Hot nods, cold shoulder
Tony nominations notable for who was left out
WE are off and running with the Tony nominations, announced Tuesday, and while it’s easy to predict some of the winners, a lot of categories are up for grabs.
“Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812” led the field with 12 nominations, including Best Musical, Best Actor in a Musical ( Josh Groban), Best Actress ( Denée Benton), Direction ( Rachel Chavkin) and Best Original Score and Book ( Dave Malloy).
The other nominees for Best Musical are “Groundhog Day,” “Dear Evan Hansen” and “Come From Away.”
The hit revival of “Hello, Dolly!” grabbed 10 nominations, among them Best Revival of a Musical, Best Actress (the divine Bette Midler), Actor (the divine David Hyde Pierce), Best Direction (the divine Jerry
Zaks) and Best Featured Performers — Gavin Creel and Kate Baldwin, both, well, divine.
The nominees for Best Play are “Oslo,” a surprisingly riveting historical drama about Middle East peace talks in the 1990s; “A Doll’s House, Part 2,” a snappy comedy inspired by a not-verysnappy Henrik Ibsen classic; “Sweat,” this year’s Pulitzer Prize winner; and “Indecent,” Paula Vogel’s gripping take on the controversy surrounding a lesbian-themed play from the 1920s.
The nominators thumbed their noses at several high-profile productions, causing considerable anger, fear and dyspepsia in Shubert Alley today.
“War Paint,” a musical about the rivalry between cosmetic queens Elizabeth Arden and Helena Rubinstein, scooped up nominations for leading ladies Christine Ebersole and Patti LuPone, but was shut out of Best Musical, Best Book, Best Score and Best Director. The show is selling well and will be fine as long as its two divas are above the title. But the snub for Best Musical ripped the cucumbers off the eyes of its creators and investors. “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, “Anastasia,” “A Bronx Tale,” “Bandstand” and “Amélie” were shunned as well. “Bandstand” and “Amélie” are doomed. They didn’t sell any tickets before they opened, they didn’t sell any tickets after they opened, and they’re sure as hell not going to sell any tickets now. “A Bronx Tale” was never going to be a favorite with Broadway insiders, but it has wide appeal with suburbanites and tourists, so it will run for a bit. “Anastasia” and “Charlie” have healthy advance ticket sales and should be able to scoop up the family business in the summer. They’re never going to be “The Lion King” or “Cats,” but they’ll have respectable runs and decent national tours. Nominators also snubbed An
drew Lloyd Webber, shunning his revival of “Cats” and his terrific revival of “Sunset Boulevard,” starring Glenn Close, who was not in the running for an award because she already won a Tony playing Norma Desmond in 1995.
In addition to “Dolly!,” the nominees for Best Revival of a Musical are “Falsettos,” which had a limited run, and “Miss Saigon.”
A surprising snub was for Lloyd Webber’s orchestrations for “Sunset.” The show has a 41-piece or- chestra, and why those soaring melodies, re-orchestrated by Lloyd Webber, did not land with the nominators is a mystery.
Where do the horse races stand right now?
“A Doll’s House, Part 2” is creeping up on “Oslo.” It’s only 90 minutes long, as opposed to the threehour running time for “Oslo” — and Tony voters like an early dinner. “Oslo” has the mantle of importance, but there’s a friskiness to “Doll’s House” that just might carry it over the finish line.
“Sweat,” despite its Pulitzer, is a long shot. It’s struggling at the box office, done in by the rivalry between New York Times chief theater critic Ben Brantley and his ex-colleague
Charles Isherwood, who was fired from the Times earlier this year. Isherwood raved about the play when it debuted off-Broadway last year, but Brantley gave it the back of his hand when it opened in March at Studio 54. Brantley’s knock was widely seen as his way of wiping away any traces of Isherwood’s influence.
Isherwood is going after the Times for wrongful termination, and his upcoming arbitration hearing promises to be more exciting than this year’s Tony Awards.
The race for Best Actor in a Musical is between Ben Platt (“Dear Evan Hansen”) and Andy
Karl (“Groundhog Day”). Both are terrific and extremely popular on Broadway. The race is going to teeter-totter right up until June 11, but I’ll give the upper hand to Karl. One, because he deserves it. And, two, because “Groundhog Day” is not going to win Best Musical, so Karl’s Tony will be something of a consolation prize.
A side note: Pierce, who won a Tony for “Curtains” in 2007, insisted on being nominated as Best Actor in “Hello, Dolly!” so that his co-star Creel would have a shot at winning Best Supporting Actor.
The Tony Award for class goes to Pierce.
Despite its 12 nominations, “Natasha and Pierre” has no chance of winning Best Musical. The race is between “Dear Evan Hansen” and “Come From Away,” a musical about 9/11 that has audiences weeping and then cheering. “Evan Hansen” has fans — and a lot of Tony voters have money in the show. But “Come From Away” has quietly gained momentum and will soon be unstoppable.
As for “Hello, Dolly!” it was unbeatable in 1964, and it’s unbeatable in 2017.