Another Season Come and Gone...

As I've said before, this is my first full theatre season here in New York and it was one packed full of exciting shows. The jump from off-Broadway to Broadway of In The Heights and Passing Strange is reason enough to celebrate. Finally, Broadway is starting to nurture talent that is a little more in touch with today's pop culture. And while I'm still not entirely convinced to drink the Kool-Aid and join the throng of Spring Awakening fans, the show coupled with Heights and Strange, offer hope for my ipod. (It is a little embarrassing to be bumping "Put on Your Sunday Clothes" on the C train.)

And as for my Tony predictions this year, while not any where accurate, I feel I had a respectable score; 16/26. Which seems like a lot. But it is more then half. I credit my inaccuracy to the fact that I didn't see the juggernaut, South Pacific in action and also, my unfamiliarity with some of the design aspects.

And while I was sad that Passing Strange didn't win more awards (it's single win was for Best Book of a Musical? The spoken dialogue is hardly the selling point of the show) nothing was terribly upsetting.

Here is to seeing every Broadway show in the next season. [title of show], the first show of the 2008-2009 Broadway season, starts previews July 5th.

RSVP ASAP

Harvey Fierstein and John Bucchino's new musical, A Catered Affair, playing on Broadway is one of the best acted, simple, and beautiful new musicals to open in a while.

The show centers around Aggie, wonderfully played by Faith Prince, and her husband Tom, (Tom Wopat) and their decision to use a bereavement check from the government for their son, for a stake in Tom's cab company or a lavish wedding for their daughter.

The show is sort of a white middle class A Raisin in the Sun meets "The Gift of the Magi." Every solution that is available is complicated by an equally complex one on the other end. And it's impossible to find a balance. Or rather, the play is about finding that balance, if it can be found at all.

The show is acted very naturally and understated, as musicals are almost never played. It's as if the show was approached as a play, rather then a musical. The characters are fully fleshed out people who are as flawed as they are they are idealistic.

That quality may be the shows downfall. The show is so beautifully understated, if you're not 100% invested in it from the beginning, I can imagine how the 90 intermission-less minutes can feel as if you were invited to a traditional Catholic wedding mass in Latin.

But it's flaw, is also it's strength. You will not find more nuanced performances this season in a musical.




The fact that the show only received three Tony nominations is very upsetting, as it's book and the overall production should have been nominated, especially over the asinine Cry-Baby. But the nominations it did receive are very well deserved. Tom Wopat in Best Supporting Actor in a musical, Faith Prince in Best Actress in a musical, and Jonathon Tunick for orchestrations.

2008 Tony Award Predictions

After the Tony's last year, I was dead set on seeing every show the next year so I can have an "informed" opinion when I watch the next years broadcast.

And while I didn't see every show, I was able to see a vast majority, and have a pretty good sense of the season as a whole. So below are my predictions for the 2008 Tony Awards as well as those who I think should win, but maybe won't. Well... come June 15th we'll see how right or wrong I was.


Choreography

• Andy Blankenbuehler - In The Heights will win...
• Rob Ashford - Cry-Baby should win...

Orchestrations

• Alex Lacamoire & Bill Sherman - In The Heights will win..
• Jonathan Tunick - A Catered Affair should win...

Book of a Musical

• Xanadu, Douglas Carter Beane should and will win...
• A Catered Affair should have been nominated...

Original Score

• In The Heights, Lin-Manuel Miranda will win...
• Passing Strange, Stew and Heidi Rodewld should win...
• A Catered Affair should have been nominated over The Little Mermaid.

Scenic Design (Play)

• Anthony Ward, Macbeth will win...
• Todd Rosenthal, August: Osage County should win...

Scenic Design (Musical)

• David Farley and Timothy Bird & The Knifedge Creative Network, Sunday in the Park with George should and will win...

Costume Design (Play)

• Katrina Lindsay, Les Liaisons Dangereuses will win...
• Peter McKintosh, The 39 Steps should win...

Costume Design (Musical)

• Catherine Zuber, Rodgers & Hammerstein's South Pacific will win...
• David Farley, Sunday in the Park with George should win...

Lighting Design (Play)

• Kevin Adams - Macbeth should and will win...

Lighting Design (Musical)

• Donald Holder, Rodgers & Hammerstein's South Pacific will win...
• Howell Binkley, In The Heights should win...

Sound Design (Play)*

• Adam Cork, Macbeth should and will win...

Sound Design (Musical)*

• Acme Sound Partners, In The Heights will win...
• Sebastian Frost, Sunday in the Park with George should win...

Direction (Play)

• Anna D. Shapiro, August: Osage County will win...
• Maria Aitken, The 39 Steps should win...

Direction (Musical)

• Arthur Laurents, Gypsy will win...
• Sam Buntrock, Sunday in the Park with George should win...

Featured Actor (Play)

• Raul Esparza, The Homecoming will win...
• David Pittu, Is He Dead? should win...

Featured Actress (Play)

• Rondi Reed, August: Osage County will win...
• Sinead Cusack, Rock 'n' Roll should win...

Featured Actor (Musical)

• Boyd Gaines, Gypsy will win...
• Daniel Breaker, Passing Strange should win...

Featured Actress (Musical)

• Laura Benanti, Gypsy will win...
• Andrea Martin, The New Mel Brooks Musical Young Frankenstein should win...

Actor (Play)

• Patrick Stewart, Macbeth should and will win...

Actress (Play)

• Deanna Dunagan, August: Osage County will win...
• Amy Morton, August: Osage County or Kate Fleetwood, Macbeth should win...

Actor (Musical)

• Lin-Manuel Miranda, In The Heights will win...
• Tom Wopat, A Catered Affair should win...

Actress (Musical)

• Patti Lupone, Gypsy will win...
• Faith Prince, A Catered Affair should win...

Play Revival

• Boeing-Boeing will win...
• Macbeth should win...

Musical Revival

• Rodgers & Hammerstein's South Pacific and Gypsy should both win... it's too close to say...

Play

• August: Osage County by Tracy Letts should and will win...

Musical

• In The Heights will win...
• Passing Strange should win...
• A Catered Affair should have been nominated in place of Cry-Baby.

*first year award is being given out.

Anyone out there agree or disagree?