WHERE WAS I? The results are in! Broadway expert Myra dominated this year's Tony special, collecting a point for the best score, collecting another point for doing better than I did, and consequently surging into the first-place position, ahead of the formidable Debbie! Deborah didn't do so well, but she gets a salute from BAT headquarters for merely daring to take on Myra!

Incidentally, tonight should be a very good night to see a recent Tony winner. The last time I checked, there were still seats available for Gypsy.

And anyone who just happened to be at the ceremony should feel free to share their experiences in the comments.

And Debbie, Gary, and Scott can still send in their own photos.

16 Myra (Attendance Award plus one unredeemed WWI? credit)
15 Debbie (Gold Medal and Attendance Award plus unredeemed Silver Medal and WWI? and Bronze Medal credits, plus February 2008 WWI? credit and a March 2008 redeemable point; includes two bonus points)
12 Gary (Silver Medal plus three unredeemed WWI? and one unredeemed Silver Medal credits)
10 Scott (Two Gold Medals plus two unredeemed WWI? credits)
5 Ellen (includes bonus point)
4 Deborah
3 David (Bronze Medal)
2 Daniela
2 Dolph (Bronze Medal)
1 bellj
1 Myron
1 Trapezia
- Luke N. Atmaguchi (has April 2008 redeemable point)

WHERE WAS I? TONY 2008 SPECIAL EDITION

Once again, there's no need to locate me. Just take a shot at predicting the 2008 Tony winners!

As usual, anyone can play, leaving their guesses in the comments section, using a distinct moniker so nobody can be confused with the other players. Please post your final guesses by 6 pm EST on Sunday evening, June 15, 2008, and help me out by self-scoring.

A point goes to the best overall guesser(s); and a point goes to anyone who outscores me. I thought I was at a disadvantage because I hadn't seen a lot of the nominees, but it seems that many of the official voters have not done much better. Outrageous!

BEST PLAY
August: Osage County
Rock 'n' Roll
The Seafarer
The 39 Steps

BEST MUSICAL
Cry-Baby
In The Heights
Passing Strange
Xanadu

BEST BOOK OF A MUSICAL
Cry-Baby
In The Heights
Passing Strange
Xanadu

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Cry-Baby
In The Heights
The Little Mermaid
Passing Strange

BEST REVIVAL OF A PLAY
Boeing-Boeing
The Homecoming
Les Liaisons Dangereuses
Macbeth

BEST REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL
Grease
Gypsy
Rodgers & Hammerstein's South Pacific
Sunday in the Park with George

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A LEADING ACTOR IN A PLAY
Ben Daniels, Les Liaisons Dangereuses
Laurence Fishburne, Thurgood
Mark Rylance, Boeing-Boeing
Rufus Sewell, Rock 'n' Roll
Patrick Stewart, Macbeth

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A LEADING ACTRESS IN A PLAY
Eve Best, The Homecoming
Deanna Dunagan, August: Osage County
Kate Fleetwood, Macbeth
S. Epatha Merkerson, Come Back, Little Sheba
Amy Morton, August: Osage County

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A LEADING ACTOR IN A MUSICAL
Daniel Evans, Sunday in the Park with George
Lin-Manuel Miranda, In The Heights
Stew, Passing Strange
Paulo Szot, Rodgers & Hammerstein's South Pacific
Tom Wopat, A Catered Affair

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A LEADING ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL
Kerry Butler, Xanadu
Patti LuPone, Gypsy
Kelli O'Hara, Rodgers & Hammerstein's South Pacific
Faith Prince, A Catered Affair
Jenna Russell, Sunday in the Park with George

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A FEATURED ACTOR IN A PLAY
Bobby Cannavale, Mauritius
Raúl Esparza, The Homecoming
Conleth Hill, The Seafarer
Jim Norton, The Seafarer
David Pittu, Is He Dead?

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A FEATURED ACTRESS IN A PLAY
Sinead Cusack, Rock 'n' Roll
Mary McCormack, Boeing-Boeing
Laurie Metcalf, November
Martha Plimpton, Top Girls
Rondi Reed, August: Osage County

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A FEATURED ACTOR IN A MUSICAL
Daniel Breaker, Passing Strange
Danny Burstein, Rodgers & Hammerstein's South Pacific
Robin De Jesús, In The Heights
Christopher Fitzgerald, The New Mel Brooks Musical Young Frankenstein
Boyd Gaines, Gypsy

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A FEATURED ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL
de'Adre Aziza, Passing Strange
Laura Benanti, Gypsy
Andrea Martin, The New Mel Brooks Musical Young Frankenstein
Olga Merediz, In The Heights
Loretta Ables Sayre, Rodgers & Hammerstein's South Pacific

BEST SCENIC DESIGN OF A PLAY
The 39 Steps
Les Liaisons Dangereuses
August: Osage County
Macbeth

BEST SCENIC DESIGN OF A MUSICAL
Sunday in the Park with George
In The Heights
The New Mel Brooks Musical Young Frankenstein
Rodgers & Hammerstein's South Pacific

BEST COSTUME DESIGN OF A PLAY
Cyrano de Bergerac
Boeing-Boeing
Les Liaisons Dangereuses
The 39 Steps

BEST COSTUME DESIGN OF A MUSICAL
Sunday in the Park with George
Gypsy
In The Heights
Rodgers & Hammerstein's South Pacific

BEST LIGHTING DESIGN OF A PLAY
The 39 Steps
Macbeth
Les Liaisons Dangereuses
August: Osage County

BEST LIGHTING DESIGN OF A MUSICAL
Sunday in the Park with George
In The Heights
Rodgers & Hammerstein's South Pacific
The Little Mermaid

BEST SOUND DESIGN OF A PLAY
Boeing-Boeing
Macbeth
Rock 'n' Roll
The 39 Steps

BEST SOUND DESIGN OF A MUSICAL
In The Heights
Sunday in the Park with George
Rodgers & Hammerstein's South Pacific
Gypsy

BEST DIRECTION OF A PLAY
Maria Aitken, The 39 Steps
Conor McPherson, The Seafarer
Anna D. Shapiro, August: Osage County
Matthew Warchus, Boeing-Boeing

BEST DIRECTION OF A MUSICAL
Sam Buntrock, Sunday in the Park with George
Thomas Kail, In The Heights
Arthur Laurents, Gypsy
Bartlett Sher, Rodgers & Hammerstein's South Pacific

BEST CHOREOGRAPHY
Rob Ashford, Cry-Baby
Andy Blankenbuehler, In The Heights
Christopher Gattelli, Rodgers & Hammerstein's South Pacific
Dan Knechtges, Xanadu

BEST ORCHESTRATIONS
Jason Carr, Sunday in the Park with George
Alex Lacamoire & Bill Sherman, In The Heights
Stew & Heidi Rodewald, Passing Strange
Jonathan Tunick, A Catered Affair

TONY NOMINEES 2008

From what I could tell from NY1, it seems that the Tony nominees were posted online before they were announced live, in a very subdued, almost grim, fashion, by David Hyde Pierce and Sara Ramirez. (They were at the Lincoln Center Library for Performing Arts, so maybe scads of scary librarians were shooshing them the whole time.)

Perhaps because I've yet to see a bunch of productions (and I missed the opportunity to see a bunch of others), I'm most excited that Stephen Sondheim will be the recipient of the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre. He's had at least a hand in creating such shows as Gypsy, Follies, Sweeney Todd, West Side Story, and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum—and revivals of his work remain Broadway staples to this day, with Gypsy and Sunday in the Park with George running and West Side Story on the way.

Sunday... is one of the big nominees of this season; garnering even more nominations than Sunday (9) are In the Heights (the leader at 13) and South Pacific (11)...oops, I mean Rodgers and Hammerstein's South Pacific. I believe that August: Osage County is the top-nominated play, with strong showings from Macbeth (by William Shakespeare, another staple of Broadway programming), Boeing, Boeing, and The 39 Steps.

As you might imagine based on my recent coverage, I'm sorry that Alli Mauzey of Cry-Baby didn't score a nomination. Also among the missing: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Not nominated for Best Musical: Young Frankenstein. Oops, I mean The New Mel Brooks Musical Young Frankenstein. Grease managed to score one nomination, for Best Musical Revival.

Here's a newly posted video of yet another side of Mauzey: in character as Galinda/Glinda in Wicked.



Source (3:28)

ENCORES! GYPSY CASTING

As previously noted, Patti LuPone is to star in the Encores! Gypsy. Now there's more casting news: "Friend of Tony" Boyd Gaines will play Herbie, Laura Benanti will play Louise, and Tony Yazbeck--who played a newsboy in the Tyne Daly Gypsy--will play Tulsa.

Here's Laura Benanti singing Maria...to Andrea McArdle's Annie-ta! Heh.



Source (4:09)

LUPONE SLOTTED FOR GYPSY IN JULY! Today's New York Times reports that Patti LuPone--said to be sensational in a 2006 production of Gypsy at Ravinia--will reprise her role as the driven Mama Rose at Encores! this summer, in a production directed by Gypsy author Arthur Laurents.

The run from July 9 to July 29 (opening on July 12) represents a change in direction for Encores! It's the first summer production for the series, it'll last longer than the usual weekend, and, like the recent production of Follies, it's a revival of a recently revived Sondheim musical. (He wrote the Gypsy lyrics.)

Follies originally marketed itself as a venue for rare revivals of Broadway's hidden treasures, but in recent years it seems to be more divided between rarities and more familiar (commercial?) fare.

Anyway, this is exciting news--just look at how psyched Steve on Broadway is!

It's certainly an opportunity for LuPone to put down her tuba and cut loose in a way that wouldn't have been appropriate in the recent Broadway revival Sweeney Todd.

Here is LuPone's "Some People" from Ravinia--not the same as actually being there, of course!



Source (2:54)