That's Like 35 In Dog Years...

And now, a moment of celebration: today, May 31st, marks the five-year anniversary of Modern Fabulousity. Yeah. Five years on the internet is a mighty, mighty long time...back then, no one had ever heard of Taylor Swift or Mylie Cyrus. Facebook and Twitter were just made-up words. Britney hadn't yet married K-Fed, and Justin Timberlake had just tried to cover up Janet Jackson's boob during the Super Bowl. A week prior, Diana DeGarmo had lost to Fantasia on American Idol. The most important celebrity on the internet was Harry Knowles. And Barack Obama, well, he was just that nice guy from Illinois.

Modern Fabulousity (or, as Rod2.0 charmingly nicknamed it in 2005, ModFab) has been through its own struggles. It started out by winning a ton of awards and rapidly building a readership based on its (at the time unusual) mix of soft-core boy porn and cultural witticisms. My hope was to do for culture blogs what Wonkette was doing for politics...sharp insight with sassy wit. All through the lens of what it means to be a gay person in a straight world.

And then Perez Hilton, aka He Who Shall Not Be Linked, destroyed blogging. At least in my opinion. As my longtime friend Brilliant at Breakfast put it a few years ago, Perez sucked all of the air out of intelligent pop blogging...there was simply no room for thoughtfulness. Only sass, sex, gossip, and bitchery. And sure, that can be fun...for a while. But as I get older (and yes, I am getting older), it is less and less interesting to me. A lot less.

I'm unhappy with the state of the blogosphere these days. Over time, I've seen smart blogs get dumber (including some of my friends, who have gotten very successful by dumbing down their content). I've seen talented writers sell out their vision to the highest bidder. I've seen great bloggers decide to leave the battlefield for good (Peter, Damion, etc...you are still missed). Some blogs left their indie roots and became "brands," which is really just a cheap word for corporate. And a very, very few -- some of whom are linked in the sidebar -- have remained champion-level independent thinkers and writers.

But not many.

Longtime fans probably already saw my ambivalence before now...I'm not sure I've been hiding it well. My bogging has decreased in the last year or so. Mostly, that's due to five things:

1. Gossip now bores me most of the time, and I can't work up the energy to write about it.
2. No one seems especially interested in my music or photography links (both of which I really love), and soft-core porn is now on every gay blog in the universe.
3. I became a victim of my own success, in some ways. Specifically, the theatre-centric columns got popular among Broadway folk. Unfortunately, the bitchy (but truthful) things I'd been saying in those columns -- not to mention the leaks about upcoming shows -- started to get me in trouble with some industry figures, so I pulled back.
4. ModFab's bread and butter -- the cinema -- became useless. I started on the internet, 11 years ago, as a film critic. But movies have lost their way, I think; even independent and foreign films have succumbed to the tyranny of mindlessly entertaining the masses. Ironically enough, cinema's bastard stepchild -- television -- has emerged as the major global communicative art form of the new century (alongside the internet). If you disagree, I ask you when the last time widespread worldwide arguments occurred over a movie like the ones we recently had over Adam Lambert. (Brokeback? Get real. I'm talking Passion of the Christ. Which was, you guessed it, five years ago.) And finally...
5. The real world is significantly more interesting these days. I continue to write and direct plays, and have discovered some new passions. One is poetry; after winning a few awards for individual pieces, my first collection, GlitterDirt, is being published in 2010. The other passion is photography; after recently shelling out over $1000 for a camera, extra lenses, light meters, and training classes, I've started a photoblog, GlitterLens. It's not much to look at yet, but I'm learning, and I can easily say that photography is the most exciting new thing in my life.

I could go on with other excuses -- I lost a lot of weight, I got a job promotion, I became a homeowner, yada yada yada. But the truth is that the ModFab blog that had all that popularity in 2006 and 2007? I don't want to be that anymore. So I'm not going to be.

Reading this back, it sounds like I'm quitting. I'm not. Modern Fabulousity will continue on, erratically and capriciously as always. But it will be, more than ever, a blog that chases MY moods and thoughts, MY observations and critiques, MY reactions to the world of art and theatre and music and culture and society. After five years, I realize that successful blogging, for me, means being the anti-Perez. Which means no faux journalism, no daily newspaper imitation, no star interviews or podcasts, no links to the same big story of the day that's on every blog. It's about a singular perspective. I'm trying to get back to that.

I hope at least two or three of you will be interested. And yes, I'll have Tony predictions next week. :-)

Oh, one other thing: I love my readers. Really, truly, I LOVE them. All of you. For those of you who've been around for most of our five-year stretch, I want to say "thank you." Your comments, your e-mails, your willingness to be a part of my life has been something I've never taken for granted. I appreciate anyone who has stuck by ModFab as it grew, and who are willing to see where it goes next. From the bottom of my heart, I say: free handjobs for everyone. Here's to the next five...

Love,
Gabriel

One Can Only Hope There Will Be A Brief Gay Sex Scene Of Some Sort

Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig, together, in my bedroom on Broadway. Coming this fall. Jesus Lordamighty. And they're playing cops. In police uniforms. It's amazing how my porno fantasies can so easily become live theatre productions. Add in Erik Estrada circa 1978, and all my erotic law enforcement scenarios can finally be realized.

The Monday ManScan

Simply Sweet : DNA Fridays
Ruftalk : Sunshine
Swimpixx : Preto & Branco
Te Mo'o : Brutes
Tighty Whitie : Straddle
The Daily Slab : Spring Heat
Troy : 506
Truly Madly Deeply : Ole Sorenson
Underground Construction : Tetu
Ursa Canis : Dude!

Welcome Back The Terrifying Lizard Aliens Who F$#@ed Up My Childhood

My geekmeter is off the charts for this:

The Death of American Idol

Image by h e l e n ♥ via Flickr

I've kept silent, until now, about my feelings on the season-ending showdown between Kris Allen and Adam Lambert. Partially because I felt too strongly about it, and partially because many bloggers I respect, TV bloggers who I consider friends, were strongly pushing Kris to win. Their reasoning included the obvious (Kris is a total hottie), the market-savvy (Adam will get a record deal anyway), and the salient (Kris sang the crap out of "Heartless").

But sadly and distressingly, they also bought into the coded homophobia of this season of American Idol -- especially the unforgiveable sensationalism of the Entertainment Weekly cover story that compelled voters to consider Alan's (homo)sexuality in their voting decision, the blog-buzz criticisms of his "theatrical," "flamboyant" style, and the jokey ridicule of his makeup and costumes. Sure, this homophobia was guarded and never overt, but it was indisputably there, and even gay television bloggers bought into it. Which, frankly, was appalling.

Why? Because even if you love Kris , it is absolutely impossible to argue he was the more accomplished singer. Furthermore, it is impossible to argue he is a better interpretive artist. If you believe otherwise, you simply do not understand music, or the history of American rock'n'roll...and you probably own Jason Mraz albums.

The finale, perhaps better than any other episode, made the contrast between Kris and Adam's vocal abilities obvious. As Kris fumbled through the final number with Queen, "We Are The Champions," Adam embodied the ghost of Freddie Mercury more fully than any performer may ever have. (Even Brian May couldn't take his eyes off Adam afterward.) As Kris strummed a by-the-numbers guitar rendition of "What's Going On" that sounded dismayingly similar to his version of "Heartless," Adam transformed and recontextualized the blues underpinnings of "A Change Is Gonna Come." And don't get me started on "Mad World," an unjustly ignored 80's classic that Adam has singlehandedly reclaimed from obscurity.

Take a spin around the web today, and I'm pretty sure you'll see the meme in the global media: Kris, the wholesome, married "underdog," came "from behind" to beat the "flamboyant" rocker in a "surprise." But I think we all knew last week (if not before) that the narrative of Adam being the frontrunner was based only on a judgement of talent; in reality, the votes have been neck-and-neck for weeks. When the evangelical, hard-right, family values contestant Danny Gokey lost last week, the writing was on the wall...or did you suppose Gokey's churchgoing supporters were secret Bowie and T. Rex fans?

Why is this important? Because the media made Adam Lambert's sexuality an issue...not only in their columns and articles, but in the actual Idol voting process. And since no openly gay person has ever won a reality show based on popular votes -- heck, gay people have never won a popular vote in Congress! -- there was a legitimately instructive moment here. Would people recognize the superior talent, or would their distaste for an androgynous star steer them away from it? Would people embrace an openly gay person as an instant superstar...or choose the safer, and clearly less worthy, choice?

Now, before you all start blowing up my comments area, let me say: Kris is a perfectly nice singer. I like him, more than most winners of previous seasons. He is vastly preferable to Taylor Hicks, Jordin Sparks, etc. I will probably buy his album (unless it's gospel).

But for anyone who knows actual music and vocal performance technique -- structurally, technically, the study and discipline of it -- knows the truth. Adam is simply extraordinary. Rare, even.

The shocked faces of Randy, Simon and Kara after the vote was announced showed that they knew America had fucked it up, maybe for the first time ever. (Well, at least since Chris Daughtry, but America has since rectified that mistake.) Heck, even Kris himself couldn't believe it...the first words out of his mouth were "I can't believe it...Adam deserves this." He knows the truth, too.

In later years, when people start to ask the question, "When did Idol jump the shark?", I'll know my answer. It was May 20th, 2009, when they decided that a blazingly talented kid would be denied the keys to the kingdom...because he was too damn flamboyant outre theatrical Broadway over-the-top artistic wild queer.

The Monday ManScan

Gayya Kuyusu : Karl Giant
Get Ur Pantz On : Hot Tension
Guycandi : 2M4M
Gym Fanatic : 2
Hans Is Great : Eye Candy
Hoodsworld : Happy Hair
Hunk du Jour : Jonathan Smith
John Rutherford : Muscleheads, or What You Should Be Buying ModFab For His Birthday, Which Is Today
KC Rosa : Happy Thursday
London Calling Luv : Spring 2009

Sure, Kushner Says It's A Great Thing, But...

...I'm not so sure that Rocco Landesman -- the Broadway megaproducer who, among other things, implemented legalized ticket scalping with the idea of "premium" seats -- is a great choice to run the National Endowment for the Arts. Sure, he's an out-of-the-box thinker, and that's no doubt why Obama picked him. But at the end of the day, he's a commercial producer, born to the marketplace and to the idea that art is a commercial venture. He is the theatre world's version of Hollywood titans like Jerry Bruckheimer or Brian Grazer...smart and talented men, but not exactly guardians of experimental, challenging, forward-thinking work.

The $161 million dollar question: will Landesman really be able to defend (nay, champion) the idea that art is a reward unto itself, and that its merits cannot be accurately valued in mere financial gain?

I hope so. I've met Mr. Landesman on a few occasions, liked him as a person. I certainly think he's got the stuff to challenge heterodoxy and transform the agency. But will he be a true advocate for creativity in the not-for-profit arena? Cross your fingers.

The Top Ten Songs In The Universe

A-Ha : Foot of the Mountain
Anjulie : Addicted 2 Me
Del Marquis : Any Kind Of Love
Dragonette : Fixin' To Thrill
Empire of the Sun : We Are The People (Build Mix)
Fischerspooner : Supply and Demand
Jeremih : Birthday Sex
Noisettes : When We Were Young
Rico The Wizard : Spell of Love (DJ Sneak Mix)
Tittsworth ft. The Federation : Drunk As Fuck (Meterheads Dark Disco Mix)

Classic of the Universe : Alison Limerick : Gettin' It Right (The Hotel Mix)
Album of the Universe : Lily Allen : Remixed
Another of the Universe : Pet Shop Boys : Performance

Since He Asked So Nicely...

Got this e-mail from my friend, the filmmaker Q. Allan Brocka. If you don't know his work, you should; a couple of years back, he made one of the best gay films of the decade (Boy Culture), and he's the creator of LOGO's hilarious animated comedy Rick and Steve: The Happiest Gay Couple in the World. He's currently beginning work on the latest installment of his franchise Eating Out. And if you're interested...

Hey Gabriel,

I’m casting EATING OUT 3 at the moment and we are leaving no stone unturned to find the next Marco Dapper or Ryan Carnes. I know lots of beautiful and talented boys know you, sooo.... =) Would you mind spreading our link/announcement around?

xo Allan

Your wish is my command, baby. Here's the link.

Because Your Monday Was Already Boring You To Death, Wasn't It?

It's Monday. Like me, you're at work, already bored, already wishing it was Friday. So to distract you from the drudgery of your meaningless, spirit-crushing job, I offer you this completely irrelevant link: 10 Incredibly Bizarre Sexual Practices. Hey, it's better than watching those Timberlake videos from SNL again.

The Monday ManScan

Just Beautiful Men : Erik Is...
The Men Experience : James Franco
No Apologies : Wet Wednesday
Norway Underwear Lovers : Good Boy
Paris City Boy : Garcon
Sexy Black Dudes : Buff Brothers
Sexy Hot Male Models : Christian Fletcher
Sexy Muscle Dudes : Photos and Wallpaper
So Slowly : Devon Schwan
Stunning Sexy Guys : Nick Symmonds

American Idolatry: Take Another Little Piece Of My Heart, Adam

Yeah, I've been bad. No American Idol updates for a solid month. And worse, while I was absent, the show I love/hate transformed itself, paring down to the best Final Four in Idol history. The battle between Adam Lambert, Kris Allen, Danny Gokey and Allison Iraheta offers a fascinating, unique moment to viewers; with all the contestants possessing superb (and nearly equal) musical gifts, one must choose a favorite based on nothing more than style, personality and telegenics. The music, as great as it has been, is now really beside the point.

The talent of the kids, though, hasn't stopped the show's accelerating downward slide. Secrest is perpetually uncool; the judges are speeding toward the cliff of irrelevance, with confused, repetitive comments and the disastrous addition of Kara DioGuardi; cheesy costuming and overblown lighting regularly skirt the edge of ridiculousness. At this point, you watch the show for the voices...and press mute when no one's singing.

Adam Lambert - "Whole Lotta Love," Led Zeppelin
You have to guess that Rock Week puts Adam, who is singlehandedly bringing back the Glam Rock Era, at a natural advantage. But what surprised me most about his performance this week is how well he fits into the history of the genre -- as he sang, my mind raced through his similarities to Gary Glitter, Axl Rose, Judas Priest, Freddie Mercury and Marilyn Manson. He's just...well, in another league entirely. Always on pitch, never at a loss for power (or delicacy when it's called for), a master of breath control. Last week, when he ended up in the Bottom Two, people were shocked. Let's hope that people don't continue to make the mistake of assuming he's safe. He needs your vote, and not just because he needs to win. He also happens to be the best, by a country mile.

Allison Iraheta - "Cry Baby," Janis Joplin
On the surface, it's a no-brainer: Allison does Janis. But for me, it's too on-the-nose. It's expected, it's easy, it's a little shameless. But can you blame her? She's supremely talented, but also young and inexperienced, a teenager trying to navigate the rough waters of celebrity and what the public wants from her. After the performance, she fought with the judges about the song choice, and it revealed the tension she feels about her own musical identity. Look, I love her. Allison is freakishly great, a vocal prodigy...but if I look past the mania of reality television, the truth is that she's just not ready. Not yet. She needs a couple of years to mature and deepen her interpretive skills. And with others who ARE ready for this opportunity all around her, that ultimately means that she needs to go home this week.

Kris Allen/Danny Gokey - "Renegade," Styx
An excellent, melodic song choice, especially for the two contestants least suited to the aggressive nature of rock. But it really just felt like two guys singing, as opposed to a collaborative effort...little connection, little sharing, and no harmonics. No actual simultaneous singing, either. Kris is the solid musician, but least acclimatized to the genre; Danny leaned hard on his growly thing to get through, as he has all season.

Kris Allen - "Come Together," The Beatles
With only a quick commercial break to separate his two performances, it suddenly makes sense that Kris held back a bit on "Renegade"...he was saving it for this Beatles rendition. Unfortunately, the song lyrics seemed almost poetically ironic; nothing about this performance came together, really. And it wasn't his fault, for the most part; he's just not suited to this material. Despite this lackluster moment, I expect his fans to save him. And if I haven't mentioned it before, he's reaaaaally pretty. And that matters more than you think it does.

Danny Gokey - "Dream On," Aerosmith
If I put my bias against Danny aside -- it's hard to objectively deal with his fundamentalist, anti-choice, anti-gay background -- then I have to admit that he's got a distinctive sound. His growl is well-suited for Motown classics. Here, though, he kind of screamed until the veins popped out on his neck, singing out of tune on the high notes and barreling through like machine-gun like proficiency. He was bad....and that isn't bias talking. He was objectively, truthfully bad. I don't doubt that the Jesus Battalion will save him, but it won't be on the merits of this performance.

And one more thing, for all you Danny fans out there: are you really, really going to buy his record? Really? More and more, I sense that he's Taylor Hicks, Part Deux...a man you want to cheer for because of his beliefs, his dead wife, etc., but not really an artist you plan to embrace with your hard-earned cash. If he made a country record, maybe that market would embrace him and his family values. But soul? Rock? Absolutely not. I'll buy Adam's record, I'll buy Allison's record, and I'll at least listen to Kris' record. But Danny? A whole hour of that broken-glass thing? Seriously?

Allison Iraheta/Adam Lambert - "Slow Ride," Foghat
How much fun was THAT. I didn't anticipate that their voices would work well together (she's so rough, he's so smooth!), but it was pretty dang entertaining. Unlike the Danny/Kris duet, they most of the number singing to and with each other...and the embrace they shared at the end revealed just how much they enjoyed each other. I dug it. I dug it hard.

BEST OF NIGHT: Is there any doubt?
GOING HOME: Allison, sadly.

Tony Award Nominations Are In!

Image via Wikipedia

Here are the real ones! Your 2009 Tony Award Nominees. (Commentary and reactions later in the day...)

Best Play

Dividing the Estate
Author: Horton Foote
Producers: Lincoln Center Theater, Bernard Gersten, Andre Bishop, Primary Stages
God of Carnage
Author: Yasmina Reza
Producers: Robert Fox, David Pugh & Dafydd Rogers, Stuart Thompson, Scott Rudin, Jon B. Platt, The Weinstein Company, The Shubert Organization
Reasons to Be Pretty
Author: Neil LaBute
Producers: Jeffrey Richards, Jerry Frankel, MCC Theater, Gary Goddard Entertainment, Ted Snowdon, Doug Nevin/Erica Lynn Schwartz, Ronald Frankel/Bat-Barry Productions, Kathleen Seidel, Kelpie Arts, LLC, Jam Theatricals, Rachel Helson/Heather Provost
33 Variations
Author: Moises Kaufman
Producers: David Binder, Ruth Hendel, Goldberg/Mills, Latitude Link, Arielle Tepper Madover, Bill Resnick, Eric Schnall, Jayne Baron Sherman, Wills/True Love Productions, Tectonic Theater Project, Greg Reiner, Dominick Balletta, Jeffrey LaHoste

Best Musical

Billy Elliot, The Musical
Producers: Universal Pictures Stage Productions, Working Title Films, Old Vic Productions, Weinstein Live Entertainment
Next to Normal
Producers: David Stone, James L. Nederlander, Barbara Whitman, Patrick Catullo, Second Stage Theatre, Carole Rothman, Ellen Richard
Rock of Ages
Producers: Matthew Weaver, Carl Levin, Jeff Davis, Barry Habib, Scott Prisand, Relativity Media, Corner Store Fund, Janet Billig Rich, Hillary Weaver, Toni Habib, Paula Davis, Simon and Stefany Bergson/Jennifer Maloney, Charles Rolecek, Susanne Brook, Israel Wolfson, Sara Katz/Jayson Raitt, Max Gottlieb/John Butler, David Kaufman/Jay Franks, Mike Wittlin, Prospect Pictures, Laura Smith/Bill Bodnar, Happy Walters, Michele Caro, The Araca Group
Shrek The Musical
Producers: Dreamworks Theatricals, Neal Street Productions

Best Book of a Musical

Billy Elliot, The Musical
Lee Hall
Next to Normal
Brian Yorkey
Shrek The Musical
David Lindsay-Abaire
[Title of Show]
Hunter Bell

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

Billy Elliot, The Musical
Music: Elton John
Lyrics: Lee Hall
Next to Normal
Music: Tom Kitt
Lyrics: Brian Yorkey
9 to 5: The Musical
Music & Lyrics: Dolly Parton
Shrek The Musical
Music: Jeanine Tesori
Lyrics: David Lindsay-Abaire

Best Revival of a Play

Joe Turner's Come and Gone
Producers: Lincoln Center Theater, Andre Bishop, Bernard Gersten
Mary Stuart
New Version: Peter Oswald
Producers: Arielle Tepper Madover, Debra Black, Neal Street Productions/Matthew Byam Shaw, Scott Delman, Barbara Whitman, Jean Doumanian/Ruth Hendel, David Binder/CarlWend Productions/Spring Sirkin, Daryl Roth/James L. Nederlander/Chase Mishkin, The Donmar Warehouse
The Norman Conquests
Producers: Sonia Friedman Productions, Steven Baruch, Marc Routh, Richard Frankel, Tom Viertel, Dede Harris, Tulchin/Bartner/Lauren Doll, Jamie deRoy, Eric Falkenstein, Harriet Newman Leve, Probo Productions, Douglas G. Smith, Michael Filerman/Jennifer Manocherian, Richard Winkler, Dan Frishwasser, Pam Laudenslager/Remmel T. Dickinson, Jane Dubin/True Love Productions, Barbara Manocherian/Jennifer Isaacson, The Old Vic Theatre Company
Waiting for Godot
Producers: Roundabout Theatre Company, Todd Haimes, Harold Wolpert, Julia C. Levy, Elizabeth Ireland McCann

Best Revival of a Musical

Guys and Dolls
Producers: Howard Panter and Ambassador Theatre Group, Tulchin/Bartner, Bill Kenwright, Northwater Entertainment, Darren Bagert, Tom Gregory, Nederlander Presentations, Inc., David Mirvish, Michael Jenkins/Dallas Summer Musicals, Independent Presenters Network, Olympus Theatricals, Sonia Friedman Productions
Hair
Producers: The Public Theater, Oskar Eustis, Andrew D. Hamingson, Jeffrey Richards, Jerry Frankel, Gary Goddard Entertainment, Kathleen K. Johnson, Nederlander Productions, Inc., Fran Kirmser Productions/Jed Bernstein, Marc Frankel, Broadway Across America, Barbara Manocherian/Wencarlar Productions, JK Productions/Terry Schnuck, Andy Sandberg, Jam Theatricals, The Weinstein Company/Norton Herrick, Jujamcyn Theaters, Joey Parnes, Elizabeth Ireland McCann
Pal Joey
Producers: Roundabout Theatre Company, Todd Haimes, Harold Wolpert, Julia C. Levy, Marc Platt
West Side Story
Producers: Kevin McCollum, James L. Nederlander, Jeffrey Seller, Terry Allen Kramer, Sander Jacobs, Roy Furman/Jill Furman Willis, Freddy DeMann, Robyn Goodman/Walt Grossman, Hal Luftig, Roy Miller, The Weinstein Company, Broadway Across America

Best Special Theatrical Event

Liza's at The Palace
Producers: John Scher and Metropolitan Talent Presents, LLC; Jubilee Time Productions, LLC
Slava's Snowshow
Producers: David J. Foster, Jared Geller, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Judith Marinoff Cohn, John Pinckard
Soul of Shaolin
Producers: Nederlander Worldwide Productions, LLC; Eastern Shanghai International Culture Film & Television Group; China on Broadway
You're Welcome America. A Final Night with George W. Bush
Producer: Jeffrey Richards, Jerry Frankel, Steve Traxler, Home Box Office Inc., Gary Sanchez Productions, Bat-Barry Productions, Ken Davenport, Ergo Entertainment, Ronald Frankel, Jon B. Platt, James D. Stern, The Weinstein Company, Tara Smith/b. Swibel, Dede Harris/Sharon Karmazin, Arny Granat

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play

Jeff Daniels, God of Carnage
Raúl Esparza, Speed-the-Plow
James Gandolfini, God of Carnage
Geoffrey Rush, Exit the King
Thomas Sadoski, Reasons to Be Pretty

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play

Hope Davis, God of Carnage
Jane Fonda, 33 Variations
Marcia Gay Harden, God of Carnage
Janet McTeer, Mary Stuart
Harriet Walter, Mary Stuart

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical

David Alvarez, Trent Kowalik, and Kiril Kulish ‚ Billy Elliot, The Musical
Gavin Creel, Hair
Brian d'Arcy James, Shrek The Musical
Constantine Maroulis, Rock of Ages
J. Robert Spencer, Next to Normal

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical

Stockard Channing, Pal Joey
Sutton Foster, Shrek The Musical
Allison Janney, 9 to 5: The Musical
Alice Ripley, Next to Normal
Josefina Scaglione, West Side Story

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play

John Glover, Waiting for Godot
Zach Grenier, 33 Variations
Stephen Mangan, The Norman Conquests
Paul Ritter, The Norman Conquests
Roger Robinson, Joe Turner's Come and Gone

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play

Hallie Foote, Dividing the Estate
Jessica Hynes, The Norman Conquests
Marin Ireland, Reasons to Be Pretty
Angela Lansbury, Blithe Spirit
Amanda Root, The Norman Conquests

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical

David Bologna, Billy Elliot, The Musical
Gregory Jbara, Billy Elliot, The Musical
Marc Kudisch, 9 to 5: The Musical
Christopher Sieber, Shrek The Musical
Will Swenson, Hair

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical

Jennifer Damiano, Next to Normal
Haydn Gwynne, Billy Elliot, The Musical
Karen Olivo, West Side Story
Martha Plimpton, Pal Joey
Carole Shelley, Billy Elliot, The Musical

Best Scenic Design of a Play

Dale Ferguson, Exit the King
Rob Howell, The Norman Conquests
Derek McLane, 33 Variations
Michael Yeargan, Joe Turner's Come and Gone

Best Scenic Design of a Musical

Robert Brill, Guys and Dolls
Ian MacNeil, Billy Elliot, The Musical
Scott Pask, Pal Joey
Mark Wendland, Next to Normal

Best Costume Design of a Play

Dale Ferguson, Exit the King
Jane Greenwood, Waiting for Godot
Martin Pakledinaz, Blithe Spirit
Anthony Ward, Mary Stuart

Best Costume Design of a Musical

Gregory Gale, Rock of Ages
Nicky Gillibrand, Billy Elliot, The Musical
Tim Hatley, Shrek The Musical
Michael McDonald, Hair

Best Lighting Design of a Play

David Hersey, Equus
David Lander, 33 Variations
Brian MacDevitt, Joe Turner's Come and Gone
Hugh Vanstone, Mary Stuart

Best Lighting Design of a Musical

Kevin Adams, Hair
Kevin Adams, Next to Normal
Howell Binkley, West Side Story
Rick Fisher, Billy Elliot, The Musical

Best Sound Design of a Play

Paul Arditti, Mary Stuart
Gregory Clarke, Equus
Russell Goldsmith, Exit the King
Scott Lehrer and Leon Rothenberg, Joe Turner's Come and Gone

Best Sound Design of a Musical

Acme Sound Partners, Hair
Paul Arditti, Billy Elliot, The Musical
Peter Hylenski, Rock of Ages
Brian Ronan, Next to Normal

Best Direction of a Play

Phyllida Lloyd, Mary Stuart
Bartlett Sher, Joe Turner's Come and Gone
Matthew Warchus, God of Carnage
Matthew Warchus, The Norman Conquests

Best Direction of a Musical

Stephen Daldry, Billy Elliot, The Musical
Michael Greif, Next to Normal
Kristin Hanggi, Rock of Ages
Diane Paulus, Hair

Best Choreography

Karole Armitage, Hair
Andy Blankenbuehler, 9 to 5: The Musical
Peter Darling, Billy Elliot, The Musical
Randy Skinner, Irving Berlin's White Christmas

Best Orchestrations

Larry Blank, Irving Berlin's White Christmas
Martin Koch, Billy Elliot, The Musical
Michael Starobin and Tom Kitt, Next to Normal
Danny Troob and John Clancy, Shrek The Musical


* * *


Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre
Jerry Herman

Regional Theatre Tony Award
Signature Theatre, Arlington, Va.

Isabelle Stevenson Award
Phyllis Newman

Tony Honor for Excellence in the Theatre
Shirley Herz

2009 Tony Award Nominations: Best Musical

Image via Wikipedia

And finally...

BEST MUSICAL

WILL BE NOMINATED:
9 to 5: The Musical
Billy Elliot: The Musical
next to normal
Shrek The Musical

SHOULD BE NOMINATED:
Billy Elliot: The Musical
Rock of Ages
Shrek The Musical
[title of show]

GOING HOME EMPTY-HANDED:
13
Irving Berlin's White Christmas
The Story of My Life
A Tale of Two Cities

MODFAB THINKS...that you shouldn't put too much stock in those bad reviews for 9 To 5 last week. Sure, it's mediocre at best. But it's also the sole old-school, big-style musical to open this spring (Dolly Parton, singlehandedly fending off the recession!), and it's catnip to the tour operators. (Remember This Truism: Tonys, contrary to whatever else you might think, are only good for one thing: getting a National Tour. In New York, a Tony won't necessarily save your show, or make it run longer. But on the road, a Tony is virtually the Good Housekeeping Seal Of Approval, and will directly affect ticket sales.)

The other three -- Billy, normal and Shrek -- are rock-solid. Still, I fantasize about a Broadway where stupid fun like Rock of Ages could be recognized, even lauded, for being nothing more than a good time. Ah, well...

DARK HORSE: Hmmmm. Of the also-rans, 13 probably has the best shot. Which is different from actually having a shot.

2009 Tony Award Nominations: Best Play

Image via Wikipedia

Only the two big ones left to go...

BEST PLAY

WILL/SHOULD BE NOMINATED:
33 Variations
Dividing the Estate
God of Carnage
reasons to be pretty

GOING HOME EMPTY-HANDED:
The American Plan
Impressionism
Irena's Vow
To Be or Not to Be

MODFAB THINKS...the only possible spoiler to this scenario is Irena's Vow, a pretty pedestrian play that happens to have a very marvelous real-life story as its basis. Plays about the Holocaust tend to do well at awards time. But I think the desire to honor the recently-deceased Horton Foote with a nomination for Dividing The Estate will trump Irena.

DARK HORSE: To Be or Not To Be. No, I'm kidding, that play was complete shit.

2009 Tony Award Nominations: Best Revival of a Musical

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And now, a gimme...

BEST REVIVIAL OF A MUSICAL

WILL BE NOMINATED:
Guys and Dolls
Hair
Pal Joey
West Side Story

SHOULD BE NOMINATED:
Guys and Dolls
Hair
Pal Joey
West Side Story

GOING HOME EMPTY-HANDED:
Duh, there's only four eligible.

MODFAB THINKS...he's got this one nailed.

DARK HORSE: Wouldn't it be fun if the committee decided to cut it to three? Who would get left out? I vote for Dolls.

2009 Tony Award Nominations: Best Revival of a Play

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Continuing our Tony Predix, here's

BEST ORCHESTRATIONS

WILL BE NOMINATED:
Joe Turner's Come and Gone
Mary Stuart
The Norman Conquests
Waiting For Godot

SHOULD BE NOMINATED:
Exit the King
Joe Turner's Come and Gone
Mary Stuart
The Norman Conquests

GOING HOME EMPTY-HANDED:
Accent on Youth
All My Sons
American Buffalo
Blithe Spirit
Desire Under the Elms
Equus
Hedda Gabler
A Man for All Seasons
The Philanthropist
The Seagull
Speed-the-Plow

MODFAB THINKS...that there was no bigger heartbreak this year than the realization that his beloved Exit The King -- a sprawling, confusing, difficult, brilliant piece of theatre -- would probably be too much for Tony nominators to handle. But don't lose total hope...this is the most volatile, and competitive, category of the year. And there's also a wild card: Speed-The-Plow, which had a tumultuous run and a court battle with its former leading man...and still managed to end in the black. That's an accomplishment that Tony voters like to celebrate, especially in these financial times.

DARK HORSE: Sooooo, so many. Even I'm unsure as to whether Godot, Blithe Spirit, or Desire Under The Elms has enough horsepower to break through to a nomination. I could easily envision them all as nominees tomorrow.

2009 Tony Award Nominations: Best Leading Actress in a Musical

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The last of the performance categories! We're coming into the home stretch...

BEST LEADING ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL

WILL BE NOMINATED:
Stockard Channing, Pal Joey
Sutton Foster, Shrek The Musical
Allison Janney, 9 to 5: The Musical
Alice Ripley, next to normal
Josefina Scaglione, West Side Story

SHOULD BE NOMINATED:
Sutton Foster, Shrek The Musical
Allison Janney, 9 to 5: The Musical
Alice Ripley, next to normal
Josefina Scaglione, West Side Story
Amy Spanger, Rock of Ages

GOING HOME EMPTY-HANDED:
Stephanie J. Block, 9 to 5: The Musical
Brandi Burkhardt, A Tale of Two Cities
Lauren Graham, Guys and Dolls
Kate Jennings Grant, Guys and Dolls
Megan Hilty, 9 to 5: The Musical
Kerry O'Malley, Irving Berlin's White Christmas
Meredith Patterson, Irving Berlin's White Christmas

MODFAB THINKS...the real question is: what woman carried their show on their own? Janney, of course. Scaglione, in one of the great debuts of the year. Channing, doing yeoman's work in an imperfect piece with a troubled rehearsal period. Ripley, in a show built around her character's mental illness. And with the other candidates being less than inspiring -- Grant, Burkhardt, Patterson -- it's relatively clear that perennial Tony nominee Foster will rise to the fifth and final slot.

DARK HORSE: Lauren Graham didn't do much with the part of Adelaide in Guys and Dolls...but it's still one of the great female parts in musical theatre history.

2009 Tony Award Nominations: Best Leading Actress in a Play

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The most-watched category of the year, methinks. Here's the way it shakes down...

BEST LEADING ACTRESS IN A PLAY

WILL BE NOMINATED:
Jane Fonda, 33 Variations
Tovah Feldshuh, Irena's Vow
Carla Gugino, Desire Under the Elms
Janet McTeer, Mary Stuart
Harriet Walter, Mary Stuart

SHOULD BE NOMINATED:
Jane Fonda, 33 Variations
Marcia Gay Harden, God of Carnage
Marin Ireland, reasons to be pretty
Janet McTeer, Mary Stuart
Harriet Walter, Mary Stuart

GOING HOME EMPTY-HANDED:
Joan Allen, Impressionism
Elizabeth Ashley, Dividing the Estate
Jayne Atkinson, Blithe Spirit
Hope Davis, God of Carnage
Hallie Foote, Dividing the Estate
Jan Maxwell, To Be or Not to Be
Mary-Louise Parker, Hedda Gabler
Lily Rabe, The American Plan
Kristin Scott Thomas, The Seagull
Dianne Wiest, All My Sons

MODFAB THINKS...there should be a national day of mourning when world-class actresses like Allen, Parker, Davis, Harden, Thomas and Wiest are strewn like detritus along the side of the road. But maybe we should accentuate the positive; the leading women of Broadway were so strong this year, it just means that as good as Thomas et al were, there were five that were even STRONGER. (And a tip of the hat to Marin Ireland, ModFab's 2009 Star Of Tomorrow...you'll get your own trophy soon enough!)

DARK HORSE: Wiest. If people remember back to last fall's All My Sons, they'll remember her. She's a lifetime awards magnet, too.

2009 Tony Award Nominations: Best Leading Actor in a Musical

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There's nothing quite like a man singing a tune...and the nominees are will be:

BEST LEADING ACTOR IN A MUSICAL

WILL BE NOMINATED:
David Alvarez, Trent Kowalik, Kiril Kulish, Billy Elliot: The Musical
Matt Cavenaugh, West Side Story
Gavin Creel, Hair
Brian d'Arcy James, Shrek The Musical
J. Robert Spencer, next to normal

SHOULD BE NOMINATED:
David Alvarez, Trent Kowalik, Kiril Kulish, Billy Elliot: The Musical
James Barbour, A Tale of Two Cities
Gavin Creel, Hair
Brian d'Arcy James, Shrek The Musical
Constantine Maroulis, Rock of Ages

GOING HOME EMPTY-HANDED:
Hunter Bell, [title of show]
Craig Bierko, Guys and Dolls
Stephen Bogardus, Irving Berlin's White Christmas
Jeff Bowen, [title of show]
Will Chase, The Story of My Life
Jeffry Denman, Irving Berlin's White Christmas
Malcolm Gets, The Story of My Life
Graham Phillips, 13
Oliver Platt, Guys and Dolls
Matthew Risch, Pal Joey

MODFAB THINKS...those Billy Elliot boys are so adorable, it doesn't really matter who else is nominated. If I had my wish, though, I'd fete Barbour (who picked up the bulky weight of A Tale of Two Cities, threw it over his shoulder, and carried the entire thing across the finish line) and Maroulis (who has emerged as a bona fide Broadway leading man, the first former Idol to do so -- vocal lessons really help, don't they?).

DARK HORSE: If you were of the mind to throw a bone to the prematurely-closed Story of My Life, this would be the place to do it.

2009 Tony Award Nominations: Best Leading Actor in a Play

Separating the men from the boys...

BEST LEADING ACTOR IN A PLAY

WILL BE NOMINATED:
Chad L. Coleman, Joe Turner's Come and Gone
Jeff Daniels, God of Carnage
Bill Irwin, Waiting For Godot
Raul Esparza, Speed-the-Plow
Geoffrey Rush, Exit the King

SHOULD BE NOMINATED:
Jeff Daniels, God of Carnage
James Gandolfini, God of Carnage
Raul Esparza, Speed-the-Plow
Thomas Sadoski, reasons to be pretty
Geoffrey Rush, Exit the King

GOING HOME EMPTY-HANDED:
Matthew Broderick, The Philanthropist
Kieran Campion, The American Plan
Rupert Everett, Blithe Spirit
Zach Grenier, 33 Variations
Richard Griffiths, Equus
Ernie Hudson, Joe Turner's Come and Gone
Jeremy Irons, Impressionism
Nathan Lane, Waiting For Godot
Frank Langella, A Man for All Seasons
John Lithgow, All My Sons
Stephen Mangan, The Norman Conquests
David Hyde Pierce, Accent on Youth
Jeremy Piven, Speed-the-Plow
Daniel Radcliffe, Equus
David Rasche, To Be or Not to Be
Peter Sarsgaard, The Seagull
Pablo Schreiber, Desire Under the Elms

MODFAB THINKS...when you've got almost two dozen choices, as you do in this category, it's nearly impossible to predict the Top Five. Two many variables. The biggest problem here are the double-leads of God of Carnage, Joe Turner, Godot and Equus; Daniels and Gandolfini, in particular, could both be contenders, despite the tendency for split votes. In a celebrity-packed field, I worry about Thomas Sadoski's chances...even though I think he was easily among the best on this list.

DARK HORSE: Voting against Langella and Irons, even though their projects were mediocre at best, makes me nervous. They're threats, regardless.

2009 Tony Award Nominations: Best Featured Actor in a Musical

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On with the predictions:

BEST FEATURED ACTOR IN A MUSICAL

WILL BE NOMINATED:
Gregory Jbara, Billy Elliot: The Musical
Marc Kudisch, 9 to 5: The Musical
Christopher Sieber, Shrek The Musical
Will Swenson, Hair
Aaron Tveit, next to normal

SHOULD BE NOMINATED:
Daniel Breaker, Shrek The Musical
Aaron Simon Gross, 13
Mitchell Jarvis, Rock of Ages
Christopher Sieber, Shrek The Musical
Will Swenson, Hair

GOING HOME EMPTY-HANDED:
George Akram, West Side Story
Adam Chanler-Berat, next to normal
Tituss Burgess, Guys and Dolls
James Carpinello, Rock of Ages
Kevin Earley, A Tale of Two Cities
Gregg Edelman, A Tale of Two Cities
Cody Green, West Side Story
Aaron Lazar, A Tale of Two Cities
Les Minski, A Tale of Two Cities
Eric M. Nelsen, 13
Wesley Taylor, Rock of Ages
Nick Wyman, A Tale of Two Cities

MODFAB THINKS...I'll like Aaron Tveit more next season, when Catch Me If You Can turns him into a musical Leonardo DiCaprio. Until then, I'd prefer to honor Daniel Breaker, who sang, danced, and landed line after line, all while wearing a full-body donkey suit. (It's harder than it looks, people.) And for sheer enjoyment, I didn't have a better time with any supporting actor all season than Mr. Gross, the comic relief of 13.

DARK HORSE: In an otherwise mundane musical, vet Gregg Edelman offered up a textured, emotional, heartfelt performance in A Tale of Two Cities.