Helen Mirren rarely comes to Broadway. Should her performance be as astounding as I've heard she will win the Tony. (I knew Jones was doomed the minute Lady Day was deemed a play.) And most of Mirren's competition is...who??? (thus far the plays are full of MALE actors. It seems like a cakewalk for her.)
This performance is striking for showing how one actress (in her mid 60s but no real matter) transforms herself quite quickly from a 26 year old to a woman in her mid 80s with all ages in between and does so effortlessly. The costume/wig changes alone are worth the ticket price.
The Audience was shown as part of the NTLive series last fall and was quite memorable.
"If my life weren't funny, it would just be true. And that would be unacceptable."
--Carrie Fisher
I agree her chances for a Tony are very high. I think she's the odds on favorite no matter what comes in. However, there is Glenn Close for A DELICATE BALANCE. It's her first return to Broadway in a long time. So she'll be a contender... Will Lindsey Duncan be lead or featured? She's a Tony favorite as well, however it will be closed by the spring... so that never helps.
And of course what about the possible Oprah & Audra NIGHT MOTHER?
I think a couple things work in Mirren's favor. She's in a NEW play as opposed to a REVIVAL. And...her show will be open come Tony time. (She's also never won.)
'Night Mother won't be coming this season I don't think. (I thought that was coming in the fall of 2015.)
You are right about timing. Remember when the both commercial and critical hit production of THE SEAGULL with Kristin Scott Thomas played the fall and didn't get a single nomination.. I think the committtee has VERY short memories.
And I totally agree that Hellen Mirren is the front runner by far. Is there a lead actress in CURIOUS INCIDENT? I don't know the play at all, but I am looking forward to it
No, there's Siobhan, which is a good sized role, but I think it's more featured. And the character doesn't have a whole lot to do other than sort of narrate.
I love how everybody just forgoes something as passé as mere excitement about a production and barrels directly to the capitalist competition of the utterly pointless Tony.
"Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they've been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It's an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It's a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing.”
~ Muhammad Ali
Mrs R wants to see it so we may try lottery (for the first time) for it. The price for this and a limited production of this will be astronomical so this would be the only way. I can take it or leave it.
Cherry Jones can tell you how anointing someone for a Tony does not always work out as planned.
After this past season, the Tonys became a joke with many of their nominations.
I saw this play in London and it was one of the best shows I've ever seen. It is both funny and heart warming. If any of you are thinking about going to this how, do it! Helen Mirren is a wonderful as Elizabeth.
Mr. Roxy-Have they announced a lottery yet for this? (I didn't read about that.)
As for who's her competition-there really aren't that many juicy leading lady roles besides hers. This is the year of the male actor (Hugh Jackman, the guys in "It's Only a Play," there is also the cast of "You Can't Take it With You". But a lot of these ("Curious Incident..." is largely a male dominated cast from what I can see) are actor heavy as opposed to actress-heavy.) Bringing this over when they are going to is quite strategic on their part. (I've heard the play itself is merely okay, but her performance is stellar.) But, we'll see. I'm guessing she's going to win.
I wonder if it'll be changed or revised at all for American audiences, I saw the NTLive broadcast and there were more than a handful of jokes that would probably fly right over the heads of anyone not intimately familiar with British politics. What surprised me most about the play was that its real emotional story was about Elizabeth's grappling with her lonely position - the use of the audience is almost a macguffin, a dramatic ploy used to illustrate her gradual acceptance of power and authority. Also, eagerly seconding Helen Mirren's performance, her shifts are astonishing, and she, again, makes a great Queen Elizabeth (she's even got the ankle padding on).