HAIRSPRAY TOPS TONY NOMINATIONS

OK, Broadway fans, here's a Tony trivia question: counting this year's nominations, how many Tony nominations do Paul Newman and Vanessa Redgrave have between them? Answer at the end of this post.

I just watched a critics' roundtable discussion of the nominations on NY1 (a local cable news channel here in NYC), and the consensus was that, as far as the nonmusicals go, Long Day's Journey is going to sweep by winning the awards for best revival of a play, best actor and actress in a play (for Brian Dennehy and Vanessa Redgrave), and possibly best featured actor in a play (if Philip Seymour Hoffman and Robert Sean Leonard don't cancel each other out). Does this mean I have to buy a ticket? (Only kidding -- I'd love to see Long Day's Journey, but trying to figure out how to fit a four-hour play into an already overcrowded life is a little tricky.)

The NY1 critics also thought the most competitive category is best revival of a musical, with Gypsy, Nine, and La Boheme all strong contenders.

Another highly competitive category is best actress in a play (although the NY1 critics seemed to think Vanessa Redgrave has a lock on the award): the past season saw so many great performances by actresses that Edie Falco's performance in Frankie and Johnny in the Claire de Lune (one of the best performances I saw last season) wasn't even nominated.

And now for the answer to the trivia question: neither Paul Newman nor Vanessa Redgrave had ever been nominated for a Tony before this year, so, counting this year's nominations, they have two Tony nominations between them.

Thanks for the info, bree. I'm really looking forward to seeing the awards this year.

Thanks for posting this, Mac. I love the Tony Awards show.
Bree, you didn't give us a chance to answer your trivia question, not that it would have made any difference . I thought Redgrave had won at one time.

Ladies: I don't see any of your favorites listed here. You don't have to see the show to have a preference. I'm rooting for Antonio Banderas (I love Nine), but having seen Brian Stokes Mitchell perform Impossible Dream on TV, I won't be disappointed if he wins. I'd like to see Bernadette Peters win, too.

I don't know about favorites, but there are two nominees who I know personally.

Don Holder is up for Lighting Design for Movin' Out - he won one for Lion King and has designed lots of B'way shows, as well as for a few regional theatres, including one of the ones where I worked.

I worked with Bobby Longbottom as a director years ago, and he's nominated for choreography for Flower Drum Song.

I knew a couple of winners last year. That makes the show lots more exciting...

That's great, Mac. I'll add those two to my favorites.

the guy in the dress (Harvey Fierstein, "Hairspray") versus the guy many people want to undress (Antonio Banderas, "Nine").

I'll write more tomorrow - but for me the biggest surprise tonight was that Marissa Jaret Winokur beat out Bernadette Peters! The second surprise was probably that Hugh Jackman can sing...

Here's a link to a New York Times article about the Tonys last nite. Strangely, it doesn't list many of the winners - I'll look for a more complete rundown elsewhere.

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/09/arts/theater/09SCEN.html

Winners are indicated by a *:

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical

*Marissa Jaret Winokur, 'Hairspray'
Melissa Errico, 'Amour'
Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, 'Man of La Mancha'
Elizabeth Parkinson, 'Movin' Out'
Bernadette Peters, 'Gypsy'


Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play

*Vanessa Redgrave, 'Long Day's Journey Into Night'
Jayne Atkinson, 'Enchanted April'
Victoria Hamilton, 'A Day in the Death of Joe Egg'
Clare Higgins, 'Vincent in Brixton'
Fiona Shaw, 'Medea'

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play

*Brian Dennehy, 'Long Day's Journey Into Night'
Brian Bedford, 'Tartuffe'
Eddie Izzard, 'A Day in the Death of Joe Egg'
Paul Newman, 'Our Town'
Stanley Tucci, 'Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune'

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical

*Harvey Fierstein, 'Hairspray'
Antonio Banderas, 'Nine The Musical'
Malcolm Gets, 'Amour'
Brian Stokes Mitchell, 'Man of La Mancha'
John Selya, 'Movin' Out'

Best Play

*'Take Me Out'
Author: Richard Greenberg
Producers: Carole Shorenstein Hays, Frederick DeMann, The Donmar Warehouse and The Public Theater

'Enchanted April'
Author: Matthew Barber
Producers: Jeffrey Richards, Richard Gross/Ellen Berman/Les Goldman, Raymond J. & Pearl Berman Greenwald, Irving Welzer, Tonia Walker Davidson, Libby Adler Mages/Mari Glick, Howard R. Berlin, Jerry Frankel, Terry E. Schnuck, Frederic B. Vogel, Dori Berinstein/Barrie & Jim Loeks/Dramatic Forces

'Say Goodnight Gracie'
Author: Rupert Holmes
Producers: William Franzblau, Jay H. Harris, Louise Westergaard, Larry Spellman, Elsa Daspin Haft, Judith Resnick, Anne Gallagher, Libby Adler Mages/Mari Glick, Martha R. Gasparian, Bruce Lazarus, Lawrence S. Toppall, Jae French

'Vincent in Brixton'
Author: Nicholas Wright
Producers: Lincoln Center Theater, André Bishop, Bernard Gersten, The Royal National Theatre, Ambassador Theatre Group Ltd., Maidstone Productions, Robert Fox Ltd., Elliott F. Kulick, Incidental Coleman Tod, The Shubert Organization

Best Musical

*'Hairspray'
Producers: Margo Lion, Adam Epstein, The Baruch-Viertel-Routh-Frankel Group, James D. Stern/Douglas L. Meyer, Rick Steiner/Frederic H. Mayerson, SEL & GFO, New Line Cinema, Clear Channel Entertainment, A. Gordon/E. McAllister, D. Harris/M. Swinsky, J. & B. Osher

'Amour'
Producers: The Shubert Organization, Jean Doumanian Productions, Inc., USA Ostar Theatricals

'A Year With Frog and Toad'
Producers: Bob Boyett, Adrianne Lobel, Michael Gardner, Lawrence Horowitz, Roy Furman, Scott E. Nederlander, The Children's Theatre Company

'Movin' Out'
Producers: James L. Nederlander, Hal Luftig, Scott E. Nederlander, Terry Allen Kramer, Clear Channel Entertainment, Emanuel Azenberg

Best Revival of a Play

*'Long Day's Journey Into Night'
Producers: David Richenthal, Max Cooper, Eric Falkenstein, Anthony and Charlene Marshall, Darren Bagert, Kara Medoff, Lisa Vioni, Gene Korf

'A Day in the Death of Joe Egg'
Producers: Roundabout Theatre Company, Todd Haimes, Ellen Richard, Julia C. Levy, Sonia Friedman Productions

'Dinner at Eight'
Producers: Lincoln Center Theater, André Bishop, Bernard Gersten

'Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune'
Producers: The Araca Group, Jean Doumanian Productions, USA Ostar Theatricals, Jam Theatricals, Ray and Kit Sawyer

Best Revival of a Musical

*'Nine The Musical'
Producers: Roundabout Theatre Company, Todd Haimes, Ellen Richard, Julia C. Levy

'Gypsy'
Producers: Robert Fox, Ron Kastner, Roger Marino, Michael Watt, Harvey Weinstein, WWLC

'La Bohème'
Producers: Jeffrey Seller, Kevin McCollum, Emanuel Azenberg, Bazmark Live, Bob and Harvey Weinstein, Korea Pictures/Doyun Seol, J. Sine/I. Pittelman/S. Nederlander, Fox Searchlight Pictures

'Man of La Mancha'
Producers: David Stone, Jon B. Platt, Susan Quint Gallin, Sandy Gallin, Seth M. Siegel, USA Ostar Theatricals, Mary Lu Roffe

Best Lighting Design

*Nigel Levings, 'La Bohème'
Donald Holder, 'Movin' Out'
Brian MacDevitt, 'Nine The Musical'
Kenneth Posner, 'Hairspray'

Best Costume Design
*William Ivey Long, 'Hairspray'
Gregg Barnes, 'Flower Drum Song'
Catherine Martin and Angus Strathie, 'La Bohème'
Catherine Zuber, 'Dinner at Eight'

Best Scenic Design

*Catherine Martin, 'La Bohème'
John Lee Beatty, 'Dinner at Eight'
Santo Loquasto, 'Long Day's Journey Into Night'
David Rockwell, 'Hairspray'

Best Book of a Musical

*'Hairspray'
Book by: Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan

'Amour'
Book by: Didier van Cauwelaert; English Adaptation by: Jeremy Sams

'A Year With Frog and Toad'
Book by: Willie Reale

'Flower Drum Song'
Book by: David Henry Hwang

Best Original Score

*'Hairspray'
Music: Marc Shaiman Lyrics: Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman

'A Year With Frog and Toad'
Music: Robert Reale Lyrics: Willie Reale

'Amour'
Music: Michel Legrand Lyrics: Didier van Cauwelaert; English Adaptation by: Jeremy Sams

'Urban Cowboy The Musical'
Music & Lyrics: Jeff Blumenkrantz, Bob Stillman, Jason Robert Brown, Danny Arena, Sara Light, Lauren Lucas, Jerry Silverstein, Martie Maguire, Wayland D. Holyfield, Bob Lee House, Carl L. Byrd, Pevin Byrd-Munoz, Luke Reed, Roger Brown, Jerry Chestnut, Marcus Hummon, Clint Black, James Hayden Nicholas, Tommy Conners, Skip Ewing, Charles Daniels, Tom Crain, Fred Edwards, Taz DiGregorio, Jim Marshall, Charlie Hayward, Wanda Mallette, Patti Ryan, Ronnie Dunn and Bob Morrison

Best Choreography

*Twyla Tharp, 'Movin' Out'
Robert Longbottom, 'Flower Drum Song'
Jerry Mitchell, 'Hairspray'
Melinda Roy, 'Urban Cowboy The Musical'

Best Orchestrations

*Billy Joel and Stuart Malina, 'Movin' Out'
Nicholas Kitsopoulos, 'La Bohème'
Jonathan Tunick, 'Nine The Musical'
Harold Wheeler, 'Hairspray'

Best Direction of a Play

*Joe Mantello, 'Take Me Out'
Laurence Boswell, 'A Day in the Death of Joe Egg'
Robert Falls, 'Long Day's Journey Into Night'
Deborah Warner, 'Medea'

Best Direction of a Musical

*Jack O'Brien, 'Hairspray'
David Leveaux, 'Nine The Musical'
Baz Luhrmann, 'La Bohème'
Twyla Tharp, 'Movin' Out'

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play

*Denis O'Hare, 'Take Me Out'
Thomas Jefferson Byrd, 'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom'
Philip Seymour Hoffman, 'Long Day's Journey Into Night'
Robert Sean Leonard, 'Long Day's Journey Into Night'
Daniel Sunjata, 'Take Me Out'

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical

*Dick Latessa, 'Hairspray'
Michael Cavanaugh, 'Movin' Out'
John Dossett, 'Gypsy'
Corey Reynolds, 'Hairspray'
Keith Roberts, 'Movin' Out'

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play

*Michele Pawk, 'Hollywood Arms'
Christine Ebersole, 'Dinner at Eight'
Linda Emond, 'Life (x) 3'
Kathryn Meisle, 'Tartuffe'
Marian Seldes, 'Dinner at Eight'

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical

*Jane Krakowski, 'Nine The Musical'
Tammy Blanchard, 'Gypsy'
Mary Stuart Masterson, 'Nine The Musical'
Chita Rivera, 'Nine The Musical'
Ashley Tuttle, 'Movin' Out'

Best Special Theatrical Event

*'Russell Simmons' Def Poetry Jam on Broadway'
Producers: Russell Simmons, Stan Lathan, Jonathan Reinis, Richard Martini, Larry Magid, Allen Spivak, Kimora Lee Simmons, Jeffrey Chartier, Stacy Carter, Island Def Jam Music Group

'Bill Maher: Victory Begins at Home'
Producers: Eric Krebs, Jonathan Reinis, CTM Productions, Anne Strickland Squadron, Michael Viner, David and Adam Friedson, Allen Spivak/Larry Magid, M. Kilburg Reedy

'The Play What I Wrote'
Producers: David Pugh, Joan Cullman, Mike Nichols, Hamilton South, Charles Whitehead, Stuart Thompson

'Prune Danish'
Producers: Jyll Rosenfeld, Jon Stoll

Regional Theatre Tony Award®

The Children's Theatre Company (Minneapolis, MN)

Special Tony Award® for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre

Cy Feuer

Tony Honors for Excellence in Theatre

The principal ensemble of 'La Bohème'
Paul Huntley
Johnson-Liff Casting Associates
The Acting Company

Okay, here's the juicy article

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/09/arts/09TONY.html

Who knew that Hugh Jackman could sing? (Not me! ) I read up some more about him today. He was Curly in a London production of Oklahoma just a couple of years ago. Apparently, when they were bringing the production to Broadway, Equity wouldn't let him play the lead as he wasn't an American, and wasn't a well-known enough star to come in and perform with the show. (Equity is pretty strict about non-American actors starring on Broadway - there was a big hubbub about Lea Salonga starring in Miss Saigon back when it came to town.)

I wasn't too surprised that Harvey Fierstein beat Antonio Banderas - he is more of a B'way insider. Also, many of the voters would have seen Raul Julia in the original production of Nine, and I'm told it was stronger

I thought Bernadette Peters was great. I was shocked that she didn't win. But again, I have read that insiders (and they're the ones who vote) don't think that Mama Rose was a good role for her. But she blew me away with her song. I did think that it was a shame that they didn't have ANY other numbers from the show at all. Well, there were some tiny clips...

Twyla Tharp is a great choreographer - the numbers from Movin' Out looked spectacular. I'm not a huge fan of Billy Joel's though...

Brian Stokes Mitchell has an amazing voice, but he's so sexy and charismatic - didn't it seem a shame to have him playing such an old character? He can do revivals of this one for thirty more years!

I wished they had done parts of songs from Hairspray, Man of La Mancha, Gypsy, and Nine so that we could see more than one number.

Unlike mac, I was surprised that Antonio Banderas didn't win the Tony for best leading actor in a musical. I knew it was a tight race between him and Harvey Fierstein, but I thought the nod would go to Banderas because the Tony voters would see it as a way of encouraging other movie stars to do Broadway shows. After all, Nine may be a hit, but people aren't buying tickets to it because they want to see a revival of Maury Yeston musical -- they're buying tickets to it because they want to see Antonio Banderas. But I guess it was just Hairspray's year; the only categories that Nine won in (best revival of a musical and best featured actress in a musical) were categories where it didn't have to compete against Hairspray.

I was also surprised, and very pleased, that Michelle Pawk won for best featured actress in a play. I thought she was sensational in Hollywood Arms, but -- as she noted in her acceptance speech -- that play closed months ago, so it would have been easy for voters to forget about it.

I completely agree that Brian Stokes Mitchell is too sexy and charismatic for the part in Man of la Mancha, but considering how few new musicals get produced these days, I'm happy to see him in anything he gets work in. My real complaint about that show was that he was miked, which was so unnecessary as to be ludicrous!

I thought that Hugh Jackman was perfectly charming (not to mention easy on the eyes) as the host, but I wouldn't have minded if Matthew Broderick and Sarah Jessica Parker had hosted the whole show, since they were so delightful in their short bit as presenters. But CBS was obviously trying to appeal to a broader audience than the one that usually watches the Tony awards show, and they were clearly hoping that people who loved Hugh Jackman in X-Men and X2 would tune in to see him. Somehow I can't see an X2 fan saying, "Hey, the guy who plays Wolverine is hosting the Tony's -- let's watch!" (or staying tuned for very long even if they did start to watch it), but what do I know?

I assume that the desire to appeal to a broader audience was also why the awards for set, costume, and lighting design were pushed off the telecast (except for brief clips). The CBS people probably figured that no one outside the insular New York theater community has heard of any of the nominees in those categories, so they didn't deserve air time. That annoys me, because the Tony's are supposed to be about rewarding achievement in theater, and the designers' contributions are every bit as important as those made by people who happen to have more recognizable names and faces. (There -- I've vented!)

Bree, you make good points about Antonio. Obviously, he's the one who's selling all the tickets!

What did you think about Marissa beating Bernadette?

I agree, Matthew and Sarah Jessica were quite charming!

And in addition to pushing the design awards over to tiny clips - how about that Lifetime Achievement Award to Cy Feuer? Not much of a reward to be cut down to one or two sentences. And didn't he basically say "thanks for listening"? We didn't really get the chance, did we?

It seemed fairly apparent to me that the choice of Hugh Jackman was just a lengthy ad for his upcoming show A Boy from Oz.

Mac: I'm in agreement with almost everything you have posted. I saw Brian Stokes Mitchell perform "Impossible Dream" on the Regis Philbin show without make-up/costume and was a bit disappointed as I couldn't help comparing him with Richard Kiley. But - on the Tonys' last night he blew me away. His style was unique. He looked good to me.

I have the original B'way cast recording of "Nine" with Raoul Julia, and since I never saw him in the role, and can only form an opinion of his characterization based on his voice, I was very pleased with and impressed by Banderas' performance. IMO it was not one of the best songs from "Nine"and was probably chosen so that all those wonderful ladies could be featured. I wish they had chosen "The Bells of St. Sebastian".

The dancing in Movin' Out was breath taking. I wanted to yell "More"! and
I wish they had featured at least one song in its entirety from "Amour", but how much can you cover in three hours.

Gee, do you suppose that we 3 are the only A2Kers who watched the Tonys?

I didn't see Thomas Jefferson Byrd in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom but having worked with the Alliance Theatre Co. in Atlanta for several years, I have had the magnificent experience of seeing him in other plays, especially those of August Wilson (Fences and Two Trains Running). What a thrill it was to hear of his nomination, first time out on Broadway, and now that he's been "discovered", I feel pretty certain that you will hear from T-Byrd again.

mac, I attributed Marissa's win over Bernadette to the Hairspray juggernaut: I think the voters just decided to check the "Hairspray" box every time they saw it on the ballot. (Which, by the way, is not to say that Marissa may not have deserved to win -- I haven't seen Hairspray, so I don't have an opinion about that.)

I also think the fact that Bernadette was sick, and missed several performances of Gypsy right around the time it opened, may have hurt her chances, because people got the idea that she wasn't up to the part. Her performance on the Tony broadcast should have put those doubts to rest, but unfortunately for her, it came after the votes had already been cast.

Good to hear from you, eoe! Isn't it fun when you know a nominee? It definitely makes awards shows much more exciting!

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom is an excellent play. I worked on a production of it years ago - it's one of my favorites.

eoe, the Signature Theater Company in New York, which devotes each season to the work of one playwright, is planning to do an all-August Wilson season in 2005-2006. (It's always amazing to me how far ahead theater companies have to plan!) It would be great if New York audiences got the chance to see Thomas Jefferson Byrd in one or more of those productions.