“Once”, “Porgy and Bess” and “Nice Work if You Can Get It” Lead the Tony Nominations

The best of the New York Theater world were honored this morning with the announcement of the 2012 Tony nominations. Leading the charge was the film to musical adaptation of Once with 11 nods followed by the revival of Porgy & Bess and the new Matthew Broderick musical Nice Work if You Can Get It with 10 a piece. However, Broderick was one of many notable star snubs including Bernadette Peters (Follies), Ricky Martin and Elena Roger (Evita), Angela Lansbury (The Best Man), and everybody and pretty much everything about Spiderman Turn off the Dark.… On the bright side, there were a lot of new names among the contenders like Jeremy Jordan (Newsies), Steve Kazee (Once) and Cristin Milotti (Once). For more on the snubs, surprises and all the shows, head to Broadway.com and check out all the nominees below. Then watch the show on June 10 on CBS hosted by the incredible Neil Patrick Harris (who has previously won an Emmy for hosting this telecast by the way).

2012 Tony Award Nominations

Best Play
Clybourne Park
Other Desert Cities
Peter and the Starcatcher
Venus in Fur

Best Musical
Leap of Faith
Newsies
Nice Work If You Can Get It
Once

Best Revival of a Play
Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman
Gore Vidal’s The Best Man
Master Class
Wit

Best Revival of a Musical
Evita
Follies
The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess
Jesus Christ Superstar

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play

James Corden – One Man, Two Guvnors

Philip Seymour Hoffman – Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman
James Earl Jones – Gore Vidal’s The Best Man
Frank Langella – Man and Boy
John Lithgow – The Columnist

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play
Nina Arianda – Venus in Fur
Tracie Bennett – End of the Rainbow
Stockard Channing – Other Desert Cities
Linda Lavin – The Lyons
Cynthia Nixon – Wit

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical
Danny Burstein – Follies
Jeremy Jordan – Newsies
Steve Kazee – Once
Norm Lewis – The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess
Ron Raines – Follies

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical
Jan Maxwell – Follies
Audra McDonald – The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess
Cristin Milioti – Once
Kelli O’Hara – Nice Work If You Can Get It
Laura Osnes – Bonnie & Clyde

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play
Christian Borle, Peter and the Starcatcher
Michael Cumpsty, End of the Rainbow
Tom Edden, One Man, Two Guvnors
Andrew Garfield, Death of a Salesman
Jeremy Shamos, Clybourne Park

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play
Linda Emond, Death of a Salesman
Spencer Kayden, Don’t Dress for Dinner
Cella Keenan-Bolger, Peter and the Starcatcher
Judith Light, Other Desert Cities
Condola Rashad, Stick Fly

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical
Phillip Boykin, The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess
Michael Cerveris, Evita
David Allen Grier, The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess
Michael McGrath, Nice Work If You Can Get It
Josh Young, Jesus Christ Superstar

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical
Elizabeth A. Davis, Once
Jayne Houdyshell, Follies
Judy Kaye, Nice Work If You Can Get It
Jesse Mueller, On a Clear Day You Can See Forever
Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Ghost

Best Direction of a Play
Nicholas Hytner, One Man, Two Guvnors
Pam MacKinnon, Clybourne Park
Mike Nichols, Death of a Salesman
Roger Rees and Alex Timbers, Peter and the Starcatcher

Best Direction of a Musical
Jeff Calhoun, Newsies
Kathleen Marshall, Nice Work If You Can Get It
Diane Paulus, The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess
John Tiffany, Once

Best Book of a Musical
Lysistrata Jones
Newsies
Nice Work If You Can Get It
Once

Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre
Bonnie & Clyde
Newsies
One Man, Two Guvnors
Peter and the Starcatcher

Best Choreography
Rob Ashford, Evita
Christopher Gattelli, Newsies
Steven Hoggett, Once
Kathleen Marshall, Nice Work If You Can Get It

Best Scenic Design of a Play
John Lee Beatty, Other Desert Cities
Daniel Ostling, Clybourne Park
Mark Thompson, One Man, Two Guvnors
Donyale Werle, Peter and the Starcatcher

Best Scenic Design of a Musical
Bob Crowley, Once
Rob Howell and Jon Driscoll, Ghost the Musical
Tobin Ost and Sven Ortel, Newsies
George Tsypin, Spider-Man Turn Off The Dark

Best Costume Design of a Play
William Ivey Long, Don’t Dress for Dinner
Paul Tazewell, A Streetcar Named Desire
Mark Thompson, One Man, Two Guvnors
Paloma Young, Peter and the Starcatcher

Best Costume Design of a Musical
Gregg Barnes, Follies
ESosa, The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess
Eiko Ishioka, Spider-Man Turn Off The Dark
Martin Pakledinaz, Nice Work If You Can Get It

Best Lighting Design of a Play
Jeff Croiter, Peter and the Starcatcher
Peter Kaczorowski, The Road to Mecca
Brian MacDevitt, Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman
Kenneth Posner, Other Desert Cities

Best Lighting Design of a Musical
Christopher Akerlind, The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess
Natasha Katz, Follies
Natasha Katz, Once
Hugh Vanstone, Ghost the Musical

Best Sound Design of a Play
Paul Arditti, One Man, Two Guvnors
Scott Lehrer, Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman
Gareth Owen, End of the Rainbow
Darron L. West, Peter and the Starcatcher

Best Sound Design of a Musical
Acme Sound Partners, The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess
Clive Goodwin, Once
Kai Harada, Follies
Brian Ronan, Nice Work If You Can Get It

Best Orchestrations
William David Brohn and Christopher Jahnke, The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess
Bill Elliott, Nice Work If You Can Get It
Martin Lowe, Once
Danny Troob, Newsies
* * *
Recipients of Awards and Honors in Non-competitive Categories
Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre
Emanuel Azenberg
Regional Theatre Award
The Shakespeare Theatre Company, Washington, D.C.
Isabelle Stevenson Award
Bernadette Peters
Special Tony Award
Actors’ Equity Association
Hugh Jackman
Tony Honor for Excellence in the Theatre
Freddie Gershon
Artie Siccardi
TDF Open Doors
* * *
Tony Nominations by Production
Once – 11
The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess – 10
Nice Work If You Can Get It – 10
Peter and the Starcatcher – 9
Follies – 8
Newsies – 8
Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman – 7
One Man, Two Guvnors – 7
Other Desert Cities – 5
Clybourne Park – 4
End of the Rainbow – 3
Evita – 3
Ghost the Musical – 3
Bonnie & Clyde – 2
Don’t Dress for Dinner – 2
Gore Vidal’s The Best Man – 2
Jesus Christ Superstar – 2
Spider-Man Turn Off The Dark – 2
Venus in Fur – 2
Wit – 2
The Columnist – 1
Leap of Faith – 1
The Lyons – 1
Lysistrata Jones – 1
Man and Boy – 1
Master Class – 1
On A Clear Day You Can See Forever – 1
The Road to Mecca – 1
Stick Fly – 1
A Streetcar Named Desire – 1

My Big Bold 2011 Tony Award Winner Predictions!

Broadway’s biggest night is upon us this Sunday with the 2011 Tony Awards. This year they will be hosted by the brilliant Emmy Award winner (and Broadway vet) Neil Patrick Harris who was fantastic the last time he hosted two years ago (for which he won an Emmy thank you very much). The show will feature performances from all the big musical nominees: Anything Goes, The Book of Mormon, Sister Act, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (featuring snubbed Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe himself!), Catch Me If You Can and Priscilla: Queen of the Desert. There will also be a performance from the most maligned show on Broadway~ Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark and last year’s Best Musical winner Memphis. Plus, the cast of the limited run Broadway reprise of Company featuring Harris, Steven Colbert, Martha Plimpton, Anika Noni Rose, Jon Cryer, Christina Hendricks, Patti LuPone and more will do a number that is sure to be hilarious and fantastic. (FYI~ watch for the taped version of Company to hit movie theatres for a brief run starting next weekend!) For more on the show, head to the Tony website here. And for now, let’s take a look at just who I think is gonna take home the big awards. Hint hint~ if there’s a Mormon involved it’s probably gonna win…

My Big Bold 2011 Tony Award Winner Predictions:

Best Musical:
The Book of Mormon, Catch Me If You Can, Sister Act, The Scottsboro Boys
Will & Should win: The Book of Mormon

Best Play:
Good People, Jerusalem, The Motherfucker with the Hat, War Horse
Will & Should win: War Horse
~spoiler: Jerusalem

Best Musical Revival:
Anything Goes, How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Will & Should win: Anything Goes

Best Play Revival:
Arcadia, The Importance of Being Earnest, the Merchant of Venice, The Normal Heart
Will & Should win: The Normal Heart

Best Director Musical:
Rob Ashford (How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying), Kathleen Marshall (Anything Goes), Casey Nicholaw & Trey Parker (The Book of Mormon), Susan Stroman (The Scottsboro Boys)
Will & Should win: The Book of Mormon
~spoiler: Anything Goes

Best Director Play:
Marianne Elliott & Tom Morris (War Horse), Joel Grey & George C. Wolfe (The Normal Heart), Anna D. Shapiro (The Motherfucker with the Hat), Daniel Sullivan (The Merchant of Venice)
Will & Should win: The Normal Heart
~spoiler: War Horse

Best Actor in a Leading Role, Musical:
Norbert Leo Butz (Catch Me if You Can), Josh Gad (The Book of Mormon), Joshua Henry (The Scottsboro Boys), Andrew Rannells (The Book of Mormon), Tony Sheldon (The Adventures of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert)
Will & Should win: Tony Sheldon
~spoiler: Norbert Leo Butz
-This should be a really tight race between Butz, Gad, and Sheldon by the way. So we could see a surprise.

Best Actress in a Leading Role, Musical:
Beth Levell (Baby It’s You), Sutton Foster (Anything Goes), Patina Miller (Sister Act), Donna Murphy (The People in the Picture)
Will & Should win: Sutton Foster
~spoiler: Patina Miller

Best Actor in a Leading Role, Play:
Brian Bedford (The Importance of Being Earnest), Bobby Cannavale (The Motherfucker with the Hat), Joe Mantanello (The Normal Heart), Mary Rylance (Jerusalem), Al Pacino (The Merchant of Venice)
Will & Should win: Joe Mantello
~spoiler: Mark Rylance

Best Actress in a Leading Role, Play:
Nina Arianda (Born Yesteday), Frances McDormand (Good People), Lily Rabe (The Merchant of Venice), Vanessa Redgrave (Driving Miss Daisy), Hannah Yelland (Brief Encounter)
Will & Should win: Frances McDormand
~spoiler: Nina Arianda

Best Actor in a Featured Role, Musical:
Colman Domingo (The Scottsboro Boys), Adam Godley (Anything Goes), John Larroquette (How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying), Forrest McClendon (The Scottsboro Boys), Rory O’Malley (The Book of Mormon)
Will & Should win: Rory O’Malley
~spoiler: John Larroquette

Best Actress in a Featured Role, Musical:
Laura Benanti (Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown), Tammy Blanchard (How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying), Victoria Clark (Sister Act), Nikki M. James (The Book of Mormon), Patti LuPone (Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown)
Will win: Laura Benanti
Should win: Nikki M. James
~spoiler: Victoria Clark

Best Actor in a Featured Role, Play:
Mackenzie Crook (Jerusalem), Billy Crudup (Arcadia), John Benjamin Hickey (The Normal Heart), Arian Moayed (Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo), Yul Vazquez (The Motherfucker with the Hat)
Will & Should win: John Benjamin Hickey
~spoiler: Yul Vazquez

Best Actress in a Featured Role, Play:
Ellen Barkin (The Normal Heart), Edie Falco (The House of Blue Leaves), Judith Light (Lombardi), Joanna Lumley (La Bete), Elizabeth Rodriguez (The Motherfucker with the Hat)
Will & Should win: Ellen Barkin
~spoiler: Edie Falco

Best Book of A Musical:
Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, The Book of Mormon, The Scottsboro Boys, Sister Act
Will & Should win: The Book of Mormon

Best Original Score (Music and Lyrics):
The Book of Mormon, The Scottsboro Boys, Sister Act, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
Will & Should win: The Book of Mormon
~spoiler: The Scottsboro Boys

Best Choreography:
Anything Goes, The Book of Mormon, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, The Scottsboro Boys
Will win & Should win: Anything Goes
~spoiler: The Scottsboro Boys

The American Idol Finale~ America Gets it Wrong… Again…

Ok, America, what is your problem? Year after year, you pick the wrong winner for American Idol! I mean Lee over Crystal? Kris over Adam? Taylor over Katharine? Ugh… And now Scotty McCreery wins over Lauren Alaina. Now, at least it’s not as atrocious a result as those other seasons, but it’s still disappointing. Lauren is clearly the better and more talented singer while Scotty is a serviceable singer and decent entertainer. Of course, Scotty is apparently a teen idol that the girls love. Not to mention, the churchgoers, the Southerners and the conservative power voters of America…. To think, they probably all liked Lauren too, but still another boring boy wins in the end is frustrating indeed. At least, both Scotty and Lauren look as though they will have successful careers and both of their coronation singles are at the top of the iTunes charts… Of course, will they reach superstar Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood levels? That remains to be seen, but it’s doubtful. I’m certainly more interested in seeing the career trajectory of the massively talented ninth place finisher Pia Toscano (yes that was the biggest “shocker boot” of the season Idol fans) and the darkhorse of all darkhorses who won me over and proved the most interesting and daring of all the contenders, Haley Reinhart. I do expect both of them to release singles asap (and they will according to the interwebs buzz)…. Until those two and our country kids release their albums, we can take comfort in the fact that at least Idol got its groove back this season with great singers and two good and entertaining new judges. (Simon who?) … So, for the last time this season, it’s time to do some rankings. This time, I’m gonna count down the best and worst of last night’s performances on the season 10 finale of American Idol.

Ranking the American Idol Season finale performances…
1. Beyonce- “One Plus One”: holy crap, THAT is singing people. The diva needs her stage baby and Ms. B owned the Nokia last night. Fantastic. Grade: A+
2. Lady Gaga- “The Edge of Glory”: with her triumphant current 80′s dance smash “Glory”, Gaga gave you performance art, sexy dancing (with the amazing Mark from season 4 of So You Think You Can Dance), wonderful vocals and a daring leap off a “cliff” at the end. Simply great. Grade: A
3. Steven Tyler- “Dream On”: um, how old is he and how on Earth does he still hit those notes? Now, that’s how you rock future Idol contenders! I just wish the song had been longer. Grade: A
4. Lauren & Carrie Underwood- “Before He Cheats”: the dueling ladies powered through Underwood’s smash with fun and finesse and wow was Carrie gorgeous. She did kinda wipe the floor with Lauren a bit though… Carrie: A+, Lauren: B, Overall: A-
5. James Durbin & Judas Priest- “Living After Midnight/Breaking the Law“: despite wearing the gayest outfit ever, James rocked the crap out of the Priest hits alongside the iconic metal band. I didn’t think I’d like it, but damn, it was good. Grade: A-
6. The Idol Girls & Beyonce- ”Beyonce Hit Medley”: if it was just Beyonce, this would’ve ranked higher. However, it was still a strong medley featuring standout performances from Pia, Haley and surprisingly Karen. And I have to say practically all these ladies were good dancers too. And then, Beyonce just murdered “Crazy in Love” at the end of course. Grade: B+
7. Haley & Tony Bennett- ”Steppin Out”: This would’ve ranked higher too if not for a few flubs on Bennett’s part because Haley was astounding on the number. However, you have to give Bennett credit. He’s literally like 85 years old! Well done and they had surprising chemistry. Grade: B
8. Scotty & Tim McGraw- “Live Like You Were Dying”: in a well matched duet, both men sounded good and gave each other mad respect. Strong song choice too. Grade: B
9. Marc Anthony w/Jennifer Lopez- ”Aguanile”: sure I didn’t understand a word Anthony was singing and his creepy facial expressions were unappealing, but damn if he isn’t a fantastic singer. Plus, J Lo werrrrrrrrrrrrrrked it with the booty shaking. Grade: B
10. The Idol Top 13 finalists- “Born This Way”: I was prepared to cringe with this one, but the finalists shocked me into happy Glee-type submission with their performance of Lady Gaga’s empowering # 1 smash. Standouts were Stefano and Haley and hello,, this was the best dancing by any top 13 in the history of the show. Grade: B
11. Reeve Carney, Bono & The Edge- “Rise Above”: sure the vocals and the passion were there. Plus there were cool Spidermen flying around during this song from the troubled U2 Broadway musical Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark. Unfortunately, the song and the performance were rather snoozey. Grade: B-
12. Scotty- “I Love You This Big”: reprising his coronations song with confetti flying and tears flowing, Scotty gave an emotional and appropriate performance. However, the song is really trite and boring. But I loved all the family hugs and then Scotty dissing Jack Black (unintentionally that is) was hilarious. Grade: B-
13. Jacob Lusk, Kirk Franklin & Gladys Knight- “I Smile”: taking us to church for one last time, Jacob got his gospel on with some music legends. It was a high energy entertaining performance, but Jacob was pitchy and inconsistent. Plus you could barely hear Gladys and Franklin was just running around yelling at everyone. Grade: C+
14. TLC, Lil Jon & the female finalists- “No Scrubs/Waterfalls“: it was great to see TLC back on stage again, but the Idols and Lil Jon added nothing to the songs and it was a little low energy. Grade: C
15. Casey Abrams & Jack Black- “Fat Bottomed Girls”: um, it was fun? … But it was a bit of a mess and Jack Black sounded better than Casey. Oops. Grade: C-
16. The Idol Male Finalists & Tom Jones- “Tom Jones Medley”: an utter and complete disaster for the most part. Grade:D+

So, there you have it. One last Idol ranking session… And there are no predictions to make… Ok, here’s one: Scotty and Lauren will have success, but nowhere near the success of Beyonce. And why do I bring her up again? … Well, let’s be honest, she stole the show last night.. So, before I go and you give me your thoughts on last night’s finale, take one final look at B’s performance of her new single “One plus One” below.

Beyonce “One Plus One”

Spiderman swings to Broadway

After a few false starts, Spidey is finally swinging onto the Great White Way. Featuring songs by U2′s Bono and the Edge, Spiderman: Turn off the Dark hits Broadway on January 11, 2011 under the direction of Tony winner Julie Taymor (The Lion King). The first clips of the rehearsal process have hit the web and I have one for you below. I’m excited to say the least. The show stars Reeve Carney (who’s starring in Taymor’s upcoming film The Tempest alongside Helen Mirren) and Jennifer Damiano (a Tony nominee for her fantastic work in Next To Normal). For more on the show, head to the website here and check out your first glimpse of the webslinger on the boards below.

Spiderman on Broadway