I actually don't find it that outrageous. Allie Trim would have been my first guess for a performance nomination from 13 and Aaron my 2nd guess. Aaron actually delivered a more nuanced, dimensional, unexpected, and realistic supporting performance as Archie than Gregory Jbara as Dad in BE.
I haven't seen Hair yet, so I can't comment on those actors. Jbara did what thousands of others could do in a supporting role--play a one dimensional stereotype who bellows through 90% of the show and plays a macho stock character that softens up at the end of the show. In other words, very predictable and quite flat. A dime a dozen. Not to mention the pedestrian and typical manner with which he approaced the scene when he takes Billy to the Ballet School.
I kind of found it to be the same for Mark Kudisch in 9 to 5. While I thought Kudisch brings something endearing to the stereotype he plays in 9 to 5, it wasn't quite the cardboard standup of a performance Jbara delivers in BE, so I felt he did a better job with his role. However, I think there are a lot of other actors that could give the same performance as Kudisch.
Same thing goes for Carole Shelley. She did nothing but play a fiesty sharp tounged grandma. Certainly not anything out of her reach or many other actresses her age. And the number she is given (unimaginatively called "Grandma's Song"--don't think too hard there Elton!) is so utterly forgettable and boring there's absolutely nothing she does or even can do with it to make it interesting. The only thing I remember is the ridiculous staging with soldiers meandering from stage left to stage right and walking over and out the set windows and thinking, WTF? Some could argue that Allie Trim got robbed by Shelley's nomination in this category.
What's more outrageous than any of the supporting acting nominations is that 13 didn't get a score nomination and musical abomination of a score that is Billy Elliot did. While 13 certainly wasn't the strongest score it was better than BE. Billy Elliot should be a contender for worst score of the year, not best. The score to Billy Elliot is disjointed, utterly forgettable, unimaginative, lacking any strong melodies, and completely unemotional. I did not see A Tale of Two Cities, so I wouldn't be able to determine which of the two had the worst score. However, Billy Elliot certainly does not deserve a nomination for best score.
I really hope by the time the Tony nominations come out that the nominators really view Billy Elliot exactly for what it its--smoke, mirrors, and flimsy fodder for hungry tourists.
Updated On: 4/21/09 at 06:04 PM
