Aaron Tveit was a potato in Moulin Rouge. I was appalled by his lack of interest on stage and frankly, I would rather spend the obscene $400 ticket price on Margaritaville. At least that one was some kind of fun.
In my opinion, Aaron sings his face off in Moulin Rouge and was captivating and very much "in the moment" both times I saw it - once with Karen and once with Ashley. Is it possible you caught him on a bad night? Of course. But based on previous comments you've directed at him on this board, I for one, find your comment malicious and senseless. I would agree with previous posters that the book doesn't help anyone in that show and I'd love to see J Logan take this time to make some changes (although that's highly doubtful). Even so, had the season not shut down, he was 100% getting a Tony nomination and would have been a top contender. Would he have won? Maybe, maybe not. But if he's awarded the Tony during this shuttered season, I will be happy for him.
To me, Aaron Tveit has a beautiful singing voice, is a solid actor, is very handsome, and lacks charisma, at least in leading roles. I thought that he displayed some charisma in Next to Normal, but zero in Catch Me If you Can and MR.
I personally do not think the Tony's should've categories. They should come up with nominees independent of specific categories (so there is recognition of deserved nominations) and then have a Blue Ribbon Panel decide who should actually receive awards. That way Tveit (and others) can be nominated, if not win. Problem solved. Maybe not as exciting for viewers, but this is not going to be exciting viewing in any circumstances, other than learning who the actual winners are.
IMO Tveit deserves a nomination, but not a win; I believe others would have brought more real passion to the role, e.g., a younger Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Daveed Diggs, perhaps Jonathan Groff or Gavin Creel.
I could not disagree with Jarethan more regarding Aaron Tveit’s charisma. I’ve seen him in many of the shows mentioned and the one area where only his superb signing voice is topped is with his charisma. I’m certainly not alone in that belief and you can read some of Brantley’s reviews where he writes about it. I firmly believe Tveit should be nominated and win the Tony for MR! One shouldn’t compare his performance in this role to the character in the movie. Essentially it’s an apples to oranges performance.
As much as I enjoyed Moulin Rouge, the book is not good and I think the actors had to do the best they could with the material they were given. I've seen it live once and watched a few bootlegs - watching it up close with the bootlegs makes it all the more obvious how bad the book is. Some of the lines are cringe worthy. The first act is so over the top and played for laughs that I didn't feel invested in any of the characters; the second act is better.
Having said all that, I do think Danny, Aaron, and Karen deserve to nominated with a win for Danny.
I started thinking about this year's virtual Tony's while watching the Emmy's last night, which I thought handled the current pandemic situation really well. It's now been a month since the American Theatre Wing announced the ceremony for the abbreviated 2019-2020 season. Does anyone know when we can expect more details on the ceremony or at least a general timeline for nominations and the awards?
I agree that it's odd there's no further details on this. Especially when it will air.
A Chorus Line revival played its final Broadway performance on August 17, 2008. The tour played its final performance on August 21, 2011. A new non-equity tour started in October 2012 played its final performance on March 23, 2013. Another non-equity tour launched on January 20, 2018. The tour ended its US run in Kansas City and then toured throughout Japan August & September 2018.
This may sound crazy and prior to 2020 I never thought I'd type this, but I suspect the college football season has a lot to do with the holdup. Yes, the awards are going digitally, but I imagine they are still contractually obligated to work with CBS to present it in some way (perhaps using CBS as their still-to-be-determined online platform or incorporating a special on TV to go along with it). And with CBS also contractually obligated to college football which is still changing start dates by the moment (and which, let's be real, CBS is going to prioritize over the Tony awards), there is likely a holdup in scheduling.
That makes sense, I was wondering this myself watch the Emmys last night. I'm surprised it's still happening and they are willing to spend money right now on one big commercial for shows that aren't even open.
Jarethan said: "To me, Aaron Tveit has a beautiful singing voice, is a solid actor, is very handsome, and lacks charisma, at least in leading roles. I thought that he displayed somecharisma in Next to Normal, but zero in Catch Me If you Can and MR.
I personally do not think the Tony's should've categories. They should come up with nominees independent of specific categories (so there is recognition of deserved nominations) and then have a Blue Ribbon Panel decide who should actually receive awards. That way Tveit (and others) can be nominated, if not win. Problem solved. Maybe not as exciting for viewers, but this is not going to be exciting viewing in any circumstances, other than learning who the actual winners are.
IMO Tveit deserves a nomination, but not a win; I believe others would have brought more real passion to the role, e.g., a younger Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Daveed Diggs,perhaps Jonathan Groff or Gavin Creel."
Hate to say I completely agree with this as I adore his voice. His acting lacks any depth and seemed to peak in N2N (agree he seemed to have charisma there). I’m actually a fan despite those thoughts so I’ve seen him in every Broadway show, grease live, Rent at Hollywood Bowl (video not live) and Braindead and Graceland. May have even caught a movie or two. He’s wonderful to look at, even more wonderful to hear sing, and actually seems to have a lot of charisma - or at least charm - in interviews, but the acting is just not there. I think he would have been nominated but would not have won in a normal season. It is a bit of a shame to give out Tonys by default.
@Jsquared do you have actual basis for that claim or is it just your speculation?
December is still technically fall, but obviously not quite what people think of when they hear "fall" as a date. It is weird that they have no update on the timeline...shouldn't they at least be trying to generate news around the ceremony, nominations, etc? How is anyone supposed to cover the Tonys and time articles appropriately when they have no idea when they are happening?
Regarding Tveit, I have only seen him in Moulin Rouge and I didn't want to believe what I had heard about his performance from people but his performance was lackluster. I saw Amber Ardolino in the role of Satine and she was working over time trying to get some chemistry out of him. His voice is wonderful and for a few moments you saw the man can also move, but he basically slept walked through the performance.
Regarding the Tony's, I hope the organizers watched the Emmy's last night. I was just going to watch the first half hour to see how they were going to do it. I have only seen one or two of the shows nominated so figured I didn't need to watch. I ended up watching the entire show. It was really well done. And H.E.R. sang the hell out of "Nothing Compares To U"! JMO
I keep hoping the Tony nominations will drop any day now, and it's sooner rather than later. But when the Tonys said they would be held digitally ''this fall,'' they gave themselves some latitude in terms of timing. After all, ''this fall'' doesn't even begin officially until tomorrow (Sept. 22). Assuming the Tony voters vote online, that shouldn't take too long either; there are no shows to catch. Either they've seen them before the shutdown or they didn't. I'm just grateful they're doing something to acknowledge the award-caliber work from the first 10 months of the 2019-20 season. They ought to be recognized now, because who knows when Broadway will be back on the boards?
HogansHero said: "In this last exchange I am wondering if Jarethan means charisma (as the post starts) or passion (as it ends). Very different things."
I just saw this. In response to your point, I felt that his role is Catch Me... required charisma, the type of charisma that Leo demonstrated in the movie. I barely remember the (to me) mediocre musical, but in the movie I felt that charisma was part of Frank Abegnale's toolset...he charmed a lot of people. Tveit gave a straightforward performance, never convincing me he wasn't acting. I feel that his lack of charisma was a key factor.
In MR, I could argue that passion was more important than charisma in his role, although charisma never hurts. I didn't feel a lot of passion. Again, i felt that he sang beautifully, was very handsome, but that his acting was too...straightforward.
I do not remember his performance in N2N that well, but I would have said that he was charismatic. Maybe he does better in smaller roles, where is is not supposed to be carrying major weight of the show.
Whether a certain performer has charisma, or doesn't, is so subjective. It's a matter of taste. I've seen Tveit in ''Next to Normal,'' ''Catch Me If You Can'' and ''Moulin Rouge!,'' as well as in concert, on TV (''Grease Live'' ) and on film (''Les Miserables'' ). To me, Tveit is a terrific actor-singer loaded with charisma. Obviously, not everyone agrees, and everyone's entitled to their opinion.
But Tveit has built a career spanning nearly 2 decades, and it's a testament to his talent, having performed in 5 Broadway shows and having amassed 2 dozen TV-film credits. And if you caught the recent ''Next to Normal'' reunion at Stars in the House, you can see how he's held in high regard by his fellow actors and fans. He's constantly working. Even now, Tveit's quarantining in Vancouver, about to start a new TV project, before he hopes to return to Broadway.
Still no further information about this. Does this happen this year?
A Chorus Line revival played its final Broadway performance on August 17, 2008. The tour played its final performance on August 21, 2011. A new non-equity tour started in October 2012 played its final performance on March 23, 2013. Another non-equity tour launched on January 20, 2018. The tour ended its US run in Kansas City and then toured throughout Japan August & September 2018.
I don't see anything silly about recognizing and rewarding Broadway artists who did award-worthy work during the first 10 months of the 2019-20 season. Other theater awards, like the N.Y. Drama Critics Circle, the Drama Desks and the Obies, already have been held virtually. In fact, the Obies are presented and administered by the American Theatre Wing, so the Tonys deserve no less.
For what it's worth, the Olivier Awards for London theater announced their nominations back on March 3. Only last week did they announce that they will be broadcast on Oct. 25 on ITV and Magic Radio. The special program will feature the awards, performances and interviews, much of it pre-filmed.
There we go. Early December for the ceremony then(Decemeber 6?).
A Chorus Line revival played its final Broadway performance on August 17, 2008. The tour played its final performance on August 21, 2011. A new non-equity tour started in October 2012 played its final performance on March 23, 2013. Another non-equity tour launched on January 20, 2018. The tour ended its US run in Kansas City and then toured throughout Japan August & September 2018.