THE SEAGULL around Tony time

[ColorTheHours048]

Posted: 4/10/09 at 11:52am

I don't know what made me think of this or even make me want to post said thoughts, but do you think Rickson's brilliant revival of SEAGULL will be remembered at the Tony's? Kristin Scott Thomas and Carey Mulligan deserve their respective awards over anyone else this year, in my opinion (their biggest competition being Marcia Gay Harden and Angela Lansbury, respectively). I just really hope this isn't shunned just because it closed so long ago and ran for such a short time.

Thoughts?
Updated On: 4/10/09 at 11:52 AM

[BustopherPhantom]

Posted: 4/10/09 at 11:58am

I would be surprised if THE SEAGULL was nominated for Best Revival: we have seven revivals left to open this year, and those are not great odds.

I do think Kristin Scott Thomas will be nominated for Best Leading Actress, unless they pull a "Bill Nighy for VERTICAL HOUR" and just forget her completely.

Carey Mulligan has a very good chance of being nominated for Best Featured Actress, but Zoe Kazan has been getting a lot of attention lately (both for her recent young-playwriting debut, and for the fact that she's a fast-rising American actress), so she might be nominated instead. Carey Mulligan is more likely, though.

[AC126748]

Posted: 4/10/09 at 12:00pm

I'm one of the few people who didn't care for this production, but I do hope that Carey Mulligan is remembered come Tony time. She's the first authentic Nina I've ever seen. If Zoe Kazan is nominated over her for her wretched Masha, I'll scream.

[ColorTheHours048]

Posted: 4/10/09 at 12:18pm

Play revivals that opened this year: Hedda Gabler, The American Plan, Blithe Spirit, The Seagull, Exit the King, Joe Turner's Come and Gone, Mary Stuart, The Norman Conquests, The Philanthropist, Desire Under the Elms, Waiting for Godot, Accent on Youth, Equus, A Man for All Seasons, All My Sons, and American Buffalo.

Considering that list, I'd say it's odds are pretty damn good. Unless the reviews for the upcoming revivals are all raves, THE SEAGULL stands as one of the most, if not THE most well-received play revival this season.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 4/10/09 at 12:31pm

You forgot SPEED-THE-PLOW.

BLITHE SPIRIT, THE SEAGULL, EXIT THE KING, JOE TURNER, THE NORMAN CONQUESTS, DESIRE UNDER THE ELMS, SPEED-THE-PLOW, and MARY STUART are all heavyweight contenders at this point to get nods for Best Revival of a Play.

But that leaves four out of those eight plays that will be left out. And as time passes and so many new revivals are opening to strong reviews this year, THE SEAGULL may very well be forgotten by Tony time. I personally liked it but didn't love it; the aspects I loved about it were Mulligan and Scott Thomas who deserve nominations at least.

The production itself may very well be bumped out of the nominees though.

[ColorTheHours048]

Posted: 4/10/09 at 12:37pm

Well, in all fairness, I wouldn't be absolutely devastated if it was snubbed for Revival. Sure, it deserves it 100% to me. But it's those two actresses that I really hope get acknowledged.

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 4/10/09 at 1:05pm

If Tovah Feldshuh isn't going to win Best Actress in a Play (possibly due to the not-so-good reviews), then I hope Kristin Scott Thomas wins the award. She was a close second to Feldshuh, in my opinion.

I also think THE SEAGULL should be nominated for Best Revival...it was such a wonderful production!

[BustopherPhantom]

Posted: 4/10/09 at 1:26pm

Does anyone think that Carey Mulligan could actually WIN Best Featured Actress?

Is Marcia Gay Harden being bumped to Best Leading Actress? Is there anyone from THE NORMAN CONQUESTS that'll take it? And I don't think Angela Lansbury has the Tony in the bag just yet...

Anyone?

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 4/10/09 at 1:28pm

"Does anyone think that Carey Mulligan could actually WIN Best Featured Actress?"

I think Mulligan has a chance at being nominated, but Angela Lansbury has already won, in my opinion...

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 4/10/09 at 1:28pm

Technically, Marcia Gay Harden is not being "bumped" to Leading Actress as she already is according to Tony rules, her name is above the title.

[BustopherPhantom]

Posted: 4/10/09 at 1:32pm

My take on Angela Lansbury... most of the reviews for her, though they were raves, talked about how her performance seemed a combination of past performances (the phrase "Mrs. Lovett" kept coming up). And I think the committee has a sense of the "uneasiness" of giving someone a Tony because "they're due, they've been such troopers, etc." - if they didn't, Raul Esparza would have won last year for THE HOMECOMING.

So I don't think she has it just yet. But she has a chance, if the voters want to reward her for working at her age.

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 4/10/09 at 1:36pm

That is certainly a fair assessment, Bustopher...it'll be interesting to see what happens on June 7th (and all the predictions leading up to that).

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 4/10/09 at 1:40pm

I think there's a big difference between considering Angela Lansbury "due" for a Tony and considering Raul Esparza "due" for a Tony, for the sake of longevity. Not that I don't think Esparza should have one, but it's a bit of an uneven comparison. And it's hard to cross-compare anyway, just because whether you win or not is so dependent on your competition. I don't think Raul lost in 2008 entirely because voters don't factor in being "owed"-- there was just someone who many people felt deserved it more than he did. Could Norton not have been considered due for one, too? I mean, he's old. It's a tricky call, so I suppose I'm mostly playing devil's advocate.

Updated On: 4/10/09 at 01:40 PM

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 4/10/09 at 1:56pm

Angela Lansbury WON FOUR Tony Awards and then she left Broadway in 1983 for almost 24 years to work on a highly successful TV show. She returned in 2007 in DEUCE, for which she received a Tony Nomination, and now in 2009 she is back with BLITHE SPIRIT.

I don't think she is DUE for a Tony Award.

I think her performance should be judged equally against the other nominees, most of whom will probably be actresses who have never even won ONE Tony Award.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 4/10/09 at 1:59pm

And I think the committee has a sense of the "uneasiness" of giving someone a Tony because "they're due, they've been such troopers, etc." - if they didn't, Raul Esparza would have won last year for THE HOMECOMING.

Comparing Angela Lansbury, and the type of career she's had, to Raul Esparza is ridiculous.

[jennyish]

Posted: 4/10/09 at 2:00pm

Carey Mulligan was amazing in the Seagull. Zoe Kazan was awful. It will be absolutely ridiculous if Kazan is nominated.

Also, I think it totally deserves Best Revival...though, to be fair, I have not seen every revival this year.

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 4/10/09 at 2:31pm

I completely agree with what both Foster and Adamgreer wrote in their last posts.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 4/10/09 at 2:51pm

They may as well engrave Lansbury's Tony now.

She is surely going to win.

[BustopherPhantom]

Posted: 4/10/09 at 6:05pm

I'm not comparing Lansbury to Raul: I just think that Raul didn't win last year because enough voters like him, and don't want to give him an award in a year where someone else deserved it more.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 4/10/09 at 6:09pm

Am I really the only one who thought that Lansbury was merely serviceable?

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 4/10/09 at 6:58pm

Nope, I did't care that much for her performance either. I don't think the show as a whole is my type of show anyways. But, I was in the first row and I could barely hear her.

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 4/10/09 at 7:07pm

Carey Mulligan gave one of the most breathtaking featured performances I have ever seen on a stage. Her performance was what MADE this production for me. Yes, I thought everyone else was perfect, including Kazan, but nobody came to the level of completely inhabiting her character and exposing it to the audience the way Mulligan did (not even Scott Thomas). Mulligan was the heart and soul of this production, for me.

[ColorTheHours048]

Posted: 4/10/09 at 7:16pm

Carey Mulligan gave one of the most breathtaking featured performances I have ever seen on a stage.

I totally agree with you. She made the show for me as well. At the end of the first act, for some reason, her "I'm dreaming" left me breathless. Just one line and she had me sold. I really hope the Tony voters don't just give Angela the award because BLITHE SPIRIT may be her last Broadway role. Carey was absolutely stunning in every sense of the word and gave probably the best performance I've seen this season.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 4/11/09 at 2:21am

Mulligan and Scott Thomas were astounding; although it's a tough call for me to say who I would pick to win Best Actress in a Play (between Scott Thomas and Feldshuh) I think I'd pick Scott Thomas. I was in the front row and could just see little nuances that she brought to the role from sitting so close up that just really blew my mind.

The only big plus for Tovah in this race is that she is onstage WAY more than Scott Thomas was.

I hope both SEAGULL girls are at least nominated...they deserve it. I wasn't blown away by the production to be honest but the acting was just all-around simply inarguably brilliant.
Updated On: 4/11/09 at 02:21 AM

[jennyish]

Posted: 4/11/09 at 1:03pm

Foster, I felt the same way about Carey Mulligan. And Nina is one of those roles that I'm incredibly picky about - and she absolutely blew me away.