The 2011 Tony Award Winners - My Take

 I haven't watched the Tony Awards yet. I know that sounds strange, but I had a concert to attend last night, and earlier this year I disconnected my TiVo and got rid of cable, and I haven't had the desire nor the ambition to do whatever it is I need to do to get my TV up and running without cable. Lately, I've been perfectly content with my DVD collection and Netflix.

Of course, as soon as I got home, I fired up my computer to see who won what. Here's a breakdown of how many awards each musical production won:

The Book of Mormon: 9
Anything Goes: 3
Catch Me If You Can: 1
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying: 1
Priscilla Queen of the Desert: 1

Before I launch into my take on the individual winners, I just want to give a shout out to whoever designed the logo/poster/Playbill cover for this year's awards. I guess it wouldn't seem so remarkable if last year's poster hadn't been so heinous. Anyway, here are the winners:

Best Musical
*The Book of Mormon
Catch Me If You Can 
The Scottsboro Boys 
Sister Act
My Take: Pretty much as expected, and well-deserved. Catch Me If You Can and Sister Act were inept and lackluster, and there was no way the Tony was going to go to The Scottsboro Boys. Remember, the Tonys are about marketing, not artistic quality, and you can't market a closed show.

Best Revival of a Musical
*Anything Goes
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
My Take: You know, the more I think about it, the more I like the new How to Succeed more than the current Anything Goes. Both were immensely enjoyable to sit through, but I find that How to Succeed has lingered with me longer. I sort of have to actively think about Anything Goes to recall specific things about the production. So, on the whole, I would rather the Tony had gone to How to Succeed.

Best Actor in a Musical
*Norbert Leo Butz, Catch Me If You Can
Josh Gad, The Book of Mormon
Joshua Henry, The Scottsboro Boys
Andrew Rannells, The Book of Mormon
Tony Sheldon, Priscilla Queen of the Desert
My Take: Josh Gad and Andrew Rannells appear to have split the Book of Mormon vote, giving previous winner Butz a chance to pick up his second Tony. Don't get me wrong: Butz is great, in this show as well as in everything he does. But I kinda would have rather seen the award go to Rannells, or Gad, who both give impeccable comic performances. Why couldn't Gad and Rannells have gotten a single nomination, like those oh-so-adorable and three young men who undeservedly won a three-way Tony a few years back for Billy Elliot? Yeah, I know, the kids were all playing the same part. But Emily Skinner and Alice Ripley weren't playing the same part in Side Show, and they got a tandem nomination. I'm only half serious here, but honestly, if the Tonys can make the rules up as they go along, why can't I speculate with reckless abandon?  

Best Actress in a Musical
*Sutton Foster, Anything Goes
Beth Leavel, Baby It's You!
Patina Miller, Sister Act
Donna Murphy, The People in the Picture
My Take: Just as it should be. Sutton Foster is a gift to musical comedy. Both Beth Leavel and Donna Murphy are remarkable performers, but they're really the only reasons to see the otherwise execrable shows that they are unfortunately appearing in. Patina Miller is a very talented newcomer, and I wish her well, but I wasn't all that thrilled with her performance in Sister Act, nor indeed with the show itself. Sister Act was very deservedly shut out in every category.

Best Featured Actress in a Musical
Laura Benanti, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
Tammy Blanchard, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Victoria Clark, Sister Act
*Nikki M. James, The Book of Mormon
Patti LuPone, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
My Take: Word on the street had Laura Benanti winning for a second time. But Women on the Verge appears to have left far too bitter an aftertaste for many of the Tony voters. (Not to mention me.) Plus, Nikki James, although she is wonderful in her role, clearly benefited from the Book of Mormon behemoth. I would love to have seen the award go to Tammy Blanchard, who does a wonderful job of making Hedy Larue her own.

Best Featured Actor in a Musical
Colman Domingo, The Scottsboro Boys
Adam Godley, Anything Goes
*John Larroquette, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Forrest McClendon, The Scottsboro Boys
Rory O'Malley, The Book of Mormon
My Take: A genuine surprise. The smart money was on Rory O'Malley, who's an absolute stitch as the closeted gay Mormon. (Must...resist...redundancy reference...) Godley didn't do much for me in Anything Goes. And for Domingo and McClendon, well, nomination is its own reward. Larroquette was terrific as Bigley, evincing much of the smart comic timing that won him so many Emmy Awards. I would have given the award to John McMartin in Anything Goes, but he wasn't nominated. So I guess I'm pretty happy it went to Larroquette.

Best Book of a Musical
Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, Alex Timbers
*The Book of Mormon Trey Parker, Robert Lopez and Matt Stone
The Scottsboro Boys, David Thompson
Sister Act, Cheri Steinkellner, Bill Steinkellner and Douglas Carter Beane
My Take: Bingo. Jackpot. Straight Across. Bloody Bloody and Scottsboro were both worthy contenders, but clearly this award was going to go to the funniest book to hit Broadway in many a season. And as for Sister Act, well, the less said the better, really.

Best Costume Design of a Musical
*Tim Chappel & Lizzy Gardiner, Priscilla Queen of the Desert
Martin Pakledinaz, Anything Goes
Ann Roth, The Book of Mormon
Catherine Zuber, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
My Take: PUH-LEEZ. Predictable and disappointing. The Tony voters appear to have caught on to the American mania for more, More, MORE! Sure the costumes for Priscilla are lavish, gaudy, expensive, and over-the-top. But are they good? I kinda wish the Tony voters had gone with the Mormon momentum and given the award to Roth. At least her costumes were genuinely witty.

Best Direction of a Musical
Rob Ashford, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Kathleen Marshall, Anything Goes
*Casey Nicholaw and Trey Parker, The Book of Mormon
Susan Stroman, The Scottsboro Boys
My Take: I'm thrilled to see Nicholaw get some much deserved love. My admiration for his work has only grown over time. The man really knows how to dress a stage, shape comic performances, and get the show running at a jaunty pace. I'm looking forward to seeing his career progress, both as a director and a choreographer.

Best Choreography
Rob Ashford, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
*Kathleen Marshall, Anything Goes
Casey Nicholaw, The Book of Mormon
Susan Stroman, The Scottsboro Boys
My take: I would love to have seen this one go to Nicholaw, but really any of these fine people were deserving of this award. And Marshall's work on Anything Goes is outstanding, so it's really hard for me to gripe here.

Best Original Score
*The Book of Mormon, Music & Lyrics: Trey Parker, Robert Lopez and Matt Stone
The Scottsboro Boys, Music & Lyrics: John Kander and Fred Ebb
Sister Act, Music: Alan Menken, Lyrics: Glenn Slater
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, Music & Lyrics: David Yazbek
My take: My sentimental side (and, yes, I do have one) was sort of hoping this would go to Kander and Ebb for their fine work on Scottsboro Boys. But I genuinely enjoy the score to Book of Mormon, and find new things to love in it every time I listen to the recording. Sister Act and Women on the Verge were merely placeholders this year, although the more I listen to the Women on the Verge CD, the more begrudgingly fond I become of certain numbers (especially "Island" and "Lovesick").

Best Lighting Design of a Musical - *Brian MacDevitt, The Book of Mormon
Best Scenic Design of a Musical - *Scott Pask, The Book of Mormon
Best Sound Design of a Musical - *Brian Ronan, The Book of Mormon
Best Orchestrations - *Larry Hochman and Stephen Oremus, The Book of Mormon
My take: Clearly, this year we saw the Tony momentum go to Book of Mormon. Much as The Producers got more Tonys than it deserved simply because the Tony voters wanted to set a record, so too Book of Mormon won in more categories than was probably warranted because the Tony voters wanted to congratulate themselves on finally having another smash hit on the boards. So Best Lighting? Best Scenic Design? Best Orchestrations? These fine upstanding professionals can, for the most part, thank the Book of Mormon juggernaut for their coveted little trophies.

Comments

[celawerd]

I know a lot of people are complaining that there were a lot of performances on the show that should not have been there, like COMPANY; but I really enjoyed watching the broadcast this year, much more than I have in a long time. Make sure you watch Neil Patrick Harris's opening number at least. It was great!

[-Rich]

I have yet to watch it myself (friend taped it for me as well) because I was working but I will say I was overall pleased with how the awards panned out this year. I would of preferred one of the boys from Mormon to get the best acting award, preferably Rannells, but Butz is deserving. I myself caught Mormon-fever and was hoping for a shutout in basically all categories on par with The Producers crazy wins, just because I found the show that smart, funny, and endearing. Also I may point out, I am very disappointed Mormon got 9, for at least it deserved more than Billy Elliot.

[Geoff]

I would have liked to see the award for orchestrations go to "Catch Me." There were many aspects of the show I did not like, but the orchestrations were superb as even a cursory listen to the cast recording will attest. The "Mormon" orchestrations on the recording are delicious, but alas, those are not the orchestrations heard 8 times weekly at the O'Neill.

I love the score to "Mormon" and applaud the win, but each listen to the recording only makes me aware of how approximate the rhyming is. These guys are smart writers and capable of far better. In truth, I didn't notice this sloppiness in the theatre because I was too busy laughing and being swept along by the riotous good humor. Perhaps that should be the only measure of the writing -- how well the show works in the theatre -- but when it comes to awards, I persist in my cranky belief that craft matters. The score award to "Mormon" bothers me a little. I know, Chris. It's not about craft, it's about marketing. At least it didn't receive a Pulitzer...yet.

[ccaggiano]

Geoff: You know, I'm usually a real stickler for that sort of thing myself. I was thinking it over and I think it comes down to this: If the overall craft of the show transcends the minor lapses, I'm willing to forgive (e.g Book of Mormon, Passing Strange).

But other times it bugs the crap out of me, usually because the show as a whole doesn't rise above the transgressions. Example: "Don't Break the Rules," from Catch Me If You Can. "God's keeping score. You don't wanna fail that test." Mixed metaphor: sports and academics. Because the show as a whole doesn't work, I'm less likely to acquiesce.

[ccaggiano]

I've been watching the clips on YouTube all day. Yeah, overall it was a great broadcast. The opening number was sheer genius.

[ccaggiano]

You know what, history will decide, as always, as to the true quality of the shows in question. I hated Billy Elliot in London, and the Broadway production was only slightly better. I have a feeling it's sort of going to fade from people's minds, mostly because the score is awful.

But I'm thinking that Mormon has more staying power. It's going to be a much harder sell in the provinces, and I certainly don't see it catching on in high school and community productions. But its' a rollicking good time, and I really can't wait to see it again.

[Chrisgarfield2]

"Bingo. Jackpot. Straight Across." Have you been listening to City of Angels?

Speaking of which, have you heard whether they are still planning a film version? Watching their performance together last night, I thought it would be fun to see Neil Patrick Harris and Hugh Jackman as Stine and Stone.

[-Rich]

I agree completely. I have no doubt there will be few, if any high school productions and I can only see community theaters doing it in the most liberal and accepting of cities. But I also feel Mormon will not be remembered for the gem that it is, but more for the fact that the creators of South Park created it. People know it only because its from Parker and Stone, and unfortunately this reputation it has simply because of its creators has tarnished that gem just a little. I hope people will go out and see it and learn to forget that its South Park related, so that it will be remembered for what it is and not for who created it

[ccaggiano]

Chris, I'm so glad that someone got the reference. Actually, I haven't listened to City of Angels in years, but the phrase just kinda naturally came to me as I was writing the post. I'm looking forward to seeing the Goodspeed production of City of Angels in the fall.

[ccaggiano]

I can't imagine that the show's popularity is based solely on the South Park connection. If the show had sucked, there's no way it would be pulling in the crowds as it is right now. Sure, Addams Family started really strong based on the brand. But now it's limping along rather listlessly. There's no question that the South Park name has added to the show's cachet. But I genuinely think that the public and critical reaction to the show goes significantly beyond the South Park imprimatur.