Tony Snubs!

Tony Awards night is rapidly approaching!  Are there any shows or actors that you feel should have been nominated but were not?  Tony nominations would not be complete without a few “snubs”! 

1.) Melissa van der Schyff as Blanche Barrow in the ill-fated new musical, Bonnie and Clyde. Her strong, emotional portrayal of Clyde’s God-fearing sister-in-law should have earned her a nomination for best featured actress in a musical. While the Tony committee may have forgotten about her heartfelt, comedic performance, I have not, and I hope you haven’t either! 

2.) Bonnie and Clyde for best new musical. Please refer to my blog entry from 1/22/12. http://standingovationsbroadwayblog.blogspot.com/2012/01/bonnie-clyde-broadway-schoenfeld.html 

Original, memorable, and witty, Bonnie and Clyde had everything you could want in a musical- beautiful music by Frank Wildhorn, a smart story-line, action-packed drama, and a talented group of Broadway actors- but this didn’t prevent the show from closing early due to poor ticket sales. 

I am happy that Bonnie and Clyde was not entirely forgotten- it did receive two nominations- one for best score (completely deserved) and another for best actress in a musical (Laura Osnes as Bonnie, also completely deserved). 

3.) Paul Nolan as Jesus Christ in Jesus Christ Superstar.  Come on, he rocks the Neil Simon Theatre eight times per week as Jesus Christ, the ULTIMATE mammoth role, AND he does it really well. A Tony-nomination for best leading actor in a musical would have been well-deserved. 

4.) Bernadette Peters as Sally Durant Plummer in Follies. She has seven Tony nominations, two Tony Awards, and she will be receiving the Isabelle Stevenson Award at this year’s Tony Awards ceremony, but it doesn’t make this snub any less sad.  Only Bernadette Peters can find the emotional depth of an unstable character and have a nervous breakdown while singing a song like “Losing My Mind”. That’s all I have to say about that.  

5.) Raul Esparza as Jonas Nightingale in Leap of Faith. This man did not stop dancing, singing, or preaching during this two and a half hour musical.  ENERGY. He’s got it.  But it didn’t earn him a Tony nod.  

6.) Adam Chanler-Berat as Boy in Peter and the Starcatcher.  We all loved Adam Chanler-Berat in Next to Normal and the off-Broadway revival of Rent, but he really shows off his acting chops as Boy in Peter and the Starcatcher. This may be his best performance yet!  

7.) Elena Roger as Eva Peron in Evita.  Born in Argentina, there is something very authentic about this actress’ performance as the powerful, though unfortunate, first lady of Argentina. This omission is just a shame. 

Bonnie & Clyde

Broadway, Schoenfeld Theatre

12/17/11 matinee

Background: I guess there is no point in reviewing the ill-fated Frank Wildhorn musical, Bonnie & Clyde, which closed prematurely on 12/30/11 after just 36 regular performances. But I need to pay homage to this wonderful show that closed far too soon. 

For some reason, I felt that Bonnie & Clyde would be running for a while and so I didn’t rush to see it right away. But when I heard that tickets were not being sold past 12/30/11, I decided to make Bonnie & Clyde a priority during my next planned trip to NYC. The day before I went to NYC, it was announced that Bonnie & Clyde would be closing on 12/30/11. Boo. I tried to get rush tickets on the morning of 12/17, but it seemed that many people had the same idea as I did, and the line was almost out the door of the box office. Needless to say, I did not get rush tickets, but I was able to get a discounted ticket just four rows from the stage.  

Synopsis: Bonnie & Clyde chronicles the love story of Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, two infamous outlaws in the 1930’s. The story begins with Bonnie and Clyde as young children, reveals how the two met, fell in love, and endured hardships, and finally recounts their lives as outlaws. The show attempts to explain the title characters’ motives for choosing the paths that they did; Bonnie wanting to be a famous actress and yearning for excitement, and Clyde wanting to provide for Bonnie and his family in the way that he was never provided for. While the show is filled with action and special effects, it is also smart, witty, sexy, and above all, a love story. 

Commentary: The cast of Bonnie & Clyde was exceptional. Jeremy Jordan and Laura Osnes had great chemistry together as the title characters, and were both VERY strong vocally. I expect that both will have long and prolific careers on the Broadway stage. Claybourne Elder and Melissa van der Schiff as Buck and Blanche also had great chemistry and provided some of the show’s more comical moments. 

After seeing Melissa van der Schiff perform, I thought, ‘who is this girl and why haven’t I seen her perform before?’ Her performance as the God-fearing, desperate wife of Buck was strong and memorable to say the least. Not only was she funny, but she portrayed beautifully the range of emotions Blanche experiences as the story progresses and makes the character relatable for the audience. I can’t wait to see what she does next. 

(Sidenote: It was also great to see Louis Hobson as Ted. He is so closely identified with Next to Normal after playing Dr. Madden/Fine for the entire Broadway run, and it was nice to see him in a very different role). 

The best part of Bonnie & Clyde was the music. Even if you didn’t get a chance to see the show, go out and buy the cast recording when it is released. The music is catchy and memorable and I was definitely humming some of the melodies as I left the theatre. This show should have been a hit for composer Frank Wildhorn, a redemption of sorts after last year’s Wonderland. Frank Wildhorn stated in a recent interview on playbill.com that he writes “for the people” and he truly does. Bonnie & Clyde is filled with crowd-pleasing melodies. In the same interview, he also mentioned a possible national tour... my fingers are crossed that this will come to fruition. I know many people who would appreciate this musical and probably would have seen it had the show run longer. I found the show to be very “generic”, meaning there is something in it for everyone to enjoy. 

The Verdict: 

Hope for a tour. 

Buy the cast recording. 

Never assume a show will be running for a while.