It has been widely assumed for some time that the race for Best Musical Revival is a done deal. The King and I features director Bartlett Sher re-teaming with star Kelli O'Hara for another lush Rodgers and Hammerstein classic. Tony voters loved South Pacific in 2008, so Lincoln Center has another Tony winner on their hands. Right?
Well not so fast. On nominations morning, The King and I did well, as expected, with nine nominations. But it was the musical's two competitors for Best Revival that performed outside of expectations. On the Twentieth Century netted acting notices for superstar Kristin Chenoweth and featured player Andy Karl as well as two design awards. But director Scott Ellis was kicked out of the Best Director category.
Who should take Mr. Ellis' place was non other than On the Town director John Rando. On the Town's choreographer Joshua Bergasse claimed his expected nomination for Best Choreography. But On the Twentieth Century stumbled in that category as well when last year's champ Warren Carlyle lost his spot to a straight play: The Curious Incident of the Dog In the Night-Time.
If you're keeping score, The King and I and On the Town are both represented across three key disciplines: directing, acting, and choreography. On the Twentieth Century is only seen in acting.
Seizing the moment, the struggling On the Town announces a national tour for 2016! And to top it off, their Tony nominated leading man, Tony Yazbeck, will headline the tour. Tours can be a significant factor in Tony voting. A sizable block of voters are "road voters". They prefer to vote for shows that play well in their regional markets. This is why shows like An American in Paris and Something Rotten! quickly announced their own national tours. Essentially they're signalling: "Hey we're commercial! And we're already committed to going on the road! Pick me!".
Well not to be outdone, just a day later Lincoln Center has swooped in to steal their thunder. As announced earlier today: The King and I will launch a national tour as well. They have also done one better by announcing that the Broadway production has been extended indefinitely. Now Tony voters can vote for the perpetually sold out open run, or the "probably-will-close-in-September-even-if-it-wins" show.
The King and I seems like it is still in the best position to win. But, I'm thrilled to see the true fight the producers of On the Town are putting up. The race needed a little suspense (and frankly all three nominated revivals are too good for it to be a one horse race). We will have to wait and see if any of these plays turn into Tony wins for On the Town.
The industry affection for the show is also quite heartening. On the Town is a expertly crafted, charming revival. It was unfortunately cursed with a theatre too large for...well, any show really. Rumors suggest that Cirque du Soleil wants to take over the Lyric Theatre whenever it becomes available. Should that happen I'd like to suggest yet another name change for the space: The Broadway Airplane Hanger. Let's just call a spade a spade and let the acrobats deal with it.
I so want On The Town to win! (: But i am predicting The King and I - a production I didn't like very much ): Oh if On The Town could score some upsets on Tony night! (: Revival, Tony Yazbeck, John Rando and/or Joshua Bergasse - I would be stunned and extremely happy! (:
ReplyDeleteI am predicting The King and I will win two Tony awards: Revival and Costume Design ):
On The Twentieth Century's most likely win is for Andy Karl but I am thinking Brad Oscar could take the Featured Actor Tony - it's a real toss-up! I would be STUNNED if Kristin Chenoweth wins; I really do think it's Kelli vs. Chita, but this upsurge of support for Kristin helps Chita, imo, so "poor box office" be damned, I'm sticking with my prediction of La Rivera for the win! (I was stunned when LaChanze won for The Color Purple; I was certain it was Patti (Sweeney Todd) vs. Sutton (The Drowsy Chaperone) that year - so what do I know?) (;