Listen Up, Tony Nominators! For Your Consideration...
by Kathy Henderson • May 1, 2009
It's crunch time for the Tony Award nominators, who'll presumably be doing a lot of ordering in over the next few days as they finalize the list of nominees in time for the big announcement on May 5. In such a rich theatrical season, we at Broadway.com can't help taking a rooting interest in ten folks who might not make the cut—but should. Like who?
Susan Blackwell, [title of show]
Oh, Susan! We totally heart you for not letting those vampires of insecurity get you down. Witty and wise Blackwell, who played a ramped-up version of herself in this season's little-show-that-could and did, deserves a Golden Pony—or a nomination, anyway—for her spirited expression of what it’s really like to pursue a theatrical career in this town—and hold down a day job to boot!
Jennifer Damiano, Next to Normal
When you watch Damiano walk the tightrope of her character, Natalie—whip-smart yet insecure, beautiful yet oblivious to it, justifiably angry at her parents yet longing for their love and attention—you marvel at her ability to convey all that conflict and heartache without becoming insufferable. Damiano makes you root for Natalie. And she's only 17 years old in real life. Wow!
Hallie Foote, Dividing the Estate
An unassuming and graceful performer, Foote is undoubtedly the foremost interpreter of her father, playwright Horton Foote’s work. Though the playwright died in March at the age of 92, it is a happy fact that he lived to see his daughter’s performance as the desperate Mary Jo in Dividing the Estate. She nailed the Texas twang, the tart humor and ultimately became the emotional center of the play. How fitting.
Carla Gugino, Desire Under the Elms
The most competitive category this season is for leading actresses in a play, with enough talented divas to fill the list twice over. Nobody is more deserving than Gugino, who gives a heartbreaking performance as a woman whose passionate nature and hunger for a home lead to unspeakable tragedy. And she does it in Eugene O'Neill's seemingly impossible-to-deliver 19th-century New England dialect!
Elisabeth Moss, Speed-the-Plow
Moss made the pivotal part of office temp Karen in Speed-the-Plow look natural. And there’s nothing natural about David Mamet’s skewering of Hollywood. Karen is a notoriously difficult role by all accounts Madonna failed miserably playing it in the original Broadway production, but Moss filled in the blanks with an earnest innocence or was it crisp slyness? that was thoroughly engaging and made the satire more stinging than ever.
Carey Mulligan, The Seagull
Is there a more difficult monologue that Nina's “I'm the seagull. No, that's not right!” soliloquy at the end of Chekhov's play? Many an actress has been run off the rails by that one, but not Mulligan. In Ian Rickson's revival of this rambling drama filled by blowhard characters operating at cross-purposes, Mulligan's delicate performance as the romantic, hero-worshiping would-be actress struck just the right note.
Daniel Radcliffe, Equus
Huzzahs to a young actor the world over knows as Harry Potter. Radcliffe clearly takes his craft seriously—why else would he take such a gigantic artistic leap to play Alan Strang, the troubled, equine-obsessed stable hand? Yes, Radcliffe was required to bare all in the play—which unfortunately overshadowed the fact that the actor gave a passionately poignant performance that should not be forgotten.
Roger Robinson, Joe Turner's Come and Gone
As an old man consumed with a desire to find a “shiny man” like the one in his life-changing vision, Robinson injects a dose of mysticism into the events at a boarding house in 1911. The character of Bynum Walker, who “binds people together,” could become hokey in the wrong hands, but Robinson keeps control of his performance and spins it into something spellbinding and memorable.
Thomas Sadoski, Reasons to be Pretty
The underachiever Greg in Neil LaBute's play seems like a classic thankless part: In the first scene, he has to listen to an obscenity-filled tirade from his girlfriend over a stray comment he made about her looks, and things don't get much better from there. But Sadoski brings a subtle strength to Greg, and his reactions to the other characters' craziness is pitch-perfect. He makes art out of playing a “regular” guy.
Patrick Wilson, All My Sons
Critics were divided over Simon McBurney's impressionistic production of this Arthur Miller drama, but Wilson was its calm center in a rock-solid performance as Chris Keller, a dutiful son who finally decides to try to put his own happiness first. Wilson more than held his own in confrontational scenes with John Lithgow as the shady dad and deserves extra kudos for his sensitive work with stage newcomer Katie Holmes as Chris' fiancée.
Susan Blackwell, [title of show]
Oh, Susan! We totally heart you for not letting those vampires of insecurity get you down. Witty and wise Blackwell, who played a ramped-up version of herself in this season's little-show-that-could and did, deserves a Golden Pony—or a nomination, anyway—for her spirited expression of what it’s really like to pursue a theatrical career in this town—and hold down a day job to boot!
Jennifer Damiano, Next to Normal
When you watch Damiano walk the tightrope of her character, Natalie—whip-smart yet insecure, beautiful yet oblivious to it, justifiably angry at her parents yet longing for their love and attention—you marvel at her ability to convey all that conflict and heartache without becoming insufferable. Damiano makes you root for Natalie. And she's only 17 years old in real life. Wow!
Hallie Foote, Dividing the Estate
An unassuming and graceful performer, Foote is undoubtedly the foremost interpreter of her father, playwright Horton Foote’s work. Though the playwright died in March at the age of 92, it is a happy fact that he lived to see his daughter’s performance as the desperate Mary Jo in Dividing the Estate. She nailed the Texas twang, the tart humor and ultimately became the emotional center of the play. How fitting.
Carla Gugino, Desire Under the Elms
The most competitive category this season is for leading actresses in a play, with enough talented divas to fill the list twice over. Nobody is more deserving than Gugino, who gives a heartbreaking performance as a woman whose passionate nature and hunger for a home lead to unspeakable tragedy. And she does it in Eugene O'Neill's seemingly impossible-to-deliver 19th-century New England dialect!
Elisabeth Moss, Speed-the-Plow
Moss made the pivotal part of office temp Karen in Speed-the-Plow look natural. And there’s nothing natural about David Mamet’s skewering of Hollywood. Karen is a notoriously difficult role by all accounts Madonna failed miserably playing it in the original Broadway production, but Moss filled in the blanks with an earnest innocence or was it crisp slyness? that was thoroughly engaging and made the satire more stinging than ever.
Carey Mulligan, The Seagull
Is there a more difficult monologue that Nina's “I'm the seagull. No, that's not right!” soliloquy at the end of Chekhov's play? Many an actress has been run off the rails by that one, but not Mulligan. In Ian Rickson's revival of this rambling drama filled by blowhard characters operating at cross-purposes, Mulligan's delicate performance as the romantic, hero-worshiping would-be actress struck just the right note.
Daniel Radcliffe, Equus
Huzzahs to a young actor the world over knows as Harry Potter. Radcliffe clearly takes his craft seriously—why else would he take such a gigantic artistic leap to play Alan Strang, the troubled, equine-obsessed stable hand? Yes, Radcliffe was required to bare all in the play—which unfortunately overshadowed the fact that the actor gave a passionately poignant performance that should not be forgotten.
Roger Robinson, Joe Turner's Come and Gone
As an old man consumed with a desire to find a “shiny man” like the one in his life-changing vision, Robinson injects a dose of mysticism into the events at a boarding house in 1911. The character of Bynum Walker, who “binds people together,” could become hokey in the wrong hands, but Robinson keeps control of his performance and spins it into something spellbinding and memorable.
Thomas Sadoski, Reasons to be Pretty
The underachiever Greg in Neil LaBute's play seems like a classic thankless part: In the first scene, he has to listen to an obscenity-filled tirade from his girlfriend over a stray comment he made about her looks, and things don't get much better from there. But Sadoski brings a subtle strength to Greg, and his reactions to the other characters' craziness is pitch-perfect. He makes art out of playing a “regular” guy.
Patrick Wilson, All My Sons
Critics were divided over Simon McBurney's impressionistic production of this Arthur Miller drama, but Wilson was its calm center in a rock-solid performance as Chris Keller, a dutiful son who finally decides to try to put his own happiness first. Wilson more than held his own in confrontational scenes with John Lithgow as the shady dad and deserves extra kudos for his sensitive work with stage newcomer Katie Holmes as Chris' fiancée.