Should've Won the Tony

I love the Tony Awards. Tony Sunday is basically a national holiday to me, and every year I devote dozens of blog posts to analyzing the various races and predicting likely winners. As I point out every year, the person or production that wins the Tony is not always the most deserving, but the right combination of merit, proper positioning, and backstage politics. As with any artistic award (Oscars, Emmys, etc.) we're all at least subconsciously aware of these other factors, and in the grand scheme of things winning doesn't necessarily matter or affect career opportunities. But even knowing all that, the fact remains that Tonys are the most prestigious award in the industry, and it is just irksome when they get things wrong!

Below are a few of the more egregious oversights in the Tony Awards' 66 year history, people and productions that really deserved to win that damn spinning statuette. I want to make very clear that I am not saying the actual winner in each of these races was undeserving. Of all the Tony winning performances and productions I've been lucky enough to witness, I would be hard-pressed to name one that I thought was unforgivably awful. But if I could magically go back in time and alter the outcome of past Tony races, these nominees would be on the top of my list.

West Side Story for Best Musical (1958)

The original cast of the landmark 1957 musical West Side Story, arguably one of the most famous and beloved stage shows in existence.

Actual Winner: The Music Man

Meredith Wilson's The Music Man has many passionate fans, although I am not among them. In each of the many productions I've seen, I've always found Wilson's magnum opus to be a slight work, overlong and lacking in charm, but I will concede that I am in the clear minority and maybe I'm missing something. However, I bet all but the most diehard Music Man fans would hesitate to say the show is unequivocally better than the Arthur Laurence-Leonard Bernstein-Stephen Sondheim masterpiece, one of the most important and beloved shows in the entire musical theatre cannon. West Side Story rewrote the rules for what a musical could do, the types of issues it could tackle, and integrated dance into the story better than almost any musical before or since. Almost 60 years after its premiere, it still resonates with audiences around the world as a towering achievement in dramatic storytelling.


Ragtime for Best Musical (1998)

Audra McDonald and Brian Stokes Mitchell in the near-legendary original Broadway production of Ragtime.

Actual Winner: The Lion King

To be fair, I understand why Tony voters chose The Lion King for Best Musical. Julie Taymor's eye-popping production is one of the seminal artistic achievements of the past 20 years, despite a pedestrian book and songs that range from stellar ("Circle of Life") to painful ("Chow Down"). Ragtime justifiably won Best Book and Score, which meant the only way to honor The Lion King as a whole was to give the show a Best Musical trophy. But just because I understand why the production won doesn't mean I have to agree, because Ragtime is a near-perfect show that also boasts one of the all-time great original casts. In addition to being unabashedly gorgeous musically, the show's observations about race, human nature, and the enduring spirit of the American dream make it a much richer piece that continually reveals new nuances during each subsequent production. The Lion King without Taymor's staging is just the animated film needlessly padded out; Ragtime is a moving and insightful piece no matter who is at the helm, and that is why it deserved a Best Musical win.


Kelli O'Hara in The Bridges of Madison County for Best Actress in a Musical (2014)

Kelli O'Hara in the sublime, underappreciated The Bridges of Madison County.

Actual Winner: Jessie Mueller for Beautiful

Jessie Mueller is a lovely individual who has continually proven herself both talented and versatile; she deserves a long and fruitful career filled with accolades, including a Tony Award or two. That said, she *stole* Kelli O'Hara's long deserved Best Actress statuette for what is sure to go down as one the golden-voiced soprano's greatest performances, Francesca in Jason Robert Brown's The Bridges of Madison County. Setting aside the fact that it is absolutely ludicrous the multitalented O'Hara is still Tony-less after five nominations in the past decade, her transcendent work in this sweeping musical drama was the kind of performance legends are made of. When people look back at her career many years from now, this will be the performance people won't believe she didn't win for, in the same way many people just assume Bernadette Peters won for Sunday in the Park with George (Peters lost to Chita Rivera in The Rink). The one small piece of solace to be found in this situation is that O'Hara publicly stated that if she couldn't win, she was rooting for Mueller.


Danny Burstein in Follies for Best Actor in a Musical (2012)

Danny Burstein during the transcendent "Loveland Sequence" during the most recent Broadway revival of Follies.

Actual Winner: Steve Kazee for Once

Like with O'Hara, the fact that Danny Burstein doesn't already have a Tony Award is one of the great oversights of the Tony Awards' past ten years. One of our greatest character actors, Burstein is equally at home in musicals and plays, whether they are comedic or dramatic, and Follies is arguably the greatest showcase he has ever had. Burstein took the least interesting of Sondheim's four leads and made him a fascinatingly complex and tragic character who remains unable to impress the one woman he truly loves. Burstein's performance was largely on the fringes during the musical's first act, but the one-two punch of "The Right Girl" and "The God-Why-Don't-You-Love-Me Blues" in Act II was revelatory for both the character and the production. Steve Kazee was perfectly charming (if a bit shout-y) as the lovelorn Guy in Once, but his performance was ultimately a lot less interesting and layered than Burstein's superlative work.


While I've got plenty more beef to pick with the Tony committee, my blood's starting to boil, so perhaps I should take a break for now. As stated in the intro, none of this is meant to imply that the actual winners were bad (although I really do hate The Music Man), just that the mentioned productions and performers were ultimately more deserving of Broadway's highest honor.

The Best Shows of 2014: Part II

2014 is about to draw to close, and to celebrate the year that was I'm offering up my picks for the Best Shows of 2014. I've already listed shows 10 thru 5, and now its time to reveal my choices for the absolute best New York theatre had to offer. As always, this list is limited to productions I have actually seen, which means that certain popular and/or acclaimed productions are automatically ineligible. That also means the list skews towards Broadway musicals, as those are what I see the most of. So what are my Top 5 shows of the year? Read on to find out!

5) Hedwig and the Angry Inch

Hedwig and the Angry Inch managed the rare feat of winning Tonys for all of its principal actors. Granted, there were only two of them, but still.

When Neil Patrick Harris was announced to star in the first Broadway production of the cult musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch, I was skeptical. While I was reasonably sure the production would do well financially, I wasn't at all convinced Harris' polished, mainstream persona would work in a show known for being grungy and decidedly alternative. I am beyond thrilled Harris proved me and any doubters wrong, giving an utterly fearless, Tony-winning, tour de force performance as the titular transgendered rocker. With a breakout performance by Lena Hall and fantastic direction by Michael Mayer, Hedwig is the perfect example of how to properly scale up a small show so it fills a Broadway house without losing its essence or spirit. Although Harris departed at the end of the summer, the hit revival continues to run with a string of high profile replacements, and will see author and original Off-Broadway star John Cameron Mitchell don Hedwig's high heels in mid-January. Definitely worth a return visit.

 4) Cabaret

Alan Cumming returns to the Kit Kat Klub in Roundabout's second revival of Cabaret, a show that continues to be one of the most rewarding, well crafted book musicals of all time.

Another show many were cynical about, the Roundabout Theatre Company's revival of their Tony-winning Cabaret is the exact same production that played Broadway for 6 years in the late 1990s/early 2000s, and probably exists primarily to make money. Yet whatever the reason for its return, Sam Mendes and Rob Marshall's perfectly marvellous production is one of the few musicals from this past year to actually challenge its audience rather than pander to them, and further establishes that this dark gem of the show is one of the all time great pieces of musical theatre. Contracting Alan Cumming to reprise his Tony-winning turn as the Emcee was a stroke of genius, with Cumming delivering a stellar performance that feels entirely fresh despite the 16 years that have passed since he first tackled the part. The entire production feels authentic, dangerous, and startlingly relevant, and if it were not for a miscast Michelle Williams as Sally Bowles this show would no doubt rank even higher on the list. Williams has since been replaced by Hollywood starlet Emma Stone (reportedly the producers' original choice for the part), who by all accounts is fantastic and offers those who've already been an excellent reason to return to the Kit Kat Klub.
 

3) On the Town

Jay Armstrong Johnson, Tony Yazbeck, and Clyde Alves lead the absolutely stellar cast of the 70th anniversary production of On the Town, one of the fall's biggest treats.

Who would have thought a revival of a 70 year old musical comedy would end up being one of the freshest productions of the year? Everything about John Rando's dazzling On the Town is a pure delight, a big hearted love letter to both New York City and the Broadway of yesteryear. In an era where wicked witches defy gravity and magic carpets show audiences a whole new world, one of the most thrilling sights currently on Broadway is 30 superb dancers high kicking to Joshua Bergasse's sensational choreography, accompanied by one of the largest orchestras on Broadway brilliantly playing Leonard Bernstein's original orchestrations. The pitch perfect cast is anchored by Tony Yazbeck's superb Gabey and features a breakout (Tony-worthy) performance by Alysha Umphress as the sassy Hildy, not to mention two full scale ballet sequences specifically designed to highlight NY City Ballet's Megan Fairchild in her Broadway debut. Anyone with even the slightest inclination should run to the Lyric Theatre and buy a ticket immediately.
 

2) The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

Newcomer Alex Sharp is making one of the most impressive Broadway debuts in years in the fantastic The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.

You have to hand it to those Brits; they certainly know how to put on an eye-popping show. However, unlike the overhyped War Horse a few seasons back, the Broadway transfer of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time has an excellent script to support all the visual splendor. The play is one of the most arresting, honest portrayals of autism to ever hit the New York stage, and fully succeeds in placing the audience inside the head of 15 year old protagonist Christopher Boone (played by Julliard graduate Alex Sharp in an absolutely stunning, sure to be Tony-nominated Broadway debut). All of the design elements work in tandem with Marianne Elliott's excellent direction to propel this deceptively simple mystery/thriller into "must see" territory, making Curious Incident the most exciting new play I had the privilege of seeing this year.
 

1) The Bridges of Madison County

Kelli O'Hara should have won the Tony this year. Period. The end.

Jason Robert Brown's transcendent The Bridges of Madison County is both 2014's best show and its biggest tragedy, with the musical's Broadway run cut unfairly short by weak ticket sales and a bizarrely apathetic theatrical community. Perhaps the show was hurt by its association with the widely known but not widely respected book which inspired it, or maybe the musical was a victim of bad timing that forced it to close before Tony season was completed. Whatever the reason for the show's failure, it's hard to fault the soaring score or richly detailed relationship between the lead characters. And the absolutely stunning performances by Kelli O'Hara and Steven Pasquale certainly deserved to reach a wider audience, as both achieved depths of feeling most actors can only dream about. O'Hara in particular has never been more radiant, simultaneously gut wrenching and inspiring in a career-best performance sung with a nearly unequaled level of vocal mastery. Bridges was something special, and easily the most satisfying evening I spent in a theatre this year. Here's hoping the excellent original cast recording helps this show to have a long and successful afterlife.


And there you have it. Those are, in my opinion, the Best Shows of 2014. Here's hoping 2015 brings us something just as good, if not better.

Happy New Year!

2014 Tony Awards Reaction

Love it or hate it, Hugh Jackman's Music Man rap with rappers LL Cool J and TI was definitely one of the more memorable moments of Sunday's Tony Award telecast.

Sunday night saw Hugh Jackman host the 68th Annual Tony Awards, celebrating Broadway's best and brightest and making some theatrical history along the way.  It marked an official end to the speculation and handwringing about who would win big, and unlike in recent years the awards were pretty evenly split.  No show scored more than 4 wins, and most of the productions with multiple nominations managed to take home at least one award.

I have lots of thoughts about this year's ceremony (which wasn't my favorite, but more on that in a bit), but before I delve into them the real question is how well did I do with my annual Tony predictions?  The answer is not great, only correctly predicting 12 of the 17 categories I blogged about.  That makes for a barely passable 70% average, although in my defense almost nobody predicted that A Raisin in the Sun would walk away with 3 awards.  I don't even have the satisfaction of my "Will Win" guesses being supplanted by my "Should Win" choices, although given the way the nominations turned out I had a feeling this year would see some out of left field winners.

As far as the winners go, I (like pretty much the entire Broadway community) was absolutely thrilled to see Audra McDonald win her record-shattering, much deserved sixth Tony.  McDonald now officially has more Tonys than any performer ever, with the added bonus of being the only woman (person?) to win a Grand Slam in all four performance categories.  This is impressive in and of itself, but the fact that she did all of this as a black woman (parts for women of color are hard to come by, and convincing producers to go with colorblind casting is often even harder) and by the age of 43 is positively mind-blowing.  McDonald is clearly a once in a lifetime talent and my hands down favorite Broadway performer, and despite my stone cold heart I got a little teary eyed watching McDonald be overcome with emotion at the thunderous applause and standing ovation that followed the announcement of her win.  The fact that the always classy McDonald gave such a genuine, heartfelt acceptance speech just made the moment all the more charming.

I must admit my disappoint that Jessie Mueller won over Kelli O'Hara, and although I have not seen Beautiful I cannot imagine what she's doing that tops O'Hara's exquisite work in The Bridges of Madison County.  While there's no denying that Mueller is talented and she clearly has a winning personality (watching her impromptu dance with Jackman was another highlight of the evening), O'Hara is long overdue for some recognition from Tony voters.  Extremely talented, gracious, and a tireless worker (she has rarely been far from a stage since her breakthrough performance in The Light in the Piazza 9 years ago), O'Hara is also that rare actress who has shown no inclination toward film work, and it would be nice to see the Broadway community show her some thanks for passing up the more lucrative film world to keep doing theatre.  When we look back at her career, I firmly believe that Francesca in Bridges will be one her crowning achievements and a role everyone agree she should have won for.

As for the telecast itself, like the award winners it was something of a mixed bag.  Hugh Jackman was certainly a game host, although his bits rarely landed as well as they seemingly should have.  Perhaps we've just been spoiled by three straight years of the incomparable Neil Patrick Harris, but Jackman's routine seemed off.  His jokes got chuckles instead of guffaws, and his Music Man rap was so out of left field it was difficult to enjoy because of the "Is this really happening?" factor.   And then there was the hopping.  Oh, the much debated hopping.  Even after seeing the film musical clip that inspired it, Jackman's opening still doesn't make a whole lot of sense, and most people had to Google what he was referencing to begin with.  It will probably be many year's before a Tony opening tops NPH's "It's Not Just for Gays Anymore," but given Jackman's skills as a song and dance man it would have been nice to see him tackle a glitzy production number.  The closest we got was his dynamite tapping with the cast of After Midnight.

The production numbers from the nominated shows generally went off without a hitch.  Seeing the 3 summer headliners of After Midnight sing was a treat, and the performance managed to highlight most of the show's extremely talented ensemble without seeming manic.  Neil Patrick Harris absolutely killed with his performance of "Sugar Daddy" from Hedwig, and seeing Samuel L. Jackson's reaction to having his glasses licked was absolutely priceless.  I thought the producers of A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder came up with a brilliant way to perform the show's most impressive song ("I've Decided to Marry You") while still giving us a taste of Jefferson Mays' multi-character performance by having him introduce the song as 3 of the 8 doomed D'Ysquiths.  Even productions like Violet and Les Miserables, which I didn't particularly enjoy in the theatre, came across well on TV.  And Idina Menzel gave us the best awards show vocal of her career, completely erasing any sour taste her nervous Academy Awards performance left us with.

That said, I could have done without the two preview numbers from next season.  The Sting performance from the upcoming The Last Ship was a snoozefest (most of the people at the Tony party I hosted decided to check their phones during his performance) and had the exact opposite of the desired effect by making me less interested in seeing the show.  The number from Finding Neverland was a bit livelier, mostly because Jennifer Hudson can sing pretty much anything (someone please book her for a guest stint in After Midnight!).  But ultimately that performance was even more dubious because the song made zero sense out of context and Neverland isn't even officially confirmed for Broadway.  I thought these blatant ads distracted from the celebration of the current season's work (the nominal purpose of the awards), and were doubly shameful considering the In Memoriam segment was booted from the telecast to make room for them.  I would have much rather seen that segment and a performances from The Bridges of Madison County then two performances that probably bear no resemblance to the finished product we'll see when (and if) the shows open on Broadway.

Overall, this was one of the less enjoyable Tony broadcasts in recent years for me.  Which is a shame, because I actually felt that this season, despite the absence of a runaway hit, was a very strong one for the Broadway community.  But there's always next year, and in the meantime congratulations to all of the winners!

2014 Tony Predictions: Best Actress

Without a doubt, these next two categories are the most competitive of this year's Tony races.  There are some phenomenal performances being given by some of Broadway's best-loved actresses, and the Best Actress in a Musical race is particularly brutal this year.  I will also admit that I have particularly strong feelings about these two races which may be blinding my objective judgement, so if I get these two wrong you'll know why.  With that said, here are my thoughts on who will (and should) win.

Best Actress in a Play

Audra McDonald is apparently incapable of delivering even an average performance; all of her Broadway outings have been virtually flawless.

 

 

Nominees: Tyne Daly, Mothers and Sons; LaTanya Richardson Jackson, A Raisin in the Sun; Cherry Jones, The Glass Menagerie; Audra McDonald, Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill; Estelle Parsons, The Velocity of Autumn

I think this Sunday will see Audra McDonald make history by collecting a record-breaking sixth Tony Award for her phenomenal work in Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill.  If she wins, not only will McDonald have received more acting Tonys than any performer in history, she will also be the first woman to win in all four performance categories.  Anyone who has seen McDonald in Lady Day knows the singing actress is doing an uncanny job of channeling the late Billie Holiday, but Broadway's reigning queen goes far beyond mere impersonation.  She is Holiday reincarnated, with a performance that is free of the artifice and forced mannerisms that often plagues actors tasked with playing real people.  It is an impeccable piece of acting, and definitely a worthy role to propel McDonald into the history books.

The only person with even the slightest chance of unseating McDonald is The Glass Menagerie's Cherry Jones, but it is a long shot to say the least.  Even though this beloved actress gave what some termed the performance of her career, McDonald just has too much of a lead (McDonald has won every guild award she has been eligible for this year).  Tyne Daly, LaTanya Richardson Jackson, and Estelle Parsons will just have to take solace in the fact they even managed to get nominated in such a competitive year.

NOTE: I should probably mention that McDonald is also my all-time favorite Broadway performer (I will go see her in anything), so I fully admit some personal bias has entered into this article.

Will and Should Win: Audra McDonald, Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill

 

Best Actress in a Musical

Performances on the level of Kelli O'Hara's in The Bridges of Madison County are rare.  If she doesn't win, the Tony voters will have lost major credibility points.

 

Nominess: Mary Bridget Davies, A Night with Janis Joplin; Sutton Foster, Violet; Idina Menzel, If/Then; Jessie Mueller, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical; Kelli O'Hara, The Bridges of Madison County

If Kelli O'Hara does not win her long-overdue first Tony Award on Sunday, I am declaring this year's awards null and void.  O'Hara was absolutely sensational in the gone-too-soon Bridges of Madison County, giving a performance that is frankly on an entirely different level from this year's other nominees.  Her brilliance isn't just because of her phenomenal singing, although O'Hara's crystalline soprano has never sounded better than it did singing the breathtaking melodies Jason Robert Brown wrote specifically for her.  Her ability to give a nuanced, deeply felt and believably acted performance while singing the most difficult music of the season was a master class in musical theatre acting and the heights it can reach.  Add in the fact that O'Hara is a perpetual Tonys bridesmaid (this is her 5th nomination in the past 10 years) that is almost universally respected and earns raves even when her shows are critically panned, and it is time Tony voters wised up and gave her the damn award already.

Sutton Foster was perfectly charming in Violet, and gets extra points for stretching herself artistically with a more dramatic role than she typically tackles.  Idina Menzel was even better than expected in If/Then, a performance which is significantly more nuanced and accomplished than her work in Wicked 10 years ago (for which she won).  I have not personally seen Mary Bridget Davies or Jessie Mueller in their respective shows, but I'm sure they are lovely.  However, Kelli O'Hara has earned this, and picking anyone other than O'Hara as the winner would be a grave mistake.

It must be said that Mueller does pose a legitimate threat to O'Hara, as the talented young actress seems to be Broadway's latest It Girl.  Mueller has gone from being an unknown to headlining a major new musical in just 3 short years, but the fact of the matter is Mueller will have plenty more chances to win a Tony or two.  I also cannot fathom what Mueller could be doing in Beautiful (a dull sounding jukebox musical that holds no interest for me) that tops O'Hara's career-best work in Bridges.

There is a possibility Mueller wins the Tony; you might even say there is a strong possibility, since Mueller just took home the Drama Desk Award on Sunday, beating out O'Hara in the process.  But Mueller beating O'Hara would be wrong, and I have to believe Tony voters can see that.  If they mistakenly select Mueller on Sunday night, I firmly believe in 10 year's time the general population will look back and agree that O'Hara was more deserving for what may well become her signature role (similar to how most people now agree Bernadette Peters should have won for Sunday in the Park with George, even though Chita Rivera is an immense talent and no one begrudges her a Tony or two).  With all due respect to Mueller, she can wait another season or two.

Will and Should Win: Kelli O'Hara, The Bridges of Madison County


And that covers all of the acting categories for this year's awards.  Check back tomorrow as I start to tackle this year's production categories, starting with the revivals.  And be sure to check out all of my previous Tonys coverage below!

2014 Tony Nominations React
Best Direction and Choreography
Best Book and Score
Best Featured Actor
Best Featured Actress
Best Actor



2014 Tony Predictions: Book and Score

Continuing my Tony predictions for the 2013-2014 Broadway season, it's time to turn my eye towards the writing of this season's musicals.  Since musicals are a collaborative art form, they are arguably harder (and definitely take longer) to write than a regular play, and there are a lot more places where something can go wrong.  It is also possible for elements of a show to succeed while the production as a whole doesn't, which is why this year's Best Book and Best Score categories aren't just copies of the Best Musical nominees.  So which shows will win the Book and Score Tonys on June 8th, and are they the same as the shows that deserve to win?  Find out below!

Best Book of a Musical

Jefferson Mays gets a lot of credit for his 8 scenery chewing characters in A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, but bookwriter Robert L. Freedman gave him some great material to work with.

 

Nominees:  Woody Allen, Bullets Over Broadway; Chad Beguelin, Aladdin; Robert L. Freedman, A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder; Douglas McGrath, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical

It's very hard to imagine a scenario where A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder's Robert. L. Freedman doesn't win this category.  Gentleman has the most Tony nominations of any show this year, clearly illustrating the Tony committee's fondness for the musical farce.  And since Gentleman's Guide doesn't really have any production numbers or marquee value stars, that love is entirely based on the show's witty, tightly paced writing.  Like most musical comedies, the destination isn't all that interesting (or even all that clear), but the journey there is filled with smart dialogue and characters that walk fine line between being large enough to elicit laughs and believable enough for the audience to invest in.

Given the ambivalence towards Bullets Over Broadway, I doubt Oscar-winner Woody Allen is much of a contender here (and whether true or not, the recent child molestation scandal will surely deter a few voters from supporting him).  The book of Beautiful was generally the most derided aspect of that show in critical reviews, and although I think Chad Beguelin did a better job than previous Disney musicals of incorporating new elements into the existing material, Aladdin's charms lie mostly in its musical numbers.  This one is deservedly Freedman's to lose.

Will and Should Win: Robert L. Freedman, A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder 

Best Score

Jason Robert Brown turned The Bridges of Madison County from a trashy, critically derided novel into a legitimate work of art.  That should be worth a couple of Tony Awards on its own.

 

Nominees:  Alan Menken, Howard Ashman, Tim Rice and Chad Beguelin, Aladdin; Jason Robert Brown, The Bridges of Madison County; Steven Lutvak and Robert L. Freedman, A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder; Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey, If/Then

This category is so lopsided it isn't even a race; it's just a formality between Jason Robert Brown and his second Best Score Tony.  The music for The Bridges of Madison County is one of the greatest examples of sustained artistic excellent in the past decade, gloriously sung by two of the most gifted vocalists working on Broadway today.  Epically grand and breathtakingly gorgeous, the score is packed to the gills with songs that stop the show with their sheer beauty (the picturesque yet mournful opening "To Build a Home," the folksy "Another Life," Kelli O'Hara's Act II stunner "Almost Real," and the climactic duet "One Second and a Million Miles").  Even the show's detractors were forced to admit that Brown's score is a masterwork, easily the best thing this gifted composer has ever written.

The only team with even the slightest possibility of scoring an upset is A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder's Steven Lutvak and Robert L. Freedman.  Their Gilbert-and-Sullivan-esque score has more melodic invention than is apparent on first listen, and their deft lyrics are overflowing with wit and a decidedly cheeky sense of humor.  But this isn't a Wicked/Avenue Q situation, where the latter's consistently clever score surprisingly beat out the former's uneven mix of modern classics ("Popular," "Defying Gravity") and inert clunkers (anything involving the Wizard).  Bridges is fantastic from end to end, and will rightly win the Tony Award for its sustained excellence.

Will and Should Win: Jason Robert Brown, The Bridges of Madison County


Keep checking back throughout the next two weeks for more Tony predictions and commentary!  And catch up on any coverage you may have missed by checking out the following:

2014 Tony Nominations React
Best Direction and Choreography


Who's to Blame for "Bridges" Early Closing?

Steven Pasquale and Kelli O'Hara in the underappreciated (and soon to close) The Bridges of Madison County

Jason Robert Brown's beautiful, heartbreaking The Bridges of Madison County (featuring a career-best and Tony worthy performance by the always amazing Kelli O'Hara) is closing this Sunday.  If you haven't seen the show yet, stop reading this and go buy your ticket now; the blog will still be here when you return.  For those of you who have seen it, let's sit down and have a frank discussion about all of the issues Bridges' premature closing points to in our industry and the people who work in its.

Now, Broadway is a business, and Bridges has hardly been a box office sensation.  It would be unfair to blame the producers for closing a show whose grosses don't cover its weekly running costs; if anything, they should be commended for keeping the show running as long as they did.  No, if blame must be assigned, it belongs squarely on the potential audience members who supposedly wanted to see the show but didn't.  I was in the theatre district the day after Bridges announced it was closing and heard multiple people discussing the news with some variation of the phrase, "That's too bad. I wanted to see that."  To which I say, "Well then why didn't you?"

Theatre people love to complain, and one of the most common complaints over the past decade has been the lack of original and artistically daring work on Broadway.  According to these naysayers, everything is movie adaptations and revivals with miscast stars and jukebox musicals that clearly had their genesis in a marketing meeting.  These complaints aren't entirely without merit - although I tend to think the situation isn't as dire as most people make it out to be - but the fact of the matter is when something like Bridges comes along and *is* artistically daring and more serious, it isn't supported.  The easy scapegoat is the tourists aren't cultured enough for these sorts of things, but it isn't exactly fair to blame them for not attending a show during their 4-day vacation that you couldn't be bothered to see in your months of living here.

When it closes on Sunday, Bridges will have run for exactly four months.  And while that isn't a particularly long run in this time of multi-year hits, it also isn't an insignificant amount of time.  Especially for someone who lives in the city, I find it hard to believe that there wasn't at least one evening (or afternoon) during that four months where they could have attended the show.  And before any New Yorker even starts with that "I'm busy" nonsense, the fact of the matter is that everyone is busy, but with a little thing called time management it really isn't that hard to carve out a 3-hour block to see a show (especially if you have time to see a movie, go out drinking, or any of the millions of other leisure activities even "busy" people have time for).  If you make seeing Show X an actual priority, I promise you that you will magically find the time to do so. 

And before anyone brings up the price of tickets, I have a twofold counterargument.  First of all, while theatre tickets are certainly expensive, industry people should know better than anyone just where all that money is going and the importance of supporting the industry financially.  Secondly, no one is saying you need to buy a $150 orchestra seat.  There are rush seats, there are discount codes (especially easy to come by when a show is not selling well), and plenty of other ways to get in to see a show that don't involve spending an entire week's paycheck.  If all you can afford is a $40 or $50 ticket (and if you cut out a night or two of drinking/dining out at NYC prices, I promise you that over the course of a month you can scrounge up that much money), then buy that ticket and know that you supported the arts as much as you were able.  If all of the New Yorkers who wanted to see Bridges had bought a $40 ticket, the show might have been able to run an extra week or two.

The other major problem I see with Bridges lies in its critical reception.  To be blunt, the critics were not kind to the show.  Now everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and as long as a critic can back that opinion up with specific examples from the show they can write whatever they want.  But considering that critics are some of the loudest voices decrying the commercialization of Broadway, they should maybe be a little more encouraging to new work that possesses the traits they claim the industry needs more of, even if it doesn't always execute those traits well.  There is a way to point out the flaws in a piece without dismissing the entire thing out of hand, and I feel that far too many critics latch onto the flaws of new work while ignoring the positive traits.

This problem is particularly pronounced when you compare how new works are reviewed versus revivals.  In the same week, I saw Violet and If/Then (coincidentally the same week Bridges announced its closing).  I personally think both shows have some structural problems, and if I'm being honest I feel that If/Then is the more successful of the two productions.  But the general press savaged If/Then's flaws while ignoring what in my mind are many fine performances and a thought-provoking narrative that tackles some of life's big questions.  These same individuals largely overlooked Violet's structural problems and somewhat trite message in favor of praising the cast, since the convention is that you don't review the writing of a revival.  This double standard tends to make revivals sound more appealing than new works, and as a result a lot of the revivals this season are doing better business than the new shows.  If the critics steer people towards revivals, and those revivals subsequently make more money, then the new, daring work critics claim to want will be produced less and less.

At the end of the day, we all need to take responsibility for our actions and the messages they send.  If we are going to complain about the lack of original work on Broadway, then we need to make it a priority to get out and support the original work that does get produced.  No single individual can turn a flop into a hit, and there are some fantastic shows that due to their nature are just destined to be more niche affairs (as a serious musical without much spectacle in an industry that has lately favored feel-good puff pieces, Bridges probably falls in that category).  But if we all collectively make a more conscious effort to prioritize and support new, artistically daring new work like Bridges, If/Then, or even A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, we can help counterbalance the masses of tourists who are only interested in seeing Phantom and Mamma Mia! for the umpteenth time.  And the other lesson to be learned here is that you cannot assume a show will still be running when you get around to it; if you are passionate about seeing a show, you need to prioritize it because you cannot ever know for certain how long it will run.

PS - I saw Bridges twice, once when I reviewed it in March and then again after it announced its closing date.

Glorious Music, Sung Gloriously

Review: The Bridges of Madison County

If Kelli O'Hara doesn't win the Tony for her work in Bridges, there is no justice in the world.

They simply don't make them like this anymore.  The Bridges of Madison County, the musical adaptation of the bestselling book currently playing the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre, is the type of sweeping musical drama that has fallen out of favor in recent years.  Unabashedly earnest in its sentiment, the exquisitely scored Bridges features two central performances so transcendent they more than compensate for the musical's occasional listlessness via the sheer intensity of their star wattage.

The musical focuses on a brief but intense affair between Italian-American housewife Francesca (a positively radiant Kelli O'Hara) and National Geographic photographer Robert Kincaid (the smoldering Steven Pasquale, in his Broadway musical debut).  A war bride brought back to Madison County, Iowa by blue collar farmer Bud (Hunter Foster), Francesca has spent two decades being the dutiful wife and mother, so complacent in her role that she doesn't even realize how unfulfilled she feels.  When Robert innocently asks Francesca for directions to one of the titular covered bridges, a simple invitation to tea blossoms into a passionate, all-consuming love that forces Francesca to re-examine every choice she's ever made.

The material could easily descend in schmaltzy sentimentality, but never does thanks to the incredible contributions of composer Jason Robert Brown.  Brown rocketed to fame on the strength of his Broadway debut Parade, and his small but sterling body of work since then has only reconfirmed his early promise as one of the theatre's finest tunesmiths.  Brown's work on Bridges is that of a fully matured artist, able to write music that is irrefutably gorgeous in its own right while also perfectly servicing plot and character development.  He possesses a rare, precise understanding of the full potential of the human voice, and continually shows his knack for writing conversational yet deeply profound lyrics. Bridges finds Brown equally adept at writing lilting, mournfully introspective songs like "Another Life" (a knockout solo for, of all characters, Robert's ex-wife) and soaring, operatic duets like "One Second and a Million Miles" (the musical highlight of the evening, and possibly the entire Broadway season).  It is a staggering achievement, the kind of richly complex score that only comes around once every few years.

The fact that Marsha Norman's libretto for Bridges doesn't reach the dizzying heights of Brown's score is disappointing, although likely unavoidable given the virtuosic intensity of the songs.  Norman tries to expand the scope of the story beyond the central lovers, inserting subplots about Francesca's family traveling to the Iowa State Fair and a prying but ultimately supportive neighbor.  While interesting in theory, these subplots have a nebulous connection to the main story and aren't developed enough to be engaging in their own right.  Norman does an excellent job of establishing Francesca's disconnection from her family, to the point where the show doesn't give her a valid reason for not immediately running off with Robert (the show's primary source of dramatic conflict).  The script also hints at deeply rooted problems between Bud and his kids but fails to truly explore them, with the eventual resolution of these problems feeling forced and unsatisfactory.

Thankfully, the cast more than makes up for the script's shortcomings.  As Francesca, four-time Tony-nominee Kelli O'Hara is a revelation, giving the most nuanced performance of her illustrious career.  Through the subtlest glance or bit of stage business, O'Hara illuminates the myriad conflicting feelings going on inside Francesca, a free spirit who willingly entered into a mundane marriage and is finally confronting the consequences.  O'Hara makes Francesca's inner life readily apparent, creating a wholly sympathetic creature from a woman who in lesser hands would be easy to judge harshly.  And when she opens her mouth to sing, O'Hara reveals a vocal mastery on par with the greatest singers to ever grace the Broadway stage.  Her crystalline soprano has never been stronger, rich and soulful as it traverses the soaring heights and unexpected depths of Brown's score.  The fact that O'Hara has yet to be rewarded with Broadway's highest honor seems somewhat ludicrous given the unending reservoir of talent on display here, and hopefully this will finally be her year when the Tony Awards are handed out in June.

Surprisingly, Steven Pasquale proves every bit her equal, and watching his masterful portrayal of the lone wolf photographer makes one regret he hasn't had the opportunity to star in a Broadway musical before now.  Pasquale imbues Robert with a quiet charisma and smoldering sensuality that is intoxicating, easily explaining why Francesca would be drawn to him.  As O'Hara does with Francesca, Pasquale gives such a clear view into Robert's inner life that you instantly understand every choice he makes.  A beautiful sincerity permeates his entire performance, preventing the character from coming across as a predatory lout.  And when Pasquale unleashes his powerful baritone, the sheer force and beauty of it sends shivers down the spine.

Director Bartlett Sher stages the show with his typical precision, coaxing uniformly fantastic performances out of his cast.  As with his previous shows, Sher is occasionally seduced by the beauty of his material, letting certain moments last one beat too long.  The final fifteen minutes of the show drag (although this partly stems from the writing), and the constant scenery changes eat up too much of the evening's running time.  But credit must be given where credit is due; performances of the caliber O'Hara and Pasquale give don't just happen, and without Sher to help guide and mold them the two actors wouldn't be nearly as effective in their roles.

The fact that a maudlin novel like The Bridges of Madison County has been turned into such a powerful piece of art is a minor miracle, and despite some small missteps it makes for a worthwhile night in the theatre.  Kelli O'Hara proves once again that she is among the best singing actresses of all time, giving the kind of deeply felt, nuanced performance that theatrical legends are made of.  Steven Pasquale matches her note for note, and together they have a fiery chemistry that makes Jason Robert Brown's sterling compositions truly soar.  In an age of revivals and disposable works of escapist entertainment, it is truly refreshing to see and hear such a serious new musical on Broadway.

Most Anticipated of Spring 2014

Idina Menzel and the cast of If/Then.  You just *know* she's belting her face off.

Now that we are officially in 2014, it is time to start looking forward rather than back (which I did in my two Best Of 2013 posts as well as my Worst Of list).  There are 20 new productions opening on Broadway this coming spring, and somewhat surprisingly they are evenly divided between plays and musicals.  Any new Broadway show is cause for celebration, but naturally there are some shows that I'm looking forward to more than others.  So here, in no particular order, are the productions I'm most excited to see in the coming months.

Aladdin

Full disclosure:  Aladdin has always been my favorite Disney film.  I have been hoping for a stage adaptation for the last 10 years, and I will finally get my wish when the show arrives on Broadway in March.  I'm not sure exactly how they'll translate the film's magic to the stage (the Genie's mile-a-minute dialogue and transformations seem like a particular challenge), but 16 years ago no one thought they could make The Lion King work and that show has gone on to gross $1 billion on Broadway alone.  I have full faith in the technical prowess Disney's money can buy, and I also have supreme confidence in the musical comedy chops of director Casey Nicholaw, whose work on The Book of Mormon remains the greatest example of sustained hilarity in the new millennium.  Final bit of disclosure: I bought my orchestra tickets to this show last month. :-D

The Bridges of Madison County

I have zero knowledge or particular interest in either The Bridges of Madison County novel or the film version starring Meryl Streep and Clint Eastwood.  But I do have extensive knowledge and admiration for the musical career of composer Jason Robert Brown, who is scoring the musical adaptation set to begin previews on Broadway in a couple of weeks.  Brown is one of the smartest pop-influenced composers working in the theatre, and I have no doubt his score will be a marvel to behold.  The fact that he has enlisted Kelli O'Hara to take on the lead female role makes the entire enterprise even more exciting, as she is one of the most gifted singing actresses of her generation.  Add in the fact that Tony-winner Barlett Sher is at the helm and has described the score as the best one he's ever worked with (remember the Sher introduced the world to Adam Guettel's rapturous Light in the Piazza) and you have the makings of a theatrical event.

If/Then

10 years after her Tony-winning turn in the smash-hit Wicked, Idina Menzel finally returns to the Broadway stage in If/Then.  That information alone would be enough to pique my interest; the fact that the show is written by Next to Normal's Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey, who crafted one of the most fascinating musical dramas of the past decade and wrote an incredible diva role for eventual Tony-winner Alice Ripley, shoots this towards the top of my must see list.  Menzel has some able-bodied support in costars like LaChanze (whom I adored in The Color Purple) and fellow Rent alum Anthony Rapp, and the incredibly talented Michael Grief directing her.  All the ingredients for theatrical magic are there, and I cannot wait to see what this team has come up with.

Violet

Two words:  Sutton Foster.  Foster is one of the select few performers who can prompt me to buy a ticket based on her name alone, as she has never been anything less than stellar in every show I've been privileged enough to see her in (even when the actual shows left me cold, as was the case with Little Women).  She has one of the purest belts in the contemporary theatre, along with the acting chops and sheer charisma to hold your attention even when she isn't singing.  And while I know almost nothing about Violet, which had a very brief Off-Broadway run in the 1990s, everyone I know who has actually heard the music raves about it.  Composer Jeanine Tesori also has the distinction of having written Thoroughly Modern Millie, the show that shot Foster to stardom and her first Tony Award, so seeing the two reteam on this new project is doubly exciting.

Rocky

I am in no way, shape, or form convinced that this adaptation of the Oscar-winning film will actually work as a musical.  In fact, it could be a disaster of epic proportions.  But Stephen Flaherty and Lynne Ahrens wrote one of the greatest musicals of all time (if not THE greatest) in Ragtime, and the rest of their catalogue is equally lovely.  The pair are also famous perfectionists, constantly rewriting and revising their shows in an effort to make them as good as they can possibly be, so I have to believe that there was something about Rocky that drew them to the project.  Good or bad, I think Rocky will be one show the entire industry is talking about come spring, and I want to see it firsthand.  Whether I leave praising its triumphs or deconstructing its missteps remains to be seen.


I wish I could say I was excited about the plays that are opening this spring on Broadway, but the truth of the matter is none of them grab me the way the above musicals do.  Like everyone else, I was blown away by Bryan Cranston's performance on Breaking Bad, and I fully believe he will make an excellent stage actor, but the out-of-town reviews for All The Way were lukewarm (many critics felt the play was too long and unfocused).  I personally thought Denzel Washington was overrated in Fences a couple of seasons back, so the idea of him doing A Raisin in the Sun doesn't thrill me.  And while I find the idea of Debra Messing starring in a comedy by Pulitzer-winner John Patrick Shanely appealing, it isn't a must see for me.  I *am* excited to see Alan Cumming reprise his Emcee in the Roundabout's remounting of their Tony-winning Cabaret (since I missed it the first time around), but at the end of the day they are just dusting off a production from 15 years ago that may or may not still feel relevant.

What are you most looking forward to for the coming spring season?  Feel free to let me know in the comments.  And look for reviews of as many of the spring shows as I can get to in the coming months.