Tony Predictions: How'd We Do?

It could have been worse. It could have been better. Sandra got a very respectable 18 correct. Liz and I tied with 13. It was a fun Tonys ceremony. Happy New Season!

(BTW, the √s are supposed to be checkmarks. Not sure what Blogger did to them.)

	Liz	Sandra	Wendy
New Musical: Maybe Happy Ending (MHE)	√	√	√
New Play: Purpose	Oh, Mary!	Oh, Mary!	John Proctor is the Villain
Lead Actress, Musical: Nicole Scherzinger, Sunset Blvd	√	√	Audra
Lead Actor, Darren Criss, MHE	√	√	√
Lead Actress, Play: Sarah Snook, Dorian Gray	√	√	LaTanya Richard-son Jackson
Lead Actor, Play: Cole Escola, Oh, Mary!	√	√	√
Featured Actor, Play: Francis Jue, Yellow Face	Conrad Rica-mora	√	√
Featured Actor, Musical: Jak Malone, Operation Mincemeat	√	Danny Burstein	Danny Burstein
Featured Actress, Play: Kara Young, Purpose	Marjan Neshat	Jessica Hecht	Jessica Hecht
Featured Actress, Musical: Natalie Venetia Belcon, Buena Vista Social Club (BVSC)	Joy Woods	Justina Machado	Justina Machado
Revival, Musical: Sunset Blvd	Gypsy	√	√
Revival, Play: Eureka Day	Yellow Face	Romeo + Juliet	√
Direction, Play: Sam Pinkleton, Oh, Mary!	Kip Williams	√	√
Direction, Musical: Michael Arden, MHE	√	Jamie Lloyd	√
Choreography: Patricia Delgado and Justin Peck, BVSC	Smash	√	√
Book: Will Aronson and Hue Park, MHE	Dead Outlaw	Dead Outlaw	Operation Mince-meat
Score: Will Aronson and Hue Park, MHE	√	√	√
Scenic Design, Play: Miriam Buether and 59, Stranger Things	√	√	Hills of Calif-ornia
Scenic Design, Musical: Dane Laffrey and George Reeve, MHE	√	√	√
Costume Design, a Play: Marg Horwell, Dorian Gray	Oh, Mary!	√	Oh, Mary!
Costume Design, Musical: Paul Tazewell, Death Becomes Her	√	√	√
Lighting Design, Play: Jon Clark, Stranger Things	Dorian Gray	√	Dorian Gray
Lighting Design, Musical: Jack Knowles, Sunset Blvd	√	√	√
Sound Design, Musical: Jonathan Deans, BVSC	MHE	√	Floyd Collins
Sound Design, Play: Paul Arditti, Stranger Things	√	√	Good Night, and Good Luck
Orchestrations: Margo Paguia, BVSC	Floyd Collins	Floyd Collins	Just in Time

The Imaginary Invalid

In the late 1970s, The Public Theater presented the Yale Rep production of Sganarelle: An Evening of Molière Farces. It was a wonderful evening. One performer was particularly good: Mark Linn Baker. His fluidity with farce, both verbal and physical, was astonishing, and he was incredibly likeable. I knew that he would "go places." Well, go places he did: dozens and dozens of shows, movies, and TV shows, in a full, impressive career. And now he's again in a Molière farce. And, again, still, his fluidity with farce, both verbal and physical, is astonishing, and he is incredibly likeable.

The Imaginary Invalid is an old warhorse of farce, elegantly structured yet full of very inelegant characters and dialogue. Its main two topics are, arguably, love and enemas. The basic story is that Argan, a wealthy hypochondriac, has remarried, and his new wife wants him to disinherit his daughter. The daughter is in love with a sweet, vacuous, good-looking guy. However, her father wants her to marry a doctor, to save on his medical bills. Various charlatans wander in and out with terrible medical advice. Argan's wry maid attempts to add some sanity to the goings-on, but often utilizes less-than-sane (and quite funny) methods. 

The solid Red Bull production currently at the New World Stages features a funny, effective adaptation by Jeffrey Hatcher, which largely follows Molière's play, but slimmed down and with some contemporary language. The direction by Jesse Berger is generally good, but at the performance I saw, certain moments hadn't gelled yet. A weakness is the ostensibly madcap section of people running around and slamming doors; it lacks clarity of why they're running around and who's after who, which actually does matter, even (especially?) in a farce.

Sarah Stiles, Mark Linn-Baker
Photo: Carol Rosegg

The cast is great. As Argan, Mark Linn-Baker (he added the hyphen after some years as Mark Linn Baker) is fabulously silly while completely committing to his character's wants and needs, as absurd as they mostly are. Sarah Stiles, as the cheeky maid, relishes playing her character's sardonic-ness as much as the character relishes being sardonic. Emilie Kouatchou gives a nicely balanced performance as a young woman both self-indulgently emotional and sincerely in love. Russell Daniels manages to make his ludicrous character actually kinda likeable. The other cast members, all also really good, include Arnie Burton, Manoel Felciano, Emily Swallow, and John Yi.

I am so very grateful that Red Bull exists. It's a tough world for theatre these days--even tougher than usual--and we've lost too many theatre companies. Red Bull's contribution is unique--and excellent. Long may it thrive!

Wendy Caster

The Harlem Doll Palace

Lenon Hoyte (Aunt Len) was the founder and proprietor of Aunt Len’s Doll and Toy Museum in Harlem. She died in 1999. In the amazing Harlem Doll Palace, which just finished a run at the HERE Arts Center, Aunt Len's dolls refuse to let her die, keeping her alive by recounting their own pasts and hers. Written and starring Alva Rogers, The Harlem Doll Palace deals in a form of fantasy sometimes completely fantastical (mermaids) and sometimes heartbreakingly real (slavery and generational trauma). 

Photo: Richard Termine

The dolls are brought to life by Mecca Akbar, Thalya David, Charlotte Lily Gaspard, Marcella Murray, and Ash Winkfield, fabulous puppeteers, actors, and singers. The combination of techniques, writing, performing, staging, and music often results in sheer magic. (The songs and scoring by Bruce Monroe are fabulous.)

Segues between sections would help in terms of pacing and clarity, and maybe the show could be trimmed a bit, but these are small things compared to the wonder and emotion on view.

Wendy Caster