Many in Tony Race. Will 'Kinky Matilda' Walk All Over Them?

Tony nominee favorite Cicely Tyson and Cuba Goofing, Jr. in "The Trip To Bountiful." Photo by Joan Marcus.

BY TAMARA BECK

THERE are amongst us those for whom handicapping the Tonys is a sport no less exciting than the Mets-Yankees matchup!

Some will say, as our friend, W does, that the nominations are meaningless. Some object year after year to the choices the nominating committee makes. Many endeavor to see every play and musical on the list.

For theatergoers, the Antoinette Perry Award For Excellence in Theatre is a celebration of achievement and the culmination of a great Broadway season. Nominations are announced amid much speculation some 40 days before the ceremonies. The official website of the American Theatre Wing’s Tony Awards features a countdown to The 2013 Tony Awards.

The ceremony hosted by Neil Patrick Harris airs at 8 p.m. EST on Sunday, 9 June on CBS (http://www.tonyawards.com/index.html).

As is customary, there are rumored shoo-ins before the announcements and post-announcement rivalries. Either “Kinky Boots” or “Matilda The Musical” is said to be a runaway for “Bests” this year.

And the categories are … There are actually 26, not unlike the National Hockey League’s democratic playoffs that assure almost any production in a Broadway theater before the deadline will be in the running. Among main categories are Best Play, Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre. Each has four prospective winners. There are no runners-up.

Tracy Letts and Amy Morton aka George and Martha in “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf.” Photo by Michael Brosilow.

In The Best Revival of a Play slot the excellent “A Trip To Bountiful” hounds this reviewer’s personal favorite of the season, “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf.” Not that the “Bountiful” production isn’t terrific. Or that “Golden Boy” was anything but a letter-perfect period-true revival of the Odets’ classic. So all that said, my money is on “Virgina Woolf.”

In the Best Actress in a Play category, I’m going with Cicely Tyson, while plucking Danny Burstein for Best Actor in a Featured Role in a Play for his superb turn in “Golden Boy.”

In the Revival of a Musical slot, let’s give odds to “Pippin,” though “Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella” looks good, too. Speaking of “Pippin,” bets are on 2011 nominee (“Sister Act”) Patina Miller for a Best Actress in a Musical despite some stiff competition from Valisia LeKae as Diana Ross in “Motown The Musical.”

/>Prince Topher (Santino Fontana) and his Cinderella (Laura Osnes) in the much-nominated “Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella.” Photo by Carol Rosegg.

The biggest money is always on Best Musical. So “Kinky Boots” or “Matilda?” Go with “Kinky Boots.” It’s got a book by Broadway fave Harvey Fierstein with music and lyrics by Cyndi Lauper, actress, activist, Grammy and Emmy winner.

Another one for “Kinky Boots” in Billy Porter as Best Actor in a Musical for his high-heeled lead in “Kinky Boots.” He edges out “Matilda’s” Bertie Carvel who gives him a good cross-dressed run for the prize.

Best Play? Not “The Assembled Parties,” about an affluent Upper West Side Jewish family Christmas. It’s merely OK.

Truthfully, this reviewer has not viewed the other ponies in this category, but let’s give the sentimental edge to “Lucky Boy” from the late, beloved Nora Ephron. “Lucky Boy” stars the always lovable Tom Hanks in his Broadway debut as a hardhitting New York reporter.

OK, that’s a wrap. May the best win!

Visit http://www.tonyawards.com/index.html to learn more about “The 2013 Tony Awards,” including the complete nominees’ list and how to access a “Racing Form.”

In Revival, 'Follies' Is in Its Most Spectacular Form

Elaine Paige as Carlotta Campion and cast members in "Follies." Photos by Joan Marcus.

BY TAMARA BECK

ELAINE Paige and Bernadette Peters helm a cast of 41 players with a 28 -piece orchestra in a revival of “Follies,” the Tony award-winning musical about reminiscence and regret.

An enormously – even unusually – spectacular undertaking, the revival is in a limited run through early 2012 at the Marquis Theatre

The “Follies” to which the title refers is a vaudeville conceit like the Weismann Follies, standing in for Ziegfield’s revues in the musical. But the musical “Follies” makes use of another interpretation of its title. Follies are unwise actions imprudently undertaken by each of the lead characters who met through Weismann and now, 30 years later, reunite.

Ron Raines as Ben Stone and Bernadette Peters as Sally Durant Plummer (foreground) and Lora Lee Gayer as Young Sally and Nick Verina as Young Ben in "Follies."

Since the theater that housed the famed Weismann revue is slated for demolition – to be replaced by a parking lot – impresario Dimitri Weismann (David Sabin) invites his “Beautiful Girls” to one final reunion. As “Follies” plays out, scenes from the past are replayed, sometimes alongside those from the present. The stage is filled with nostalgic visions of Weismann’s revues and its stars from 1918 to 1941.

Among those eagerly showing up for this gathering in 1971 is Sally Durant Plummer (BP) who met Ben Stone (Ron Raines) and Buddy Plummer (Danny Burstein) when she was a starlet rooming with Phyllis Rogers Stone (Jan Maxwell) in the 1940s revue.

The two stage-struck young men (Nick Verina as Young Ben and Christian Delcroix as Young Buddy) woo the girls (Lora Lee Gayer as Young Sally and Kirsten Scott as Young Phyllis) nightly with flowers and dancing. (See video at http://www.folliesbroadway.com/media/video)

The four main stars in “Follies” each parade their own folly and foibles.

Kirsten Scott as Young Phyllis, Nick Verina as Young Ben, Lora Lee Gayer as Young Sally and Christian Delcroix as Young Buddy in "Follies."

Sally foolishly clings to a meaningless memory of Ben and yearns for all that slipped by her – a lover she lost to Phyllis and the glamorous life Ben and Phyllis seem to live. Ben, despite a life of public acclaim, has daily regrets and fills his time with pointless dalliances. Phyllis, nobody’s fool, “you bet your sweet ass,” also indulges herself with silly flings with young men. Buddy, while very much in love with his wife, Sally, is locked in a folie a deux with another woman.

Not surprisingly, for this fabulous and well-planned production that was developed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, the entire cast of Broadway regulars and some newbies is top-notch. It’s also no surprise that two-time Tony-winner BP shines as the tremulous and unbalanced Sally, whose link to the past is stronger than her grip on the present.


Jan Maxwell as Phyllis Rogers Stone in "Follies."

If there is a surprise it is seeing JM, who received two Tony nods in 2010 for roles in a farce and a light drama, as a song-and- dance diva. Her showstopping numbers, “Could I Leave You?” and “The Story of Lucy and Jessie,” are breathtaking. Being very different in tone, they show off her range, even in a musical role.

Indeed, “Follies” abounds with showstopping numbers, from Hattie Walker’s (Jayne Houdyshell) “Broadway Baby” to the mirror-song danced by all the ladies and their younger counterparts, led by Stella Deems (Terri White). In this number, “Who’s That Woman,?” Warren Carlyle’s impressive choreography also earnss him a showstopper moment..

In fact, each of the leads gets to stop the show once or twice from the hit parade of memorable tunes, such as “Too Many Mornings” (RR and BP) and “Losing My Mind” (BP). Carlotta Campion’s (EP) “I’m Still Here” is an ode to resilience frequently heard on the cabaret circuit.

From beginning to end, “Follies” offers a remarkable experience. Even the auditorium of the modern and elegant Marquis Theatre is transformed by set-designer Derek McLane into a down-at-the-heels vaudeville house.

Don Correia as Theodore Whitman, Susan Watson as Emily Whitman, Jayne Houdyshell as Hattie Walker and Mary Beth Peil as Solange LaFitte in Follies.

“Follies” is a complex and beautifully constructed musical play. James Goldman’s book – for which he received a Tony nomination for the original 1972 production – is no less brilliant than the Tony-winning songs Stephen Sondheim has written for his iconic musical. Eric Schaeffer’s direction allows the stories to unfold and flower at a perfect pace for a memory play.

“Follies” surpasses all the fluttery expectations of an SS revival. This is flat-out the best production of “Follies” to date.

Visit http://www.folliesbroadway.com/ to learn more about “Follies.”