2009 Tony Nominees Announced

That's the Year 2009, Not the Number of Nominees

It's been a relatively busy year on Broadway, especially in terms of plays (perhaps due to budgeting concerns). But I'm not sure the quantity and quality come across fully in the nominations, which went to, I think, 27 productions out of a possible 43.

Lifetime Achievement goes to Jerry Herman, whose musicals include Milk and Honey, Hello, Dolly!, Mame, and La Cage aux Folles. The first Isabelle Stevenson Award (for humanitarian work) goes to Phyllis Newman, founder of The Phyllis Newman Women's Health Initiative of The Actors' Fund of America. Honors for Excellence in Theatre go to publicist Shirley Herz. Virginia's Signature Theatre gets the Regional Theatre Award.

Among the top nominees, there's a big British presence. Billy Elliot, The Musical leads with a stupendous 15, including the three-for-one nomination of David Alvarez/Trent Kowalik/Kiril Kulish, who alternate in the title role (Billy Elliot, not The Musical). That apparently ties the show with The Producers for most nominations in a season. Play-wise, Mary Stuart and the three-for-one comedy of manners The Norman Conquests are tied for most nominations, with 7 each.

Originating on this side of the Atlantic, Next to Normal is the second-most-nominated musical (11) while Joe Turner's Come and Gone boasts 6 nominations. (Originally produced in Switzerland and then in England, God of Carnage also tallied 6 noms.)

I haven't seen many of the nominees yet, so I don't have all that much to say about them. But I was glad to see Alice Ripley and songwriters Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey nominated for Next to Normal and Matthew Warchus nominated for directing The Norman Conquests, and I was also glad to see four of the Norman actors nominated, though it's too bad there was no room for Amelia Bullmore as Ruth. Another noteworthy omission was Aaron Tveit in Next to Normal. And somehow it would've been nice to give some recognition to the kids of 13, a show with a lot of heart and spunk.

Michael Musto points out that The Seagull and [title of show] were pretty much screwed. (Note that [title of show] did not get one of the four Best Musical nominations.) He also questions the absence of Aaron Tveit as well as a set design nom for nom-less Desire Under the Elms and recognition for some guys named Bill Irwin and Nathan Lane for their performances in something called Waiting for Godot. David Cote at the fittingly named Time Out New York (you know, TONY) misses All My Sons.

Want more carping about omissions? Matt Wolf misses All My Sons, Norman's Ben Miles and Amelia Bullmore (as well as a Best Ensemble category), Kristin Scott Thomas for The Seagull, and Carla Gugino for Desire Under the Elms....

Perhaps, one way or another, I can coax Musical Maven Myra to offer her perspective on all this. In the meantime, consider the following nominees.

BEST PLAY
Dividing the Estate (Horton Foote)
God of Carnage (Yasmina Reza)
Reasons to Be Pretty (Neil LaBute)
33 Variations (Moisés Kaufman)

BEST MUSICAL
Billy Elliot, The Musical
Next to Normal
Rock of Ages
Shrek The Musical

BEST BOOK OF A MUSICAL
Billy Elliot, The Musical (Lee Hall)
Next to Normal (Brian Yorkey)
Shrek The Musical (David Lindsay-Abaire)
[Title of Show] (Hunter Bell)

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Billy Elliot, The Musical (Elton John/Lee Hall)
Next to Normal (Tom Kitt/Brian Yorkey)
9 to 5: The Musical (Dolly Parton)
Shrek The Musical (Jeanine Tesori/David Lindsay-Abaire)

BEST REVIVAL OF A PLAY
Joe Turner's Come and Gone
Mary Stuart
The Norman Conquests
Waiting for Godot

BEST REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL
Guys and Dolls
Hair
Pal Joey
West Side Story

BEST SPECIAL THEATRICAL EVENT
Liza's at The Palace
Slava's Snowshow
Soul of Shaolin
You're Welcome America. A Final Night with George W. Bush

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A LEADING ACTOR IN A PLAY
Jeff Daniels, God of Carnage
Raúl Esparza, Speed-the-Plow
James Gandolfini, God of Carnage
Geoffrey Rush, Exit the King
Thomas Sadoski, Reasons to Be Pretty

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A LEADING ACTRESS IN A PLAY
Hope Davis, God of Carnage
Jane Fonda, 33 Variations
Marcia Gay Harden, God of Carnage
Janet McTeer, Mary Stuart
Harriet Walter, Mary Stuart

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A LEADING ACTOR IN A MUSICAL
David Alvarez/Trent Kowalik/Kiril Kulish, Billy Elliot, The Musical
Gavin Creel, Hair
Brian d’Arcy James, Shrek The Musical
Constantine Maroulis, Rock of Ages
J. Robert Spencer, Next to Normal

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A LEADING ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL
Stockard Channing, Pal Joey
Sutton Foster, Shrek The Musical
Allison Janney, 9 to 5: The Musical
Alice Ripley, Next to Normal
Josefina Scaglione, West Side Story

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A FEATURED ACTOR IN A PLAY
John Glover, Waiting for Godot
Zach Grenier, 33 Variations
Stephen Mangan, The Norman Conquests
Paul Ritter, The Norman Conquests
Roger Robinson, Joe Turner's Come and Gone

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A FEATURED ACTRESS IN A PLAY
Hallie Foote, Dividing the Estate
Jessica Hynes, The Norman Conquests
Marin Ireland, Reasons to Be Pretty
Angela Lansbury, Blithe Spirit
Amanda Root, The Norman Conquests

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A FEATURED ACTOR IN A MUSICAL
David Bologna, Billy Elliot, The Musical
Gregory Jbara, Billy Elliot, The Musical
Marc Kudisch, 9 to 5: The Musical
Christopher Sieber, Shrek The Musical
Will Swenson, Hair

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A FEATURED ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL
Jennifer Damiano, Next to Normal
Haydn Gwynne, Billy Elliot, The Musical
Karen Olivo, West Side Story
Martha Plimpton, Pal Joey
Carole Shelley, Billy Elliot, The Musical

BEST DIRECTION OF A PLAY
Phyllida Lloyd, Mary Stuart
Bartlett Sher, Joe Turner's Come and Gone
Matthew Warchus, God of Carnage
Matthew Warchus, The Norman Conquests

BEST DIRECTION OF A MUSICAL
Stephen Daldry, Billy Elliot, The Musical
Michael Greif, Next to Normal
Kristin Hanggi, Rock of Ages
Diane Paulus, Hair

BEST CHOREOGRAPHY
Karole Armitage, Hair
Andy Blankenbuehler, 9 to 5: The Musical
Peter Darling, Billy Elliot, The Musical
Randy Skinner, Irving Berlin's White Christmas

BEST ORCHESTRATIONS
Martin Koch, Billy Elliot, The Musical
Michael Starobin and Tom Kitt, Next to Normal
Danny Troob and John Clancy, Shrek The Musical

BEST SCENIC DESIGN OF A PLAY
Dale Ferguson, Exit the King
Rob Howell, The Norman Conquests
Derek McLane, 33 Variations
Michael Yeargan, Joe Turner's Come and Gone

BEST SCENIC DESIGN OF A MUSICAL
Robert Brill, Guys and Dolls
Ian MacNeil, Billy Elliot, The Musical
Scott Pask, Pal Joey
Mark Wendland, Next to Normal

BEST COSTUME DESIGN OF A PLAY
Dale Ferguson, Exit the King
Jane Greenwood, Waiting for Godot
Martin Pakledinaz, Blithe Spirit
Anthony Ward, Mary Stuart

BEST COSTUME DESIGN OF A MUSICAL
Gregory Gale, Rock of Ages
Nicky Gillibrand, Billy Elliot, The Musical
Tim Hatley, Shrek The Musical
Michael McDonald, Hair

BEST LIGHTING DESIGN OF A PLAY
David Hersey, Equus
David Lander, 33 Variations
Brian MacDevitt, Joe Turner's Come and Gone
Hugh Vanstone, Mary Stuart

BEST LIGHTING DESIGN OF A MUSICAL
Kevin Adams, Hair
Kevin Adams, Next to Normal
Howell Binkley, West Side Story
Rick Fisher, Billy Elliot, The Musical

BEST SOUND DESIGN OF A PLAY
Paul Arditti, Mary Stuart
Gregory Clarke, Equus
Russell Goldsmith, Exit the King
Scott Lehrer and Leon Rothenberg, Joe Turner's Come and Gone

BEST SOUND DESIGN OF A MUSICAL
Acme Sound Partners, Hair
Paul Arditti, Billy Elliot, The Musical
Peter Hylenski, Rock of Ages
Brian Ronan, Next to Normal

Something for Ada Lovelace Day!

I've been asked to write something for Ada Lovelace Day—to be more specific, something about a woman in technology whom I admire. I've been persuaded, so I'm sharing this brief note about my neighbor, Myra, whom I admire.

Myra, who regularly participates in this blog, loves Broadway and also loves Apple. She knows from computers and regularly helps me with my annoying technology issues. (I try to keep them to a minimum, yet still they crop up over and over again! And by "issues" I don't just mean something like a problem handling files or fixing or buying or replacing a gizmo—I also mean my anxiety issues about those technology issues.) Myra's also been open to doing some last-minute Web work for a non-profit that desperately in need of her kind of knowledge and availability.

So on this Ada Lovelace Day I salute Myra, a woman in technology who's been extraordinarily helpful to me and others who are technologically needy. Come to think of it, she's also taken some of the burden off of The Other Dave, who has carried too much of it for too long!

Here's an Ada Lovelace Day video.



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The Presidents

Can you name all of the United States Presidents? I know a special young man who can do it, though these days he might need a refresher course like the one below.

Thanks to Musical Maven Myra for the lead!



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From Bush to Obama: Broadway Makes the Transition

So far I can think of two ways in which Broadway productions are recognizing the departure of Geroge Bush and the ascent of Barack Obama.

The comedy The 39 Steps includes a parody of Barack Obama's sloganeering, and Avenue Q is testing alternative lyrics to the line "George Bush—is only for now" in the song "For Now" (offered below).

Thanks to Musical Maven Myra for the Avenue Q lead.



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20at20 (September 2008 Edition)

From September 2 through September 14, 2008, you can take advantage of Off-Broadway's 20at20 program to get $20 tickets to any of 20 shows if said tickets are available 20 minutes before curtain. Simple!

Among the available shows, Fela! has quite a bit of potential. Directed and choreographed by Bill T. Jones with arrangements by trombonist Aaron Johnson and Antibalas, the musical tells of the life of African musician/activist Fela Kuti.

Also in the promotion are the venerable Altar Boyz (a favorite of musical maven Myra) and Stomp.

Here's a glimpse of Fela!



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The New Mel Brooks Musical Young Frankenstein

The New Mel Brooks Musical Young Frankenstein is a very solid musical—and the "solidity" is its weakness as well as its strength. The production values are high, the music well-written, the performances professional. Most audience members should be satisfied, especially if they can take advantage of discounted tickets from sources such as Playbill.com.

But when it comes to the laff factor—the musical's ability to live up to the high low comedy standard established by the original movie—that's where the show falls as short as its title is long. When I saw it on June 15 (when many of the original leads were in it, with Jon Patrick Walker doing good understudy work as Frederick Frankenstein), I left with a greater appreciation of the cartoonishness of the movie characters. In the film, Gene Wilder swung wildly between meekness and madness, Teri Garr was a deceptively ditzy sexpot, Madeline Kahn was a prissy prude, Marty Feldman was a pop-eyed Igor, Cloris Leachman a brilliantly brittle Blücher, Kenneth Mars a mechanical marvel, and so on and so forth. In contrast, the Broadway characters came across as bland, not as kooky.

Musical Maven Myra has noted that at least two songs could easily be cut from the show's 160 minute running time. She seems right about that—though it's possible that the "extra" songs give the company time to change scenes. What I don't understand is why the silliness that worked so well in the movie seemed to be lost in the transition to the stage. I'm sure that the production remains very solid—"the best that money can buy"—but I hope that the producers try to juice the show by encouraging the actors to make their characters more comical.

Just look at how goofy the comedy can be in this trailer—not at first, but eventually. It's enhanced by the camera work, which gives audiences a more intimate perspective than the stage (especially in the doleful glances Peter Boyle gives the camera), but there's still got to be a way to raise the comic quotient in the theater.



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EVIL DEAD: THE MUSICAL. Musical Maven Myra went to see Evil Dead: The Musical and came back a changed person. Somehow she lured me into seeing one of the late shows on Friday and Saturday nights, when the audience "regulars" come back again and again a la Rocky Horror. And I laughed my guts out.

The Big Apple run of this bloody good show ends Saturday, February 17, 2007, so catch it before it's too late!

Discounts for many but not all seats (chopping the price down as low as $33.50) may be obtainable through Season of Savings (possibly also findable in a Playbill-style booklets at the tourist information centers around Times Square) and perhaps TKTS. I recommend central seats; sit up front in the "splatter zone" for the interactive experience.

Here's a clip from the infamous "possessed hand" scene from Evil Dead 2, the movie. Beware of spoilers!



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