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No way does Mary Poppins have a chance in hell. It's up against the new Rent and a Kander and Ebb piece. Theatre politics alone put Curtains over it and the Tony voters are not big on Disney shows. Lion King only won way back when because it was different. Mary Poppins is traditional.

Somehow I can't see Mary Poppins and Avenue Q being related, even if it did go against all odds and win XD

I have to say I haven't been as attentive this year (I was more than disenchanted with my losses last year AND college has kind of thrown me out of the theatre loop, even being a theatre major....-_- wink but I do have a couple of predictions prepared.

Best Play
The Little Dog Laughed simply because I've been hearing a lot about it and it sounds fascinating. I won't be crushed if it doesn't win.

Best Musical
Spring Awakening. I will be crushed if this doesn't win, even though I haven't seen it. I've seen the original play based on it and it is <3.

Best Revival of a Play
Inherit the Wind because it is <3.

Best Revival of a Musical
A Chorus Line even though it's not my favorite. It's going to win because it's A Chorus Line.

Best Special Theatrical Event
I could not make an educated decision on either.

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play
Frank Langella, Frost/Nixon, he has it coming to him.

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play
Honestly I don't think I can make an educated decision on this, but I want to, and so I'm going to say Vanessa Redgrave, The Year of Magical Thinking becuase I want that play to win something.

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical
Jonathan Groff, Spring Awakening, although I'm sure Michael Ceveris is surely going to be a contender and I won't be sad if he wins.

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical
Christine Ebersole, Grey Gardens.

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play
Billy Crudup, The Coast of Utopia...the stamina needed for this play....outstanding.

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play
Xanthe Elbrick, Coram Boy....she portrays a little boy so well! ^_^

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical
John Gallagher, Jr, Spring Awakening....I just want everybody to win EVERYTHING for this musical. ^_^

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical
Mary Louise Wilson, Grey Gardens

Best Direction of a Play
Jack O'Brien for The Coast of Utopia totally deserves his props, but I think Melly Still for Coram Boy is a lot more....deft of touch.

Best Direction of a Musical
Scott Ellis, Curtains

Best Choreography
Jerry Mitchell, Legally Blonde...cause it should win something.

Best Book of a Musical
Steven Sater, Spring Awakening.

Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre
Music: Duncan Sheik; Lyrics: Steven Sater, Spring Awakening

Best Orchestrations
Duncan Sheik, Spring Awakening, and it better win.


Best Scenic Design of a Play
Ti Green and Melly Still, Coram Boy. It's freaking brilliant.

Best Scenic Design of a Musical
Allen Moyer, Grey Gardens....if High Fidelity wins I will stab myself, no joke. Just because it's High Fidelity.

Best Costume Design of a Play
Catherine Zuber, The Coast of Utopia. I love the beautiful rich 19th century look it has.

Best Costume Design of a Musical
Susan Hilferty, Spring Awakening. Again, I'm a sucker for the Victorian look, even if it is stylized.


Best Lighting Design of a Play
Paule Constable, Coram Boy. It's so ghostly.


Best Lighting Design of a Musical
Howard Harrison, Mary Poppins....they just feel FANTASTIC.

Note that I'm trying hard to predict what I think WILL win and not what I WANT to win. I really want Mary Poppins to win more (except that I'm not a big Ashley Brown fan) but as it's been said by others, Disney tends to get ignored at the Tonys. I'm thinking that'll be the same case with Legally Blonde.

On a completely different note, can somebody please tell me how in the world The Pirate Queen didn't get nominated?!

If that's the case, then it is a huge shift from the original play. I read it and saw a production and it just left me dry. A lot of what people today read into it didn't seem to actually be a part of its intention. I'll agree that it breaks out of traditional musical theatre, but I wouldn't say in a good way. Rent broke the binds with its content and musical style and orchestrations. It revived sung-through musicals and really set a bar for theatre production. As for Spring Awakening, I just don't think it's been around long enough yet and its source material just leaves me flat. I'm willing to accept that it touches a lot of people, but for me, the current touch is just so emo it hurts. I do want to see it before passing my final call on it, but just from knowing the original play, hearing what people say, and watching clips, it just doesn't really scream to me to be groundbreaking. I still would have a hard time choosing between seeing this and Avenue Q, however.

Okay, okay. Judge the play all you want, but OF COURSE the musical is different, and you can't go saying it's any less worthy, less interesting, or less groundbreaking than RENT until you've actually seen it. Clips, songs, source, that's nothing in the large scheme of a show. Do I think it's the "new RENT?" No. I don't think the two really have anything in common besides brining the youth of today into theatre culture through the musical and relavent, intreguing themes. But I do think Spring Awakening, in different ways, is equally as groundbreaking. And yes, although this is probably largely DUE to RENT, I do think Spring Awakening is, at least today, more daring than RENT.

So until you've seen the set, the acting, the intricate mesh of time periods across the ages, the artistic design and dialogue, plot, live songs, acting, lighting, don't say it's "so emo it hurts" or what not.

And, my personal opinion, Avenue Q's the better show wink

Just so we're clear, I'm not actually upset. I just like theatre debate and it's rare to have people I can really chat about musicals with as my school was full of teachers who didn't find musical theatre to be "legitimate theatre" and scorned students who tried to push it in the department.

I have seen Avenue Q and it made me sick. Like LITERALLY sick to my stomach. I was on board the Avenue Q train when it first came out. I listened to the CD all the time. Thought the concept of using puppets was great. I even liked the little bits of it I saw on TVs and websites. I started to get a distaste for it around the time of the Tony's that year when I heard how they were treating the awards like an election campaign which in my opinion is a bit offensive and sneaky right there. Then once I actually saw it for myself... well like I said before. It made me sick. I was okay at first but as the show went on I just couldn't stand it. It was much more offensive then I thought it was going to be which was TO offensive for my taste and for me it the jokes and gags were all around in bad taste. I found myself completely taken out of the show because it was just turning me off so much.

I am curious what you found offensive about the show as well. I can understand the bad taste thing, as that is definitely your opinion and should be honored as thus, but I just loved the vehicle chosen for their humor. To me, it was a Sesame Street movie, complete with morals and education, running headfirst into a comedy club, which smashed into musical theatre and that appealed to every part of me as I have wanted to work on Sesame Street since I understood that the puppets weren't real people.

The Tonys in general frustrate me, however. They don't always award the correct show and groundbreaking material usually isn't looked upon as such until a few years later and it's too late. The politics involved really have no place in theatre and it makes me sick to my stomach overall how much the producers all campaign and pimp Broadway. Quite frankly, I wouldn't mind it if it were a public choice, if they could find a way to limit one vote to a person. smile