TheatreScene: Special Season Wrap Edition

With the 2010 - 2011 season officially behinds us, and the awards season heating up, I thought I'd break from the usual TheatreScene routine and focus on the big event coming up on Tuesday, May 3rd.  There are some of the usual things below - the stuff you tell me you like.  PLUS!  Mike and I have completed our season of viewing all of the new musical productions, and have compiled out lists of "Should Be Nominated for a Tony" and "Will Be Nominated for a Tony" predictions.  Enjoy!

BIG NEWS!!: JK's TheatreScene has been invited to be a part of the first-ever syndicated televising of the Tony Awards nominations!  That means you can come to this blog at about 8:25AM click the given link and watch the Tony Awards Nomination Announcement LIVE!  The program starts at about 8:30AM, Eastern.  PLEASE JOIN US!

WHAT YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED THIS WEEK!

• April 25: REVIEW: Anything Goes
• April 26: The 2011 Awards Season: The Drama League Awards
• April 27: BLOGJACK: Being "Legally Blonded"
• April 28: REVIEW: Baby It's You!
• April 29: The 2010 - 2011 Season: By the Numbers 
• April 30: The 2011 Awards Season: The Outer Critics Circle Drama Desk and Astaire Awards

BE A PART OF "THE 1ST ANNUAL AWARDS THAT TONY FORGOT"!

As announced last week, this blog will hold its first "awards" celebrating all of those great things about theatre that the Tony Awards don't honor.  By clicking HERE you'll be able to see what I have in mind, as well as a link to a Zoomerang survey, where you can vote on which categories we should include, as well as a place to suggest award categories yourself!  So far, I've gotten some EXCELLENT ideas from you for awards.  This survey will close at noon (Eastern) TOMORROW, MAY 2!  So vote NOW, and send the link to all of your theatre-loving friends! (NOTE: Your participation is completely confidential, Zoomerang does not store email addresses and I can't see them, either.)

Then, on Tuesday, May 3rd, a new survey, that includes all of categories we chose, will post, asking you to choose or write in nominees for each award.  That poll will close on Sunday, May 15th.  Then, on Monday, May 16th, the final ballot will post and we will vote on the winners!  (When that final ballot will close will be announced later.)  The winners will be announced on a special blog the day of the Tony Awards, Sunday, June 12!

Mark your calendars and have your say by voting on the 1st Annual Awards That Tony Forgot !

JEFF AND MIKE'S MUSICAL TONY AWARD NOMINEE PREDICTIONS!

As those of you who follow this blog know, I made it my goal to see every new musical and musical revival this season.  My best buddy Mike, who contributes a lot to this blog, has made the trek with me all year, too.  And so here are our picks for the nominees in the musical categories for the 2011 Tony Awards.

We each picked 4 or 5 nominees (based on the Tony rules) in each category, twice.  First, we selected who, based solely on merit and quality, SHOULD be nominated.  Knowing that politics and economics, as well as a certain amount of "in the business" prejudices creep into this process, we also picked who we thought WOULD be nominated this year.  Many times we agreed, others not so much.

First, a couple of notes: neither of us saw RAIN: The Beatles Experience on Broadway, deemed eligible in the Best Musical (and other such) category.  Neither of us feel that it is a viable contender, but have agreed that should it be nominated for any big awards, we'd go see it before it closes.  Mike missed Baby It's You, but considered it after lengthy chats with me and a pretty comprehensive search of major theatre reviews of the show - an educated guess, as it were.  Further, we only saw the second preview of Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown and are basing our choices in that regard based on what we saw and some serious monitoring of major changes made, as well as the final reviews of the show. 

Here are our picks:

Anything Goes

BEST ORCHESTRATIONS

MIKE
SHOULD BE

• The Book of Mormon
• The People in the Picture
• Sister Act
• Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown

JEFF
SHOULD BE

• The Book of Mormon
• Catch Me If You Can
• Sister Act
• Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown

WILL BE
MIKE and JEFF AGREE

• The Book of Mormon
• Catch Me If You Can
• Priscilla Queen of the Desert
• Sister Act

Baby It's You!

BEST SOUND DESIGN
MIKE
SHOULD BE

• The Book of Mormon
• Priscilla Queen of the Desert
• Sister Act
• Wonderland

JEFF
SHOULD BE

• Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson
• The Book of Mormon
• Priscilla Queen of the Desert
• Wonderland

WILL BE
MIKE and JEFF  AGREE

• Anything Goes
• Book of Mormon
• Sister Act
• Priscilla Queen of the Desert

Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson

BEST COSTUMES
MIKE and JEFF AGREE
SHOULD BE

• Anything Goes
• The People in the Picture
• Priscilla Queen of the Desert
• Wonderland

WILL BE
MIKE

• Anything Goes
• The Book of Mormon
• Catch Me If You Can
• Priscilla Queen of the Desert

JEFF
WILL BE

• Anything Goes
• The Book of Mormon
• Priscilla Queen of the Desert
• Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown

The Book of Mormon

BEST LIGHTING
SHOULD BE
MIKE

• Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson
• The Book of Mormon
• Priscilla Queen of the Desert
• Wonderland

SHOULD BE
JEFF

• Baby It's You!
• Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson
• Priscilla Queen of the Desert
• Wonderland

WILL BE
MIKE

• Anything Goes
• The Book of Mormon
• Priscilla Queen of the Desert
• Sister Act

WILL BE
JEFF

• Anything Goes
• The Book of Mormon
• Catch Me If You Can
• Priscilla Queen of the Desert

Catch Me If You Can

BEST SCENIC DESIGN
SHOULD BE
MIKE

• Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson
• The Book of Mormon
• Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
• Wonderland

SHOULD BE
JEFF

• Anything Goes
• Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson
• The Book of Mormon
• Wonderland

WILL BE
MIKE

• Anything Goes
• The Book of Mormon
• Catch Me If You Can
• How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying

WILL BE
JEFF

• Anything Goes
• The Book of Mormon
• Catch Me If You Can
• Priscilla Queen of the Desert

Elf: The Musical

BEST BOOK OF A MUSICAL
SHOULD BE
MIKE and JEFF AGREE

• Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson
• The Book of Mormon
• The People in the Picture
• The Scottsboro Boys

WILL BE
MIKE and JEFF AGREE

• The Book of Mormon
• Catch Me If You Can
• Priscilla Queen of the Desert
• Sister Act

How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE WRITTEN FOR THE THEATRE**
**Neither of us have seen War Horse yet, which was recently deemed eligible in this category.  It is, of course, very possible it could get a Tony nomination.  If so, congratulations, War Horse!  We will consider that should it come to pass when we predict winners later in May.
SHOULD BE
MIKE

• Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson
• The Book of Mormon
• Catch Me If You Can
• The Scottsboro Boys

SHOULD BE
JEFF

• The Book of Mormon
• Catch Me If You Can
• The Scottsboro Boys
• Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown

WILL BE
MIKE and JEFF AGREE

• The Book of Mormon
• Catch Me If You Can
• The Scottsboro Boys
• Sister Act

The People in the Picture

BEST DIRECTION OF A MUSICAL
SHOULD BE
MIKE and JEFF AGREE

• Casey Nicholaw and Trey Parker, The Book of Mormon
• Jack O'Brien, Catch Me If You Can
• Rob Ashford, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
• Susan Stroman, The Scottsboro Boys

WILL BE
MIKE

• Kathleen Marshall, Anything Goes
• Casey Nicholaw and Trey Parker, The Book of Mormon
• Simon Phillips, Priscilla Queen of the Desert
• Jerry Zaks, Sister Act

WILL BE
JEFF

• Kathleen Marshall, Anything Goes
• Casey Nicholaw and Trey Parker, The Book of Mormon
• Alex Timbers, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson
• Susan Stroman, The Scottsboro Boys

Priscilla Queen of the Desert

BEST CHOREOGRAPHY
SHOULD BE
MIKE and JEFF AGREE

• Casey Nicholaw, The Book of Mormon
• Jerry Mitchell, Catch Me If You Can
• Rob Ashford, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
• Susan Stroman, The Scottsboro Boys

WILL BE
MIKE

• Kathleen Marshall, Anything Goes
• Casey Nicholaw, The Book of Mormon
• Jerry Mitchell, Catch Me If You Can
• Anthony Van Laast, Sister Act

WILL BE
JEFF

• Kathleen Marshall, Anything Goes
• Casey Nicholaw, The Book of Mormon
• Jerry Mitchell, Catch Me If You Can
• Rob Ashford, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying

RAIN: The Beatles Experience on Broadway

BEST FEATURED ACTOR IN A MUSICAL
SHOULD BE
MIKE

• Nick Adams, Priscilla Queen of the Deert
• John Cullum, The Scottsboro Boys
• Justin Guarini, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
• John Larroquette, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
• Tom Wopat, Catch Me If You Can

SHOULD BE
JEFF

• Nick Adams, Priscilla Queen of the Desert
• John Larroquette, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
• Forrest McClendon, The Scottsboro Boys
• John McMartin, Anything Goes
• Tom Wopat, Catch Me If You Can

WILL BE
MIKE and JEFF AGREE

• Nick Adams, Priscilla Queen of the Desert
• Chester Gregory II, Sister Act
• Joel Grey, Anything Goes
• John Larroquette, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
• Rory O'Malley, The Book of Mormon

BEST FEATURED ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL
SHOULD BE
MIKE

• Laura Benanti, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
• Victoria Clark, Sister Act
• Rose Hemingway, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
• Nikki M. James, The Book of Mormon
• Patti LuPone, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown

SHOULD BE
JEFF

• Laura Benanti, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
• Victoria Clark, Sister Act
• Rose Hemingway, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
• Nikki M. James, The Book of Mormon
• Marla Mindelle, Sister Act

WILL BE
MIKE and JEFF AGREE

• Laura Benanti, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
• Victoria Clark, Sister Act
• Rose Hemingway, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
• Nikki M. James, The Book of Mormon
• Laura Osnes, Anything Goes

Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown

BEST ACTOR IN A MUSICAL
SHOULD BE
MIKE

• Norbert Leo Butz, Catch Me If You Can
• Joshua Henry, The Scottsboro Boys
• Andrew Rannells, The Book of Mormon
• Tony Sheldon, Priscilla Queen of the Desert
• Benjamin Walker, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson

SHOULD BE
JEFF

• Norbert Leo Butz, Catch Me If You Can
• Joshua Henry, The Scottsboro Boys
• Daniel Radcliffe, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
• Andrew Rannells, The Book of Mormon
• Tony Sheldon, Priscilla Queen of the Desert

WILL BE
MIKE and JEFF AGREE

• Norbert Leo Butz, Catch Me If You Can
• Josh Gad, The Book of Mormon
• Daniel Radcliffe, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
• Andrew Rannells, The Book of Mormon
• Tony Sheldon, Priscilla Queen of the Desert

BEST ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL
SHOULD BE, WILL BE
MIKE and JEFF AGREE

• Sutton Foster, Anything Goes
• Beth Leavel, Baby It's You!
• Patina Miller, Sister Act
• Donna Murphy, The People in the Picture

Wonderland

BEST REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL
SHOULD BE, WILL BE
MIKE and JEFF AGREE

• Anything Goes
• How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying

BEST MUSICAL
SHOULD BE
MIKE

• Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson
• The Book of Mormon
• Priscilla Queen of the Desert
• The Scottsboro Boys

SHOULD BE
JEFF

• Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson
• The Book of Mormon
• Catch Me If You Can
• The Scottsboro Boys

WILL BE
MIKE

• The Book of Mormon
• Priscilla Queen of the Desert
• The Scottsboro Boys
• Sister Act

WILL BE
JEFF

• The Book of Mormon
• Catch Me If You Can
• The Scottsboro Boys
• Sister Act

How do our picks compare to yours?  Write in and let us know!

TOPS AND BOTTOMS (April 18 -24)

• Top Gross: The Lion King ($1.9M)
• Bottom Gross: High ($106K)
• Top Attendance: The Book of Mormon (102.4%)
• Bottom Attendance: Arcadia (51.7%)
• $1M Club: The Lion King, Wicked, Mary Poppins, American Idiot, The Book of Mormon, Billy Elliot, How to Succeed..., Jersey Boys, Mamma Mia!, The Addams Family, The Phantom of the Opera
• SRO Club: Wicked, War Horse, The Phantom of the Opera, The Lion King, The Book of Mormon, Mamma Mia!, Jersey Boys, How to Succeed..., Chicago, Billy Elliot, Anything Goes

MILESTONE: April 25: This blog reached its 100,000th visit at 4:02 PM!  Thank you all so much!

BROADWAY BIRTHDAYS THIS WEEK!

• April 25: Actor Hank Azaria (Spamalot)
• April 26: Actor Carol Burnett (Once Upon a Mattress - original, Moon Over Buffalo, Putting It Together)
• April 27: Late Playwright August Wilson (Fences, Gem of the Ocean, Radio Golf)
• April 28: Actor John Pankow (Cymbeline, Amadeus - original)
• April 29: Filmmaker John Waters (Hairspray, Cry-Baby)
• April 30: Actor Johnny Galecki (The Little Dog Laughed)
• May 1: Late Actor Glenn Ford (Soliloquy)

Comments?  Leave one here, email me at jkstheatrescene@yahoo.com or Tweet me!
Jeff
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