Hugh Jackman (Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions via The Broadway Blog.)
“Everybody loves a winner, so nobody loves me.”
So sings Sally Bowles in Cabaret, but we didn’t hear Michelle Williams belt it out last night at the 68th Annual Tony Awards. Was she even in the room? Instead, we were treated to Alan Cumming recreating his Tony Award-winning role as the Emcee in the revival of the 1998 revival. How meta. That and other artistic oddities dominated this year’s Tony Award broadcast that aimed to invigorate a relatively anemic season on the Great White Way. We can’t say that we laughed, we cried, or it was better than Cats, but there were a few “a-ha” moments worthy of chuckles and tears.
Idina Menzel (Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions via The Broadway Blog.)
Rant: What’s with the jumping, Hugh? The entire opening sequence had Jackman bouncing past vignettes of nominated performers and shows through the massive hallways of Radio City Music Hall. According to CNN, the bouncing was in reference to Bobby Van’s performance of “Take Me to Broadway” in the 1953 film Small Town Girl. Most (all?) avid theatergoers missed the reference and it ended up coming off like a last-minute fix for an elaborate opening dance sequence that perhaps went awry during rehearsals.
Rave: Audra McDonald won her sixth Tony Award for her performance of Billie Holliday in Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill. Tricky that it was for the Best Play category, but we won’t squabble. McDonald is Broadway royalty.
Rant: Idina Menzel… let it go. And by that, we mean the crazy eyes and Olympic mouth stretching during your performance from If/Then. We were getting a bit of Elphaba, which also brings us to another rant as we were hoping you’d go green for the 10th anniversary performance from Wicked.
Jefferson Mays (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions via The Broadway Blog.)
Rave: They should give out a Tony for Best Performance by an Actor Introducing a Musical… and when they do, please bestow it on Jefferson Mayes, for his gender-bending, denture-swapping narrative that preceded the best musical excerpt of the evening, which also happened to be from the show that won Best Musical: A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder.
Rave: Neil Patrick Harris – you rock. Period.
Rant? The jury is out on Jennifer Hudson’s performance from the forthcoming Finding Neverland. According to the New York Daily News, Harvey Weinstein wanted to bring Hollywood cache to create hype for the show, but Broadway purists were pissed that members of the actual cast were kept on the sidelines.
Rave: Could Carole King be any cuter? Yes, when performing with Broadway’s newest A-Lister Jessie Mueller. The pair were all rainbows and free love, and Mueller, who has trudged through less-than-thrilling revivals of On a Clear Day You Can See Forever and Into the Woods is a shining star in the Chicago-based Mueller family of actors, who have been on the regional boards for decades.
What will the 2014-15 Broadway season bring? We can’t wait to find out. But in the meantime, we’ll be reveling in the hit shows of the current season.
Take the leap for the full winner list.
Best Play
Act One
WINNER: All The Way
Casa Valentina
Mothers and Sons
Outside Mullingar
The cast of “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder” (photo: Joan Marcus) via The Broadway Blog.
Best Musical
After Midnight
Aladdin
Beautiful – The Carole King Musical
WINNER: A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder
Best Revival of a Play
The Cripple of Inishmaan
The Glass Menagerie
WINNER: A Raisin in the Sun
Twelfth Night
Best Revival of a Musical
Neil Patrick Harris (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions via The Broadway Blog.)
WINNER: Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Les Misérables
Violet
Best Book of a Musical
Aladdin Chad Beguelin
Beautiful – The Carole King Musical Douglas McGrath
Bullets Over Broadway Woody Allen
WINNER: A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder Robert L. Freedman
Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre
Aladdin Music: Alan Menken Lyrics: Howard Ashman, Tim Rice and Chad Beguelin
WINNER: The Bridges of Madison County Music & Lyrics: Jason Robert Brown
A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder Music: Steven Lutvak Lyrics: Robert L. Freedman & Steven Lutvak
If/Then Music: Tom Kitt Lyrics: Brian Yorkey
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play
Samuel Barnett, Twelfth Night
WINNER: Bryan Cranston, All The Way
Chris O’Dowd, Of Mice and Men
Mark Rylance, Richard III
Tony Shalhoub, Act One
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play
Tyne Daly, Mothers and Sons
LaTanya Richardson Jackson, A Raisin in the Sun
Cherry Jones, The Glass Menagerie
WINNER: Audra McDonald, Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill
Estelle Parsons, The Velocity of Autumn
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical
WINNER: Neil Patrick Harris, Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Ramin Karimloo, Les Misérables
Andy Karl, Rocky
Jefferson Mays, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder
Bryce Pinkham, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder
Jessie Mueller in “Beautiful—The Carole King Musical.”
(photo: Joan Marcus)
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical
Mary Bridget Davies, A Night with Janis Joplin
Sutton Foster, Violet
Idina Menzel, If/Then
WINNER: Jessie Mueller, Beautiful – The Carole King Musical
Kelli O’Hara, The Bridges of Madison County
Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play
Reed Birney, Casa Valentina
Paul Chahidi, Twelfth Night
Stephen Fry, Twelfth Night
WINNER: Mark Rylance, Twelfth Night
Brian J. Smith, The Glass Menagerie
Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play
Sarah Greene, The Cripple of Inishmaan
Celia Keenan-Bolger, The Glass Menagerie
WINNER: Sophie Okonedo, A Raisin in the Sun
Anika Noni Rose, A Raisin in the Sun
Mare Winningham, Casa Valentina
Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical
Danny Burstein, Cabaret
Nick Cordero, Bullets Over Broadway
Joshua Henry, Violet
WINNER: James Monroe Iglehart, Aladdin
Jarrod Spector, Beautiful – The Carole King Musical
Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical
Linda Emond, Cabaret
WINNER: Lena Hall, Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Anika Larsen, Beautiful – The Carole King Musical
Adriane Lenox, After Midnight
Lauren Worsham, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder
Best Scenic Design of a Play
WINNER: Beowulf Boritt, Act One
Bob Crowley, The Glass Menagerie
Es Devlin, Machinal
Christopher Oram, The Cripple of Inishmaan
Best Scenic Design of a Musical
WINNER: Christopher Barreca, Rocky
Julian Crouch, Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Alexander Dodge, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder
Santo Loquasto, Bullets Over Broadway
Best Costume Design of a Play
Jane Greenwood, Act One
Michael Krass, Machinal
Rita Ryack, Casa Valentina
WINNER: Jenny Tiramani, Twelfth Night
Best Costume Design of a Musical
WINNER: Linda Cho, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder
William Ivey Long, Bullets Over Broadway
Arianne Phillips, Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Isabel Toledo, After Midnight
Best Lighting Design of a Play
Paule Constable, The Cripple of Inishmaan
Jane Cox, Machinal
WINNER: Natasha Katz, The Glass Menagerie
Japhy Weideman, Of Mice and Men
Best Lighting Design of a Musical
WINNER: Kevin Adams, Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Christopher Akerlind, Rocky
Howell Binkley, After Midnight
Donald Holder, The Bridges of Madison County
Best Sound Design of a Play
Alex Baranowski, The Cripple of Inishmaan
WINNER: Steve Canyon Kennedy, Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill
Dan Moses Schreier, Act One
Matt Tierney, Machinal
Best Sound Design of a Musical
Peter Hylenski, After Midnight
Tim O’Heir, Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Mick Potter, Les Misérables
WINNER: Brian Ronan, Beautiful – The Carole King Musical
Best Direction of a Play
Tim Carroll, Twelfth Night
Michael Grandage, The Cripple of Inishmaan
WINNER: Kenny Leon, A Raisin in the Sun
John Tiffany, The Glass Menagerie
Best Direction of a Musical
Warren Carlyle, After Midnight
Michael Mayer, Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Leigh Silverman, Violet
WINNER: Darko Tresnjak, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder
Best Choreography
WINNER: Warren Carlyle, After Midnight
Steven Hoggett & Kelly Devine, Rocky
Casey Nicholaw, Aladdin
Susan Stroman, Bullets Over Broadway
Best Orchestrations
Doug Besterman, Bullets Over Broadway
WINNER: Jason Robert Brown, The Bridges of Madison County
Steve Sidwell, Beautiful – The Carole King Musical
Jonathan Tunick, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder
* * *
Recipients of Awards and Honors in Non-competitive Categories
Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre
Jane Greenwood
Regional Theatre Award
Signature Theatre, New York, N.Y.
Isabelle Stevenson Award
Rosie O’Donnell
Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre
Joseph P. Benincasa
Joan Marcus
Charlotte Wilcox
2014 Tony Awards (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions via The Broadway Blog.)
