May 16, 2007 -- 'THE Pinkies are stunned," says a source close to the producers of "Legally Blonde," which yesterday failed to snag the crucial Tony Award nomination for Best Musical."They don't know what hit them."
Only a week ago, the Pinkies were plotting their strategy to snatch the Tony from "Spring Awakening," a show about teenage sexuality that received 11 nominations yesterday, including Best Musical. They thought they had "road vote" - producers and theater owners around the country who next year will present the tour of "Legally Blonde" - in their pocket, and they were whispering about pulling off an upset at the Tonys on June 10.
But the nominators, it turns out, hate pink.
Some of them, who were very much in the thrall of "Spring Awakening," got wind of the Pinkies' plan and, it appears, blocked it by giving the fourth slot for Best Musical to "Mary Poppins" instead of "Legally Blonde."
The path to Tony Award glory is now clear for "Spring Awakening."
The two other nominees - "Curtains," a backstage mystery musical, and "Grey Gardens," which is based on the famous documentary about wackos Big and Little Edie Beale - don't stand a chance.
The "Legally Blonde" snub means that the show's cast will not get to perform a number from the show on the Tony Award telecast, which reaches between 6 million and 8 million people and can give a big boost to ticket sales.
Politics wasn't the only reason the nominators spurned "Legally Blonde." For some, who spoke on condition of anonymity, the show was yet another example of the dumbing down of Broadway. The nominators are an older crowd, who believe that, at its best, the musical theater is a great art form. Musicals like "Legally Blonde," which are cotton candy for teenage girls, leave them cold.Not that they had any great love for "Mary Poppins," hardly an example of musical theater as art.
That one slipped in over "LoveMusik" - an arty show about Lotta Lenya and Kurt Weill - largely, it seems, because they nominators did not want to slap (for the second time) Tom Schumacher, the Disney executive in charge of the company's Broadway shows.
A popular figure in the small and insular theater world, Schumacher was embarrassed last year when "Tarzan," a $15 million show he practically created, failed to pick up a single Tony nomination.
"I don't think anybody wanted to diss Tom again," one nominator said yesterday. "And 'Mary Poppins' is a lot better than 'Tarzan.'"
Disneyland was relieved and elated yesterday when news of the nomination broke. "Mary Poppins" will be part of the monthlong Tony jamboree, and Schumacher is sure to put together a splashy number for the Tony telecast.
"It was lonely out there in the cold last year," a Disney source said yesterday. "At least this year we get to go to all the parties."
"Radio Golf," "The Coast of Utopia," "The Little Dog Laughed" and "Frost/Nixon" were all nominated yesterday for Best Play. The favorite here is "The Coast of Utopia," although "Frost/Nixon" cannot be counted out. With a little aggressive marketing and some clever politicking worthy of Tricky Dick, an upset could be in the offing.
As predicted, Kevin Spacey did not receive a nomination for his controversial performance in "Moon for the Misbegotten." The revival was snubbed as well; only Eve Best, who stars opposite Spacey, got a Tony nod. She's up against Vanessa Redgrave ("The Year of Magical Thinking"), Julie White ("The Little Dog Laughed"), Swoosie Kurtz ("Heartbreak House") and sentimental favorite, Angela Lansbury ("Deuce").
(Source: New York Post | Theater | Broadway Matinee | 'Blonde' Bombshell)
Want to watch "Legally Blonde"? CHECK WHERE IT IS ON!!!
Or, BUY A CD OF THIS SHOW
.Want to watch "Mary Poppins"? CHECK WHERE IT IS ON!!!
Or, BUY A CD OF THIS SHOW
.
No comments:
Post a Comment