Regular readers will know that I have a love/hate relationship with the Tony Awards, with all awards, in fact. On the one hand, I'm as interested and fascinated as the next showtune queen when the Tony nominations come out, which happened for this year's awards on Tuesday. Like you, I'm sure, I'm gratified when the shows and performances that I liked get nods, and I'm disappointed when they don't.
But I also know there's a tremendous futility in the act of setting performer against performer, show against show. The awards process is flawed, as the Tonys have demonstrated time and time again over the years. I mean, according to the Tony voters, The Music Man is better than West Side Story. Fiorello and The Sound of Music are both better than Gypsy. The Lion King is better than Ragtime.
Nome sane?
And yet, each year I get a thrill poring over the list of nominees. I think I mostly do it to be reminded of what was good about the immediate past season. Once I've made my way through the list once, I go through again with an eye toward who might have been left out, rightly or wrongly.
Below is my annual take on a select sample of the Tony nominations, with an eye toward what's right, what's wrong, who's going to win, and who deserves to win. I'm only going to comment on the awards that I actually care about, or have personal knowledge about. Since this blog is about musicals, and I didn't see many of the plays, I will only be commenting on awards that are musicals-related. And lighting, sound, and orchestrations are beyond my skill set.
Click on the links in the show names below to read my original reviews.
Best Musical
Missing: Chaplin, Hands on a Hardbody, Motown, Scandalous
Deserves to Win: Matilda
Will Win: Matilda
My Take: I can't help thinking of this as a deliberate slap in the face to both Hands on a Hardbody and Motown, although IMHO neither show really deserved the nomination. Then again, I don't think A Christmas Story did either. But I'm pretty happy with Matilda and Bring It On, both of which I enjoyed immensely. Kinky Boots didn't really rock my world. I'm thinking this year is going to be a Matilda sweep. At least I hope so.
Best Revival
of a Musical
Missing: Jekyll & Hyde
Deserves to Win: The Mystery of Edwin Drood
Will Win: Pippin
My Take: I saw Pippin at the ART in the fall, and I'll be seeing it again on Broadway tomorrow night. I didn't like it in Cambridge, but I'm open to the possibility that I might change my mind. I mean, the reaction to Pippin has been pretty off the charts, both from the critics and the public, although Ben Brantley was less than impressed. But I thought Drood was a terrific production of a show that admittedly isn't all that great.
Best Book of
a Musical
- Joseph Robinette, A Christmas Story
- Harvey Fierstein, Kinky Boots
-
Dennis Kelly, Matilda
- Douglas Carter Beane, Cinderella
Missing: Bring It On, Chaplin, Hands on a Hardbody, Motown, Scandalous
Deserves to Win: Matilda
Will Win: Matilda
My Take: This one's tough, because the Tonys love Harvey, but I'm thinking this is gonna be a Matilda sweep. Both Fierstein and Beane turned out efforts this season that were heavy on jokes but short on real characterizations. So, Matilda FTW.
Best
Original Score
- Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, A Christmas Story
- Trey Anastasio and Amanda Green, Hands on a Hardbody
- Cyndi Lauper, Kinky Boots
-
Tim Minchin, Matilda
Missing: Bring It On, Chaplin, Hands on a Hardbody, Scandalous
Deserves to Win: Matilda
Will Win: Matilda
My Take: I have tremendous reservations with Tim Minchin's use of slant ryhme and poor scansion, but none of the other scores even comes close to the melodic invention and sheer sense of joy present in Matilda. As for A Christmas Story, I was much more impressed by the score Pasek and Paul turned out for Dogfight. I look forward to their future work, but I don't think this is their year.
Best Actor in a Musical
-
Bertie Carvel, Matilda
- Santino Fontana, Cinderella
- Rob McClure, Chaplin
- Billy Porter, Kinky Boots
- Stark Sands, Kinky Boots
Missing: Anthony Warlow, Annie; Hunter Foster, Hands on a Hardbody; Brandon Victor Dixon, Motown; Matthew James Thomas, Pippin
Deserves to Win: Bertie Carvel
Will Win: Bertie Carvel
My Take: It's gonna be close between Carvel and Porter, but I'm thinking Carvel will benefit from the Matilda momentum. Stark Sands was dull in an underwritten role. Fontana was wonderfully sympathetic and warm as the Prince. And I'm thrilled that McClure got the nod for a dynamic performances that was really one of the only things that made Chaplin worth seeing.
Best Actress
in a Musical
- Stephanie J. Block, The Mystery of Edwin Drood
- Carolee Carmello, Scandalous
-
Valisia LeKae, Motown
- Patina Miller, Pippin
- Laura Osnes, Cinderella
Missing: Lilla Crawford, Annie; Chita Rivera, The Mystery
of Edwin Drood
Deserves to Win: Laura Osnes
Will Win: Patina Miller
My Take: This one's tough, but I'm going to say Laura Osnes derserves it, but Miller will win. The Leading Player is a much flashier part than Cinderella, and the buzz this year is all about Pippin. LeKae is simply delightful as Diana Ross, but it's more an impersonation than a performance. I love me some SJB and some Carolee, but both shows have closed and Tony voters have short memories. (Oh, and how about that "special award" for the Matilda girls: Sophia Gennusa, Oona Laurence,
Bailey Ryon and Milly Shapiro. Apparently the Tony nominating committee was trying to avoid another Billy Elliot debacle. "Oh, how could we choose one over the others? How could we break their itty-bitty hearts?" Also, how can voters really vote when in all probability they only saw one of these girls perform? Ergo, the end run around the voting process, saving everyone the tsouris.)
Best Featured Actor in a Musical
-
Charl Brown, Motown
- Keith Carradine, Hands on a Hardbody
- Will Chase, The Mystery of Edwin Drood
-
Gabriel Ebert, Matilda
- Terrence Mann, Pippin
Missing: Gregory Haney, Bring It On; George Hearn, Scandalous; Bryan Terrell Clark, Motown; Jim Norton, The Mystery of Edwin Drood
Deserves to Win: Will Chase
Will Win: Gabriel Ebert
My Take: Will Chase was as good as I've ever seen him as Jasper. A deliciously evil and mannered performance. But I'm going with momentum this year, and the two shows with momentum are Matilda and Pippin. Terrance Mann is sort of an institution in Broadway circles, so it's possible this could swing his way, but Ebert has a much more prominent and memorable role.
Best Featured
Actress in a Musical
- Annaleigh Ashford, Kinky Boots
- Victoria Clark, Cinderella
- Andrea Martin, Pippin
- Keala Settle, Hands on a Hardbody
-
Lauren Ward, Matilda
Missing: Katie Finneran, Annie; Lesli Margherita, Matilda; Jessie Mueller, The Mystery of Edwin Drood; Rachel Bay Jones, Pippin
Deserves to Win: Annaleigh Ashford
Will Win: Andrea Martin
My Take: This category may be the closest we have this year to a lock. I've always been a big fan of Annaleigh Ashford (particularly in Rent and Dogfight), but I really think it's Martin all the way. She's terrific (for the 10 minutes total that she's on stage), and the buzz has been completely in her favor even before the show played its first New York performance. Martin and Rachel Bay Jones were what really made Pippin worth watching, and I'm kind of bummed and surprised that Jones didn't get a nod. Honestly, I'd be fine with any of these fine performers winning this year. It was a great season for featured actresses.
Best Scenic
Design of a Musical
-
Rob Howell, Matilda
- Anna Louizos, The Mystery of Edwin Drood
- Scott Pask, Pippin
- David Rockwell, Kinky Boots
Missing: Chaplin, Motown, Jekyll & Hyde, A Christmas Story, Scandalous, Annie
Deserves to Win: Matilda
Will Win: Matilda
My Take: The Matilda set is stunning. Just stunning. And the Tony voters love stunning. The set for Drood was impressive but conventional. The Pippin set wasn't nearly as ingenious as the Tony Walton original. And the Kinky Boots set is hideous. Hid. E. Ous. So add another to the Matilda sweep.
Best Costume
Design of a Musical
- Gregg Barnes, Kinky Boots
-
Rob Howell, Matilda
- Dominique Lemieux, Pippin
- William Ivey Long, Cinderella
Missing: Hands on a Hardbody, Bring It On, A Christmas Story, Chaplin, Scandalous, Annie, Motown, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Jekyll & Hyde
Deserves to Win: Matilda
Will Win: Kinky Boots
My Take: Here's one I'm willing to accede for Kinky Boots. The drag was fierce. But I'd rather Matilda got it, if only for the wonderfully creepy costume for Bertie Carvel's Miss Truchbull. Cinderella looked great but it was standard fairy tale fare. And the Pippin costumes were, from what I can recall, Tony Walton hand-me-downs.
Best
Direction of a Musical
- Scott Ellis, The Mystery of Edwin Drood
- Jerry Mitchell, Kinky Boots
- Diane Paulus, Pippin
- Matthew Warchus, Matilda
Missing: Hands on a Hardbody, Bring It On, A Christmas Story, Chaplin, Scandalous, Annie, Motown, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Jekyll & Hyde
Deserves to Win: Matthew Warchus
Will Win: Matthew Warchus
My Take: Jerry Mitchell didn't direct Kinky Boots; he serves as traffic warden, and not a very good one. Paulus's new circus concept for Pippin was uninspired. Ellis took the dross of Drood and made it into a lively joy. But I think that, after the disaster that was Ghost, the Tony voters are glad to have the wonderful Matthew Warchus back in such fine form.
Best
Choreography
- Andy Blankenbuehler, Bring It On
- Peter Darling, Matilda
- Jerry Mitchell, Kinky Boots
- Chet Walker, Pippin
Missing: Annie, Chaplin, A Christmas Story, Motown, Hands on a Hardbody, Scandalous, The Mystery of Edwin Drood
Deserves to Win: Matilda
Will Win: Matilda
My Take: This one is genuinely a tough call. I think the momentum could either lead to Pippin or Matilda, but I'm going with Matilda. Bring It On is long gone, and Mitchell's work on Kinky Boots is lively but pedestrian.
The 2012 Tony Award Winners - My Take
That was my first thought when I got home Sunday night and saw the results of the 66th Annual Tony Awards. I didn't watch the show live, because I was attending a concert that night, but when I fired up my iPad and saw who won, I got a sort of warm feeling in my heart, as a result of years of cynicism and outright disdain for the Tony Awards suddenly melting.
I'm certainly not the only one to feel cynical about the Tonys, but it's gotten to the point where I'd just as soon go to a concert on the night of the Tony Awards as stay home and watch them live. I won't recount all the various charges against the Tonys over the past few years, but suffice it to say that Tony Awards don't always go to the shows and the people who genuinely deserve them, but rather to the shows that people have a vested interest in promoting. For instance, the show that wins Best Musical is usually not the best musical per se, but rather the one that simply has the best chance of making money on the road. Notable exceptions occurred last year with The Book of Mormon and in 2004 with Avenue Q, and, thankfully, this year.
What follows is my take on a number of the major awards of the evening. But before I get to that, just a note about the one glaring blemish on Tony's otherwise recovering complexion this year: that ridiculous number from the Royal Caribbean production of Hairspray. Why was it there? Because Royal Caribbean was a sponsor of the TV broadcast. As Vanity Fair put it, this only served to prove that "the Tonys have descended bow first into product-placement hell." Never mind that the performers were non-Equity, and that Equity itself was getting a special award on the same broadcast. (Cue: face-palm) But the fact that the Theater Wing is bending over to accommodate an advertiser is frankly appalling. What's worse is that, because the Hairspray segment took up valuable air-time, something had to go. And you know what went? The "In Memoriam" segment paying tribute to the members of the theater community who passed away during the past year. Yeah, I know. Sort of adds egregious insult to embarrassing injury, doesn't it?
Now let's take things award by award. Not every award, mind you, just the ones about which I have something to say. Click through the links on each show name to read my reviews.
Best Musical
Leap of Faith
Newsies
Nice Work If You Can Get It
*Once
MY TAKE: The biggest upset since Avenue Q beat out Wicked, and in both situations the better show won. I'm so genuinely gratified that Once came out the big winner this year, garnering 8 awards in total. I think lots of people, myself included, were expecting a Newsies sweep. And, don't get me wrong, Newsies is a ton of fun, but Once is tender, honest, real, moving, and a ton of other warm and fuzzy adjectives. Perhaps the Tony voters have been listening to the feedback over the years and decided that they needed to do something to restore credibility.
Best Actress in a Musical
Jan Maxwell, Follies
*Audra McDonald, Porgy and Bess
Cristin Milioti, Once
Kelli O’Hara, Nice Work If You Can Get It
Laura Osnes, Bonnie & Clyde
MY TAKE: I would love to have seen this one go to Jan Maxwell in Follies. Audra is terrific in Porgy and Bess, but she already had four Tonys. Yeah, awards shouldn't really be about the past, only the present, but Jan Maxwell rocks in everything she's in, and I'd love to see her get some love one of these seasons.
Best Actress in a Play
*Nina Arianda, Venus in Fur
Tracie Bennett, End of the Rainbow
Stockard Channing, Other Desert Cities
Linda Lavin, The Lyons
Cynthia Nixon, Wit
MY TAKE: I'm so glad this went to Nina Arianda in Venus in Fur. She one of the most appealing, animated, layered, and energetic actresses I've ever seen, and she's simply a force of nature in Venus in Fur. Word on the street had this award possibly going to Tracie Bennett in End of the Rainbow, and make no mistake Bennett is terrific. But I would have been disappointed if the Tony voters had gone for Bennett's flashy Judy Garland impersonation over Arianda's equally flashy but far more nuanced performance.
Best Actor in a Play
*James Corden, One Man, Two Guvnors
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Death of a Salesman
James Earl Jones, The Best Man
Frank Langella, Man and Boy
John Lithgow, The Columnist
MY TAKE: Another upset. The smart money had this one going to Phillip Seymour Hoffman, a known Hollywood and stage quantity, but thankfully the Tony voters were more impressed by James Corden's virtuosic hamminess in One Man, Two Guvnors. I saw the play twice, and I will forever treasure the sheer joy that Corden was able to impart through this farcical, physical work of unadulterated silliness.
Best Actor in a Musical
Danny Burstein, Follies
Jeremy Jordan, Newsies
*Steve Kazee, Once
Norm Lewis, Porgy and Bess
Ron Raines, Follies
MY TAKE: Danny Burstein is another Broadway stalwart who, like Jan Maxwell, deserves a Tony one of these days. But Steve Kazee is a understated marvel in Once, a smoldering and sympathetic presence who can also bust out a killer indie-rock wail that sent shivers down my spine both times I saw the show. A genuinely moving and memorable performance.
Best Revival of a Musical
Evita
Follies
*Porgy and Bess
Jesus Christ Superstar
MY TAKE: Another surprise, given the season-long controversy about Porgy and Bess, and the nearly universal love for Follies. I think this one might come down to the classically short memories that Tony voters often have, as Follies closed at the beginning of the year, and Porgy and Bess is still running. I really enjoyed Porgy and Bess, all three times I saw it, so this upset is by no means distressing to me.
Best Original Score
Bonnie & Clyde
*Newsies
One Man, Two Guvnors
Peter and the Starcatcher
MY TAKE: No surprise, and really no contest, although I'm a huge fan of the songs in One Man, Two Guvnors, and have the cast recording on regular rotation on my iPod. But it is nice to see Alan Menken get his first Tony, especially after the heartbreak of Leap of Faith closing so (IMHO) prematurely.
Best Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical
Elizabeth A. Davis, Once
Jayne Houdyshell, Follies
*Judy Kaye, Nice Work If You Can Get It
Jessie Mueller, On A Clear Day You Can See Forever
Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Ghost
Best Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical
Phillip Boykin, Porgy and Bess
Michael Cerveris, Evita
David Alan Grier, Porgy and Bess
*Michael McGrath, Nice Work If You Can Get It
Josh Young, Jesus Christ Superstar
MY TAKE: I was thrilled to see Judy Kaye and Michael McGrath receive recognition for their hilarious work in Nice Work If You Can Get It. The show is a wonderful piece of throwback fluff, made especially delightful by the presence of these two Broadway pros.
Best Choreography
Rob Ashford, Evita
*Christopher Gattelli, Newsies
Steven Hoggett, Once
Kathleen Marshall, Nice Work If You Can Get It
MY TAKE: This one was a bit disappointing to me. Gatelli's work on Newsies is certainly impressive, not to mention omnipresent. But watching the dance numbers in Newsies reminded me too much of the American propensity toward finding things that are bigger, louder, higher, longer, and more expensive impressive simply for the sake of it. I would like to have seen this award go to either Kathleen Marshall, or preferably Steve Hoggett for his simple but wonderfully effective movement in Once.
Best Direction of a Musical - *John Tiffany, Once
Best Book of a Musical - *Enda Walsh, Once
Best Sound Design of a Musical - *Clive Goodwin, Once
Best Orchestrations - *Martin Lowe, Once
Best Lighting Design of a Musical - *Natasha Katz, Once
Best Scenic Design of a Musical - *Bob Crowley, Once
MY TAKE: On the whole, this passel of awards is really what made me happy about the Tonys this year. The Tony voters made smart choices rather than safe ones. They opted for dramatically purposeful work rather than work that was self-consciously labor-intensive and noticeably expensive. John Tiffany's direction was wonderfully heartfelt and evocative. Enda Walsh's book was spare but a marvel of economy. The sound, lighting and set for Once weren't flashy at all, but instead created this marvelous milieu in which the richness of the characterizations could shine. And the orchestrations were ingenious, and not only brought idiomatic sound to the show, but also made an asset of the potential liability of relying exclusively on the actor-musicians in the show's rather small cast.
So, on the whole, a really solid year for the Tonys. Will this usher in a new wave of quality and integrity in Tony voting? Or will the voters simply return to rewarding shows that are obvious crowd-pleasers and/or likely money-makers? Stay tuned.