Hand To God

My father in law is in town, so let the marathon of great shows begin. Since we didn't have a game plan for his first night here, I went on tdf and was able to score some Hand to God tickets. I've been wanting to see this one for a while, since before the Tonys were announced actually. 

 The show is about a boy whose hand/puppet is possessed by the devil. It's deranged and says all kinds of vulgar things. It cusses, hurts people, and even has sex with another puppet. We happened to see the understudy and he was FLAWLESS. In fact, if I hadn't known ahead of time, I would've thought he was the regular guy. The whole cast really brought it. We were all laughing throughout the entire thing. I hope it stays open for a while but I think it will close soon as half the audience was empty.

 We sat in E all the way to the left, which was a little bit problematic when they did anything upstage right, though we were in luck in that there was a wall there so no one would be entering from that direction. At intermission, we were able to move over 2 seats and I could see everything.

I would see this show again. The message was pretty cool. The opening started with the invention of the devil and how humans invented the devil to excuse their behavior. The ending discussed the invention of God and it was pretty much identical. Makes you really think.

Tony Winners, what's my score!

I got virtually NONE right! How is that possible?! I didn't see nearly enough shows this year! It's not like previous years where I saw every nominee in a category! Winners have an * in red!

Best Play

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time*

Disgraced

Hand to God

Wolf Hall Parts One & Two

Best Musical

An American in Paris

Fun Home*

Something Rotten!

The Visit

Best Revival of a Play

The Elephant Man

Skylight*

This Is Our Youth

You Can’t Take It with You

Best Revival of a Musical

The King and I*

On the Town

On the Twentieth Century

Best Book of a Musical

An American in Paris

Fun Home*

Something Rotten!

The Visit

Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre

Fun Home*

The Last Ship

Something Rotten!

The Visit

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play

Steven Boyer, Hand to God
Bradley Cooper, The Elephant Man
Ben Miles, Wolf Hall Parts One & Two
Bill Nighy, Skylight
Alex Sharp, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time*

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play

Geneva Carr, Hand to God
Helen Mirren, The Audience*
Elisabeth Moss, The Heidi Chronicles
Carey Mulligan, Skylight
Ruth Wilson, Constellations

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical

Michael Cerveris, Fun Home*
Robert Fairchild, An American in Paris
Brian d’Arcy James, Something Rotten!
Ken Watanabe, The King and I
Tony Yazbeck, On the Town

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical

Kristin Chenoweth, On the Twentieth Century
Leanne Cope, An American in Paris
Beth Malone, Fun Home
Kelli O’Hara, The King and I*
Chita Rivera, The Visit

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play

Matthew Beard, Skylight
K. Todd Freeman, Airline Highway
Richard McCabe, The Audience*
Alessandro Nivola, The Elephant Man
Nathaniel Parker, Wolf Hall Parts One & Two
Micah Stock, It’s Only a Play

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play

Annaleigh Ashford, You Can’t Take It with You*
Patricia Clarkson, The Elephant Man
Lydia Leonard, Wolf Hall Parts One & Two
Sarah Stiles, Hand to God
Julie White, Airline Highway

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical

Christian Borle, Something Rotten!*
Andy Karl, On the Twentieth Century
Brad Oscar, Something Rotten!
Brandon Uranowitz, An American in Paris
Max von Essen, An American in Paris

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical

Victoria Clark, Gigi
Judy Kuhn, Fun Home
Sydney Lucas, Fun Home
Ruthie Ann Miles, The King and I*
Emily Skeggs, Fun Home

Best Scenic Design of a Play

Bunny Christie and Finn Ross, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time*
Bob Crowley, Skylight
Christopher Oram, Wolf Hall Parts One & Two
David Rockwell, You Can’t Take It with You

Best Scenic Design of a Musical

Bob Crowley and 59 Productions, An American in Paris*
David Rockwell, On the Twentieth Century
Michael Yeargan, The King and I
David Zinn, Fun Home

Best Costume Design of a Play

Bob Crowley, The Audience
Jane Greenwood, You Can’t Take It with You
Christopher Oram, Wolf Hall Parts One & Two*
David Zinn, Airline Highway

Best Costume Design of a Musical

Gregg Barnes, Something Rotten!
Bob Crowley, An American in Paris
William Ivey Long, On the Twentieth Century
Catherine Zuber, The King and I*

Best Lighting Design of a Play

Paule Constable, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time*
Paule Constable and David Plater, Wolf Hall Parts One & Two
Natasha Katz, Skylight
Japhy Weideman, Airline Highway

Best Lighting Design of a Musical

Donald Holder, The King and I
Natasha Katz, An American in Paris*
Ben Stanton, Fun Home
Japhy Weideman, The Visit

Best Direction of a Play

Stephen Daldry, Skylight
Marianne Elliott, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time*
Scott Ellis, You Can’t Take It with You
Jeremy Herrin, Wolf Hall Parts One & Two
Moritz von Stuelpnagel, Hand to God

Best Direction of a Musical

Sam Gold, Fun Home*
Casey Nicholaw, Something Rotten!
John Rando, On the Town
Bartlett Sher, The King and I
Christopher Wheeldon, An American in Paris

Best Choreography

Joshua Bergasse, On the Town
Christopher Gattelli, The King and I
Scott Graham & Steven Hoggett for Frantic Assembly, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Casey Nicholaw, Something Rotten!
Christopher Wheeldon, An American in Paris*

Best Orchestrations

Christopher Austin, Don Sebesky, Bill Elliott, An American in Paris*
John Clancy, Fun Home
Larry Hochman, Something Rotten!
Rob Mathes, The Last Ship

Final score: 14/24!

Penn and Teller On Broadway

We love magic! We also love comedy! So it's no surprise when we wanted to see Penn and Teller on their limited engagement performance on Broadway. I can't find that many good photos of the show because so much of it is visual in motion. Magic doesn't really photograph well. 

We enjoyed a lot of the tricks. There was even one that left us baffled. Penn changed an audience member INTO Teller. I don't know how it worked. Teller is probably one of the best slight of hands I have ever seen. They showed how old magic tricks work and made comedy out of it. 

We had great seats row H of the orchestra, off to the right. When we walked in, Aaron said "oh this is the theater where we saw Wonderland. Ugh!" Poor Marquis theater. Such a bad wrap. We got in a fight with a fellow audience member who was upset that people wanted to leave the theater and make him stand up. He told us to go back to "fuckin' hicksville where you belong."

We live in Brooklyn.

Unfortunately, this fight is the last taste we get from the show and some of the tricks/audience members were really tragic. We would not recommend it to others. Aaron also wouldn't see them again. I would give them another chance in a different venue, better suited for an adult audience.

On the Twentieth Century

What a fun musical. I came in not knowing anything other than the song "Never" and that Kristen Chenowith was starring alongside Peter Gallagher. I took Aaron because I got two $25 tickets. You can't beat theater that cheap. We've definitely done some busts this way, but at this price he reckons that it's worth it. But what a great gamble we took this time. It was hilarious. It had fun music. The sets and costuming were phenomenal (love vintage period pieces) and Kristen delivered the performance of her career!

Taking place in the 30's, I was gagging at every piece of clothing that came out on stage. The men even had some delicious looking belt back jackets and everything had an art deco feel to it. The whole show takes place on a train called "The Twentieth Century" hence the name being ON the 20th Century, rather than IN. Chenoweth plays Lily Garland, the queen of the acting world and Gallagher plays Oscar Jaffe, the shabby play producer that doesn't have a cent left. They used to date but by the time the show takes place, they hate each other. He needs Lily to be in a show so that he can pay off previous people. He's in a lot of hot water. It would be easy to schmooze her were it not for her super sexy, air headed boyfriend Bruce Granit! (He was literally the best thing about the show right behind Kristen) A lot of hilarity ensues and there's a happy ending. 

Here's Bruce working out which Lily touches his muscles. In the back you can see his headshot on the wall. He smacks it on the wall, and when he and Lily fight he has a bit where he slowly takes it off the wall as if to say "you made me mad, I'm taking my picture with me so you literally have nothing of my likeness to look at."

 We sat in the orchestra, 3rd row from the back and close to the center. Seats were great and nothing was obstructed. I was super happy to have seen this in the theater.

After Kristen's first song, Aaron nudged me and said "how did such a sound come out of so small a body?!" That really is a marvel when I think of Ms. Chenowith. She's quite the fierce performer!

Tony Nominations and My Predictions

I have yet to see everything on the Tonys list this year, but I will bold what I think is going to win. 

Best Play

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

Disgraced

Hand to God

Wolf Hall Parts One & Two

Best Musical

An American in Paris

Fun Home

Something Rotten!

The Visit

Best Revival of a Play

The Elephant Man

Skylight

This Is Our Youth

You Can’t Take It with You

Best Revival of a Musical

The King and I

On the Town

On the Twentieth Century

Best Book of a Musical

An American in Paris

Fun Home

Something Rotten!

The Visit

Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre

Fun Home

The Last Ship

Something Rotten!

The Visit

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play

Steven Boyer, Hand to God
Bradley Cooper, The Elephant Man
Ben Miles, Wolf Hall Parts One & Two
Bill Nighy, Skylight
Alex Sharp, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play

Geneva Carr, Hand to God
Helen Mirren, The Audience
Elisabeth Moss, The Heidi Chronicles
Carey Mulligan, Skylight
Ruth Wilson, Constellations

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical

Michael Cerveris, Fun Home
Robert Fairchild, An American in Paris
Brian d’Arcy James, Something Rotten!
Ken Watanabe, The King and I
Tony Yazbeck, On the Town

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical

Kristin Chenoweth, On the Twentieth Century
Leanne Cope, An American in Paris
Beth Malone, Fun Home
Kelli O’Hara, The King and I
Chita Rivera, The Visit

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play

Matthew Beard, Skylight
K. Todd Freeman, Airline Highway
Richard McCabe, The Audience
Alessandro Nivola, The Elephant Man
Nathaniel Parker, Wolf Hall Parts One & Two
Micah Stock, It’s Only a Play

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play

Annaleigh Ashford, You Can’t Take It with You
Patricia Clarkson, The Elephant Man
Lydia Leonard, Wolf Hall Parts One & Two
Sarah Stiles, Hand to God
Julie White, Airline Highway

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical

Christian Borle, Something Rotten!
Andy Karl, On the Twentieth Century
Brad Oscar, Something Rotten!
Brandon Uranowitz, An American in Paris
Max von Essen, An American in Paris

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical

Victoria Clark, Gigi
Judy Kuhn, Fun Home
Sydney Lucas, Fun Home
Ruthie Ann Miles, The King and I
Emily Skeggs, Fun Home

Best Scenic Design of a Play

Bunny Christie and Finn Ross, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Bob Crowley, Skylight
Christopher Oram, Wolf Hall Parts One & Two
David Rockwell, You Can’t Take It with You

Best Scenic Design of a Musical

Bob Crowley and 59 Productions, An American in Paris
David Rockwell, On the Twentieth Century
Michael Yeargan, The King and I
David Zinn, Fun Home

Best Costume Design of a Play

Bob Crowley, The Audience
Jane Greenwood, You Can’t Take It with You
Christopher Oram, Wolf Hall Parts One & Two
David Zinn, Airline Highway

Best Costume Design of a Musical

Gregg Barnes, Something Rotten!
Bob Crowley, An American in Paris
William Ivey Long, On the Twentieth Century
Catherine Zuber, The King and I

Best Lighting Design of a Play

Paule Constable, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Paule Constable and David Plater, Wolf Hall Parts One & Two
Natasha Katz, Skylight
Japhy Weideman, Airline Highway

Best Lighting Design of a Musical

Donald Holder, The King and I
Natasha Katz, An American in Paris
Ben Stanton, Fun Home
Japhy Weideman, The Visit

Best Direction of a Play

Stephen Daldry, Skylight
Marianne Elliott, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Scott Ellis, You Can’t Take It with You
Jeremy Herrin, Wolf Hall Parts One & Two
Moritz von Stuelpnagel, Hand to God

Best Direction of a Musical

Sam Gold, Fun Home
Casey Nicholaw, Something Rotten!
John Rando, On the Town
Bartlett Sher, The King and I
Christopher Wheeldon, An American in Paris

Best Choreography

Joshua Bergasse, On the Town
Christopher Gattelli, The King and I
Scott Graham & Steven Hoggett for Frantic Assembly, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Casey Nicholaw, Something Rotten!
Christopher Wheeldon, An American in Paris

Best Orchestrations

Christopher Austin, Don Sebesky, Bill Elliott, An American in Paris
John Clancy, Fun Home
Larry Hochman, Something Rotten!
Rob Mathes, The Last Ship

* * *

Something Rotten!

Holy hell, I haven't laughed at the theater like I did at Something Rotten since probably Gentleman's Guide or Book of Mormon. It was so fresh and just darn funny. Full of musical jokes, meaning that anyone who regularly sees them or has starred in them will get a big kick out of it. I went with a friend because the idea of musical Shakespeare really turned Aaron off. I guess we should've done our research as it wasn't really that Shakespeare-y at all. In fact, Shakespeare was a character, but barely any old English "backwards talking" happened. The jokes at times were even crass and crude, and modern!

We sat in the balcony row B. It was high up, but I had great sight lines. The cast works SO hard and they do at least 3 tap numbers, one of which has 8 soloists that have to dance in a train like round, meaning that if one screws up, the entire theater sees it. 

 Christain Borle was spotless as Shakespeare, the rock star sex pot. What a funny way to portray him. And Brian d'Arcy James as Nick Bottom was flawless....he carried the show. Brad Oscar as the soothsayer was so damn funny....he had the best numbers in the show.

It's been a long time since I have seen a show and at intermission loved every song I had already heard. The second act wasn't as strong, but I still enjoyed it. Great show! I can see this winning a shit ton of tonys!

An American In Paris

As soon as the tony nominations came out, and I saw that this show received 12 noms (clap clap clap), I had to get tickets. I've never been a huge fan of the movie (though I love me some Gene Kelly tap dancing) and it didn't really do anything for me storewise on stage....but it was a beautiful piece of theater to watch for dancing. It was very cheesy (Aaron was a little beside himself on how cheesy it was) but that's to be expected. The choreography was amazing and I am sure it will win for best Choreography. 

 Thank goodness for Broadwayabox.com because there aren't any on tdf. I got tickets for the mid mezz, row K to be exact. It was a great seat. Maybe little far back for seeing facial expressions but for a dance show, the acting is done with the whole body. 

 The leads were great....though Aaron commented that Jerry is not a likable character. Very true. Leez was an amazing dancer, and she was a quadruple threat (singer, actor, dancer, pointress!)

The usage of screens and projections was very thoughtfully done. The intro had a flag that had Swastikas projected on, then pulled around and it was a French flag. It made me miss Paris so much. All in all, it was great and a classic musical, but it won't win Best musical.