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My take on the Tonys — now what do you think?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
ON TELEVISION. “The 61st Annual Tony Awards” 8-11 p.m. Sunday on CBS
A musical about sexually curious German youth will rock the house, and a nine-hour trilogy about Russian intellectuals will play like caviar and vodka. At least, that’s what I hope happens at this year’s Tony Awards, which are to be handed out tonight in New York.
This may be the year 2007, but the musical and play with the most nominations, “Spring Awakening” and “The Coast of Utopia,” are firmly grounded in the 19th century, proof perhaps that contemporary culture hasn’t lost touch with the fullness of history and literature.
Oh, I suppose we ’60s children could muster at least a spoonful of sugar for “Mary Poppins.” But a best-musical honor for Disney’s family musical would be supercali-unacceptable.
Ditto a best-play win for August Wilson’s “Radio Golf.”
The late dramatist’s final work deserves a silent tribute for the undiminished eloquence of his unprecedented 10-play cycle as a whole. And I hope to goodness that Anthony Chisholm or John Earl Jelks, who are competing against each other as featured actors, will win. But giving “Radio Golf” the best-play honor could send a false signal, I believe.
Of course, the thought process of every awards-giving institution I can think of — from the Oscars to the Pulitzers — is shot through with politics, commercialism, sentimentality, self-aggrandizement and sour grapes. That’s exactly why they exist in their own special galaxy — so maddening, so exciting, so glamorous.
As is often the case, the Broadway buzz has a southward spin this season. So don’t tell me Atlanta has no theater royalty.
As the Alliance Theatre picks up its Regional Tony Award, the city should also keep an eye on “Radio Golf,” because hometown director Kenny Leon staged it. “Driving Miss Daisy” author Alfred Uhry wasn’t nominated for “LoveMusik,” but the off-kilter love story about German composer Kurt Weill and his wife drew a respectable four nods. And Atlanta native Dana Ivey, the original Miss Daisy and Tony Award winner for Uhry’s “The Last Night of Ballyhoo,” is up again for the revival of “Butley.”
So here we are, poised to gather in front of the TV and toss bouquets — and perhaps a rotten tomato or two — at the winners and losers of the 61st annual Antoinette Perry Awards. Here are my thoughts. Please weigh on this blog with yours.
Best musical
John Kander and Fred Ebb’s “Curtains” no doubt has its charm, and No. 17 Cherry Tree Lane hasn’t been the same since the arrival of one Miss Mary Poppins. But this year, theater mavens have been clucking over the arrival of two genuinely fresh musical-theater offerings. Both “Grey Gardens” (based on the film documentary about Jackie Kennedy’s eccentric cousins) and “Spring Awakening” (adapted from a once-scandalous 1891 classic by German Frank Wedekind) are worthy of Tonys. But my vote goes to “Spring Awakening,” which is absolutely irresistible from start to finish.
Best original score
With “Spring Awakening,” alt rocker Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater (book and lyrics) have penned a collection of tunes as sharp and piercing as a punk rocker’s safety pins.
Best play
Tom Stoppard’s “The Coast of Utopia” may strain a bit in the middle, but it’s a remarkable achievement that makes the other nominees (“Frost/Nixon,” “Radio Golf” and “The Little Dog Laughed”) look pale by comparison.
Best revival of a musical
I suspect that John Doyle’s stylish revival of Sondheim’s “Company” will win. But for my money, “A Chorus Line” is a better revival. (Also nominated: “110 in the Shade” and “The Apple Tree,” starring Tony contender Audra McDonald.)
Best revival of a play
I would probably go with Eric Bogosian’s scabrous, pungent and creepily up-to-the-minute “Talk Radio,” starring the scabrous, pungent and creepily up-to-the minute Liev Schreiber. But by all accounts, “Journey’s End,” R.C. Sherriff’s 1928 study of wartime claustrophobia, is superb and will probably take the Tony.
Lead actor in a musical
Raúl Esparza will probably win for his star turn in “Company,” but my vote goes to Michael Cerveris, for fully inhabiting the peculiarities of Kurt Weill in “LoveMusik.”
Lead actress in a musical
Christine Ebersole, for “Grey Gardens,” in which she plays Edith Bouvier Beale and daughter Little Edie. Prepare yourself for her performance tonight of “The Revolutionary Costume for Today.”
Lead actor in a play
Frank Langella, who plays the impeached president in “Frost/Nixon,” faces tough competition in Schreiber and Brian F. O’Byrne (“Utopia”), but Langella is the genuine article.
Lead actress in a play
Vanessa Redgrave (“The Year of Magical Thinking”). Angela Lansbury (“Deuce”). Swoosie Kurtz (“Heartbreak House”). That’s pretty tall company. But I have a feeling the medallion will go to Eve Best, who apparently makes mincemeat of Kevin Spacey in “A Moon for the Misbegotten.”
Direction of a musical
Michael Mayer, for his spare, uncluttered and inventive staging of “Spring Awakening.”
Direction of a play
Jack O’Brien should win for the sprawling and gorgeously designed “Coast of Utopia.”
Choreography
Bill T. Jones, for fusing punk menace with the urgency of adolescent desire in “Spring Awakening.” His choreography will make your hair stand straight up.
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