Best New Musical
Curtains
Grey Gardens
Mary Poppins
Spring Awakening
Who will win: Spring Awakening OR Grey Gardens
Who should win: Spring Awakening
I think Spring will take it. It is the type of revolutionary musical theater that Tony voters love to swing for (like Avenue Q or The Lion King). But the material may be too risque for some voters, so the more conservative crowd will go for Gardens. Then again, RENT was very controversial, and it won in 1996, so I stick by my prediction that Spring will take the grand prize.
Best New Play
The Coast of Utopia
Frost/Nixon
The Little Dog Laughed
Radio Golf
Who will win: The Coast of Utopia
Who should win: The Coast of Utopia
While Radio Golf is August Wilson's final play and his last chance to win a Tony for a new work, and Frost/Nixon is a hit show all-around, nothing can beat Utopia's three-part series. The daunting nature of this show alone is enough for it to sweep the Play categories in my opinion. It is being considered as an entire series, not based on its individual installments. Therefore, if something else wins it will be a huge upset.
Best Musical Revival
The Apple Tree
A Chorus Line
Company
110 in the Shade
Who will win: A Chorus Line OR 110 in the Shade
Who should win: Company
A Chorus Line is by far the most popular show in this series, but it is a mere recreation of the original production. 110 boasts some impressive performances, but has gotten largely lackluster reviews. While Company's unique performer/musician duality is nothing new after last year's Sweeney Todd, I think it should still win in terms of the best recreation of a musical (even though it has already been revived on Broadway before).
Best Play Revival
Inherit the Wind
Journey's End
Talk Radio
Translations
Who will win: Inherit the Wind
Who should win: Journey's End
I think this show will win because of its creativity with having audience members onstage, as well as the performers (Brian Dennehy and Christopher Plummer). But I think Journey's End is more deserving of the title, possibly just because I read Inherit in high school and was bored to tears, and it just seems like a smaller yet more daunting project. Although the only play I've seen in this category is Talk Radio, it is not inventive and extravagant enough to take Best Revival (its main draw is its performers). So Inherit will take the prize, but Journey should take it.
Best Special Theatrical Event
Jay Johnson: The Two and Only!
Kiki & Herb Alive on Broadway
Who will win: Jay Johnson
Who should win: Kiki & Herb
The Tony voters will have to decide to give an award to a wooden puppet, or a drag queen. They will choose the puppet. I think in the case of Special Theatrical Event, the voters will side with a legend rather than new, fresh, unique talent.
Best Leading Actor in a Musical
Michael Cerveris, LoveMusik
Raul Esparza, Company
Jonathan Groff, Spring Awakening
Gavin Lee, Mary Poppins
David Hyde Pierce, Curtains
Who will win: David Hyde Pierce
Who should win: Raul Esparza
I think the prize could actually go to Esparza because he provides the strongest and most passionate performance (although Groff, the obvious underdog, also gives a passionate performance). But Pierce has so much hype surrounding his performance, I wouldn't be surprised if they go with him. While Curtains is up for 8 awards, I think this could be one of the only ones they have a good chance of winning.
Best Leading Actress in a Musical
Laura Bell Bundy, Legally Blonde
Christine Ebersole, Grey Gardens
Audra McDonald, 110 in the Shade
Debra Monk, Curtains
Donna Murphy, LoveMusik
Who will win: Christine Ebersole
Who should win: Christine Ebersole
I don't think there is any question that she will take this category. She's been playing the role for around 2 years now I think, and there has not been one negative review of her. She plays 2 women in the show who existed in real life, and to pull it off with such success is a big feat. Despite the amazing other nominees in the category, Ebersole makes the biggest transformation. I think the runner up would be Audra McDonald, but girlfriend already has 4 awards, so she won't be missing out too much on this one.
Best Leading Actor in a Play
Boyd Gaines, Journey's End
Frank Langella, Frost/Nixon
Brian F. O'Byrne, The Coast of Utopia
Christopher Plummer, Inherit the Wind
Liev Schreiber, Talk Radio
Who will win: Frank Langella
Who should win: Frank Langella
Again, he has the most hype surrounding him, and for good reason. They brought the show over from London with the original stars, and he is getting rave reviews. O'Byrne deserves recognition for conquering the beast of the play for which he is nominated, and Schreiber also gives an amazing and raw performance. But Langella is a shoe-in.
Best Leading Actress in a Play
Eve Best, A Moon for the Misbegotten
Swoosie Kurtz, Heartbreak House
Angela Lansbury, Deuce
Vanessa Redgrave, The Year of Magical Thinking
Julie White, The Little Dog Laughed
Who will win: Angela Lansbury OR Julie White
Who should win: Julie White
Julie White was hilarious in this play, but the fact that it didn't do so well in box office sales and popularity could end up hurting her chances. Lansbury, the icon, on the other hand, could take the prize regardless of what she does onstage. The woman could cough and they would fork over an award. And while Redgrave and Kurtz carried a show on their backs and Best reprises her role opposite a daunting performance by Spacey, White was almost the only good thing said about her show.
Best Featured Actor in a Musical
Brooks Ashmanskas, Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me
Christian Borle, Legally Blonde
John Cullum, 110 in the Shade
John Gallagher, Jr., Spring Awakening
David Pittu, LoveMusik
Who will win: David Pittu
Who should win: John Gallagher, Jr.
David Pittu has gotten amazing reviews, and I wouldn't be surprised if he was chosen to represent LoveMusik in their wins. Ashmanskas is being nominated for a musical sketch comedy show starring a man who was not even nominated, Borle is cute and sweet in Blonde but not a total standout by any means, and Cullum is a legend performing in a lukewarm musical revival. Gallagher is the major underdog of the season, and while his performance is a bit unconventional, it is raw and emotional. He could very well be recognized, which would be great because he deserves it, but Pittu is a bit more middle road.
Best Featured Actress in a Musical
Charlotte d'Amboise, A Chorus Line
Rebecca Luker, Mary Poppins
Orfeh, Legally Blonde
Mary Louise Wilson, Grey Gardens
Karen Ziemba, Curtains
Who will win: Mary Louise Wilson
Who should win: Mary Louise Wilson
This seems like another shoe-in category. Wilson gives a standout performance, and for her to be able to stand out next to Ebersole means she's really good. She has been with the show since its inception and has been a major draw for the show. If there is some sort of upset, the award should go to d'Amboise, but may be given to Ziemba for their supporting performances and strong dance skills.
Best Featured Actor in a Play
Anthony Chisholm, Radio Golf
Billy Crudup, The Coast of Utopia
Ethan Hawke, The Coast of Utopia
John Earl Jelks, Radio Golf
Stark Sands, Journey's End
Who will win: Stark Sands
Who should win: Stark Sands
Sands is the standout in his play, and with the dark set, lighting, and material, provides a shining performance, and should be recognized for it. Both Crudup and Hawke deserve ovations for the monster of a show they conquered, but it was also a bit of an ensemble piece, so for one of the two to standout over the other and the rest of the cast is difficult. The two men from Radio Golf are supposed to be phenomenal, and one of them could very well take it, but it's always tricky when two people from the same show are nominated in the same category.
Best Featured Actress in a Play
Jennifer Ehle, The Coast of Utopia
Xanthe Elbrick, Coram Boy
Dana Ivey, Butley
Jan Mexawell, Coram Boy
Martha Plimpton, The Coast of Utopia
Who will win: Xanthe Elbrick, Coram Boy
Who should win: Xanthe Elbrick, Coram Boy
Elbrick plays a young boy who excels at the violin in a show that was applauded by critics but closed early due to low ticket sales. She will represent the show in the acting categories. The Utopia women face the same problems as the men...not sure if the men played different roles in the three installments like the women did, but the women will have to have one-upped each other in order to win the grand prize.
Best Direction of a Musical
John Doyle, Company
Scott Ellis, Curtains
Michael Greif, Grey Gardens
Michael Mayer, Spring Awakening
Who will win: Michael Mayer
Who should win: John Doyle
Mayer will win for directing the adaptation of the musical from the 19th c. play, with extreme contrasts from classical dialogue to contemporary musical performances. His ability to mold the young and vastly inexperienced actors for the show, as well as to develop it so fully over time will give him the reward. Doyle, having been awarded for the same style of adaptation at last years ceremony, will be overlooked for doing the same thing this year, but is equally deserving of the title.
Best Direction of a Play
Michael Grandage, Frost/Nixon
David Grindley, Journey's End
Jack O'Brien, The Coast of Utopia
Melly Still, Coram Boy
Who will win: Jack O'Brien
Who should win: Jack O'Brien OR Melly Still
O'Brien will (and should) be rewarded for his direction of the three part marathon play, but Still has been praised by her actors for her work in Coram Boy, so she may prove to take the prize for mounting the revolutionary play. She could be given the highest level of recognition the show received, since it was not eligible for Best Play.
Best Choreography
Rob Ashford, Curtains
Matthew Bourne and Stephen Mear, Mary Poppins
Bill T. Jones, Spring Awakening
Jerry Mitchell, Legally Blonde
Who will win: Bourne & Mear
Who should win: Bourne & Mear
Jones's modern and lyric choreography is unlike anything on Broadway, and definitely enhances the shows effective message. Mitchell's energetic choreography delivers in the same way as his Tony winning work on Hairspray. Ashfords grand choreography fits in perfectly with the traditional musical theater style of Curtains. But Bourne & Mear not only deliver with their lavish and complicated choreography in Poppins, they combine multiple styles throughout the show, from the ballet and jazz moves of the chimney sweeps to the contemporary 'Supercalifragi-however you spell it.'
Best Score
Fred Ebb, John Kander & Rupert Holmes, Curtains
Scott Frankel and Michael Korie, Grey Gardens
Laurence O'Keefe and Neil Benjamin, Legally Blonde
Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater, Spring Awakening
Who will win: Spring Awakening
Who should win: Spring Awakening
Nothing compares to Sheik & Saters music and lyrics for Spring, and it actually embodies the essence of the show. Not only effective in its message, it is also the biggest draw to the show, and sums up the main element of the show. Grey Gardens also deserves the award, but its simplicity will cost it the prize.
Best Orchestrations
Bruce Coughlin, Grey Gardens
Duncan Sheik, Spring Awakening
Jonathan Tunick, LoveMusik
Jonathan Tunick, 110 in the Shade
Who will win: Grey Gardens
Who should win: Grey Gardens
The music in Grey Gardens deserves to be recognized, and honestly Best Score or Best Orchestrations could go to either Gardens or Spring. but I don't think one will get both. Spring deserves the Score award more than Gardens, so I give Gardens the Orchestrations prize.
Best Scenic Design of a Musical
Bob Crowley, Mary Poppins
Christine Jones, Spring Awakening
Anna Louizos, High Fidelity
Allen Moyer, Grey Gardens
Who will win: Mary Poppins
Who should win: Mary Poppins
Even though Spring Awakening features a platform that raises out of the stage suspended by rope and furniture and decorations attached to the wall (including a chair 15 feet in the air which an actor sits on), and the set of Grey Gardens features an entire lush living room, and backyard, nothing can compare to the magic of Disney. Reminiscent of Beauty & the Beasts's castle advancing and retreating onstage, Poppins repeatedly constructs an entire house, complete with a 3 ton rooftop which flies in and out that the actors sit upon, a man who tap dances on the ceiling of the proscenium, and Mary herself flying out through the roof at the back of the mezzanine. If there is only one shoe-in this year, this is it.
Best Scenic Design of a Play
Bob Crowley & Scott Pask, The Coast of Utopia
Jonathan Fensom, Journey's End
David Gallo, Radio Golf,
Ti Green & Melly Still, Coram Boy
Who will win: The Coast of Utopia
Who should win: The Coast of Utopia
Just like it's actors and director, Utopia's creative team deserves major recognition for mounting sets for three separate installments of a trilogy. And while Coram Boy is revolutionary for the world of Plays, Radio Golf's set is unbelievably detailed, and Journey's End manages to transform the stage into a World War I bunker, Utopia and Poppins' Bob Crowley transforms the entire space, and in Utopia, does it threefold.
Best Costume Design of a Musical
Gregg Barnes, Legally Blonde
Bob Crowley, Mary Poppins
Susan Hilferty, Spring Awakening
William Ivey Long, Grey Gardens
Who will win: Mary Poppins OR Grey Gardens
Who should win: Mary Poppins
Although Grey Gardens and Spring Awakening's costumes stay true to the time period, and Legally Blonde's threads are as bright and flashy as its star and choreography (and I think a great deal of the ensemble's costumes are store bought), nothing can match up to the bold and intricate details of Crowley's work for Poppins. From jackets that are bedazzled with hundreds of hand placed crystals, to the inner silk lining of the jackets which never see the light onstage, Crowley goes for more than theatrical show...he completes the costumes and assists the performers in completely transforming into their characters.
Best Costume Design of a Play
Ti Green and Melly Still, Coram Boy
Jane Greenwood, Heartbreak House
Santo Loquasto, Inherit the Wind
Catherine Zuber, The Coast of Utopia
Who will win: Heartbreak House
Who should win: Heartbreak House
And interesting thing I recently found out is that hair and make-up achievements are summed up in the awards for Best Costumes. Therefore, Heartbreak House should win because of the intricacies of the period costumes, and also for the extravagant wigs.
Best Lighting Design of a Musical
Kevin Adams, Spring Awakening
Christopher Akerlind, 110 in the Shade
Howard Harrison, Mary Poppins,
Peter Kaczorowski, Grey Gardens
Who will win: Grey Gardens OR Spring Awakening
Who should win: Spring Awakening
Grey Gardens deserves some sort of nod for its creative team, and given the other contenders in the category, Best Lighting seems it. Their use of gobos and mood lighting is effective in the contrast between the first and second acts. Spring Awakening, however, combines lighting effects for mood setting in the plot scenes, and effects reminiscent of a rock concert during the musical performance. Their contrasts could help Spring take the prize for this category as well.
Best Lighting Design of a Play
Paule Constable, Coram Boy
Brian MacDevitt, Inherit the Wind
Brian MacDevitt, Kenneth Posner, Natasha Katz, Coast of Utopia
Jason Taylor, Journey's End
What will win: Coram Boy
What should win: Coram Boy
Coram Boy has the most dramatic lighting of all of these plays. The others attempt to fully transform the stage into the setting with the help of the scenic design. Coram Boy's lighting, on the other hand, excels beyond setting the scene and provides dramatic lighting and effects to give a very cinematic and grand theatrical look.
3 comments:
...bored by Inherit The Wind? Are you nuts? That play (even when read) is fantastic!!! Sometimes I just don't get you, Brian.
Kiki & Herb was hands down the most expensive nap i've ever had. People were applauding because Kiki has a quality that makes you want to like her, in spite of her stale jokes, overly-literal lyrics, and CONTRIVED themes. The stuffed animal who ate christ's birthmess made me feel bad for them; it just wasn't very funny. This show has outgrown itself, and does not belong on a big stage. In an intimate, smoky bar, where there was a 5 dollar cover, yes. The ACT theatre, no.
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