What a season!  A superlative blend of four promising new musicals, three dynamite plays (and another really enjoyable one), and a play revival that reinvented what that play was about and another that had only excellent notices.  When it comes time to award this season, there simply aren’t enough trophies to go around.

Just a glorious season for Off-Broadway.

Oh, right, the Tony Awards are only for Broadway shows.  Yeah, that season was a letdown as a whole.  A few inspired performances and pieces, but as a composite, the NY Times’s two critics called it a B- season.  To me, its more along the lines of C+.  Barely-there books in the Musical category, Plays that sound better on paper than on stage, and revivals of a slate of classics that were generall more about competence than brilliance.

When I made up some thoughts about the nominations, I lamented the lack of good theatrical development.  This year’s Off-Broadway slate proved that there is good development going on, but that the shows that have made it to the big houses simply aren’t being picked or developed properly.  No new musical had the emotional resonance of Yank!, the elegance of The Scottsboro Boys, the feel-good joy of The Kid, or the grand rock-star quality of Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson.  No new play had the complexity of The Pride, the satire of The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity, or the raw emotional evolution of Venus in Fur.  Or the historical poignancy of The Temperamentals.  And in the revival category, Our Town completely changed my thinking on the play to have an entirely newfound respect and love for the work.  Horton Foote’s Orphan Cycle was an epically complex set of individual plays that would have killed Broadway audiences, in the best way. (Although there is a question of whether it would be considered a new play given that two of the three plays were produced many moons ago.)  Hell, even Encores! hit a half-staged homerun with their take on Anyone Can Whistle, with some of the winningest performances of the entire season.

The two most stellar works, from end to end, were the revivals of Fences and A View From The Bridge.  Superb, important masterworks of the language given productions worthy of their value and filled with performances of equally dynamic power.  All four nominees for Best Musical Revival were delightful experiences, each delivering strong productions and performances.  While La Cage is easily the class from a production standpoint, its book is so poor that a lot of folks I know won’t bother to see the show because it has outwardly offensive moments.

And so, here we are with the Tony’s.

BEST MUSICAL
Nominees: American Idiot, Fela!, Memphis, Million Dollar Quartet
Will Win: Memphis is my call, though Fela!’s got a shot.  Both are great times, but neither have great books.  Memphis’s book damn near collapses in the second act, and Fela!’s book lacks detail.  Given the potential for Memphis in perpetuity (touring, revivals, etc.), I’m expecting the academy to pick them.
Should Win:  Fela!  While I enjoyed Memphis, Fela! was a more complete experience, even if its narrative was very much lacking.  It was simply more spectacular.
Should Have Been Nominated: Everyday Rapture was a pure joy to watch, and the best constructed new show this season.  Even if it is a tiny step away from being a cabaret act.

BEST PLAY
Nominees: In the Next Room, or the vibrator play, Next Fall, Red, Time Stands Still
Will Win: Red seems to be the consensus.  It’s a powerful piece, and has a sense of grandeur.  Next Fall is somewhat out of place on Broadway, and feels more Off than On.  In the Next Room doesn’t appear to have a ton of support, for mostly financial reasons  And I HATED Time Stands Still.  Hated.
Should Win:  I’m not enamored with this entire group, but I’d cast a vote for In the Next Room simply on the quality of its writing.  While there were some shortcomings, it was an overall excellent piece with a handful of strong performances.
Should Have Been Nominated: I guess given the meager quality of this list, Superior Donuts.  I didn’t out and out love it, but I certainly found it to be better than Time Stands Still.

BEST REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL
Nominees: Finian’s Rainbow, La Cage aux Folles, A Little Night Music, Ragtime
Will Win: La Cage aux Folles seems to be the favorite, given that the production is truly revelatory.  There is way more emotion in the piece than was considered before, all thanks to this iteration of the show.
Should Win: I would be fine with any of these winning, since I very much enjoyed them all.  Each has something wrong with it.  La Cage’s book is sorely, painfully in need of a refresher that eliminates 1970’s homophobic standards.  Night Music is a masterwork, but the production felt too small.  Finian’s Rainbow is pure joy on stage, but it is also a cartoon.  And Ragtime is epic and grand, but ultimately tries to hard.  Since I’m purporting to pick, I’ll go with Finian’s Rainbow.
Should Have Been Nominated: Promises, Promises is the only other realistic option, and I was not enamored with that lazy show.  So, not a damn thing.

BEST REVIVAL OF A PLAY
Nominees: Fences, Lend Me a Tenor, The Royal Family, A View From the Bridge
Will Win:  A battle of the Cort Theatre.  Both Fences and A View From the Bridge were stellar, Fences seems to be the favorite since it’s a bit of a bigger show.
Should Win:  A View From the Bridge had more intimacy, but Fences was indeed bigger.  I’m quite torn, but I’ll go with a View.
Should Have Been Nominated:  Not a damn thing, again.

BEST BOOK OF A MUSICAL
Nominees: Everyday Rapture, Dick Scanlan and Sherie Rene Scott; Fela!, Jim Lewis and Bill T. Jones; Memphis, Joe DiPietro; Million Dollar Quartet, Colin Escott and Floyd Mutrux
Will Win: Memphis has a lot of steam, picking up a host of awards.  It has a truly excellent first act.  But that second act is such a letdown.
Should Win: Everyday Rapture was the only new musical that had a complete book.  And quotable lines.
Should Have Been Nominated: Not a damn thing, yet again.

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE (MUSIC AND/OR LYRICS) WRITTEN FOR THE THEATER
Nominees: The Addams Family, Music and Lyrics: Andrew Lippa; Enron, Music: Adam Cork, Lyrics: Lucy Prebble; Fences, Music: Branford Marsalis; Memphis, Music: David Bryan, Lyrics: Joe DiPietro and David Bryan
Will Win: Memphis is on a role as the only truly traditional book musical that has weight.  And there are two play nominees.  Uck.  Talk about a bad state.
Should Win: Memphis, I guess.  Process of elimination and all that.
Should Have Been Nominated: There were rulings against Fela!, American Idiot and Million Dollar Quartet being in this category (that whole “written for the theatre” thing).  I tried to find out about Everyday Rapture, but since that uses recycled material as well, I’m guessing it was ruled ineligible too.  By process of elimination, nothing gets in.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A LEADING ACTOR IN A PLAY
Nominees: Jude Law, Hamlet; Alfred Molina, Red; Liev Schreiber, A View From the Bridge; Christopher Walken, A Behanding in Spokane; Denzel Washington, Fences
Will Win: Denzel Washington will likely eke out a win over Live Schreiber and Alfred Molina.  Each carried his show, but there’s a current of appropriate love for Fences, so I’m expecting Denzel to bring home the trophy.
Should Win: I’m torn about the big three.  Each actor distinguished himself with honor, but I’m going with Schreiber here.  His was the least showy role, and he carried so much in that show.
Should Have Been Nominated: There were some decent other performances, but none worth talking about.  Yet again.  Sorry, Michael Cervaris.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A LEADING ACTRESS IN A PLAY
Nominees: Viola Davis, Fences; Valerie Harper, Looped; Linda Lavin, Collected Stories; Laura Linney, Time Stands Still; Jan Maxwell, The Royal Family
Will Win: Viola Davis’s role was elevated in the consideration process, which is both appropriate.  It’s one of the best written roles and Davis is absolutely breathtaking with it.  None of the other performances come even close.
Should Win: Ditto.
Should Have Been Nominated: As with the actors, nothing worth talking about.  I’m feeling a theme.  Apologies to Laura Benanti, but there just wasn’t enough there for her.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A LEADING ACTOR IN A MUSICAL
Nominees: Kelsey Grammer, La Cage aux Folles; Sean Hayes, Promises, Promises; Douglas Hodge, La Cage aux Folles; Chad Kimball, Memphis; Sahr Ngaujah, Fela!
Will Win: Douglas Hodge was such a sensation as Albin/Zaza in London that the American producers went above & beyond to bring home with the production.  I could see some love for Grammer, since he was surprisingly good as a gay man (being a staunch conservative and all), but Hodge is towering here.
Should Win: Ditto
Should Have Been Nominated: Again, other good performances, but none really rise above what’s here.  Though I’d love to have seen Kevin Mambo co-nominated with Sahr Ngaujah.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A LEADING ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL
Nominees: Kate Baldwin, Finian’s Rainbow;  Sherie Rene Scott, Everyday Rapture;  Montego Glover, Memphis; Christiane Noll, Ragtime; Catherine Zeta-Jones, A Little Night Music
Will Win: Montego Glover has racked up the hardware this season, both for a dynamic performance and for helping foster this show over seven years onto Broadway.  Zeta-Jones might out-star her, but it’s not likely.
Should Win: Sherie Rene Scott also fostered her show, and co-wrote the most cohesive book.  But her knockout performance as, well, herself is stunning, delightful, and joyously lovely.  I can’t deny  it, casting aside playing second fiddle, a semi-star really defines herself as an actual star.
Should Have Been Nominated: See the last three categories.  Theme indeed.  Oh, Bebe Neuwirth & Kristin Chenoweth, may you soon find real material to work with.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A FEATURED ACTOR IN A PLAY
Nominees: David Alan Grier, Race; Stephen McKinley Henderson, Fences; Jon Michael Hill, Superior Donuts; Stephen Kunken, Enron; Eddie Redmayne, Red
Will Win: Jon Michael Hill was a revelation in a less-than-spectacular Superior Donuts.  Eddie Redmayne might slip in given some serious love for Red, but I found that the role wasn’t all that interesting.  A wall-flower getting some stones is old hat, and I wasn’t all that impressed.
Should Win: A very weak group, but I’m on Team Hill.  I really enjoyed the careful performance by Stephen McKinley Henderson, but I didn’t find it to be award-worthy.
Should Have Been Nominated: I would have included Mykelti Williamson for his Fences performance and Morgan Spector for A View.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A FEATURED ACTRESS IN A PLAY
Nominees: Maria Dizzia, In the Next Room, or the vibrator play; Rosemary Harris, The Royal Family; Jessica Hecht, A View From the Bridge; Scarlett Johansson, A View From the Bridge; Jan Maxwell, Lend Me a Tenor
Will Win: Jan Maxwell in a squeaker over Scarlett Johansson.  Jan owns her show very thoroughly, and Johansson was a revelation on stage.  I’m betting on the theatre vet to pull this one out over the Hollywood girl.
Should Win: I’m very torn between Jan Maxwell, ScarJo, and Jessice Hecht.  All three were excellent.  Maxwell was truly hilarious in a poorly written part.  Johansson was luminous and powerful despite being a bit old for the part.  Hecht was heartbreaking even if I wasn’t enamored with her accent.  I guess I’m going with Hecht simply because I still feel something when I think about her performance.
Should Have Been Nominated: I might throw Zoe Kazan’s comedic performance in A Behanding in Spokane in here, but her work isn’t up to the quality of the others.  That will change soon enough.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A FEATURED ACTOR IN A MUSICAL
Nominees: Kevin Chamberlin, The Addams Family; Robin De Jesús, La Cage aux Folles; Christopher Fitzgerald, Finian’s Rainbow; Levi Kreis, Million Dollar Quartet; Bobby Steggert, Ragtime
Will Win:  Bobby Steggert is the consensus.  He gave a tremendous performance of the best written character in Ragtim.  De Jesús was hilarious and scene stealing, but doesn’t have the depth of Steggert’s performance.  Chamberlin is a sentimental favorite, but the animus towards The Addams Family can’t be undervalued.
Should Win: Steggert.
Should Have Been Nominated: In a year of weak categories, this might be the second weakest.  At no fault to the performers, the quality of roles just apparently aren’t there.  But, again, change is on the horizon.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A FEATURED ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL
Nominees: Barbara Cook, Sondheim on Sondheim; Katie Finneran, Promises, Promises; Angela Lansbury, A Little Night Music; Karine Plantadit, Come Fly Away; Lillias White, Fela!
Will Win: Katie Finneran seems to be the choice.  She’s hilarious, and completely outshines her more famous cast-mates.  I could see the troika of theatre legends (Barbara Cook, Angela Lansbury, and Lillias White) pulling this out, but I’m not counting on it.
Should Win:  Finneran, I guess.  I could put any of the legends here.  Each of them and Finneran made me say “Can we get more of her?”, but I’m going with the general choice.  Her shot of adrenaline into that show was so incredible, I still chuckle.
Should Have Been Nominated: Who wouldn’t like to see Jackie Hoffman get a Tony nomination?

BEST DIRECTION OF A PLAY
Nominees: Michael Grandage, Red; Sheryl Kaller, Next Fall; Kenny Leon, Fences; Gregory Mosher, A View From the Bridge
Will Win: Kenny Leon for Fences.  That phenomenon thing.
Should Win: Gregory Mosher for A View.  He had less guaranteed talent, and pulled it off brilliantly.
Should Have Been Nominated: I’m a little surprised Stanley Tucci didn’t make it in here.  Direction generally makes farce work moreso than individual performance, and he pulled it off better than expected.  Plus, he’s a star.  While I don’t believe the production was a “wow”, I did enjoy myself given that the show isn’t all that great on paper.

BEST DIRECTION OF A MUSICAL
Nominees: Christopher Ashley, Memphis; Marcia Milgrom Dodge, Ragtime; Terry Johnson, La Cage aux Folles; Bill T. Jones, Fela!
Will Win: Terry Johnson’s production of La Cage stripped down a previously lavish show, leaving an emotional resonance that was generally unexpected.  Bill T. Jones might slip in here, but I just don’t see it happening given the love for La Cage’s production.
Should Win: Each of these directors made the show on paper better than they are, but I’ll go with Johnson given that the book he had to deal with is so terribly dated.
Should Have Been Nominated: Michael Mayer’s work on both American Idiot and Everyday Rapture, stewarding both shows through their development cycles and simultaneous Broadway debut should have been acknowledged, particularly with Idiot.

BEST CHOREOGRAPHY
Nominees: Rob Ashford, Promises, Promises; Bill T. Jones, Fela!; Lynne Page, La Cage aux Folles; Twyla Tharp, Come Fly Away
Will Win: Twyla Tharp.   Come Fly Away is a dance show, getting great reviews for culling out emotions with dance alone.
Should Win: I guess Bill T. Jones for Fela!  Though its really about the dancers more than the motions, the show is far more dynamic than fly, and dance really does move the (weak) narrative along.
Should Have Been Nominated: No one really stands out, though you could make an argument for Steven Hoggett for American Idiot.

BEST ORCHESTRATIONS
Nominees: Jason Carr, La Cage aux Folles; Aaron Johnson, Fela!; Jonathan Tunick, Promises, Promises; Daryl Waters & David Bryan, Memphis
Will Win: The Memphis boys.  The music worked well, and there’s this whole expectation of the show winning thing.
Should Win: I’m not really that partial to any of these, but I’m going with Fela! more for the spectacle of the music.
Should Have Been Nominated: Ragtime felt epic, and the orchestrations were a big reason why.

BEST SCENIC DESIGN OF A PLAY
Nominees: John Lee Beatty, The Royal Family; Alexander Dodge, Present Laughter; Santo Loquasto, Fences; Christopher Oram, Red
Will Win: Fences.  There was a realness to the set.
Should Win: Ditto.
Should Have Been Nominated: Probably A View From the Bridge.  It felt very real and moved quite well.

BEST SCENIC DESIGN OF A MUSICAL
Nominees: Marina Draghici, Fela!; Christine Jones, American Idiot; Derek McLane, Ragtime; Tim Shortall, La Cage aux Folles
Will Win: La Cage.  That production sure is beloved.
Should Win: I liked all of these, but that epic feel of Ragtime pulls at me.  Or Fela’s nightclub vibe.  No, I’ll go with Ragtime.
Should Have Been Nominated: There wasn’t much people liked about The Addams Family, but the set was universally loved and it deserved some Tony love too.

BEST COSTUME DESIGN OF A PLAY
Nominees: Martin Pakledinaz, Lend Me a Tenor; Constanza Romero, Fences; David Zinn, In the Next Room, or the vibrator play; Catherine Zuber, The Royal Family
Will Win: In the Next Room.  As with the Oscars, go with period.
Should Win: Ditto.
Should Have Been Nominated: Nothing really stands out.

BEST COSTUME DESIGN OF A MUSICAL
Nominees: Marina Draghici, Fela!; Paul Tazewell, Memphis; Matthew Wright, La Cage aux Folles
Will Win: La Cage.  Drag queens, people.
Should Win: Ditto.
Should Have Been Nominated: Ragtime was here, but was dropped since those costumes were basically copies of the original versions.  I’d go with Finian’s Rainbow.  Well done dated attire that helped the cartoon vibe come off delightfully.

BEST LIGHTING DESIGN OF A PLAY
Nominees: Neil Austin, Hamlet; Neil Austin, Red; Mark Henderson, Enron; Brian MacDevitt, Fences
Will Win: Fences & that phenomenon thing.
Should Win: Red’s lighting brought serious dramatic development.
Should Have Been Nominated: Not a damn thing comes to mind.

BEST LIGHTING DESIGN OF A MUSICAL
Nominees: Kevin Adams, American Idiot; Donald Holder, Ragtime; Nick Richings, La Cage aux Folles; Robert Wierzel, Fela!
Will Win: La Cage.  Coat-tails.
Should Win: Fela!’s lighting felt organic and was used as a dramatic tool without feeling “look at this”.
Should Have Been Nominated: Memphis has some lovingly lit moments and that finale was eye-popping.

BEST SOUND DESIGN OF A PLAY
Nominees: Acme Sound Partners, Fences; Adam Cork, Enron; Adam Cork, Red; Scott Lehrer, A View From the Bridge
Will Win: Fences.  There was music, interspersed with un-mic’ed voices.
Should Win:  I love all of these, but I’ll go with A View.  More voices carried well.
Should Have Been Nominated: Nothing’s coming to mind.

BEST SOUND DESIGN OF A MUSICAL
Nominees: Jonathan Deans, La Cage aux Folles; Robert Kaplowitz, Fela!; Dan Moses Schreier and Gareth Owen, A Little Night Music; Dan Moses Schreier, Sondheim on Sondheim
Will Win: La Cage sounded great.
Should Win: I would through in with Fela!, but there were moments when the sound mixing was too muddled.  La Cage it is, then.  Night Music didn’t have enough sound.  And Sondheim’s history is in Studio 54, so it has no chance of excellent sound no matter how excellent Schreier is.
Should Have Been Nominated: Come Fly Away sounded great.  And The Addams Family was easy to hear.

So there you have it.  Thoughts out of my head.  What are yours?

August Wilson’s Fences, a Pulitzer-prize winning masterwork of theatre, has reached Broadway once again.  While I may have an impression that the play is let down only by not having that glorious ensemble of characters that his other masterwork (in my mind) has, namely Joe Turner’s Come And Gone, it is certainly as joy to watch.  It may not be Joe Turner or The Piano Lesson (my second favorite Wilson play), there is something special in Wilson’s work.

The original production featured James Earl Jones and Mary Alice, both Tony winners for their performances.  One difference this time around is that the role Alice played was considered a Featured role, and Viola Davis is considered a Lead.  The role, Rose Maxson, is very much a reactor to the main character, her husband Troy Maxson.

Troy is an interesting theatrical and literary character.  He is ultimately revealed as a man who doesn’t look around enough to let himself grow with the times, rather choosing to fence himself in.  Quite literary, in fact, as the play builds.  A man who rose through the first half of the century, witness to both world wars, the depression, and, as the play takes place, the early days of the Civil Rights movement – along with everything in between.

The popularization of baseball, and its integration, play pivotal roles in the character’s development, and Troy never seemed to be able to identify the slow change around him.  He does, however, remain the boy thrown out of his father’s home, and the ideals and values of his fourteen year-old self never grow.  There’s so much to say and talk about with the play and the character, I really could go on for hours about it.  I relish a larger discussion, and anyone interested should definitely ping me.

This production is most notable for its casting of Denzel Washington as Troy.  Washington is one of the great actors of our age, and has a pair of Oscars to prove it.  His best dramatic skill is to build emotion so that so nothing appears unrealistic in its generation, no matter how MacGuffin-esque his character arc may be.  There’s a carefully modulated, yet still very smooth emotional development at work, and it’s really something special to watch.  While it may be natural skill to evolve emotions that well, Washington has put in enormous work to develop that evolutionary tool set.  However, in an August Wilson play, the characters’ emotional developments are already well constructed and entirely natural.  As a result, Washington overdoes it during a few moments, simply flexing his well-honed acting muscles.  Regardless of those moments, and mostly because his character is something over an over-shooter who is prone to acting out (thank you, gin), Washington does shine, and shine brightly.

When I saw him last onstage, in Julius Caesar, for some reason, it stuck in my mind that, while technically brilliant, something about his stage presence seemed off.  Much like Scarlett Johansson in A View From The Bridge, there’s an intimacy in his screen work that doesn’t exactly translate to the stage.  This time around, there is more of a comfort-level in the work.  I’m not sure if it’s his stage partner in Davis, who really owns whatever stage she’s on, or the material that he more readily connects with.  Nevertheless, it works.

What also works is Davis’s performance as Rose.  Most notable for her few moments stealing the entire film Doubt from Meryl Streep, Davis is a theatre vet who really, really owns the stage.  Every time her Rose stood listening to Troy, my eyes always drifted over to watch her.  Much like Washington, she also has that honed emotional development, but there’s never any feeling that she could run off the character at all.  She blends the intimacy of her role, and draws the audience to her rather than playing to it.

While it might seem like a fairly obvious method, it’s not nearly employed enough.  Rose could be a mess of yelling and anger, which do come now & again, but Davis plays it inwardly.  Her anger at Troy has claws, but her sharpest edge cuts back at herself.  While I’ve read the play a few times, I’ve never considered how internal those moments can be.  It’s hard to write superlatives for days on end, but I could very easily do it for Davis.  While Washington is the star, Davis is the show.

Rounding out the cast are four men who each deliver strong, if somewhat stilted performances.  And the stilted, I believe has more to do with Kenny Leon’s direction than anything else.  Mykelti Williamson plays Troy’s war-injured, mentally impaired brother Gabriel.  There’s a bit of caricature in Wilson’s writing for Gabe, and Williamson does his best to overcome it.  But, Leon allows Williamson to overact his entrance, which should be much more subdued.  Williamson does a fine job overall, but his initial stage time is a bit jarring and doesn’t, perhaps by design, fit with the way the other actors are performing their roles.

Stephen McKinley Henderson is Jim Bono, Troy’s long-time friend.  Henderson is a superb actor, and received a Tony nomination for his work.  While the role lacks genuinely huge moments and is not that showy, there is a speech late in the first act that is harrowingly delivered.  I’m a bit surprised by the nomination given the meager time and lack of flash, but the work is solid (and it’s a generally a weak Broadway year).

Russell Hornsby plays Troy’s son from a previous relationship.  He has a few moments of genuinely stunning emotion, and delivers them quite well.  If only his silly hat didn’t mar my memory of his performance.  Chris Chalk is arguably the weakest in the cast.  As Troy and Rose’s son Corey, he’s meant to be a football playing, somewhat emasculated boy.  It’s a difficult blend of character traits, and while Chalk isn’t bad, I didn’t find him up to par with the excellence around him.

Throughout the play, Wilson has Troy singing segments from a song “Old Dog Blue”, which Corey and his younger sister sing near the conclusion.  The song is about a dog that lived hard and made it to heaven, something as a metaphor for Troy himself.  Like a dog that can’t learn new tricks, Troy doesn’t realize the changes around him.  He fights for his life, his values, and his mistakes up until the end.  And while that life may not be pretty or as joyous as he may want, it is after all, his life to live.  Ours to watch, or at least glimpse into.

Wilson’s ability to create a character, and characters, who’s life/lives are able to be seen and understood far beyond their experience in front of the audience is a gift that every person should open.  While this production is in limited run, it is definitely worth viewing.  After last year’s production of Joe Turner, to see a second excellent revival of an August Wilson play is something the Broadway community should, and can, be proud of.  Troy would like that.  Perhaps The Piano Lesson next year?  We can hope.

Wrestling isn’t exactly a subject I’m looking to see a play about.  Sure, I watched a little as a kid.  Overly muscular men in tight, usually little, clothing wasn’t exactly worth passing up, even if I didn’t quite understand it at the time.  And the dramatic developments were truly ludicrous, which is captured elegantly and held up for its own insanity in Kristoffer Diaz’s Pulitzer Prize finalist The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity.

Narrated by the central character, Desmin Borges’s Macedonio “Mace” Guerrero, TEEOCD (for short, that’s a long honking title) is filled with the insights of a young man growing up admiring professional wrestling, fully aware of the complex training and Machiavellian coordination that goes into the enterprise.  To say the show is well-scripted and insightful would be selling it short, and that whole Pulitzer finalist thing should speak well enough on its own.

Mace tells the tale of his own career as a secondary performer in the THE Wrestling organization, including acting as fall-down fodder for the titular Chad Deity.  And yes, his entrance is indeed elaborate and as ridiculous as you’d imagine.  Eventually tired of watching a less-talented, but clearly charismatic, wrestler, he ventures to a Brooklyn basketball court to discover a young man primed for his own spotlight, Vigneshwar Paduar, whom Mace brings to the head of the wrestling organization with a bid for stardom.

Up until this point, there have been a host of subtle race-related and social-structure allusions, but by bringing in an Indian man to create a wrestling character, Diaz kicks off his true plot-line: the use of racial stereotyping in the wrestling world is simply an hyperbolic allegory of race relations in America.  And he’s not wrong.  With punching words that sting more than the demonstrated wrestling moves on stage, Diaz’s dialogue, driven by Borges, Usman Ally (as Paduar), Terence Archie (as the titular Deity), and Michael T. Weiss (as the THE Wrestling head Everett K. Olson), is full, lush, and perfectly balanced with satire, surrealism, and reality.

I don’t want to give away too much of the story, since the developments really work with an element of surprise, and, I presume, gain power upon multiple viewings.  But the construction Diaz has built is very much a modern theatrical experience.  Much of it is split between Borges’s asides to the audience (at least a good third of the show) and usually very rapid dialogue (the other two-thirds).  The asides are interesting, at least to me, since they tell not just about feelings, but about expectations.  Diaz does a wonderful job avoiding typical exposition, leaving the dialogue & stage action to cover his points and notes for the audience.  And the dénouement, while somewhat harrowing, never feels too preachy.

And the dialogue.  Suffice it to say there is something of a treatise on raisin bread that is both powerful, moving, and hilarious it isn’t hard to see the accolades of the play pilling up.  And Diaz tosses in a great joke about the cultural tastes of a professional wrestler that will make any theatre fan laugh rather loudly.  There’s the blazing speed of Ally’s deliver, perfectly attuned to the character’s believability.  There’s healthy interplay between all of the characters, with Archie’s Deity’s ultimate anger at Ally’s Paduar’s riding star building both believably, and in true wrestling form, takes on a delivery of sublime ridiculousness.  All I’ll say is there is a great use of a refrigerator’s crisper as a metaphor.  At least the audience should think of it as a metaphor.

The performances are uniformly strong, led rather distinctively by Borges.  He conveys what I assume to be Diaz’s wish-fulfillment as a character, the love of a profession so ludicrous he doesn’t care.  He not only delivers the excellent writing well, but does it with distinction and with actual wrestling moves.  It’s a great performance, and if the rumors of transfer to Broadway are true, one that easily deserves a Tony nomination.  Easily.  Ally’s performance is so much of a caricature, but he does it quite well.  There are bits of him sprouting off that are really great, and his moment in the wrestling ring is quite priceless.  Archie’s got two of the best speeches and a truly elaborate entrance, and executes all of it with aplomb.  Weiss’s role isn’t exactly enjoyable, but he does enough to make it work.

The production of TEEOCD (that name really is a problem, but that’s the point) is equally well-done.  There’s a very fun stage setup, complete with wrestling ring, and the play uses the full theatre, much like wrestling does, to captivate and engage the audience.  There’s live camera work, running up and down the aisles, and, yes, very elaborate entrances.  I did mention this was a modern piece, right?  It is very much not a stage row removed from the audience, and it likes it that way.  And so do we.  Director Edward Torres, who brought the production from Chicago, has done an overall excellent job in breathing life into Diaz’s already stellar piece.

This production of The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity is a limited run, but I’m expecting that it will be in an open run on Broadway very soon.  To paraphrase Borges’s Mace, it’s about community, and Kristoffer Diaz’s play makes it happen.

The best thing you can say after a joyful musical is “I want that in my life”.  And, yes, after watching The Kid, I can honestly say that I want that in my life.  A kid, maybe or maybe not, but the completeness of experience that the main character achieves is utterly relatable, it took me by surprise.

Based on Dan Savage’s account of him and his younger partner’s adoption of their son, The Kid is very much an old fashioned book musical.  Likeable characters express their feelings in song, there are archetypes abound, and it ends with a happy conclusion.  The show is endearingly sentimental, if a bit too smooth for its own good.  Savage is fairly well-known as a columnist on “politics and relationships” (read: sex) – a joke that gets reused about a half-dozen times throughout the show.  He’s always been fairly open about his personal life, and other people’s personal lives, without too much concern for over-sharing.  After all, his column’s subject is already over-sharing.

I’m not going to go into the story too much.  If you’re really curious, read the book.  Gay couple in Portland goes through open adoption process.  Since it’s a real story, we know the couple not only stays together, but they’re also very happy with their son.  So, really, any thoughts are less about plot and more about how it all gets delivered to the audience.

Portraying the author is one of my favorite theatre guys, Christopher Sieber.  Fresh off of his lovingly campy Tony-nominated turn in Shrek (and a TV pilot that apparently didn’t get picked up), Sieber plays something of the straight/conventional man.  While the show is ostensibly about the gay adoption process, the arc of Michael Zam’s book and, to some extent, Jack Lechner and Andy Monroe’s songs, are actually focused on Dan’s growth as a person.  It’s a fairly relatable character arc, and Sieber does quite well despite the broadly painted role.

Joining him on his adoption adventure is Dan’s quite younger partner, Terry, played here by Lucas Steele.  It was my understanding that there were only about 8 years between the two, but given the ages of the two actors, not to mention their physical differences, it looked closer to 15-20.  However, Steele (who looks eons younger in person than he does in photos) is a good foil for Sieber.  He is able to stand up to his counterpart’s formidable stage presence, and has a great voice.  And hair.  Oh, that hair.  It gets flipped a few times, and it’s almost an extension of his personality.  I’m not sure whether the hair was so present in the book, but regardless, it adds a bit to the character.

There are some other characters, including Dan’s mom (played by Jill Eikenberry), their adoption counsel (played by Susan Blackwell), the mother of their to-be-adopted son, the biological father, and a host of interchangeable roles that have names but aren’t exactly needing much specificity outside of the plot.  Eikenberry does well in her token, mother-knows-best role.  There isn’t much to do but portray warmth, but she handles it without anything feeling forced.  Blackwell, a cult figure to some in the theatre community for stealing [title of show] right out from under it, shows a bit of range in a far-from-type restrained role – which is good to see.  I’d love to see her get a meaty featured role, perhaps in something more dramatic.

The rest of the cast does well, including a very sobering turn by Jeannine Frumess as a pregnant, homeless young woman who eventually turns over the titular child to the adoptive couple.  Apparently, at some point, there were a number of jokes about how she smelled, but they were very clearly making changes and dropped those.  The role is written to be restrained, and Frumess executes her performance with a nice balance of soul and distance.  Other than being notable, Ann Harada doesn’t really have much to do, but then again, most of the remainder of the cast are somewhat interchangeable, including an always game Tyler Maynard.  If I have any complaints about the cast, it’s that the roles aren’t written out enough for there to be any substance for them to work with other than caricature.  That might have been the point, but it felt somewhat distracting.

As for the production, there are some nice video moments to move things along, and the set worked quite well as an apartment, a club, a hotel room, a pizza place, and a hospital.  Derek McLane (of course) is one of the best set designers in theatre, and did a great job again here.

So it all comes back to the show.  While a gay adoption story could have some really powerful moments, this one had a lightness and was overflowing with warmth and impending joy.  And that joy gets transferred to the audience.  Which is really a pleasure.  There are some memorable musical moments to move the audience through the show, if not as unique or creative as they could be.  While the book is a bit broad and will likely get some more tweaking as it moves up (I’m assuming) to Broadway next season, overall, The Kid is an old-fashioned, everyone-enjoys-it, have-a-good-time musical.  And worth catching when it does make its way back to the stage.

As I mentioned, when I left, I really felt drawn to the circumstance the characters went through.  The feeling of completeness we all, in one way or another, are looking for.  I walked out of the performance with a bounce in my step, looking to figure out what that completeness is for me.  And that, after all, is what we want from a joyful show.

When I go to a one-performer show, I expect a loose narrative for the performer to show off his or her talents – particularly if the show is steeped in music.  I don’t expect a fully-formed plot with character development that relies as equally on the dramatic skills of the performer as his/her well-recognized comedic and musical talents.  While Sarah Jones & Anna Deveare Smith have transcended the genre by inhabiting multiple characters to create a narrative, musical performers tend to rely on their vocal prowess to enrapture the audience.  Having seen both Bea Arthur and Elaine Stritch do this incredibly well, I was still struck by the balance of an actual plotline in Sherie Rene Scott’s Everyday Rapture.

I had seen the earlier incarnation of the show at Second Stage, and was thrilled to hear it was finally transferring to the big stage.  Strangely hosted by the Roundabout at their play revival theatre, Everyday Rapture isn’t simply a one-woman performance.  There are some other performers contributing, but Scott, with co-writer Dick Scanlon, is delivering arguably the most complete new musical of the season.

Scott recants fictionalized (one assumes) accounts of her Kansasan upbringing, including her (a) friendship with one of Fred Phelps’ clan, (b) love for Judy Garland, and (c) enjoyment of Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood.  There are some lovely bon mots about the Phelps church and their insidious ways, but Scott conveys that youthful contradiction of being a good half-Mennonite and loving Judy.  She even goes so far as to reenact a childhood performance at the local high-end rehab center at the behest of her not-out gay cousin.  Asking the eternal question about what would an idol do, she launches into “Get Happy”, fully inclusive of the climatic modulation to hilarious effect.  That moment early on has its gorgeous yang with a take on “You Made Me Love You”, performed with some outrageous images of Jesus.

There are some other tales about youth (and a fantastic rendition of Mr. Rogers’ theme song), but the dramatic pull between her two sides is constantly reinforced through two pieces of paper she keeps in her pockets: “I am a speck of dust” and “The world was created for me”.  A showbiz contradiction in gloriously rich terms, indeed.  As she grows, the dramatic arc dealing with her cousin, her move to New York, and a delightful if ultimately harrowing first romance is really quite splendidly executed.  Sure, there are some plot-lines that aren’t as strong as others, but the woven delivery and the development of a true story are quite excellent.

As Scott emerges into a “semi-star” of “semi-hit shows”, arguably the greatest section of the show, she recounts an interaction with a young male fan who records himself lip-synching to one of her soundtrack numbers.  Eamon Foley delivers a bright, energetic performance that is every bit as scene-stealingly delightful as David Bologna as Michael in Billy Elliott.  There’s a lot to be said in that moment, and Scott, rightly, allows the moment to speak for itself as Foley rightly upstages the star – the only exception being a zinger delivered (with love) at Idina Menzel.

What she doesn’t say, and what should be apparant from my effusive reaction, is that Scott is a star, radiating with charisma, talent & energy that befits a star.  If the Broadway-producing community can’t seem to find a good role for her, well, my inner casting director tells me she’d be a natural for Dolly (as in, Hello Dolly!), if anyone has the stones to mount that mammoth production.  She’s talented enough to hold a canonical role, and someone other than herself should write the woman a great diva role.

Anyway, the show moves into a few charming moments as Scott wraps up the show talking about her son, and her transition to motherhood.  Her final number, Up The Ladder To The Roof, is electric, and I was humming it all the way home.  And a little bit the day after.

But about that dramatic arc.  I haven’t done a great job of illustrating it, simply because it’s a narrative that really only works on stage.  There are moments of pride, joy, youthful delight, fear, and support for the LGBT community.  Scott’s tale of her life, from loving Judy Garland to dealing with her former friend in the Phelps clan who boycotted her cousin’s funeral to her rise on Broadway, is well-crafted, well-delivered, and a pure joy to watch.  In a season of under-developed shows, the balance and efficacy of the elements of this show really stand out.

And, yes, it really is one of the gay plays that have overcome the season.  Add it to Next Fall, Looped, The Pride, Yank!, La Cage Aux Folles,  and The Kid in a truly large (and strong) season of gay theatre.

While supported in his segment by Foley, Scott is also routinely balanced by her Mennon-ettes, Lindsay Mendez and Betsy Wolfe.  Both a delightful, in a supportive way that reminded me of Donna Murphy’s ever-present hot young things who followed her around during Anyone Can Whistle.  They do what they need to: provide sparkle while maintaining in the background.

The set is a little problematic, simply because while the theatre is on the smaller side (barely topping 800 seats), it feels much, much bigger.  And the stage is huge.  While not an ideal fit for this type of show, Christine Jones’s set design from Second Stage is simply bigger, creating a nice cosmic effect.  Given that the show transitioned in about a two week period from deal to first preview, there’s a lot of credit due to Jones, her team, and the rest of the production team.  And that doesn’t even touch on Scott, Scanlon, director Michael Mayer, and the rest of the creative team.

It’s always a pleasure to see potential greatness in a musical.  When that musical is essentially a cabaret act, there’s something special.  There’s a story, a performance, and music –  all delivered with brilliance.  Everyday Rapture is something special, powered by a dynamically lovely Sherie Rene Scott.  I could probably write another thousand words on the show – there’s that much material – but I’d rather you just go see it and experience the coming yourself.

But, I’m taking a hot minute to pay tribute to my beloved icon, Pam Grier.  Today’s her birthday, and she deserves some love.  Ever the beacon of pride, soul, and screen presence, she rode her curves and attitude to huge fame (and hopefully some cash).

(Fair warning – there is serious cleavage on display.)

From her iconic leading debut in Coffy to her magnificent re-imagining of that role in Jackie Brown, Pam defined a particular image of black women in cinema.  While far from perfect in both acting and that image, her commitment to standing above never wavered.  And she could wear a dress.  Or walk around nekkid like she was wearing a burlap sack.  Just an incredible presence.

I, of course, own most of her oeuvre, including Coffy, its intended follow-up Foxy Brown, Sheba Baby, Black Mama White Mama (with Angie Dickinson!), playing an appropriately named character named Aretha in Bucktown, and my beloved Friday Foster (which I watch semi-annually), along with her incredible resurgent performance in Jackie Brown.  There were other roles, other screen moments (including that scene in Beyond the Valley Of the Dolls that I couldn’t find on YouTube), but it was her presence as the first lady of blaxploitation that has become her legacy.

While I didn’t grow up with her films, I discovered Pam Grier in college.  A shy gay boy who became attached to a woman of strength isn’t a particularly new tale, and I’m not sure my story is frankly all that different.  Pam’s screen presence, the image she purveyed, was full of confidence, sass, sex, drive, and ultimately pride.  A nice combination I still strive for.  It was revelatory to me for someone to rise so simply and dramatically above some beyond-insane circumstances and very cheaply produced films.  She was a true icon for me, a beacon of strength to anchor my own growth to, and very much still is someone I look to when challenging myself to be better.  While I may like to think of myself in a “What Would Bette Davis Do?” mode, I’m really more of a “What Pam Grier Would Do” kind of guy.

Pam took the strength of her iconic image and turned it into something excellent.  Though she had a great turn on the L Word and recently released her memoir to contribute to her repertoire, it will always be her 1970′s films and their later homage that she will be remembered for.  That and her fabulous curves.  (And not, hopefully, the cocaine va-jay-jay.)

Pam Grier is a hero, an icon of awesomeness, and a legend of the screen.  Happy Birthday, Pam!

Pam as Coffy:

Pam as Foxy Brown:

Pam as Friday Foster:

Pam as Jackie Brown:

(Apparently, I have a thing for black women with guns.  Who knew?  The cleavage and sass have nothing to do with it.  Regardless, happy birthday!)

The show may start with calling itself an illusion, but there’s far more depth to be found in the current revival of La Cage Aux Folles than in most shows you’ll find on the Great White Way.  While still ostensibly cartoonish and dated, this production directed of the show by Terry Johnson brings forth real heart and emotion in the best spirit of musical theatre.  By stripping down the production, Johnson eliminated some of the spectacle.  There are still plenty of sparkles, spangles, and costume changes, but never enough to weigh down the show.

Douglas Hodge leads the show, transferring with the production from the West End, as the titular cabaret’s star, Zaza.  He’s no sparkling beauty, but fully encapsulates the characterization of an aging drag queen.  While he gets the most ridiculous moments, he also grounds the show with a sense of hurt, love, and desire that comes across more fully than I expected.  The dinginess of the cabaret lowers the glam factor, but Hodge’s range-y performance more than counters.

And he’s not alone.  The ostensible star of the show is Kelsey Grammer, whom all of the tourists are coming to see.  But, they’re in for something of a surprise.  Not only does Grammer give a great performance as the cabaret’s host Georges, with a surprising  singing voice and a tenderness toward Hodge’s Zaza, but he very happily takes a backseat to the showier role Hodge has.  And the two performers have an easy chemistry, making a twenty-plus year relationship entirely convincing.

What ultimately isn’t convincing is the remnants of a dated notion in Harvey Fierstein’s book.  Based on a 1973 play, the story is fairly well-known.  A son, eager to please his fiancé’s conservative politician father and mother, tries to hide the fact that he was raised by two gay men by asking the biological one to jettison the other for the night.  The setup simply won’t work today.  And, frankly, it wasn’t entirely believable fifteen years ago in The Birdcage, also based on the same play.

This production doesn’t shy away from the political edge involved, but the book is so cartoonish, it’s hard to take the threat of the reveal all that seriously.  Also in question is the actual timeframe of the show.  While I believe it was set in the 1970′s, the costumes and mannerisms aren’t all that distinguishing.  While these are cracks in the armor of the production, the charms far outweigh these problems.

Set on the Cote d’Azur, most of the show takes place in the titular cabaret, where Hodge’s Albin takes the stage as Zaza, supported by a set of Cagelles.  In earlier productions there were at least a dozen Cagelles, but in this version, they’ve been pared down to six.  The reduction makes it feel a bit more realistic, along with the moderately worn stage.  The Cagelles themselves are no meek things.  Each very muscular dancer shows a bit of stubble here and there, not even pretending to “pass”.

And that combination of natural vibe and genuine structure set the scene quite well.  Grammer and Hodge rule the roost, with loving support from their neighbor, played by a very game Christine Andreas, and a hilarious maid, played by Robin de Jesus.  There are a few clunkers of songs, but for the most part, the show moves along quite well, leading up to Albin/Zaza’s realization of the situation, where he lets loose with the show’s most famous song, I Am What I Am.  And, rightly so, its a showstopper.  Hodge’s glam exterior and hurt interior are perfectly blended in this very touching moment.

The second act introduces the politician, played ably by Fred Applegate, and his wife, played by Veanne Cox.  Applegate gets to scream and rant, but not much else.  Cox is left with less to do, but sparkles with a few glances.  Anyone who’s seen The Birdcage or other iterations of the show knows how it all ends, with Hodge’s Zaza playing the mother, leading them all in a song, and ultimately getting revealed in the show’s other great number, The Best of Times.  It’s all executed quite well, and the finale of course brings a barrage of laughs, delights, and utter joy.  Not to mention a kiss between Grammer and Hodge, a touch that was sorely missing from the original show.

Overall, the book might be dated and a few songs might not stand up anymore, but La Cage Aux Folles is a winner of a show, and this production makes it sing.  Jerry Herman’s music, Terry Johnson’s production, and some fantastic performances will bring the house down every night.

Also, one of the Cagelles, Sean Patrick Doyle is blogging about the show on BroadwayWorld.com and the Cagelles are also on Twitter.

I’d ballot in the morning.
I’d ballot in the evening.
All over this la-a-and.

Its Tony time again.  Nominations arrive on May 4 in the wee morning hours.  I was torn between writing this post on who I’d vote for this year, if I did indeed have a vote, or to write who I think will actually get nominated.  And, given that I am full of opinion, I was leaning towards just laying out my imaginary ballot.  But, alas, I’ve chosen to withhold my preferences until the esteemed official voting bloc does its thing.  Then I can complain loudly and proudly.

Looking over this year’s field, a trend I’ve noticed over the last few years has solidified into practice.  Two seasons ago, A Catered Affair reached Broadway.  It was an interpolation of an old Bette Davis-Ernest Borgnine-Debbie Reynolds film, spun by Harvey Fierstein and featuring strong performances from Faith Prince and Tom Wopat.  However, despite the obvious beauty of the show, it was clear watching it that it wasn’t quite baked.  It was rushed through development to get to Broadway.  It had its fans, but ultimately was overshadowed by long-developed shows In The Heights and Passing Strange, which both had extended Off-Broadway runs before facing off for Best Musical at the Tonys, along with also-well-developed Xanadu.  In The Heights took home the prize, and is the only new musical from that season still running.

Last year, the Best Play and Best Musical winners were both imports from Britain, God of Carnage and Billy Elliot, respectively.  In fact, both were well-loved shows across the pond before making their way here.  The development made them successful in both cities, and each easily dominated their category.  Carnage blew away very strong competition, challenge from Neil Labute’s Reasons To Be Pretty, Moises Kaufman’s 33 Variations, and Horton Foote’s Dividing The Estate.  Billy, however, faced no real challenge from its only major competition in the Off-Broadway transfer of Next To Normal.

This year, once again, the shows in contention for Best Musical are generally an imperfect bunch.  Addams Family is a morass of cut & paste.  All About Me wasn’t worth knowing.  American Idiot is a staged version of a punk album that doesn’t bother to name its female characters.  Burn the Floor was all smoke.  Come Fly Away does land enough.  Everyday Rapture should be the extinguished Special Event category, since it’s really a one-woman show.  Fela! doesn’t tell enough of Kuti’s story.  Memphis’s book completely falls apart in the second act.  Million Dollar Quartet is a stunt, aiming only at tourists’ wallets.  Each one could use some more development, but it’s no surprise the best two of the bunch (in my opinion) had Off-Broadway runs.  And the two best revivals are both British imports.  Once again, fully developed productions are few and far between.

Producers seem to be rushing shows to the big stage, rather than fully investing in a show’s development.  I read that Yank!, which I enjoyed, is coming up next season.  But, frankly, it’s not ready.  The second act needs work, and some of the songs need to be replaced.  Its simply too soon, despite a stellar performance from Bobby Steggert, for the show to make it to Broadway.

Bake it properly, and the show will rise well.  Take it out too soon, and it will fall.  Such has been the Broadway scene for the last few years.  Its economics, certainly, impacting the length of time an investor will wager on results, but the last few years have shown diminishing returns for those who don’t properly develop their shows.  And we all suffer when that happens.

The candidates:

Best Play
Best guess: In The Next Room, Next Fall, Red, Time Stands Still
Notes: No perfect play, but plenty of interesting ones.  Next Fall and Red are pretty much locks.  In The Next Room should have won the Pulitzer, but it closed very early (in the seemingly cursed Lyceum Theater), so its iffy.  While I hated Time Stands Still, I’m not like most Tony voters.  Enron was considered a favorite, but I left it off after seeing its momentum get shellacked by mediocre reviews.  A Steady Rain, Superior Donuts, Race, and Collected Stories never quite got their mojo in line for this, despite each featuring at least one very strong performance.

Best Revival of a Play
Best guess: Fences, Hamlet, Lend Me A Tenor, A View From A Bridge
Notes: Fences & A View From A Bridge will face one hell of a showdown come June, and Lend Me A Tenor has that event vibe Boeing Boeing had a few years ago.  I went for Hamlet over The Royal Family (the other two strong revivals) given that it really was a great production of one of our language’s masterworks.

Best Actress in a Play
Best guess: Laura Benanti (In The Next Room), Viola Davis (Fences), Valerie Harper (Looped), Linda Lavin (Collected Stories), Laura Linney (Time Stands Still)
Notes: Davis, Harper, Lavin and Linney are generally expected to be locks.  Davis muscled her way in despite her character’s previous performer, Mary Alice, won the Tony for Best Featured Actress twenty-three years ago.  Harper and Lavin made their shows worth watching.  Linney is a crowd and critic favorite, and deserves the accolades as the only performance I could stomach in that show.  I went for Benanti over Carrie Fisher and Alison Pill based solely on gut.  The Pulitzer snub brought the show back into the discussion, and people are remembering that Benanti was quite excellent.

Best Actor in a Play
Best guess: Patrick Breen (Next Fall), Alfred Molina (Red), Liev Schrieber (A View From A Bridge), Christopher Walken (A Behanding in Spokane), Denzel Washington
Notes: Molina and Schrieber will face off in June.  Walken brings humor and delight through his performance far beyond what was written.  Washington is too much of a star giving a strong performance to be passed up.  Breen battles Tony winner Norbert Leo Butz, Jude Law, Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig for the last slot.  Breen’s performance was the most organic of the bunch, riding the love for Next Fall over Enron’s Butz and the three Hollywood Hunks.

Best Featured Actress in a Play
Best guess: Jessica Hecht (A View From A Bridge),  Zoe Kazan (A Behanding in Spokane), Scarlett Johansson (A View From A Bridge), Jan Maxwell (Lend Me A Tenor), Marin Mazzie (Enron)
Notes: Hecht was out and out heartbreaking, Johansson was lovely, Maxwell ran away with her show, and Mazzie showed an entirely new side of her capabilities.  I originally had Viola Davis here, but with her upgrading, I went with Kazan over Alicia Silverstone given both how good she was and how well her performance was received across the board.

Best Featured Actor in a Play
Best guess:  Justin Bartha (Lend Me A Tenor), Stephen Kunken (Enron), Eddie Redmayne (Red), Sam Rockwell (A Behanding in Spokane), Tony Shalhoub (Lend Me A Tenor)
Notes: Kunken stood out the best, but Redmayne and Shalhoub are popular picks.  Bartha’s reviews were very strong, and I went with him and Sam Rockwell over  a stellar collection of men in Fences (echoing what happened last year with the superb collection of women in Joe Turner’s Come And Gone).  Jon Michael Hill, late of Superior Donuts, gave a dynamite performance, but I’m feeling that it might be forgotten given the slate of recent openings.

Best Musical
Best guess: American Idiot, Fela!, Memphis, Sondheim on Sondheim
Notes: I’m not happy about this group.  To me, Fela! and Everyday Rapture are the class of the category.  American Idiot has the Michael Mayer contingent and the youth vibe, despite being far inferior to Mayer’s last work in Spring Awakening, so I’m guess that there’s enough good will for it to score a nod.  Sondheim on Sondheim is a mild love letter to Broadway’s greatest writer, but it’s frankly beneath him.  Memphis is a crowd-pleasing, happy show that seems to be working quite well for its mass of producers, so I figure that will help it along to a nod.  Everyday Rapture really belongs in the Special Event category, now since retired, but it truly sings with real heart, solid storytelling and truly magnificent central performance, not to mention some of the best reviews of the season.  If it opened two weeks ago, I’d easily bump the master’s collection for it, but I’m just not that much of a risk taker.  Million Dollar Quartet just doesn’t come together enough, and Come Fly Away is too much of a pastiche to get ahead.

Best Revival of a Musical
Best guess: La Cage Aux Folles, A Little Night Music,  Promises Promises, Ragtime
Notes: Promises Promises just doesn’t deserve it over Finian’s Rainbow.  However, the power of producers who want to see big-name, lavish productions maintain a hold on Broadway will win out over a better production.  Finian’s Rainbow was pure, cartoonish joy, but it couldn’t win at the box office.  Promises features two big names, some additional songs that don’t quite fit, and a production budget that was aiming for the masses.  Mass over class, at least in the nominations.

Best Actress in a Musical
Best guess: Kate Baldwin (Finian’s Rainbow), Kristin Chenoweth (Promises Promises), Montego Glover (Memphis), Sherie Rene Scott (Everyday Rapture), Catherine Zeta-Jones (A Little Night Music)
Notes: The move of Barbara Cook and Vanessa Williams to Featured hampers most of the prognosticating. Glover, Scott, and Zeta-Jones are locks, easily riding to nominations.  Baldwin gave a star-making turn that deserves the attention.  I went with Chenoweth over Christiane Noll and  Bebe Neuwirth simply because of that whole producers-love thing.

Best Actor in a Musical
Best guess: John Gallagher Jr. (American Idiot), Kelsey Grammer (La Cage Aux Folles), Douglas Hodge (La Cage Aux Folles), Chad Kimball (Memphis), Sahr Ngaujah (Fela!)
Notes: Easily the most difficult category to call. Hodge, Kimball and Ngaujah seem to be locks.  I went with Grammer since he’s got two things going for him: a lovely performance from a Hollywood guy and surprising musical talent.  Gallagher is a community favorite who voters recall from his winning turn in Spring Awakening.  That leaves Nathan Lane, Alexander Hanson, Sean Hayes, Jim Norton and Robert Petkoff out in the cold, all with well-liked performances.  Hayes and Hanson (in that order) are likely to be my downfall, but them’s the brakes.  One last note: Ngaujah should be paired with Kevin Mambo, much like the three Billy Elliots from last year.

Best Featured Actress in a Musical
Best guess: Barbara Cook (Sondheim on Sondheim),  Katie Finneran (Promises Promises), Angela Lansbury (A Little Night Music), Lilias White (Fela!), Vanessa Williams (Sondheim on Sondheim)
Notes: None of these performances seem shaky, leaving Rebecca Naomi Jones ultimately handcuffed for an underwritten role.  And the two darlings of the Addams Family, Jackie Hoffman and Carolee Carmello, will one day get a nomination.  Just not this year.

Best Featured Actor in a Musical
Best guess:  Robin de Jesus (La Cage Aux Folles), Levi Kreis (Million Dollar Quarter), Bobby Steggert (Ragtime), Tony Vincent (American Idiot), Tom Wopat (Sondheim on Sondheim)
Notes:  This is really between de Jesus and Steggert, but Kreis and Vincent have bright spot reviews, and I’m betting those lead to nominations in a generally green crowd. Wopat is a veteran who would have been up for lead had he pushed for it.  Charlie Neshyba-Hughes or Kevin Chamberlain might sneak in, but its not a strong group.

Best Director of a Play
Best guess: Michael Grandage (Red), Kenny Leon (Fences), Gregory Mosher (A View From A Bridge), Stanley Tucci (Lend Me A Tenor)
Notes: Tucci’s directorial debut made his show actually work, and work enjoyably well.  Leon and Mosher delivered excellent productions.  Grandage manipulated the stage and performances quite well, and I’m going with him over Rupert Goold’s very showy work in Enron.

Best Director of a Musical
Best guess: Michael Mayer (American Idiot), Terry Johnson (La Cage Aux Folles), Bill T. Jones (Fela!), Trevor Nunn (A Little Night Music)
Notes: These four really stood out.  Johnson, Jones and Nunn all made their shows move, sing, and feel so intently.  Mayer’s got a lot of clout, and his willingness to revisit Everyday Rapture while launching his labor of love will pay dividends.  I could also see a nomination for James Lapine (Sondheim on Sondheim) but, frankly, the other four kind of seem like locks, leaving Twyla Tharp for Come Fly Away, Christopher Ashley for Memphis, and Marcia Milgrom Dodge for Ragtime sitting on the sidelines

So, there’s my shot at it.  I’m willfully ignoring the technical categories.  I pay a hell of a lot of attention, but I’m not quite ready to tackle nomination predictions for these.  Yet.  One day, perhaps.  Its my first time, after all, unlike the master.

What & who would you nominate?

Anyone who saw Moises Kaufman’s 33 Variations (with Jane Fonda) will fondly recall the scene where Zach Grenier, as Beethoven, composes a one of the titular variations by talking through the elements of music he’s conceiving.  That scene was probably single best moment on stage of the play (which had many great moments) because it was a showcase of the moment of creation.

In John Logan’s Red, that moment happens wordlessly, as Alfred Molina & Eddie Redmayne prime a canvas with incredible energy.  Its simply dynamic, and is likewise the best moment in the play.  Although this is more the frenetic preparation for a much more intense creative work, the emotion is nonetheless powerful.

Red, yet another British play about Americans, tells the tale of Mark Rothko’s design and creation of a series of red and black paintings for the Four Seasons’ restaurant in 1958.  Logan’s play is full of Important Artist mantras, but it generally executes them well.  There’s some stammering, a reflection on Rothko’s contemporary Jackson Pollack, and eventually both a critique and glorification of then-up-and-coming artists Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol.  Parts felt a bit forced, but so much of the play rests on the actors giving strong performances that its hard to tell where some of the writing’s faults are.

The necessary performances are generally strong.  Alfred Molina has always been a joy to watch, and here simply owns the stage.  While Rothko isn’t the most intricate artist, his refusal to eventually deliver paintings he did in fact create is certainly something worth exploring.  And Molina brings forth a tremendous amount of exploration.  He gives range across self-absorption, artistic tyranny, flailing self-esteem, and the joy of creation.  Its not only impressive, its excellently done.

Eddie Redmayne has a few film credits as the sweet twink, and here is asked to essentially play David to Molina’s Goliath.  Its not an enviable task, and while Redmayne tries to hold up against the full assault of a master of the medium, he’s not entirely up to the challenge.  More than a few times, he’s simply overwhelmed by Molina on stage.  But, there are a few moments, particularly in the defense of the rising stars, where he comes alive.  Alas, those moments are a bit too few.

As director, Michael Grandage does a great job with the staging.  There is movement, incredible lighting, and overall a well-paced one act play.  Occasionally I’ve complained about lazy or offputting stage direction, but there’s none of that here.  Thankfully.

Overall, the play itself might think its grander than it is, but Alfred Molina is certainly a great artist at work.

More like Mistakes, Mistakes.  It’s always disappointing to walk out of a show knowing exactly what went wrong with good ingredients, much like I do when I screw up cooking.  Optimal ingredients just don’t always go together.  And sometimes the execution is off.

But, there is a bright spot.  It’s a blond that was plucked from a rising Broadway career to play a divine supporting role in Bryan Fuller show with a devoted cult following.

But that blond is not the expected star, Kristin Chenoweth, but the scene stealing Katie Finneran.  The show comes to jubilant life at the beginning of the second act when Finneran, as barfly Marge, delivers a truly stellar performance of a romantically inclined drunk.  She gets in some great zingers, carries herself perfectly and sings on the nose.  She’s hilarious, engaging, and steals the entire show.  In fact, she got the biggest holler during her curtain call, despite being on stage for all of 15 minutes.  Talk about prescient.

While I truly adore Kristin Chenoweth, she is terribly miscast in the revival of Promises, Promises.  The musical is one of a host of 1960′s musical-izations of iconic movies, blending Billy Wilder’s Oscar-winning The Apartment, Burt Bacharach and Neil Simon into a confusing concoction that was delightful during its moment, but had zero business getting revived.  Especially after a similar era show, Anyone Can Whistle, just sparkled despite a stinker of a book.

In fact, I couldn’t help but wonder how Sutton Foster would have faired in lieu of Chenoweth for Fran.  Fran’s a downer – all despair, melancholy and sourness.  While Chenoweth has proven herself to have some emotional range (see her Glee & Pushing Daisies delightfulness), she’s best suited to exploit her natural cherubic spriteliness.  However, Fran has almost no joy as a character and Chenoweth is simply wasted.  That, and the key her songs are in just do not match her voice.

The revival added in two of Bacharach’s iconic songs: Say a Little Prayer and A House is Not a Home, both for Chenoweth.  However, Say a Little Prayer is one of the laziest executed numbers I’ve seen on the mainstage in quite some time.  There’s a general lack of coordination, and director/choreographer Rob Ashford didn’t seem to give any notes to Chenoweth on her movements.  And given that she’s an excellent stage presence, I was simply flabbergasted at the laziness and mess of a beautiful song that had no business being in the show.  It didn’t fit the dramatic arc, wasn’t well executed and didn’t suit the star’s voice it was selected for.  Just a mess all around.

As for A House is Not a Home, it was done much more elegantly and emotionally during Chenoweth’s recent return to Glee.  While she did the song justice onstage, it simply lacked punch.

The show’s other star, Sean Hayes, at least is right for the role.  He does a great job with the dramatic arc and the silly elements of the character, but his voice is noticeably shaky and wobbly from start to finish.  I imagine that he’ll grow into his comfort level, but to start off, it’s a bit ambitious for him to take on a role that sings through about 40% of the show when he’s not entirely comfortable singing on stage. While I won’t go into it too much, he and Chenoweth had little or no chemistry.

And the male philanderers, well, didn’t exactly come across as skirt-chasers.  More like suit-chasers.  But, well, its Broadway.  I guess that makes its OK, but Hayes did a better job as having a heterosexual agenda with Finneran than any of the other men (with the exception of Tony Goldwyn), and he’s not only gay, but is best known for playing gay.  Goldwyn does fine, as does Dick Latessa, but neither were remarkable.

The rest of the show just comes off as tired.  Ashford, having proven in the past to be an excellent choreographer, here doesn’t deliver tightly choreographed sequences.  The dance during the overture stood out for its elegance, but the frenetic “Turkey Lurkey Time”, a highlight from the 1968 Tony’s, stood out as uncoordinated.  Dancers were not moving as a unit, and occasionally not with the rhythm.

The other technical aspect of the show I had a problem with were the clothes.  Sure, they went for a Mad Men look, but Chenoweth, already about fifteen to twenty years too old for the role, was dressed as an old maid.  The lines of her clothes were all wrong, and she looked old – which is both uncomfortable and unfortunate.

Just like the show.  Kristin, honey, stick with Glee.  You own the episodes she’s on. Sean, darling, I expect you to keep hanging around Broadway for a while as you get comfortable on stage.  And Katie, dear, I think its time to graduate from scene stealer to leading lady. But this show doesn’t do justice to any of you, or the audience.