Tony Nominations!

[skynyc]

Tony nominations come out tomorrow (today). Other than Race and Come Fly Away, I have now seen all the eligible productions. And the play categories are going to be tight.

 

I think Original Play nods will go to Next Fall, Red, Time Stands Still and Behanding in Spokane, but think Superior Donuts deserves the fourth slot over Spokane. And Enron is a bit of a wild card. And despite the star power, I think Steady Rain will be overlooked completely.

Play Revival will definitely include View from the Bridge and Fences...but I have no clue which will get the other slots: Hamlet, Miracle Worker, Lend Me a Tenor, Present Laughter or Royal Family. I would choose Hamlet and Royal Family.

 

Original Musical is a pretty slim listing: Memphis, American Idiot are shoo-ins, and probably Addams Family...but will the ohter slot go to Fela or Come Fly Away or Everyday Rapture or Million Dollar Quartet? And the shows eligible for original score are even more scant...Fela, Come Fly Away, MDQuartet and American Idiot are not in consideration. They're allowing the scores of Enron and the backscoring of Fences be in contention.

 

Performer nominations are not obvious either.

 

For musicals: I think Nathan Lane and Sean Hayes and Douglas Hughes are givens. I think John Gallagher is, too...and will probably win. But the other slots can go to Cheyenne Jackson <sigh> or Chad Kimball...who really deserves the nom...and probalbly the win...or Kelsey Grammar or Alexander Hanson.

 

For the ladies: Catherine Zeta-Jones will probably get a nod just so that she will come to the Awards...Kristen Chenoweth and Kate Baldwin, Bebe Neuwirth (maybe not), Montego Glover for Memphis is deserving and Sherie Renee Scott snuck in under the wire and may walk away with the award.

 

Supporting players are pretty myriad...Tony Yasbeck deserves a nom for White Christmas, as do Levi Kreis for Million Dollar Quartet, Stark Sands for American Idiot, Kevin Chamberlain for Addams, both Bobby Steggart and Quentin Washington for Ragtime...although Washington should be in the lead category despite the committee's decision. Tony Goldwyn's character is enough of a sleaze that he will probably be overlooked, and Robin DeJesus as the hispanic maid in La Cage may be a dark horse.

 

For the ladies...the award with either go to Katie Finneran for Promises or Angela Lansbury. In my opinion Lansbury deserves it more here than she did last year, but she all ready has 5. Finneran is in two short scenes, and has one Tony...so it could go either way. The other nominees will probably be Christiane Noll (Ragtime) Terry White (Finian's) and I have no idea for the fifth slot.

 

Plays are whre the real competition is.

Denzel will probably win for Fences, but he's got real stiff competition from Liev Schrieber and Jude Law and Alfred Molina and Christopher Walken. And the humorous performances from Justin Bartha, Victor Garber and Norbert Leo Butz shouldn't be forgotten. I do think Jackman and Craig will both be missed, as will Cerveris (In the Next Room) and Michael McKean for Donuts. Patrick Breen in Next Fall will be a nice surprise if he's remembered, as will Brian D'Arcy James in Time Stands Still.

 

Ladies are just as tight. The obvious picks are the V's and the L's: Valerie Harper, Viola Davis, Laura Linney and Linda Lavin. Jan Maxwell was fab in Royal Family but who remembers it? Laurie Metcalf for BBMemoirs was marvelous, but without Broadway Bound which better showcased that role, she probably will be overlooked. Alison Pill was great in Miracle Worker, as was Abigail Breslin, but it didn't last long enough...and Laura Benanti is also ancient history.

 

Featured men: Eddie Redmayne is a sure bet in Red, as are a couple of the supporting players from Fences. Reg Rogers is a dark horse from Royal Family...and Anthony LaPaglia is a BIG name in the supporting catagory. The big overlooked one here is the kid from Superior Donuts, but I can't even name, so it's understandable.

 

Featured women is huge. Jessica Hecht from Bridge should overtake Scarlett Johanson, but I bet the nomination will go the other way around. Jan Maxwell stole Lend Me a Tenor and may deserve to win but will again lose here...perhaps to Rosemary Harris for Royal Family. (Who should win.) Sarah Paulson in Collectd Stories isn't a very likable character, but she's still playing, and that's an advantage. And Marin Mazzie could just be a surprise here.

 

We'll see it in a few short hours. And if I don't want to sleep through it, I better get to bed.

[Guest greatness]

I love your enthusiasm~~

 

Your post is full of energy and passion I feel like in my 20s again. Thanks for the post.

[+ Lucky]

Well, they are out, so wake up!

 

Tony Nominations by Production

Fela! – 11

La Cage aux Folles – 11

Fences – 10

Memphis – 8

Ragtime – 7

Red – 7

A View from the Bridge – 6

The Royal Family – 5

Enron – 4

A Little Night Music – 4

Promises, Promises – 4

American Idiot – 3

Finian’s Rainbow – 3

In the Next Room or the Vibrator Play – 3

Lend Me a Tenor – 3

Million Dollar Quartet – 3

The Addams Family – 2

Come Fly Away – 2

Everyday Rapture – 2

Hamlet – 2

Next Fall – 2

Time Stands Still – 2

A Behanding in Spokane – 1

Collected Stories – 1

Looped – 1

Present Laughter – 1

Race – 1

Superior Donuts – 1

 

And, the individual nominations are here:

 

http://www.playbill.com/news/article/139245-2010-Tony-Nominations-Announced-Fela-and-La-Cage-Top-List

[edjames]

Good luck to all the nominees.

 

Catherine Zeta Jones? I didn't think her performance was Tony-worthy. IMHO

 

Although, it's been flying way below a lot of theater goers radar, Fela is an incredible show full of energy, fun and great soul-funk music. It has a terrific message and probably one of the hardest working casts on Broadway! I'd hate to be the physical therapist back stage at this theater. Those kids work their assess off! If you haven't see it, give it a try.

 

ED

[Guest alanm]

Tony Nominations

 

Concerning the theater, I tend to see the glass as half full, not half empty. But, I am not sure which shows are helped in a significant way by the nominations. Will people buy tickets for "Fela" or "La Cage aux Folles," probably if either musical actually wins in its respective category.

 

I am shocked that "American idiot" received so few nominations. Again, I think either "Red" or "Next Fall" has to win the Tony to see a boost in ticket sales.

 

Three or four months ago, it appeared that "ENRON," "The Addams

Family," and "American Idiot" were the favorites.

 

It was good to see so many shows (and performers) that are no longer on Broadway receive recognition.

 

Am I the only one who thought Angela Lansbury was not up to speed in "A Little Night Muisc"? Perhaps it was just the performance I attended in early January.

[uwsman2]

Next Fall

 

It would be HUGE if "Next Fall" won the Tony - a really serious gay show by a gay playwright that raises real issues about gay life. So timely, in fact, that when President Obama issued his directive to the Department of Health and Human Services to come up with rules so that institutions receiving Medicare and Medicaid money would have to adopt policies respecting same-sex partner rights of patients, I wondered whether somebody on his staff had been to see this play.

 

But I was disappointed that the cast didn't pick up lots of individual Tony nominations. The performances were superb at the showings I attended (one of the off-Broadway run last year, one of the Broadway run recently, same cast both times). The sets and lighting and costumes were modern-functional, so I understand why there were no nominations, but I thought they were absolutely appropriate to the time and place of the play.

[skynyc]

aftermath

 

The theater message boards were ablaze yesterday with chat about the nominees. Some outrage for who wasn't nominated, others outraged by who was. There was only one GLARING omission in my opinion: Nathan Lane.

 

I am not terribly surprised that Addams Family didn't get many nominations...(only two, and one for score only because the pool was so small). The critics really didn't like it, and it's seems to be the recipient of the "There's no Disney show this year, so let's dump on the obvious crowd-pleaser" mindset.

 

I do think there were flaws with the show, but to overlook Lane almost seems personal since he is onstage much of the time and is really marvelous.

 

Not that the other nominees aren't deserving, but I do feel that Kelsey Grammar's George in La Cage is just Frasier Crane in a wig, and while Sahr Ngaujah is quite amazing to watch, he only performs the role four times a week.

 

Leading Actress in a Musical. I do think that politics played some part in Catherine Zeta-Jones getting a nod, now she'll be a presenter, and walk the red carpet. The field was fairly small this year, but she does a lovely job with Desiree (emphasis on LOVELY.) I found her beauty almost distracting when she was on stage.

 

Kristen Chenoweth was overlooked which is sad, but I do believe folks just want her to be perky and funny, and not obsessed with a married man and suicidal. And while I LOVED Sherie Rene Scott in Everyday Rapture...this show is a really terrific cabaret act, and I think it odd that she is probably going to win Best Actress for playing herself. I don't begrudge her a Tony, she should have won for Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, but I don't feel this role is much of a stretch. LOL

 

Nominees for best actor and actress in a play all seem very fair. I think there are favorites, but I personally could see any of these talented folk win.

 

Enron has all ready announced it will close this weekend...I am assuming a direct result of not getting a nod for Best Play. (But in my opinion, it didn't deserve it anyway.)

 

And while I loved the revival of the musical Finian's Rainbow, and agree it deserved the nod, I am sorry that Promises Promises was cut out because I think it was equally deserving and in cases like this, I wish they'd give the shows still running a shot at the publicity.

 

And as far as the exclusion of the cast of Come Fall, who were perfect, this is where I wish the Tonys had the Best Ensemble category that several of the other awards have. I think they could have filled this category handily. Come Fall, Steady Rain, Superior Donuts, and Million Dollar Quartet would have been my picks in such a situation.

 

I think most of the awards will be easy to predict, but there are some tight races. It will be an interesting night in June.

[+ Lucky]

The First Loser

 

Enron will close Sunday after failing to gain enough Tony nominations to keep it going.

 

http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/theater/second_enron_collapse_ycaAnYNNfgEpn2v2IAciMN

[uwsman2]

Next Fall

 

Next Fall, not "Come Fall."

[uwsman2]

Enron

 

A friend and I have tickets to see Enron on Tuesday, but they've posted a Sunday closing notice. So my friend scurried over to the box office and got us tickets for this Friday night.

 

Here's a case of "too late" - This week's issue of The New Yorker has a very positive review of Enron.

[Guest alanm]

Skynyc,

 

Congratulations on your pre-Tony Award nomination predictions. I was surprised that you selected so many shows/performers from plays or musicals that have closed. I thought it would never happen, but you were right.

 

I am not terribly surprised that Addams Family didn't get many nominations...(only two, and one for score only because the pool was so small). The critics really didn't like it, and it's seems to be the recipient of the "There's no Disney show this year, so let's dump on the obvious crowd-pleaser" mindset.

 

I do think there were flaws with the show, but to overlook Lane almost seems personal since he is onstage much of the time and is really marvelous.

 

 

On "The Addams Family," I think the parallel is "Victor/Victoria," not Disney musicals. Lane may do too many plays. It seems like he is on Broadway every year in a new play/musical or revival. So "The Addams Family" may seem like yet another Nathan Lane show to critics and Tony voters, not a big event.

 

If you go back to the golden age of musicals, Ethel Merman and Mary Martin turned down many shows (in Martin's case "Oklahoma," "Mame," and "My Fair Lady" as well as many far less successful musicals). To be fair, they had more opportunities on television in the 1950s than Lane does now.