2010 Tony Award Picks!

Alright ladies and gentleman, it is now time for my official 2010 Tony Award Picks! (I really should just call this the Lowy Awards!) This has been an interesting season on Broadway with a lot of twists and turns. If you would have told me in August that Brighton Beach Memoirs wouldn't run two weeks or The Miracle Worker wouldn't run a month, I would have laughed in your face. That being said, there were many wonderful productions on Broadway and I'm looking forward to celebrating them Sunday night. So on to the picks:

Best Book of a Musical
Everyday Rapture, Dick Scanlan and Sherie Rene Scott
Fela! Jim Lewis & Bill T. Jones
Memphis, Joe DiPietro
Million Dollar Quartet, Colin Escott and Floyd Mutrux

Winner: Everyday Rapture. A trend I'm going to start immediately is that I will not reward average work (Memphis) throughout my picks. Everyday Rapture is a fun enough book for me to think it could win this year. For me, I think Tony Voters forget what this category is really meant to judge. It should be judged on the plot and story and how the evening of theater is shaped. I mean, lets face it, Cats won the Tony for Best Book, which was credited to T.S. Eliot, who died in 1965, never dreaming his book would be a musical. That being said, there's no doubt in my mind that Fela! should win. Lewis and Jones have created a well-crafted evening of theater that is head over heals superior than the other three.

Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre
The Addams Family
Enron
Fences
Memphis

Winner: Unfortunately I have to reward mediocrity here and go with Memphis. Although I actually do enjoy the score, it wouldn't even be in the category in other seasons.

Best Orchestrations
Jason Carr, La Cage aux Folles
Aaron Johnson, Fela!
Jonathan Tunick, Promises, Promises
Daryl Waters & David Bryan, Memphis

Winner: Aaron Johnson's tall task of recreating the arrangements of Fela Kuti's very improvisational style should win this award. If you've never heard what the original music sounded like, listen to this.

Best Scenic Design of a Musical
Marina Draghici, Fela!
Christine Jones, American Idiot
Derek McLane, Ragtime
Tim Shortall, La Cage aux Folles

Winner: Christine Jones created a very interesting visual world for American Idiot that should be recognized. The integration of media within this set was pretty remarkable and really helped fill a very large space.

Best Costume Design of a Musical
Marina Draghici, Fela!
Santo Loquasto, Ragtime
Paul Tazewell, Memphis
Matthew Wright, La Cage aux Folles

Winner: La Cage has a wonderful design that should take this category. It's splashy, but not overly tacky, which with this type of production is essential.

Best Lighting Design of a Musical
Kevin Adams, American Idiot
Donald Holder, Ragtime
Nick Richings, La Cage aux Folles
Robert Wierzel, Fela!

Winner: Much like Jones' scenic design, Kevin Adams' lighting design created a whole visual world for this piece that never ceased to aid the storytelling. It seems that every time he teams up with Michael Mayer he creates magic.

Best Sound Design of a Musical
Jonathan Deans, La Cage aux Folles
Robert Kaplowitz, Fela!
Dan Moses Schreier and Gareth Owen, A Little Night Music
Dan Moses Schreier, Sondheim on Sondheim

Winner: Kaplowitz has created a wonderful aural world for Fela! that needs to be recognized. Enough said!

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical
Kevin Chamberlin, The Addams Family
Robin De Jesús, La Cage aux Folles
Christopher Fitzgerald, Finian's Rainbow
Levi Kreis, Million Dollar Quartet
Bobby Steggert, Ragtime

Winner: In probably the least talented category this year, I'll pick Kreis because that's most people are picking. I hear Steggert was wonderful in Ragtime. Personally, although I wanted to run out of the St. James this fall during Finian's Rainbow, Christopher Fitzgerald was wonderful and probably deserves this award for making this dated show seem lively for the moments he was onstage.

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical
Barbara Cook, Sondheim on Sondheim
Katie Finneran, Promises, Promises
Angela Lansbury, A Little Night Music
Karine Plantadit, Come Fly Away
Lillias White, Fela!

Winner: The forgone conclusion is Katie Finneran and good for her. I love me some Angela Lansbury, but her mantle isn't going to be crying if she doesn't win her 6th.

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical
Kelsey Grammer, La Cage aux Folles
Sean Hayes, Promises, Promises
Douglas Hodge, La Cage aux Folles
Chad Kimball, Memphis
Sahr Ngaujah, Fela!

Will Win: Douglas Hodge has all of the momentum after his wonderful performance as Albin. He definitely deserves this honor, although this category also includes Sahr Ngaujah.
Should Win: If the first night press were still Tony Voters, I think Sahr Ngauja would win this award. He has been the critical darling since this show started at 37 Arts and he would have been the lock. Unfortunately, his performance hasn't been in the recent memory of most Tony Voters, so he will probably be forgotten.

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical
Kate Baldwin, Finian's Rainbow
Montego Glover, Memphis
Christiane Noll, Ragtime
Sherie Rene Scott, Everyday Rapture
Catherine Zeta-Jones, A Little Night Music

Winner: This is a toss up between Jones and Glover. I am bias in that I think Montego Glover is the next big musical theatre star, but Tony Voters might want to give this to Jones in hopes that she'll come back to Broadway sooner than later. This will be interesting.

Best Choreography
Rob Ashford, Promises, Promises
Bill T. Jones, Fela!
Lynne Page, La Cage aux Folles
Twyla Tharp, Come Fly Away

Winner: This is one of the most competitive categories this year. Some say that Lynne Page's choreography in this minimalist production should grab the nod. Others say Twyla Tharp's work, although not recognized in most other categories, will take this award as a vote of confidence in that show. As it probably doesn't surprise you, I think Bill T. Jones should win this award. The movement in Fela is perfect. It is pretty much the language of the piece and makes the piece all the more enjoyable.

Best Direction of a Musical
Christopher Ashley, Memphis
Marcia Milgrom Dodge, Ragtime
Terry Johnson, La Cage aux Folles
Bill T. Jones, Fela!

Winner: Being that the 2003-4 La Cage revival didn't run very long, Johnson's refreshing look at this musical should take the prize. Although, I won't be surprised if Jones wins this award, especially is Tharp win best choreography.

Best Revival of a Musical
Finian's Rainbow
La Cage aux Folles
A Little Night Music
Ragtime

Winner: Easy: La Cage Aux Folles becomes the first musical to win the Best Revival Tony twice.

Best Musical
American Idiot
Fela!
Memphis
Million Dollar Quartet

Winner: I started this list saying I would not reward an average musical, so I can't. I think that Tony Voters will look at that ballot and vote their heart, meaning FELA! Although the out of town Tony voters want Memphis because they think it's a better touring property (which is ridiculous), Fela! is clearly the best musical of the year.

For good measure, here are my picks for the play categories:

Best Sound Design of a Play
Will Win: Acme Sound Partners, Fences
Should Win: Scott Lehrer, A View from the Bridge

Best Lighting Design of a Play
Will Win: Brian MacDevitt, Fences
Should Win: Mark Henderson, Enron

Best Costume Design of a Play
Will Win: Catherine Zuber, The Royal Family
Should Win: Martin Pakledinaz, Lend Me a Tenor

Best Scenic Design of a Play
Will Win: Christopher Oram, Red
Should Win: Santo Loquasto, Fences
An art studio is favored to win best scenic design? Really? Loquasto's vision of Troy Maxon's world is a new and exciting way to see this play.

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play
Will Win: Stephen McKinley Henderson, Fences
Should Win: Stephen McKinley Henderson, Fences

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play
Will Win: Jan Maxwell, Lend Me a Tenor
Should Win: Scarlett Johansson, A View from the Bridge
Voters will want to give Jan Maxwell a Tony this year, and Viola Davis is a lock for Best Actress. Scarlett winning would not be a surprise though

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play
Will Win: Denzel Washington, Fences
Should Win: Denzel Washington, Fences
Some believe Alfred Molina will steal this, but I don't think he is even in the same conversation as Denzel and Liev.

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play
Will Win: Viola Davis, Fences
Should Win: Viola Davis, Fences

Best Direction of a Play
Will Win: Gregory Mosher, A View from the Bridge
Should Win: Gregory Mosher, A View from the Bridge
So many people believe Grandage is a lock for this category. I have no clue why people make this assumption after seeing the play. Mosher brought more out of Miller's text than any director I've ever seen.

Best Revival of a Play
Will Win: Fences
Should Win: A View From the Bridge (If this was still running it would have been an interesting two show race)

Best Play
Will Win: Next Fall
Should Win: Time Stands Still
I must take a second to talk about this category. The frontrunner in this category is John Logan's Red, a play that honestly is pretty boring and very preachy. It seems that in the past Tony Voters have loved plays that talk about art and it's struggles and love that kind of pat on the back. That being said, my choice will shock most people. Although I think Next Fall is a wonderful play that people really should go see; to me, the best play of this season was Time Stands Still. This funny, well-crafted and timely play I think should have been the runaway hit of the season.

So there are my picks! Leave some comments to let me know what you think about the picks and I hope you enjoy this year's award ceremony!