Tony Nominations - Broadway Abridged

I'm sure I have the only blog that has the Tony Nominations pasted in. I'm sure I'm also the only blog that will have who I think will win with reasons why.

First note that these are the on-Broadway shows I saw this year:

Radio Golf [well, seeing tonight actually]
Les Mis v.2.0
Legally Blonde, AKA Wicked 2.0
Coast of $330 to see the whole thing
Grey Gardens (A MindFuck in Two Movements)
Mary Poppins: Let's Rape Your Childhood
Company: You Better Learn To Play An Instrument Bitch
Spring Awakening, or, How Germans Became So Fucked Up
LoveMusik: Just Improvise, Donna and Michael!
Chorus Line: Makes You Almost Wish David Leveaux Took A Hand At It. Almost.
Talk Radio: "You'll Love us for Leiv!" [end musical jingle]
Inherit the Wind: Remember McCarthy?
Martin Short: The Man Who Ran Out Of Ideas
110 in the Shade: Roundabout Still Isn't Trying
Apple Tree: Be Glad They're Going Back To Sondheim Next Year. And that it's a British Import.

My takes on who will win, not who I think should win. I've removed the races I don't

Best Play
The Coast of Utopia
Frost/Nixon
The Little Dog Laughed
Radio Golf

Missed Little Dog because I heard it was better Off Broadway. Frost/Nixon I'm still planning on. But I say Coast of Utopia.

Best Musical
Curtains
Grey Gardens
Mary Poppins
Spring Awakening

Spring Awakening. Poppins was disappointing, Curtains I haven't seen but didn't seem so critically acclaimed, and Grey Gardens was absurd (maybe I'll abridge it this summer). Spring Awakening was the most ambitious, and at least the first act was successful.

Best Book of a Musical
Curtains
Grey Gardens
Legally Blonde The Musical
Spring Awakening

Hmm. Haven't seen Curtains, and the other three are all based on previous material. I think they'll choose Spring Awakening for some reason.

Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre
Curtains
Grey Gardens
Legally Blonde The Musical
Spring Awakening

Spring Awakening. I don't think they'll choose Grey Gardens over it.

Best Revival of a Musical
The Apple Tree
A Chorus Line
Company
110 in the Shade

Company will win against two stale Roundabout revivals and a reproduction.

Best Special Theatrical Event
Jay Johnson: The Two and Only!
Kiki & Herb Alive on Broadway

The theatre community loves Kiki & Herb too much not to pick them.

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play
Boyd Gaines, Journey's End
Frank Langella, Frost/Nixon
BrÃan F. O'Byrne, The Coast of Utopia
Christopher Plummer, Inherit the Wind
Liev Schreiber, Talk Radio

Welcome to the Frank Langella show. But if Christopher Plummer wins I wouldn't be too surprised either.

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play
Eve Best, A Moon for the Misbegotten
Swoosie Kurtz, Heartbreak House
Angela Lansbury, Deuce
Vanessa Redgrave, The Year of Magical Thinking
Julie White, The Little Dog Laughed

I didn't see a single one of these. But it's Eve Best.

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical
Michael Cerveris, LoveMusik
Raul Esparza, Company
Jonathan Groff, Spring Awakening
Gavin Lee, Mary Poppins
David Hyde Pierce, Curtains

It's between Michael Cerveris and Raul Esparza, but Raul will take home the... metallic... whatever it's made of.

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical
Laura Bell Bundy, Legally Blonde The Musical
Christine Ebersole, Grey Gardens
Audra McDonald, 110 in the Shade
Debra Monk, Curtains
Donna Murphy, LoveMusik

I'm surprised that Laura Bell Bundy won over Chenoweth for the spot. But that aside, I still think this is Ebersole's night.

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play
Anthony Chisholm, Radio Golf
Billy Crudup, The Coast of Utopia
Ethan Hawke, The Coast of Utopia
John Earl Jelks, Radio Golf
Stark Sands, Journey's End

Didn't see Journey's End. Ethan Hawke might take it. But I'll be seeing Radio Golf tonight; I might change my mind on this.

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play
Jennifer Ehle, The Coast of Utopia
Xanthe Elbrick, Coram Boy
Dana Ivey, Butley
Jan Maxwell, Coram Boy
Martha Plimpton, The Coast of Utopia

Haven't seen Coram Boy yet, so no idea.

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical
Brooks Ashmanskas, Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me
Christian Borle, Legally Blonde The Musical
John Cullum, 110 in the Shade
John Gallagher, Jr., Spring Awakening
David Pittu, LoveMusik

Tough one. People liked Pittu but something screwed up with his scene the night I went. I don't know... I want to say Christian Borle. Just cause he's a nice guy. And the rest are all jerks. Why you all up bein' mean to Christian Borle, John Cullum? What he ever done to you?

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical
Charlotte d'Amboise, A Chorus Line
Rebecca Luker, Mary Poppins
Orfeh, Legally Blonde The Musical
Mary Louise Wilson, Grey Gardens
Karen Ziemba, Curtains

Karen Ziemba. If not, then Mary Louise Wilson.

Best Costume Design of a Musical
Gregg Barnes, Legally Blonde The Musical
Bob Crowley, Mary Poppins
Susan Hilferty, Spring Awakening
William Ivey Long, Grey Gardens

William Ivey Long wins this one and always wins. It makes no sense to have other costume designers on Broadway anymore. Just let William Ivey Long costume all of them, forever. Apparently he has the time.

Best Revival of a Play
Best Scenic Design of a Play
Best Scenic Design of a Musical
Best Costume Design of a Play
Best Lighting Design of a Play
Best Lighting Design of a Musical
I'm not even going to attempt these.

Best Direction of a Play
Michael Grandage, Frost/Nixon
David Grindley, Journey's End
Jack O'Brien, The Coast of Utopia
Melly Still, Coram Boy

What Jack O'Brien did...

Best Direction of a Musical
John Doyle, Company
Scott Ellis, Curtains
Michael Greif, Grey Gardens
Michael Mayer, Spring Awakening

Not Doyle. I'll rule out Ellis because I didn't see it. So I think Michael Mayer.

Best Choreography
Rob Ashford, Curtains
Matthew Bourne and Stephen Mear, Mary Poppins
Bill T. Jones, Spring Awakening
Jerry Mitchell, Legally Blonde The Musical

I think this one is Poppins.

Best Orchestrations
Bruce Coughlin, Grey Gardens
Duncan Sheik, Spring Awakening
Jonathan Tunick, LoveMusik
Jonathan Tunick, 110 in the Shade

I'd say this is LoveMusik's, but it may get shot down for the music not being new.

Before Tony night, I'll post the FIRST ANNUAL Broadway Abridged Superlatives! Wheeee!

6 Comments

Anonymous | May 15, 2007 3:09 PM

I still hope Stark Sands puts up competition for best featured actor. I know you didn't see Journey's End, but I thought he was awesome and that Hawke was just kind of... yelling in Voyage. Sands may be the first person to make me feel like I've been shot in a war, and as horrible as that is, it's going to take a damn good actor to make me feel anything other than vauge empathy.Hey, the other featured musical actors aren't *all* jerks! Gallagher has been a real nice guy the couple times I've spoken to him :P~ Megan

Colleen | May 15, 2007 5:29 PM

I'd be happy with Cerveris winning, but I'm really rooting for Raul.

Anonymous | May 15, 2007 6:17 PM

John Gallagher's about as far from a jerk as you can get. Not that that means he should win, just sayin'.

Gil | May 15, 2007 6:20 PM

No, I'm sure all of them are jerks except for Christian Borle. Christian Borle might even have to be photographed with all the rest of them for a publicity shoot, and they're probably going to try to kill him or something. Why's everybody so mean to poor ol' Borle?

Anonymous | May 16, 2007 12:46 PM

Because Borle does things like name himself Awesome Christian Borle, duh.~ Megan

Alyssa | June 22, 2007 7:43 PM

Like most other comments I too beleive that John Gallagher is no jerk

Alyssa on "Tony Nominations": Like most other comments I too beleive that John Gallagher is no jerk
Anonymous on "Tony Nominations": Because Borle does things like name himself Awesome Christian Borle, duh.~ Megan