Some thoughts on the Tony nominations, which were announced this morning. First, who would have guessed a few months ago that “Fela!” would turn out to be the show to beat? It landed 11 nominations, way ahead of hotly anticipated pieces like “American Idiot” and “The Addams Family.” While I liked “American Idiot” but didn’t love it, I’m stunned that Michael Mayer was shut out of the “Best Direction of a Musical” category, especially since he was also eligible for “Everyday Rapture.” And speaking of that show: It really should have been nominated for Best Musical instead of “Million Dollar Quartet.”
What’s happening to “The Addams Family” is particularly intriguing. As I mentioned on WNYC earlier today, this show looks like the target of an unfair, vindictive campaign — and I didn’t even liked it! It’s unbelievably offensive, for instance, that the show didn’t get nominations for costumes and scenic design while Andrew Lippa’s bland score was singled out.
That last category actually is a total joke, with two out of the four entries being plays (“Enron” and “Fences”). It only confirms that the musical action happened off Broadway this year — namely with “The Scottsboro Boys” at the Vineyard and, to a lesser extent, “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson” at the Public.
In the Best Play category, “Enron” should have been nominated instead of either “Red” or “Time Stand Still.” It’s a vastly smarter, incisive, provocative piece, and is superbly directed by Rupert Goold (who should have been nominated for direction of a play).
Finally, it’s fab — if expected — to see Katie Finneran get a nod for her turn as a drunken floozie in “Promises, Promises.” (If Finneran was a man, she’d have become a star on a Nathan Lane scale after her triumph in “Noises Off.”) But I’m bummed Justin Bartha didn’t get mentioned for his incredible work in “Lend Me a Tenor.” I blame prejudice against against comic performances for this oversight. If you want to see a master at work, go see that show. Yes, I’m dead serious.