Tony Tube 2008

Here's a video round up of the best of Broadway, as seen on the Tony Awards last week:

- Of course, what everyone was talking about the next day: Xanadu's Cheyenne Jackson brings the house down with a fierce rendition of "Don't Walk Away".
- The Cry-Baby boys are "A Little Upset" (especially since their show closed a week later).
- Another show that announced their closing in the past week: A Catered Affair.
- For the wholesome family crowd, Disney was on hand with both The Lion King and The Little Mermaid ...
- ... with Megan Mullally in Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein there to scare them off later.
- Grease was the word ...
- ... but not the final word. That honor goes to Rent, reuniting the original cast for one last chorus of "Seasons of Love".

And for a little more Cheyenne, here's "All Over the World", as seen on Live with Regis and Kelly, plus a Tony red carpet interview from Broadway TV.

Reel Thoughts: Harvey's Affair

Neil Cohen reports on the latest from the Great White Way as we continue our countdown to this Sunday's Tony Awards:

Even factoring in nostalgia for a simpler time, the plot of A Catered Affair (now playing at the Walter Kerr Theatre) doesn’t cry out for a musical version. Eager to impress others, Aggie, an otherwise loving mother (Faith Prince), wants to give her daughter a huge wedding, no matter what the financial and emotional cost. Harvey Fierstein wrote the book and a juicy role for himself as gay Uncle Winston, but his Torch Song Trilogy-worthy reaction to being excluded from the big day is totally anachronistic for a homosexual in the 50’s. Tom Wopat is honest and moving as Aggie’s beaten-down husband; Prince is touching in a rare serious role, making you care about her rather than judge her actions. The music and lyrics flow melodically and smoothly, but are utterly plain and unmemorable. Still, any reason to see Mr. Fierstein should not be missed.

Prince and Wopat are both Tony nominated for their performances in Affair, and Prince will perform a song ("Vision") on the Tonycast this Sunday. Usually, only the nominated musicals and revivals get a moment in the nationally televised spotlight, but in a break from tradition, this show and two others (The Little Mermaid and Young Frankenstein) will be featured. Sierra Boggess will perform Mermaid's signature tune, "Part of Your World", while Megan Mullally will sing "Deep Love", her paean to monstrous genitalia from Young Frankenstein.

And speaking of Young Frank, that mostly-Tony-snubbed tuner: Broadway scuttlebutt has it that the show is hurting for cash and, as a cost-cutting measure, is slashing all the lead actors' salaries in half. I guess those $450 seats aren't selling so well, are they Mel?

MD Poll: Believe We Are Magic

In what turned out to be a close race to be named your favorite "screen-to-stage" Broadway show of the season, Xanadu eventually triumphed with roughly one-third of the votes (see the comments section below for the complete rundown). First, the 2007 Dearie, now this, could the 2008 Tony for Best Musical be next?

The answer is "yes!" if pint-sized YouTube sensation Cubby Bernstein has anything to say about it. The super-secret Tony Campaign Manager ("I smell a Tony!") has gone viral, choosing Xanadu as the one the win this year, so be a good "Fanadu" and board the "Cub-oose", buy a "Cub-cake" and watch all his videos, with special guest stars Kerry Butler, Cheyenne Jackson and Nathan Lane and more! Xanadu? Yes, it can!


And in more Xanadu news: London is calling.

Click here to vote in the latest MD Poll.

Awards Watch: Broadway.com Audience Awards 2008

Young Frankenstein triumphed at the 9th Annual Broadway.com Audience Awards. The musical adaptation of the classic Mel Brooks comedy (which was more or less snubbed by the Tony Awards) was voted tops in five categories, including Favorite New Broadway Musical. Stars Roger Bart, Christopher Fitzgerald, Sutton Foster and Megan Mullally were also recognized.

Monty Python's Spamalot was voted Favorite Long-Running Broadway Show, while its stars Clay Aiken and Hannah Waddingham were named Favorite Replacements. Gypsy's Patti LuPone added two prizes to her ever-growing haul for this season, as Favorite Leading Actress and Favorite Diva Performance (naturally), and The Little Mermaid's Sierra Boggess was singled out as Favorite Breakthrough Performance (Female).

Other winners, who were voted on by readers of Broadway.com, include Tony nominees Patrick Stewart, Raúl Esparza, Laurence Fishburne and Lin-Manuel Miranda, plus Phylicia Rashad and the cast of Grease.

MD Poll: From Screen to Stage, Class of 2007-2008

With the 2007-2008 Broadway season now at its end (and the Tony Awards just around the corner), the latest MD Poll asks you to take a look at the six "screen to stage" productions that have trod the boards of the Great White Way over the past year and asks "which is your favorite?"

Five musicals (A Catered Affair, Cry-Baby, The Little Mermaid, Xanadu and Young Frankenstein) and one play (The 39 Steps) are in the running, so make your choice and place your vote in the poll located in the sidebar to your right. Results will be revealed in two weeks.

UPDATE: This polll is now closed. Click here for the results, and click here to vote in the latest MD Poll.

Awards Watch: Drama League 2008

It may have failed to get a Tony Award nomination for Best Musical, but A Catered Affair was just fine for the Drama League. The new tuner, based on the classic Bette Davis movie The Catered Affair, was named Distinguished Production of a Musical by the group, an association of theatre professionals and patrons dedicated to "encouraging the finest in professional theatre".

Winners, which also included August: Osage County, South Pacific, Macbeth and Gypsy's Patti LuPone (named the winner of the Distinguished Performance Award out of 70 (!) nominees), were announced at a luncheon yesterday, hosted by Affair's co-star/librettist Harvey Fierstein. Broadway.com has a report from the scene, which included an unexpected marriage proposal for one Cheyenne Jackson.

Cheyenne (and his Xanadu - which just announced its first national tour) are also among the nominees for the 9th Annual Broadway.com Audience Awards. Nominations have been announced for "the only theatrical award that honors the best of the season as chosen by regular theatergoers" and voting is currently underway. Other screen-to-stage favorites among the nominees (see the comments section below for a quick look) include A Bronx Tale, A Catered Affair, Grease, Hairspray, The Little Mermaid, Monty Python's Spamalot, Rent, The Ritz, The 39 Steps, Wicked and Young Frankenstein, which leads the pack with 10 nods.

Awards Watch: Tony Nominations

The nominations for the 62nd Annual Tony Awards were announced this morning, with lots of surprises among them. And while our favorites Cry-Baby and Xanadu were both nominated for Best Musical, other front-runners like A Catered Affair and Young Frankenstein were shut out in favor of original works In the Heights (which leads the field with 13 nominations) and Passing Strange. The 39 Steps, based on the classic Alfred Hitchcock film, was nominated for Best Play, where it faces tough competition from August: Osage County, Rock 'n' Roll and The Seafarer.

The 39 Steps leads the screen-to-stage nominees with six, followed by four each for Cry-Baby and Xanadu (including a Best Actress nod for Kerry Butler). A Catered Affair and Young Frankenstein did get three nominations each (including nods for actors Tom Wopat and Faith Prince in the former, and Christopher Fitzgerald and Andrea Martin in the latter), while The Little Mermaid netted only two, including a surprise nomination for Best Original Score.

Stephen Sondheim, currently represented on Broadway with the nominated revivals of Gypsy and Sunday in the Park with George, will receive a special Tony Award for "Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre". The Tony Award telecast, which will be hosted by Whoopi Goldberg, will be broadcast live on CBS from Radio City Music Hall on Sunday June 15. For a quick look at the nominations, see the comments section below.

Awards Watch: Drama Desk

The next step on the road to the Tony Awards was taken today, with the announcement of the nominations for the 53rd Annual Drama Desk Awards. Leading the pack with 12 nods is A Catered Affair, the new musical based on the classic Bette Davis movie The Catered Affair. In addition to a Best Musical nod, librettist Harvey Fierstein and actors Faith Prince, Tom Wopat and Leslie Kritzer were also nominated.

Other screen-to-stage favorites with multiple nominations include Young Frankenstein with eight, The 39 Steps and The Little Mermaid with three each, and the Dearie Award-winning Xanadu with six, including Best Musical and acting nods for Cheyenne Jackson and Mary Testa. Playwright Edward Albee, celebrating his 80th year, will also be honored with a special lifetime achievement award.

The Drama Desk, an organization of theatre critics, writers and editors that honors excellence in all areas of New York theatre (Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway and not-for-profit), will present their awards May 18 at Lincoln Center. For a quick look at the nominees, see the comments section below.

Film Art: Fish Tales

Photographer Annie Leibovitz has released the latest stunning image from her "Disney Dream Portrait Series": Julianne Moore as Ariel, the Little Mermaid herself. Joining her in the foreground is world champion swimmer Michael Phelps.

Awards Watch: Drama League

More theater awards as the Broadway season approaches its end: nominees for the 2007-2008 Drama League Awards were recently announced.

Among the nominations are such screen-to-stage faves as A Bronx Tale, A Catered Affair, Die Mommie Die!, Cry-Baby, The Little Mermaid, The Ritz, The 39 Steps, Xanadu and Young Frankenstein.

The 74th Annual Drama League Awards will be revealed May 16.

Awards Watch: Outer Critics Circle

The stage musical version of Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein leads the recently announced Outer Critics Circle Awards nominations with ten nods, including Outstanding New Broadway Musical. Joining it in that category are three other movie-based musicals: A Catered Affair, Cry-Baby and Xanadu. And yet another film-inspired show, The 39 Steps, is up for Outstanding New Broadway Play.

The group, which consists of writers "covering New York theatre for out-of town newspapers, national publications and other media beyond Broadway", will announce the winners May 12, followed by an awards celebration dinner May 22 at the famed Sardi's Restaurant.

For a quick look at the nominees, see the comments section below.

Countdown to AFI's 10 Top 10: Animation

"Animation isn't the illusion of life -- it is life!"
-- Chuck Jones

As Brad Bird (this year's Academy Award winner for Best Animated Feature) has been known to say, animation is not a genre, but a medium. And he's right. Nevertheless, it is the first "genre" that I will be taking a look at as Movie Dearest begins a ten week countdown to AFI's 10 Top 10, this year's edition of the American Film Institute's popular (and often controversial) 100 Years ... 100 Movies series.

Looking over the past ten 100 Years lists, only nine fully animated films have made the various cuts, with the most appearances being in the Heroes & Villains and Songs installments. The very first American animated feature, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, appears the most times (four, including both the 1998 and 2007 greatest movies of all time lists), with Pinocchio and Beauty and the Beast listed twice. So it is a safe bet that these three, along with the landmark Fantasia and the groundbreaking Toy Story, will make this top ten. Bambi, Lady and the Tramp, 101 Dalmatians and The Lion King have also appeared previously, and therefore could be considered strong contenders as well.

Taking a look at the annual AFI Awards, four more toons (all computer animated) could conceivably enter the mix: Shrek, Finding Nemo, The Incredibles and Happy Feet (shudder). Other notable films among the fifty nominees (see comments section below for the full list) include Aladdin, Cinderella, Dumbo, The Iron Giant, The Jungle Book, The Little Mermaid, The Nightmare Before Christmas and even (double shudder) South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut.

As you can see, Disney (along with Pixar) has a chance of sweeping this top ten; I really can only see Shrek and maybe Iron Giant (fingers crossed) breaking into this Mickey Mouse club.

We'll find out when AFI's 10 Top 10 airs on CBS on June 17.