Profile for Ryan4

We did rushed it last Thursday and there were only a handful of people there when the box office opened at 10.

This is hilarious. Last season, Riedel said on air that the show wouldn't get a single nomination. Now he's saying it's a contender for a Best Musical nod. Ok, new season, new competition, the scandal and schadenfreude subsided a bit, understood. but still...have things changed THAT much? This is one of his all-time greatest flip-flops.

No matter what the PR hype is, the buck still stops with the nominators. In addition to Kate Winslet for The Reader, Keisha-Castle Hughes for Whale Rider is another recent example of voters telling the studios' marketing departments to shove it. I'm sure there are others I can't remember at the moment. Bottom line is it's different from the Tonys as there is no formal process of deciding what category someone is placed in before nominations are made.

The Playbill still matters. You're a lead if you're above the title, featured if you're below. The committee can move you around if they wish, or the producers can petition to have you moved. No producers or agents submit anything to the Oscars. The category in which an actor is placed is entirely at the discretion of the nominators.

They changed the rule to admit 25 members from the NY Drama Critic's Circle; that's only about 1/4 of the critics that got axed two years ago.

The MET Opera House has the American Ballet Theater there this time of year, and has for years and years and years - that's not going to change for the Tony Awards. The Beacon is like, at most, a ten minute walk up Broadway from the Opera. Same neighborhood. Upscale residential. Really nice area of the City to live. Not a bad location.

Another interesting one - If "War Horse" wins Best Play, it would be only the second play with no acting nominations to do so. (The first was "Sleuth" in 1971).

In 1988, both Blythe Danner (Blanche) and Frances McDormand (Stella) were nominated for Best Leading Actress in a Play at the Tony awards.

I don't think this is the biggest injustice ever. He worked his butt off for sure, and after both this and Equus he's certainly proven he has stage presence. But I found the performance decent, no better. It's nothing close to Matthew Broderick's turn in the 95 revival, which doubtless most of the nominating committee remembers. Like most people, I'm glad Radcliffe is doing theater -- he clearly loves it, and that's his only motivation (he could be doing anything else), and that distinguishes...

There should be only 4 nominees for Best Actress in a Musical, since there are only 6 qualifiers. At least that's what the rules say.

The variety of new plays is what's particularly amazing about this season. Reminds me of 2006 when we had History Boys, Lieutenant of Inishmore, Shining City and Rabbit Hole. All so great, all so different. I think the lineup will be War Horse (which I suspect will win), Good People, Jerusalem, and Bengal Tiger, with Motherf/ker left out. As much as I enjoyed all of them, Brief Encounter was still the best play I saw this season.

It usually comes out at around 3pm. I think it will be "Red". It's a lot more interesting than "Time Stands Still" and Margulies already has a Pulitzer. "Clybourne Park" strikes me as a real possibility as well.

Anybody know if an actor can be nominated twice in the same category? I know its never happened...but is there an actual rule or has it just never happened? Anyone know off-hand?

I'd love for that to be the case, it'd be good for everyone, but it's just not true. Time and again I've heard the same thing from people who have worked in marketing on Broadway for decades: best musical is the only one that matters.

Is it common for Tony voters to go before a production has opened? Certainly they wouldn't be invited during previews... I'm not convinced that there's any strategic road presenter voting happening in this category. As any marketing guru would say, there's exactly one Tony award that matters.

A big advantage for Sutton will be that voters are going to like Anything Goes a lot more than Sister Act. This is often what tips it in an actor's favor in close races.

I think both his best score and his best musical (including the book) is Company. Sweeney Todd is runner-up. Follies is a great score with a not so great book.

Benanti was fine, did a lot of audience coddling, but the best thing about the show - maybe the only good thing - was LuPone's number in Act 2. It's some of the best acting I've seen her do in her career. She won't get nominated but if anything from the production deserves it, she does.

The performances were excellent, the play itself is just okay. Most importantly, it's exactly the sort of liberal, literate tastefully furnished play that LCT's subscriber base wants to see. They needed to redeem themselves bigtime after alienating most of their audience with Women and Free Man. If the Broadway transfer doesn't happen until next fall, they need either to keep the names in the cast or to find new ones that will sell - it's a big part of why it's an in-demand ticket.

Private Lives, Act 2. Suitable for a wide age range.