Tonys 2015: A Close Look at the Nominees in the Musical Categories and the Qualities that Define the Best

Two weeks ago, I made my predictions for the winners of the 2015 Tonys.  Now let’s take a closer look at the various categories for the Musical awards and why it is I made the choices I did. 

Nominees for Best Musical
An American in Paris
Fun Home
Something Rotten!
The Visit

An American in Paris is noteworthy for its choreography and for the Gene Kelly-like dancing by a thoroughly charming Robert Fairchild. But few of the other elements stand out in any way. Musically, it relies on the audience’s familiarity with an array of Gershwin songs, an approach that crops up with some regularity on Broadway, such as in 2012’s Nice Work If You Can Get It and 1992’s Crazy for You. ‘S not all that wonderful. ‘S not terribly original, either.

Something Rotten! is more of a crowd-pleaser, but it’s one of those smoke-and-mirror productions that leans quite heavily on its fast pace, over-the-top performances that shout “look at me!,” and an array of jokey references to other musicals. The various productions of Forbidden Broadway frequently have done just as well in that department, and The Book of Mormon remains the champ. Even Fun Home incorporates playful references to A Chorus Line. Nudge Nudge Wink Wink, anyone?

The Visit has more potential. It has an original Kander and Ebb score and stars the legendary Chita Rivera. But there are too many problems with it, including the way it has been compressed into 90 minutes; a 2011 one-shot concert performance presented a longer two-act version and allowed the story to unfold more fluidly and with greater integrity to the source material. Musically, the show would be better served by sardonic Kurt Weill-ish songs than by the pleasant, bouncy tunes penned for it.       

But Fun Home is the standout for the overall production, for the book, for the performances (5 performance nominations out of a cast of 9!) for the direction, and for the score. It tells a moving family and coming-of-age story, and it tells it exceptionally well. This is an outstanding ensemble work that soars above the rest. Its nearest rival is a musical that unfortunately did not make this list of nominees, The Last Ship.  

Nominees for Best Revival of a Musical

On the Town

On the Twentieth Century

The King and I

Unlike the nominees for Best Musical, the rivals for Best Revival of a Musical are all outstanding. And even though I have made my choice, I’d be equally pleased to see any of these walk away with the top prize. 

On The Town is a joy from start to finish. You’ve got Bernstein’s terrific music performed by a superb, full orchestra; Comden and Green’s witty and polished lyrics; and Joshua Bergasse’s jaunty and creative choreography that pays appropriate tribute to Jerome Robbins while decidedly putting an original stamp on things. Beowolf Boritt’s set and projection design are glorious as well, and the cast, under John Rando’s direction, could not be topped. 

The King and I has also been given a first-rate production by Bartlett Sher, beautiful to look at and performed by another outstanding cast, headed up by Kelli O’Hara and Ken Watanabe. My one hesitation has more to do with the show itself, which feels more dated than, say, South Pacific, which Mr. Sher and Ms. O’Hara turned into a 24-caret gold production a few years back. 

But it is On the Twentieth Century that garners my thumbs-up for the best revival. All of the elements, under Scott Ellis’s direction, work magnificently to bring this screwball musical comedy to glorious life.  Kristin Chenoweth’s lead performance as Lily Garland shoots it into the stratosphere.  She is at the height of her skills here, both as a coloratura soprano and as a physical comedienne. Truly this is a performance of a lifetime, and she takes Cy Coleman’s smart and witty score and Comden and Green’s equally smart and witty lyrics with her into the realm of bliss. 

Best Leading Actress in a Musical

Kristin Chenoweth, On the Twentieth Century

Leanne Cope, An American in Paris

Beth Malone, Fun Home

Kelli O’Hara, The King and I

Chita Rivera, The Visit

One of the astounding things about the production of Fun Home is the exceptionally fine quality of the performances by the entire cast. Not only is Beth Malone rightfully nominated in the Best Leading Actress category, but four of the other cast members also are deservedly nominated in their respective categories. This is an exceptional ensemble effort, deserving of a group Tony, if, of course, there were such a recognition. But for this year’s Tonys, it really is neck-and-neck between Kelli O’Hara who plays Anna in The King and I as a woman who is both fiercely independent and infused with a deep-seated romantic streak, and Kristin Chenoweth, who absolutely nails the demanding role of Lily Garland in On The Twentieth Century. For my money, this is Ms. Chenoweth’s year. 

Best Leading Actor in a Musical

Michael Cerveris, Fun Home

Robert Fairchild, An American in Paris

Brian d’Arcy James, Something Rotten!

Ken Watanabe, The King and I

Tony Yazbeck, On the Town

What thrills about Michael Cerveris’s performance in Fun Home is the way he has mined his character – who could easily be portrayed as a monstrous narcissist – for layers and layers of complexity, even shaping his voice to give us a man who is in a constant state of barely contained self-loathing, frustration, and quite possibly clinical depression. It is a stunning and Tony-worthy portrayal.      

Best Featured Actress in a Musical

Victoria Clark, Gigi

Judy Kuhn, Fun Home

Sydney Lucas, Fun Home

Ruthie Ann Miles, The King and I

Emily Skeggs, Fun Home

As I’ve mentioned, it is not possible for me to single out any one of the performances in Fun Home in this category; all are equally terrific. And while Victoria Clark stands out in the general misfire of the Gigi revival, it is Ruthie Ann Miles who has my nod for her dignified and heart-felt portrayal of Madam Thiang in The King and I.     

Best Featured Actor in a Musical

Christian Borle, Something Rotten!

Andy Karl, On the Twentieth Century

Brad Oscar, Something Rotten!

Brandon Uranowitz, An American in Paris

Max von Essen, An American in Paris

Andy Karl, who wowed audiences in the otherwise less-than-stellar Rocky a couple of years back, offers up a great sense of silly playfulness as Lily Garland’s boy toy in On The Twentieth Century, without resorting to the kind of cartoonish bombast that might have thrown things off balance. That’s hard to do within the confines of a screwball comedy, where things can easily get out of control. Hence, Mr. Karl rises to the top of the list for the Best Featured Actor Tony. 

Best Director of a Musical

Sam Gold, Fun Home

Casey Nicholaw, Something Rotten!

John Rando, On the Town

Bartlett Sher, The King and I

Christopher Wheeldon, An American in Paris

Fun Home succeeds on so many levels, it is impossible not to honor its director for the outstanding production. 

Best Choreography

Joshua Bergasse, On the Town

Christopher Gattelli, The King and I

Scott Graham & Steven Hoggett, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

Casey Nicholaw, Something Rotten!

Christopher Wheeldon, An American in Paris

Great choreography was in abundance this season, so much so that even one straight play was nominated for its choreography. But, really, welcome to Broadway, Mr. Wheeldon!  

Best Book of a Musical

Karey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell, Something Rotten!

Lisa Kron, Fun Home

Craig Lucas, An American in Paris

Terrence McNally, The Visit

All of the nominees wrote books that served their productions well, but Lisa Kron’s work emerges as the best. It was a daunting task to turn Alison Bechdel’s graphic memoir into a theatrical narrative, but Ms. Kron has found a way to tell the story within the bounds of the musical format while keeping the wry tone intact and fine-tuning the story’s emotional punch for audiences.

Best Score

John Kander and Fred Ebb, The Visit

Wayne Kirkpatrick and Karey Kirkpatrick, Something Rotten!

Sting, The Last Ship

Jeanine Tesori and Lisa Kron, Fun Home

The score of Fun Home fits its characters to a T, but Sting’s music and lyrics for The Last Ship are among the best for a musical in many a season. 

Best Orchestrations

Christopher Austin, Don Sebesky and Bill Elliott, An American in Paris

John Clancy, Fun Home

Larry Hochman, Something Rotten!

Rob Mathes, The Last Ship

Rob Mathes took Sting’s terrific score and provided outstanding orchestrations, so much so that it was a joy to remain after the final bow to listen to all of the exit music. 

Best Scenic Design of a Musical

Bob Crowley and 59 Productions, An American in Paris

David Rockwell, On the Twentieth Century

Michael Yeargan, The King and I

David Zinn, Fun Home

Michael Yeargan’s set design for The King and I supports a vision of keeping the show as intimate as possible, quite a challenge when faced with the vast space of the stage at Lincoln Center’s Vivian Beaumont Theater. The opening sequence offers up an exciting and smart way of bringing the musical directly into the audience, and it rarely leaves there, no matter how many of the cast members are onstage at any given time. Yeargan’s work is nearly matched by the David Zinn’s design for Fun Home, in which seemingly solid furniture takes on the ephemeralness of memory. 

Best Costume Design of a Musical

Gregg Barnes, Something Rotten!

Bob Crowley, An American in Paris

William Ivey Long, On the Twentieth Century

Catherine Zuber, The King and I

This was a great year for costume work, and all of these designers served their shows well. The challenge on The King and I, which Ms. Zuber met most effectively, was to capture the looks of the two different worlds. That Kelli O’Hara could dance the polka in that massive hoop gown is a tribute the designer’s imaginative creations.  Ms. Zuber, it should be noted, did the lovely fin de siècle designs for Gigi as well.

Best Lighting Design of a Musical

Donald Holder, The King and I

Natasha Katz, An American in Paris

Ben Stanton, Fun Home

Japhy Weideman, The Visit

This is a category for which extra attention must be paid while watching a performance, for good lighting design makes its contribution without calling that much attention to itself.  Natasha Katz’s lighting work for An American in Paris provided much of the atmosphere for the depiction of the City of Light on the heels of World War II, and thus earns my vote. 

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And there you have it – my rationale for making the selections I have made as the Tony Awards loom ever closer. 

Even with the occasional clunker, it’s been an exciting season, with plenty of original and thoughtful work happening on Broadway.  And, guess what, the 2015-16 season is already underway, with Jim Parsons starring in An Act of God, in previews now with its official opening scheduled for this coming week.  Hot on its heels are Amazing Grace, a new musical about the story behind the famous hymn of the same name, and the Broadway transfer of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s thrilling musical, Hamilton.  Sounds like a great start to another wonderful year of theater!

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ON THE TWENTIETH CENTURY: A Home Run For Roundabout and a Grand Slam for Kristin Chenoweth

Move over, Helen Mirren, and prepare to be deposed. It’s true you are doing a lovely job portraying Queen Elizabeth over on 45^th Street, but look out for upstart Queen Kristin Chenoweth, the glittering star of the Roundabout Theatre Company’s sublime revival of the Comden and Green/Cy Coleman screwball musical comedy On The Twentieth Century at the American Airlines Theatre in the heart of Times Square.

Ms. Chenoweth is riveting in a role that fits her talents as if it had been created for her, though she was but 10 years old and living in her native Oklahoma when On The Twentieth Century opened on Broadway in 1978. Its star, Madeline Kahn, unfortunately withdrew after a couple of months into the run, citing damage to her vocal cords.

Heaven forefend such a fate befalling Chenoweth, an operatically-trained coloratura soprano whose singing is put to grand use with Coleman’s score, one that pays tribute to comic operas and the operetta style associated with the likes of Sigmund Romberg. On The Twentieth Century allows Chenoweth to combine her ability to knock off those High Cs—as she amply demonstrated in her performance in the New York Philharmonic’s concert version of Candide in 2004—with her keen sense of physical comedy, on great display in The Apple Tree, another Roundabout production in which she starred two years later.

So it’s Cunégonde meets Passionella, a combo punch that results, to borrow a quote from Candide, in creating the best of all possible worlds for anyone who longs for that magical blend of star power and production values that makes for a perfect Broadway musical. 

Chenoweth plays a 1930s Hollywood superstar at the top of her game, who meets her egomaniacal match in Oscar Jaffee (Peter Gallagher). Jaffee is the theatrical impresario who discovered her when she was barely eking out a living as a rehearsal pianist, a moment we visit in flashback. Goodbye Mildred Plotka; hello Lily Garland.

Together, the pair embarked on a whirlwind of theatrical successes and a torrid love affair, both of which ended when Lily jumped ship and headed out to Tinseltown. Now Jaffee is down on his luck.  With four flops in a row and facing a mountain of debts, he is fleeing aboard the train known as the Twentieth Century Limited. Much can happen in the 16 hours it takes to get from Chicago to New York, and Jaffee intends to make things happen. It seems he has arranged to be ensconced in the stateroom next to the one in which Lily Garland is staying. His troubles will be over if only he can get her to sign a contract with him.

This is the basic set-up that encompasses Act I. Not only do we get to know Oscar and Lily, we meet the show’s significant supporting players as well. There are Oliver (Mark Linn-Baker) and Owen (Michael McGrath), Oscar’s loyal managerial team; Bruce (Andy Karl), Lily’s hunka-hunka plaything, whose slim movie career is dependent on his good looks and on keeping Lily interested in him; Letitia Peabody Primrose (Mary Louise Wilson), an eccentric and evangelical woman of wealth who offers to back Oscar’s next production, an epic about Mary Magdalene in which he hopes to star Lily; and a show-stopping quartet of tap dancing porters (Rick Faugno, Richard Riaz Yoder, Phillip Attmore, and Drew King) who undoubtedly will have their own fan base as the run continues.

All of the elements come together in the grand meteor shower that is Act II. No plot spoilers here, but kudos to the book’s writers, Betty Comden and Adolph Green, who found a way to bring every wild tangent back to the central story of Oscar and Lily. The writing partners adapted the musical from the 1934 Howard Hawk film (titled Twentieth Century), which starred John Barrymore and Carole Lombard as Oscar and Lily. But even before that, there was a play of the same title by Charles MacArthur and Ben Hecht. As it happens, Hecht also penned some of the Marx Brothers movies; that is the kind of madcap mentality we can see at work here.

Although this is not a show that is filled with hummable hit tunes, Cy Coleman has given us multiple musical highlights, where the songs themselves join in glorious harmony with the performances and with director Scott Ellis’s inspired staging. A couple of highlights from Act I are the catchy title song, the splashy “Veronique,” performed by Lily in her very first musical as Oscar’s protégée, and “Repent,” sung by Ms. Wilson’s character with a twinkle in her eye as she relishes a sinful past that predated her current religious fervor. 

In Act II, almost every song is a winner—from the dancing porters’ opener “Life Is Like A Train,” to an ode to Letitia Primrose'’s money (“Five Zeros”), to a number about trying to get Lily to sign a contract (“Sign Lily Sign”). There is also a hilarious chase through the train (“She’s A Nut”), a grand production number that has Lily debating with herself over what kind of role she should take in order to further her career (“Babette”), and the final duet between the crazed couple when Oscar is pretending to be on his death bed (“Lily/Oscar”). 

And while Kristin Chenoweth is the undisputed top banana, everyone else more than rises to the occasion. Peter Gallagher, who suffered from a voice-damaging infection through much of the preview period, is in fine fettle, giving a John Barrymore-worthy performance as Oscar. Andy Karl shows great comic chops as Lily’s boy toy, and Mary Louise Wilson is splendid as the kooky Letitia Primrose. The production is blessed as well with David Rockwell’s art deco set design and William Ivey Long’s period costumes. The only quibble: the orchestra is rather scaled back for such a full-throttled production.     

Somewhere in Broadway Heaven, Betty Comden and Adolph Green are grinning from ear to ear, with two of their shows delighting audiences in theaters residing on the same block of 42^nd Street – On The Town at the Lyric and On The Twentieth Century at the American Airlines. There could not be a happier coming together of great American Broadway musicals at their best.     

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