"Best Musical" 2007 TONY Contenders- Page 3

[Julian2]

Posted: 11/25/06 at 3:01pm

Right now all I can say is;

Mary Poppins
Curtains
Spring Awakening
Grey Gardens

Those will be the nominations unless something steals a spot, or if Curtains or Spring Awakening gets bad reveiws, both of which is unlikely. Legally Blonde is a maybe, I would call that The Wedding Singer of this season, and I'm guessing it will suffer a similar fate. The Pirate Queen is sinking, but they've brought people in to make major revisions, but so did Lestat. High Fidelity looks like it is going to flop big time, this would be the suprise of the season if it took anything. Martin Short: Fame Become Me, while good, might be too close to a Special Event to be nominated, if its considered a musical. LoveMusik is one to watch, it could be a megahit with the critics and steal a spot (possibly from Spring Awakening). Its also possible that it will get good reveiws, but may not be big enough to get a nomination.

[theaterdude87]

Posted: 11/25/06 at 3:35pm

I have a feeling "Fame Becomes Me" will win a special award.

[Smaxie]

Posted: 11/25/06 at 3:43pm

Here's a little of what I mean from Charles Isherwood's NY Times review of Spring Awakening.

http://theater2.nytimes.com/2006/06/16/theater/reviews/16awak.html

While he opens with this, clearly admiring the show's energy, craft and existence:

"A fresh breeze of true inspiration blows steadily through this ambitious if imperfect show, which features alluringly melancholy music by the pop singer-songwriter Duncan Sheik and book and lyrics by Steven Sater."

He goes on to say:

"Despite the craft and integrity of much of their work, Mr. Sheik and Mr. Sater's musical falls into some of the usual traps accompanying attempts to translate a work of art from one medium into another. It tends to simplify the emotional textures in the play."

"The central trio — the anxious misfit Moritz (John Gallagher Jr.), the good-student Melchior (Jonathan Groff) and Melchior's sweetly curious girlfriend, Wendla (Lea Michele) — do not really emerge as fully human figures. They're more like singing vessels for general adolescent anxieties, so it is possible to follow them to their individual dooms with entirely dry eyes."

"Problems also arise from the challenge of making pop music function as theater music. Pop and rock are best at evoking moods and emotions or announcing attitudes, not heightening a narrative point or defining a specific character. Mr. Sheik's music, orchestrated for a small rock band supported by cello and bass, is often gorgeous in its soaring melodies and gentle rhythms, but its lushness can overwhelm Mr. Sater's moody lyrics, artful and evocative though they often are."

"And we often seem to be hearing the same notes — yearning, tempestuousness, anger — repeated in song after song; the show becomes saturated in a general plaintiveness that can be enervating."

But Isherwood returns to praise the production again near the end of this review.

"Still, the propulsive staging by Mr. Mayer infuses it with energy as it blends the informal atmosphere of a rock concert with ritualistic elements." etc...

Updated On: 11/25/06 at 03:43 PM

[Smaxie]

Posted: 11/25/06 at 3:51pm

Jeremy McCarter in NY Magazine was generally positive about Spring Awakening, but also says:

"Sater’s lyrics are uneven at best, lapsing too far into slang (“We’ve all got our junk, my junk is you”) and generally failing to sustain much interest. Whenever the cast sang without dancing, I tuned out."

[Smaxie]

Posted: 11/25/06 at 3:59pm

Here's Joe Dziemanowicz in the Daily News:

"If the production, guided with gusto—and endless energy—by director Michael Mayer, isn't entirely successful (it's not), it's at least partly so because most of the characters remain too sketchy for too long. It's hard to know a whole lot, or for that matter care a whole lot, about them… [Sheik] delivers some nifty melodies, ranging from acoustic-guitar ballads to hard-driving rock."

[coolphantom919]

Posted: 11/25/06 at 8:19pm

Pirate Queen IS at the TOP of my list...



Theatre Lovers Who HAVE Seen The Show Have Said, "It's Like Les Mis On A Boat!! :) I LOVE It!"

[bwayondabrain]

Posted: 11/26/06 at 1:31pm

GREY GARDENS
LEGALLY BLONDE (hopefully)
CURTAINS
SPRING AWAKENING (possibly)


but i think CURTAINS and GREY GARDENS are locks

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 11/26/06 at 1:45pm

Spring Awakening
Grey Gardens
Curtains
Lovemusik

Newsflash: High Fidelity is probably the worst thing running right now, besides that lack of creative out put in that show, its poorly written and makes little to no sense at all. It looks like the grabbed random people off the streets and asked them to run around like a lunatic on stage for a few numbers!

You said it, sista.

The time of recognizing adaptations of so-so movies is a thing of the past.

MARY POPPINS doesn't have a chance in hell. CURTAINS and LOVEMUSIK are original musicals. GREY GARDENS has been adapted from a genre-defying documentary to create a genre-defying musical. SPRING AWAKENING is relevant today, yet was written in the late 1800s. It has been updated with a gorgeous score, innovative choreography, and is presented by honest, young performers that speak to the future of Broadway and make musical theater accessible to future ticket buyers and benefactors. SPRING AWAKENING is the next big thing. SPRING AWAKENING will win Best Musical in 2007.

Updated On: 11/26/06 at 01:45 PM

[DirtyRottenGirl]

Posted: 11/26/06 at 2:43pm

Lovemusik
Spring Awakening
Curtains
Pirate Queen

[StarStruckGB]

Posted: 11/26/06 at 2:46pm

Did we ever decide if Les Mis is a "revival" in terms of the Tonys?
Because I remember some upset about how 'that since it's only been off 3 years this isn't technically a revival.'

[LimelightMike]

Posted: 11/26/06 at 2:50pm

Good question. Heh!

I figure with everyone seemingly going on to bill it as 'a revival', we should more or less go with the majority on this one. I guess we'll wait and see what happens...

[musicman117]

Posted: 2/15/07 at 1:08am

my picks would be:

Curtains
LoveMusik OR Grey Gardens
Spring Awakening
Legally Blonde (Especially after its strong reviews in San Fran... I think this show may pull a Hairspray and remind us that musicals can be just crazy fun)

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 2/15/07 at 1:14am

Right now, GREY GARDENS and SPRING AWAKENING are locks.

MARY POPPINS has a chance, but it depends upon the quality of LEGALLY BLONDE, LOVEMUSIK, and/or PIRATE QUEEN.

CURTAINS will probably be nominated.

I think, realistically, we're looking at:

CURTAINS
GREY GARDENS
SPRING AWAKENING

With one slot left for LOVEMUSIK, THE PIRATE QUEEN, LEGALLY BLONDE. My gut is telling me LOVEMUSIK, but LEGALLY BLONDE wouldn't shock me.

I think we can rule THE PIRATE QUEEN out.

[mikem]

Posted: 2/15/07 at 9:29am

The only true unknown at this point is LoveMusik, since Legally Blonde and Pirate Queen have both opened out-of-town. Right now, I would say that the most likely lineup is:

CURTAINS
GREY GARDENS
LEGALLY BLONDE
SPRING AWAKENING

Of those, I think Grey Gardens is the most vulnerable and could be replaced by LoveMusik. Although if Mary Poppins is nominated, I think it would have a reasonable chance of winning, I think the nominating committee will pass it over in favor of more critically acclaimed shows.

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 2/15/07 at 9:58am

Ok, this may be a pointless post but:

Curtains
Grey Gardens
Spring Awakening
Mary Poppins

We know already that Curtains will get the nomination, being the LAST Kander and Ebb show ever, out of respect, and it will probably get score for the same reason.
Grey Gardens is probably going to be this year's artistically and musically brilliant with low tourability.
Mary Poppins is a shoe in, because it's Disney, it's Poppins, and it tours well.
Spring Awakening will probably get it due to the MTV hype, although I just wanna get rid of the show.

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 2/15/07 at 10:00am

"We know already that Curtains will get the nomination, being the LAST Kander and Ebb show ever, out of respect, and it will probably get score for the same reason."

It's also going to earn its nomination, dead Ebb or no dead Ebb, considering what we've heard from the LA run.

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 2/15/07 at 10:31am

Rath-
Oh, totally, but the cynical side of me had to say what I did.

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 2/15/07 at 11:57am

Husk, but remember -- the road voters don't choose the nominees, they just vote on whichever nominees are chosen by the Nominating Committee (which is a group of 25 New Yorkers who could care less about tourability). I think that MARY POPPINS and LEGALLY BLONDE will be shut out of nominations for this reason, because if they are nominated, the road voters will absolutely vote one of them as Best Musical. See the year that AIDA did not receive a Best Musical nomination as a kick in the pants to Disney.

[bundy5000]

Posted: 2/15/07 at 12:05pm

Mary Poppins is all I ask

[BwayBaby18]

Posted: 2/15/07 at 12:25pm

You people are actually acting like if the show is actually good it will get nominated and might even win. I thought that was a ideal of the past.

[wickedfiyeroofoz]

Posted: 2/15/07 at 2:26pm

"Spring Awakening will probably get it due to the MTV hype, although I just wanna get rid of the show."
....why does the show need to be gotten rid of? and since when does MTV factor into Tony nom.s?

[wickedfan]

Posted: 2/15/07 at 2:34pm

Grey Gardens and Spring Awakening are locks. Curtains isn't a lock...yet. Right now it's very likely and will probably be a lock by the time it opens. So yeah, there's really no need to repeat what most people are saying. But what the hell. Right now we're looking at Grey Gardens, Spring Awakening, and Curtains. If it receives remotely the same kind of reception as it did in SF, Legally Blonde will probably get the fourth nomination. I don't think LoveMusik is likely unless it's as wonderful as the talent attached to it promises it to be. But an impressive lineup and interesting subject matter does not always equal a great musical (i.e. Prettybelle).
And revival's pretty much wrapped up and ready to go: A Chorus Line, Company, The Apple Tree, and 110 in the Shade.

[Julian2]

Posted: 2/15/07 at 5:52pm

Grey Gardens
Spring Awakening
Curtains

LoveMusik and Legally Blonde are up for the last slot. LoveMusik has a high-end art advantage, but Legally Blonde also may be able to snag a spot on the idea of it being a well crafted movie musical. Unless of course The Pirate Queen comes sailing out of the blue on a wave of good reveiws. I think all of these would have to tank pretty badly (Like "Carrie" badly) for Mary Poppins to get a nomination. Its mixed reveiws, and the fact that the committee should realize a nomination means a win, should keep it shut out. They would rather give the last spot to one of the other three for any number of reasons . . .

Legally Blonde: Though commercial, it got a slew of great reveiws in SF, and is stocked with legit personalities such as Jerry Mitchell, Laurence O'Keefe, Laura Bell Bundy, Orfeh, Christian Borle, and Michael Rupert.

The Pirate Queen: A show that wishes it opened in 89, but it still has Boublil and Schönberg, Stephanie J. Block, and Frank Galati. Not to mention the great write-ups for brit Hadley Fraser. And with the extensive re-writes, could be decent.

LoveMusik: Not a new score, but Harold Prince, Michael Cerveris, Donna Murphy, and Kurt Weill? Come on. We'll just have to see if the show lives up to the sum of its parts.

[LeavelHeded]

Posted: 2/15/07 at 6:54pm

Grey Gardens
Spring Awakening
Curtains
Legally Blonde -- if the SF reviews are to be believed.

Mary Poppins would have to be seriously restaged in order to tour. You can't just pack up that house.

[dramaqueen2]

Posted: 2/15/07 at 7:08pm

the only locks i can think of for this moment are:

spring awakening
grey gardens
curtains?

and i am mixed about pirate queen, lovemusik, legally blonde, mary poppins, etc. we shall see!
but if spring awakening doesn't win, someone is seriously disturbed. that is my opinion, whether you like it or not. and i could really care less.
happy thursday all. =)