Managing Director's Tony-Award Contest

Managing Director’s Tony-Award Contest

The 2006 Tony-Awards will air this Sunday at 8 p.m. on CBS. Watching the ceremony is a great way to catch up with what’s going on in theatre and to see the best artists in American on stage. If you love theatre, you’re no doubt looking forward to seeing excerpts from the Best Musical nominees and performers like Sutton Foster and Alan Cumming. And if you know nothing about theatre, you might be interested to know that the telecast will also feature the likes of Cyndi Lauper and Harry Connick, Jr.

While the awards are for commercial productions, non-profit theatres like Pasadena Playhouse have a big interest in what happens. First, a healthy and successful commercial theatre industry is important because it is one source from which our artists may earn a living. And because non-profits raise money to take risks and develop new plays, we help to create commercial successes. Some of the honored productions came from our local theatres. Maybe you saw Drowsy Chaperone at Center Theatre Group earlier this year.

Non-profits also play a role in bringing honored plays to American audiences outside of New York. The Constant Wife, for example, will be here at Pasadena Playhouse next year. And you can look for other nominated plays and artists here and at other local nonprofits next season.

And perhaps most importantly, some of the nominated artists have worked at Pasadena Playhouse and are terrific friends of the theatre. We’ll be watching and rooting for them.

Because the awards are important, I am encouraging our Pasadena Playhouse community (staff, Board, friends, supporters) to watch. And to make it more interesting, I’ve created a little contest.

Coffee for a month (otherwise known as a $50 Starbucks gift card) goes to the person who picks the most winners. Second and third place will receive $25 and $10 gift cards respectively.

To make your picks, print out the nominees below or paste them into an email or word doc – or just type your picks into an email. Entries should be handed to me or emailed to bcolburn@pasadenaplayhouse.org before 8 p.m. on Sunday night. (And I’ll check it right at broadcast time – so no cheating on the date/time stamp!)

If you don’t know anything about the plays, there are plenty of Broadway news and chat sites handicapping the winners. So Google away…..

Good luck!

Brian Colburn
Managing Director
Pasadena Playhouse
bcolburn@PasadenaPlayhouse.org


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Play
( ) The History Boys
( ) The Lieutenant of Inishmore
( ) Rabbit Hole
( ) Shining City

Musical
( ) The Color Purple
( ) The Drowsy Chaperone
( ) Jersey Boys
( ) The Wedding Singer

Book of a Musical
( ) Chad Beguelin and Tim Herlihy, The Wedding Singer
( ) Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, Jersey Boys
( ) Bob Martin and Don McKellar, The Drowsy Chaperone
( ) Marsha Norman, The Color Purple

Original Score
( ) Music & Lyrics: Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison, The Drowsy Chaperone
( ) Music & Lyrics: Brenda Russell, Allee Willis, Stephen Bray, The Color Purple
( ) Music: Matthew Sklar; Lyrics: Chad Beguelin, The Wedding Singer
( ) Music: Andrew Lloyd Webber; Lyrics: David Zippel, The Woman in White

Revival of a Play
( ) Awake and Sing!
( ) The Constant Wife
( ) Edward Albee's Seascape
( ) Faith Healer

Revival of a Musical
( ) The Pajama Game
( ) Sweeney Todd
( ) The Threepenny Opera

Leading Actor in a Play
( ) Ralph Fiennes, Faith Healer
( ) Richard Griffiths, The History Boys
( ) Zeljko Ivanek, The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial
( ) Oliver Platt, Shining City
( ) David Wilmot, The Lieutenant of Inishmore

Leading Actress in a Play
( ) Kate Burton, The Constant Wife
( ) Judy Kaye, Souvenir
( ) Lisa Kron, Well
( ) Cynthia Nixon, Rabbit Hole
( ) Lynn Redgrave, The Constant Wife

Leading Actor in a Musical
( ) Michael Cerveris, Sweeney Todd
( ) Harry Connick Jr., The Pajama Game
( ) Stephen Lynch, The Wedding Singer
( ) Bob Martin, The Drowsy Chaperone
( ) John Lloyd Young, Jersey Boys

Leading Actress in a Musical
( ) Sutton Foster, The Drowsy Chaperone
( ) LaChanze, The Color Purple
( ) Patti LuPone, Sweeney Todd
( ) Kelli O'Hara, The Pajama Game
( ) Chita Rivera, Chita Rivera: The Dancer's Life

Featured Actor in a Play
( ) Samuel Barnett, The History Boys
( ) Domhnall Gleeson, The Lieutenant of Inishmore
( ) Ian McDiarmid, Faith Healer
( ) Mark Ruffalo, Awake and Sing!
( ) Pablo Schreiber, Awake and Sing!

Featured Actress in a Play
( ) Tyne Daly, Rabbit Hole
( ) Frances de la Tour, The History Boys
( ) Jayne Houdyshell, Well
( ) Alison Pill, The Lieutenant of Inishmore
( ) Zoë Wanamaker, Awake and Sing!

Featured Actor in a Musical
( ) Danny Burstein, The Drowsy Chaperone
( ) Jim Dale, The Threepenny Opera
( ) Brandon Victor Dixon, The Color Purple
( ) Manoel Felciano, Sweeney Todd
( ) Christian Hoff, Jersey Boys

Featured Actress in a Musical
( ) Carolee Carmello, Lestat
( ) Fields, The Color Purple
( ) Megan Lawrence, The Pajama Game
( ) Beth Leavel, The Drowsy Chaperone
( ) Elisabeth Withers-Mendes, The Color Purple

Direction of a Play
( ) Nicholas Hytner, The History Boys
( ) Wilson Milam, The Lieutenant of Inishmore
( ) Bartlett Sher, Awake and Sing!
( ) Daniel Sullivan, Rabbit Hole

Direction of Musical
( ) John Doyle, Sweeney Todd
( ) Kathleen Marshall, The Pajama Game
( ) Des McAnuff, Jersey Boys
( ) Casey Nicholaw, The Drowsy Chaperone

Choreography
( ) Rob Ashford, The Wedding Singer
( ) Donald Byrd, The Color Purpleathleen Marshall, The Pajama Game
( ) Casey Nicholaw, The Drowsy Chaperone

Orchestrations
( ) Larry Blank, The Drowsy Chaperone
( ) Dick Lieb and Danny Troob, The Pajama Game
( ) Steve Orich, Jersey Boys
( ) Sarah Travis, Sweeney Todd

Scenic Design of a Play
( ) John Lee Beatty, Rabbit Hole
( ) Bob Crowley, History Boys
( ) Santo Loquasto, Three Days of Rain
( ) Michael Yeargan, Awake and Sing!

Scenic Design of a Musical
( ) John Lee Beatty, The Color Purple
( ) David Gallo, The Drowsy Chaperone
( ) Derek McLane, The Pajama Game
( ) Klara Zieglerova, Jersey Boys

Costume Design of a Play
( ) Michael Krass, The Constant Wife
( ) Santo Loquasto, A Touch of the Poet
( ) Catherine Zuber, Awake and Sing!
( ) Catherine Zuber, Edward Albee's Seascape

Costume Design of a Musical
( ) Gregg Barnes, The Drowsy Chaperone
( ) Susan Hilferty, Lestat
( ) Martin Pakledinaz, The Pajama Game
( ) Paul Tazewell, The Color Purple

Lighting Design of a Play
( ) Christopher Akerlind, Awake and Sing!
( ) Paul Gallo, Three Days of Rain
( ) Mark Henderson, Faith Healer
( ) Mark Henderson, The History Boys

Lighting Design of a Musical
( ) Ken Billington and Brian Monahan, The Drowsy Chaperone
( ) Howell Binkley, Jersey Boys
( ) Natasha Katz, Tarzan
( ) Brian MacDevitt, The Color Purple