nominations. If there’s an upheaval here, it’ll most likely come from “MJ,” the biographical musical jukebox that follows Michael Jackson as he prepares for a world tour. Also in the mix: “Paradise Square,” which explores shifting race relations — and dance styles — in a New York City neighborhood rocked by Civil War; “Six,” a British pop musical about the wives of King Henry VIII; “Girl From the North Country,” which uses Bob Dylan songs to imagine life in a Depression-era Minnesota boarding house; and “Mr. Saturday Night,” Billy Crystal’s adaptation of the film of the same name.

Acting Races: A number of well-known artists also scored nominations, including Sam Rockwell (“American Buffalo”), Mary-Louise Parker (“How I Learned to Drive”), Billy Crystal “Mr. Saturday Night”, Hugh Jackman (“The Music Man”), Uzo Aduba (“Clyde’s”), Rachel Dratch (“POTUS”), Phylicia Rashad (“Skeleton Crew”), Ruth Negga (“Macbeth”) and Patti LuPone (“Company”).

The races for the best high-profile musical performers are particularly contentious. Voters appear to be evenly split between two young actors, 22-year-old Myles Frost and 23-year-old Jaquel Spivey, each making their professional stage debuts this season. Frost is nominated for his compelling portrayal of a driven Michael Jackson in “MJ,” and Spivey is nominated for his moving performance as the self-doubting protagonist in “A Strange Loop.”

In the race for the lead actress in a musical, voters seem to be split between Sharon D Clarke, who plays the pained but powerful maid at the heart of a revival of “Caroline, or Change”, and Joaquina Kalukango, who plays a determined tavern owner in the new musical “Paradise Square”.