Sunday, May 31, 2015

First Tony Predictions

I know I usually put these up much sooner but this is a rather tough year for the Tony Awards, particularly with all the changes in the numbers of nominees in certain high-level categories.  With that in mind, here are my first predictions for the 2015 Tony Awards.

Best Play
Will Win: Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Should Win: Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Dark Horse: Hand to G-d

Best Musical
Will Win: Fun Home
Should Win: Fun Home
Dark Horse: An American in Paris

Best Revival of a Play
Will Win: You Can't Take it With You
Should Win: Skylight
Dark Horse: The Elephant Man

Best Revival of a Musical
Will Win: On the Town
Should Win: On the Twentieth Century
Dark Horse: On the Twentieth Century

Best Actor in a Play
Will Win: Alex Sharp, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Should Win: Alex Sharp, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Dark Horse: Steven Boyer, Hand to G-d

Best Actress in a Play
Will Win: Helen Mirren, The Audience
Should Win: Carey Mulligan, Skylight
Dark Horse: Carey Mulligan, Skylight

Best Featured Actor in a Play
Will Win: Richard McCabe, The Audience
Should Win: Richard McCabe, The Audience
Dark Horse: Alessandro Nivola, The Elephant Man

Best Featured Actress in a Play
Will Win: Annaleigh Ashford, You Can't Take it With You
Should Win: Annaleigh Ashford, You Can't Take it With You
Dark Horse: Julie White, Airline Highway

Best Actor in a Musical
Will Win: Robert Fairchild, An American in Paris
Should Win: Robert Fairchild, An American in Paris
Dark Horse: Tony Yazbeck, On the Town

Best Actress in a Musical
Will Win: Kristin Chenoweth, On the Twentieth Century
Should Win: Kristin Chenowith, On the Twentieth Century
Dark Horse: Kelli O'Hara, The King & I

Best Featured Actor in a Musical
Will Win: Andy Karl, On the Twentieth Century
Should Win: Christian Borle, Something Rotten!
Dark Horse: Max von Essen, An American in Paris

Best Featured Actress in a Musical
Will Win: Judy Kuhn, Fun Home
Should Win: Judy Kuhn, Fun Home
Dark Horse: Emily Skeggs, Fun Home

Best Director of a Play
Will Win: Marianne Elliott, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Should Win: Marianne Elliott, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Dark Horse: Stephen Daldry, Skylight

Best Director of a Musical
Will Win: Christopher Wheeldon, An American in Paris
Should Win: Christopher Wheeldon, An American in Paris
Dark Horse: Sam Gold, Fun Home

Best Book of a Musical
Will Win: Lisa Kron, Fun Home
Should Win: Lisa Kron, Fun Home
Dark Horse: Karey Kirkpatric and John O'Farrell, Something Rotten

Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre
Will Win: Jeanine Tesori and Lisa Kron, Fun Home
Should Win: Jeanine Tesori and Lisa Kron, Fun Home
Dark Horse: Sting, The Last Ship

Best Choreography
Will Win: Christopher Wheeldon, An American in Paris
Should Win: Christopher Wheeldon, An American in Paris
Dark Horse: Joshua Bergasse, On the Town

Best Orchestrations
Will Win: John Clancy, Fun Home
Should Win: John Clancy, Fun Home
Dark Horse: Rob Mathes, The Last Ship

Best Scenic Design of a Play
Will Win: Bob Crowley, Skylight
Should Win: Bob Crowley, Skylight
Dark Horse: Bunny Christie & Finn Ross, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

Best Scenic Design of a Musical
Will Win: Bob Crowley and 59 Productions, An American in Paris
Should Win: Bob Crowley and 59 Productions, An American in Paris
Dark Horse: David Zinn, Fun Home

Best Costume Design of a Play
Will Win: Christopher Oram, Wolf Hall
Should Win: Bob Crowley, The Audience
Dark Horse: Bob Crowley, The Audience

Best Costume Design of a Musical
Will Win: William Ivey Long, On the Twentieth Century
Should Win: William Ivey Long, On the Twentieth Century
Dark Horse: Catherine Zuber, The King and I

Best Lighting Design of a Play
Will Win: Paule Constable, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Should Win: Paule Constable, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Dark Horse: Natasha Katz, Skylight

Best Lighting Design of a Musical
Will Win: Natasha Katz, An American in Paris
Should Win: Japhy Weideman, The Visit
Dark Horse: Ben Stanton, Fun Home

Friday, May 29, 2015

An Act of G-d Opens on Broadway

The first show of the 2015-2016 Broadway season has opened and the reviews are in.  And boy are they a doozy.  Charles Isherwood of The New York Times absolutely loved both the show and its star, Jim Parsons.  He gave the show the type of review that would have certainly given Mr. Parsons a strong shot at a Tony nomination if the show opened closer to the end of the season.  Of course, given that the 2014-2015 season just ended and the Tony Awards for that cycle won't happen for another week, the show (playing at the Roundabout's Studio 54) will be incredibly forgotten by the time next year's Tony's come around.

Marilyn Stasio of Variety Magazine, on the other hand, absolutely hated the show, calling it boring and trite.  The style of humor is not one she appreciates or enjoys.

Robert Kahn gave a thoroughly middle-of-the-road review of the show -- neither good nor bad.

It seems to me that the show will be very popular among a small niche market but will not last in people's memories once they walk out the door.  It may, due to its content and small cast, have a decent life as a community theater production, but that's about the extent of it.

Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Tony Performances Announced

The list of performances that will be appearing at this year's Tony Awards has been announced.  The casts of The King & I and On The Town will perform medleys from their respective shows.  Chita Rivera will be performing a number from her current Tony-nominated run in The Visit.  There will also be performances from the new musicals Fun Home, Something Rotten! and Finding Neverland.

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Tuck Everlasting to Live on Broadway

A musical adaptation of the novel and movie Tuck Everlasting will make its way to Broadway next year.  The show will open at a to-be-named Shubert house on April 17, 2016.  The novel, written in 1976, and the subsequent 1981 and 2002 feature film adaptations, are about an immortal boy and a girl who falls in love with him.  This production premiered at Atlanta's Alliance Theatre starring Andrew Keenan-Bolger in the title role.  Casting for the Broadway run has not yet been announced.

Wednesday, May 6, 2015

Good News for Mongkut

There is good news in Siam.  The current Broadway revival of Rogers and Hammerstein's The King & I, which was originally slated for a limited run at Lincoln Center's Vivian Beaumont Theatre, has announced that the production will extend indefinitely.  The show will also be launching a national tour starting in November 2016.

Monday, May 4, 2015

Second Tony Casualty

The 2015 Tony nominations have taken their second casualty (and I have a feeling that casualty number three is not far behind -- It Shoulda Been You, I'm looking at you).  Doctor Zhivago has posted its closing notice tonight.  The show will officially end its run this coming Sunday, May 10th after playing 26 previews and 23 regular performances.  The show began previews on March 27th and opened on April 21st to strong negative reviews.

Friday, May 1, 2015

First Tony Casualty

The first casualty of the 2015 Tony nominations has occurred.  Living on Love, which received no Tony nominations this year, has posted its closing notice.  The show, which features Renee Flemming in her Broadway debut, will close on May 3rd, 2015, after 21 previews and 15 regular performances.