If you detected a frisson of fabulous excitement scorching the air this morning, it’s because the 61st annual Tony award nominations were announced! (For those who may not fathom the awesome significance of the Tonys, the awards are the Broadway theater world equivalent of the Oscars and named for Antoinette Perry, an actress, director, producer and who passed away prior to the first award show in 1947.)
Turning a profit on Broadway takes a perfect storm of miracles, so, just like the Academy Awards, there’s always a lot of shameless politicking on the part of producers trying to get their show the coveted nomination. This year’s pre-nom buzz had a lot to do with Legally Blonde, the new musical movie adaptation that Time Out NY’s David Cote summed up as an “aggressively cute and brutally corporate entertainment machine.” But despite the producers’ machinations, the show was like totally denied a Best Musical nomination! (Though it did get nominated in other categories.) Spring Awakening, the sexed-up musical adaptation of the 1891 play by German Frank Wedekind, blossomed with 11 nominations.
A more noteworthy snub was the passing over of Kevin Spacey for a best actor nomination. (He’s now on Broadway in a revival of Eugene O’Neill’s A Moon for the Misbegotten.) According to the Post’s Michael Riedel, “nominators knock him for being too ‘jumpy’ and ‘antic’.” (Spacey was bested by his co-star Eve Best, who is nominated for best actress.) Peruse the entire list of nominees now so you’ll have something to chat about with your temps and waiters today.
The other big off-Broadway theater award event, The Village Voice Obie Awards, goes down on May 21st and will feature presenters such as Angela Lansbury, Liev Schreiber and Dustin Hoffman. Theater trivia: when Dustin Hoffman won his Obie, he was still working as a waiter at the Village Gate nightclub; he says the award means more to him than any other because it encouraged him keep acting. So I guess we have the Village Voice to thank for Ishtar.
And in a bit of unrelated but sad news, New York lost another indie-film treasure as James Urbaniak moved his family to L.A. today. Oh well, at least he'll be near an In-N-Out Burger.
Photo of Kiki & Herb Alive on Broadway by Carol Rosegg
