Extremely Early 2015 Tony Predictions: Part I

Given my unabashed enthusiasm for predicting the Tony Awards, last year I decided to take a midseason look at the likely nominees for the Big 12 categories (re: production and acting), and those posts ended up being some of the most popular in the blog's history. So I'm at it again this year, taking stock of all the shows that have already opened to see who has made a big enough impression to be remembered when the Tony Award nominations are announced on April 28th. As the Tonys historically favor spring shows, only the people and productions who have made incredibly strong critical and/or commercial showings can really be considered contenders at this point. So which productions do I think have done just that? Find out below!

WARNING: Occasional snark and lots of speculation to follow.

Best Musical

Tony Danza and Rob McClure in the year's best new musical thus far, Jason Robert Brown's fun-filled Honeymoon in Vegas.

There are currently only three shows eligible in this category, and the chances of Holler If Ya Hear Me scoring a Best Musical nod after its disastrously short run in early June are almost non-existent. It is tempting to say the two other new musicals, The Last Ship and Honeymoon in Vegas, will both make the Tonys' shortlist, but by only selecting four Best Musical contenders last year the nominations committee proved that just because they can nominate five shows doesn't mean they will. With a host of high profile new musicals slated for the spring, I suspect that we will only see one nominee from this fall's batch of shows. After all, I have to imagine Pulitzer Prize finalist Fun Home will get a Best Musical nod, and with anticipated shows like Finding Neverland, Something Rotten, and Doctor Zhivago on the horizon things look particularly grim for the already shuttered Last Ship. In addition to scoring stronger reviews, Honeymoon at least has a chance at running into the spring (although its box office will need to improve quickly), which makes it the closest to a sure thing we have right now. And for the record, I do expect to see five Best Musical nominees this year; I just expect the majority of them to come from the seven productions slated to open in the spring.

Best Play

One of many eye-popping images from the spectacular London import The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.

This is already a strongly competitive category, with Disgraced, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, and Constellations all scoring across the board raves. Unless the spring slate of new plays is particularly weak, at least one of these shows will likely be omitted despite a probable five Best Play nominees. Curious Incident is in the best position, having earned a mention on many Best of 2014 lists (including my own) thanks to its eye-popping staging and engrossing portrayal of an autistic teen's struggle to clear his good name. I would consider the show a virtual lock for a nomination and a strong contender to actually win. One would think Pulitzer Prize winner Disgraced would also make the cut, but interest in the show has cooled considerably and it will close long before Tony nominations are announced; the committee may decide the show has already received the recognition it deserves. Constellations will probably prove too heady and weird for its own good, although it still has a shot if one or more spring shows disappoint.

Best Musical Revival

NY City Ballet principal dancer Megan Fairchild (left) makes an impressive Broadway debut next to longtime scene stealer Jackie Hoffman (right) in the stellar revival of On the Town.

The obvious frontrunner here is John Rando's knockout revival of the Bernstein-Comden-Green tuner On the Town. I expect this show to do quite well come Tony time, and although it faces steep competition from Lincoln Center's sure-to-be lavish The King and I, this little show that could might just win it all on Tony Sunday. Meanwhile, Side Show's fortunes are harder to predict. Those familiar with the property, either from its original Broadway run or that production's cast recording, were over the moon about this reconceived revival, but the uninitiated seemed to not quite understand what all the fuss was about. Compounding Side Show's woes is the fact it has already shuttered, placing it out of sight and out of mind for many voters. For this dark musical to have any shot at a nomination, at least one of the spring revivals - On the Twentieth Century, Gigi, or the aforementioned King and I - will have to bomb, as there aren't enough shows to force an expansion of the category (and we may only get three nominees, just like last year).

Best Play Revival

Bradley Cooper (left) has been packing them in for his critically acclaimed run in The Elephant Man.

There are just enough play revivals scheduled for this season that the Tony committee could select five nominees if they were so inclined. Even if they don't, the majority of Best Revival of a Play nominees will come from the fall season, as there are only two more scheduled for the spring. The one sure thing is critical and box office smash The Elephant Man, which proves that Bradley Cooper can sell tickets and win accolades whether he's onscreen or onstage. Not quite as certain but still very likely is a nod for the excellently rendered You Can't Take It With You, which managed to overcome industry skepticism and make critics view this well-worn comedy afresh.

Given the lack of any other breakout hits, the rest of the nominations could go any number of ways. Both Love Letters and This is Our Youth received surprisingly strong reviews but only middling box office, and will have been closed for months by the time Tony voters cast their ballots. I wouldn't rule either show completely out, although I would favor Youth over Letters, as the latter was essentially a glorified reading and some voters will surely scoff at that. There's an outside chance Broadway's love of Glenn Close and John Lithgow leads to A Delicate Balance getting nominated, or that the huge box office of It's Only a Play gets it recognized, but I wouldn't count on either. I actually think It's Only a Play has hurt its chances by extending without its strongest asset (Nathan Lane), as two months of pulling in half the grosses it did this fall is going to take a lot of the sheen off this middling McNally revival.


Of course, all of this is subject to change based on the strength of the spring slate of productions, especially the Best Musical and Play categories. Check back soon to see which actors and actresses I think are sitting pretty when it comes to awards prospects, and feel free to let me know who you're rooting for in the comments.

For more 2015 Tony coverage, check out my thoughts on the latest Tony rule changes here.

Tony Game Change! What the Category Expansions Mean for This Year's Awards

An increase in the potential number of acting nominees certainly helps Jay Armstrong Johnson's and Alysha Umphress' Tony chances, not that On the Town's dynamic duo needed the boost.

Last week, the Tony Awards administration committee stealthily announced yet another rule change during their regularly scheduled eligibility decisions. Similar to last year's expansion of the maximum number of potential Best Musical, Play, and Revival nominees, this year's changes seem focused on spreading the love by increasing the slot count in several categories. Starting this season, the number of directing and acting nominees can be increased from their traditional caps as long as there are enough eligible productions. As last year's Tony races proved, just because the committee can select extra nominees doesn't mean they actually will, so we can't be sure any of these new powers will be exercised when the nominations are announced on April 28th.

That said, I would be shocked if the committee doesn't take advantage of their newfound ability to choose five nominees in the Director of a Play and Director of a Musical races. There only need to be seven qualifying productions to trigger the slot increase, a number Broadway has easily exceeded for the past several seasons. Since the direction categories make no distinction between new works and revivals, I can't imagine a year where the expansion isn't theoretically possible. And while the Tony committee opted to pass on selecting the maximum number of Best Musical nominees last year, there are so many talented and respected directors working on Broadway at the moment I suspect we'll be seeing five nominee races for the foreseeable future.

A similar allowance was made for the expansion of the Best Choreography category, although I find it unlikely the committee will use this option on a regular basis. If we're being blatantly honest, there has been a dearth of strong dance shows on Broadway in the past decade, although On the Town and the upcoming An American in Paris happily buck this trend. In recent years the nominations committee has used a Best Choreography nod as a way to honor director/choreographers who didn't make the directing list, as they did with Susan Stroman and Casey Nicholaw last year. With an extra slot available in the Best Director category, the committee will be able to focus on a smaller group of truly deserving choreographers.

The potential game changer lies in the acting categories now being able to expand to a possible seven(!) nominees under the right circumstances. While the idea of a seven-way race is certainly exciting - especially in the supporting categories, which often feature an abundance of deserving talent - I don't expect to see many seven nominee categories. The only way to nominate more than the traditional five performers is to have a tie for the fifth slot, something which is definitely possible but by no means guaranteed.

However, the relatively small number of Tony voters has many insiders convinced the competitive races are decided by a handful of votes. Since official tallies are never released we can't know for sure, but with the nominations committee comprised of only a fraction of the total number of voters I'm inclined to believe ties are not uncommon. The Theatre Wing's incredibly specific rules for tie breakers further supports the theory this issue comes up on at least a semi-regular basis. This new rule might shed some light on just how close Tony races are; if we see a lot of six and seven person acting races over the next few years, we'll know that ties are relatively common during the nominations process.

I certainly believe we'll see an increased number of nominees come May, but as last year proved the Tony committee is not interested in maxing out every category. They may not even have a ton of control over it, as everything is based on secret ballots and weighted votes to the point where even the nominators probably don't know the results until they're announced in late April. Also, while it would be awesome to give nominations to as many people as possible, keeping the number of honorees limited helps maintain the prestige of Broadway's highest honor.

So which specific shows and performers will benefit from these rule changes? Check back soon to see my extremely early predictions for this year's biggest races!

Most Anticipated Shows of Spring 2015

After a fall filled with star-studded plays and nary a new musical in sight (save The Last Ship), this upcoming spring on Broadway is practically overflowing with productions of all shapes and sizes. Things just keep getting added to the calendar, with the Kennedy Center's revamped revival of Gigi having just announced its impending transfer for this coming March. If anyone has any doubts about the health of the theatre industry, the fact 19 productions (20 if you count each part of the Wolf Hall double bill separately) are scheduled to open in the next 4 months shows there are plenty of shows waiting for their chance in the spotlight. And while all are exciting in their own way, here are the ones I'm most looking forward to:

The King and I

The key art for Lincoln Center's The King and I clearly evokes the same feel as the poster for their smash hit, critically acclaimed South Pacific. Coincidence? I think not.

Lincoln Center Theatre's upcoming revival of Rodgers & Hammerstein's The King and I has me in a tizzy for several reasons. First and foremost, this revival marks the latest leading lady role for the positively sublime Kelli O'Hara, who at this point is second only to Audra McDonald in my personal pantheon of Broadway divas. She reteams with director Bartlett Sher, who helped shape her revelatory performances in South Pacific and The Bridges of Madison County. And like the aforementioned South Pacific, I fully expect Lincoln Center to pour every cent they have into what will surely be one of the most lavish physical productions in years, the mere thought of which has me giddy. Will this year be the one where O'Hara FINALLY wins her long overdue Tony Award? I can't say (only hope), but no matter what I'm sure O'Hara will be perfection in this. I've already got my tickets!

On the Twentieth Century

Roundabout continues its recent tradition of really unfortunate key art; Kristin Chenoweth is virtually unrecognizable despite being this revival's main attraction.

Like many theatregoers, I'm primarily looking forward to this Roundabout revival because it marks Kristin Chenoweth's first Broadway appearance in 5 years. Her last stint on the Great White Way was the horrendous Promises, Promises, a production that wasted Chenoweth's talents and ranks as one of the most frustrating shows I've ever experienced. But her performance in the original cast of Wicked remains a personal favorite, and as her extensive concert work proves Chenoweth is blessed with a formidable voice that can be light as air or shake the rafters. Chenoweth is in danger of becoming a caricature of herself, but this production should bring her back to her musical comedy roots in a role originated by the late, great Madeline Khan. Chenoweth has spoken about her desire to star in the show for years, and seeing a performer tackle a dream role is generally something worth experiencing, which makes me cautiously optimistic for her highly anticipated return.

The Heidi Chronicles

See Roundabout? Sometimes a simple high quality photo is all you need.

I'll admit to being entirely unfamiliar with Wendy Wasserstein's Pulitzer Prize winning play, which put the pioneering playwright on the map; I don't even know the general premise beyond "career woman lives through 3 decades of feminism." But in a landscape dominated by celebrity fronted revivals of Great American Dramas that often feel dusty and dated, its nice to see someone tackle a play that isn't older than the average audience member. As a huge fan of Elisabeth Moss' sterling work on TV's Mad Men, I'm excited to see her make her Broadway debut in a female authored, female directed play about women's issues (a woefully underrepresented viewpoint). Moss may not have the same star power as a Hugh Jackman or Bradley Cooper, but she's every bit as good an actor, and I look forward to seeing her tackle this decades-spanning comedic drama.

An American in Paris

Robert Fairchild and Leanne Cope in the pre-Broadway tryout of An American in Paris.

There are some that question whether Broadway is big enough for this stage adaptation of the Oscar-winning film and the similarly dance-heavy On the Town. To these people I say "shut up," because there has been an alarming lack of high level dancing on Broadway in recent seasons. On the Town proved what a shame that is, with a stage full of carefully rehearsed dancers proving just as thrilling as any falling chandelier or flying magic carpet. Yes, this hybrid musical padded out with Gershwin trunk songs will see yet another permutation of "I've Got Rhythm," but considering the song's potential as a showstopper I'll give the creative team a pass. (This will also tide me over until we finally get that Crazy for You revival I've been hoping for). A runaway hit in Paris, I think this American could wind up being one of the highlights of the spring season.

Hand to God

Obie Award winner Stephen Boyer (right) and his foul-mouthed hand puppet Tyrone are just waiting to take Broadway by storm.

This little play that could is coming to the big leagues after critically acclaimed Off-Off-Broadway and Off-Broadway runs. A self-described "hilarious and provocative" dark comedy, the show is about a teen who joins the Christian Puppet Ministry only to have his hand puppet Tyrone take on a vulgar, dangerously irreverent personality seemingly all its own. Foul-mouthed puppets can be comedic gold (Avenue Q continues to run Off-Broadway, even though most predicted it would struggle to last one season back in the early 2000s), and both Hand to God's synopsis and snarky, tongue in cheek marketing campaign have definitely piqued my interest. One can only see The Book of Mormon so many times, and Hand looks poised to strike a similarly comedic/satiric sensibility.

Fun Home

The three different Alisons of Fun Home in the musical's much lauded run at the Public Theatre last winter.

I'm still kicking myself that I didn't make the time to see this critically acclaimed musical during its extended Off-Broadway run back in 2013, so I'm especially excited it's being given a full scale Broadway production featuring almost the entire Off-Broadway cast. One of the rare musicals to make the short list for the Pulitzer Prize, the show is based on the graphic novel memoir of famed lesbian cartoonist Alison Bechdel, which explores her experience coming out and her relationship with her troubled father. Composer Jeanie Tesori hasn't always written my favorite musicals, but she has consistently written interesting ones, with her more dramatic works pushing the boundaries of what a modern musical can be. Fun Home sounds like the perfect opportunity to explore a host of timely LGBT issues from a perspective that is virtually non-existent in contemporary theatre. I expect this to be the critical darling of the spring season and a major competitor come Tony time.

The Visit

Living legend Chita Rivera can't be bothered during the Williamstown Theatre Festival's recent production of Kander & Ebb's The Visit.

One of the last collaborations between the legendary Kander and Ebb, The Visit sounds like just the kind of darkly theatrical show that has always been the pair's bread and butter. Crafted specifically as a starring vehicle for the incomparable Chita Rivera, it's a match made in theatrical heaven (both of Rivera's Tony Awards are for Kander and Ebb roles). Adding to the allure of this production is the fact it's being billed as the 82 year old Rivera's final Broadway appearance, and is therefore likely the last chance I'll ever have to see one of Broadway's all time great actresses in action. I doubt the show has many commercial prospects, so this is definitely one I plan on seeing sooner rather than later just in case its run is as criminally short as the pair's brilliant Scottsboro Boys.


The above list by no means represents all of the shows I'm interested in. I'm certainly curious to see how Doctor Zhivago turns out, but I'm concerned this sweeping literary adaptation will feel like a bygone relic of the 1980s. The insane amount of buzz around Something Rotten certainly demands a closer look, as word of mouth is so strong it convinced producers to skip a planned out of town tryout and open cold on Broadway. The musical's director Casey Nicholaw is one of the best around, but then again the equally talented Susan Stroman's equally buzzed about Bullets Over Broadway disappointed in the exact same theatre a year ago, so I have some reservations. And while I desperately want Finding Neverland to be good, the more I hear about it the more I think producer Harvey Weinstein will ruin it with his misguided, business-oriented meddling (in no universe is Matthew Morrison an improvement over Jeremy Jordan, in either talent or box office drawing power).

Be sure to keep checking this very blog throughout the coming months to see my reviews of the spring Broadway season, and of course my annual and exhaustive coverage of the Tony Awards (which is starting up sooner than you think).

When You Say Vegas, You're Saying Laughs

Review: Honeymoon in Vegas

Tony Danza (left) and Rob McClure (right) ham it up in the hysterical new comedy Honeymoon in Vegas.

If there was a Tony Award for most versatile composer, Jason Robert Brown (who already has 3 of the gold statuettes) would certainly be a prime candidate. Brown's bouncy songs for the frothy, tuneful Honeymoon in Vegas couldn't be further removed from the rapturous, nearly operatic score he composed for The Bridges of Madison County just one year ago. Like Bridges, his latest show is not entirely free from flaws, but those problems are miniscule compared to everything this slickly produced and highly entertaining comedy gets right. Honeymoon is the most purely entertaining new musical of the season, and represents yet another high point in Brown's ever expanding songbook.

The show concerns Jack Singer, an everyday Brooklynite with serious commitment issues. Although Jack dearly loves his longtime girlfriend Betsy, a deathbed promise to his departed mother causes him to choke every time he contemplates popping the big question. He finally works up the nerve to take her to Las Vegas to elope, but things go awry when an unscrupulous gambler by the name of Tommy Korman decides he must have Betsy for himself (as she is a dead ringer for Tommy's deceased wife). What follows is a madcap adventure that takes everyone from the Vegas Strip to the beaches of Hawaii and back over the course of one zany weekend, with plenty of musical comedy shenanigans along the way.

Brown has been duly praised over the course of his career, and his work here again asserts his position as one of the most versatile, accomplished composers working in the theatre today. Brown combines infectious melodies and toe tapping vamps with playfully inventive lyrics that are witty without feeling forced; even the ever-exacting Sondheim would surely be delighted with the rhyming of "Beyoncé" and "fiancé." The songs walk the fine line between sounding familiar and still offering sonic surprises, and everything has been arranged by Brown and his co-orchestrators Don Sebesky, Larry Blank, and Charlie Rosen to evoke the big brassy musicals of yesteryear. While a couple of songs overstay their welcome, the vast majority are so delightful you'll actually find yourself wishing for full fledged reprises rather than the melodic motifs Brown favors here. If there's one major knock against the score, it's that the songs are so well integrated into the plot that it prohibits any true showstoppers from emerging.

Speaking of plotting, librettist Andrew Bergman has done a smashing job of adapting his own screenplay for the stage. Although certain developments are a little too clearly telegraphed, the book scenes in large part avoid the inauthenticity that plagues so many musical comedies. The songs are the clear highlight, but the book scenes hold your interest because they handle character and plot development in a way that is virtually seamless.

Unfortunately for the show, some of Brown and Bergman's sterling work is obscured by Gary Griffin's overly busy direction. Certain jokes get lost thanks to unnecessarily distracting staging, which renders numbers like the opening "I Love Betsy" less humorous than they could be. There are also certain physical conventions that are only haphazardly employed, which again confuses things in this very tightly written and plotted show. One glaring example is "Forever Starts Tonight," which sees Tommy inexplicably interacting with Jack and Betsy while they steadfastly ignore his presence. Griffin probably means for Tommy to be in a separate location, but having him move between the two and even touch them (on a bare stage) makes the distinction harder to grasp. First time choreographer Denis Jones' work is also underwhelming, although part of his problem stems from trying to shoehorn a traditional ensemble into songs that don't really require them outside of backing harmonies.

In the central role of Jack, Tony-nominee Rob McClure does exceptional work. McClure has an appealing everyman quality with just enough neurosis to keep him interesting, and his delivery of Brown's lyrics is as natural and effortless as breathing. McClure's incredibly expressive face speaks volumes, and the young actor has a clear gift for musical comedy that he smartly deploys throughout the evening. Television icon Tony Danza is surprisingly effective as McClure's romantic rival Tommy, with a pleasant singing voice and an easy-going persona that belies the nefarious means he'll use to get what he wants. Danza can seem stiff at times, but overall he gives a charmingly accomplished performance.

As the much desired and put upon Betsy, Brynn O'Malley is something close to a revelation. O'Malley takes a character that could have been quite boring and makes her the most interesting and human person onstage, in a brilliantly naturalistic turn that has just enough comedic bite to withstand the tomfoolery going on around her. Equally adept at heartfelt ballads and more comedic uptempos, O'Malley also has a subtly hilarious, entirely wordless cameo as Tommy's long-dead wife during the song "Out of the Sun." The only thing that could possibly improve O'Malley's performance is if Brown had written her the showstopper she so clearly deserves. The extremely catchy "Betsy's Getting Married" comes *this close* to being such a number, but unfortunately for O'Malley the song morphs into a musical scene between Jack and Tommy just when she's poised to kick the song into high gear.

The entire enterprise is slickly designed and lovingly realized, with the saturated colors and slightly exaggerated geometry of Anna Louizos' set selling the fantasy of Honeymoon's versions of Vegas, New York, and Hawaii. Louizos also makes excellent use of projections to seamlessly enhance her sets in a way that is almost unnoticeable (and more importantly, doesn't replace physical set pieces). Brian Hemesath's costumes encompass everything from track suits to feathered headdresses, all rendered in eye-popping colors that perfectly compliment the show's heightened tone. The show is always a joy to look at, successfully combining a modern Broadway aesthetic with an old school sensibility.

In fact, that duality best sums up Honeymoon in Vegas. It seamlessly combines the best traits of Golden Age musical comedies and more contemporary works, bolstered by yet another outstanding score from the multi-talented Jason Robert Brown. Overflowing with wit and warmth, the production is occasionally hindered by Gary Griffin's overreliance on bells and whistles, but the show's big beaming heart shines through regardless. Rob McClure proves that his excellent work in the ill-fated Chaplin was not a fluke, and Brynn O'Malley emerges as a musical comedy force to be reckoned with. Honeymoon is one of the safest bets you can currently make on Broadway, a guaranteed good time that deserves a wider audience.

Not Quite Seaworthy, But Some Beautiful Craftsmanship

Review: The Last Ship

Sting (center) joins the cast of his own musical The Last Ship for the show's final weeks.

Going into the fall of 2014, The Last Ship seemed poised to be one of the big shows of the upcoming Broadway season. The only new musical to open between the months of September and December, the show promised a score by Grammy winner and recent Kennedy Center Honoree Sting, a book by Tony winners John Logan and Brian Yorkey, and direction by the great Joe Mantello (also a Tony winner). But despite a high profile creative team and a complete lack of competition, the show has struggled at the box office and will play its final performance on January 24th. You can blame the lack of name stars or an audience distaste for serious musicals, but at the end of the day The Last Ship's box office woes probably stem from the fact that despite being lovingly crafted and at times starkly beautiful, the show just doesn't have a particularly engaging story to tell.

Set in a small seaside village in northern England, The Last Ship opens with young Gideon Fletcher leaving town rather than follow in his father's footsteps as a shipbuilder. Gideon promises his tearful girlfriend Meg Dawson he'll come back for her, once he's seen the world and sown his wild oats. Cut to 15 years later, when a now grown Gideon finally returns home to attend his father's funeral. What he finds is a town on the verge of collapse, as the shipyard which employs most of the local men has been purchased and will soon close. While the men rally together to build one last ship, Gideon does his best to pick up the pieces of his relationship with Meg, who now has a son and is set to marry another man.

The above setup contains all the elements needed for a dramatic story, but bookwriters John Logan and Brian Yorkey can't seem to decide where the show's primary focus should be. In trying to split time equally between the shipyard drama and the Gideon/Meg romance, both storylines feel underserviced and therefore lack the emotional punch they could have. Both plots also suffer from a lack of dramatic tension, with their eventual outcomes heavily foreshadowed by both the writing and simple logic. The romance is especially problematic, as the show fails to provide any compelling reason for Meg to take Gideon back after he broke her heart. Gideon makes for an exceedingly selfish protagonist; he admits to having spent the past 15 years with a variety of women, but cannot comprehend why Meg isn't waiting with open arms when he finally gets around to returning. We never see them as a happy couple, and as Meg's overriding reaction to Gideon's return is a completely understandable "screw you," it's difficult to root for their reunion.

Sting's folk-influenced score does a much better job than the book scenes of conveying believable emotional complexity, and makes for a very respectable Broadway songwriting debut. Like much of his more recent recording output, the subtle intricacies of Sting's score appear underwhelming on first listen, but as the evening goes on the smartly used reprises and melodic motifs reveal hidden nuances and previously unnoticed pleasures. Sting does a better job than most recording artists of bending his personal style to the needs of dramatic storytelling, although he doesn't entirely avoid the temptation to have the story serve the music instead of the other way around. His score reaches its zenith giving voice to the working class shipwrights in the group numbers, making full use of the cast's lush voices with layered harmonies and inventive call and response. The title song is especially haunting, and both the score and Rob Mathes' orchestrations do an excellent job of evoking the feel of a small seaside town.

As per usual, Joe Mantello's focused direction coaxes fine performances out of his entire cast. Michael Esper almost manages to make the often insufferable Gideon a likeable protagonist, even with a script that rarely allows him the opportunity to show his much discussed love for Meg. Rachel Tucker is excellent as the object of Gideon's affection, anchoring the love triangle with a believable emotional complexity. The golden-voiced Aaron Lazar does what he can with the utterly thankless role of Meg's new boyfriend Arthur, and the nimble Collin Kelly-Sordelet is continually appealing as Meg's son, Tom. Fred Applegate's immensely enjoyable turn as the town priest is the most accomplished and engaging performance in the show, and Sting himself - taking over for original cast member Jimmy Nail - does quite well in the role of shipyard captain Jackie White. (Sidenote: Sting's casting is one of the smartest uses of a celebrity replacement in several seasons, showcasing the rock star enough that fans will get their money's worth without actually involving him in the show's emotional heavy lifting.)

The show's production design is purposefully dark and industrial, perfectly conveying the decline and disrepair of the setting. There is a fading beauty in David Zinn's sets and costumes which is greatly enhanced by Christopher Akerlind's dramatic lighting. Mantello thoroughly utilizes all of this in his dynamic staging, and although Steven Hoggett continues to rely on the same tricks that netted him a Tony nomination for Once, his choreography's angular vocabulary is mostly appropriate here. When all of these elements work together, like they do in the production's stunning final tableau, it is almost magical.

The Last Ship is a noble effort, one of the rare new musicals not based on any pre-existing source material. The show doesn't always live up to its potential, but there is plenty to appreciate between Sting's lush score, the fine performances of the cast, and the starkly beautiful images created by Joe Mantello and his production team. Those with any interest should definitely head over to the Neil Simon Theatre before the show closes next weekend, as there are far worse ways one can spend a chilly winter evening.

The Worst Shows of 2014

In addition to my annual Best Shows features, it is also a tradition here at Broadway, Etc. to make a list of the worst theatrical offerings of any given year. I must admit, the article is a bit late this year as I debated whether or not to even publish a Worst of 2014 list. I have lately come to feel there is a lot of unwarranted negativity among the industry and less support than there should be for the incredibly hard task of mounting a show, especially a new work. But ultimately, I decided that if my blog is retain any legitimacy as a platform for reviews, I need to be able to point out the bad along with the good (if all my reviews are rave reviews, they don't really mean much).

And with that preface, here are the 5 least enjoyable experiences I had last year.

5) Bullets Over Broadway

Looks like a charming, old fashioned musical comedy, right? Unfortunately for us, looks can be deceiving.

Susan Stroman, a director/choreographer I have the utmost respect for, had a rough 2013-2014 season. While she had the honor of helming two big budget, highly anticipated new musicals, both productions failed to impress critics and shuttered within a few months of opening. But whereas I really enjoyed her Big Fish despite its flaws, there are few saving graces to her misguided collaboration with Woody Allen, Bullets Over Broadway. Allen's particular brand of comedy is very specific and intimate, making it perfectly suited for film but a poor fit for the Broadway stage. His script for Bullets fell flat, with the premise (backstage shenanigans in the 1920s) promising far more laughs than the show actually delivered. Stroman's direction felt frantic, perhaps in an attempt to provide the laughs Allen and the show's period score failed to deliver. The decision to us pre-existing songs also limited the show's potential, forcing the pair to awkwardly shoehorn musical numbers into the book scenes. The entire cast struggled to find their footing, and although many called out Marin Mazzie for grandstanding as the show-within-a-show's booze addled diva, at least she provided some much needed life to an otherwise dull affair. By the time the literally bananas finale rolled around, both the cast and the audience seemed visibly relieved the entire affair was over.

4) Les Miserables

The fresh faced cast of Les Miserables is certainly excited to be there, but even their enthusiasm can't breathe life into this ponderous, too-soon revival.

For all its 80s bombast, I've always had a soft spot for Les Miserables, perhaps because the original production was my first ever Broadway show. So while I felt it was far too soon for another Broadway revival, given the 2006 production and the very successful film version, I went into the Imperial Theatre excited to see what a reimagined Les Miz might look like. Unfortunately, this current production highlights all of the show's flaws (thin writing, cheaply emotional power ballads, an overlong length) and none of its strengths (a genuinely touching story of redemption, a richly melodic sung-through score). Many actors are obviously miscast and/or misdirected, with normally reliable performers like Will Swenson and Nikki M. James delivering work far below their usual high standard. That said, credit must be given where credit is due: Ramin Karimloo is a superb Jean Valjean, and his spine-tingling delivery of the iconic "Bring Him Home" is one of the vocal highlights of the season. Too bad the rest of the production wasn't up to Karimloo's high level.
 

3) Rocky

Andy Karl and the cast of Rocky perform "Eye of the Tiger." When the most memorable song in your musical is something you didn't even write, you might have a problem.

When first presented with the idea of a Broadway musical based on the Oscar-winning film Rocky, most people were sceptical. But the involvement of Tony-winning songwriters Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens, whose Ragtime is one of the single greatest achievements in musical theatre writing ever, not to mention rising star director Alex Timbers piqued everyone's curiosity and convinced many that Rocky just might work onstage. As it turns out, our gut instincts were the right ones, with the resulting show failing in just about every conceivable way despite the talent involved. The primary problem seems to be one of tone, with Flaherty & Ahrens believing the working class Rocky Balboa and his friends merited small, intimate writing while Timbers insisted on a gargantuan physical production that often drowned out the storytelling happening onstage. The final 20 minute boxing match, which moved the audience onstage and the action into the audience, was indeed an eye popping spectacle, but by that point the damage had already been done by 2 hours of questionable character motivations and non-existent drama. One of the year's biggest disappointments.

2) 50 Shades! - The Musical

Eye candy is about all 50 Shades! - The Musical has going for it.

Given the popularity and absurdity of the bestselling novel/Twilight erotica 50 Shades of Grey, it was only a matter of time before someone developed a tongue in cheek musical spoof. No one expects a show like 50 Shades! - The Musical to be high art, but I was expecting something a fair bit better than the travesty currently playing at Off-Broadway's Elektra Theatre. Even at a mere sixty minutes, 50 Shades! feels like an eternity, with the show lasting far beyond the writers' ability to sustain their already thin premise. The songs are blandly forgettable and the direction overly simplistic, leaving the fresh faced cast with nothing to hold onto as they try to find some redeeming quality in this variety sketch the miraculously managed to score a full production. I have never been so close to leaving a show at intermission (yes, even though the show is only an hour long the producers felt the need to prolong the agony by still including an intermission). To be fair, the numerous groups of women in the audience seemed to be having a grand old time, although I suspect that had more to do with their heavy alcohol consumption than it did with the quality of the production.

1) Mothers and Sons

During the BC/EFA collection speech during curtain call, Bobby Steggert (left) promised the highest bidder a four person re-enactment of the Tyne Daly (right) Gypsy. That would have been *infinitely* more entertaining than the preceding 90 minutes.

Many critics considered Terrance McNally's Mothers and Sons one of the spring season's highlights, and it even managed to snag a much coveted Best Play Tony nomination despite a fair bit of competition. I don't know what show those people saw, but the ponderous "drama" I saw last March at the Golden Theatre committed so many dramaturgical sins it's difficult to know where to begin. McNally's unsuccessful attempt to tackle every aspect of the modern gay male's life (marriage equality, familial acceptance, child rearing, the still relevant threat of AIDS, etc.) in the span of ninety minutes led to characters who were mere mouthpieces rather than three dimensional human beings. McNally didn't even have the sense to make them consistent mouthpieces, with characters adopting wildly different and at times diametrically opposed views from moment to moment to keep the heavy-handed lecture going, even though the play's short length prohibited any meaningful discussion of the many loaded and multifaceted issues that arose. Even more shocking is how poorly the show was acted, with the much lauded Tyne Daly turning in a performance that was stiff, wooden, and anything put believable (not that McNally's thin writing did her any favors). Everyone involved is capable of much better, and Mothers and Sons is easily the worst show I had the misfortune of encountering this past year.


And there you have it; the 5 shows with the dubious honor of being the least enjoyable productions of 2014. In an ideal world, I won't have anything to put on this list for 2015. That probably won't be the case, but one can always dream.

Happy New Year everybody!