Comments | musicalgeek406: Tony Time! (Part 2)

musicalgeek406

Tony Time! (Part 2)

May 29, 2009 11:53

Now it's time for me to predict which actors and actressed will walk home with that funky spinning medallion on Tony night.

BEST LEADING ACTOR IN A MUSICL
Nominees: David Alverez, Trent Kowalik, and Kiril Kulish for Billy Elliot; Gavin Creel for Hair; Brian d'Arcy James for Shrek; Constantine Maroulis for Rock of Ages; and J. Robert Spencer for Next ( Read more... )

Comments 4

pbisnotmyname May 30 2009, 02:33:19 UTC

Jared, I really don't think Jbara is a lock here... His performance is NOWHERE near the quality of the London dad... Really, this production of Billy Elliot is nowhere near the quality of the London one. I saw the London production and thought...wow! I saw this one and thought...what did I ever see in the show?

Karen Olivo is not the lock she should be as well. She has trouble dancing the obviously toned down dancing in WSS. She acts and sings the hell out of it, but her dancing is *quite* lacking...

musicalgeek406 May 30 2009, 02:48:40 UTC

That's why I offered alternatives to both. And pointed out that the support categories are usually harder to predict, particularly this year.

musicalgeek406 May 30 2009, 02:56:30 UTC

Oh, and since I haven't seen the American "Billy Elliot" I can't speak for certain, but I can see how you would enjoy the London version better. First off, it's not "new" to you anymore, so that's part of it. Second, it is very British, for lack of a better term (I think you know what I mean). It makes sense the Brits would do it better.

pbisnotmyname May 30 2009, 03:06:36 UTC

A musical shouldn't have to be new to knock me off my feet... Seeing it a second time made me realize just how many flaws it has, and not ones that are easily overcome... Like a bad score. I also thoroughly disagree with nominating all three Billys as one (yes, I know its how it was done in London and Australia). That is rewarding a role, not a performance. The Tony should really be for performance. And while Trent (that would be the Billy I saw) was quite good, he was not a triple threat. My friend Kenny, who has seen it with each Billy, says that none of the boys are a triple threat...they each have something good about them, but something is lacking throughout the performance.
And Martha Plimpton was fantastic, not just because she came out of nowhere, but because she was fantastic. I would put both her and Jennifer Damiano ahead of Karen Olivo, only because Karen wasn't fully up to the demands of her role.