Predictions, opinions and more about the 2019 Broadway season!
My favorite season is not winter or summer, or even spring or fall. It is Tony season. After eagerly awaiting this time of year since June 2018, it is finally here. Sunday I will gather around the biggest TV in the house surrounded by my friends and family to watch the 73rd Annual Tony Awards hosted by James Corden.
It has been quite the season, filled with astounding original productions, successful jukebox musicals, revivals of old favorites and adaptations of other beloved works that originated on screen. Before diving into the many opinions I hold of this season's lineup of nominees, let us take some time to appreciate those who did not get the attention they deserved from the American Theatre Wing.
The number one Tony snub for me personally: George Salazar. I know, Be More Chill may not be 100% deserving of its place on Broadway and none of the roles are quite equal to those of the other shows of the season. However, myself and many others have become quite passionate fans of George Salazar, who portrays Michael Mell in the piece and is a longtime friend Joe Iconis. He has incredible vocal talent along with a vibrant personality. Not to mention, I had the immense honor of meeting him, along with other friends of Joe, at a performance in Vermont, indefinitely giving me a bias toward him if only so I could say, "I met him before he was famous!"
It may not be on my list of favorite books, I may think it is ridiculously overrated, but even I cannot deny that To Kill A Mockingbird deserved a nomination for Best Play.
There are others, but I don't really think that anyone wants to hear me complain any more. One final snub: Pretty Woman. Specifically, Samantha Barks. I have not seen Pretty Woman on Broadway, I have only seen bits of the movie but I have listened to the entire Original Broadway Cast Recording, which is what most fans will have access to. The music has everything that I personally look for: rhythm, power and feeling. When Samantha slays her epic Act II solo, 'I Can't Go Back', you feel the words in your chest. Her first big number of the show, 'Anywhere But Here', allows for the listener to have an immediate, intimate understanding of Vivian that is essential to keep the story moving.
“It has been quite the season, filled with astounding original productions, successful jukebox musicals, revivals of old favorites and adaptations of other beloved works that originated on screen.”
Here are my predictions for the season:
Best musical: Hadestown
Score: Be More Chill
Book of Musical: Hadestown
Revival of Play: Boys in the Band
Director Musical: Rachel Chavkin (Hadestown)
Actor, Play: Adam Driver (Burn This) or Bryan Cranston (Network)
Actress, Play: Laurie Metcalf (Hillary and Clinton) or Heidi Schreck (What the Constitution Mean To Me)
Actor, Musical: Derrick Baskin (Ain't Too Proud) or Brooks Ashmanskas (Prom)
Actress, Musical: NOT Kelli O'Hara
Feat. Actor, Play: Robin De Jesus (Boys In The Band)
Feat. Actress, Play: Fionnula Flanagan (Ferryman) or Celia Keenan-Bolger (To Kill A Mockingbird)
Feat. Actor, Musical: NOT Jeremy Pope or Andy Grotelueschen
Feat. Actress, Musical: Amber Gray (Hadestown)
Costume, Musical: Bob Mackie (Cher Show) or Paul Tazewell (Ain't Too Proud), wouldn't mind of Michael Krass got it for Hadestown either
Sound, Musical: Nevin Steinberg and Jessica Paz for Hadestown
Choreography: David Neumann (Hadestown) or Sergio Trujillo (Ain't Too Proud)
Orchestrations: Michael Chorney and Todd Sickafoose (Hadestown)
From reading these hope-filled predictions, I believe it is clear what my favorite musical of the season is. I included more musical votes than play votes because I have not seen any of the productions of the season and in order to learn about the musicals I am able to listen to the OBCRs online, whereas it is much more difficult to gather information about plays. The categories I did not offer a prediction for are because I either do not have an opinion or do not have enough information to cast a vote, which is mainly the situation in the play categories.
Best of luck to all Tony nominees this season.
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