05/06 Best New Bway PLAY

[LaCageAuxFollesFan2]

Posted: 3/5/06 at 12:42am

Well, with the season shaping up I want to do a round up of the BEST NEW PLAY category for the upcoming TONY Awards...

To the best of my knowledge this years eligable plays for the NEW PLAY award are:

AFTER THE NIGHT & THE MUSIC
NAKED GIRL ON THE APPIAN WAY
SOUVINIER
BRIDGE & TUNNEL
RABBIT HOLE
WELL
FESTEN
SHINING CITY
THE HISTORY BOYS
THE LOUTENIENT OF INISHMORE

I'm coming up with 10 - were/are there any others? Of course the last 5 have yet to open and could dramatically change the Line Up in the category. I don't see American audiences going for 4 London Works in one season. Yes, they may adore some of them - but I don't all 4 being enthusiastically embraced. Hey - at least we have DOUBLE the number of new plays on Bway this year than we had last - that is saying something.

My Pics thus far (based on what I have seen or know about upcoming works) are as follows:
RABBIT HOLE
THE HISTORY BOYS
THE LOUTENIENT OF INISHMORE
SHINING CITY

I believe RABBIT HOLE as an authentic American gripping tale by a celebrated American playwright, eventhough by Tony time a Closed piece, will get a nod. I can't say the same for any of the other plays that have closed.

Thoughts? Suggestions? Opinions?
Updated On: 3/5/06 at 12:42 AM

[TheDuffySquare]

Posted: 3/5/06 at 10:10am

I was accused by another board member of being a shill for a certain play and I'm not. I'm subsequently removing all posts of mine that deal with the show in question. Thanks.
Updated On: 3/26/06 at 10:10 AM

[dirty rotten guy]

Posted: 3/5/06 at 10:24am

Rabbit Hole has no chance. Almost all the critics hated this show.

If Bridge and Tunnel is eligible to win, it will, hands down.

[Vespertine1228]

Posted: 3/5/06 at 10:48am

Just thought I would remind everyone that the Tony committee ruling that came out a month or two ago decided Latinologues was a play, not that it would ever be nominated, but it's another one for the list.

Is Bridge & Tunnel a play or a theatrical event? It's so hard to tell with one-person shows. If it's a play, what will win theatrical event?

[BwayBaby18]

Posted: 3/5/06 at 11:01am

Inishmore better win this year.... even if it isn't the best play the committee needs to make up for the stupid choice of giving Doubt the tony over Pillowman....

I can't WAIT to see it Martin is ALAWAYS a fabulous playwright

[Flash-In-The-Pan]

Posted: 3/5/06 at 11:29am

Dirty Rotten Guy wrote: "Rabbit Hole has no chance. Almost all the critics hated this show."

Not true at all. Do a little homework. Their website connects to several great reviews, including raves in The New York Times (both Ben Brantley AND Charles Isherwood loved it,) Variety, USA Today, The AP, Entertainment Weekly (Grade A) and The Bergen Record. And then if you do a little google search - like I just did - you'll find even MORE great reviews from The Washington Post, CBS News, Robert Brustein of The New Republic, The Newark Star Ledger, Hartford Currant, Backstage, Show Business Weekly, Metro, HX, Dave Richardson of WOR, New Jersey Daily Record, Philadelphia Inquirer, New Orleans Times Picayune, Columbia Spectator, Theatre Mania, Curtain Up,New Jersey, WFUV Radio, Live Design, Poughkeepsie Journal, Paper Magazine, The New Yorker, And TWO great reviews from critics on this very website.

All that said, I MYSELF didn't actually LOVE this show. I LIKED it. But you at least have to give it props for getting some pretty great reviews. (And yes, several were terrible, but hardly "almost all" as you contend.) If I were a betting gal, I'd put some money on Rabbit Hole at least getting a nomination.

Tonya

[dirty rotten guy]

Posted: 3/5/06 at 11:40am

From what I have read, including the grouping of major reviews on Broadway.com, the acting has earned great reviews but the show itself has been panned. I was probably a bit harsh with what I said but as far as I have seen the show itself inst blowing anyone away and doesnt stand a chance for a Tony win in Best New Play.

[melissa errico fan]

Posted: 3/5/06 at 11:44am

Umm...no. The show AND the acting both received raves from many major newspapers/magazines/online sites, as Flash-In-The-Pan wrote. The only major critic that I can think of off the top of my head that didn't give it a rave/postive review is Clive Barnes, but nobody takes him seriously anyway.

[Flash-In-The-Pan]

Posted: 3/5/06 at 11:50am

Rotten --

Go to any of the reviews I listed above and you'll see that the play itself IS being praised by several critics. As I said, there ARE some bad reviews (most of them on that Broadway.com list you referenced - but that's a small selection, and even most of those praised the production and cast, as you mentioned.) Your perception seems a little skewed. Like the show or not, it has gotten some of the best reviews of the season.
Updated On: 3/5/06 at 11:50 AM

[dirty rotten guy]

Posted: 3/5/06 at 11:52am

"Rabbit Hole must be counted a major letdown"- Broadway.com

"Unfortunately, the play itself--which reveals bit by careful bit the tragedy that has engulfed a fairly commonplace suburban couple--soon develops into a dramatized agony column. "- New York Post

"I'm afraid I found it more like a TV Movie of the Week… Rabbit Hole is thin gruel. Lindsay-Abaire's earlier plays, like Fuddy Meers and Kimberly Akimbo, were extravagantly imaginative. By contrast, this one is tiresomely mundane." - New York Daily News

"Rabbit Hole should be killing us softly with the brutality of bottomless sorrow. Instead, this is a glum little play, a predictable domestic melodrama that adds nothing but fine acting to the cumulated understanding of inexplicable loss." -Newsday

"The problem with Rabbit Hole is that he, like his characters, is too visibly struggling to find the way back to the surface." -Talkin' Broadway

"Still, Rabbit Hole belongs to a swollen class of plays that have all sorts of storytelling virtues but no particular theatrical virtues. You might as well watch TV." - New York Magazine

"Unfortunately, the results are somewhat lacking, displaying an unfortunate banality more suited for a television movie." - HollywoodReporter.com

Updated On: 3/5/06 at 11:52 AM

[LaCageAuxFollesFan2]

Posted: 3/5/06 at 12:22pm

If I had the time or energy - I could counteract every single one of those reviews with a positive and tripple them. Again, In my eyes, if Bridge & Tunnel is considered a play - it won't get a nod. Sarah is fantastic, but as a PLAY - No way! Not with all the tougher competition. RABBIT HOLE is a moving American piece of theatre with PHENOMANAL acting that, if I were a betting man as well will AT LEAST score a nod.

I for one am SURE NOT jumping on the "oh Martin M. got screwed last year, so give it to him this year" bandwagon. The man said he's through writing for the stage. And THAT we reward? I think not. I don't care how Good the play may be.

[dirty rotten guy]

Posted: 3/5/06 at 12:25pm

I am not debating over the acting, almost all of the reviews have loved the performances and I would not be suprised if the actors picked up a few Tony wins. However, reviews of the play itself have been less than stellar.

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 3/5/06 at 12:49pm

Can INISHMORE really be considered a new play?

[popcultureboy]

Posted: 3/5/06 at 12:57pm

Yes it can be.

even if it isn't the best play the committee needs to make up for the stupid choice of giving Doubt the tony over Pillowman....

Are we STILL having this debate? Doubt deserved the Tony. The Pillowman, while brilliant, is not as tightly constructed or immaculately executed as Doubt.

I can't WAIT to see it Martin is ALAWAYS a fabulous playwright

Not here he's not. Inishmore is an awful play.

[Smaxie]

Posted: 3/5/06 at 1:05pm

Primo should also be eligible as a new play, though I don't expect it will be remembered in that category, given the wealth of new plays that will be up and running this spring. But I do hope Antony Sher is remembered for Best Actor.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 3/5/06 at 1:44pm

First off, could you PLEASE do something about your spelling? "LOUTENIENT"? "SOUVINIER"? " PHENOMANAL"? "TRIPPLE"? That hurts my eyes.


I also hope that Sher isn't overlooked, though the play itself has too much competition to be included.

And I hope Judy Kaye is remembered for SOUVENIR

I'm seeing LIEUTENANT OF THE INISHMORE in a week and a half, so I'll wait till after that to assess its chances (though friends of mine have found it too gimmick-laden and over-the-top to take too seriously -- sounds typical of McDonagh).

WELL was easily my favorite play of the past three or four seasons and I hope it translates in a larger venue.

Advance word on FESTEN and HISTORY BOYS has been nothing, but outstanding, so I look forward to seeing them (I've read HISTORY BOYS and found it first rate).

Friends who know SHINING CITY from earlier incarnations all rave about it, calling it Conor McPherson's best work to date, so I look forward to seeing it.

RABBIT HOLE is solid and heartfelt and receiving a first rate production at the moment, but I wonder if it gets the fourth slot since it will have been closed for a couple of months when the nominating committee meets in May. It's not a particularly great piece of writing -- especially in comparison with some of the other candidates -- and benefits tremendously from the remarkable work of Cynthia Nixon and company (in lesser hands, it would come off as a soap opera). This is Lindsay-Abaire's first work for Broadway and this sort of simple, mainstream writing doesn't play to his strengths as well as his earlier, more absurdist efforts. Those plays were equally heartfelt, but were also clever and inventive and displayed a unique voice. I'm not sure that we need Lindsay-Abaire to be spending his time on kitchen table melodramas -- his gifts are greater than that (then again, I'm not sure what to expect from his book for SHREK THE MUSICAL, either).

BRIDGE & TUNNEL is a good solo showcase for Sarah Jones' mimickry skills, not a great piece of stand alone writing, per se. Give her a Special Event Award or stick her in the Best Actress Play category, but the show itself doesn't merit inclusion in the play category.

As of now, my picks are:

WELL
HISTORY BOYS
FESTEN
SHINING CITY

LIEUTENANT OF INISHMORE could possibly slip in there, I guess, if I'm really blown away (I doubt it, though).

Updated On: 3/5/06 at 01:44 PM

[TheDuffySquare]

Posted: 3/5/06 at 1:52pm

Margo,

I totally agree with you. I have to say that I have been a long time reader of B-Way world and I think you are a testament to the quality of this board. I always look forward to reading your carefully constructed and intelligent ideas on theater. That's all. Keep up the good words.

----D. Duffy

[Flash-In-The-Pan]

Posted: 3/5/06 at 2:29pm

Dirty Rotten --

I can't believe I actually did this, but just to prove a point, and since you tossed down the gauntlet... Here are a few pull quotes I found to show that not "almost all" the critics hated the script for Rabbit Hole the way you contend. I stopped about half-way but if you're still not satisfied, I will go back and dig up a few more.

“THE Biltmore Theater had better be paid up on its flood insurance. "Rabbit Hole," the wrenching new play by David Lindsay-Abaire that opened there last night, inspires such copious weeping among its audience that you wonder early on if you should have taken a life jacket. The sad, sweet release of "Rabbit Hole" lies precisely in the access it allows to the pain of others, in its meticulously mapped empathy. This anatomy of grief doesn't so much jerk tears as tap them, from a reservoir of feelings common to anyone who has experienced the landscape-shifting vacuum left by a death in the family. It's a beautifully observed new play blessed with David Lindsay-Abaire’s customary grace and wit.”

Ben Brantley, The New York Times


“David Lindsay-Abaire's moving drama "Rabbit Hole," which opened this month at the Biltmore Theater is a deeply felt play about the aftermath of a child's accidental death, Mr. Lindsay-Abaire observes with a clear but compassionate eye the struggles of a middle-class family to knit itself back together in the wake of catastrophe.”

Charles Isherwood, The New York Times

“GRADE: A! Transcendent and deeply affecting, shifting perfectly from hilarity to grief.”

Whitney Pastorek, Entertainment Weekly

“A startling, heartfelt and potent new play. Rabbit Hole is a remarkable, affecting redirection of Lindsay-Abaire’s considerable talent.”

Michael Kuchwara, AP

“Putting aside his usual eccentricities in his Broadway debut, Rabbit Hole, the playwright has crafted a drama that's not just a departure but a revelation--an intensely emotional examination of grief, laced with wit, insightfulness, compassion and searing honesty.”

David Rooney, Variety

“A thoroughly absorbing and painfully touching examination of grief, with many resonant observations. Lindsay-Abaire sprinkles around a good amount of humor, so that while the play's atmosphere is one of loss, it's not bleak. And although the tone and style of "Rabbit Hole" are totally different from most of Lindsay-Abaire's other plays, it does, ultimately, share something essential with them -- characters who are seeking some place for themselves in a harsh world. In "Rabbit Hole," the playwright makes that journey profoundly affecting.”

Robert Feldberg, The Bergen Record

“Rabbit Hole presents a tragedy and its consequences with utter candor, and without sentimentality. The dialogue is most impressive for capturing the awkwardness and pain of thinking people faced with an unthinkable situation — and eventually, their capacity for survival, and even hope. I don't frequently advise people to pay good money to have their hearts broken, but trust me on this one.”

Alyssa Gardner, USA Today

“Very affecting. Playwright David Lindsay-Abaire's elegant writing elevates the story into fine, deeply moving theater.”

Jess Cagle, CBS News

“The talented Lindsay-Abaire has dealt with the issue of loss many times before, but the approach usually involved an elbow-in-the-side. With "Rabbit Hole," however, the playwright makes almost no effort to leaven the pain, and the result is a strong, solemnly painted, solidly performed drama that takes a forthright look at the outsize ripple effect that one small death creates. The play becomes a study of the unpredictable, unspoken rules of grieving. The story might seem more calculated and melodramatic were it not for the layers of complexity Lindsay-Abaire applies. Marvelous.”

Peter Marks, Washington Post

“Think hard: When was the last time a promising American playwright met or exceeded expectations? If you can't remember, don't worry, for the drought is over. With Rabbit Hole, David Lindsay-Abaire has written a painstakingly beautiful, dramatically resourceful, exquisitely human new play. Lindsay-Abaire has crafted the most serious, simply told work of his career.”

Leonard Jacobs, Backstage

“The highest praise, however, must go to playwright David Lindsay-Abaire, who not only amazes us with his realistic dialogue, but is brave enough to make us laugh. I urge you to go see Rabbit Hole. This is an entertaining, satisfying play, which might just prove to be the year’s best.”

Gena Hymowech, Show Business Weekly


“David Lindsay-Abaire's play is a satisfyingly strange mix: a wrenching look into grief and healing, leavened with generous spoonfuls of humor. You feel vaguely guilty for laughing, even as your laughter relieves you. In Rabbit Hole, he weaves a cloth of one strand light, two strands dark, then back and forth, and no fiber is cheap or synthetic. He offers no easy answers for Becca and Howie, and wisely focuses instead on their patterns of self-destruction, which become more solidly fixed as the couple fails to move on. Becca asks her mother, who has lost an adult son to heroin addiction: Do you ever recover after losing a child? It's the single most urgent question Becca and Howie must explore before their lives can once more coalesce. Does the emptiness ever change? Mom is evasive. She knows that in any tormented situation, one size never fits all. She is not going to offer false comfort. She is in one smart play.”

Howard Shapiro, The Philadelphia Inquirer

[Smaxie]

Posted: 3/5/06 at 2:49pm

Lieutenant of Inishmore could possibly take the Festen slot. There's some speculation as to how the Broadway cast of Festen will fare, though on paper they are an odd, but intriguing group.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 3/5/06 at 3:05pm

Yes, I still blink and shake my head a little every time I see the name "Ali McGraw" on the FESTEN cast list. I have an open mind and it's been many years since I've seen her in anything, but I used to regard her as the worst actress I'd ever seen in major Hollywood films.

[Smaxie]

Posted: 3/5/06 at 3:12pm

I was also pondering about Festen because of the way the Hollywood casting for Bill Kenwright's last two shows (Cat On a Hot Tin Roof, The Glass Menagerie) played out. But it's quite encouraging when you think that in other years, it's been a struggle to fill the category of Best Play, while this year, some very fine plays might get left out of the competition completely.

[joshy]

Posted: 3/5/06 at 3:29pm

I really hope History Boys wins. I just love it so very much. I'm kinda worried that it will get audiences expecting a comfy and charming play where English people speak in lovely accents and read Shakespeare, who will be shocked by the...gayness, for want of a better word.

[Smaxie]

Posted: 3/5/06 at 3:36pm

Actually, History Boys manages to be both charming and unsettling. It seems like a cozy, comfy story about wooly eccentric professors, and rowdy, rambunctious young students seeking a spot at a good university, but with Bennett's quirky writing becomes wonderfully subversive about the education process, Thatcher's England and human sexuality.

[TheDuffySquare]

Posted: 3/5/06 at 3:43pm

I was accused by another board member of being a shill for a certain play and I'm not. I'm subsequently removing all posts of mine that deal with the show in question. Thanks.
Updated On: 3/26/06 at 03:43 PM

[Caroline-Q-or-TBoo]

Posted: 3/5/06 at 3:56pm

The History boys is a brilliant play (on paper at least) and i can only assume that it will be remarkable on stage