Tony season gets off to a dramatic start

Broadway tried to refocus the Times Square spotlight back on the theater last week, but reality would have no part of it.

Tuesday morning was meant to be the kickoff to high-stakes party-time for the commercial theater, the moment for summing up the 2009-2010 season and positioning it for summer tourists. Film stars had been coddled all year in preparation for maximum media impact. Artists were waiting to exhale, careers teetered on the power of a nod.

But instead of splashy TV coverage of the Tony Award nominations read by Jeff Daniels and Lea Michele (a Broadway baby before turning "Glee" teen), there was just a short on CBS and nothing on other stations. The world was understandably focused on the overnight airport capture of Faisal Shahzad - the man accused of trying to set off a car bomb on Broadway's busiest street on the busiest night of the week.

It's no surprise that specifics are unavailable about the economic impact of the aborted terror attack on May 1, when many patrons couldn't get to their shows because of street closures. Clearly, producers don't want to link attendance at their shows to thoughts of peril. According to weekly statistics from the Broadway League, some of the largest box-office declines were seen at theaters near the Nissan SUV that night. But most shows lost money in the week that ended last Sunday.

Here are more thoughts on the Tony nominations. The awards will be handed out June 13 and broadcast on CBS. 

Million-dollar duo

Box office has been unstoppable at two of the worst-reviewed shows of the season - "The Addams Family" and "Promises, Promises."

In fact, they have catapulted into Broadway's $1-million club, that is, shows with weekly grosses over that magic number. The top five for the week that ended last Sunday are "Wicked," "The Addams Family," "The Lion King," "Billy Elliot" and "Promises, Promises." If they keep this up, they'll be up there with "Wicked" in the history of critic-proof shows.

It can't hurt the marketing that "Promises, Promises" received four Tony nominations - nothing for Kristin Chenoweth, but one for her co-star Sean Hayes and, though she is hardly onstage for 15 minutes, one for the irresistible Katie Finneran. Rob Ashford's overwrought choreography has been nominated, while Sergio Trujillo's elegantly down-and-dirty dance for "Memphis" has been ignored. Oh, and Jonathan Tunick's orchestrations are nominated, though he orchestrated the same show in 1968. I'm sure someone will explain this someday.

"The Addams Family" has two nominations, one for Kevin Chamberlin for his pitch-perfect Uncle Fester, and one for the second-worst thing in the show, Adam Lippa's score. (The worst is Marshall Brickman's book.) This has been such an impossible year for new music and lyrics that, to save the category, the nominating committee turned to incidental music for non-musicals (Branford Marsalis' for "Fences," Adam Cork's for "Enron" - which closes today). As I see it, the only un-embarrassing nominee is the excellent R&B / early rock score by David Bryan (founding member of Bon Jovi) and Joe DiPietro for "Memphis."

The best things about "The Addams Family" - the stars and the creepy-delicious set by Phelim McDermott and Julian Crouch - were ignored. I might be able to excuse the omission of Bebe Neuwirth's elegant Morticia, though only with reluctance. But how does Nathan Lane get no nomination for holding up the whole iffy adventure as Gomez, when any number of other lead musical actors (no names, not today) get his slot? It appears he's being punished for being so good in such a mediocre show. And I'm heartsick that Twyla Tharp's "Come Fly Away" was denied a best musical slot that went to "Million Dollar Quartet." That one is a packaged jukebox contrivance in which four singers pretend to be '50s rock-and-roll guys. Tharp's is a dangerously gorgeous dance-driven visualization of the aching nuance in Frank Sinatra's idea of love."

But something to love

The two magnificent experiences of my season were the revivals of "A View From the Bridge" and "Fences." "Bridge" was a limited run, but was not forgotten by nominators with short memories. The Arthur Miller drama has six nominations, including best revival, director Gregory Mosher and actors Liev Schreiber, Scarlett Johansson and Jessica Hecht.

"Fences," which is the Broadway front-runner by theater capacity (meaning it is more sold out than "Wicked"), has 10 nominations, including best play revival, director Kenny Leon and actors Denzel Washington, Viola Davis and Stephen McKinley Henderson. (Don't forget the silly one for musical score.) I had lovely times at the other worthy nominated revivals, "The Royal Family" and, surprise to me, "Lend Me a Tenor."

But there is no justice in a season when David Cromer's revelatory revival of Neil Simon's "Brighton Beach Memoirs" is forgotten altogether. Despite many splendid reviews, it failed to find an audience and closed in a week. This is not even enough time to get Tony voters in to see it.

Great actresses

Finally, I have to cherish an art form that, unlike the rest of American culture, cherishes its older artists. I may not be thrilled with the choices for new musicals and new plays right now, but this is a year that has given us - and nominated - Angela Lansbury in "A Little Night Music," Rosemary Harris in "The Royal Family" and Barbara Cook in "Sondheim on Sondheim." It is impossible to be blasé about them.