BURNAP ASCENDANT

[RosadelCiel]

Posted: 3/7/23 at 6:15pm

Given that Tony acting awards are as dependent on the roles themselves as on the actors playing them, Andrew Burnap is positioned for probable Tony glory as King Arthur, an unusually meaty dramatic, varied role (one also allowing ample room for such niceties as charm and seductiveness) that was played in the original 1960 production by no less of an icon than Richard F***ing Burton, who, though not much of a singer, capitalized on powerful monologues/dialogue scenes ending *each act* — one can practically hear Olivier or Scofield declaiming them — to create a monumentally theatrical Tony-winning portrait.

 

Sweeney Todd and Leo Frank are also, of course, meaty and vivid roles, but their dialogue is largely unexceptional, and neither character has a truly compelling arc apart from the obvious plot development. (Arthur does.) Also, neither Groban nor Platt has, thus far, inspired consistently passionate support for the purely dramatic aspect of their current presentations. (And the skizzy energy of the talented “SLIH” guys probably can’t compensate for the lesser weight of their stage personas.)

 

Yes, Aaron Sorkin has written a (totally?) new book, but he is surely certain to have expanded upon the strengths of what Lerner — at least with respect to Arthur (much of the rest of Lerner’s script for this show is only patchily worthy) — bequeathed to him.

 

Anybody who saw Burnap’s absolutely extraordinary performance in the six-plus hours of “The Inheritance” is aware that the guy can handle text and physical dexterity and the whole range of theatrical charisma as well as just about anybody treading the boards today. 

 

Can he sing? That’s something of an unknown, but he has good notices in that regard from regional and university work.

 

Both Sorkin and Burnap, as well as Bart Sher, will be aiming for the fences, and I think it’s clear — though I have no inside information about the production previewing in two days — that, *at the very least*, a nomination for Burnap is a take-it-to-the-bank lock. That said, Guinevere, unlike Arthur, has comparatively tepid songs, so I tend to doubt that Sorkin and Sher can do all that much to bolster Phillipa Soo’s fortunes awards-wise, as exquisite a singing actress as she is, though I wouldn’t mind being surprised. 

[quizking101]

Posted: 3/7/23 at 6:17pm

…Girl. 

Glad you got this completely transparent shilling spell out of your system.

[inception]

Posted: 3/7/23 at 7:54pm

I wonder how many Tony voters are on here?  Is this just a crazy fan or did someone's agent actually hire someone to join today to post this?

[HogansHero]

Posted: 3/7/23 at 8:17pm

When I saw this, my first thought was: Is this the first ever AI-generated post on here?

Read it a couple of times and see what you think.

[Jarethan]

Posted: 3/7/23 at 8:18pm

What I can never understand is how they don't think we see that they are shills.  Just amazing.  One characteristic I would think that avid theatregoers share is reasonable intelligence and a certain amount of cynicism.

[bear88]

Posted: 3/7/23 at 8:31pm

HogansHero said: "When I saw this, my first thought was: Is this the first ever AI-generated post on here?

Read it a couple of times and see what you think."

Fair point. But would AI use a word like skizzy? Otherwise, it does seem like a response you might get if you asked, ‘Explain why Andrew Burnap has a good chance of winning a Tony award for playing King Arthur in the Broadway revival of Camelot.’

Updated On: 3/7/23 at 08:31 PM

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 3/7/23 at 8:52pm

Only if you say so RosadelCiel

[JanMaxwellsBag]

Posted: 3/7/23 at 9:05pm

bear88 said: "HogansHero said: "When I saw this, my first thought was: Is this the first ever AI-generated post on here?

Read it a couple of times and see what you think."

Fair point. But would AI use a word like skizzy? Otherwise, it does seem like a response you might get if you asked, ‘Explain why Andrew Burnap has a good chance of winning a Tony award for playing King Arthur in the Broadway revival of Camelot.’"

I definitely have a theory that there is someone using this forum to test an AI. Several posts from members who’ve recently joined are like…almost on the side of sounding human. But either they get details wrong or use strange words and syntax. And then they never follow up. Even this new member made a blank thread titled just Camelot earlier today. 

[inception]

Posted: 3/7/23 at 10:10pm

Could be AI, but it also reminds me of the emails from my boss at work, for whom English is a second language.  It's like it got fed through a translator program.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 5/28/23 at 9:27pm

Didn’t age well