Jeff and Mike's 2019 Tony Awards Picks

It's finally here! The weekend we all look forward to. Am I right, theater fans? Seems like just yesterday that The Band's Visit took home 10 awards. Yet here we are again! It's 2019 Tony Awards time!

Funny that Mike and I saw more shows this season than usual, and still missed so many nominees! Guess we'll make it up some when we finally see Beetlejuice; neither of us is interested in Ain't Too Proud - I've been burned by its parents already. I hated both Jersey Boys and Motown: The Musical. Anyway, because there are so many gaps in what we saw, this year, instead of predictions per se, we rated the ones we did see in order from our favorite at the top of each list, and down. We fully realize that in some categories we didn't see the likely winner. That said, go Hadestown!

Enjoy the night, readers! (And feel free to let us know what you think about our picks, too!)


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BEST MUSICAL
JEFF'S PICKS	MIKE'S PICKS
Hadestown	Hadestown
The Prom	The Prom
Tootsie	Tootsie
MIKE: I think The Prom is the most likely to upset, but that's (fortunately) a long shot.
JEFF: I'll be hard to live with for awhile if Tootsie wins.
BEST REVIVAL OF A PLAY
JEFF'S PICKS	MIKE'S PICKS
The Waverly Gallery	The Waverly Gallery
The Boys in the Band	The Boys in the Band
MIKE: I hear All My Sons will probably win.
JEFF: One broke my heart. One made me laugh and get angry. Both were excellent. Neither will win.
BEST REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL
JEFF'S PICKS	MIKE'S PICKS
Oklahoma!	Oklahoma!
MIKE: It's definitely deserving, but Oklahoma! may put off the more conservative Tony voters.
JEFF: Oklahoma! opened my eyes to the potential for re-working old classics into something modern. Bravo!

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BEST BOOK OF A MUSICAL
JEFF'S PICKS	MIKE'S PICKS
The Prom - Bob Martin and Chad Beguelin	The Prom - Bob Martin and Chad Beguelin
Hadestown - Anais Mitchell	Hadestown - Anais Mitchell
Tootsie - Robert Horn	Tootsie - Robert Horn
MIKE: The Prom is more reliant on its book, so I favor it slightly. I hear Tootsie is the favorite.
JEFF: I'll be equally thrilled for The Prom or Hadestown; both deserve it. The more I think about Tootsie, the less impressive it seems.
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE WRITTEN FOR THE THEATRE
JEFF'S PICKS	MIKE'S PICKS
Hadestown - Music and Lyrics by Anais Mitchell	Hadestown - Music and Lyrics by Anais Mitchell
The Prom - Music by Matthew Sklar Lyrics by Chad Beguelin	The Prom - Music by Matthew Sklar Lyrics by Chad Beguelin
Be More Chill - Music and Lyrics by Joe Iconis	Tootsie - Music and Lyrics by David Yazbek
Tootsie - Music and Lyrics by David Yazbek	Be More Chill - Music and Lyrics by Joe Iconis
To Kill a Mockingbird - Music by Adam Guettel	To Kill a Mockingbird - Music by Adam Guettel
MIKE: This should be a lock. I'd have nominated the understated King Lear over the meager To Kill a Mockingbird.
JEFF: Hadestown all the way. I'd be fine with The Prom. I really didn't care for the scores to either Be More Chill or Tootsie, but at least Chill had a couple of stand out songs.

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BEST ORCHESTRATIONS
JEFF'S PICKS	MIKE'S PICKS
Michael Chorney/Todd Sickafoose - Hadestown	Michael Chorney/Todd Sickafoose - Hadestown
Daniel Kluger - Oklahoma!	Daniel Kluger - Oklahoma!
Simon Hale - Tootsie	Simon Hale - Tootsie
MIKE: Hadestown was more fun, but I wouldn't be upset if Oklahoma! edges it out.
JEFF: This is a tough call, because both Hadestown and Oklahoma! were brilliantly on point with their respective themes. I, too, would be happy with either show winning this category.

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BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE IN A MUSICAL
JEFF'S PICKS	MIKE'S PICKS
Brooks Ashmanskas - The Prom	Damon Daunno - Oklahoma!
Santino Fontanna - Tootsie	Santino Fontanna - Tootsie
Damon Daunno - Oklahoma!	Brooks Ashmanskas - The Prom
MIKE: Since Fontana carries Tootsie, he'll likely win.
JEFF: Santino is good, but Brooks is superb.
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE IN A MUSICAL
JEFF'S PICKS	MIKE'S PICKS
Beth Leavel - The Prom	Eva Noblezada - Hadestown
Stephanie J. Block - The Cher Show	Beth Leavel - The Prom
Caitlin Kinnunen - The Prom	Stephanie J. Block - The Cher Show
Eva Noblezada - Hadestown	Caitlin Kinnunen - The Prom
MIKE: These 4 were very close for me. I expect Stephanie J. Block to win for the flashier role.
JEFF: They are all amazing and all in different ways. Block will win, but it would be great see Leavel take this.
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A FEATURED ROLE IN A PLAY
JEFF'S PICKS	MIKE'S PICKS
Gideon Glick - To Kill a Mockingbird	Gideon Glick - To Kill a Mockingbird
Robin De Jesus - The Boys in the Band	Robin De Jesus - The Boys in the Band
JEFF: Gideon Glick broke my heart with his brilliant and understated performance. Robin de Jesus was great, but haven't I seen him play this role before?
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A FEATURED ROLE IN A PLAY
JEFF'S PICKS	MIKE'S PICKS
Celia Keenan-Bolger - To Kill a Mockingbird	Celia Keenan-Bolger - To Kill a Mockingbird
Ruth Wilson - King Lear	Ruth Wilson - King Lear
JEFF: Wilson was amazing in a less than amazing show. Keenan-Bolger is in the role of a lifetime.
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A FEATURED ROLE IN A MUSICAL
JEFF'S PICKS	MIKE'S PICKS
Andre De Shields - Hadestown	Andre De Shields - Hadestown
Andy Grotelueschen - Tootsie	Patrick Page - Hadestown
Patrick Page - Hadestown	Andy Grotelueschen - Tootsie
MIKE: It's very close between Andre De Shields and Patrick Page for me!
JEFF: I would dearly love De Shields to win. He was sublime. But, Grotelueschen is just about the only good thing about Tootsie.
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A FEATURED ROLE IN A MUSICAL
JEFF'S PICKS	MIKE'S PICKS
Amber Gray - Hadestown	Amber Gray - Hadestown
Ali Stroker - Oklahoma!	Ali Stroker - Oklahoma!
Mary Testa - Oklahoma!	Mary Testa - Oklahoma!
Lilli Cooper - Tootsie	Lilli Cooper - Tootsie
Sarah Stiles - Totsie	Sarah Stiles - Totsie
MIKE: I would be neither surprised nor upset if Ali Stroker wins.
JEFF: What Mike said...

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BEST SCENIC DESIGN OF A MUSICAL
JEFF'S PICKS	MIKE'S PICKS
Rachel Hauck - Hadestown	Rachel Hauck - Hadestown
Peter England - King Kong	Laura Jellinek - Oklahoma!
Laura Jellinek - Oklahoma!	Peter England - King Kong
MIKE: The design for Oklahoma! is perfect for the concept, but not exactly a great achievement.
JEFF: The detail and surprises of the Hadestown set are perfection, but King Kong was pretty spectacular.
BEST COSTUME DESIGN OF A MUSICAL
JEFF'S PICKS	MIKE'S PICKS
Bob Mackie - The Cher Show	Bob Mackie - The Cher Show
Michael Krass - Hadestown	Michael Krass - Hadestown
William Ivey Long - Tootsie	William Ivey Long - Tootsie
MIKE: My concern with Mackie is that the designs are mostly not original. If that excludes a score from consideration, why not a costume design?
BEST LIGHTING DESIGN OF A MUSICAL
JEFF'S PICKS	MIKE'S PICKS
Bradley King - Hadestown	Bradley King - Hadestown
Peter England - King Kong	Kevin Adams - The Cher Show
Kevin Adams - The Cher Show	Peter England - King Kong
MIKE: All three were great, but used to the best effect in Hadestown.
JEFF: I will never forget those swinging lamps. Never.
BEST SOUND DESIGN OF A MUSICAL
JEFF'S PICKS	MIKE'S PICKS
Peter Hylenski - King Kong	Nevin Steinberg/Jessica Paz - Hadestown
Nevin Steinberg/Jessica Paz - Hadestown	Drew Levy - Oklahoma!
Drew Levy - Oklahoma!	Peter Hylenski - King Kong
MIKE: I think it's a good thing they restrict voting to the experts. I could hear all three just fine.
JEFF: The sound effects of Kong were practically a character unto themselves.
BEST DIRECTION OF A MUSICAL
JEFF'S PICKS	MIKE'S PICKS
Rachel Chavkin - Hadestown	Rachel Chavkin - Hadestown
Daniel Fish - Oklahoma!	Daniel Fish - Oklahoma!
Casey Nicholaw - The Prom	Casey Nicholaw - The Prom
Scott Ellis - Tootsie	Scott Ellis - Tootsie
MIKE: Lots of good choices this year, but Chavkin deserves it. She should have won for Great Comet.
JEFF: Chavkin did brilliant work here. I want her to win, but Daniel Fish did wonderful things to bring Oklahoma! into the 21st century.
BEST CHOREOGRAPHY
JEFF'S PICKS	MIKE'S PICKS
David Neumann - Hadestown	David Neumann - Hadestown
	Denis Jones - Tootsie
MIKE: One of the shows we didn't see will likely win...
JEFF: I just couldn't even rate Tootsie. Community theater level dancing. The Prom should have been nominated.

#2094

#TBT: Playbill: Pippin: April 2013

One of the greatest thrills of seeing live theater is when you see a favorite work in a whole new light. Such is the case with the 2013 revival of Pippin, which completely blew me away. There was just enough of the original's trademark style (The Manson Trio, fully intact...phew!), and a TON of creativity. Goosebumps aplenty with each amazing circus trick, followed by belly laughs (Andrea Martin's act really was astonishing and really funny), sexiness galore (Mathew James Thomas naturally, but also the slinky Leading Player, Patina Miller, and the eternally sexy Charlotte d'Amboise), a terrific corps of multi-talented ensemble members, and even a revelation or two - tears were shed following "Morning Glow," and a Catherine played as never before by the wonderful Rachel Bay Jones. I loved Pippin before, but this time around I was obsessed!




Here's a look inside the opening night Playbill of Pippin:

PIPPIN
The Music Box Theatre
37 previews, 709 performances
April 2013 cast: Matthew James Thomas, Patina Miller, Andrea Martin, Terrence Mann, Charlotte d'Amboise, Rachel Bay Jones

Always nice when there's an article in the Playbill about the show you are seeing!

The names may have changed, but Broadway hasn't really changed that much in the last 6 years. April is Tony cut-off months, so all the biggies are in under the wire. Big name stars: Bette Midler, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Alec Baldwin, Sigourney Weaver and Tom Hanks!!?? And stage stars galore, too: Cicely Tyson, Fiona Shaw, Nathan Lane, David Hyde Pierce, Matthew Broderick, Jessie Mueller, Jessica Hecht, Judith Light (on the cusp of her second Tony!), Laura Osnes and Santino Fontana. The classics of today were still playing then: The Phantom of the Opera, The Lion King, Chicago, The Book of Mormon and Wicked. Like I said, the same, but different.

📸: J. Kyler

#2093

One That Got Away: Bob Fosse's Big Deal

After spending a lot of time looking back at 300 different Broadway shows, and feeling so grateful for every single one of them, I also started thinking about shows I missed. It seems... I don't know... selfish? I am so fortunate to be able to indulge in my passion regularly, and yet I'd love to have seen so much more. At any rate, here's a start to a new occasional series about those I missed. Here's One That Got Away.

So the inaugural edition comes from already missing Fosse/Verdon. (The is a safe space, readers. We can all admit we are mourning its end...) I was actively attending theatre regularly in the mid-80's, and in fact, was obsessing over another Bob Fosse show I had just seen - the revival of Sweet Charity. Two and a half weeks after that opened, so did Big Deal. I still kick myself over missing it. Somewhere, I have a VHS tape of the 1986 Tony Awards, which featured a scene from that show. (Mom, if you are reading this would you please look for my tapes?)



Big Deal Production Information and Stats:

• Book by Bob Fosse (Based on the film "Big Deal on Madonna Street")
• Music/Lyrics by various artists
• Scenic Design by Peter Larkin
• Costume Design by Patricia Zipprodt
• Lighting Design by Jules Fisher
• Dance Captain - Valarie Pettiford
• Assistant Choreographer - Christopher Chadman
• Direction and Choreography by Bob Fosse

• 1st Preview: April 1, 1986
• Opening Night: April 10, 1986
• Closing Night: June 8, 1986
• 8 previews, 69 performances

Why am I disappointed that I missed this one? Well, Bob Fosse. I love his work, his aesthetic, his style. And, of course, in retrospect, it was his last show. It is a small consolation that a small piece of it made it into Fosse. Needless to say, I did not miss that show.

Did you see Big Deal? Let me know!  I'd love to chat with you about it.

#2092

300 Shows: Favorite Play Revivals

Of the 300 distinct Broadway productions I've seen over the past 35+ years, and 22 of them play revivals. And they've run the gamut in quality, as you might expect. In looking over my lists of my favorites over the years, they pretty much fit the same mold. That is to say that something about each play (and revival) has a point that resonates with a modern bent, offers a distinct theatricality, and features bravura performances. It is important to me that these plays offer an experience that can not be replicated or even improved by being on film - they work and are successful because they are happening live right in front of me.

10 FAVORITE PLAY REVIVALS (Chronologically)

An Inspector Calls (1994)
This play stunned from beginning to end. From the lengthy opening scene that featured a miniature mansion with the cast folded inside, unseen, to the downpour that misted most of the theater. The story is intense, the performances, remarkable. How can you quibble with the likes of Phillip Bosco and Rosemary Harris?

Noises Off (2001)
The recent Roundabout revival was great, but this version was on a whole other comic plane. I laughed until my sides and face hurt, swear to God. And the second act "ballet" with Patti LuPone running around in slippers and ducking down under the window is a memory seared into my brain. And Katie Finneran (a Tony Award for her efforts) taking dumb blondes to the next level in black teddy...the entire cast was A-list.

All My Sons (2008)
I went for the stars. I left with a whole new appreciation for Arthur Miller. It was visually intriguing - the projections added to it nicely. But really, let's face it, just to be in the same room with John Lithgow, Diane Wiest and Patrick Wilson doing their fine work is an honor all by itself. But, man, they were amazing! Oh, and Katie Holmes was pretty fine, too, in her Broadway debut.

Blithe Spirit (2009)
Angela. Lansbury. She really would have been enough to make me happy. And she deserved her Tony Award. But the rest was damned good, too. The set was beautiful, the direction tight. Charming and funny, the whole cast brought it - Rupert Everett (Broadway debut), the riotous Christine Ebersole, and Jayne Atkinson - making a role that never stood out before, not only stand out, but memorable some 10 years later.

The Normal Heart (2011)
Stunning. Heartbreaking. Empowering. Brilliant. Between the all-star cast, doing astonishing work, and George C. Wolfe's high-impact, economical staging, it was a hit from start to finish. And while it was wonderful to see Jim Parsons, Joe Mantello (in a brief return to acting), John Benjamin Hickey, Lee Pace and a tour-de-force turn by Ellen Barkin, the star of the show was Larry Kramer's groundbreaking script. Still relevant.

The Glass Menagerie (2013)
Probably my favorite play of all time, this particular production will be hard to beat in the future. Every single second of the performance was perfection. Celia Keenan-Bolger's couch moment, Zachary Quinto's monologue on the fire escape, Cherry Jones' delivery of "a good Christian martyr," and the literal moon light reflecting on the water... sigh. Like I said, tough to beat.

Twelfth Night (2013)
One of my favorite Shakespearean comedies, I had to see Twelfth Night. And the opportunity to see Mark Rylance? I couldn't get tickets fast enough. We sat onstage and it was glorious. Getting to see it - in all of its authenticity - up close was a thrill I won't soon forget.

Angels in America: Millennium Approaches/Perestroika (2018)
The Great Work never looked better. Laughter and tears, euphoria and outrage - it had it all. The best 7 + hours I've ever spent. I'm pretty sure it may just be the definitive production. I've never liked Nathan Lane more than here, and I had no idea Andrew Garfield had that much skill. Re-discovering Lee Pace, discovering Denise Gough and James McArdle was a thrill of the season. And that Angel...damn.

The Boys in the Band (2018)
The one that started it all, really. An important play for a gay man to see. What a wonderful, wonderful sense of representation, with an all gay cast. I wonder if we'll ever see this again with such a high caliber of talent. Sure, they are big Hollywood names. But they sure all brought their A game. I'm so glad I saw it.

Three Tall Women (2018)
Talk about the perfect trifecta! Three fabulous actresses, all giving and taking, feeding off each other. Laurie Metcalf can do no wrong, Glenda Jackson is a force of nature and a privilege to see, and Alison Pill was vastly underrated. And that second act set reveal will be with me forever. Brilliant.

(Looks like 2018 was a banner year for play revivals!)




#2091

Broadway Heat: Beetlejuice and Tootsie: Sweet 16 Round

HOT on Broadway (adj): fierce, talented, big potential; has "buzz"; has "it" factor.

BROADWAY HEAT X 2: Beetlejuice / Tootsie Edition

This week begins the final edition of Broadway Heat for the 2018-2019!  In order to get through the rest of the season's shows before next season, we decided to double up! It's just the same as always, only you are voting for two shows at a time. The shows are NOT competing against each other! BUT this time around, you are choosing who will make The Elite 8 for both Beetlejuice and Tootsie, two big, splashy movies turned musical.

Below, you'll see the names and pictures of each cast member. Question 1 is the cast of Tootsie, and question 2 is the cast of Beetlejuice. For EACH question, you select who YOU want to move on to the next round, by selecting up to 8 cast members from each show. You do have to pick at least one for each question.

NOTE: You will need to scroll down the survey box to see it all. 
REMEMBER: You must click/tap the "CLICK/TAP TO MAKE YOUR VOTE COUNT" button at the bottom!

THIS POLL HAS CLOSED.
THANK YOU FOR PLAYING ALONG!

#2090