It’s the Tony Awards! Sunday, June 9th is the
culmination of the Broadway season that, for original musicals, started out
horribly, but picked up steam at the very end with the openings of Kinky Boots
and Matilda. These two hit shows
will be the focus of the Tony ceremony, but don’t be surprised if the revival
of Pippin steals their thunder.
This year there are no sure bets on
winners. Once the nominations were
announced at the end of April Matilda, winner of numerous 2012 Olivier Awards
(the London equivalent of the Tonys), was the clear favorite to sweep the major
honors. But Kinky Boots, which
snared 13 Tony nominations, has been gaining momentum as the American answer to
the hugely popular British musical (even though the setting for KB is an English
shoe factory). So, the big story
of the evening will be if the highly touted creative team of Kinky Boots—Cyndi
Lauper, Harvey Fierstein, and Jerry Mitchell—will be able to overcome the
magical and enchanting theatrics of a little girl and company in Matilda.
What are my predictions? Who do I think will carry off the disk-shaped medallion, depicting
the masks of comedy and tragedy on one side and the profile of Antoinette Perry
on the other (http://www.tonyawards.com/en_US/history/index.html)? Here are my prognostications (in
bold) for the Tony Awards in the major musical categories:
•Best
Featured Actress in a Musical
Nominees
Annaleigh
Ashford - Kinky Boots
Victoria
Clark - Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella
Andrea Martin - Pippin
Keala
Settle - Hands on a Hardbody
Lauren
Ward - Matilda The Musical
Tough decision. I enjoyed each actresses’ performance, but Andrea Martin was
absolutely delightful in Pippin.
Her big number, “No Time At All,” was a tour de force. I would be very disappointed, shocked
if she didn’t carry off her second Tony Award.
•Best
Featured Actor in a Musical
Nominees
Charl
Brown - Motown The Musical
Keith
Carradine - Hands on a Hardbody
Will
Chase - The Mystery of Edwin Drood
Gabriel
Ebert - Matilda The Musical
Terrence Mann - Pippin
I would term this the most boring group of any
musical category. Solid actors,
but no one that stood out above the others. Terrence Mann from Pippin has been the recipient of a number
of pre-Tony honors and I will pick him too, in recognition of his kingly role
as well as his long career on the Broadway stage.
•Best
Book of a Musical
Nominees
Joseph Robinette - A
Christmas Story
Harvey Fierstein - Kinky
Boots
Dennis
Kelly - Matilda The Musical
Douglas Carter Beane - Rodgers
+ Hammerstein's Cinderella
I’ll give the nod to Matilda. Dennis Kelly did an outstanding job of
taking Roald Dahl’s children’s book, fleshing it out, and turning it into a
whimsical, slightly menacing Broadway musical.
*Best
Score of a Musical
Nominees
Benj Pasek and Justin Paul - A
Christmas Story
Trey Anastasio and Amanda Green - Hands
on a Hardbody
Cyndi Lauper - Kinky Boots
Tim Minchin - Matilda
The Musical
A Christmas Story was run-of-the-mill. I wasn’t impressed with Hands on a
Hardbody, even with the participation of Trey Anastasio. Matilda’s score is inventive and
tuneful, but I’ll go with Cyndi Lauper, in her Broadway debut, with Kinky
Boots. It beautifully mixes
ballads, comic numbers, and power pop into the most sustained score of the
season.
*Best
Choreography
Nominees
Andy
Blankenbuehler - Bring It On: The Musical
Peter
Darling - Matilda The Musical
Jerry
Mitchell - Kinky Boots
Chet Walker – Pippin
While there were smatterings of impressive
choreography in each of the nominated shows I didn’t feel any of the musicals’
production numbers were consistently first-rate. But, since a winner needs to be chosen I’ll tip my hat to
Chet Walker for Pippin.
•Best Direction of a Musical
Nominees
Scott
Ellis - The Mystery of Edwin Drood
Jerry
Mitchell - Kinky Boots
Diane
Paulus - Pippin
Matthew Warchus - Matilda
The Musical
Taking all the complicated elements of Matilda and
molding them into a cohesive Broadway hit deserves this year’s Tony for Best
Direction.
•Best
Actress in a Musical
Nominees
Stephanie
J. Block - The Mystery of Edwin Drood
Carolee
Carmello - Scandalous
Valisia
LeKae - Motown The Musical
Patina
Miller - Pippin
Laura Osnes - Rodgers +
Hammerstein's Cinderella
You could easily make a case for each of these fine
actresses, but it will be a duel between Patina Miller and Laura Osnes. This one is a true toss-up, but I’ll go
with a fairy tale ending and choose Ms. Osnes.
•Best
Actor in a Musical
Nominees
Bertie
Carvel - Matilda The Musical
Santino
Fontana - Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella
Rob
McClure - Chaplin
Billy Porter - Kinky Boots
Stark
Sands - Kinky Boots
By far, the most competitive category among this
year’s musical awards. If Chaplin
was a hit, Rob McClure would be considered a frontrunner, but this year it’s
going to be a contest between Bertie Carvel from Matilda and Billy Porter of
Kinky Boots. Carvel’s Miss
Trunchbull is mean-spirited and chilling; Porter’s drag queen, Lola, is gutsy, with a lust for life. I’m looking at Billy Porter to swipe this one away from
Olivier Award winner Bertie Carvel.
Chalk it up to a great performance with a slight British backlash.
•Best
Revival of a Musical
Nominees
Annie
The
Mystery of Edwin Drood
Pippin
Rodgers
+ Hammerstein's Cinderella
You could make an argument for each of these first-rate
productions, but I’ll say Pippin will win. It has what George H.W. Bush called the “Big Mo’” in
addition to the cache of probably snatching a few other Tony Awards.
•Best
Musical
Nominees
Bring
It On: The Musical
A
Christmas Story, The Musical
Kinky
Boots
Matilda The Musical
It
really comes down to Kinky Boots and Matilda. The other shows are just window dressing for the
category. It would be the biggest
upset in Tony history if Bring It On or A Christmas Story were crowned. Kinky Boots and Matilda are very
different. Both are very good
productions, but it’s like comparing apples and oranges. However, taking into consideration all
the aspects of each musical—the acting, book, music, sets, lighting, etc.—I
will give the edge to Matilda as Best Musical.
Total
scores:
•Pippin
- 4
•Matilda
The Musical - 3
•Kinky
Boots - 2
•Cinderella
- 1
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