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May 13, 2008
Tony Noms
The one sore thumb, stand-out, HUGE miss in these nominations? Jackie Hoffman, who should have won the Tony easily for her performance in Xanadu and her sidekick in the show, Mary Testa, in the Featured Actress-Musical category. Maybe they cancelled each other out. But both women kick Andrea Martin's butt, killing with scalpels while Martin is left overplaying to the big barn of a theater that left Young Frankenstein with just two other nominations.
It is a testament to how YF was disregarded that it missed in lighting, sound, and costume, while grabbing a nod unavoidably for the set. How much did Tony voters rage against Young Frankenstein? They nominated the ultimately mediocre Cry-Baby instead... a show that apparently had no actors in it, as none were nominated. Christopher Fitzgerald would be a serious contender to win Best Featured Actor - Musical... but won't because the voters are going to roll over for Passing Strange or In The Heights as a vote for the new, though South Pacific is likely to come up from behind Sunday in the Park and win many revival awards... except probably Jenna Russell, who will be coronated with a win for Sunday.
Tony voters also overlooked - though not neccessarily a tragedy here - The Little Mermaid, which has become a consistent top 10 grosser, and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.
Macbeth also got a lot of love, while Laura Linney was left alone while her show nemesis got his due. Rufus Sewell grabbed a Roick-n-Roll nom ahead of Brian Cox. And were Tom Wopat and Faith Prince given nominations as a reward for suffering through the drudgery of A Catered Affair for all these months? (Harvey got zilch, further insult coming when The LIttle Mermaid got an Original score nod mostly for five 20-year-old songs.)
It's also pretty funny, though charming in its way, to see Arthur Laurents nominated for recreating his direction from the 1974 revival of Gypsy, for which he was Tony nominated and Drama Desk-winning. He will be about one month shy of his 90th birthday at the Tonys... will he get a lifetime nod for his remarkable career in the same year Sondheim gets a lifetime achievement award? As with all, we'll see...
The complete list of noms after the jump...
Musical: "Cry-Baby," "In the Heights," "Passing Strange," "Xanadu."
Revival-Musical: "Grease," "Gypsy," "South Pacific," "Sunday in the Park With George."
Book-Musical: "Cry-Baby" (Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan), "In the Heights" (Quiara Alegria Hudes), "Passing Strange" (Stew), "Xanadu" (Douglas Carter Beane).
Actor-Musical: Daniel Evans, "Sunday in the Park With George"; Lin-Manuel Miranda, "In the Heights"; Stew, "Passing Strange"; Paulo Szot, "South Pacific"; Tom Wopat, "A Catered Affair."
Actress-Musical: Kerry Butler, "Xanadu"; Patti LuPone, "Gypsy"; Kelli O'Hara, "South Pacific"; Faith Prince, "A Catered Affair"; Jenna Russell, "Sunday in the Park With George."
Original Score (music and/or lyrics): "Cry-Baby" (Music & Lyrics: David Javerbaum and Adam Schlesinger), "In the Heights" (Music & Lyrics: Lin-Manuel Miranda), "The Little Mermaid" (Music: Alan Menken, Lyrics: Howard Ashman and Glenn Slater), "Passing Strange" (Music: Stew and Heidi Rodewald, Lyrics: Stew).
Featured Actor-Musical: Daniel Breaker, "Passing Strange"; Danny Burstein, "South Pacific"; Robin De Jesus, "In the Heights"; Christopher Fitzgerald, "Young Frankenstein"; Boyd Gaines, "Gypsy."
Featured Actress-Musical: Laura Benanti, "Gypsy"; de'Adre Aziza, "Passing Strange"; Andrea Martin, "Young Frankenstein"; Olga Merediz, "In the Heights"; Loretta Ables Sayre, "South Pacific."
Play (and playwrights): "August: Osage County" (Tracy Letts), "Rock 'n' Roll" (Tom Stoppard), "The Seafarer" (Conor McPherson), "The 39 Steps" (Patrick Barlow).
Revival-Play: "Boeing-Boeing," "The Homecoming," "Les Liaisons Dangereuses," "Macbeth."
Actor-Play: Ben Daniels, "Les Liaisons Dangereuses"; Laurence Fishburne, "Thurgood"; Mark Rylance, "Boeing-Boeing"; Rufus Sewell, "Rock 'n' Roll"; Patrick Stewart, "Macbeth."
Actress-Play: Eve Best, "The Homecoming"; Deanna Dunagan, "August: Osage County"; Kate Fleetwood, "Macbeth"; S. Epatha Merkerson, "Come Back, Little Sheba"; Amy Morton, "August: Osage County."
Featured Actor-Play: Bobby Cannavale, "Mauritius"; Raul Esparza, "The Homecoming"; Conleth Hill, "The Seafarer"; Jim Norton, "The Seafarer"; David Pittu, "Is He Dead?"
Featured Actress-Play: Sinead Cusack, "Rock 'n' Roll"; Mary McCormack, "Boeing-Boeing"; Laurie Metcalf, "November"; Martha Plimpton, "Top Girls"; Rondi Reed, "August: Osage County."
And...
Direction-Play: Maria Aitken, "The 39 Steps"; Conor McPherson, "The Seafarer"; Anna D. Shapiro, "August: Osage County"; Matthew Warchus, "Boeing-Boeing."
Direction-Musical: Sam Buntrock, "Sunday in the Park With George"; Thomas Kail, "In the Heights"; Arthur Laurents, "Gypsy"; Bartlett Sher, "South Pacific."
Choreography: Rob Ashford, "Cry-Baby"; Andy Blankenbuehler, "In the Heights"; Christopher Gattelli, "South Pacific"; Dan Knechtges, "Xanadu."
Orchestrations: Jason Carr, "Sunday in the Park With George"; Alex Lacamoire and Bill Sherman, "In the Heights"; Stew and Heidi Rodewald; "Passing Strange"; Jonathan Tunick, "A Catered Affair."
Scenic Design-Play: Peter McKintosh, "The 39 Steps"; Scott Pask, "Les Liaisons Dangereuses"; Todd Rosenthal, "August: Osage County"; Anthony Ward, "Macbeth."
Scenic Design-Musical: David Farley and Timothy Bird & The Knifedge Creative Network, "Sunday in the Park With George"; Anna Louizos, "In the Heights"; Robin Wagner, "Young Frankenstein"; Michael Yeargen, "South Pacific."
Costume Design-Play: Gregory Gale, "Cyrano de Bergerac"; Rob Howell, "Boeing-Boeing"; Katrina Lindsay, "Les Liaisons Dangereuses"; Peter McKintosh, "The 39 Steps."
Costume Design-Musical: David Farley, "Sunday in the Park With George"; Martin Pakledinaz, "Gypsy"; Paul Tazewell, "In the Heights"; Catherine Zuber, "South Pacific."
Lighting Design-Play: Kevin Adams, "The 39 Steps"; Howard Harrison, "Macbeth"; Donald Holder, "Les Liaisons Dangereuses"; Ann G. Wrightson, "August: Osage County."
Lighting Design-Musical: Ken Billington, "Sunday in the Park With George"; Howell Binkley, "In the Heights"; Donald Holder, "South Pacific," Natasha Katz, "The Little Mermaid."
Sound Design-Play: Simon Baker, "Boeing-Boeing"; Adam Cork, "Macbeth"; Ian Dickson, "Rock 'n' Roll"; Mic Pool, "The 39 Steps."
Sound Design-Musical: Acme Sound Partners, "In the Heights"; Sebastian Frost, "Sunday in the Park With George"; Scott Lehrer, "South Pacific"; Dan Moses Schreier, "Gypsy."
Posted by poland at May 13, 2008 11:22 AM
Comments
I would say that Christopher Fitzgerald's nomination is right there with your comment on Tom Wopat and Faith Prince - a nice gesture for a guy nightly working his hump off trying to wring laughs from a criminally unfunny piece of material.
And it's a small thing, but how nice would it be for Howard Ashman - even posthumously - to finally win a Tony Award?
Posted by: SJRubinstein ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.mcnblogs.com/thehotblog/nav-commenters.gif)
at May 13, 2008 12:19 PM
Goddamn it!
"Terminator 2 3-D: Battle Across Time" stiffed by the Tonys 12 YEARS IN A ROW NOW!
It'll go down as the Susan Lucci of the stage.
And yes, JAMES CAMERON OWNS ALL YOUR ASSES.
Posted by: Crow T Robot at May 13, 2008 02:02 PM
I don't usually follow the Tonys but what's the distinction between an "actor" and "featured actor"?
Posted by: Krazy Eyes at May 13, 2008 03:14 PM
Lead and Supporting... though the lines tend to be blurrier in theater than in, say, Oscar voting.
Posted by: David Poland at May 13, 2008 04:59 PM
Well, let's be honest, the "supporting" categories at the Oscars aren't exactly the most cleancut of categories out there. Jake Gyllenhaal, Casey Affleck, Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Hudson, etc...
I rarely read about plays because they rarely, if ever, make their way down to my shores, but I have heard so much about August: Osage County. I really wish somebody would do an Australian production of that.
Posted by: KamikazeCamelV2.0 at May 14, 2008 12:00 AM
Actually, I'd argue the lines between Leading/Featured are CLEARER in Tonys than elsewhere. If a person is billed above the title, they're "lead." If a person is billed below the title, they're "featured." Now, productions can, and often do, petition to move folks from one category to another, but it's clear before nominations in which category each and every performer falls. (Exemption lobbying is frequently driven by which category is perceived as less competitive.)
Posted by: MattM at May 14, 2008 07:51 AM
along the lines of tony winners : daniel day lewis is going to take the lead in rob marshalls 'nine'?????... does he sing?
Posted by: scooterzz at May 14, 2008 03:55 PM
Why not? He seems capable of pretty much anything.
Posted by: Cadavra at May 14, 2008 10:27 PM
Including "be Spanish"?
Posted by: KamikazeCamelV2.0 at May 15, 2008 03:57 AM
He's been American, which is a lot harder.
Posted by: Cadavra at May 15, 2008 11:17 AM
DANIEL PLAINVIEW IS YOUR GOD.
He should do TWBB 2: THE OWNING.
Posted by: LexG at May 15, 2008 12:56 PM
Is the lead character in Nine really supposed to be Spanish? I have never seen the musical, but in the movie on which it's based, the character is... well, Italian.
Posted by: Joe Leydon at May 15, 2008 01:40 PM
I'm just going by Banderas' Broadway casting and Bardem's original film casting.
Posted by: KamikazeCamelV2.0 at May 15, 2008 07:30 PM
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