I'm not terribly surprised by many of these. Disappointed, maybe? But not surprised. Riedel even reported d'Amboise's nomination, so I was expecting it. Good for her.
The only thing I'm missing is a costume nomination for LOVEMUSIK. Dolan did a great job recreating the real costumes.
Actually, the play is just as tangential as the musical is. Even in the complete play text it goes from one place to another. Spring Awakening is an absolutely amazing show. If it were "amateurish" than it would not be receiving all the recognition that it is getting. If you didn't get any deep meaning out of it then you failed to propery engage yourself with what was happening in the show. I've seen it three times and each one has literally been a life changing experience. Look at the lighting and it proves that the show is anything but "amateurish." The red and blue lights suggesting conservative vs. liberal. The Song of Purple Summer...red + blue makes purple. Think about it for awhile...it's quite far from amateurish.
I just don't get the acting nominations for SPRING.
Especially Groff. I've honestly seen equivalent performances in high schools. Not saying he's bad. I'm just saying this particular performance didn't warrant a nomination. I get no depth from him, whatsoever. His Melchior is one-dimensional. And there are moments when he's just too big with everything. I think he tries to play the naive innocence up too much. Melchior is supposed to be somewhat sly. He's TRYING to make the audience feel for him. When, in fact, the character knows exactly what he's doing. I feel if he had put more thought into it, it would have been better. Sometimes less is more.
Especially in the scene where he breaks down in the cemetary. I felt positively awkward when he was crying on the ground. So completely overdone.
Just not nomination worthy in my eyes.
"I love talking about nothing. It is the only thing I know anything about." - Oscar Wilde
To make things "flow" more, the writers have decided to make the "tangents" more about the sex so that everything connects. Martha is only beaten in the play. Melchior rapes Wendla in the play. Steven Sater has blurred the lines a bit, which is great I think. It takes some brain power to piece it all together. And you still leave questioning and wondering. And with the message that the stork story never worked in any generation.
I LOVE SA, but was surprised it was nominated for book, for many of the reasons discussed above. And wasn't it pretty much just adapted from the play? In any case, the book is not its strength at all. (The lyrics neither, although lyrics are in the same category as score, and the score is phenominal, so OK.)
And I did anyone predict costumes and set design noms for SA??? Again, not its strong points. (Although I do understand the choreography nod). Do so many little "undeserved" nominations bode well for the BIG PRIZE???
I just wanted to post some predictions regarding "Spring Awakening" from one of my friends. This guy has been around Broadway for awhile and knows what he's talking about. He has yet to see SA, and has actually put it off a few times based on some of the music and video he's heard/seen.
"my prediction is a clean sweep for all the major awards including best musical, score and book and i haven't even seen the show. there are so many producers behind this show it is mind-boggling. producers are often tony voters and this show has had a MASSIVE advertising and publicity push. plus the show is supposedly excellent as you have testified. now that i see the list of other shows nominated, i have no doubt this show will win for best musical and will stay afloat for years, much like avenue Q. my initial instinct about awards is almost always right. as of today, this is the big show for this year. their fate is now sealed. they cannot lose. it all makes sense to me now.
one thing else i predict: the two actors nominated won't win. not that i'm judging anybody's performances, but these awards will go elsewhere.
and you probably know they already beat out "curtains" and some other stuff in a couple of other awards.
i will be totally shocked if this show doesn't win the major tonys for a musical. i just sense this stuff, plus you use a little thought and look at the rest of the nominations. one of the kander and ebb team is dead, so that doesn't bode well for curtains, and imagine mary poppins winning over SA. that would just be all wrong. grey gardens is a depressing bizarre story that should never have been made into a musical. so that leaves SA. there won't even be any suspense on tony night because it will all be so obvious. the name "spring awakening" will be read out so many times it will become monotonous after awhile.
that said, tonight i'm going to see "journey's end". an incredible production of an incredible classic play about trench warfare on the western front. that's my first choice, then "talk radio" with liev schreiber. both and much more are up on the TKTS booth.
i would see spring awakening but there is no show on tuesday. that's kind of weird that the show with the most tony nominations is dark on the night of the tony announcements!
one thing for sure, that national tour for 2008 is now well on its way. i'm sure official plans started today."
Groff is very talented, but this performance is just not Tony-worthy. By nominating someone, the committee is saying that they're Tony worthy, even if they don't win, because they're giving the person a chance TO win. I think the problems with the performance are not entirely his fault -- yes, it's one dimensional and he's trying too hard to make Melchior some sort of hero, but the character is also dreadfully underwritten and poorly developed. They all are. I'm glad Gallagher got one, though -- he deserves it.
one of the kander and ebb team is dead, so that doesn't bode well for curtains, and imagine mary poppins winning over SA. that would just be all wrong. grey gardens is a depressing bizarre story that should never have been made into a musical. so that leaves SA.
There is so much wrong with your post.
1) Just because your friend senses these things...does not make it fact.
2) Ebb being deceased actually helps CURTAINS. It's called the emotional factor. They might give it to them for the sheer purpose of honoring Ebb.
3) MARY POPPINS has a fairly decent score. It's not unimaginable for it to win.
4) GREY GARDENS' score was compared to that of composers like Sondheim by a source no less than the New York Times. I think they know what they're talking about. GREY GARDENS' story may be a tad bizarre, but it's truthful and real and contains much more depth than all of the storylines of SA put together. And depressing...have you even SEEN SA? Give me a break.
So that doesn't leave SA. It's not as much of a lock as you'd like to think.
"I love talking about nothing. It is the only thing I know anything about." - Oscar Wilde
I'm shocked at the people who say that the reason they thought GREY GARDENS didn't work so well was due to Erin Davie's performance!
She was a KEY reason the show worked for me. Her intonations and delivery of the material (aside from being vocally stellar and dead-on for that period) totally channeled Christine's 2nd act role. She was wonderful. And robbed by Charlotte D., Orfeh, and (as much as I love her) Rebecca Luker.
I don't see how Christian Borle (and every other LB nominee) snuck in there. Again, he was so wonderful in MILLIE and SPAMALOT, but Emmett is a lousy role in an even lousier show.
I thought Jonathan Groff was great. Saw it twice and he got even better for my second viewing. I'm really rooting for SA's lighting design Tony.
Itty Bitty Geisha?
Toyland?
Gypsy Pasadoble?
Just a few popular favorites...
The set and costume design for Spring Awakening seems more like the design for a play in that it's not very flashy, there's not a lot of it, and there's no real movement in the set. The costume design is simple and does what it needs to do. And Susan Hilferty is a former Tony winner. The set is provocative and used well. That's my extent of defending the design. The lighting design speaks for itself. Just beautiful.
Well, FOA, of course Spring Awakening's score will never be compared to Sondheim. And really the only reason why Grey Gardens's score reminded me of Sondheim was because I thought it was trying to sound like his writing. Sondheim-Lite.
Spring Awakening has a shot at the Tony for the sole fact that it's become somewhat of a phenomenon. It shouldn't have worked, but it did. People might say the same about Wicked, but that became a big hit despite the bad reviews. Spring Awakening got where it is because of great reviews plus great word of mouth. It's a little-show-that-could, like Avenue Q. (I don't mean to keep bringing up the 2004 season, haha.) It's this generation's rock musical. I think that in itself yells Tony.
Play: The Coast Of Utopia Musical: Spring AWakening Book: Grey Gardens Score: Spring Awakening Revival/play: Journey's End Revival/musical: Company Theatrical Event: Jay Johnson: The Two And Only Actor/play: Frank Langella, Frost/Nixon Actress/play: Julie White, The Little Dog Laughed Actor/musical: Raul Esparza, Company Actress/musical: Christine Ebersole, Grey Gardens Featured actor/play: Billy Crudup, The Coast Of Utopia Featured Actress/play: Jennifer Ehle, The Coast Of Utopia Featured Actor/musical: John Gallagher, Jr., Spring Awakening Featured Actress/musical: Mary Louise Wilson, Grey Gardens Director/play: Jack O'Brien, The Coast Of Utopia Director/musical: Michael Mayer, Spring AWakening Choreography: Matthew Bourne and Stephen Mear, Mary Poppins Orchestrations: Jonathon Tunick, LoveMusik Scenic Design/play: Bob Crowley and Scott Pask, The Coast Of Utopia Scenic Design/musical: Bob Crowley, Mary Poppins Costume Design/play: Catherine Zuber, The Coast Of Utopia Costume Design/musical: William Ivey Long, Grey Gardens Lighting Design/play: Brian MacDevitt, Kenneth Posner and Natasha Katz, The Coast Of Utopia Lighting Design/musical: Kevin Adams, Spring Awakening
Last year, which was admittedly easier to predict, I was wrong in 2 categories (LaChanze and Ian McDiarmid were the ones I got wrong)... not as likely to happen this year with so many competitive categories...
Very disappointed that Chenoweth and Martin Short were snubbed.
I think Christian Borle is annoying onstage.
And you think of all of the things you've seen, and you wish that you could live in between ,and you're back again only different than before...
After the Sky.
-Into the Woods (Jack)
I don't think GREY GARDENS is a multi-million dollar spectacle. It's very much a little show that could, too.
Being this generations rock musical doesn't entitle SPRING AWAKENING to the award simply because of that. It lacks depth. There's just none of it. It's a freakin after-school special at times. I don't think amateur equals TONY.
GREY GARDENS is chock full of depth with thrilling performances and a score that is hardly trying to copy Sondheim. I enjoyed SPRING AWAKENING but was not intelectually moved or challenged by it.
GREY GARDENS captured me 100%. The story just penetrated me and really took me on a roller coaster ride in a way SPRING just can't. SPRING's got a great rock score. Wonderful. Bully for them. That's all.
And I guess I would be semi-considered to be part of SPRING's target audience. Still...I'd pick GREY GARDENS any day of the week.
"I love talking about nothing. It is the only thing I know anything about." - Oscar Wilde
I'm really disappointed in the Tony people this year. Completly snubbing The Pirate Queen? That makes no sense to me. I mean, I didn't expect a Best Musical nomination, but PQ definetly deserved nods for it's set, costumes, lighting, and choreography.
Sorry, but Spring Awakening getting nominated for costumes and choreography over PQ is definetly not right.
Jonathan Groff for leading actor/musical Debra Monk for leading actress/musical Charlotte d'Amboise for featured actress/musical
Overall, I'm very pleased with the nominated and I'm rooting for Star Stands for featured actor in a play.
"You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view - until you climb into his skin and walk around in it."
To Kill A Mockingbird
Some of these noms are a little weird, but I'm so excited Stark Sands got one. Seemed like he might get overlooked but, especially for a debut, he was absolutely spectacular.
"I thought that that was just going to be a like one shot deal for me, you know, but they kept talking about it like, 'when we do the production, when we do the production', and I was like, 'yes, yes, when you do the production, cool, I will come and see it'". - John Gallagher Jr. on SA
It's a surprise to me that Charlotte D'Amboise got nominated when many (on this board and also in the press) singled her out as the revival's weak link.
And she's the one ACL performance to get a nomination.
"Jaws is the Citizen Kane of movies."
blocked: logan2, Diamonds3, Hamilton22
