War has often been theme for media. I'm sure we could spend hours thinking of the various titles of books, movies, TV shows, plays, even paintings or art installations that use war as a theme, setting, or back drop. It's not very often that we get these pieces of art while we are still embroiled in the war on which we are presented with.
Rajiv Josephs new play Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo is set in Iraq in 2003, not long after the US first invaded and ousted Saddam Hussein from his tyrannical role as leader. Joseph uses this setting to discuss universal themes like sin and redemption, and the never ending cycle of violence that has already begun before the curtain rises and will continue after it falls.
Robin Williams as The tiger dies in the very first scene, after eating the hand of an American soldier named Tom (Glenn Davis), and being shot by another soldier, Kev (Brad Fleischer). As the one who killed him, Kev is the only person who seems able to hear the ghost of this talking tiger, which starts driving him insane.
The story of the soldiers intersects with that of Musa (Arian Moayed), an Iraqi translator assisting the American military forces. The gold-plated gun that killed the tiger originally belonged to Uday Hussein (Hrach Titizian), one of Saddam Hussein's sons, and Musa's former employer.
The first act is difficult to follow because there are good portions of the script that are entirely in Arabic with no translation. This is not an easy play to watch. That doesn't mean that it isn't good, because it is, it just isn't easily accessible.
Musa was a gardener at the Hussein mansion, creating large topiaries shaped as various animals. The decaying remnants of this garden, hauntingly realized by scenic designer Derek McLane, capture the attention of the tiger, and it becomes a symbol of a lost paradise, abandoned by its creator and falling into ruin, just as God seems to have likewise gone missing and let the world descend into chaos.
This is the type of play that doesn't really sink it while you are watching it. It's not until the play is over and you are able to reflect that the magnitude of what you have seen really hits you. It's probably more poignant upon second viewing. Though I suppose there are some that will connect to it right away and not need that second helping.
The biggest problem that I had with the play is that none of the characters are particularly likable. There is the character of Musa, who is extremely likable, and the tiger. The tiger doesn't really get much interaction his is mostly monologues performed out at the audience. They are poetic and meaningful and often humorous monologues, but it does get a bit tedious.
If you can make it through Act I Act II is much better. Everything comes together in a very satisfying albeit difficult ending. The play challenges us to see what it is the rest of the world sees. It asks us to examine our beliefs, and challenges us to look within at the cycle we are all a part of.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Saturday, May 21, 2011
By The Way, Meet Vera Stark
The Golden Age of Hollywood is alive on stage over at Second Stage Theater. Lynn Nottage (who won a Pulitzer last year for her play Ruined which played at MTC) has put together a well written, though at times uneven study of African American actresses in the early days of cinema.
The first act is a perfect representation of what it was like for young black women fighting for screen time to say things like "Yes'm" and "no'm". Vera is an aspiring young fire cracker, who in today's Hollywood would have been cast in a picture immediately, has trouble playing even a maid in 1933. A "gone with the wind" type southern epic is being made at the studio, and every black woman in town is clamoring to play one of the slaves. There is a humorous exchange about this in the second scene.
While act I is a perfect, and comedic, outlook on what things were like, and the degradation women of color were put through in order to find work on the screen, act II takes place simultaneously in 2003, and in 1973. An expert panel is discussing some newly rediscovered footage from a 1973 TV interview at an symposium titled "Finding Vera Stark". This is where problems begin.
The play doesn't adequately draw enough parallels between the first and second act. Even though that character of Vera Stark is in front of us, albeit forty years after she first graced the scene in the aforementioned southern epic, we only get small hints of the struggle that she must have gone through in those subsequent years.
A large majority of praise must be heaped upon Sanaa Lathan who plays Vera Stark. It is through her performance alone that we can understand the struggle and the pain and heartbreak that Vera has gone through. We can see that she both loves the applause of the audience, and loathes them for what they made her do. The supporting cast is fantastic. Each person is giving a truly top notch performance. The second act does need some stronger connectivity to Act I but other than that, definitely worth checking out.
The first act is a perfect representation of what it was like for young black women fighting for screen time to say things like "Yes'm" and "no'm". Vera is an aspiring young fire cracker, who in today's Hollywood would have been cast in a picture immediately, has trouble playing even a maid in 1933. A "gone with the wind" type southern epic is being made at the studio, and every black woman in town is clamoring to play one of the slaves. There is a humorous exchange about this in the second scene.
While act I is a perfect, and comedic, outlook on what things were like, and the degradation women of color were put through in order to find work on the screen, act II takes place simultaneously in 2003, and in 1973. An expert panel is discussing some newly rediscovered footage from a 1973 TV interview at an symposium titled "Finding Vera Stark". This is where problems begin.
The play doesn't adequately draw enough parallels between the first and second act. Even though that character of Vera Stark is in front of us, albeit forty years after she first graced the scene in the aforementioned southern epic, we only get small hints of the struggle that she must have gone through in those subsequent years.
A large majority of praise must be heaped upon Sanaa Lathan who plays Vera Stark. It is through her performance alone that we can understand the struggle and the pain and heartbreak that Vera has gone through. We can see that she both loves the applause of the audience, and loathes them for what they made her do. The supporting cast is fantastic. Each person is giving a truly top notch performance. The second act does need some stronger connectivity to Act I but other than that, definitely worth checking out.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Wonderland
There are some stories that are never going to get old. Alice in Wonderland is one of them. Unfortunately, unlike other classic stories (Peter Pan, Cinderella, The Wizard of Oz, just to name a few) there is no definitive stage adaptation. There have been people who have tried with varying degrees of success. Add the folks of Wonderland into the pile of those that made a near valiant effort, but didn't quite make it through the looking glass.
It's tough not to compare this Alice to other Alice's past. I will say that, while it does cut many of Lewis Carroll's characters, they do capture the essence of the original story pretty well. Though this Alice is not the Alice we grew up with. In fact it begins with a young girl texting and listening to her Grandmother read her Alice in Wonderland.
Chloe, the girl in question, has just moved into a new dwelling place as a result of her parents "Marital Problems". We don't hear much about these problems, what they are, how they came about, we just have to trust that they are there, which is fine in a sense, except that it's important for us to know as to how these characters are relating to each other.
The story pushes onward introducing us to Alice, who is a teacher who longs to be a writer, and apparently has very little time for her family, which may or may not be part of the marital problems, though we get the feeling from the way Alice speaks of her husband that it's all his fault. Alice bumps her head taking the service elevator (why is she taking the service elevator and not the regular people elevator? I couldn't tell you, and neither do the book writers), and falls asleep after a confrontation with her daughter and mother in law. Why is her mother in law at the house that she just moved into to get away from her son? Another interesting and unanswered question. Nevertheless, Alice falls asleep and who should appear but the white rabbit, leading Alice back to the service elevator in question, and incidentally on to Wonderland.
The rest of the story is filled with the same time of poor book writing, bad jokes, and underdeveloped characters. The music is quite good, very catchy, but the lyrics are mostly terrible. The sad thing is that it could have been quite good if there was somebody on board who new how to structure a musical.
Performances are mostly good. Janet Dacal is endearing and likable as Alice. Carly Rose Sonnenclar is adorable and never precocious as Chloe. Karen Mason and Kate Shindle do their best to make crap sparkle. Darren Ritchie does what is needed as The White Knight, and you just spend the whole time feeling sorry for Jose Llanna.
The set and costumes are lovely, so the projections get to be a bit trippy at times, and there are some very poorly staged moments, like the act I finale for instance. Wonderland is closing on Sunday May 15th. It is a wasted opportunity because there IS something there, it's just not quite fully developed yet.
It's tough not to compare this Alice to other Alice's past. I will say that, while it does cut many of Lewis Carroll's characters, they do capture the essence of the original story pretty well. Though this Alice is not the Alice we grew up with. In fact it begins with a young girl texting and listening to her Grandmother read her Alice in Wonderland.
Chloe, the girl in question, has just moved into a new dwelling place as a result of her parents "Marital Problems". We don't hear much about these problems, what they are, how they came about, we just have to trust that they are there, which is fine in a sense, except that it's important for us to know as to how these characters are relating to each other.
The story pushes onward introducing us to Alice, who is a teacher who longs to be a writer, and apparently has very little time for her family, which may or may not be part of the marital problems, though we get the feeling from the way Alice speaks of her husband that it's all his fault. Alice bumps her head taking the service elevator (why is she taking the service elevator and not the regular people elevator? I couldn't tell you, and neither do the book writers), and falls asleep after a confrontation with her daughter and mother in law. Why is her mother in law at the house that she just moved into to get away from her son? Another interesting and unanswered question. Nevertheless, Alice falls asleep and who should appear but the white rabbit, leading Alice back to the service elevator in question, and incidentally on to Wonderland.
The rest of the story is filled with the same time of poor book writing, bad jokes, and underdeveloped characters. The music is quite good, very catchy, but the lyrics are mostly terrible. The sad thing is that it could have been quite good if there was somebody on board who new how to structure a musical.
Performances are mostly good. Janet Dacal is endearing and likable as Alice. Carly Rose Sonnenclar is adorable and never precocious as Chloe. Karen Mason and Kate Shindle do their best to make crap sparkle. Darren Ritchie does what is needed as The White Knight, and you just spend the whole time feeling sorry for Jose Llanna.
The set and costumes are lovely, so the projections get to be a bit trippy at times, and there are some very poorly staged moments, like the act I finale for instance. Wonderland is closing on Sunday May 15th. It is a wasted opportunity because there IS something there, it's just not quite fully developed yet.
Saturday, May 7, 2011
The Normal Heart
There is room for all kinds of theater on Broadway. There are fun and campy musicals that make us feel great like Mamma Mia! and Priscilla Queen of the Desert. There are plays that make us laugh like Born Yesterday and Good People. There are dramas that make us think, and cry like Times Stand Still and War Horse. Every so often a work comes along that has the power to make you laugh, cry, think, and more importantly change your guts.
Larry Kramers The Normal Heart is more than just a beautiful play, it is a call to arms. We are 30 years into the HIV/AIDS plague and we are no closer to ending it than when we began. So many of the issues that are at the core of this play, are still prevalent issues in our society more than 20 years after it was written and first presented off-Broadway.
There have been 35 million deaths from HIV/AIDS. 75 million people have been diagnosed with this disease. We as a civilization have become desensitized and complacent. We still live in a country where gay people are afraid to come out of the closet. There are still more than 20 states where you can be fired from your job, denied housing. or lose your benefits because you are gay. Where it is perfectly legal to discriminate against somebody for being gay. Gay men and women can still not marry each other. All these things help propagate HIV/AIDS.
People who are not free to be with whom it is they want to be with, very often choose to live a life "normalcy". While living this lie, they continue to engage in sexual behaviors on the side with the people they would rather be intimate with, but are afraid or unable to do so with for fear of losing their loved ones, job, health insurance, housing. etc. They are then bringing this disease home with them, and then to their next elicit encounter.
Our culture has become completely sexualized. So many of our young people think that they can go out and have sex with whomever they want, and they are not going to get infected with anything. We as an American People need to stand up and fight.
Take away peoples fear. If people are not afraid to be openly who they are, and what they are, we can see this disease start to be eradicated. If we allow people who love each other to marry, and build their family unite freely and openly, we can see this disease start to decline.f
If we continue to allow things to progress as they are there is no telling how many more people will die. There is no telling how many more, perhaps worse, will have to "live" with this terrible disease. There are things that can be done. Pharmaceutical companies can be lobbied to lower the cost of meds, giving access to those who cannot afford the astronomical prices. The government can be lobbied into making it illegal for anyone to lose any job, any housing, any medical or other benefit for being homosexual. The Government can be lobbied to allow us to marry one another, to give us legal validation that our love, our family unit, our support of one another is just as important, profound, and worthy of protection as the heterosexual population.
This, like the play, has not been much of a review. The Normal Heart is the most important show playing on Broadway right now. It the duty of every living person to see it, and to do something. Make no excuse. I challenge you all to see this play, and NOT be affected to do something.
Larry Kramers The Normal Heart is more than just a beautiful play, it is a call to arms. We are 30 years into the HIV/AIDS plague and we are no closer to ending it than when we began. So many of the issues that are at the core of this play, are still prevalent issues in our society more than 20 years after it was written and first presented off-Broadway.
There have been 35 million deaths from HIV/AIDS. 75 million people have been diagnosed with this disease. We as a civilization have become desensitized and complacent. We still live in a country where gay people are afraid to come out of the closet. There are still more than 20 states where you can be fired from your job, denied housing. or lose your benefits because you are gay. Where it is perfectly legal to discriminate against somebody for being gay. Gay men and women can still not marry each other. All these things help propagate HIV/AIDS.
People who are not free to be with whom it is they want to be with, very often choose to live a life "normalcy". While living this lie, they continue to engage in sexual behaviors on the side with the people they would rather be intimate with, but are afraid or unable to do so with for fear of losing their loved ones, job, health insurance, housing. etc. They are then bringing this disease home with them, and then to their next elicit encounter.
Our culture has become completely sexualized. So many of our young people think that they can go out and have sex with whomever they want, and they are not going to get infected with anything. We as an American People need to stand up and fight.
Take away peoples fear. If people are not afraid to be openly who they are, and what they are, we can see this disease start to be eradicated. If we allow people who love each other to marry, and build their family unite freely and openly, we can see this disease start to decline.f
If we continue to allow things to progress as they are there is no telling how many more people will die. There is no telling how many more, perhaps worse, will have to "live" with this terrible disease. There are things that can be done. Pharmaceutical companies can be lobbied to lower the cost of meds, giving access to those who cannot afford the astronomical prices. The government can be lobbied into making it illegal for anyone to lose any job, any housing, any medical or other benefit for being homosexual. The Government can be lobbied to allow us to marry one another, to give us legal validation that our love, our family unit, our support of one another is just as important, profound, and worthy of protection as the heterosexual population.
This, like the play, has not been much of a review. The Normal Heart is the most important show playing on Broadway right now. It the duty of every living person to see it, and to do something. Make no excuse. I challenge you all to see this play, and NOT be affected to do something.
Friday, May 6, 2011
The People in the Picture
There have been many pieces of theater, and in fact many other forms of media as well, that have told the stories of the atrocities of The Holocaust. The latest of these artful endeavors is the new musical The People in the Picture currently being presented on Broadway by The Roundabout Theater company.
The story revolves around Bubbi, who takes care of her Grand daughter (or is it the other way around?), and Bubbi's troubled relationship with her daughter Red. The action takes place is 1977, but frequently flashes back to Poland from 1938-1947. Donna Murphy plays Bubbi, and her younger self, Reisal.
People starts with great promise, with a toe tapping opening number that introduces the characters, establishes relationships, and sets the tone for the first act. Toward the middle of the first act things start to go a bit awry. The character of Red is sorely underwritten, and deserves to be fleshed out a bit more. We learn that there is a secret to be told, and as the action goes back and forth we start to form a picture of our own of what that secret may be.
Act I is for the most part very upbeat, with some very catchy songs and witty dialogue. Act II opens in the Warsaw Ghetto and gets very dark, very fast. There is very little transition into this darkness, and Act I and act II don't quite flow together naturally. Everything in Act II is much tighter, and fits together much more naturally than in Act I. The play has a very satisfying ending however, which marked with the great beginning, end of Act I, and all of Act II makes you forgive them their minor faults.
The star of the show is Donna Murphy, who was recently Tony nominated for this performance. Her work is exquisite. With no make up, and very little costume change she completely transforms and transfers between there two women, and they do almost seem like two different women. On a lesser actress they might appear more so, but Ms. Murphy not only shows the differences between her younger and older selves, but also lets you see the similarities, and the journey of how she became who she is.
The People in the Picture is not a great musical. It does what great musicals do though. It tells you a wonderful story. It delivers excellent choreography and has you humming when you leave the theater, and perhaps even opens your heart a little. It is definitely worth a trip to the theater! Playing through June 19th only so don't delay!
The story revolves around Bubbi, who takes care of her Grand daughter (or is it the other way around?), and Bubbi's troubled relationship with her daughter Red. The action takes place is 1977, but frequently flashes back to Poland from 1938-1947. Donna Murphy plays Bubbi, and her younger self, Reisal.
People starts with great promise, with a toe tapping opening number that introduces the characters, establishes relationships, and sets the tone for the first act. Toward the middle of the first act things start to go a bit awry. The character of Red is sorely underwritten, and deserves to be fleshed out a bit more. We learn that there is a secret to be told, and as the action goes back and forth we start to form a picture of our own of what that secret may be.
Act I is for the most part very upbeat, with some very catchy songs and witty dialogue. Act II opens in the Warsaw Ghetto and gets very dark, very fast. There is very little transition into this darkness, and Act I and act II don't quite flow together naturally. Everything in Act II is much tighter, and fits together much more naturally than in Act I. The play has a very satisfying ending however, which marked with the great beginning, end of Act I, and all of Act II makes you forgive them their minor faults.
The star of the show is Donna Murphy, who was recently Tony nominated for this performance. Her work is exquisite. With no make up, and very little costume change she completely transforms and transfers between there two women, and they do almost seem like two different women. On a lesser actress they might appear more so, but Ms. Murphy not only shows the differences between her younger and older selves, but also lets you see the similarities, and the journey of how she became who she is.
The People in the Picture is not a great musical. It does what great musicals do though. It tells you a wonderful story. It delivers excellent choreography and has you humming when you leave the theater, and perhaps even opens your heart a little. It is definitely worth a trip to the theater! Playing through June 19th only so don't delay!
Monday, May 2, 2011
Tony Awards Predictions
Tomorrow is the big day! The 2011 Tony Award nominations will be announced live at 8:30 am eastern time by Tony Award winners Matthew Broderick and Anika Noni Rose. So, on this nomination eve, as expected I'm sure, I figured I would offer up my predictions and opinions :-).
Let's begin with the design awards. On the play front, there are several plays with fantastic designs, I'd say both War Horse and Brief Encounter are shoe ins, at least War Horse. I'd also say that The Importance of Being Earnest, Good People, and The Pee Wee Herman Show have good chances of being nominated.
As far as musicals go, The Book of Mormon will most likely be nominated for every award is eligible to be nominated for Producers style. Other shows that are sure to get design award nominations include Priscilla, Wonderland, Catch me if you can, Anything goes, How to succeed, and baby it's you. The design for a musical nominations will probably be used to spread a little love to the shows that aren't getting nominated for performance or best new or revived play/musical awards.
Best director of a play nominees are sure to include Emma Rice for her brilliant Brief Encounter, Joel Grey and George C. Wolfe, for the much lauded revival of The Normal Heart, Moises Kaufman for Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, the last slot could go to David Levoiux for Arcadia, Brian Bedford for The Importance of Being Earnest, and Daniel Sullivan for The Merchant of Venice.
Best Choreography: There are some new faces in the mix, but for the most part the heavy contenders already have tony awards. The most likely are Kathleen Marshal for Anything Goes, Rob Ashford for How to Succeed. Jerry Mitchel will also probably be nominated for Catch me if you can. The last two spots will probably go to either Sister Act, Priscilla, or Baby it's you. I can't see Wonderland, The People in the picture, or any of the already closed musicals (Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, Women on the verge, or The Scottsboro boys) getting nominations. The only exception may prove (and deserves to be) Susan Stroman who has done some of the best work of her career for The Scottsboro boys.
Best Director of a musical will probably follow suit with choreographer. Rob Ashford and Kathleen Marshal will probably score nods, along with Jerry Zaks for Sister Act. The other nominations could go to Priscilla, The People in the picture, or The Scottsboro boys. Baby it's you, Wonderland, and Catch me if you can are unlikely to score nominations.
The featured actor and actress categories are harder to pin down because they are far more expansive. Also, some performers who characters are technically featured roles have been bumped up to leading status because of who is playing them.
I think that featured actor in a play will see nominations go to The Pittman Painters, Arcadia, A free man of color, Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, The mother fucker with the hat, The house of Blue Leaves, and The Normal Heart.
Featured Actress in a play nominees are easier, because there are always fewer stand outs. This year, Judith Light for Lombardi, and Estelle Parsons for Good People are sure to be nominated. Arcadia will also see some of it's women nominated, as well as Brief Encounter. Edie Falco stands a good chance of being nominated for The House of Blue Leaves.
Featured Actor in a musical will probably see nominations go to Nick Adams for Priscilla, John Laraquette for How to Succeed. The other slots could really go anyplace. None of the featured male performances are really garnering much attention. Tom Wopat could get a nom for Catch me if you can, as well as Chester Gregory for Sister Act, many of the men from The Scottsboro Boys deserve to be nominated, but it will be tough for them since the show closed so early.
Featured Actress in a musical is just as hard to narrow down this year. Victoria Clark is sure to get a nom for playing Mother Superior in Sister Act, Laura Osnes for Anything Goes, Rose Hemingway for How to Succeed. The other slots could be filled by one of The Shirelles from Baby, it's you, one of the nuns from Sister Act, or perhaps Kerry Butler from Catch me if you can, or Karen Mason from Wonderland or Nicole Parker from The People in the picture. Don't count out Laura Benanti or Patti Lupone for Women on the Verge either.
The leading Actor in a play category is the toughest to call because there were some fantastic performances from men this season. The ones who deserve to be nominated are Dan Lauria for Lombardi, Brian Bedford for The Importance of Being Earnest, Bobby Canavale for The Mother Fucker with the hat, Santina Fontana for The Importance of Being Earnest, James Earl Jones for Driving Miss Daisey, Joe Mantello for The Normal Heart, Al Pacino for The Merchant of Venice, Mark Rylance for Jerusalem, and Robin Williams for Bengal Tiger at The Baghdad Zoo. Obviously that's too many to ACTUALLY be nominated. I'd say Robin Williams, Al Pacino, Brian Bedford, Joe Mantello, are sure to be nominated, and the last slot will go to either James Earl Jones or Dan Lauria.
Leading Actress in a play has only seven eligible women. This makes it pretty easy to predict. Nina Arianda for Born Yesterday, Frances McDormand for Good People, Vanessa Redgrave for Driving Miss Daisy, Lilly Rabe for The Merchant of Venice. The last slot could go to Kathleen Turner for High, or Hanna Yeland for Brief Encounter.
Leading Actor in a musical has more choices, but few standouts, so they will probably go to Daniel Radcliffe for How to Succeed, Tony Sheldon for Priscilla, Andrew Rannels for The Book of Mormon, Norbert Leo Buttz for Catch me if you can, and either Will Swenson for Priscilla, Josh Gad for The book of Mormon, or Collin Donnell for Anything Goes.
Leading Actress in a musical is the easiest to call. Donna Murphy, Sutton Foster, Patina Miller, the last slot will probably go to Beth Leavel, but could possibly go to Janet Dacal if they want to give Wonderland a sympathy nomination. My money is on Miss Leavel though, who elevates Baby its you, from its bargain basement roots.
Best revival of play: Earnest, Merchant of Venice, Normal Heart, Arcadia
Revival of a musical only has two choices, and they will both be nominated.
Best new play. There are 14 new plays to choose from, however only 8 with a serious chance of being nominated. The definites are War Horse and Bengal Tiger, the other two slots could go to Good People, The Motherfucker with the hat, Jerusalem, or Ghetto Klown. John Leguizamos previous Broadway offerings have been nominated for Tonys before.
Best New Musical has 12 choices but only 7 that have real chances of being nominated. The Book of Mormon, Sister Act, Priscilla, are sure to be nominated, with the last going to either The People in the picture, Catch me if you can, or, if there is Justice in the world of Musical Theater, The Scottsboro boys.
Welll folks, there you have it! Tomorrow at 8:30 am we will see for sure who gets nominated and who gets snubbed.
Let's begin with the design awards. On the play front, there are several plays with fantastic designs, I'd say both War Horse and Brief Encounter are shoe ins, at least War Horse. I'd also say that The Importance of Being Earnest, Good People, and The Pee Wee Herman Show have good chances of being nominated.
As far as musicals go, The Book of Mormon will most likely be nominated for every award is eligible to be nominated for Producers style. Other shows that are sure to get design award nominations include Priscilla, Wonderland, Catch me if you can, Anything goes, How to succeed, and baby it's you. The design for a musical nominations will probably be used to spread a little love to the shows that aren't getting nominated for performance or best new or revived play/musical awards.
Best director of a play nominees are sure to include Emma Rice for her brilliant Brief Encounter, Joel Grey and George C. Wolfe, for the much lauded revival of The Normal Heart, Moises Kaufman for Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, the last slot could go to David Levoiux for Arcadia, Brian Bedford for The Importance of Being Earnest, and Daniel Sullivan for The Merchant of Venice.
Best Choreography: There are some new faces in the mix, but for the most part the heavy contenders already have tony awards. The most likely are Kathleen Marshal for Anything Goes, Rob Ashford for How to Succeed. Jerry Mitchel will also probably be nominated for Catch me if you can. The last two spots will probably go to either Sister Act, Priscilla, or Baby it's you. I can't see Wonderland, The People in the picture, or any of the already closed musicals (Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, Women on the verge, or The Scottsboro boys) getting nominations. The only exception may prove (and deserves to be) Susan Stroman who has done some of the best work of her career for The Scottsboro boys.
Best Director of a musical will probably follow suit with choreographer. Rob Ashford and Kathleen Marshal will probably score nods, along with Jerry Zaks for Sister Act. The other nominations could go to Priscilla, The People in the picture, or The Scottsboro boys. Baby it's you, Wonderland, and Catch me if you can are unlikely to score nominations.
The featured actor and actress categories are harder to pin down because they are far more expansive. Also, some performers who characters are technically featured roles have been bumped up to leading status because of who is playing them.
I think that featured actor in a play will see nominations go to The Pittman Painters, Arcadia, A free man of color, Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, The mother fucker with the hat, The house of Blue Leaves, and The Normal Heart.
Featured Actress in a play nominees are easier, because there are always fewer stand outs. This year, Judith Light for Lombardi, and Estelle Parsons for Good People are sure to be nominated. Arcadia will also see some of it's women nominated, as well as Brief Encounter. Edie Falco stands a good chance of being nominated for The House of Blue Leaves.
Featured Actor in a musical will probably see nominations go to Nick Adams for Priscilla, John Laraquette for How to Succeed. The other slots could really go anyplace. None of the featured male performances are really garnering much attention. Tom Wopat could get a nom for Catch me if you can, as well as Chester Gregory for Sister Act, many of the men from The Scottsboro Boys deserve to be nominated, but it will be tough for them since the show closed so early.
Featured Actress in a musical is just as hard to narrow down this year. Victoria Clark is sure to get a nom for playing Mother Superior in Sister Act, Laura Osnes for Anything Goes, Rose Hemingway for How to Succeed. The other slots could be filled by one of The Shirelles from Baby, it's you, one of the nuns from Sister Act, or perhaps Kerry Butler from Catch me if you can, or Karen Mason from Wonderland or Nicole Parker from The People in the picture. Don't count out Laura Benanti or Patti Lupone for Women on the Verge either.
The leading Actor in a play category is the toughest to call because there were some fantastic performances from men this season. The ones who deserve to be nominated are Dan Lauria for Lombardi, Brian Bedford for The Importance of Being Earnest, Bobby Canavale for The Mother Fucker with the hat, Santina Fontana for The Importance of Being Earnest, James Earl Jones for Driving Miss Daisey, Joe Mantello for The Normal Heart, Al Pacino for The Merchant of Venice, Mark Rylance for Jerusalem, and Robin Williams for Bengal Tiger at The Baghdad Zoo. Obviously that's too many to ACTUALLY be nominated. I'd say Robin Williams, Al Pacino, Brian Bedford, Joe Mantello, are sure to be nominated, and the last slot will go to either James Earl Jones or Dan Lauria.
Leading Actress in a play has only seven eligible women. This makes it pretty easy to predict. Nina Arianda for Born Yesterday, Frances McDormand for Good People, Vanessa Redgrave for Driving Miss Daisy, Lilly Rabe for The Merchant of Venice. The last slot could go to Kathleen Turner for High, or Hanna Yeland for Brief Encounter.
Leading Actor in a musical has more choices, but few standouts, so they will probably go to Daniel Radcliffe for How to Succeed, Tony Sheldon for Priscilla, Andrew Rannels for The Book of Mormon, Norbert Leo Buttz for Catch me if you can, and either Will Swenson for Priscilla, Josh Gad for The book of Mormon, or Collin Donnell for Anything Goes.
Leading Actress in a musical is the easiest to call. Donna Murphy, Sutton Foster, Patina Miller, the last slot will probably go to Beth Leavel, but could possibly go to Janet Dacal if they want to give Wonderland a sympathy nomination. My money is on Miss Leavel though, who elevates Baby its you, from its bargain basement roots.
Best revival of play: Earnest, Merchant of Venice, Normal Heart, Arcadia
Revival of a musical only has two choices, and they will both be nominated.
Best new play. There are 14 new plays to choose from, however only 8 with a serious chance of being nominated. The definites are War Horse and Bengal Tiger, the other two slots could go to Good People, The Motherfucker with the hat, Jerusalem, or Ghetto Klown. John Leguizamos previous Broadway offerings have been nominated for Tonys before.
Best New Musical has 12 choices but only 7 that have real chances of being nominated. The Book of Mormon, Sister Act, Priscilla, are sure to be nominated, with the last going to either The People in the picture, Catch me if you can, or, if there is Justice in the world of Musical Theater, The Scottsboro boys.
Welll folks, there you have it! Tomorrow at 8:30 am we will see for sure who gets nominated and who gets snubbed.
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