TONY AWARDS 2011 - BEST PLAY - BENGAL TIGER

[VernonGersch]

Posted: 10/19/10 at 12:34am

with the news (or is it leak) of Robin WIlliams starring in Bengal Tiger at The Baghdad Zoo for Sping 2011, it got me thinking...
what are the other plays that could lock a Tony nod? Hey, I know its early but heck, this is a Broadway message board so why the heck not guess...here are some of my thoughts on other Best Play nominees (based not in the least bit on having read or seen them...)

Free Man Of Color
Elling
War Horse
Good People
The Pitmen Painters

Is Brief Encounter eligable since it toured/played in Brooklyn?

Time Stands Still I suspect isnt eligable since it was nominated last year, right? That play was awesome.

[Kad]

Posted: 10/19/10 at 1:01am

This early in the game, I would say the award is War Horse's to lose. But who knows.

[bjh2114]

Posted: 10/19/10 at 9:17am

^Not at all. The puppetry in War Horse is stunning, but the play itself is mediocre at best. I really think the NY critics are going to devour it the way they devoured Enron. If Bengal Tiger transfers, it will probably win. Although, don't count out Good People yet. Knowing nothing about it, I am excited to see what David L-A does with it.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 10/19/10 at 9:47am

BJH, I think we should grab a drink sometime! You're the only one I've ever encountered who also felt that way about WAR HORSE>

I was bored silly and left at halftime.

[Kad]

Posted: 10/19/10 at 11:35am

"^Not at all. The puppetry in War Horse is stunning, but the play itself is mediocre at best. I really think the NY critics are going to devour it the way they devoured Enron."

I wasn't crazy about War Horse aside from the technical aspects either, but I was the only one with the group I went.

I will eat my hat if the reception here isn't good. I don't think it's accurate to compare it to Enron, a play that carried along with it a lot of different baggage than War Horse.

[VernonGersch]

Posted: 10/20/10 at 9:42am

if/when robin williams decides to do BENGAL TIGER, i predict that not only will he get a tony nomination, but that the show will certainly be nominated for Best Play.
its a fantastic piece of theater - and oh yeah - there are gunshots in it. (right, dont people always ask that question - which i sorta get because gun shots do kinda set me off a bit...)

[OtherDaryl]

Posted: 10/20/10 at 12:43pm

Got my freshly published copy yesterday - only read the first 4 pages so far - genius! writing . . .

[americanboy99]

Posted: 10/20/10 at 1:17pm

Rajiv Joseph spoke at a recent NYU session and a few actors (include Joseph himself) performed the play's opening sequence. The playwright went on to describe the show and discuss, in detail, the process of creating. EXTREMELY interesting evening. The show seems fabulous. I cannot wait to see it onstage.

[ALittlePriest]

Posted: 10/20/10 at 4:18pm

I'm fairly certain War Horse is a lock for Best Play. Yes the puppetry is impressive, but I disagree with you that the story is weak or lacking. I tell people that when I saw it last year in London, it wasn't the puppetry that blew my away, it was the epic tale that really dives into your soul. I took my father and we were both in tears at the end. Unlike Enron, War Horse is based on a great novel, so there is a lot of narrative material to begin with. In my entire life I've never seen a play near the scale and power of War Horse, and I think everyone will soon understand. War Horse is to put it simply, epic, epic, epic... and that's just the entire story they've managed to tell onstage, not the puppets.

[bjh2114]

Posted: 10/20/10 at 4:22pm

but I disagree with you that the story is weak or lacking.

It's not the STORY that's weak or lacking. It's the WRITING. The dialogue is mediocre, and that's being generous. The whole thing is just so saccharine. The epicness is not the problem at all. It's the syrupy sappiness.

[Roscoe]

Posted: 10/20/10 at 4:53pm

"It's not the STORY that's weak or lacking. It's the WRITING. The dialogue is mediocre, and that's being generous. The whole thing is just so saccharine. The epicness is not the problem at all. It's the syrupy sappiness."

Hence, no doubt, Spielberg's interest in the film rights.

[Kad]

Posted: 10/20/10 at 11:25pm

I far prefer the novel to the play. I really didn't care about the human characters and their expanded storyline in the play because it was so trite.

I also feel that the rather unbiased look at the war was compromised in the adaptation.

I will say, however, that the play contained some of the most impressive stagecraft I have ever seen. The moment that the adult Joey puppet is revealed was amazing.

[mallardo]

Posted: 10/21/10 at 7:17am

Yeah, say what you like about the story and the characters - and I don't disagree with some of the criticisms - War Horse is an overwhelming experience. It's overtly emotional because it's about helpless animals but to me it never gets sappy or sentimental. It's a unique theatrical event and I can't see anything beating it out at Tony time.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 10/21/10 at 8:50am

That's what we said about Enron, Coram Boy...