Quiet Week

Well hello there. As the title says, it's been a quiet week. There hasn't been much happening in the world of theatre lately. It's the post post-Tony's-bloodbath lull. I've still got Shenandoah on my mind, that was such an awesome show. I've been listening to the cast recording all week. Hopefully it'll get a new life on Broadway sometime in the not too distant future, it really deserves it, and I think it would be just as much, if not more, relevant today than it was in 1975 and could easily find an audience. A week from tomorrow I see Gorey Stories at Theatre on the Lake, and a week from Sunday my companion and I are trekking out to Oakbrook for It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's Superman. Superman got good reviews from both the Trib and Sun-Times, but while both were positive, neither were overtly enthusiastic. They did both say that Superman in tights is quite an eyeful, and that's enough for me!

The one recurring national story this week has been the preparation of Young Frankenstein for Broadway. Other than Sutton Foster, it's got quite a cast; Shuler Hensley (who sang the part of the monster on the Frankenstein: The Musical CD), Roger Bart, and, best of all, Megan Mullally. It's too bad they couldn't corral all this talent for a better project. At least I liked Young Frankenstein the movie better than The Producers the movie, so maybe the musical will turn out to be worthwhile, but for now it still seems at least partly like a cynical money grab. With this cast though, I'll probably for sure pick up the cast recording and then decide from there if it will be worth seeing or not. With my luck, Megan would be out the day I go anyways.

Speaking of cast recordings, even though the offical Broadway recording of Grey Gardens was released at the end of March, how come it's not in any stores or on amazon.com? Everyone's still only carrying the Off-Broadway recording. Curious. I would think there's be a rush on the Broadway one after the Tony's, and especially with the news that Mary Louise Wilson will not be renewing her contract and playing her last performance in just a couple of weeks. However, while that one still remains out of my hands, I went to BMG today to decline my featured selection (Corrine Bailey Rae, ugh), and as usual browsed through all the cast recordings. I have most of them, and don'twant most of the ones that I don't, but quite a few of the middle-ground ones are on clearance, so I picked those up, it won't cost much if I don't like them, and will be a great deal if I do. I ordered Brigadoon, Ain't Misbehavin' (there should be a law that Tony Winning Best Musicals should never go out of print, except for Jersey Boys which could disappear tomorrow for all I care), and the 2002 revival of Man of La Mancha with Brian Stokes Mitchell (I've got most of the Richard Kiley tracks on various compilations, so it will be nice to compare another performer, and since BSM did such a great job in Ragtime and Kiss Me Kate, I'm sure he'll be excellent here, and I love Mary Elizabeth Mastrontonio). Hopefully I should be getting them in about a week.

So, that is all. If anything happens this week, I'll be sure to mention it, otherwise look for my reviews next weekend. Oh, and all thoughts and prayers go out to Beverly Sills, it's quite a blow for this to happen so suddenly.

Shenandoah

Usually when something gets a lot of hype, it fails to live up to it (Pulp Fiction, The Lion King, etc.), but this was not the case with Shenandoah. What a fabulous show!!! Director David H. Bell knew how to use the space perfectly. Most productions I've seen at the Marriott Lincolnshire have utilized the aisles just as much as the stage itself for performance space, but other than the train sequence, which was perfectly suited for the aisle, they were able to keep the action fully on the stage, and this confinement made it much more intimate and affecting. The cast was all top notch, but of course the star was David Hess, as Charlie Anderson, the head of the Anderson family, played by Jimmy Stewart in the movie. He had a fabulous voice and was able to play tender, tough, angry, reflective, all at the drop of a hat. It was a masterful performance and he was totally deserving of the solo curtain call he got at the end. The program notes state that he is going to follow this up with the national tour of Sweeney Todd, playing Sweeney, and I wish to god the producers would change their mind and schedule a Chicago stop, I would LOVE to see him in that role. The rest of the cast was just as entertaining, lots of eye candy, particularly Galen Schloming and Christian Libonati as the middle sons, and Stephen Schelhardt as the daughter's love interest. The best number of the show was Next to Lovin' I Like Fightin', all the testosterone on the stage dancing around was quite a sight to behold. All the songs were well done, from the gradually rousing opening number, the gorgeous We Make a Beautiful Pair/Violets and Silverbells, and the emotionally overpowering ending, Pass the Cross to Me. The script stuck very close to the movie, which makes sense since the screenwriter was part of the scriptwriting team, although in order to make the running time more manageable, several important events happen offstage at the end of the first act and throughout the second act (boy's abduction, the visit to the prison camp, the homecoming and meeting with the doctor, and all of boy's adventures after his escape). Fortunately, unlike South Pacific in which the offstage events are the most important, the story survives these cuts and moves nicely along without leaving the audience feeling like it missed something, although the ending does feel even more undeserved, but the cast handles it nicely. As I stated earlier, there is one important change between the movie and the musical, and after seeing it play out, I'm able to go with it better than I thought I would. It does help drive home the anti-war message more, although the show really is not as anti-war as earlier reviews made it sound like, although it definitely is not as pro-war as the movie ended up being (not that the movie was really that pro-war, but it could be interpreted as being so). It's a very personal story of one family's experience with war, and it's left to each individual audience member to draw their own broader conclusions. I believe this is the last weekend of the production, so I can't really keep promoting it, but if you're in the area and don't have plans, I highly recommend it. It's great to have a Broadway-quality theatre doing older Broadway shows (or even newer shows that may not ever get done anywhere else, according to the program, they've done Annie Warbucks, Chess, 70 Girls 70, and the Goodbye Girl, hopefully they'll all get revivals sometime soon, along with Grand Hotel and The Will Rogers Follies) that we may never get a chance to see like this otherwise.

Pre-Show

Well, here I am sitting in the Marriott waiting for showtime. I just had dinner at the King's Wharf restaurant, and while I was not greeted by any loyal readers, it was still a wonderful experience. First of all, they obviously know the importance of having attractive help. I had a very cute waiter (hi Alex!), who was also very professional. Most restaurants stick solo diners in a corner somewhere and rush them through dinner because they don't want them bringing the rest of their patrons down, and while I was in a slightly out of the way spot (perhaps that's why no one came to see me?), I was not rushed at all. The dinner was fantastic. I had the New York strip which was excellent, but it was the dessert that really clinched it. It was a rich chocolate bundt cake with a raspberry drizzle, and it was so good. I caved and had a glass of wine, although I stuck to white in the hopes that it wouldn't make me so sleepy, and on top of the rich food, I am now very sleepy. I did have coffee and am walking around the resort, so I should be a little more refreshed by the time the show starts. Fortunately its only about two hours including intermission, so I should get through it just fine and get home and go to bed. I'll try to check back at intermission, but if I run out of time, look for my full thoughts, and possibly a naughty dream about Alex, tomorrow.

Catching Up

Well, it's been a long week. After all that writing about the Tony's, I needed a bit of a break. However, that certainly doesn't mean that nothing happened since Monday.

First of all, you may remember that last Tuesday, the 5th, both Curtains and 110 were supposed to be released, but at the last minute 110 was pushed back to this past Tuesday, the 12th. So, I decided to wait until then to go pick up both of them at once so I wouldn't have to make 2 trips. Bad call Last week, when I did an inventory search, every Borders had Curtains in stock. Well, it must have had the best first week sales of any cast album ever, because when I did an inventory search on Tuesday, no Borders had it in stock. Then, when I searched for 110, it only pulled up the old original casgt recording, there was no record of the new recording. Now, this normally wouldn't be a problem, except I had a rewards gift certificate to use, so I really needed to go to Borders and not Barnes and Noble. However, I was also planning on getting my Dad a book on gardening for Father's Day, and the Borders in Evanston had it in stock, while the Mt. Prospect Borders, that I usually go to, did not. So, I went to B&N's website, and sure enough the Evanston store had both Curtains and 110. So, at lunch I headed out for what I thought would be a 40 minute trip or so. Complete miscalculation. There was a massive power outage in downtown Evanston, resulting in every traffic light becoming a 4 way stop. It took fucking forever just to get into Evanston, and then with the fucked up way their streets are designed, I kept going around in fucking circles looking for a parking space, but unable to find one, and no matter which way I turned, I kept ending up back in DT Evanston, going through the fucked up interesections with non-working lights. I swear to god if I ever have to go through the interesection of Benton & Davis ever again, I will fucking kill someone. So, after about 30 minutes of this circling, I finally bent my moral standards and pulled into a garage. Finally I caught my first break, the first hour was free, and I certainly wasn't planning on being there that long. However, the damn garage was almost totally full (because everyone else was sick of the fucking nonworking traffic lights and ulled in there as well), and it took me almost 15 minutes to get a spot and get out. I went to Borders first and got the book for my dad and then checked out the CD section, just for fun, and what do you know? They had about 10 copies of 110 on the shelf, as well as both the Women's and Men's Broadway Scene Stealers CD'S. A note to Borders: you will make you customers so much happier if your online inventory search would accurately reflect what you carry. They did not have Curtains though, but I picked up 110 and checked out. I then went to B&N and picked up Curtains, which looked like it was their last one. After all this trouble, I expect to see it on Billboard's top 200 chart next week. Then, after all the trouble, I had to give myself a treat, so I browsed through the section, and they actually had the original London Cast double CD recording of Starlight Express. I'm not talking about the new, re-orchestrated release, I'm talking about the late '80's, packed in the thick 2 CD case, orignal recording with full synth orchestrations. I had had my eye on that for so long when I was in high school, but never actually bought it since double CD's were so expensive then, and then it disappeared, and was only recently replaced by the updated version, but the new orchestrations are lacking in the cheesy fun, so I was thrilled to find this relic and snatched it up I checked out, got my car, and returned to work almost 2 and a half hours after I left. It was totally worth it though, all the CD's are great, especially 110. I'm thrilled also to hear Frances Rufelle on the Starlight CD, although I thought Sarah Brightman had been in the original cast, but she is not listed. Still, it is so great to finally have it.

So then on Wednesday I get an email from the Queen Mum, stating "I hear there's this show about the Four Seasons that's coming to town. Is there any chance we can see that, I love the Four Seasons." So, it looks like I'm getting roped into going to Jersy Boys. You'll be able to read all the bitching as it happens, at least I've got time to steel myself, we won't be going until January.

Before that happens, another much more enjoyable group of boys are coming back to Chicago this fall; Altar Boyz is coming back, this time to the Drury Lane Water Tower. I missed it last time because they were here when I was in Europe, but this time I am dragging everyone I know to the show, it is so aswesome.

We're also getting another Broadway show, but it will be a local production About Face Theatre will be doing The Little Dog Laughed in January and February of next year. I haven't seen anything in their new space, in fact the last production of theirs I saw was Bash, quite a few years ago, I am so overdue to see something there. Hopefully they'll have the guy who played Nathan in Dream Boy take the naked role, I would so pay to see that.

Congratulations to Danielle Brothers, winner of the Jeff Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Musical for her hilarious portrayal of Comrade Ada in Flora the Red Menace. She was won of the few winners not to have to share the award with a co-winner. Fiorello! and Side Show tied for Best Musical, I'm glad I got tickets for Side Show and will be sure to catch Fiorello! this time around. However, I still haven't gotten any offers for my Most Happy Fella ticket, let's get on that people!

Lastly, Company will be closing on Broadway on July 1, I'm glad I got my chance to see it.

Next up, Shenandoah on Thursday at the Marriott Lincolnshire, hopefully I will see some of my loyal readers there.

Jerry Final Thoughts

So, I've had Jerry Springer TO going through my head all day. As I said yesterday, it is a simply phenomenal show. The music is more operatic than showtune-ish, and the singers carry it off well. As the show starts, cast members are sprinkled throughout the audience, and after the warmup act, they all start singing, and get up and walk towards the stage. One note of caution: just because the cast members are singing while in the audience does NOT mean that it is an audience sing-along. They get rather grumpy if you try that. Despite the language, it's very clear that this is an opera, although it's very unlikely that we'll ever see it on the Lyric's stage. The 29 member cast carries it off well, singing and dancing to perfection. The story is fairly straightforward, although a couple scenes made me feel like I had missed something earlier, particularly when the warmup act is fired (supposedly it was because he couldn't control the audience, but I never got that, the fight between him and Jerry seemed somewhat contrived because of that), and in the last act, I think I missed something in the exchange between Jesus and Satan. However, the story still works very well, mostly because they cast is top-level talent. Of particular mention are Kate Garassino as a wanna-be pole dancer married to a closet KKK member in the first act, and as Eve, mother of all mankind in the third act, and Jeremy Rill as the warmup man in the first act and Satan in the third act. Brian Simmons as Jerry himself was almost perfect. While Jerry Springer is actually fairly small in person (yes, I have to admit, I have been to a taping, but it was a couple years before his total slide into trashy smut, there was still an ever so slender thread of, if not respectability, at least at least a state of not completely trashiness) and Brian is somewhat larger, the size worked, Jerry was a fairly imposing figure, intent on self-promotion even as he used his cue cards as an excuse to avoid responsibility for the culture his show creates. I also have to mention dancer/chorus member D. Eric Woolweber, who was in Flora last summer, who always commands the stage, even as a background figure, he's got quite a career in front of him. The overall theme is somewhat hard to decipher, I'm still working on it, but it seems to reserve judgement while still rebuking Jerry and the culture that worships him. I have to take the whole "everything is nothing" theme that the chorus, as the show's audience, comes to, as being sarcastic and not serious at all, otherwise there's a huge problem. Anyways, the singing is wonderful, the dancing (choreographed by Brenda Didier) is superb, and the whole show, directed by David Zac, is so worth seeing, and hopefully opens up a whole new era for the Bailiwick. Next up, Philip Glass at Ravinia on Wednesday.

Final moments

Well that was totally worth the wait. Now, with about 3 minutes to go it's time for the top award. And Spring Awakening wins, I have never been so glad to be wrong. So I'm 15 and 10 with my predictions, although, many of my Who Deserves To Win picks ended up winning, so I must have tapped into something. Now, let's get The Visit and Nightingale to Broadway. So, the big losers of the night were Coram Boy, LoveMusik, and thank God, Legally Blonde. So this is the first sweep since Hairspray, with Spring Awakening winning the same number as Hairspray: 8. It's been a few years since that's happened. Now why do they rush everyone off to bring the broadcast in on time when they'll let the Oscars, Grammy's and even the Emmy's go as long as they feel like? Theatre gets now respect, I guess that's why I'm drawn to it. So, a much better year than last year. While the most deserving musical didn't win, at least a damn good one still won. Finally, I'd like to thank St. Julian's Sparkling Peach Spumante for making my night so much more enjoyable. Good night, and look for my final thoughts on Jerry tomorrow.

Now, for real

Oh I am so thrilled for David Hyde Pierce, and what a great speech. As long as Laura Bell Bundy doesn't win, this year is going to be so much better than last year. Ok, we don't care about Usher, Ben, he couldn't even fulfill his contract. Stop talking about each other and get on with it. And the winner is. . . YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! CHRISTINE WINS!!!!!!!!!!! BTW, did anyone else notice that Usher pronounced the nominee from 110 as Audrey McDonald? Not a good sign. But she's still got plenty of time to get a leading win.

The Big Moment

The SA performance was really good, it made me remember the good parts of the show after the not so good parts have been stuck in my mind for a while now. I'm thrilled they did Totally Fucked. That is one of the best songs of the show. Now, they've promised Best Leading Actress in a Musical after the commercial break, let's hurry up and get to it.

Oh Jesus, quit wasting time. I love Fantasia, but The Color Purple was last year's show, we don't need another performance from it, The Alliance Theatre already had their moment, the committee chose to relegate them to the pre-broadcast slot, they should stick with their decision and get on to what we're all waiting for.

Ok, this is the moment, Bernadette and Harvey announce that, oh wait a minute, now they're announcing Best Actor, shenanigans!!!!!!! They said they were doing Actress after the break. Oh well, the actor is. . . YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The last minute miracle ocurred, David Hyde Pierce won for Curtains!!!!!!!!!!

Catching Up

Ok, they haven't gotten to Best Actress yet, but there's a lot to catch up on. First, after years of the tottering heads of the theatre wing presenting the geriatric face of theatre to tbe world, this was a great way to get through the slow part of the Tony's. But, I would kill to know what John Mahoney said as they were heading offstage. From the way he started, it didn't seem like he was about to utter a phrased that was censorship worthy, but apparently someone thought so. Then, I got another wrong when Julie White won Best Actress in a Play, but I got more rights with Michael Mayer, Journey's End, Company, and Frank Langella willing Director, Revival of a Play and Musical, and Best Actor. Sneaky, sneaky, the producers found a way to get performances from LoveMusik and Blonde in after all in the recap of the year, there's going to be some catfights tomorrow. It was very classy of Patti to show up to introduce Company, but was she high? Phylicia Rashad appeared as high as she did when she won Best Actress a few years ago, and what was she wearing?

Breaking back into current events again, Utopia just won Best Play, I'm 14 and 8 now.

They also showed the first commercial I've seen for the Hairspray movie, it's been moved up a week to July 20, and those of you reading my blog know all about that day. I guess I'll be seeing it Saturday morning. I also just realized that barring a last minute miracle, Curtains is going to be the second Kander & Ebb new show in a row to be completely shut out. They seem to have better luck the second time around with most of their shows. So, on to the rest of the show, with the Spring Awakening performance. Oh, BTW, Christine was awesome in the Grey Gardens performance and she got a great reception, it could still happen.

Break Time

Well I've got 2 more in the correct column; Jack O'Brien as Best Director for Utopia and Jay Johnson The Two and Only for Best Special Theatrical Event. My battery is starting to go, so I'm going to take a short break and plug my phone in for a while (it's been easier to send email posts as I sit here in front of the TV than to sit at the computer and watch the show from across two rooms). I'll fold some laundry, let the phone recharge and I'll see you when we get to Best Leading Actress.

It's a tie

No, not the award, I am now up to 7 and 7 with my predictions. With Best Featured Actress in a play, I got the right show but the wrong performer, it was Jennifer Ehle for Utopia. Wow, Mark Indelicato really is playing himself on Ugly Betty. Now a peak at the show that will win the big one, time for a champagne refill.

Who's Got The Pain

Well that must have hurt, David Hyde Pierce had to give the Best Choreography award to Spring Awakening, but it was nice to see Bebe Neuwirth. Now if only I could see her in a full show.

Scoring a win

And it's one wrong and one right. Spring got Best Score, and now musical theatre rocks, according to Duncan. Ok, you've won, you don't have to kiss ass anymore. Duncan's got a bit of a Pierce Brosnan thing going on, he's looking good. The last time I saw him perform, at Market Days, he looked like he was homeless. Then, in the wrong column, but oh so nice to see, was Mary Louise Wilson winning Best Featured Actress, and giving the best acceptance speech since 1991. How about Audra's performance. Christine's competiton is more formidable than I thought. Wouldn't it be ironic if Mary goes home with the award and Christine goes away empty handed? It would certainly change the marketing plan, but might actually heighten act 2's dramatic tension. It looks like I won't be seeing 110 after all, which is too bad, after this performance I'd love to see the whole thing, but at least I've got Audra and Patti to look forward to in August at Ravinia (btw, I did get the Heather Headley ticket and MHF dress rehearsal ticket. Ok, get Bloomberg off the screen).

Breather

Well ok, I thought they were going to go into the Best Score award, they usually don't separate them, but instead they went into the Curtains performance. That must have been hard, losing what was their chance at an award, but there's still choreography. Great job, I remember how much I loved the show, can't wait to pick up the album on Tuesday. I'm also liking how they're bringing out performers to do the teasers for the performances, if they can't have a host, at least they're acting like a theatre awards show and not the Golden Globes.

Penance

Well the trend has been broken, Spring Awakening got Best Book. Surprisingly, Curtains got the least applause out of the 4 nominees. Stephen's definitely making amends with his speech, so so proud to be part of the theater community and all. My wrongs are catching up to my rights. Let's see how I do with score.

Next

As always, Vanessa Williams is gorgeous. Best Featured Actor in a musical is John Gallagher Jr, another correct. Totally deserving, much better than the start to last year's awards. Wow, his real voice sounds exactly like it does on stage. I'm so happy for him, I almost feel like I won. Whbat's with the "friend" Seth? Did he just kind of come out in that Showbiz way? And now a teaser for Curtains, and more champagne for me.

Another Opening

Good call having the opening number be one of the nominated shows, gets one performance down and is much better than last year's bleachers of presenters on the stage. Notice that Audra got more applause than Christine, a foreshadowing of things to come? Why isn't Angela Lansbury getting a standing ovation? Well, if she can't pronounce Neil Patrick Harris's name correctly maybe she doesn't deserve it. And the first televised award is Featured Actor in a play. And another mark in the wrong column, it's Billy Crudup, I should have seen it, he's another theatre favorite. Ok, time to go pop the champagne open while he makes his speech.

Another for the Correct Column

And Poppins won Best Scenic Design, giving Bob Crowley 3 out of a possible 4, still not bad, and it keeps Poppins in the game.  And the show is starting, catch ya later.

Tech Update

Well, it's going to be an interesting evening.  As of 6:50, I am 4 and 2 with my predictions.  I correctly predicted Orchestrations (Duncan Sheik for Spring Awakening) and all 3 tech awards for Utopia (Costume Design, Lighting Design, and Scenic Design).  In the wrong column, Grey Gardens (YEA!!!) Got Best Costume Design, and Spring Awakening got Best Lighting Design.  Not such a good night for Bob Crowley after all, although he's still got one more chance.  Poppins could still take it though, Wicked won tech awards as did Light in the Piazza and we all know how those turned out.

More Guilt After These Messages

39 Minutes to go until the awards. I'm about to check the website for the tech award updates and will post what I find out. I just got back from Jerry Springer The Opera, and wow! what an experience! I'm going to wait until tomorrow to post my full review, for a couple of reasons. First, as has been mentioned many times in the press already, this is the biggest show in Bailiwick's history, and they rise to the occasion marvelously. I don't want their moment to get overshadowed by the Tony's, so I'm going to do the awards now and then get back to Jerry when I have the time to fully devote to giving everyone involved their due. Second of all, while it is a fantastic show, I am still collecting my thoughts and trying to decide if it is something truly revolutionary or a new packing of an existing concept/theme/product. Either way it is a fantastic show and worth seeing immediately, and more than once. Hopefully when I'm in London in October I can track down a recording. Now, on to the winners and losers!

The Big Ones

Well, here we are. It's been a fun week, expounding on my predictions and thoughts, but this is it. Just about 51 hours to go and we'll see how I did.

Best Special Theatrical Event
Who Will Win: Otherwise known as the "Does anyone really care?" category, this award will go to Jay Johnson: The Two And Only. This category was created in 2001 as a response to Contact winning Best Musical when it didn't feature any original music or any singing. It started off strong with Elaine Stritch taking home her first (and so far only) Tony with this category, but lately it doesn't seem to matter so much. Last year Chita got classified as a musical even though it was the kind of show this category was created to recognize, and this year while Martin Short doesn't show up anywhere (although that's a good thing, the more I listen to the CD the more I'm disappointed), Brooks Ashmanskas was nominated for Best Featured Actor for his performance in the show, indicating that the committee was also treating it like a musical. It may be time to put this category back to bed, maybe they can create a Best Jukebox Musical or Best Musical Based On A Popular Movie Created Solely To Rake In Cash so that crap like Jersey Boys and Legally Blonde don't take up space in the Best Musical category and leave it open for real shows.
Who Should Win: I don't really care, but Kiki & Herb have a strong Chicago connection, so it would be nice to see them take this, plus they're a little more non-traditional than Jay Johnson, so it would be a nice upset.

Best Revivial of A Play
Who Will Win: Journey's End. This is one of the stronger areas of consensus among the prognosticators, and while it didn't do terrific business, there was a good deal of fondness for it which I think will show through Sunday night.
Who Should Win: I can't say since I haven't seen any of them, but as long as Inherit The Wind doesn't win, I'm happy. I'm really just over that show, I'm not sure why, but I am, and it's not just this revival, it's the movie, the made for TV movie, and now this. I know it's even more relevant now than it was when it was first written, but it doesn't grab my attention.

Best Revival Of A Musical
Who Will Win: As a proxy for Sweeney Todd, Company will walk away with this one. Last year there was at least some speculation that Pajama Game could win, although even the people who admitted to the possibility still said there's no way the voters could have that little taste and still thought that Sweeney would win. Well, look how that turned out. Many voters were furious (although they didn't really have anyone else to blame), and this year there hasn't been any discussion about any of the other three nominees having any sort of chance. Company's already picked up Best Revival from just about everyone else, I think it's got the momentum to go all the way.
Who Should Win: It's harder to say since I've only seen Company (although I may get to see 110 next week, stay tuned), and while I wasn't wowed by it, I would like to see it win. However, it would also be nice to see The Apple Tree win since it's the biggest underdog, but I don't think this is its year.
Who Should Have Been Nominated: Now I had thought that both A Chorus Line and Les Miz had been ruled ineligible because they were recreations of the original shows, not revivals done with major artistic changes. So, I was very surprised when A Chorus Line showed up in this category, and now I'm wondering why Les Miz didn't. While I love Audra, the word of mouth on 110 is that it's not that great, so I would have thought Les Miz would have been a lock for a nomination instead.
Who Should Not Have Been Nominated: Despite my comment about 110, I'm going to save judgement for this call until after I see more. It's too late for Apple Tree, but hopefully I'll get to the other two sometime this summer.

Best Play
Who Will Win: I'm still going with The Coast Of Utopia here. However, in this category and Best Musical, not only do the regular Tony voters get to vote, the regional theatre owners also get to vote, which is why there is so much discrepancy more years than not between the show that gets the most awards (Light in the Piazza, Beauty Queen of Lenane, The Drowsey Chaperone) and the show that takes the top award (Spamalot, Art, Jersey Boys). The owners generally vote for the show they think will make the best tour because it will make it easier for them to promote a show that comes in as a Best Play/Musical winner, and so if the New York vote is split between shows, the owners can propel one of them or a dark horse to the podium, and it could happen here tonight, in both the Play and Musical categories. Looking at the plays, Utopia would be almost impossible to tour. It's three shows with the same cast, it would either have to play each city for 3-6 months at a time, or start the tour with the first play, then two years later, end that tour and do the second play, and a few years later, end that one and do the final play. It probably doesn't have much of a life outside of Broadway. Frost/Nixon on the other hand is a short, 90 minute, 2 person show, perfect for regional owners to fill their houses and maximize their profit. If the New York vote splits between Utopia and F/N, which it very well could, both shows were highly loved and it's a tough decision for many voters which to support, the owners could unite behind Frost/Nixon and propel it to a win to give the tour some momentum. However, given Utopia's artistic achievements and the momentum its shown so far, I think the New York vote will stick with it and send it home with the top prize. The Little Dog Laughed and Radio Golf really have almost no chance. Golf might since it's August Wilson's last play, but generally, "ethnic" shows don't do well at the Tony's (the mid 70's run of Raisin, The Wiz, and Ain't Misbehavin notwithstanding), and I don't think it's been able to garner enough attention away from Utopia and F/N.
Who Should Win: Since I haven't seen any of them, I can't say, although it would be so nice to see The Little Dog Laughed take this one. It had a great cast and sounded like a good story, and the critics liked it, I don't know why it didn't find an audience, it would be nice for some posthumous recognition.

Best Musical
Who Will Win: And, the most eagerly anticipated award of the night will go to. . . Mary Poppins. Yes, you read that right, and I am not being sarcastic and cynical here. There was an article on playbill.com this morning about plans for a tour, and this is the only one of the four that could play any market with a minimum of costly publicity and pull in audiences. Curtains could do a decent run, but would have to really invest in publicity, and Grey Gardens and Spring Awakening would turn off as many people as enjoyed it. There's a lot of noise that Spring Awakening will win this one, but I think the NY vote will split between it and Grey Gardens, and allow Poppins to rise to the top with the owners' votes. It's the same reason Jersey Boys beat Drowsey Chaperone, Spamalot beat Light In The Piazza (Avenue Q won due to a lot of one-time extenuating circumstances, but its deal with Wynn to not tour pissed off the regional owners and they're not going to get sweet-talked by an ambitious underdog again), Thoroughly Modern Millie beat Urinetown, The Producers beat The Full Monty (albeit having swept all the categories), Contact beat Parade, and The Lion King beat Ragtime, and Sunset Boulevard beat Smokey Joe's Cafe. In fact, you'd have to go back to 1993-94 when Passion beat Beauty and the Beast to find the last time a show with impeccable artistic merit beat out the flashier tour friendly show, and in that case, the NY establishment was firmly behind Passion, there was nothing else to split the vote. Lastly, as I mentioned yesterday, the producers of the Tony's decided to announce the tech awards off camera before the ceremony. Since Poppins is a lock to win all of them but none of the other ones, this move only serves to keep it out of view during the ceremony, making its win a very dramatic, surprising moment, which the Tony's would love. It would give the newspapers something to write about and thrust Broadway into the public eye, even if only for a day, something that hasn't happened since Rosie O'Donnell hosted two ceremonies serveral years ago. I really, really, really hope to God I'm wrong about this, but given the Tony's recent history, I think it's going to happen.
Who Should Win: Grey Gardens. While I also loved Curtains and enjoyed Spring Awakening, GG is one of the greatest shows I have ever seen. Everything about it is so perfect, it completely captured my attention and I didn't want it to end. It even made me forget that I was sick while I was watching it. It is one of the most creative shows to hit Broadway in a long time and I'd love for it to win.
Who Should Have Been Nominated: Really, I can't think of anyone else. Poppins is the most undeserving, but there really wasn't anything else more deserving. Sentimentally I would have preferred to see LoveMusik in the fourth slot, but word of mouth on it is tepid, and The Pirate Queen isn't any more deserving of a nomination than Poppins, and High Fidelity, Legally Blonde, Martin Short, and The Times They Are A'Changin are all out of the question. It actually probably would have behooved the committee just to nominate the trifecta and avoid any potential embarassment, which will happen if Poppins does win, although it wouldn't be as bad as if they had nominated Blonde and that turned out to win. Actually, there are pervasive rumors that several nominating committee members had announced their affection for Blonde, and the non-committee voters really twisted their arms to get them to nominate Poppins instead because they knew the regional owners would push Legally Blonde to a win and no-one wanted that to happen, the Tony's would be instantly irrelevant forever.
Who Should Not Have Been Nominated: Mary Poppins. It's the weakest of the three, although still better than any of the alternatives. The committee should have just stuck with the trifecta as the nominees here, but we can all be glad that Legally Blonde wasn't nominated instead.

Tune in Sunday to see how I did. Also look for a review of Jerry Springer as well. I'll be blogging live during the ceremony. I've got the champagne chilling and just have to get through the CADC exam tomorrow, then it's a Tony party for the rest of the weekend.

The Behind The Scenes Awards

Good morning. I am starting to calm down after yesterday. I haven't had any inquiries about my MHF ticket yet, but I am going to go ahead and get the dress rehearsal ticket anyways. I may end up with a better seat than I have for the actual show, and I probably won't get a lot of interest in the ticket until right before the show anyways. Plus, with the first Martinis in the Martin concert having taken place Monday, they should now be unbundling the remaining 3 concerts and I can get a ticket for Heather Headley. Looking to the Tony's, it was announced this morning that the technical awards will be presented in a separate, untelevised, ceremony prior to the broadcast. It will be streamed online on the tony awards' website, but since I have dialup, still waiting for the condo association to wire the entire building for broadband, that doesn't help. Hopefully though they'll post the winners' names as they are announced, so I can at least check in and post the results before the broadcast. This decision raises an interesting question. The committee played around with this format in the late 90's, but at least broadcast the separate ceremony on WTTW and then switching over the CBS for the main ceremony. The last time they tried it, in the 96-97 season, four of Titanic's five nominations were tech awards, and it won all of them, however, was completely inconspicuous during the main broadcast. As Chicago racked up awards, no one who only tuned in to the main ceremony was aware that Titanic had as much momentum as it did, and were shocked when it beat Steel Pier for Best Musical. By doing two separate ceremonies, the committee really increased the surprise factor of Titanic's win. Is there going to be a similar surprise this year and is that why this decision was made so late in the game? Could Mary Poppins, a lock for the tech awards, actually be the Best Musical winner? It's not inconceivable, as I was planning on discussing tomorrow when I unveil my predictions for the best show awards. It would be a phenomenal disappointment and keeping in the awards' recently started tradition of ignoring artistic achievement and giving the top award to a really crappy show (Spamalot, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Jersey Boys, etc., and while Avenue Q is not a crappy show, it also beat out a more deserving show). More discussion on this tomorrow. Also, I'm going to postpone my prediction for Best Special Theatrical Event until tomorrow and discuss the director predictions today.

Best Direction Of A Play
Who Will Win: Michael Mayer for Spring Awakening. He's won all the earlier awards, including some awards that were created just so that they could be given to him. If he loses here, it will be shocking. Doyle won last year, and while the Tony's aren't as bad as the Oscars at shutting out consecutive wins (Joe Mantello comes to mind), he doesn't have the momentum this year, while Company is done in the same style as Sweeney, Sweeney was groundbreaking and new, Company is the same thing, it lacks the "wow" factor. Scott Ellis wasn't even nominated for any of the earlier awards, so he's the weakest coming in to this, leaving Michael Greif as Mayer's main competition. The Best Director award usually does not go to the director of the Best Musical or Best Revival, which could give Greif a leg up if Spring Awakening takes Best Musical. In addition, last year was the first split after three years of agreement (Hairspray, Assasins, Spamalot), so another split this year is not inconceivable, but on the flip side, that places the odds at 4-1 for Mayer to win. Either way, it's a deserving win, this is one of the most solid categories of the night.
Who Should Win: Michael Grief. Grey Gardens was one of the best things I have ever seen. He did a fantastic job guiding the story and creating the world of Grey Gardens in two different eras. I'd really like to see him take this one home.
Who Should Have Been Nominated: Twyla Tharp for The Times They Are A'Changing, that was a bitchin' show. Again, JUST KIDDING. I can't really think of anyone else who deserves a nomination more than any of these four. The committee really got this one right, even more so than they did with the Leading Actor nominees. They all deserve a nomination and no matter who wins, I can't complain.
Who Should Not Have Been Nominated: While Doyle is probably the weakest choice this year, again, it's a retread of what he did last year, he still deserves the nomination, especially if it includes recognition of the stage and costume design. I'm happy with all the nominees.

Best Direction Of A Play
Who Will Win: This one is much more up for grabs, especially if those recent rumblings are any indication, but I'm still going with Jack O'Brien for The Coast Of Utopia. He directed three plays and I think the voters will recognize his effort. However, there's a lot of love for Frost/Nixon, which could spell a win for Michael Grandage. The play awards for Director/Show don't split as much as the musical ones do, so how this plays out is really dependent on who the voters favor for Best Play. However, there's also a chance that Melly Still could win for Coram Boy. There's a good chance Coram and Frost could split, so I still think Utopia will still take at least this one.
Who Should Win: Again, I can't say, but Jack O'Brien put a lot of work into the trilogy and should come out the winner.

Best Book Of A Musical
Who Will Win: With the exception of The Producers and Hairspray (also the only two musicals since the late 90's to be able to claim a Tony's sweep), this award has gone to an original show for the past several years (Titanic, Aida, Parade, Urinetown, Avenue Q, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, The Drowsey Chaperone), so Curtains is the odds on favorite to win this one. It's also marks Rupert Holmes's return to Broadway and Peter Stone's final show, and while the voters are far less sentimental than the Oscar/Grammy/Emmy voters, I can't see them giving up the opportunity to recognize two such talented men, especially since Curtains is unlikely to win anything else. I can't see anything else winning, no matter what show sweeps or at least takes home the top prize.
Who Should Win: As much as I loved Curtains, my heart is firmly with Doug Wright for Grey Gardens. Not only did he perfectly recreate the documentary for the second act, he created a completely plausible fictional first act to set up the second. The work is genius and he deserves to win this one. While I'm all for original works, especially to protect us from the onslaught of Legally Blonde's, Shrek's, and other assorted, cynically made crap out there, Grey Gardens is a true work of art, drawing on the source for inspiration without blind adherence. This was the best show on Broadway this year.
Who Should Have Been Nominated: It's hard to say. With the trifecta of deserving shows having been nominated, it really doesn't matter who fills the fourth slot, as long as they don't win (see next discussion). This category was Pirate Queen's weakest, so while I've been using that to fill this discussion in most earlier categories, I can't use it here.
Who Should Not Have Been Nominated: Heather Hach for Legally Blonde. Even Mary Poppins shows more originality and deviation from it's source material than Legally Blonde does. She rode the wave of the committee's enthusiasm rather than being nominated for a true achievement.

Best Original Score
Who Will Win: This one is more up for grabs than Best Book, and it goest back to the discussion I started in the Best Orchestrations prediction. By all rights, it should go to Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater for Spring Awakening. It's a gorgeous score that gets better with repeated listenings, and not only do the songs work to tell the story on stage, the album itself is a fabulous song cycle, the work could stand on its own without the stage production. While the term "rock musical" really doesn't apply despite the Broadway establishment's overuse of it to describe SA, it is a contemporary musical, and far better than Rent's score. However, the very negative and arrogant tone Duncan and Steven struck in their early interviews and the liner notes could come back to bite them. However, I think the voters will recognize the achievement over the people behind it and Spring Awakening will win.
Who Should Win: As much I have been championing Grey Gardens, Spring Awakening deserves this one. It's easier to listen to away from the theatre, the songs can stand on their own away from the story, it's a much more far-reaching achievement, and is my favorite Broadway CD of the year.
Who Should Have Been Nominated: Again, with the trifecta all getting nominations, it hard to say. I would suggest The Pirate Queen in place of Legally Blonde, although the score comes nowhere near to Les Miz or Miss Saigon, or even Martin Guerre for that matter. Still, it's better than. . .
Who Should Not Have Been Nominated: Laurence O'Keefe & Nell Benjamin for Legally Blonde. Grrrl power rules!!! Yes, that should be read with sarcasm. While they've been relying on the same crowd that Wicked pulls in, there's a world of difference between an intelligent, thought provoking show like Wicked, and a cynical, money grabbing creation like Blonde. An entire song about Bend and Snap? It's the easy way out, this pile of crap should have been left in the dust.

Alright, tomorrow it's time for the big ones, how will these awards and the politics behind them impact the ultimate winners? Check back tomorrow to see.

Deep Calming Breaths

Ok, the crisis is starting to pass. I've got the Most Happy Fella ticket posted for sale on Craigslist, hopefully I'll get a taker sooner rather than later. Plus, after checking Ravinia's website, I discovered there is still a way I can see both. Apparently, demand for the show has been very high (which also helps increase the chances that I might sell this ticket), and they are selling tickets for the dress rehearsal the night before, for $25. It's not ideal, but it would let me see the show, and it would actually be kind of cool if they stopped or had any technical problems to see the creative process worked out. I want to sell the ticket first though, so I don't end up with multiple tickets, and hopefully I can at least recoup enough money to break even on buying the dress rehearsal ticket. It'll be a busy few days for sure, but it could be fun. I'll just have to drink cafeine all day Friday to stay awake during Side Show. So I guess the lesson here is that as I get older, double checking isn't good enough anymore, it's time to start triple checking. Isn't this how obsessive compulsive disorder sets in?

Goddam Motherfucking Jesus Christ Shit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok, so I thought I was going to have a good experience. I just called and ordered my tickets for Theatre on the Lake. I got my ticket for Gorey Stories on July 7, which is all fine and good, and I got tickets for me and a friend for Side Show, and that's where the motherfucking goddam problem is. Before I ordered these tickets, I double checked to make sure I didn't have any conflicting dates. Now, I swear to motherfucking Jesus that I wrote down that The Most Happy Fella was at Ravinia on July 27, so I ordered my tickets for Side Show for July 20. After completing the order, I went to put them in my PDA, and motherfucking lo and behold, The Most Happy Fella is also on July 20. For the first time ever I fucking double booked myself. Both are non-refundable and non-exchangeable, and even if Most Happy Fella was, it's only on the 20th, I would have to exchange my Side Show tickets in order to see both, and the 20th is the only day my friend can go. So, since I have to pick up the tickets in person for Side Show, which is the only way my friend will be able to go, it looks like that's the one I'm going to and I'm going to have to try to sell my Most Happy Fella ticket. If anyone knows anyone who wants to go, have them get in touch with me. It's a decent seat, I ordered as soon as they went on sale. I am so motherfucking pissed off about this, what a fucking waste of good money, and I really wanted to see Most Happy Fella. Goddamit, this is why I spent the last two summers not doing anything, you try to do too much and you end up fucking yourself over. Goddam motherfucking shit hell!!!

Bring On The Men

Good morning. Before I get started with my predictions, I have to say something to all Chicago area drivers. If you are in the left lane, you CANNOT make a right hand turn. I almost got into 2 accidents on my way to work this morning because retarded morons in the left lane suddenly tried to turn right as I was coming up behind them in the right lane. I'm sure in Guada Los Nachos or wherever you're from, there are no lane markings on the dirt roads and no one can afford cars anyways and ride around in goat carts, but you're in our city now, learn how to fucking drive or take public transportation and let the bus drivers cause accidents, at least the CTA has insurance. Now, speaking of wrecks, The Pirate Queen will be closing next week, losing a buttload of money I'm sure. It's disappointing but not surprising. The show had a lot of potential, but some reason, they just couldn't get it to live up to it. It was too busy, unfocused, loud, and bombastic to really make its point. So far, the cast album is still scheduled to be released July 3rd, but given how Lestat's album never appeared on its announced release date after it closed and is still languishing in cast album purgatory, I'm skeptical that this one will see the light of day. Still, if Martin Guerre got a cast album, there's a chance it could happen here. Now, on with the predictions.

Best Performance By A Featured Actor In A Musical
Who Will Win: This is probably the most wide open category of the night. Anything can happen here, but I'm predicting John Gallagher Jr. to win for Spring Awakening. As I've mentioned earlier, most Best Musical winners see at least one of their performers win (although that's not holding as true lately, as The Lion King, Avenue Q, Fosse, and Titanic can all attest to), and with Spring Awakening the favorite to win, this is its best chance to capture a performing award. Plus, he was really, really, really good. However, either Jonathan Cullum or David Pittu could upset this category. David has already won some earlier awards, giving him the most momentum out of anyone in this category, but the Tonys don't seem to love LoveMusik as much as other professional award giving groups did. Jonathan is a Tony favorite and could win just because he's him, but again, given the show's inability to catch fire beyond Audra's performance, I don't think it's his year.
Who Should Win: Definitely John Gallagher Jr. He gave a very complex, realistic performance and played the character to perfection. He's earned this award.
Who Should Have Been Nominated: John McMartin for Grey Gardens. He commanded the stage as Major Bouvier in the first act, towering over Christine as he dressed Edie down, and provided some comic relief as Norman Vincent Peale in the second act. He was a major pillar of the show, and how he got overlooked is a mystery.
Who Should Not Have Been Nominated: Yes, he's gorgeous, he can sing, he's fabu on the Time After Time/Dodsworth CD, he's going to be my new boyfriend, but Christian Borle did not deserve to be nominated. Again, why the nominating committee loved Legally Blonde so much is a complete mystery, it should be consigned to the dustbin of theatre history.

Best Performance By A Featured Actor In A Play
Who Will Win: Another up for grabs category, this one again defies prediction, this time due to multiple nominees from same shows. Stark Sands has the edge here since he's the only nominee from Journey's End. Utopia and Radio Golf each have two nominees in this category, increasing the chance of splits, allowing Sands to rise to the top. However, if Utopia sweeps, which it could, although rumblings indicate that it may not be as secure as previously thought, Billy Crudup could take it. Ethan Hawke is the only one that's almost definitely assured to not win, the voters just don't like him, although I'm completely baffled as to why. That allows Billy to accumulate the most votes from the pro-Utopia crowd and could push him into the lead, especially since he's much more well known than Sands.
Who Should Win: Again, I'm forgoing all editorial comment here since I haven't seen any of the nominees, although sentimentally I'm leaning towards Ethan Hawke because he's been so unfairly overlooked before.

Best Performance By A Leading Actor In A Musical
Who Will Win: This one is one of the more sure things of the night. Raul Esparza will take this one for Company. He's won most of the earlier awards and has a lot of momentum going for him. However, his performance style could turn off a number of voters, leading to a win for Gavin Lee, the other winner of earlier awards in this category. However, like Debra Monk, he's won the earlier awards in the supporting category (splitting with David Pitu) but got bumped up due to the committee's strict categorization rules, and most likely will not win because he's nominated for what is essentially a supporting performance. Again, a sweep by Spring Awakening could propel Jonathan Groff to the podium (and his naked butt deserves an award of its own), but voters might be turned off by his character's aggressive sexuality and a very uncomfortable scene with Lea Michele and a birch switch (now if the scene had been with John Gallagher Jr and a birch switch I think we all would have been a lot happier and he just might have had a better chance at winning). Michael Cerveris, the only Tony winner in this category is the long shot, they hated LoveMusik. I think Raul's got this one safe.
Who Should Win: David Hyde Pierce. Yes, the performance may have been a bit lightweight and only a step away from Niles Crane, but I just loved him in Curtains, maybe because I can identify with his love of musical theatre and a win for him would be like a win for me.
Who Should Have Been Nominated: It's hard to say, I really can't think of anyone else, I think they got this one right.
Who Should Not Have Been Nominated: Again, this category is mostly right. Gavin Lee is the weakest nomination, but it's still not anywhere near as egregious as Laura Bell Bundy on the actress side. Also, I may have not agreed with Raul's choices in his performance, but having made the choices he did, he played them to the hilt and deserves at least the nomination. So, for once, I really have nothing to complain about, at least with the nominations. Once the winner is announced, I may have some bitching to do if they go with one of the weaker ones, but we'll deal with that as it comes. No remotes through the TV screen this year!

Best Performance By A Leading Actor In A Play
Who Will Win: Frank Langella for Frost/Nixon. He's won every award up to this point, there's no reason for it to stop now. For some reason, even though he appeared in three plays, Brian F. O'Byrne just hasn't caught the fire I would have expected. There's still a chance he could take this to make up for his unexpected loss for Doubt a couple years ago, but I don't think he's going to get enough sympathy votes to stop Frank. Christopher Plummer might get some sentimental votes, but again, not enough. Everyone's loving Frank, and there's speculation that the momentum he's brought to the table could propel F/N to a best play win, but more on that Friday.
Who Should Win: Again, I have not seen any of the nominees, so I can't say. It's a solid category, we'll let the voters decide this one.

That's it for today. Tomorrow I'll reveal my picks for Score, Book, and theatrical event.

Trouble In Paradise

Well, Audra has now found another way to emulate Barbra. The cast recording of 110 in the Shade was supposed to be released today, but has now been pushed back to next week. I'm not sure why they decided to do this. They may have wanted to avoid competition with Curtains, which is going ahead with today's cast album release, they may think that Audra is a lock to win and want to build some more momentum through the weekend and Monday in the hopes of generating more demand come Tuesday, or maybe they've been discouraged by the lack of enthusiasm around the show and are just trying to get it out there covertly and run away. So, since I want both 110 and Curtains, I'm just going to wait until next week to make my trip to Borders. It's a ways from work and I don't want to have to go twice. I've waited this long, one more week isn't that big of a deal.

Actress Predictions

Happy Monday! My tickets for Superman arrived on Saturday, now I just have to get my companion to get the tickets for Light and Scoundrels. It's going to be a busy summer, which I'm looking forward to. I've kind of wimped out on the past couple summers, it's nice to have a lot of activities to look forward to again. Theatre on the Lake tickets go on sale tomorrow, I'll be calling first thing and then taking a lunch trip to Borders. Anyways, on with the predictions:

Best Performance By A Featured Actress In A Musical
Who Will Win: This is a tough call, but I'm going with Charlotte d'Amboise for A Chorus Line. She's kind of the Kathy Griffin of Broadway, she's always ready to come in at the last minute but has never had her starring turn, until now. She's going to win, for a lot of the same reasons that LaChanze won Leading Actress last year, but at least she deserves it. I listened to the revival cast recording yesterday again (BTW, not a good CD to listen to on an el car filled with drunk Cubs fans, with all the dance cues as part of the music it was all I could do not to put on a show myself which would have ended with me in a hospital), and it really is a good recording. Since the Revival prize doesn't seem to be in the cards, I don't think the voters will want to send the former longest running show on Broadway home empty handed. However, there is a good chance that either Karen Ziemba or Mary Louise Wilson could take this, especially if either of their shows stage major upsets. There isn't a frontrunner in this category, mostly because Debra Monk has taken it in the earlier awards, but because of the strict Tony rules around classification (if the name is above the title it's leading, if it's under it's featured) she got a bump to the Leading Actress category (more discussion of this below), leaving this one wide open. I think the voters will be happy to finally give Charlotte her due and we'll see her dance away with this one. BTW, I saw both her and Karen Ziemba in Chicago in late 1998. Karen was Velma and Charlotte was Roxie and they were quite a pair. Talk about life imitating art. Karen's already won this one though, so I think it's still safe for Charlotte.
Who Should Win: As much as I'm a fan of Charlotte, my heart is with Mary Louise Wilson. She held her own against Christine, and if you've seen the documentary, she totally became Big Edie for the second act. She also got the best song (for all the hype around Da-Da-Da-Da-Da-Da-Da, Jerry Likes My Corn is the real highlight of the show) and hits it out of the park. The problem is that she's only in the second act, all the other nominees got more stage time, making them stronger contenders. However, the Tribune is predicting her to win, so maybe there's a chance.
Who Should Have Been Nominated: In a year of standout performances, it's hard to pick just one, but I'd have to go with the woman who played David Hyde Pierce's love interest in Curtains. I don't recall her name at the moment, and Playbill.com is no help at all in trying to nail it down, but I will update this tomorrow after I buy the CD. Whoever she was, she was great at keeping us wondering how much she was involved in the murder and provided a lot of dramatic momentum to the show.
Who Should Not Have Been Nominated: Orfeh. I'm officially over the one name craze and Tony Voters going nuts for them. Also, shame on the Tribune for suggesting that Legally Blonde is a better show than Curtains. A pox on their theatre critic!

Best Performance By A Featured Actress In A Play
Who Will Win: This is also a tough won to predict because of multiple nominees from shows, but I'm going with Martha Plimpton for The Coast of Utopia (the Trib is predicting Jennifer Ehle, also from Utopia). She's won this won earlier and there's no reason for her not to now. Coram Boy also has two women nominated, making it more unlikely that it will upset Utopia here, however, it does open up the possibility for Dana Ivey to take this for Butley. However, given that she's got the only nomination for the show (along with Hal Prince, the nominating committee has really soured on Nathan Lane lately as well), it's a long shot. The voters really seem to hate the show and I don't think they'll let it win.
Who Should Win: Again, I haven't seen any of the nominees, so I really can't say, and unlike the tech awards, which can be judged through photos and publicity, it's too hard to make a call when it comes to actual content, so I'm going to take a pass on the editiorial content for this category.

Best Performance By A Leading Actress In A Musical
Who Will Win: In one of the two most anticipated categories of the night, I think the front runner will take this one. Christine Ebersole will get her second, much overdue, Tony for her performances as both the Edie's in Grey Gardens. She's getting the bulk of attention for her performance in the second act, but her work in the first act shouldn't (and won't ) be overlooked. Especially after last year's horrid debacle in this category, I think the voters will keep in line and give her her due, especially since no one else has emerged as a front runner. There was some talk about Audra McDonald snatching this away, and while still is a possibility (voters may want to make up for her loss in the leading category in 2000 when she lost, deservingly so, to Heather Headley, who won for Aida), and she, along with Donna Murphy, won the Drama Desk award. However, the show hasn't caught momentum, and I think Audra's going to get her second loss here. She's got plenty of time to capture a win in a leading category and despite her Marie Christine loss, she really doesn't need to have anything made up to her, I think the voters will wait. The other possible spoiler could be Donna Murphy, a two time Tony winner herself, but again, given the voters' apathy towards LoveMusik, I don't think it's going to happen. There's still resentment over how she won her second award, and I think she's going to be the Marissa Tomei of the Tony's for some time to come. In addition, both she and Laura Bell Bundy are unfortunate enough to be nominated for shows that did not get a Best Musical nomination. While we can all think of an exception (Liza Minelli and Heather Headley come to mind for me), the leading acting awards usually do not go to shows that aren't nominated either for Best Musical or Best Revival. The last time it happened was in 2000, when Heather Headley won for Aida, which was also nominated, and won, for Best Book and Score, but was shut out of the top category. The voters like to see their winners perform, and with all the hoopla surrounding performances on the telecast this year, I think Donna and Laura will be sitting this one out. The last contender is Debra Monk, and while she has already won awards for this role, they've been supporting/featured. As I mentioned above, because of the rigid nominating committee rules, she was nominated in the Leading category for what is essentially a supporting role, and I don't think the voters will give this to her since she isn't on stage enough to really classify as a leading performance, although she does have one of the best songs in the show. Despite not being eligible for earlier awards and not able to have built up momentum, Christine will still get the big one.
Who Should Win: No question, it's Christine. Enough said.
Who Should Have Been Nominated: It's a tough call, but I'd have to go with Stephanie J. Block, edging out Lea Michele. Stephanie provided heart and direction to a large, sprawling show, and while the show itself was less than successful in getting its point across (assuming there was a point), she was able to anchor it and give it focus, and is way overdue for a nomination. I was shocked that she didn't get the nomination, but it's a tough year. Nevertheless, she should have been nominated over the next actress I'm going to mention. . .
Who Should Not Have Been Nominated: Laura Bell Bundy. Again, why oh why? There were so many better performances this year, how did this one sneak in?

Best Performance By A Leading Actress In A Play
Who Will Win: And in the night's other most anticipated category, I'm afraid there's a good chance the front runner, or at least the sentimental favorite, is not going to win. Angela Lansbury will suffer her first loss at the Tony's, and the award will go to Vanessa Redgrave, for The Year of Magical Thinking. Other predictions for this category have been all over the place, with EW picking Julie White, and the Trib picking Eve Best (a possible spoiler), but I think it's going to break in Vanessa's favor. However, she and Angela, and possibly Swoozie could split the sentimental vote, opening up the possibility for either Julie or Eve to win. I would give Eve the edge since her show lasted longer, but in this category, more than any other, except for maybe featured actor, anything could happen. However, since the nominated plays don't get much of a performance, the voters don't care as much about making sure the winner is from a nominated play or revival, and that helps Vanessa. Still, you can't count Angela out either. She pulled off a couple of tough wins in the past and it could happen again. But, if the voters handed Mary Martin her first loss on her final nomination, it could happen here, although hopefully there will be more for Angela. By all accounts, Vanessa commands the stage and gives a heart rending performance every night, I think she'll be recognized here.
Who Should Win: I haven't seen any of the nominees, although hopefully I will see Deuce in a couple of weeks, so I can't say, but I do like all the nominees, so any winner will be deserving, although I am sentimentally leaning towards Angela.

That's it for today. Since I'm taking a trip to Borders tomorrow, look for my next predictions on Wednesday as I'll take on the men.

Correction and Predictions

I got around to listening to the All That Jazz CD yesterday and realized that the song that Ann Reinking and the girl who plays the daughter perform actually is on the CD, it's Peter Allen's Everything Old Is New Again. I thought that they actually sang the number, but as I listened to the CD, I realized that they actually lip synced it and danced to it, and a quick check of the scene on DVD confirmed that. The soundtrack does have their comments to each other as the song is performed, but it is Peter Allen doing the singing. However, the disc does omit the closing credits song, Ethel Merman's There's No Business Like Show Business. The disc ends with Bye Bye Love, while in the movie, at the conclusion of that number, we're jarred back into real life and then Ethel starts singing as the credits roll, perfectly capping the movie. I can't think of a better way it could have ended. This omission actually probably is explainable by contracting and licensing issues, and since I do have the song on numerous other compilations, I can easily create a playlist of the All That Jazz disc and then tack her song on at the end. When I got home yesterday, surprise surprise, the Shenandoah CD was waiting for me. Great music, although it appears from the synopsis that the story actually very closely follows the movie, with one very major exception in the second act, that initially when I read I was not happy about, but on more thought I can at least understand why they made the change. I'll have to actually see it and then I can make up my mind about it. It definitely is the music though that strengthens the anti-war sentiment of the story. Now, with that out of the way, on to more predictions:

Best Scenic Design Of A Musical
Who Will Win: Bob Crowley for Mary Poppins. This is the biggest no brainer of the night. The only way this could be ruined is if a large block of voters were in the audience at the matinee performance where the house quit working and the audience was sent home with tickets for another performance. Otherwise, it's Bob's night.
Who Should Win: As grand as the house is, it's another house that has capture my heart, and the award really should go to Allen Moyer for Grey Gardens. He made the house a character, in a much less in your face/hey look at me way than Bob did with Poppins. He brought us into both worlds of the Bouvier's without making a big deal about it. I'd really like to see him take this one home, but based on earlier awards, I don't think it's his night.
Who Should Have Been Nominated: There's actually two shows that should have been nominated. Again, Company nailed the look it was going for and really should have appeared here, unless Doyle actually did do it and got his Best Director nomination as recognition for his work in multiple categories, as happened last year. If that's the case, then Curtains should have been nominated. They actually had scenic designs for two shows; Curtains itself, and Robbin' Hood, the show within the show. Everything felt authentic and I'm really confused as to how this one got left out and the next show I'm going to talk about got in, which leads us to. . .
Who Shouldn't Have Been Nominated: Ann Louizos for High Fidelity. High Fidelity people!!! Really, why? The show flopped, no one had anything good to say about, why is it here? Curtains was far more deserving, and so was Company, regardless of it's eligibility. This is a big misstep for the nominating committee.

Best Scenic Design Of A Play
Who Will Win: Again, Bob Crowley & Scott Pask for The Coast Of Utopia. This is the evening's other no-brainer, although this time there could be a spoiler in the form of Ti Green & Melly Still for Coram Boy, but as I discussed yesterday, that's fairly unlikely. Look for Bob to get his third award of the night here.
Who Should Win: Again, not having seen any of the nominees, it's hard to say, but my heart leans towards Utopia. I'm a big fan of Tom Stoppard's work, and the mammoth undertaking here deserves to be recognized.

Best Orchestrations
Who Will Win: Now it gets dicier. I'm predicting Duncan Sheik for Spring Awakening, but it's not a sure thing, and the reason impacts his and the show's chances at other awards as well. In the liner notes, and in a lot of the early publicity, but Duncan and co-writer Steven Sater discussed at length their initial contempt for musical theatre and how difficult it was for them to create the show because of their hatred for the genre. They struck a very arrogant, and rather ignorant, tone, that they didn't attempt to modify until just recently. They talked about how they wanted to make the show different by having the songs reflect the characters' emotional states and drive the story instead of being showstopping time wasters. Well, correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that the definition of every successful musical? Then, they talked about how groundbreaking it would be to have a show about young people, and contemporary issues. So does that make Rent outdated already? Since then, Duncan at least, has done some PR rehabilitation, especially in a recent interview on playbill.com, but is it too little too late? I don't think so. The show's achievement should overshadow it's creators' ignorance. The one spoiler could be Jonathan Tunick for LoveMusik (he's also nominated for 110 in the Shade) for adapting Kurt Weill's music. However, given the nominating committee's apathy towards the show, I think Sheik will win.
Who Should Win: Again, even though his initial attitude really distressed me, it should go to Duncan Sheik. It's great music that has both a contemporary sound and accurately reflects the show's late 1800's German setting. He hit it out of the park on his first try, making this his best album since his debut CD, even without his appearance as a performer.
Who Should Have Been Nominated: Again, I'm surprised by Curtain's omission here. The music is a glorious throwback to earlier times and should have been recognized here. I'm also surprised by Company's omission, after all, Sweeney got nominated, and won, last year in this category for the same concept. It just shows that the competition this year is much more intense, and I think it was a good call to leave it out. While I appreciated the performance, I don't think the style worked in its favor as much as it did for Sweeney.
Who Should Not Have Been Nominated: While I haven't heard 110 or LoveMusik, I think all the nominations here are solid. I will hear 110 by next week and will revise my opinion if needed later.

Best Choreography
Who Will Win: As I mentioned yesterday, this is the most competitive category so far, but only because none of the nominations are that strong. This year's shows were about story, not spectacle, so the choreography for most shows was muted and almost an afterthought, no show really stood out as having great dancing. With that said, I think Rob Ashford is the top contender here, for Curtains. Since it was a throwback and a celebration of older shows, it did have the most obvious dancing moments, and it worked. I think Curtains will take this one, if for no other reason than as a consolation prize for not getting anything higher. It's sad to think of the last Kander & Ebb show coming away empty handed and I think they'll try to give it something here. The possible spoiler would be Jerry Mitchell for Legally Blonde, the only other show with actual danceable numbers. Spring Awakening's choreography mostly consisted of kids running around the stage (although the My Junk number was brilliant), and Mary Poppins was more a recreation of the movie than anything original.
Who Should Win: Rob Ashford. Curtains was a great show and I'll be thrilled to see Rob take the award.
Who Should Have Been Nominated: As I mentioned, Choreography was not a strong point on Broadway this year, so it's hard to think of another show that deserved a nomination, but Grey Gardens again does come to mind. While the second act was fairly devoid of dancing (other than Little Edie's constant "rehearsals"), the first act featured some good movement. While it may not be more deserving, it's at least as deserving as Spring Awakening or Poppins.
Who Should Not Have Been Nominated: Jerry Mitchell. Yes, I haven't seen the show, but it really should not have been nominated so frequently, and any nomination is really undeserved. At least it got nominated here and not for Best Musical.

So that's it for today, I've got to get back to work. Check back Monday as we get into the acting predictions.