The Norman Conquests

See All Three by the Scheduled July 26 Closing

If there's a conventional way to approach the three plays comprising The Norman Conquests, directed on Broadway by Matthew Warchus, it might be to see them in one "trilogy day" starting with "Table Manners," proceeding to "Living Together," and finishing with "Round and Round the Garden."

But that's not at all how I went about it. I saw "Round and Round the Garden" first, on April 13, when the infamous Mr. Purple was in the audience. Then it was "Table Manners" on April 29. And I only completed the cycle last night with the relatively elusive "Living Together."

Now that I've finished seeing all three parts, you can count me as a satisfied customer (who, admittedly, managed to see all three at significant professional and consumer discounts, including a $59 per play ticket available through July 10 with the code JULY09).

Written by Alan Ayckbourn in 1973, The Norman Conquests involves three men and three women, three of them siblings, two others related by marriage, whose paths cross and recross during their stay at an English estate. Annie (Jessica Hynes), the primary caregiver to her mother, hopes to get away for the weekend while her brother Reg (Paul Ritter) and his wife Sarah (Amanda Root) take over her responsibilities. Also present are Annie's dim veterinarian neighbor Tom (Ben Miles), her rakish brother-in-law Norman (Stephen Mangan), and, eventually, her sister Ruth (Amelia Bullmore), Norman's wife.

Will Annie get away? Will Reg and Sarah be able to manage things? Will Tom come up with something interesting to say? Will Ruth put on her glasses? Will Norman behave himself? Those are some of the questions that arise as the characters interact over the course of the weekend in three distinct locations: the dining room ("Table Manners"), living room ("Living Together"), and garden ("Round and Round the Garden").

After I started with "Round and Round the Garden," The Norman Conquests struck me as great light summer fare. But in "Table Manners" I saw some of the relationships and dialogue taking on more substance—still great light summer fare, but more substantial. Ultimately, after seeing "Living Together" (which strikes me as the quirkiest and most playful of the trilogy), I was impressed by Ayckbourn's skill at fleshing out his comic situations with passionate outbursts indicating his characters' personal and family dilemmas. The more you see of the trilogy, the more you can appreciate different facets of the characters as they try to get through what turns out to be an awfully complicated weekend.

Do you remember the television version of The Norman Conquests? Here are three excerpts—of course, you can pick the order in which you view them! I'm struck by how Beatles-y Tom Conti's Norman comes across. It explains a lot about those times.

ROUND AND ROUND THE GARDEN



Source (9:52)


TABLE MANNERS



Source (9:28)


LIVING TOGETHER



Source (9:46)

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