Jun 7

Jun 7 Predicting the 2019 Tony Winners

As I typically do, I have made my pre-Tony Award predictions, my educated guesses as to who will win in each category. This is not particularly my forte, but I am going to do my best here. If anything, it should at least make for some entertaining reading to see just how wrong I can be about what the masses like. How do I reconcile that perception with my own personal opinions and come up with a choice in each category? I just listen to my gut that will most likely be bursting with crow on Monday morning.

Apr 30

Apr 30 Tony Talk: Assessing the Best Musical and Best Play Tony Nominations

Mark Robinson

Music That Makes Me Dance

When I was a teenager, I would pace back and forth waiting for the Tony nominations to come out each spring. I’d walk to the gas station on the corner and pick up a copy of The New York Times, sit down on a bench outside the… um… establishment (next to the cranky old lady who sat there every day chain smoking), and immediately tear through the balance of the paper to find that coveted list. I’d begin imagining what type of telecast it would prove to be, asking the question “Will this year’s nominees add up to a decent night of entertainment?”

Mar 11

Mar 11 The Best Musical Tony Award Debate: 1984

Mark Robinson

Music That Makes Me Dance

For “The Best Musical Tony Award Debate”, my new weekly series, I will take a look at the musicals nominated for Best Musical in one Tony Season, discuss and debate the contenders, theorize why the winner won, and offer my personal opinions on whether or not the voters got it right. This week’s installment looks at 1984 where four incredibly diverse musicals squared-off against each other for the coveted prize of Best Musical. The contenders were La Cage aux Folles, Sunday in the Park with George, The Tap Dance Kid, and Baby, each boasting qualities that merited their respective nomination. Let’s take a look at these pieces individually before comparing and contrasting their virtues toward who should be the rightful champion.

Jun 11

Jun 11 How the 2018 Tony Awards Let Us Down and Lifted Us Up

Mark Robinson

Music That Makes Me Dance

I was thoroughly glad when last night’s Tony Awards was over. I’ve religiously watched the Tony Awards for decades and, for me, they have devolved from a classy evening that truly celebrated theatre performers to a commercially driven freight train that lacks nuance and direction. That is not to say that there weren’t some tasteful and touching moments, but in general, I mostly found myself praying for 11 PM to get here.

Here is how the Tony Awards let us down this year…

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