Sunday, June 12, 2016

2016 Tony Award Predictions: Best Play and Musical

This is it. Without question the two most coveted awards in any given Broadway season are the Tonys for Best Play and Best Musical. Why? In addition to the validation they provide, no other awards have such a measurable and immediate effect on a show's financial fortunes and future life. Winning Best Musical a couple years back turned A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder from a struggling show into a bonafide hit, one which has since turned a profit and is currently touring the country. A win in either of the below categories also greatly increases interest in any potential tours and regional productions, which is where a lot of the shows make the majority of their money.

Both races have pretty clear front runners at this point, but I will still use my patented combination of personal opinion and industry buzz to do my best to predict the winners. And since the Tonys are not infallible (in no way is The Music Man a better show than West Side Story, which it beat in the Best Musical race of 1958), if I disagree with the likely winner I will be sure to say so in the comments.

Warning: Occasional snark and plenty of speculation to follow.

Best Play

The ensemble of The Humans, one of the rare Broadway plays to open without a major star to help drive ticket sales.

Nominees: Eclipsed, The Father, The Humans, King Charles III

Fun fact about this year's Tony-nominated playwrights: all are making their Broadway debuts, and all are under 40 years old. Whoever wins will be starting their Broadway career on quite a high, which is certain to make for some extra emotional soundbites throughout the night. 

The general consensus is that Stephen Karam's The Humans will be the big winner here, a sentiment that's difficult to argue against. Karam's work has been acclaimed since his first Off-Broadway play as part of Roundabout Underground, a program specifically designed to groom up and coming playwrights, and although relatively young Karam is already quite respected among the New York theatrical community. The Humans was also a Pulitzer Prize finalist this year, increasing its profile and chances at the big award.

But I wouldn't completely rule out Eclipsed, an expertly crafted show that arrived just as the topic of diversity in entertainment reached a fever pitch. Written, directed, and starring women of color, the harrowing Liberian Civil War drama is a shining example of what can happen when people of different backgrounds are allowed to create theatre. I personally don't think it will manage to overtake The Humans, but it certainly has a better chance than The Father (which has primarily been lauded for Frank Langella's performance) or the long-closed King Charles III.

Will & Should Win: The Humans

Best Musical

Hamilton, a little show no one has heard of, looks poised to become this year's Tony-winning Best Musical

Nominees: Bright Star, Hamilton, School of Rock, Shuffle Along, Waitress

Let's be honest, there's really nothing to discuss here. Hamilton has had this award in the bag since it announced plans for a Broadway transfers last spring. And ignoring all the hype surrounding the cultural juggernaut, I must say the show earns this and every other award it has won by virtue of being one of the smartest, tightest pieces of musical theatre writing of the past 20 years. The show's much discussed rap and hip hop score isn't just good in the context of Broadway; it stands with some of the best of the music industry, as evidence by the huge number of musical celebrities that have seen and enjoyed the production and the cast album's unprecedented rise to the top of the Billboard rap charts. And given the huge amount of material the show has to cover (the complete life of one of our country's Founding Fathers), the narrative's ability to remain crystal clear while still providing endless texture and enough depth to reward repeated viewings is all the more impressive.

I think the biggest question is how the Best Musical nominations (and accompanying telecast performances) affect the other shows in this category. School of Rock and Waitress don't appear to need much help, with both having sold extremely well since opening. Shuffle Along is certainly an ambitious piece of musical theatre, and the fact that it has been selling so well and achieved such critical acclaim makes it appear the history based musical has a long life ahead of it. The show that could use a boost the most is the struggling Bright Star, which has been very forthcoming about the financial investments its high profile writers have made to keep the show afloat through the Tony broadcast. Hopefully a solid musical performance during the ceremony will boost the show's ticket sales enough to keep it open through the summer.

Will & Should Win: Hamilton


And that concludes my predictions for the 2016 Tony Awards! Tonight we'll find out how well or poorly I did, and check back early next week for my thoughts on the results and this Broadway season in general. Until then, feel free to agree or disagree with my predictions in the comments, and check out the links below for the rest of my Tony coverage.

10 comments:

  1. It's been great reading all your predictions. Now here's all of mine:

    Best Costume Design Of A Play: Long Day’s Journey Into Night

    Best Costume Design Of A Musical: Hamilton

    Best Lighting Design Of A Play: A View From The Bridge

    Best Lighting Design Of A Musical: Hamilton

    Best Scenic Design Of A Play: The Humans

    Best Scenic Design Of A Musical: She Loves Me

    Best Book Of A Musical: Hamilton

    Best Choreography: Hamilton

    Best Orchestrations: Hamilton

    Best Original Score: Hamilton

    Best Featured Actor In A Play: Reed Birney—The Humans

    Best Featured Actress In A Play: Jayne Houdyshell—The Humans

    Best Featured Actor In A Musical: Daveed Diggs—Hamilton

    Best Featured Actress In A Musical: Renee Elise Goldsberry—Hamilton

    Best Actor In A Play: Frank Langella—The Father

    Best Actress In A Play: Jessica Lange—Long Day’s Journey Into Night

    Best Actor In A Musical: Danny Burstein—Fiddler On The Roof

    Best Actress In A Musical: Cynthia Erivo—The Color Purple

    Best Director Of A Play: Ivo Van Hove—A View From The Bridge

    Best Director Of A Musical: Thomas Kail—Hamilton

    Best Revival Of A Play: A View From The Bridge

    Best Revival Of A Musical: She Loves Me

    Best Play: The Humans

    Best Musical: Hamilton

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  2. Is your review of the Tony Awards ceremony coming soon?

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  3. I know I asked this before, but is your review of the Tony Awards ceremony coming anytime soon?

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    1. Sorry! Life's been pretty busy and I don't think I'll have time for a fully article. I'm happy to discuss them in comments, though.

      In generally, I enjoyed the ceremony a lot. I thought James Corden was a very good host, although I don't know if he was quite as great as many reviews said. Generally the awards went to the expected people/shows, so there weren't many surprises on that front, but I was still thrilled for season standouts like Renee Elise Goldsberry, Daveed Diggs, and Cynthia Erivo to win.

      I was a little made "The Color Purple" won Best Revival. It is a very strong production, but I thought the absolute *best* revival of the season was "She Loves Me." I had some issues with a few directorial choices and one performance in particular during "The Color Purple;" I had no such hesitations about "She Loves Me," which I felt was simple divine.

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    2. I think there were two things that worked against SHE LOVES ME for Best Revival of a Musical:

      1. The production only ended up winning one award for Best Scenic Design, and it probably didn't seem right for a Best Revival winner to only win one other design award as a part of its haul. While THE COLOR PURPLE also won Lead Actress, which is a more important category.

      2. The production itself was more of a straightforward revival unlike the other nominees (THE COLOR PURPLE, FIDDLER ON THE ROOF, and SPRING AWAKENING), where each of them presented brand new takes on their original material(s).

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  4. I really loved the show too. I honestly thought it was one of the best Tony Awards ceremony I've ever seen. Granted, I've only watched the Tony Awards since 2008 (you've probably watched them a lot longer), but from the ones I have seen, this one was definitely one of my favorites.

    As for my favorite performances and acceptance speeches, here they are.

    Top 5 Favorite Performances:
    1. Hamilton
    2. Waitress
    3. The Color Purple
    4. Spring Awakening
    5. School Of Rock

    Top 5 Acceptance Speeches:
    1. Frank Langella
    2. Lin-Manuel Miranda
    3. Renee Elise Goldsberry
    4. Cynthia Erivo
    5. Leslie Odom, Jr.

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    1. I thought "The Color Purple" and "Waitress" performances were both outstanding, especially their Tony-nominated leading ladies. I was also surprised by how much I enjoyed the "School of Rock" performance and it got me excited to see the show.

      While I liked the "Hamilton" performance, I didn't *love* it the way I loved the show. I think they would have been better served by picking a number that is structured to be more self-contained; I thought "The Room Where It Happens" would have been the better choice as it has a clearer beginning/middle/end while still showcasing several of the Tony nominees and that eye popping choreography.

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  5. Just out of curiosity, what are your most and least anticipated shows for the 2016-2017 season?

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    1. Least is definitely "Cats." Absolutely despise that show. Most anticipated is going to be the subject of an upcoming blog post, hopefully in the next week or two!

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    2. WHy do you hate Cats? Do you hate it more than The Music Man?

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