Official 2018 TONY Nominations Thread — Page 6

Mean Girls did not get good reviews. They were overall mixed at best. In fact, if you lined up their reviews next to Frozen the number of negative, mixed and positive were probably pretty close to the same.

I think the major difference is that Mean Girls has enjoyed a whiff of positivity given the love for Tina Fey and the fact that they've been just packing the crowds in. Being the hot new product can diffuse a lot - including mixed reviews. Still, I'm somewhat shocked that a musical that got such mixed reviews is leading the nominations tally.

singer234 said: "I think Band’s Visit has it in the bag...but is there a world where we think Fey might snag best book for Mean Girls? It has pretty much always been pointed out as the strongest part of the show. Still think it’ll go to Band’s Visit, but it wouldn’t shock me."

The Bag (TM) will always belong to Jan Maxwell. May she rest in peace. #BetYourAss

Probably. The Tony's are national broadcast, and the show could use a boost from tourism.

Also, some interesting stats stuff here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/marchershberg/2018/05/01/the-impact-of-the-tony-award-nominations/#b2c49b27168e Not sure about how to explain the last point, though.

It's crazy that, after all that's been said about it, CAROUSEL is the most nominated revival of the season.

I apologize for my ignorance, but what did Jack O'Brien do?

Also I loved Come From Away and think it deserved Best Musical over DEH too, but I see no reason to put down other shows over it. And if people are talking about musicals that would have won if they had come out for this season instead of last, what about Great Comet? Can we also probably say that if Great Comet had come out this season it would have been a lock for Best Musical?

The Cursed Child twitter account just posted a tweet claiming to be the most nominated play this year. It’s deleted now, and I don’t know how to post screenshots here, but the text is below:

“WIZZO WIZZO! #CursedChildNYC is the most nominated play of the Broadway season! Congratulations to all the nominees.“

And then there was a graphic repeating the “most nominated play” mistake with a listing of their nominations. Oops!

Updated On: 5/1/18 at 11:54 AM

Notreallysilent 2 said: "Harry Potter reposted that tweet. I think the mean out of all the awards they were the most nominated, not the tonys "

Oooh true, good call! I was so confused.

Another informative analysis of the nominations, but weird that they fail to mention Glenda Jackson and Laurie Metcalf in the paragraph referencing "boldface" names!

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/01/theater/tony-award-nominations.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Farts&action=click&contentCollection=arts&region=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=sectionfront

A few thoughts I have after reading this thread-

As a novice scenic designer myself, Mean Girls shouldn't have been nominated for Scenic Design. Projections design needs to be its own separate category, especially as it is a completely different design process than designing a set.

People are complaining about how weak this season is- Broadway seasons ebb and flow. In my opinion, 15-16 was our most recent "standard" season- it had a decent amount of shows open, and even with Hamilton as the clear winner from the beginning, it was still a competitive enough season to be interesting. Last season, everyone rushed to pack the season in an attempt to be the next "Hamilton," while many of them should have spent more time in workshops and tryouts and opened this season instead (Looking at you, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory- a show which I love dearly.) Because of last season's sheer numbers, (37 total productions were eligible) the competition was off the charts. Now, with 31 of those shows closed, we're left with a "weaker" season because producers who were counting on those big shows to run longer had to scramble to find new shows to fill the houses. Broadway shows take YEARS to develop, so it's not like you can pick the next big hit out of a hat and have it be ready just like that. Yeah, this season is pretty thin, especially for musicals, but that's how it goes. Next season is already shaping up to be a lot stronger, so hopefully we get some better competition then.

I'm honestly amazed that Summer got any kind of nod at all after the reviews it got. Nothing against LaChanze or Ariana, but this feels like more of a consolation prize than an actual reward for the performance.

Updated On: 5/1/18 at 12:43 PM

S394206H said: "A few thoughts I have after reading this thread-

As a novice scenic designer myself, Mean Girls shouldn't have been nominated for Scenic Design. Projections design needs to be its own separate category, especially as it is a completely different design process than designing a set.

People are complaining about how weak this season is- Broadway seasons ebb and flow. In my opinion, 15-16 was our most recent "standard" season- it had a decent amount of shows open, and even with Hamilton as the clear winner from the beginning, it was still a competitive enough season to be interesting. Last season, everyone rushed to pack the season in an attempt to be the next "Hamilton," while many of them should have spent more time in workshops and tryouts and opened this season instead (Looking at you, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory- a show which I love dearly.) Because of last season's sheer numbers, (37 total productions were eligible) the competition was off the charts. Now, with 31 of those shows closed, we're left with a "weaker" season because producers who were counting on those big shows to run longer had to scramble to find new shows to fill the houses. Broadway shows take YEARS to develop, so it's not like you can pickthe next big hit out of a hat and have it be ready just like that. Yeah, this season is pretty thin, especially for musicals, but that's how it goes. Next season is already shaping up to be a lot stronger, so hopefully we get some better competition then.

I'm honestly amazed that Summer got any kind of nod at all after the reviews it got. Nothing against LaChanze or Ariana, but this feels like more of a consolation prize than an actual reward for the performance."

I’m genuinely curious (no snark intended) what new musicals have you hopeful for next season. When I looked at the projected upcoming new musicals, I’m even less hopeful for next season. Of course, this time last year I’m not sure I knew anything about The Band’s Visit (which I dearly love), but I don’t see anything coming that excites me. I made a list of what I’d like to see when I hopefully get to NYC in November after my June trip. So far it’s four musicals I’ve already seen (Hamilton, Dear Evan Hansen, Wicked and The Band’s Visit), only one new musical King King (a likely hot mess but I’m a sucker for a big ape), and three plays (Torch Song, The Ferryman, and Bernhardt/Hamlet). Love Cher, but not excited for The Cher Show.

Updated On: 5/1/18 at 01:08 PM

PJPan said: "Question (and forgive me if it's been asked elsewhere): Is Laurie Metcalf the first performer to be nominated three years in a row?"

I'm not sure how often it has happened before, but Raúl Esparza was nominated in 2007, 2008, and 2009.