2013 Oscars & Musicals!

THE MUSICAL IS BACK!!!

I LOVED IT ALL. Especially the drum-line.

THE WINNERS:

• Ben Affleck for Best Screenplay/Best Movie [Argo]: I am happy for him [not that I've seen Argo]. He's a good family guy & his first Academy Award acceptance speech for Good Will Hunting was legendary. Plus, I'm partial to Bostonians & it was nice to see the 1st Lady supporting the ARTS. 
• Ang Lee for Best Director [Life of Pi] : Brokeback Mountain made me an eternal Ang Lee fan. His speech was engaging, candid, & I like that he said Namaste.
• Jennifer Lawrence for Best Leading Actress [Silver Linings Playbook]: Granted, she fell on her way up to the stage. But I blame J.Law's stylist for that mishap because that stunning Dior couture creation would have been difficult for anyone to maneuver, even Katniss. Even though I have not seen Silver Linings Playbook YET, I am glad she won. It would have been cool for the 9-year old to win (tomorrow is just a day away for that lil starlet), but I am glad Katniss took the crown. 
• Anne Hathaway for Best Supporting Actress [Les Miserables]: I am in agreement with the majority of Americans who feel that there is something inherently unlikable about Anne Hathaway. Maybe it's her faux humility, maybe it's the fact that she alone sees herself as America's Sweetheart, maybe it's that she's arrogant enough to casually call Judy Garland & Tina Fey Judy & Tina like they are BFF....I really don't know. She just lacks that innate likability quotient that can't be faked or taught; sorry, Anne, I'd like to like you. Having said that, I also have to say that she really was an awesome Fantine & did deserve her award. But, it's also a real shame that she beat Naomi Watts because that woman deserves an Academy Award already. 

FAREWELL, LES MISERABLES.

...can two anxious hearts beat as one..?

It seemed a strange choice to open the Les Mis montage with a tiny song that was created for the movie, but I guess its' purpose was to honor the movie specifically rather than the Les Mis empire as a whole. I do like this little ditty [plus, it did serve to replace a section of the musical, not create an entirely new one]. I also like that Hugh Jackman is the only ValJean to have sung this little melody because he deserves his own little piece of Les Mis. The man is an amazing, exceptional talent & the film would be nothing without him. I wish he had won an Academy Award, but Daniel Day Lewis did deserve this 3rd Leading Actor Oscar [I'm going by public opinion, I didn't see Lincoln either]. Anne Hathaway's part in the montage was fine, but her voice did warble during moments that required strength (maybe she was pretending to be emotionally invested?). Amanda Seyfried looked gorgeous & I was surprised at how great she sounded. She & Eddie Redmayne seemed to have an even stronger chemistry in person than on film & his voice sounded amazing. Samantha Barks is obviously an invincible live performer, so she rocked it & I liked her modest, English evening attire. I had an opinion in the back of my mind that this live performance was partially a backlash at the critics who said the cast was comprised of actors pretending to sing. And they did achieve that until Russell Crowe came out. Besides Mr. Crowe (whose acting was sooo much better than his singing), this montage was a lovely last hoorah to the cinematic adaptation of Les Miserables. I credit this film for the Musicals in Movies theme of the Academy Awards & hope the awesome influence of musicals on movies will continue selling tickets & bringing musicals to the any & every theatre forever & always. AMEN!

The Les Mis Movie Archives:

* Les Mis DreamCast [3.31.11] * The Initial Movie Cast [10.21.11] * Movie Cast Compete [1.11.12] * Taylor Swift is NOT Eponine! [2.21.12] *  THE TRAILER [8.28.12] *THE MOVIE ARRIVES [1.1.13] * The Miserable Golden Globes [1.15.13] *

the miserable golden globes

Congrats to Les Miserables & Our Leading Lovely Lady!

Now, let's dissect Anne's Acceptance Speech:

• I appreciate that they played my favorite line moment of I Dreamed a Dream ["he took my childhood in his stride, but he was gone when autumn came"] as her walk-to-the-stage music. 
• Opening with "Um, blerg...thank you for that word, Tina...oh my gosh, this is happening..." came across as a premeditated, failed attempt at humor & humility. 
• Describing the Golden Globe Award as a "lovely blunt object that [she] will forever use against self-doubt" was awkward & strangely self-glorifying. 
• Her Tom Hooper joke was not funny. 
• The Sally Fields tribute moment was pretty awesome: "And thank you for putting me, my work, in this category great & gutsy actresses...Amy, Nicole, Helen, & Sally. Sally, I have to thank you so much for being a vanguard against type-casting because, as the girl who started out as the Princess of Genovia, I can't tell you how encouraging it was to know that Flying Nun grew up to be Norma Rae. And grew up to be Mama Gump, and grew up to be Mary Todd Lincoln. So thank you so much."                       Well played, Ms. Hathaway. 
• The fact that her mom played Fantine is pretty cool. 
• The phrase "unapologetically sincere" is a fair/lovely way to describe this film. 
• I expected Anne to win her Golden Globe, but was not as confident that Les Miserables would win for Best Musical or Comedy Film. I was relieved at the win, but wish Anne had shown more class & resisted grabbing a microphone that did not belong to her. I get that she needed to thank her long-time agent, but she missed her opportunity & made a massive misstep in my opinion. 
• The shout-out to her husband ["Honey, you make every day better than the last & thank you for the best string of yesterdays I have ever had. I love you."] was pretty cute. I guess.

2012 Olivier Award Nominations

BEST NEW PLAY

• Collaborators @ the Cottesloe
• Jumpy @ the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court
• The Ladykiller @ the Gielgud
• One Man, Two Guvnors @ the Lyttelton

I vote One Man, Two Guvnors because I like the title & LOVE the Lyttelton.

BEST REVIVAL

• Anna Christie at the Donmar Warehouse
• Flare Path at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket
• Much Ado About Nothing at the Wyndham’s
• Noises Off at the Old Vic

I like the Old Vic, but Noises Off is tired. Much Ado is equally tired, but this fresh production was set in 1980s Gibraltar & looked like a production of a classic that was infused with contemporary influence, style, & perspective. Much Ado gets my vote.

BEST ENTERTAINMENT AND FAMILY

• Derren Brown - Svengali at the Shaftesbury
• Midnight Tango at the Aldwych
• Potted Panto at the Garrick
• The Tiger Who Came to Tea at the Vaudeville

I love that this category exists in the Olivier docket. The Tony's should apply the same category considering the Mousification of Broadway, but then there wouldn't be enough nominees for Best New Musical. 
 

BEST ACTRESS

• Celia Imrie for Noises Off at the Old Vic
• Lesley Manville for Grief at the Cottesloe
• Kristin Scott Thomas for Betrayal at the Harold Pinter
• Marcia Warren for The Ladykillers at the Gielgud
• Ruth Wilson for Anna Christie at the Donmar Warehouse

I vote Kristin Scott Thomas becase Betrayal is awesome & the fact The Harold Pinter Theatre exists is just super.

BEST ACTOR

• James Corden for One Man, Two Guvnors at the Lyttelton
• Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller for Frankenstein at the Olivier
• David Haig for The Madness of George III at the Apollo
• Douglas Hodge for Inadmissable Evidence at the Donmar Warehouse
• Jude Law for Anna Christie at the Donmar Warehouse

BEST PERFORMANCE IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

• Mark Addy for Collaborators at the Cottesloe
• Oliver Chris for One Man, Two Guvnors at the Lyttelton
• Johnny Flynn for Jerusalem at the Apollo
• Bryony Hannah for The Children's Hour at the Harold Pinter
• Sheridan Smith for Flare Path at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket

BEST ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL

• Kate Fleetwood for London Road at the Cottesloe
• Sarah Lancashire for Betty Blue Eyes at the Novello
• The Matilda's for Matilda The Musical at the Cambridge
• Scarlett Strallen for Singin' In The Rain at the Palace

I'm rooting for "The Matilda's." I loved when the three Billy Elliots won the Tony for Best Leading Actor. When children are slated against adults, I think the advantage is slated towards the children since their inexperience is such a stark disadvantage. The fact that they are being compared to adults is reason enough for them to win. I don't think it is cool, however, that they are referred to as "The Matilda's" rather than by name.

BEST ACTOR IN A MUSICAL

• Bertie Carvel for Matilda The Musical at the Cambridge
• Nigel Lindsay for Shrek The Musical at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
• Reece Shearsmith for Betty Blue Eyes at the Novello
• Paulo Szot for South Pacific at the Barbican

BEST PERFORMANCE IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MUSICAL

• Sharon D Clarke for Ghost The Musical at the Piccadilly
• Sophie-Louise Dann for Lend Me A Tenor The Musical at the Gielgud
• Nigel Harman for Shrek The Musical at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
• Paul Kaye for Matilda The Musical at the Cambridge
• Katherine Kingsley for Singin' In The Rain at the Palace

BEST NEW MUSICAL

• Betty Blue Eyes at the Novello
• Ghost the Musical at the Piccadilly
• London Road at the Cottesloe
• Matilda the Musical at the Cambridge
• Shrek the Musical at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane

It will probably go to Matilda the Musical, which is fine by me. I love Matilda & formatting it into a musical was genius. I'm thinking we will be seeing Matilda on Broadway in the near future.

BEST MUSICAL REVIVAL

• Crazy for You at the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre
• Singin' in the Rain at the Palace
• South Pacific at the Barbican
• The Wizard Of Oz at the London Palladium

I would be cool with Singin' in the Rain or The Wizard of Oz. The other 2 seem boring options.

BEST DIRECTOR

• Sean Foley for The Ladykillers at the Gielgud
• Nicholas Hytner for One Man, Two Guvnors at the Lyttelton
• Rufus Norris for London Road at the Cottesloe
• Matthew Warchus for Matilda The Musical at the Cambridge

NICKY HYTNER FOR LIFE!!!

BEST THEATRE CHOREOGRAPHER

• Peter Darling for Matilda The Musical at the Cambridge
• Javier de Frutos for London Road at the Cottesloe
• Stephen Mear for Crazy For You at the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre
• Andrew Wright for Singin' In The Rain at the Palace
  I'm not sure, but I'm pretty sure Singin' In The Rain should take this one.

BEST LIGHTING DESIGN

• Anna Christie designed by Howard Harrison at the Donmar Warehouse
• Frankenstein designed by Bruno Poet at the Olivier
• Ghost the Musical designed by Hugh Vanstone at the Piccadilly
• Matilda the Musical designed by Hugh Vanstone at the Cambridge

I would imagine Anna Christie is the best bet, even though the Donmar Warehouse is tiny & I find tiny theatres don't excel in lighting design. Ghost the Musical might take the cake because ghosty shows offer the opportunity to truly showcase cool lighting effects.

BEST SET DESIGN

• Ghost the Musical designed by Rob Howell at the Piccadilly
• The Ladykillers designed by Michael Taylor at the Gielgud
• Matilda the Musical designed Rob Howell at the Cambridge
• One Man, Two Guvnors designed by Mark Thompson at the Lyttelton

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

• Crazy for You designed by Peter McKintosh at the Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre
• Matilda the Musical designed by Rob Howell at the Cambridge
• Shrek the Musical designed by Tim Hatley at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
• South Pacific designed by Catherine Zuber at the Barbican

I've gotta vote Matilda. Crazy for You & South Pacific are somewhat straight-forward in their costume requirements; there is only so much artistry & insight that can be applied. And Shrek doesn't count, in my opinion.

BEST SOUND DESIGN

• Ghost the Musical designed by Bobby Aitken at the Piccadilly
• Frankenstein designed by Underworld and Ed Clarke at the Olivier
• The Ladykillers designed by Ben and Max Ringham at the Gielgud
• Matilda the Musical designed by Simon Baker at the Cambridge

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN AN AFFILIATE THEATRE

• The Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester for Mogadishu at the Lyric Hammersmith
• Theatre Royal, Stratford East in association with the Barbican and Traverse Theatre for Roadkill
• The Donmar Warehouse for Salt, Root and Roe at the Trafalgar Studios 2
• The Royal Court for The Village Bike at the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs

BEST NEW OPERA PRODUCTION

• English National Opera’s Castor and Pollux at the London Coliseum
• English National Opera's A Midsummer Night's Dream at the London Coliseum
• English National Opera's The Passenger at the London Coliseum
• ROH2’s Clemency (in association with Scottish Opera) at the Linbury Studio, Royal Opera House, Covent Garden

I LOVE THAT OPERA HAS ITS' OWN CATEGORIES.

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN OPERA

• ENO for the breadth and diversity of its artistic programme
• Amanda Holden for her translation of Castor and Pollux at the London Coliseum
• Richard Jones for his direction of Anna Nicole and Il Trittico at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden and The Tales of Hoffmann at the London Coliseum
• Mark-Anthony Turnage for his composition of Anna Nicole at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden and Twice Through the Heart at Sadler's Wells.

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN DANCE

• The Design Team for their work on the Royal Ballet's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland at the Royal Opera House
• Edward Watson for his performance in The Metamorphosis at the Linbury Studio at the Royal Opera House
• Sylvie Guillem for her performance in her production of 6000 Miles Away at Sadler’s Wells
• Tommy Franzen for his performance in ZooNation’s Some Like it Hip Hop at the Peacock

I LOVE THAT DANCE HAS ITS' OWN CATEGORIES.

BEST NEW DANCE PRODUCTION

• Desh by Akram Khan Company at Sadler's Wells, choreographed by Akram Khan
• Gardenia by Les Ballets C de la B at Sadler's Wells, directed by Alain Platel and Frank van Laecke
• The Metamorphosis by ROH2 at the Linbury Studio, choreographed by Arthur Pita
• Some Like It Hip Hop by ZooNation at the Peacock, choreographed by Kate Prince, Tommy Franzen and Carrie-Anne Ingrouille