Tuesday, May 4, 2010

TWYLA! TWYLA! FOSSE! FOSSE! It's an interesting year at the Tony Awards--fewer new musicals opened than revivals, and most of those new musicals (Fela!, Million Dollar Quartet, American Idiot, Come Fly Away, Everyday Rapture) use pre-existing music as scores, so when you look at the nominations, it's a bit strange:
  • 2 of the 4 best play revival nominees and 2 of the 4 best musical revival nominees are already closed (and the currently running Promises, Promises was snubbed for musical revival).
  • 2 of the 4 Best Score nominees come from plays (Enron and Fences), in part because Idiot was deemed ineligible.
  • Despite generally positive reviews, American Idiot gets only 3 nominations--Best Musical, Best Lighting Design, and Best Scenic Design--no love for performances, orchestrations, direction.
  • It's a very starry year in terms of nominees--among those nominated--Jude Law, Kelsey Grammer, Denzel Washington, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Angela Lansbury, and Scarlett Johansson.
  • The lack of a Special Theatrical Event category hurt some shows--we might have seen more nominations for Wishful Drinking and Sondheim on Sondheim.
Leading all nominees are Fela! and La Cage Aux Folles. Talk amongst yourselves.