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| Entertainment - Backstage.com Arts/Stage |
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| Arts/Stage | Backstage.com Arts/Stage | Playbill | Variety Arts/Stage |
Mon Apr 8, 7:41 PM ET
With the announcement of the nominations for the Lucille Lortel Awards-and with various other organizations such as the Drama Desk, the Drama League, and the Outer Critics Circle getting in gear-the handicapping race is on.
From a box office point of view, the award to watch is Best Musical. There are only four slots for seven possible nominees: "Urinetown," "Mamma Mia!," "Thou Shalt Not," "By Jeeves," "One Mo' Time," "Sweet Smell of Success," and "Thoroughly Modern Millie." Of these, it's fair to assume that "By Jeeves" and "Thou Shalt Not," which were routed by the critics and have closed, are out of the running; "One Mo' Time," which ran Off-Broadway in the late '70s and early '80s, opened to mixed Main Stem notices and has closed as well. That show, however, may yet yield nominations in the acting categories. With four musicals likely filling four slots, the ultimate winner now depends on how the critics and the public view "Millie," which opens April 18. If the show receives raves, "Urinetown," which some regard as the favorite, and "Mamma Mia!," which has become a box office blockbuster, may have a challenge on their hands. Indeed, a hit "Millie" would set the stage for a showdown between three different kinds of musicals-one with a political, cutting-edge style ("Urinetown"), one with a minimum of plot but a classic, internationally adored pop-rock score ("Mamma Mia!"), and a more traditional, crowd-pleasing musical comedy ("Millie"). There's always the possibility that "Sweet Smell," which saw a $49,000 box office jump two weeks ago and a $33,000 tumble last week, may gain a sympathy vote. However unlikely, it's worth noting that in 1997, there was a spirited contest between "Titanic" and "The Life," two popular shows, plus "Steel Pier," which had a strong fan base. Until the envelope was opened, no one could be sure that "Titanic," which won, might not lose to "The Life" or the improbable dark-horse "Steel Pier". Meanwhile, on the Best Play front, things are harder to predict. Potential nominees include "QED," "An Almost Holy Picture," "Metamorphoses," "The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?," "Fortune's Fool," "The Graduate," "Topdog/Underdog," and "The Smell of the Kill." Again, four nominee slots are available. Of these shows, "The Smell of the Kill" received almost universally bad reviews and may close before the Tony Awards themselves on June 2, if not before the end of the month. "QED," Peter Parnell's excellent play about the Nobel Prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman, stars Alan Alda and has been embraced by critics and audiences alike, playing to 87% of capacity last week. But the play recently reduced its schedule from two weekly performances to one, and it's difficult, in any event, to imagine a Tony Award-winning Best Play raising the curtain only on Mondays. In a similar vein, "An Almost Holy Picture," which starred Kevin Bacon in a solo turn, was Roundabout's limited-run of Heather McDonald's play about a church groundskeeper that received decidedly mixed reviews. "Fortune's Fool," Mike Poulton's adaptation from Ivan Turgenev, packs some star power with Alan Bates and Frank Langella, and word-of-mouth is especially strong. Yet the play was struggling along in previews last week at less than 50% of capacity (it opened April 2). Overall, it's a likely contender for a Best Play nomination and an unlikely contender to win, since it's not a new American play and this, of all seasons, is probably the one year when Tony voters may want an American play claiming the prize. Like "Fortune's Fool," "The Goat" will almost certainly be nominated-this is, after all, Edward Albee's first new play produced on Broadway since "The Man Who Had Three Arms" flopped in 1983. While its twin themes of bestiality and quasi-incest aren't exactly, er, family fare, the play has its steadfast trumpeters among the theatrical elite. Meanwhile, some consider "Metamorphoses" the favorite-the "feel good" play based on the stories of Ovid that transferred from Second Stage to Circle in the Square. Since Ovid is dead, Zimmerman, who wrote and directed the piece, would win the award if the production came out on top. Then there's "The Graduate," which Terry Johnson adapted from the novel by Charles Webb, as well as from the screenplay by Calder Willingham and Buck Henry. The play, which opened April 4, is said to be much funnier, much more "sitcom" that the famous film starring Anne Bancroft and Dustin Hoffman, and it has already posted stratospheric advances-much as it has wherever it's played, from the West End to various U.S. cities. But the play's boffo box office owes more to the star wattage of Kathleen Turner, Jason Biggs, and Alicia Silverstone than to the allure of some earth-shattering masterwork unfurling nightly at the Plymouth. Which is where Suzan-Lori Parks' "Topdog/Underdog" may play the spoiler. The play, like "The Goat," "Fortune's Fool," and "The Graduate," will almost certainly be nominated, but unlike those plays, this one is written by a woman of color. And no woman of color has ever won the Tony Award for Best Play. (Lorraine Hansbury was nominated for "A Raisin in the Sun," but didn't win.) Starring Jeffrey Wright and Mos Def (replacing Don Cheadle), the play received enthusiastic reviews during its run at the Public Theater, yet box office has been woeful thus far, just 36% of capacity last week. A Best Play nomination-if not an outright win-would boost morale, if not box office. -- Leonard Jacobs
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