Tony Breakdown: Musicals & Wrap-Up

{ June 12, 2010 @ 4:28 pm } · { Uncategorized }

Best Musical

This is certainly not an exciting year for new musicals. The line-up of nominees is downright anemic compared to recent years, and it’s easy to imagine any of last years also-rans winning the race outright next to this bunch. However, there is a bright spot, and that is Fela! This exciting and electric new work from Bill T. Jones is a natural successor to insurgent musicals like Passing Strange and the original Hair, which push the natural limits of musical theatre storytelling to present something dynamic and thrilling that relates to its audience on terms not necessarily comfortable for the traditional Broadway audience. Part concert, part dance piece, part performance art, and part book musical–Fela! is a bright spot on a rather dim season. The Musical race also includes the earnest American Idiot, which tries too hard to say too much in its pulsing 90 minutes, but features more bright spots than dull ones. Memphis, the only original book musical of the bunch, feels wholly unoriginal. It is a musical about black music in the South written by white people from New Jersey, whose ideas of southern culture of the ’60s seems to be drawn only from bad movies. However, it does have bright moments, and despite all that’s wrong with it, I did enjoy myself. Lastly is the rock musical with absolutely no edge, Million Dollar Quartet, which presents a fated night at Sun Records with Elvis, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins as an ineffectual tribute concert with a failed attempt at plot and conflict. The music is great, but it is generally performed without spirit or connection, and I would much rather watch a videotaped concert than this show. The saving force of the show is Levi Kreis as Jerry Lee Lewis, who transcends the bad material and stunted performers around him, and for that he should be rewarded as a Featured Actor.

What Should Win Rankings:

1) Fela!

2) American Idiot

3) Memphis

4) Million Dollar Quartet

What Will Win: Memphis

Who Should Have Been Nominated: Everyday Rapture

Best Revival of a Musical

I adored the charming revival of Finian’s, was thoroughly impressed (though not entirely in love) with Ragtime, enjoyed A Little Night Music but found the production itself to be lacking, and loathed the La Cage revival that didn’t quite know what it wanted to be. Guess which one is going to win…but I’ve hated Tony winners in the past, and will hate them in the future. I am excited that they picked the most enjoyable number, The Best of Times, for their Tony performance. I am also saddened by the Promises, Promises snub, which many others hated but I found absolutely delightful.

What Should Win Rankings:

1) Finian’s Rainbow