The Trump Play: The 47th is so much better than I expected

More surprises than usual – both good and not so – make the 2019 Tony Awards already more exciting than you’d expect, especially considering how disappointing most of the new musicals were this year. We do have one standout (Hadestown, obvs) but having mainly a slew of mediocrity fighting to fill out the ranks means no one could have guessed completely accurately. This season was much more impressive for plays, and then the surprises over in playtown are even more incredible, as in you really cannot believe it. Let’s get down to business.

Why not start off with the biggie! There’s really nothing controversial in here. We’re mostly happy that the sweet little musical that could, The Prom, squeaked its way in (although considering how many surprise noms it got, it’s not exactly ‘squeaking’ its way in here, is it) (by the way, discussion of award shows is the only situation where use of the word ‘noms’ is allowed). Beetlejuice got much more favorable reviews (I’m talking real ones and not the celebrity twitter rave reviews which have been oddly prevalent for this show…) than the average person actually seeing (well, hearing, as the visuals are wonderful but the score is naaaat) the show expected, which explains its inclusion here. And wow, Tony Voters really loved Ain’t Too Proud! Older white people do love them some Temptations. But the show to beat – the show with a whopping 14 noms today – is the unbelievable, fantastic Hadestown. It deserves to win most of the big ones, and as this year’s best musical it should absolutely be this year’s Best Musical. Fun fact: it was snubbed entirely from the Olivier Awards, because London just doesn’t get musical theatre like Broadway does. I have a whole TED Talk on the subject if you’re interested. Also the Oliviers are mostly garbage.

The nominations for Best New Play has everyone in theatre scratching their heads – except me. I get what you were doing Tony voters, at least what I hope you were doing, and I am HERE FOR IT. The conspicuous AF mess-up here is that the new Aaron Sorkin penned adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird is missing. TKAM is the biggest new show, the hottest ticket, and to many the greatest achievement, of the year. Its nominations in sooo many other categories show that the nominators thought extremely highly of it. FFS it even got a Best Score nomination! The love in every other category, plus the love it gets across the theatre spectrum as inarguably one of the greatest plays ever, in my book is a clear statement to producer Scott Rudin: You Suck. All season, Rudin has been destroying other productions of TKAM – not the Sorkin version, literally just all other stage productions of this famous, classic work – from the was-ready-to-go UK tour to forking school productions, so that he could have the only production, because he is a bully. Who shuts down school productions?? Someone who doesn’t actually love theatre, but loves power. That’s him, and that’s what I am choosing to believe the voters were trying to say by nominating TKAM for everything it could except the one award that goes to the producer. (It’s a shame the Tonys still haven’t sorted out how to reward the actual playwright as they do with musicals (with Score and Book rewarding authors separately from producers), because Sorkin shouldn’t have to take the fall with Rudin (unless he is also part of this shut-down of other productions.)) Anyway, this clears the path for the absolutely exquisite The Ferryman, which I was rooting for anyway.

If you follow this site, you know that in (completely unrelated) previous posts, I’ve railed about how Broadway couldn’t conjure up a ‘third revival’ this season. This is what I was talking about! There are only two musical revivals this year. It’s kind of embarrassing to look at this, especially since so many other categories had six nominees (also embarrassing, make your choices, you have one job). Oklahoma! is going to win and this is literally the least exciting category.

This is a race between my girl Rachel Chavkin and Daniel Fish. Chavkin’s show should be winning like WHOA on Tony Night, and her creative, magical direction is a huge part of what makes the show great. She was also robbed (ROBBED)(okay the winner was worthy as always but still) of a Best Director Tony for Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812 a few years back. Her inventive, unique vision is one of the most exciting things happening in modern theatre. But Fish is her main competition, having created a shocking, super-dark, super-relevant version of the beloved classic people thought they knew. This is my most interesting race.

Six nominees? What is this, the Emmy Awards? I can’t be too mad about including a play in this bunch since I adore Adam Guettel’s music (but the other musical writers this season can be!). I could say a lot about the overrated Be More Chill music, the surprisingly pedestrian Tootsie score from one of the best working composers (?? what happened Dave), the average Beetlejuice score, the sweet but not ground-breaking Prom, but all I really have to say is, Hadestown, guys. Anais Mitchell (not to be confused with Anais Nin, as I did in the past) has written a SCORE, babies. A score that is beautiful, original, soul-shattering, chill-inducing, just marvelous. Give her and this show all the awards; they deserve them.

Despite how surprising the double whammy noms for The Prom are, I can’t be too mad, because it brings together O’Hara and Kinnunen as fellow nominees, years after playing mother and daughter in one of my all-time faves, The Bridges of Madison County (don’t knock it till you’ve seen in three times and cried the whole time and then seen the final performance sitting next to Keala Settle who is also sobbing but she’s also punching her fist in the air at every amazing moment, which is constant, because she’s hilarious and awesome anyway we’re besties). I’m so excited for both of them to be considered for #SteerOfTheYear (it’s a Bridges thing), but this is Block’s award, hundo p. She is the best thing about The Cher Show, along with the Bob Mackie costumes, which will also probably win. It’s a shame Eva (who is lovely but whose character is the least interesting in her show) is in while Rebecca Naomi Jones for Oklahoma! is out, but neither would win anyway. The real snub here is that of young Sophia Anne Caruso, the one Beetlejuice nom that should have been a lock.

SANTINO! This is Santino’s and I am HERE FOR IT! I’m going to pretend his Tony is also an Emmy for his work on Crazy Ex Girlfriend, in which he was impeccable, but yeah his work in Tootsie is deeeefinitely winning. Well unless all these surprise nominations for Beetlejuice result in an upset here but that would be bad, BAD. Santinoooooo!

So this is that shit I was referring to in the beginning, about what constitutes a bad surprise. Strangely missing from this category is forking GLENDA JACKSON as KING LEAR. GLENDA. JACKSON. KING. LEAR. This is one of those once-in-a-lifetime pairings of actor and role, and she isn’t nominated? What the FORK, guys? And there are SIX NOMINATIONS! Emmy-style again! This is like when the Emmys nominated seven supporting actresses in a comedy and none of them were the best ones! Don’t make me go back to those dark times. The only salve for this burn is that Elaine May was always going to win anyway – Glenda’s deserved nom would have been a ‘it’s a shame she can’t also win’ situation – but STILL! All the other five nominees are great of course but getting in over Glenda Jackson is FORKING WEIRD. I’d be embarrassed, as I hope the voters are. Shaaaame.

Okay, we always knew this would be difficult. Horrible, even. Best actor in a play was the most stacked category this season, which we should see as a gift, I guess. But it’s hard not to bemoan the lack of one of the greatest actors ever, Tracy Letts, in here. Or John Lithgow, who is always wonderful. Or Jonny Lee Miller, or freaking Nathan Lane – you can always BET on Nathan getting nominated! It’s just too stacked. The real one that hurts here is the snub of Michael Urie, whose performance in Torch Song was one of those special ones that aren’t just like Letts or Lane or Lithgow simply “always” being good. Darn. As is, this is super hard, because Paddy and Bryan both won Oliviers for these roles, but Daniels is considered the frontrunner, and he will probably thank Rudin in his speech, which I guess he has to do but it would be cool if he was like ‘Hey Scott thanks for making this production and letting me star but also you are a mean old bully and you don’t actually love theatre if you don’t support theatre, anyway thanks everyone.’ I should be a speech-writer.

I am SO excited for Ali Stroker and I am SO excited for Mary Testa and I am SO excited for Sarah Stiles and I am SO excited for Lilli Cooper (even though she shouldn’t have been nominated over Leslie Kritzer for Beetlejuice or, most of all, Stephanie Styles in Kiss Me, Kate, or really Michaela Diamond for The Cher Show, who should have been a frontrunner, so I guess I’m not actually SO excited for some of them…) but this better forking be Amber Gray’s. Her command of the stage, of the audience, of the atmosphere in Hadestown is pure magic, a masterclass in humanity and humor and that ineffable quality that makes a star shine brighter when in the perfect role for her.

I take it back, this is my hardest category. The two Hadestown guys, oh dear god, I wish they could tie. Page’s Hades should probably get the win, if only for his soul-shaking, earth-shattering performance during “Why We Build a Wall”, but I adore, ADORE, Andre De Shields’ wondrous performance that makes a narrator so much more. Congrats to the other nominees – and HELL YEAH Jeremy Pope getting two nominations this season! – but the absence of Corbin Bleu here (Kiss Me, Kate) is a damn shame that really taints the whole thing.

Thanks to the voters naming Nielson a featured role and not a lead (she’s the lead, right? come on) and thus likely having her split votes with her Gary costar Julie White, CKB will finally win a Tony, the Tony she was certain she was going to get a few years ago for The Glass Menagerie (okay she wasn’t certain but the rest of the world was). I love me some CKB and she is always perfection, so this is a happy occasion.

I LOVE ALL THESE MEN! I am most excited for Robin de Jesus (more fun if you don’t know to pronounce it in Spanish) to finally be a Tony nominee, but all these guys, man alive this is A WONDERFUL group. I have zero clue who will win and I am SO EXCITED to find out.

To quote Forrest, that’s all I have to say about that, at least at the moment. As for categories I didn’t picturize, Tootsie will likely win Best Book because it has a lot of funny jokes, and people think that’s what a book is (although, voters did prove that they know better last season when they awarded The Band’s Visit over Tina Fey’s jokes, so there could be a similar sitch of Hadestown also winning Book, which I wouldn’t be sad about nope wouldn’t be sad). The scenic elements and production design award are actually exciting this year, because you have the visually stunning Beetlejuice set against the beyond impressive King Kong puppetry, although with King Kong’s puppet team getting a special Tony, perhaps that changes things. I don’t know, all I know is this is a very interesting, strange year, and I am into it.

My dog Oscar chewing on an Oscar

BEST PICTURE 12 Years A Slave American Hustle Captain Phillips Dallas Buyers Club Gravity  Her Nebraska Philomena The Wolf of Wall Street BEST DIRECTOR David O. Russell, “American Hustle” Alfonso Cuaron, “Gravity” Alexander Payne, “Nebraska” Steve McQueen, “12 Years a Slave” Martin Scorsese, “The Wolf of Wall Street” BEST ACTOR Christian Bale, “American Hustle” Bruce Dern, “Nebraska” Leonardo DiCaprio, “The Wolf of Wall Street” Chiwetel Ejiofor, “12 Years a Slave” Matthew McConaughey, “Dallas Buyers Club” BEST ACTRESS Amy Adams, “American Hustle” Cate Blanchett, “Blue Jasmine” Sandra Bullock, “Gravity” Judi Dench, “Philomena” Meryl Streep, “August: Osage County” “Do you think I give two shits? I’m the coolest person there is regardless of silly awards.” “I am perfection.” BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR Barkhad Abdi, “Captain Phillips” Bradley Cooper, “American Hustle” Michael Fassbender, “12 Years a Slave” Jonah Hill, “The Wolf of Wall Street” Jared Leto, “Dallas Buyers Club” BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS Sally Hawkins, “Blue Jasmine”’ Jennifer Lawrence, “American Hustle” Lupita Nyong’o, “12 Years a Slave” Julia Roberts, “August: Osage County” June Squibb, “Nebraska” \ BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke, “Before Midnight” Billy Ray, “Captain Phillips” Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope, “Philomena” John Ridley, “12 Years a Slave” Terence Winter, “The Wolf of Wall Street” BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY Eric Warren Singer and David O. Russell, “American Hustle” Woody Allen, “Blue Jasmine” Craig Borten & Melisa Wallack, “Dallas Buyers Club” Spike Jonze, “Her” Bob Nelson, “Nebraska” BEST ANIMATED FEATURE “The Croods” “Despicable Me 2” “Ernest & Celestine” “Frozen” “The Wind Rises” BEST ORIGINAL SONG “Happy” from “Despicable Me 2,” Pharrell Williams “Let It Go” from “Frozen,” Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez “The Moon Song” from “Her,” Karen O and Spike Jonze “Ordinary Love” from “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom,” Paul Hewson, Dave Evans, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen

Will win and should win: “12 Years A Slave” Should have been the winner or at least come in second: “Saving Mr. Banks” Better not win: “American Hustle” As I said in my review of all the movies in contention, “12 Years A Slave” is the most deserving film. “Gravity” is coming in at a close second according to predictors like Nate Silver and his friends, but it wouldn’t be as deserving. The real shame here is that absence of “Saving Mr. Banks”, which was one of the best of the year, and definitely better than 7 of the 9 nominees.  Will win and should win: Alfonso Cuaron, “Gravity” Although “Gravity” is not the best picture of the year, Cuaron’s direction is a big achievement in a new phase of special effects technology. He should win this one, so long as “12 Years” wins the big one.   Win win: Matthew McConaughey Who I’d be voting for: Chiwetel Who should have been nominated instead of Christian Bale: Robert Redford, “All is Lost”; Michael B. Jordan, “Fruitvale Station” There were so so many great male performances this year, so someone worthy had to be snubbed. However, one of the major snubbees, like Redford, whom people said was going to win at one point for chrissakes, should have been nominated over Bale, who is always great but nothing special in “Hustle”. McConaughey surprised many by sweeping all the major awards leading up to this weekend, but so many people want to reward him for his comeback, so that’s understandable. It just sucks that his parade runs over what should have been Chiwetel’s celebration. Not that Matthew wasn’t fantastic or hell maybe even the best of the year. It just shouldn’t have been such a landslide.  Will win and should win: Cate Blanchett Should have been nominated because she was the best of the year aside from Cate: Emma Thompson, “Saving Mr. Banks”      While this list of leading ladies is extremely impressive (Amy Adams’s great performance is the one thing I’m willing to commend “Hustle” on, that and hairdos), Emma Thompson’s snub is atrocious. Many thought her performance was one for the ages and a strong contender for the winner, yet she’s not on this list. It could be because the category is so strong, but the overall snubbery of “Banks” is so awful that it all seems connected. Like voters got sick of people saying during recent years how the most awarded films, like “The Artist” and “Argo”, were about the industry and how the industry just likes to reward itself and pat itself on the back, so this year voters were like, “Hey, let’s not let those critics say that this year; let’s not reward this movie about the industry even though it’s one of the best of the year.” And so Emma Thompson was a casualty of that, which blows. But it doesn’t really matter, because as I said in my recap, Blanchett’s performance is SICKMAZING.  Will and should win: Jared Leto, “Dallas Buyers Club” Kind of want to win because I’m scared he’ll never get another gig: Barkhad Abdi Jared Leto has so many things in his favor going into Sunday night: He’s been away from acting for freaking years, focusing on his music instead, and his first shot out of the gate is this incredible performance in a heavily lauded movie. He’s also playing a tragic, kindhearted transgender woman named Rayon, a part up there with Holocaust roles for the most likely to win Oscars. He was incredible, too, so it’s all good.  Better win: Lupita Nyong’o Better not win: Jennifer Lawrence Lupita was incredible in her first major film role, and really better win. If Jennifer Lawrence wins another award this year just because people want to be her friend and want her to think they’re cool for thinking she’s cool, I’ma be real mad. Last year was her year! Not this year! Argh! Lupita! I love you! Will and should win: “12 Years a Slave” I would probably be voting for: “Philomena”, because I love Coogan and he did a great job I would also probably vote for: “Before Midnight”, because damn.  I hope “12 Years” will take this one, but I’d be thrilled with an upset by “Before Midnight”, which had a sensational, genius script, or “Philomena”, because I’d love a Steve Coogan acceptance speech.  Might win: “American Hustle” Has an equally good chance of winning: “Her” Better not win: “American Hustle” Should win because shamwow: “Her” I loved loved “Her”, and if it’s going to win any award, best original screenplay is the one, because damn if it wasn’t the best original screenplay in years. You know what shouldn’t win? “Hustle”, which had great performances but damn if it wasn’t the most disappointing script in years.  Will and should win: “Frozen” Best movie everrrr!  LET IT GOOOO, LET IT GOOOOO CAN’T HOLD IT BACK ANYMOOOOORE. LET IT GOOO, LET IT GOOO, TURN AWAY AND SLAM THE DOOR.  Will and should win: “Let It Go” HERE I STAAAAND AND HERE I’LL STAYYYY!  No, seriously, this song is amazing. When I saw “Frozen” in the theatre the first time, I broke my cardinal rule of moviegoing and spoke after Idina finished destroying this song: I said to the person next to me “That was amazing.” It was. If all goes as it should, Bobby Lopez will soon become the 12th EGOT in the history of the world. MAHA NAIBU EEBOWAI!