2018 Tony Awards

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Mister Tee
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Re: 2018 Tony Awards

Post by Mister Tee »

The Original BJ wrote: At first I thought, how great that someone my age will finally get to see Glenda Jackson give an acceptance speech at an awards show... until I did some digging and learned that she wasn't present to accept her Oscars or Emmys either!
I'm surprised you didn't know this before; it was even the subject of a Maggie Smith throwaway line in California Suite. (The one time Jackson did appear at the Oscars -- 1974, presenting to Art Carney as the reigning best actress -- she gave a sort-of thank you for both her awards, saying "Thank you...well, thank you twice, actually.")

I thought my own mostly-lacking-interest view of this year's face-off was owed to my (largely financial) inability to see much, but I find nearly everyone is moaning and groaning about how weak the competition is, on both the play and musical side (most see best play and best musical as sure things for Harry Potter and The Band's Visit, while doubting either would have had a chance over even some recent losers).

I've seen two shows that were nominated: Junk (which is engaging enough but doesn't offer any special insight) and Mean Girls. You may wonder why I saw Mean Girls, of all things; the answer is, a special connection to a cast member, Barrett Wilbert Weed, who plays Janis in the show. For shorthand, I call her my niece, though the relationship is somewhat less direct (her mother and my wife were first cousins). We have, however, known and been close to her since she was a wee child (the Kathi she credits in her Playbill bio is my wife), and I've watched in delight as her career has advanced over the last half-dozen years. She has a knockout second-act number in Mean Girls (she performed it on the Tonight Show week before last), so I was hoping she'd make the list today and am definitely disappointed it didn't happen. As for the show itself, it's no great shakes, and largely coasts on audience affection for the movie...but it's got a fair number of laughs (not all of them recycled from the film) and some good performers, Barrett and Grey Henson (who did get nominated) my favorites.

As I say, I haven't seen anything else, but there's the standard plethora of celebrity names in mostly revivals. I do take note that Prior Walter -- which won Stephen Spinella a supporting Tony in 1993 -- is now the lead in Angels in America, while Roy Cohn -- which won Ron Leibman the lead Tony that year -- is now supporting. Tonys doing Tonys.
Greg
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Re: 2018 Tony Awards

Post by Greg »

The Original BJ wrote:At first I thought, how great that someone my age will finally get to see Glenda Jackson give an acceptance speech at an awards show... until I did some digging and learned that she wasn't present to accept her Oscars or Emmys either! Presumably she'll show at the Tonys, right, considering there's no travel involved?
I once watched what I believe is Glenda Jackson's first acceptance speech, when she was elected to Parliament for the first time.
The Original BJ
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Re: 2018 Tony Awards

Post by The Original BJ »

This was a pitifully thin season on the musical side. The four Best Musical nominees were just about the only available options, despite not-exactly raves for many of them. (And it's really depressing that all of them are film/tv adaptations, though at least the presumed frontrunner -- The Band's Visit -- is based on grown-up material.) And voters couldn't even come up with five leading actors in a musical to nominate, leaving out the one other eligible actor (from Escape to Margaritaville).

Over on the play side, Angels in America broke the record for most nominations for a play with 11, and did so without nominations for Lee Pace and James McArdle, viewed by many as among the year's most surprisingly overlooked.

At first I thought, how great that someone my age will finally get to see Glenda Jackson give an acceptance speech at an awards show... until I did some digging and learned that she wasn't present to accept her Oscars or Emmys either! Presumably she'll show at the Tonys, right, considering there's no travel involved?

The one production I saw this year was Once On This Island, which I thought was quite spectacular. I was pretty familiar with the show, but the entire staging of this production, in the round at Circle in the Square, was full of imagination -- a stage filled with sand, a virtual lake that actors could enter and exit through, live animals, rain. Every directorial and design choice seemed to answer the question, "How can we pull off this moment in the story with as much invention as possible?" And even the gender-blind casting of the gods -- a female Papa Ge and a male Asaka -- was the kind of "why not?" choice that proved hugely effective. (Though, of course, it helps when both of these roles are played by your friends!) I've not seen the other revivals in contention -- though the more traditionally-mounted My Fair Lady has still been quite enthusiastically received -- but I would happy to cheer for prizes for this production.

I've crossed paths with presumed Best Actress in a Musical frontrunner Katrina Lenk a number of times over the years. She spent a lot of years pounding the pavement in the LA regional theater scene, where we knew each other mostly by reputation, and would run into each other from time to time at auditions and benefits around town. She made the move to New York a few years ago, doing mostly the ensemble/replacement thing, and then seemingly from nowhere landed this star-making role. If she wins her category, as many expect her to, she'll have gone from complete unknown to lead acting Tony winner in a manner of months, more proof of the old adage that it takes twenty years to become an overnight success.
anonymous1980
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2018 Tony Awards

Post by anonymous1980 »

The nominees:

Best Book of a Musical

The Band's Visit: Itamar Moses
Frozen: Jennifer Lee
Mean Girls: Tina Fey
SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical: Kyle Jarrow

Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre
Angels in America
Music: Adrian Sutton

The Band's Visit
Music & Lyrics: David Yazbek

Frozen
Music & Lyrics: Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez

Mean Girls
Music: Jeff Richmond
Lyrics: Nell Benjamin

SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical
Music & Lyrics: Yolanda Adams, Steven Tyler & Joe Perry of Aerosmith, Sara Bareilles, Jonathan Coulton, Alex Ebert of Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, The Flaming Lips, Lady Antebellum, Cyndi Lauper & Rob Hyman, John Legend, Panic! at the Disco, Plain White T's, They Might Be Giants, T.I., Domani & Lil'C

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play
Andrew Garfield, Angels in America
Tom Hollander, Travesties
Jamie Parker, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts One and Two
Mark Rylance, Farinelli and The King
Denzel Washington, Eugene O'Neill's The Iceman Cometh

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play
Glenda Jackson, Edward Albee's Three Tall Women
Condola Rashad, Saint Joan
Lauren Ridloff, Children of a Lesser God
Amy Schumer, Meteor Shower

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical
Harry Hadden-Paton, My Fair Lady
Joshua Henry, Rodgers & Hammerstein's Carousel
Tony Shalhoub, The Band's Visit
Ethan Slater, SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical
Lauren Ambrose, My Fair Lady
Hailey Kilgore, Once On This Island
LaChanze, Summer: The Donna Summer Musical
Katrina Lenk, The Band's Visit
Taylor Louderman, Mean Girls
Jessie Mueller, Rodgers & Hammerstein's Carousel

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play
Anthony Boyle, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts One and Two
Michael Cera, Lobby Hero
Brian Tyree Henry, Lobby Hero
Nathan Lane, Angels in America
David Morse, Eugene O'Neill's The Iceman Cometh

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play
Susan Brown, Angels in America
Noma Dumezweni, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts One and Two
Deborah Findlay, The Children
Denise Gough, Angels in America
Laurie Metcalf, Edward Albee's Three Tall Women

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical
Norbert Leo Butz, My Fair Lady
Alexander Gemignani, Rodgers & Hammerstein's Carousel
Grey Henson, Mean Girls
Gavin Lee, SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical
Ari'el Stachel, The Band's Visit

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical
Ariana DeBose, Summer: The Donna Summer Musical
Renée Fleming, Rodgers & Hammerstein's Carousel
Lindsay Mendez, Rodgers & Hammerstein's Carousel
Ashley Park, Mean Girls
Diana Rigg, My Fair Lady

Best Scenic Design of a Play
Miriam Buether, Edward Albee's Three Tall Women
Jonathan Fensom, Farinelli and The King
Christine Jones, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts One and Two
Santo Loquasto, Eugene O'Neill's The Iceman Cometh
Ian MacNeil and Edward Pierce, Angels in America

Best Scenic Design of a Musical
Dane Laffrey, Once On This Island
Scott Pask, The Band's Visit
Scott Pask, Finn Ross & Adam Young, Mean Girls
Michael Yeargan, My Fair Lady
David Zinn, SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical

Best Costume Design of a Play
Jonathan Fensom, Farinelli and The King
Nicky Gillibrand, Angels in America
Katrina Lindsay, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts One and Two
Ann Roth, Edward Albee's Three Tall Women
Ann Roth, Eugene O'Neill's The Iceman Cometh

Best Costume Design of a Musical
Gregg Barnes, Mean Girls
Clint Ramos, Once On This Island
Ann Roth, Rodgers & Hammerstein's Carousel
David Zinn, SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical
Catherine Zuber, My Fair Lady

Best Lighting Design of a Play
Neil Austin, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts One and Two
Paule Constable, Angels in America
Jules Fisher + Peggy Eisenhauer, Eugene O'Neill's The Iceman Cometh
Paul Russell, Farinelli and The King
Ben Stanton, Junk

Best Lighting Design of a Musical
Kevin Adams, SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical
Jules Fisher + Peggy Eisenhauer, Once On This Island
Donald Holder, My Fair Lady
Brian MacDevitt, Rodgers & Hammerstein's Carousel
Tyler Micoleau, The Band's Visit

Best Sound Design of a Play
Adam Cork, Travesties
Ian Dickinson for Autograph, Angels in America
Gareth Fry, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts One and Two
Tom Gibbons, 1984
Dan Moses Schreier, Eugene O'Neill's The Iceman Cometh

Best Sound Design of a Musical
Kai Harada, The Band's Visit
Peter Hylenski, Once On This Island
Scott Lehrer, Rodgers & Hammerstein's Carousel
Brian Ronan, Mean Girls
Walter Trarbach and Mike Dobson, SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical

Best Direction of a Play
Marianne Elliott, Angels in America
Joe Mantello, Edward Albee's Three Tall Women
Patrick Marber, Travesties
John Tiffany, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts One and Two
George C. Wolfe, Eugene O'Neill's The Iceman Cometh

Best Direction of a Musical
Michael Arden, Once On This Island
David Cromer, The Band's Visit
Tina Landau, SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical
Casey Nicholaw, Mean Girls
Bartlett Sher, My Fair Lady

Best Choreography
Christopher Gattelli, My Fair Lady
Christopher Gattelli, SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical
Steven Hoggett, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts One and Two
Casey Nicholaw, Mean Girls
Justin Peck, Rodgers & Hammerstein's Carousel

Best Orchestrations
John Clancy, Mean Girls
Tom Kitt, SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical
Annmarie Milazzo & Michael Starobin, Once On This Island
Jamshied Sharifi, The Band's Visit
Jonathan Tunick, Rodgers & Hammerstein's Carousel

Best Play
The Children
Author: Lucy Kirkwood

Farinelli and The King
Author: Claire van Kampen

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts One and Two
Author: Jack Thorne

Junk
Author: Ayad Akhtar

Latin History for Morons
Author: John Leguizamo

Best Musical
The Band's Visit
Frozen
Mean Girls
SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical

Best Revival of a Play

Angels in America
Edward Albee's Three Tall Women
Eugene O'Neill's The Iceman Cometh
Lobby Hero
Travesties

Best Revival of a Musical
My Fair Lady
Once On This Island
Rodgers & Hammerstein's Carousel

Recipients of Awards and Honors in Non-competitive Categories

Special Tony Awards for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre
Chita Rivera
Andrew Lloyd Webber

Special Tony Awards
John Leguizamo
Bruce Springsteen

Regional Theatre Tony Award
La MaMa E.T.C. New York City

Isabelle Stevenson Tony Award
Nick Scandalios

Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre
Sara Krulwich
Bessie Nelson
Ernest Winzer Cleaners

Tony Nominations by Production
Mean Girls- 12
SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical- 12
Angels in America- 11
The Band's Visit- 11
Rodgers & Hammerstein's Carousel- 11
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts One and Two- 10
My Fair Lady- 10
Eugene O'Neill's The Iceman Cometh- 8
Once On This Island- 8
Edward Albee's Three Tall Women- 6
Farinelli and The King- 5
Travesties- 4
Frozen- 3
Lobby Hero- 3
The Children- 2
Junk- 2
Summer: The Donna Summer Musical- 2
Children of a Lesser God- 1
Latin History for Morons- 1
Meteor Shower- 1
1984- 1
Saint Joan- 1
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