Sunday, May 5, 2019

CLOSE LOOK at Tony Nominees for Best Musical Revival, Along with My Prediction of the Winner

One of these musical revivals will win the Tony for  2018-2019.  Which will it be?  Read on to see my prediction.  


MUSICAL REVIVAL

There are only two in competition, both of them excellent revivals of grand old musicals.












To begin with, this production has been artfully tweaked so that it greatly mitigates the terribly misogynistic approach to male/female relationships that the show inherited from Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew.  Purists can nurse their grudges elsewhere, because from an audience-pleasing musical comedy point of view, it boasts the best performance (both singing and acting) I've seen from Kelli O'Hara since she starred in the incredible production of South Pacific a decade ago.  But you also get some amazing dancing, especially from Corbin Bleu (who should have been nominated!), choreographed by Warren Carlyle.  "Too Darn Hot?" Whew!  Will it win the Tony?  Read on. 











The revival of Oklahoma is, I suppose, controversial (those durn purists, again), but I found it to be a thrilling revelation that shares the glorious familiar score (albeit with a country western flavor that makes it seem brand new) with an examination of the dark side of life in the not-yet-a-state of the Oklahoma Territory, where fitting in according to the local and rather strict social norms is an absolute must. Some weird directorial decisions by Daniel Fish and a bizzaro reinterpretation of the dream ballet choreographed by John Heginbotham. But altogether, an amazing production and my pick for the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical.  




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Feel free to share this blog with your friends, and to offer up your own theater stories by posting a comment. I also invite you to check out the website Show-Score.Com, where you will find capsule reviews of current plays from Yours Truly and many other New York critics. I saw and reviewed both of these, so if you want more information, you know where to go.  

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