The 2011 TONY Awards Live Blog

Now that the Tonys are over I have a few thoughts. The Book of Mormon is clearly the show to see as it won 3 design awards, director, book, score, featured actress, scenic design, and best musical. This was all to be expected. I was 4/4 in the acting in a play categories, but I only correctly predicted 1 of the 4 acting in a musical categories. I think we all knew Sutton Foster would win, but the rest were a surprise to me. How amazing for Norbert Leo Butz!? I am so happy for him, though I doubted he could win because I thought of his role as being more featured than leading. And though I wanted Tony Sheldon to win for Priscilla, I am so happy for Norbert (and that neither of the Mormon boys won). I wanted Laura Benanti to win so badly that I was upset to hear Nikki M. James' name called, but after seeing how genuinely surprised she was and how humble she was, I was happy for her all the same. It seems the featured actresses in musicals always have the best speeches. John Laroquette, winning Best Featured Actor in a Musical, was also a surprise to me because I thought the momentum was in Rory O'Malley's favor. However, I am happy to see How To Succeed recognized in some way shape or form. Though no opening number will match up to 2009 in my opinion, this one was pretty good. It was a great awards night and a great celebration of Broadway.  So that's a wrap up for me, Good Night!

11:00 So then Mormon won best musical....duh we knew that!
10:54 Yay Norbert! We love you so much and we are so happy that you and Sutton won twice!
10:39 I love you Sutton Foster...we knew you'd win! And I just love that you cried
10: 30 Frances McDormand is wearing a dress from Forever 21
10:47 I just die when I see Patti in Compnay
10:07 Patti is dying in her seat when Sutton performed Anything Goes
9:58 Patti is coming up soon! Company!!!!!
9:23 Spider-Man.....this song is underwhelming
9:13 OMG we love Hugh Jackman!!
9:07 Hahah how didn't Mormon win best choreo?
9:00 OMG our first major crier!!!! Nikki M. James!! I wanted Laura Benati but oh well
8:40: Directing awards go to War Horse & Book of Mormon! (I picked War Horse)
8:33 Norbert Leo Butz is KILLING this number! So phenomenal....now I know why Norbert was pushed into Leading Actor Category
8:28 I correctly chose John Benjamin Hickey as the winner of Best Featured Actor in a play!! 5/6
8:23 John Leguizamo.....is the illegitimate child of Ahnold. His whole bit was so unecessary
8:21 My first wrong guess of the night....Best Sound Design of a Musical goes to Brian Ronan for Book of Mormon....I predicted Brian Ronan for Anything Goes
8:13 Okay so D-Rads does not sound that bad; very snappy choreography by Rob Ashford
8:12 Aww Daniel Radcliffe, such a cutie patootie to quote Rose O'D
8:10 Ellen gives a very eloquent speech and was on the verge of tears, she does not completely weep until she exits the stage
8:06 Alec Baldwin to announce the Featured Actress in a Play award! I picked Ellen Barkin...it goes to Ellen Barkin; i'm 4/4!
8:05 I love the choreo of this opening number so much! I die!
8:02 Please don't tell me this is the entire opening number?
8:00 Live broadcast....OMG I die! I'm loving this uber-queer opening number!
7:53 So far I'm 3/3 in  my Tony Predictions! Score & Orchestrations to Mormon and Choreography to Anything Goes!

7:16 Wow Vanessa Redgrave is just exquisite. I see shades of Natasha Richardson in her face & hear her in her voice. So phenomenal.
7:13 Vicky Clark is looking like such a diva in her deep V (V for Victoria) and her ruffles. Vicky gives a shout out to God and that is always a good thing.
7:12 OMG Patti & Andrew Lloyd Webber are on the same red carpet at the same time!
7:11 ZOMG Patti I Die! She is looking phenom flanked by both of her men!
7:07 Oh god who let Andrew Lloyd Webber out of his cave and why is that hag wearing all those feathers?
7:05 OMG Tony Sheldon, my pick for Best Actor in a Musical! Love Beth Leavel, but she is in a turn of a show, Baby Its You!
7:00 Sutton is too a "broad" you dumbass host! Sutton looks like she wants to vomit and Bobby Cannavale looks like he is going to murder someone.
6:59 Get it Sutton. I love you doll face and your dress is so out of character for you. Sutton is very nervous and I think that means she's going to win!!
6:54 Here comes the War Horse team. If it wins it will be because of the production, not because of the play itself
6:53 Matthew Broderick is looking old as all get out.
6:51 Who doesn't love David Hyde Pierce? Can't wait to see this new musical he is directing!
6:45 Its funny how Joe Mantello directed Joel Grey in Wicked and Joel Grey just directed Joe Mantello in The Normal Heart. I love them both. I havent seen it but I hear this production of The Normal Heart is simply fantastic. Also George C. Wolfe looks like a nutter with that hair
6:45 Sutton Foster looks divine in her strapless forest green number! Very much a fashion departure for la Sutton
6:40 Susan Stroman is a phenomenal choreographer, truly an idol of mine. I am thrilled that Scottsboro Boys was remembered by the nominators. It is so phenomenal to see John Kander. RIP Fred Ebb. I hope they can pull out a surprise win for best score.
6:38 Shameless name-dropping of Whoopie Goldberg by the team behind Sister Act
6:36 Its weird that Norbert is nominated for something without Sherie Rene Scott :(
6:35 Omg Fiyero & Nessarose! Precious!
6:31 Nikki M. James is and bright-eyed and cute, but she is in a category with some heavy hitters, all of which are previous winners or nominees
6:29 I don't necessarily love Josh Gad as much as everybody else but Rory O'Malley is precious. These two are hilarious together.
6:24 I loved Lombardi and Judith Light was phenomenal in it. She was a front runner back in the fall, but I think the fact that her show closed will hurt her as other actresses have come into the head of the race.
6:22 Judith Light looks like Farah Fawcett in the 1970s. I don't know what she is wearing but I really still love her anyway.
6:19 Its so great to see Bobby Lopez back after winning for Avenue Q in 2004. How exciting for him! Its great to see a completely original musical as the front runner for Best Musical this season. What a nice change!
6:16 It will be so funny all night to listen to announcers and presenters trip over the title of the play "The Motherfu**er with the Hat
6:12 Great plug for Spider-Man (which is finally opening) with a Tony performance. Jen Damiano looks flawless in a classic hairstyle and red lip with a fab gold dress.
6:11 Judith Light I love you sweetheart but what the hell are you wearing?
6:09 This host just mispronounced choreography...shameful! I love Kathleen Marshall and she has huge hits (Anything Goes) and huge misses (Grease) so I think she has a shot at best director and I feel she's a shoe in for choreographer.
6:07 Patina Miller is the Sutton Foster of this season, coming out of the ensemble to play the lead and score a Tony nomination. Ironically, she is a co-front runner with Sutton Foster. Ps I love that Patina and "Vicky" Clark are buddies.
6:06 Andrew Rannells is such a camera whore, is it just me or does he look plastic?
6:03 Andrew Rannels is so cute, if only he weren't gay like the rest of Broadway. Edie looks fab as usual. Ellen Barkin is favored in the Best Featured Actress in a Play category, but then again awards shows love Edie Falco so she certainly has a shot at it. She is a true class act and is so committed to the craft.
6:01 I watched the Tonys live in Times Square two years ago and it was such a fun time, I just loved it! Tovah Feldshuh is so glam, looking dashing in red
6:00 Here we go, Tonys 2011 Red Carpet live on tonyawards.com

My 2011 TONY Predictions

We are approaching my favorite day of the year, the Tony awards! Next Sunday, June 12th, Broadway's finest will unite to award the best shows, performances, and designs of the 2010-2011 Broadway season. I've been anxiously awaiting the Tonys for months and I'll be live-blogging and tweeting from the time the red carpet coverage begins at 6pm on tonyawards.com until the time the live-broadcast on CBS ends. Join me all week right here and over on my twitter page @barbiebackstage for updates! For now, here are all of the nominees and my predictions for each category's winner.

Best Play: Good People Author: David Lindsay-Abaire, Jerusalem Author: Jez Butterworth, The Motherf**ker with the Hat Author: Stephen Adly Guirgis, War Horse Author: Nick Stafford

My Pick: War Horse by Nick Stafford-having won the Drama Desk & Outer Critics Circle Awards, this is a fairly safe prediction; it is also the 'biggest play' of the season in terms of design and spectacle

Best Musical: The Book of Mormon, Catch Me If You Can, The Scottsboro Boys, Sister Act 

My Pick: The Book of Mormon-this show has swept the awards this season and has been loved by critics and audiences alike as a truly original musical, if it is not named "Best Musical" it will be the biggest upset in many seasons

Best Book of a Musical: Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson Alex Timbers, The Book of Mormon Trey Parker, Robert Lopez and Matt Stone, The Scottsboro Boys David Thompson, Sister Act Cheri Steinkellner, Bill Steinkellner and Douglas Carter Beane 

My Pick: Trey Parker, Robert Lopez, and Matt Stone for The Book of Mormon-this new musical has been praised for its wit and dark humor at the hands of the team behind "South Park" and as any great book should do, it rises to meet the score and carries the actors to where they begin to sing

Best Original Score: The Book of Mormon Music & Lyrics: Trey Parker, Robert Lopez and Matt Stone,
The Scottsboro Boys Music & Lyrics: John Kander & Fred Ebb, Sister Act Music: Alan Menken
Lyrics: Glenn Slater, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown Music & Lyrics: David Yazbek

My Pick: Trey Parker, Robert Lopez, and Matt Stone for The Book of Mormon-again, no show has received such praise this season and while I'd like it to go to Women on the Verge, I think "Mormon" has it in the bag

Best Revival of a Play: Arcadia, The Importance of Being Earnest, The Merchant of Venice, The Normal Heart 

My Pick: The Normal Heart-this revival was praised by critics and was touted by audience members as "deeply moving"

Best Revival of a Musical: Anything Goes, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying 

My Pick: Anything Goes-of only 2 revivals this season, this is far superior to How to Succeed 

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play: Brian Bedford The Importance of Being Earnest, Bobby Cannavale The Motherf**ker with the Hat, Joe Mantello The Normal Heart, Al Pacino The Merchant of Venice, Mark Rylance Jerusalem 

My Pick: Mark Rylance for Jerusalem-this is a very tight category, probably the tightest of all in my opinion, and anyone could win but my gut is telling my Mark Rylance since he gave not one but two outstanding Broadway performances this season

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play: Nina Arianda Born Yesterday, Frances McDormand Good People, Lily Rabe The Merchant of Venice, Vanessa Redgrave Driving Miss Daisy, Hannah Yelland Brief Encounter 

My Pick: Frances McDormand for Good People-Nina Arianda seems to be gaining a lot of momentum and could pull of a win on Sunday, but I'm still giving the edge to McDormand, the winner of this year's Drama Desk, and co-winner of the Outer Critics Circle along with Arianda

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical: Norbert Leo Butz Catch Me If You Can, Josh Gad The Book of Mormon, Joshua Henry The Scottsboro Boys, Andrew Rannells The Book of Mormon, Tony Sheldon Priscilla Queen of the Desert 

My Pick: Tony Sheldon for Priscilla Queen of the Desert-though he hasn't won any of the early awards this season, my money is still on Sheldon because let's face it, Broadway loves a good Queen in drag

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical: Sutton Foster Anything Goes, Beth Leavel Baby It's You, Patina Miller Sister Act, Donna Murphy The People in the Picture

My Pick: Sutton Foster for Anything Goes-before the reviews came out, everybody thought hands down that Patina Miller would win, but Sutton had the critics at hello and the fans followed; she has also won the Drama Desk & Outer Critics Circle this season and I can only suspect that Tony will choose her too

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play: Mackenzie Crook Jerusalem, Billy Crudup Arcadia, John Benjamin Hickey The Normal Heart, Arian Moayed Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, Yul Vázquez The Motherf**ker with the Hat 

My Pick: John Benjamin Hickey for The Normal Heart-I'm going out on a limb with this one and based on reviews, word of mouth, and my own gut feelings, I think Hickey will take it

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play: Ellen Barkin The Normal Heart, Edie Falco The House of Blue Leaves, Judith Light Lombardi, Joanna Lumley La Bête, Elizabeth Rodriguez The Motherf**ker with the Hat 

My Pick: Ellen Barkin for The Normal Heart-again, I'm jumping on the Normal Heart bandwagon and I think Barkin will take this category; I loved Judith Light in Lombardi but because Light's show opened early in the season, I think the momentum is really in Barkin's favor at this point in the race

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical: Colman Domingo The Scottsboro Boys, Adam Godley Anything Goes, John Larroquette How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Forrest McClendon The Scottsboro Boys, Rory O'Malley The Book of Mormon 

My Pick: Rory O'Malley for The Book of Mormon-I'm going to be slightly cynical here and suggest that the show that will probably win Best Book, Score & Musical will have to win at least one acting award and I think that O'Malley has the best shot

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical: Laura Benanti Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, Tammy Blanchard How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Victoria Clark Sister Act, Nikki M. James The Book of Mormon, Patti LuPone Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown 

My Pick: Laura Benanti for Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown-if we look at the winner in this category last season, Katie Finneran for Promises, Promises, Laura Benanti seems a natural fit to take the award this year; she did exactly what the nominees in this category should do in taking a small role and making it the most memorable part of the show

Best Direction of a Play: Marianne Elliott and Tom Morris War Horse, Joel Grey & George C. Wolfe The Normal Heart, Anna D. Shapiro The Motherf**ker with the Hat, Daniel Sullivan The Merchant of Venice

My Pick: Marianne Elliott & Tom Morris for War Horse-again this is a tough category but I think War Horse has the momentum going into Tony night and in such a big technical piece as this, direction is key

Best Direction of a Musical: Rob Ashford How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Kathleen Marshall Anything Goes, Casey Nicholaw and Trey Parker The Book of Mormon, Susan Stroman The Scottsboro Boys 

My Pick: Kathleen Marshall for Anything Goes-Nicholaw & Parker for The Book of Mormon are the easy choices here, but something tells me that Kathleen Marshall will pull this off and perhaps I think that because a grandiose musical such as Anything Goes has so many moving parts that it takes such attention to detail to really pull it off well and Kathleen Marshall has done just that

Best Choreography: Rob Ashford How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Kathleen Marshall Anything Goes, Casey Nicholaw The Book of Mormon, Susan Stroman The Scottsboro Boys

My Pick: Kathleen Marshall for Anything Goes-directing and choreographing is such a tall order and when it is done so well as in this case, I think Kathleen Marshall will take the category

Best Orchestrations: Doug Besterman How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Larry Hochman The Scottsboro Boys, Larry Hochman & Stephen Oremus The Book of Mormon, Marc Shaiman & Larry Blank Catch Me If You Can

My Pick: Larry Hochman & Stephen Oremus for The Book of Mormon-I was convinced Women on the Verge would be nominated in and win this category but since it's not, I'll have to go with the favorite, The Book of Mormon

Best Scenic Design of a Play: Todd Rosenthal The Motherf**ker with the Hat, Rae Smith War Horse, 
Ultz Jerusalem, Mark Wendland The Merchant of Venice 

My Pick: Rae Smith for War Horse-my conundrum here is whether or not to consider the horse/puppetry as part of the scenic design and if so, War Horse wins this hands down; if we are laving out the puppets, I'll have to go with Jerusalem

Best Scenic Design of a Musical: Beowulf Boritt The Scottsboro Boys, Derek McLane Anything Goes, Scott Pask The Book of Mormon, Donyale Werle Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson 

My Pick: Derek McLane for Anything Goes-I think this will go the route of the 2008 revival of South Pacific and take all the design categories, its just my gut feeling, especially since none of the other musicals this season are nearly as "big" in terms of production value

Best Costume Design of a Play: Jess Goldstein The Merchant of Venice, Desmond Heeley The Importance of Being Earnest, Mark Thompson La Bête, Catherine Zuber Born Yesterday

My Pick: Desmond Heely for The Importance of Being Earnest-I tend to give the nod to period costumes in a category like this and visually I found these to be the most interesting

Best Costume Design of a Musical: Tim Chappel & Lizzy Gardiner Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Martin Pakledinaz Anything Goes, Ann Roth The Book of Mormon, Catherine Zuber How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying

My Pick: Martin Pakledinaz for Anything Goes-though Priscilla is an easy choice, those costumes may be too over the top even for the Tony awards and here, Marin Pakledinaz' designs fit the period without looking dated, not to mention they allow the characters to sing and dance with easy and make them sparkle

Best Lighting Design of a Play: Paule Constable War Horse, David Lander Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, Kenneth Posner The Merchant of Venice, Mimi Jordan Sherin Jerusalem 

My Pick: Paule Constable for War Horse-again, I'm giving the nod to the biggest technical piece of all the nominees

Best Lighting Design of a Musical: Ken Billington The Scottsboro Boys, Howell Binkley How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Peter Kaczorowski Anything Goes, Brian MacDevitt The Book of Mormon 

My Pick: Peter Kaczorowski for Anything Goes-again, I think Anything Goes will pull a South Pacific

Best Sound Design of a Play: Acme Sound Partners and Cricket S. Myers Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, Simon Baker Brief Encounter, Ian Dickinson for Autograph Jerusalem, Christopher Shutt War Horse

My Pick: Ian Dickinson for Jerusalem-because of the nature of the shows, this should come down to War Horse or Jerusalem but I really fell in my gut that Jerusalem will take this

Best Sound Design of a Musical: Peter Hylenski The Scottsboro Boys, Steve Canyon Kennedy Catch Me If You Can, Brian Ronan Anything Goes, Brian Ronan The Book of Mormon

My Pick: Brian Ronan for Anything Goes-pulling a South Pacific

2011 Tony Award Nominee Predictions

It is now May 2nd and thus, all Tony-eligible shows have opened. The critics have had their say, and now the Tony voters will have theirs. The 2011 Tony Award Nominees will be announced tomorrow on Tuesday May 3rd at 8:30am EST on tonyawards.com and I can't wait! I am going to do my best to predict the nominees based on reviews & personal opinions. I'm just guessing at the nominees for now, but I'll certainly make my predictions for winners once the nominees are announced. I'm not going to even venture a guess on the technical categories because I have not seen all of the productions and these awards are primarily based on visual impact.

Best Play:
Good People                           David Lindsay-Abaire
Jerusalem                               Nez Butterworth
The Mother**With The Hat        Stephen Adly Guirgis
War Horse                              Nick Stafford

Best Musical:
Catch Me If You Can                Terrence McNally, Marc Shaiman & Scott Wittman
Priscilla Queen of the Desert     Stephen Elliot & Allan Scott
Sister Act                                Alan Menken & Glen Slater
The Book of Mormon                Robert Lopez, Trey Parker & Matt Stone

Best Book of a Musical:
Iris Rainer Dart                        The People in the Picture   
Lopez, Parker & Stone             The Book of Mormon             
Terrence McNally                     Catch Me If You Can
David Thompson                      The Scottsboro Boys              


Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre:
Catch Me If You Can                Marc Shaiman & Scott Wittman

The Book of Mormon                Robert Lopez, Trey Parker & Matt Stone

The Scottsboro Boys                John Kander & Fred Ebb 

Women on the Verge...             David Yazbek

Best Revival of a Play:

The House of Blue Leaves        John Guare

The Importance...Earnest         Oscar Wilde

The Merchant of Venice            William Shakespeare
The Normal Heart                     Larry Kramer

Best Revival of a Musical:

Anything Goes                          Cole Porter

How To Succeed...                    Frank Loesser     

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play:
Brian Bedford                            The Importance of Being Earnest
Bobby Cannavale                      The Mother** with the Hat

Joe Mantello                             The Normal Heart

Al Pacino                                  The Merchant of Venice

Mark Rylance                            Jerusalem

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play:

Cherry Jones                            Mrs. Warren's Profession

Frances McDormand                 Good People

Lily Rabe                                  The Merchant of Venice

Vanessa Redgrave                    Driving Miss Daisy
Kathleen Turner                        High

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical:
Norbert Leo Butz                       Catch Me If You Can

Josh Gad                                   The Book of Mormon

Daniel Radcliffe                         How To Succeed...

Andrew Rannells                       The Book of Mormon

Tony Sheldon                            Priscilla Queen of the Desert

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical:

Sutton Foster                            Anything Goes

Patina Miller                             Sister Act

Donna Murphy                         The People In The Picture

Sherie Rene Scott                     Women on the Verge...

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play:
Mackenzie Crook                     Jerusalem
Tate Donovan                           Good People

John Benjamin Hickey               The Normal Heart
Jim Parsons                               The Normal Heart
Yul Vasquez                              The Mother** with the Hat

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play:
Ellen Barkin                               The Normal Heart
Edie Falco                                 The House of Blue Leaves

Judith Light                                Lombardi

Estelle Parsons                           Good People
Elizabeth Rodriguez                    The Mother** with the Hat

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical:

Nick Adams                              Priscilla Queen of the Desert
Joel Grey                                   Catch Me If You Can

John Laroquette                         How to Succeed

Rory O'Malley                           The Book of Mormon
Tom Wopat                               Catch Me If You Can

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical:

Laura Benanti                             Women on the Verge...

Kerry Butler                               Catch Me If You Can

Victoria Clark                            Sister Act

Nikki M. James                         The Book of Mormon

Laura Osnes                              Anything Goes

Best Direction of a Play:

Marianne Elliot & Tom Morris      War Horse
Joel Grey & Goerge C. Wolfe      The Normal Heart
Emma Rice                                  Brief Encounter

Anna D. Shapiro                         The Mother** with the Hat

Best Direction of a Musical:

Kathleen Marshall                        Anything Goes
Nicholaw/Parker                          The Book of Mormon

Susan Stroman                            The Scottsboro Boys
Alex Timbers                               Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson

Best Choreography:

Rob Ashford                              How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying

Ross Coleman                           Priscilla Queen of the Desert

Kathleen Marshall                      Anything Goes

Jerry Mitchell                             Catch Me If You Can