The 2015 Tony Awards: Jeff and Mike's Nomination Predictions

I can't think of a better way to come back to the blogosphere than to carry on a JKTS tradition with our Tony Awards nominations predictions.  My best buddy and theatre companion Mike and I got to 19 of the 20 new musicals and musical revivals this season (Holler If Ya Hear Me closed before we got there, and we don't see it being remembered tomorrow).

We saw eye-to-eye on most shows, though we differed somewhat on An American in Paris and On the Town.  And you'll see from our "should be" picks that we differed from the critics on The Last Ship, On the Twentieth Century and Finding Neverland (and The Visit, depending on who you read).

If we were on the nominating committee, we'd honor Fun Home, Finding Neverland, The Visit, Something Rotten!, and The Last Ship with the most nods, with The King and I  getting most of our love among the revivals.

Since we are not on that nominating committee, we predict that they will give the most Tony love to: An American in Paris, Fun Home and Something Rotten!, each with nominations in the double digits, and The King and I, The Visit, On the Town and On the Twentieth Century doing well, too.  We also think that, unfortunately, Gigi, Side Show, Finding Neverland and Honeymoon in Vegas  will be coming away with barely a notice, if any at all.  Dr. Zhivago got zero notice in any column.

Here are our picks for what should be nominated and our predictions of what will be nominated:

Two of our favorites: Finding Neverland and The Last Ship 

BEST MUSICAL
JEFF: SHOULD	MIKE: SHOULD	JEFF: WILL	MIKE: WILL
Finding Neverland	Fun Home	An American in Paris	An American in Paris
Fun Home	The Last Ship	Fun Home	Fun Home
The Last Ship	Something Rotten!	Something Rotten!	Something Rotten!
The Visit	The Visit	The Visit	The Visit
		5th Nominee: The Last Ship	5th Nominee: The Last Ship
BEST REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL
JEFF: SHOULD	MIKE: SHOULD	JEFF: WILL	MIKE: WILL
The King and I	Gigi	The King and I	The King and I
On the Town	The King and I	On the Town	On the Town
Side Show	Side Show	On the 20th Century	On the 20th Century
BEST DIRECTION OF A MUSICAL
JEFF: SHOULD	MIKE: SHOULD	JEFF: WILL	MIKE: WILL
Bill Condon Side Show	John Doyle The Visit	John Doyle The Visit	John Doyle The Visit
John Doyle The Visit	Sam Gold Fun Home	Sam Gold Fun Home	Sam Gold Fun Home
Sam Gold Fun Home	Joe Mantello The Last Ship	Casey Nicholaw Something Rotten!	Casey Nicholaw Something Rotten!
Casey Nicholaw Something Rotten!	Casey Nicholaw Something Rotten!	Bartlett Sher The King and I	Bartlett Sher The King and I
Bartlett Sher The King and I	Bartlett Sher The King and I	Christopher Wheeldon An American in Paris	Christopher Wheeldon An American in Paris
BEST CHOREOGRAPHY
JEFF: SHOULD	MIKE: SHOULD	JEFF: WILL	MIKE: WILL
Joshua Bergasse On the Town	Joshua Bergasse Gigi	Joshua Bergasse On the Town	Joshua Bergasse On the Town
Denis Jones Honeymoon in Vegas	Joshua Bergasse On the Town	Warren Carlyle On the 20th Century	Warren Carlyle On the 20th Century
Mia Michaels Finding Neverland	Mia Michaels Finding Neverland	Graciela Daniele The Visit	Casey Nicholaw Something Rotten!
Casey Nicholaw Something Rotten!	Casey Nicholaw Something Rotten!	Casey Nicholaw Something Rotten!	Josh Rhodes It Shoulda Been You
Christopher Wheeldon An American in Paris	Christopher Wheeldon An American in Paris	Christopher Wheeldon An American in Paris	Christopher Wheeldon An American in Paris

We think that the Tony nominators will be as kind to 

Fun Home, Something Rotten! and The Visit as we are!

BEST BOOK OF A MUSICAL
JEFF: SHOULD	MIKE: SHOULD	JEFF: WILL	MIKE: WILL
James Graham Finding Neverland	James Graham Finding Neverland	Brian Hargrove It Shoulda Been You	Brian Hargrove It Shoulda Been You
Karey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell Something Rotten!	Karey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell Something Rotten!	Karey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell Something Rotten!	Karey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell Something Rotten!
Lisa Kron Fun Home	Lisa Kron Fun Home	Lisa Kron Fun Home	Lisa Kron Fun Home
Terrence McNally The Visit	Terrence McNally The Visit	Craig Lucas An American in Paris	Craig Lucas An American in Paris
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE (MUSIC AND/OR LYRICS) WRITTEN FOR THE THEATRE
JEFF: SHOULD	MIKE: SHOULD	JEFF: WILL	MIKE: WILL
Fun Home Jeanine Tesori, Music Lisa Kron, Lyrics	Fun Home Jeanine Tesori, Music Lisa Kron, Lyrics	Fun Home Jeanine Tesori, Music Lisa Kron, Lyrics	Fun Home Jeanine Tesori, Music Lisa Kron, Lyrics
Something Rotten! Wayne and Karey Kirkpatrick, Music and Lyrics	Something Rotten! Wayne and Karey Kirkpatrick, Music and Lyrics	Something Rotten! Wayne and Karey Kirkpatrick, Music and Lyrics	Something Rotten! Wayne and Karey Kirkpatrick, Music and Lyrics
The Last Ship Sting, Music and Lyrics	The Last Ship Sting, Music and Lyrics	The Last Ship Sting, Music and Lyrics	The Last Ship Sting, Music and Lyrics
The Visit John Kander, Music, Fred Ebb, Lyrics	The Visit John Kander, Music, Fred Ebb, Lyrics	The Visit John Kander, Music, Fred Ebb, Lyrics	The Visit John Kander, Music, Fred Ebb, Lyrics
BEST ORCHESTRATIONS
JEFF: SHOULD	MIKE: SHOULD	JEFF: WILL	MIKE: WILL
An American in Paris Christopher Austin, Don Sebesky, Bill Elliott	Fun Home John Clancy	An American in Paris Christopher Austin, Don Sebesky, Bill Elliott	An American in Paris Christopher Austin, Don Sebesky, Bill Elliott
Fun Home John Clancy	Honeymoon in Vegas Don Sebesky, Larry Blank,   Jason Robert Brown, Charlie Rosen	Fun Home John Clancy	Fun Home John Clancy
The Last Ship Rob Mathes	The Last Ship Rob Mathes	Something Rotten! Larry Hochman	On the 20th Century Larry Hochman
The Visit Larry Hochman	The Visit Larry Hochman	The Visit Larry Hochman	Something Rotten! Larry Hochman

Robert Fairchild, Leanne Cope, Lisa Howard, Tyne Daly, Kristin Chenoweth,

Andy Karl, Ken Watanabe, Kelli O'Hara, Collin Kelly-Sordelet, Michael Esper

Megan Fairchild and Christian Borle gave some of our favorite performances this season.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE IN A MUSICAL
JEFF: SHOULD	MIKE: SHOULD	JEFF: WILL	MIKE: WILL
John Cariani Something Rotten!	Michael Cerveris Fun Home	Michael Cerveris Fun Home	Michael Cerveris Fun Home
Michael Cerveris Fun Home	Michael Esper The Last Ship	Robert Fairchild An American in Paris	Robert Fairchild An American in Paris
Michael Esper The Last Ship	Brian D’Arcy James Something Rotten!	Brian D’Arcy James Something Rotten!	Brian D’Arcy James Something Rotten!
Matthew Morrison Finding Neverland	Matthew Morrison Finding Neverland	Ken Watanabe The King and I	Ken Watanabe The King and I
Roger Rees The Visit	Roger Rees The Visit	Tony Yazbeck On the Town	Tony Yazbeck On the Town
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE IN A MUSICAL
JEFF: SHOULD	MIKE: SHOULD	JEFF: WILL	MIKE: WILL
Lisa Howard It Shoulda Been You	Lisa Howard It Shoulda Been You	Kristin Chenoweth On the 20th Century	Kristin Chenoweth On the 20th Century
Laura Michelle Kelly Finding Neverland	Laura Michelle Kelly Finding Neverland	Lisa Howard It Shoulda Been You	Leanne Cope An American in Paris
Beth Malone Fun Home	Beth Malone Fun Home	Beth Malone Fun Home	Beth Malone Fun Home
Kelli O’Hara The King and I	Kelli O’Hara The King and I	Kelli O’Hara The King and I	Kelli O’Hara The King and I
Chita Rivera The Visit	Chita Rivera The Visit	Chita Rivera The Visit	Chita Rivera The Visit
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A FEATURED ROLE IN A MUSICAL
JEFF: SHOULD	MIKE: SHOULD	JEFF: WILL	MIKE: WILL
Christian Borle Something Rotten	Christian Borle Something Rotten	Christian Borle Something Rotten	Christian Borle Something Rotten
Kelsey Grammer Finding Neverland	Tony Danza Honeymoon in Vegas	Kelsey Grammer Finding Neverland	Tony Danza Honeymoon in Vegas
Josh Grisetti It Shoulda Been You	Jay Armstrong Johnson On the Town	Andy Karl On the 20th Century	Kelsey Grammer Finding Neverland
Andy Karl On the 20th Century	Collin Kelly-Sordelet The Last Ship	Brad Oscar Something Rotten!	Andy Karl On the 20th Century
Max von Essen An American in Paris	Brad Oscar Something Rotten!	Max von Essen An American in Paris	Max von Essen An American in Paris
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A FEATURED ROLE IN A MUSICAL
JEFF: SHOULD	MIKE: SHOULD	JEFF: WILL	MIKE: WILL
Victoria Clark Gigi	Victoria Clark Gigi	Victoria Clark Gigi	Veanne Cox An American in Paris
Megan Fairchild On the Town	Judy Kuhn, Fun Home	Tyne Daly It Shoulda Been You	Tyne Daly It Shoulda Been You
Judy Kuhn, Fun Home	Sydney Lucas Fun Home	Megan Fairchild On the Town	Judy Kuhn, Fun Home
Sydney Lucas Fun Home	Ruthie Ann Miles The King and I	Judy Kuhn, Fun Home	Sydney Lucas Fun Home
Ruthie Ann Miles The King and I	Emily Skeggs Fun Home	Sydney Lucas Fun Home	Ruthie Ann Miles The King and I

The Visit, The King and I and An American in Paris

have some beautiful design elements.

BEST SCENIC DESIGN OF A MUSICAL
JEFF: SHOULD	MIKE: SHOULD	JEFF: WILL	MIKE: WILL
Finding Neverland Scott Pask	Finding Neverland Scott Pask	An American in Paris Bob Crowley and 59 Productions	An American in Paris Bob Crowley and 59 Productions
Fun Home David Zinn	Fun Home David Zinn	The King and I Michael Yeargan	Fun Home David Zinn
Something Rotten! Scott Pask	The King and I Michael Yeargan	Something Rotten! Scott Pask	The King and I Michael Yeargan
The Visit Scott Pask	The Visit Scott Pask	The Visit Scott Pask	The Visit Scott Pask
BEST LIGHTING DESIGN OF A MUSICAL
JEFF: SHOULD	MIKE: SHOULD	JEFF: WILL	MIKE: WILL
Finding Neverland Kenneth Posner	Finding Neverland Kenneth Posner	An American in Paris Natasha Katz	An American in Paris Natasha Katz
Fun Home Ben Stanton	Fun Home Ben Stanton	Finding Neverland Kenneth Posner	Fun Home Ben Stanton
The King and I Donald Holder	The Last Ship Christopher Akerlind	Fun Home Ben Stanton	The King and I Donald Holder
The Visit Japhy Weideman	The Visit Japhy Weideman	The Visit Japhy Weideman	Something Rotten! Jeff Croiter
BEST COSTUME DESIGN OF A MUSICAL
JEFF: SHOULD	MIKE: SHOULD	JEFF: WILL	MIKE: WILL
Finding Neverland Suttirat Anne Larlarb	Fun Home David Zinn	Gigi Catherine Zuber	An American in Paris Bob Crowley
Gigi Catherine Zuber	The King and I Catherine Zuber	The King and I Catherine Zuber	Fun Home David Zinn
Side Show Paul Tazewell	Side Show Paul Tazewell	On the 20th Century William Ivey long	The King and I Catherine Zuber
Something Rotten! Gregg Barnes	Something Rotten! Gregg Barnes	Something Rotten! Gregg Barnes	Something Rotten! Gregg Barnes

What do you think of our picks?  What do you think we missed?  Drop me an email (jkstheatrescene@yahoo.com), Tweet me (@jkstheatrescene) or leave a comment below!

Jeff

2014 in Review: The Best and Worst Shows of the Year

I was fortunate enough to have seen more than thirty shows during 2014.  Some were pretty good.  Others were awful.  And some were really excellent.  Okay, so this year didn't bring me to a show like next to normal (though I did see a very good regional production of it this past fall) that changed me forever. Still, in looking over the list of this year's shows, I was hard pressed to find anything that was a complete failure - though a few were close.  Anyway, here is my list of the 10 best, 5 worst and the very best musical and very best play I saw in the last 365 days.

#10

#9

Best #10: If/Then - I love a challenge and kick-ass ballads.  And Idina was a force of nature.

Best #9: Violet - A small, charming show with a big message and huge heart.  And Sutton brought her career to a whole new level.

#5

Worst #5: On the Town - True, the score played by a huge orchestra and the dancing were both superb.  But I can't get past the ugly physical production or the painful overacting by many in the cast.  Dial it back, Jackie.  Please.

#8

#7

Best #8: Side Show - I'm first to admit that I loved the original more, flaws and all.  But this re-do was still excellent.  I'm still haunted by that final tableau.

Best #7: Casa Valentina - Riveting performances all around.  Funny, touching and moving.  Harvey still has it.

#4

Worst #4: Beautiful: The Carole King Musical - Despite great music and a star-making performance from Jessie, the show was a snooze fest.  I sure hope Carole's life was more interesting in real life.

#6

#5

Best #6: Allegro - A classic superbly re-imagined, and even more superbly executed.

Best #5: Hedwig and the Angry Inch - The only show I saw three times this year.  For me, it's more about the performance than the show itself. Thank you, Lena, NPH and MCH!

#3

Worst #3: Heathers - A show I was really looking forward to ended up being a huge disappointment. Talk about damage.

#4

#3

Best #4: Aladdin - Magical and transporting.  The costumes, the dancing.  I want a ride on that magic carpet!

Best #3: The Last Ship - Proof that any show can end up being a surprise.  I was sure I'd hate it.  Instead, I loved it.

#2

Worst #2: Bullets Over Broadway - The sets were nice.  And I still love Marin.  But this show was rotten from start to finish.  I haven't had a hot dog since.

#2

Best #2: Cabaret - Lightning can strike twice.  Still the gold standard in revivals and revisals.  As stunning as ever.

The Worst Show of 2014

Worst #1: Les Miserables  - I am all for revising revivals (see above).  But this alleged overhaul was a yawn.  And the casting was almost uniformly bad. If I'd had a seat closer to an aisle, I'd have left.

#1

Best # 1: The Bridges of Madison County - The Our Town staging, the ravishing score.  Brilliant.  Oh, yeah.  Kelli and Steven were pretty good, too.  :-)

The Very Best Play of 2014

THE VERY BEST PLAY OF 2014: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time - I laughed.  I cried. But most of the time, I sat with my jaw dropped in complete amazement.  Whenever anyone asks why I love live theater, this will be my new go-to example.

The Very Best Musical of 2014

THE VERY BEST MUSICAL OF 2014: The Most Happy Fella - It's cliche to say "they just don't write 'em like that anymore." But in this case it's the truth.  A lovely, light direction. A lush, beautiful score, played by a full orchestra and brilliantly sung by a flawless cast.  It may be decades old, but it felt so fresh. I wanted to se it again and again.

Jeff