THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, June 12, 1994 TAG: 9406130309
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MAL VINCENT, ENTERTAINMENT WRITER
DATELINE: 940612 LENGTH: Long
There isn't the suspense of the Oscars or the sleaziness of the Grammys, but there is class. These people, after all, are theater professionals. They know how to make entrances and exits. They aren't like those movie people who are mortified to get up in front of a live audience and have no chance at a second take. Sure winners will be include the husband-and-wife acting team of Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy, who will receive the first life achievement Tony. Miss Daisy already has an Oscar.
{REST} This is the 48th Tony Award season and the 28th telecast. Celebration may be tempered by the obvious lack of new musicals this season. The nominating committee had trouble getting four nominees. On the other hand, it has been a great year for the revival of old plays and musicals. There were so many that the committee decided to give two awards - one to ``best revival of a musical'' and the other to ``best revival of a play.'' In previous years, there was only a ``best revival'' award.
Some speculation on the races this year:
Best Musical: ``Passion,'' ``Beauty and the Beast,'' ``A Grand Night for Singing,'' ``Cyrano''
I must be one of the few people in the world who actually liked the Dutch version of ``Cyrano.'' ``A Grand Night for Singing'' was more a nightclub revue than real theater. That leaves the big question of the night: Will it be Passion or Disney?
Put your bets on ``Passion.'' Broadway insiders always resent Hollywood and even moreso when they come in with big bucks, supposedly trying to buy their way into the snobbish world of the ``legitimate'' theater. There's more resentment of the Disney empire on Broadway than there is among those protesters up in northern Virginia. On the other hand, Stephen Sondheim, the composer of the chamber opera known as ``Passion,'' is regularly, and perhaps too often, called a genius. Artiness will win over glitz.
Best Play: ``Angels in America: Perestroika;'' ``Twilight of the Gods,'' ``Broken Glass,'' ``The Kentucky Cycle''
``The Kentucky Cycle'' deserved a good deal more than the short run it got from Broadway. ``Broken Glass'' marks the return of Arthur Miller. Still, ``Perestrokia,'' the second half of the AIDS play that won the Tony last year, is the likely winner. If Edward Albee's ``Three Tall Women'' were eligible, it would be a different story.
Best Actress in a Musical: Susan Egan in ``Beauty and the Beast,'' Dee Hoty in ``The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas Goes Public,'' Judy Kuhn in ``She Loves Me,'' Donna Murphy in ``Passion''
Donna Murphy is a sure bet. (Come to think of it, this would be a great role for Barbra Streisand if a movie version ever gets green-lighted).
Best Play Revival: ``Abe Lincoln in Illinois,'' ``An Inspector Calls,'' ``Medea,'' ``Timon of Athens''
Because of its stunning production, ``An Inspector Calls'' is the front-runner. It's so nice to have Bill Shakespeare in the running.
Best Actor in a Drama: Stephen Spinella in ``Perestroika,'' Brian Bedford in ``Timon of Athens,'' Christopher Plummer in ``No Man's Land,'' Sam Waterston in ``Abe Lincoln in Illinois''
Spinella won last year in the supporting category. He's likely to win again here.
Best Actor in a Musical: Boyd Gaines in ``She Loves Me,'' Victor Garber in ``Damn Yankees,'' Terrence Mann in ``Beauty and the Beast,'' Jere Shea in ``Passion''
With no clear front-runner, this could be the category in which the voters nod toward ``She Loves Me,'' a season favorite that is likely to be shut out elsewhere. Shea may benefit if there is a ``Passion'' stampede.
Best Musical Revival: ``Damn Yankees,'' ``Carousel,'' ``Grease'' and ``She Loves Me''
``Carousel'' is likely to triumph, but ``She Loves Me'' has its devotees. How did the dismal production of ``Grease'' get nominated?
Best Actress in a Play: Nancy Marchand in ``Black Comedy,'' Diana Rigg in ``Medea,'' Joan Rivers in ``Sally Marr and Her Escorts,'' Anna Deavere Smith in ``Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992''
Smith has strong support, especially since she plays some 40 characters in her one-woman show about the Los Angeles riots. It was difficult to sell tickets to it, however. Her main competition comes from Rigg. Zoe Caldwell was the last Medea to win the Tony.
Among the curiosities: Irving was not nominated for ``Broken Glass.'' ``Laughter on 23rd Street,'' Neil Simon's latest, was ignored.
The award for ``outstanding regional theater'' will go to the McCarter Theater in Princeton, N.J. This is the one the Virginia Stage Company could eventually win. If it could send a few more ``Secret Gardens'' to Broadway, VSC would be in the running.
by CNB