Thoughts on the Tonys...

[skynyc]

I'm not a huge fan of the Tonys whose Board of Directors seems to want to keep them in the 1970s, but will watch this year because there are some really interesting races. I won't say that there will be upsets, because I think there are several categories, where there are several folks getting a lot of buzz. 

I do think Merrily has a lock on Best Musical Revival, Actor, Featured Actor, Featured Actress, Director, and Orchestration. 

And I think Stereophonic will win Best Play, Director, Sound...but with most of the cast competing against each other in the acting categories, I suspect they'll cancel each other out. (Hey, Tony committee: Where's an award for ENSEMBLE?) 

But many of the other categories? 

Best Actor/Play...both Jeremy Strong and Leslie Odom, Jr, getting buzz...Purlie is closed, but it was great, and Enemy of the People is the one nominated show I have not seen, so I cannot "vote".  

Best Actress/Play...Jessica Lange, Rachel McAdams, and Sara Paulson, all deserving. (Jessica and Sarah both won the Drama Desk, over the men! DD is now not separating Actor/Actress and just doubling number of nominees in each category and naming two winners. This year 8 of the 9 acting awards went to women.) 

Best Actress/Musical...Malea Joi Moon, Kelli O'Hara, and Marianne Plunkett. I know several Tony voters and their votes are spread. Malea is so young...Kelli's show has closed...Marianne barely sings...but they're all giving amazing performances. 

Best Featured Actress/Play...if anyone from Stereophonic was going to break through it might be Sarah Pidgeon here, but this is Kara Young's third consecutive nomination. Is it her year? 

The design awards are tough to call. Committee determines whether projections are Scenic Design or Lighting Design depending on the show...why not make that a separate category? My favorite Scenic Design (including projections) was Great Gatsby which wasn't nominated. 

Best Revival/Play...both Appropriate and Purlie have ardent fans. Purlie has a LOT more producers, and if they all have votes....

Best Musical...this is where it could be REALLY interesting...most often, there's one show that gets Best Musical, Book, Score, Choreography, and Direction. This year Direction will most certainly go to Maria Friedman for Merrily Revival. But I suspect this year, the winners of the other categories will NOT be the same. It will be interesting to see. 

I'll be watching with friends...and I have definite favorites. 

[Marc in Calif]

44 minutes ago, skynyc said:

I'll be watching with friends...and I have definite favorites. 

So which of your friends is your favorite? Does she or he know? ☺️

[BananaBagel]

The opening number was a flop for me and the audio was off. Still, such a great show! I love how they spread the love around and supported some more u expected and youthful nominees.  

Edited June 17, 2024 by BananaBagel

[MaybeMaybeNot]

I came in late.  I am always intrigued by the musical numbers they choose to showcase. I was excited to see Suffs, but that song did nothing to showcase story or character. It felt like a chorale.  The Outsiders was a little better, but a fight shouldn't be the highlight of your show.  The first Outsiders song also felt like very blatant, uninteresting exposition. The choreography for Water for Elephants was good, but the whole scene was showcasing acrobatics and didn't engage on any other level.  I can't say any of these performance alone would make me excited to see their shows.  

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

The whole show felt...  Off.

Bad sound mix.  Awful camerawork.  Why they shot everything so up-close was a strange decision.  It felt uncomfortable.

What we're seeing with musicals now is incredibly weak source material with good direction/production design.  That's no bueno.  We need to get back to people writing SOLID MUSIC and then develop the concept from there.  Otherwise, what we're watching is just glorified theme park bullshit.

If everything opens as planned, next year's TONY awards should be a barnburner.

[topunderachiever]

1 hour ago, BenjaminNicholas said:

Awful camerawork.  Why they shot everything so up-close was a strange decision.  It felt uncomfortable.

Mostly agree.  Especially since nobody ever experiences Theatre that way. 

EXCEPT for Eddie Redmayne's opening of Wilkommen.  He subtly delivered what couldn't have been caught otherwise.  

(btw, is he a cousin?? )

Edited June 17, 2024 by topunderachiever

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

3 hours ago, topunderachiever said:

Mostly agree.  Especially since nobody ever experiences Theatre that way. 

EXCEPT for Eddie Redmayne's opening of Wilkommen.  He subtly delivered what couldn't have been caught otherwise.  

(btw, is he a cousin?? )

Redmayne was about as subtle as a car wreck.

I wasn't a fan, but then I haven't been a fan of his Emcee since seeing it in London last year.

His Kermit The Frog singing voice absolutely makes me crazy.