72nd Annual Tony Awards Predictions: Part 1

The Tony nominations are in less than 4 days!!! Here we go, people! Hopefully, this award season won't be as disappointing as the last one because I think that most of us can agree that the 71st Annual Tony Awards were pretty much crap. Although it can't be too bad with Sara Bareilles and Josh Groban co-hosting, although I wish it was just Sara Bareilles! I honestly have no idea how I formed this list. Some of it was based on reviews about the show, other parts my own personal choices as well as previous award nominations. Also for some of the acting categories, as well as a few others, I have a

paragraph below explaining why I think these specific people should be/would be nominated over others. Anyway, let's begin!
I HAVE UPDATED THIS LIST!!!
Final Update*I PROMISE*: March 29, 2018 at 1:24pm

• Best Play
• Farinelli and the King
• Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
• Junk: The Golden Age of Debt
• 1984
• Best Musical
• The Band's Visit
• Mean Girls
• Prince of Broadway
• Spongebob Squarepants

Now, before everyone freaks out saying "WHAT?!?!?! THERE ARE ONLY 4 SHOWS" The most recent Tony Awards Determination says "... in the 26 competitive categories for which there are at least nine candidates, there shall be five nominees in that category" there are only 7 "original musicals" and considering that most of those "original musicals" (The only one not based off a movie or someone's life being Escape to Margaritaville) were not that great this year my guess is it will only contain three musicals and they are the four that I just listed.

• Best Revival of a Play
• Angels in America
• Children of a Lesser God
• The Iceman Cometh
• M. Butterfly
• Travesties
• Best Revival of a Musical
• My Fair Lady
• Once On This Island

In the Best Revival of a musical category, they never nominate all of the revivals in the season even when there is only three or four of them. They always leave at least one of the shows out and in my opinion, that show will be Carousel because it has not really gotten rave reviews. I am also personally not a fan of what I've seen in this production. We all know that Once On This Island has this award in the bag and because My Fair Lady is one of the almost yearly revivals with a creative team consisting of Bartlett Sher (Director), Michael Yeargan (Set Designer), Catherine Zuber (Costume Designer) and Tom Watson (Hair and Wig Designer) that always gets nominated for Best Revival of a Musical, all design categories, Best Director and at least one acting award.

• Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play
• Andrew Garfield- Angels in America as Prior Walter
• Denzel Washington- The Iceman Cometh as Theodore "Hickey" Hickman
• Jamie Parker- Harry Potter and the Cursed Child as Harry Potter
• Joshua Jackson- Children of a Lesser God as James Leads
• Tom Hollander- Travesties as Henry Carr

This was a very tricky category to decide because there were a lot of fantastic leading man in plays this year. However, something tells me that if either Joshua Jackson or Tom Hollander aren't nominated then Mark Rylance will be nominated for his earlier performance in Farinelli and the King or Steven Pasquale will be nominated for his performance in Junk: The Golden Age of Debt.

• Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play
• Amy Schumer- Meteor Shower as Corky
• Condola Rashād- Saint Joan as Joan
• Elizabeth McGovern- Time and the Conways as Mrs. Conway
• Glenda Jackson- Three Tall Women as A
• Lauren Ridloff- Children of a Lesser God as Sarah Norman
• Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical
• Ethan Slater- Spongebob Squarepants as Spongebob Squarepants
• Harry Hadden-Paton- My Fair Lady as Henry Higgins
• Joshua Henry- Carousel as Billy Bigelow
• Paul Alexander Nolan- Escape to Margaritaville as Tully
• Tony Shalhoub- The Band's Visit as Tewfiq

I have so many conflicting thoughts on this category. I personally am not a fan of Joshua Henry's Billy Bigelow, nor are most critics, but I wouldn't be surprised if he did get nominated simply because he's an amazing performer none the less. I also put Nolan down because the Tony Awards wouldn't leave only one person off or maybe they would. I honestly can not describe my feelings on this category so I just put all 5 down because this is making brain hurt. I'm just gonna say that my dream category would be Slater, Hadden-Paton and Shalhoub.

• Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical
• Hailey Kilgore- Once On This Island as Ti Moune
• Jessie Mueller- Carousel as Julie Jordan
• Katrina Lenk- The Band's Visit as Dina
• Lauren Ambrose- My Fair Lady as Eliza Doolittle
• Taylor Louderman- Mean Girls as Regina George

Now, I know some of you Frozen fans might be upset, but frankly both Patti & Caissie are not that great as Anna & Elsa...

• Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play
• Anthony Boyle- Harry Potter and the Cursed Child as Scorpius Malfoy
• James McArdle- Angels in America as Louis Ironson
• Nathan Lane- Angels in America as Roy Cohn
• Nathan Stewart-Jarrett- Angels in America as Belize
• Paul Thornley- Harry Potter and the Cursed Child as Ron Weasley
• Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play
• Denise Gough- Angels in America as Harper Pitt
• Kecia Lewis- Children of a Lesser God as Mrs. Norman
• Laurie Metcalf- Three Tall Women as B
• Noma Dumezweni- Harry Potter and the Cursed Child as Hermione Granger
• Poppy Miller- Harry Potter and the Cursed Child as Ginny Potter
• Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical
• Alex Newell- Once On This Island as Asaka
• Alexander Gemignani- Carousel as Enoch Snow
• Ari’el Stachel- The Band's Visit as Haled
• Gavin Lee- Spongebob Squarepants as Squidward
• Grey Henson- Mean Girls as Damian Hubbard
• Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical
• Ashley Park- Mean Girls as Gretchen Weiners
• Diana Rigg (Linda Mugleston)- My Fair Lady as Mrs. Higgins (Mrs. Pierce)
• Kate Rockwell- Mean Girls as Karen Smith
• Lindsay Mendez- Carousel as Carrie Pipperidge
• Merle Dandridge (Kenita R. Miller)- Once On This Island as Papa Ge (Mama Euralie)

This was a very difficult category for me to decide because by my count there are at least 17 women who could be nominated in this category. I love so many of these (at least) 17 women and all of these women are very talented and deserving of a nomination, however, there are only 5 slots in the category. I know that both Lindsay Mendez for Carousel and Ashley Park for Mean Girls have nominations in the bag. Now that only leaves 3 spots and something tells me that Mean Girls will get another nomination, but it could be any of the following three women: Barrett Wilbert Weed, Kate Rockwell or Kerry Buttler, but my guess would be on Kate Rockwell. This brings us down to 2 spots and I'm hoping that Once On This Island gets a nomination. While I would love for Merle Dandridge to be nominated for her insatiable performance as Papa Ge she is, unfortunately, no longer in the show and I think that will affect her nomination status. Now, most people seem to think Lea Salonga is going to be nominated, but she has been in 2 previous tony eligible roles and had not received a nomination for either and while she has gotten great reviews her performance is nothing special compared to the other actresses in her show and that is why I believe Kenita R. Miller will be nominated in her place, although I do think that it could be Merle or Kenita. Now that only leaves one spot left and this one is a wild card. This slot could be filled by a third Mean Girls nomination with either Barrett or Kerry or possibly Renée Fleming in Carousel or it could be a new show completely and it wouldn't surprise me if for some strange reason there was a surprise nomination for one of the women in Prince of Broadway because nominations have been popping up out of nowhere for this show. However, most of the times the Tony's like to nominate an older woman in the mix such as Mary Beth Peil last year or Victoria Clark in 2011, 2013, 2015 and other women. That is why I think either Diana Rigg or Linda Mugleston for My Fair Lady will be added in the mix.

• Best Book of a Musical
• Colman Domingo and Robert Cary- Summer: The Donna Summer Musical
• Itamar Moses- The Band's Visit
• Kyle Jarrow- Spongebob Squarepants
• Tina Fey- Mean Girls
• Best Original Score
• David Yazbek- The Band's Visit
• Jeff Richmond and Nell Benjamin- Mean Girls
• Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez- Frozen
• Various Artists- Spongebob Squarepants
• Best Scenic Design of a Play
• Chloe Lamford- 1984
• Christine Jones- Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
• Derek McLane- The Parisian Woman
• Ian MacNeil and Edward Pierce- Angels in America
• Miriam Buether- Three Tall Women
• Best Scenic Design of a Musical
• Beowulf Boritt- Prince of Broadway
• Dane Laffrey- Once On This Island
• Michael Yeargan- My Fair Lady
• Scott Pask- The Band's Visit
• Scott Pask, Finn Ross, Adam Young- Mean Girls
• Best Costume Design of a Play
• Ann Roth- Three Tall Women
• Jonathan Fensom- Farinelli and the King
• Katrina Lindsay- Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
• Nicky Gillibrand- Angels in America
• Paloma Young- Time and the Conways
• Best Costume Design of a Musical
• Catherine Zuber- My Fair Lady
• Clint Ramos- Once On This Island
• David Zinn- SpongeBob SquarePants
• Gregg Barnes- Mean Girls
• Sarah Laux- The Band's Visit
• Best Lighting Design of a Play
• Donald Holder- M. Butterfly
• Mike Baldassari- Children of a Lesser God
• Natasha Chivers- 1984
• Neil Austin- Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
• Paule Constable- Angels in America
• Best Lighting Design of a Musical
• Donald Holder- My Fair Lady
• Howell Binkley- Summer: The Donna Summer Musical
• Jules Fisher and Peggy Eisenhauer- Once On This Island
• Kenneth Posner- Mean Girls
• Natasha Katz- Frozen
• Best Sound Design of a Play
• Gareth Fry- Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
• Ian Dickinson- Angels in America
• Jonathan Fensom- Lobby Hero
• Tom Gibbons- 1984
• Will Pickens- M. Butterfly
• Best Sound Design of a Musical
• Brian Ronan- Mean Girls
• Kai Harada- The Band's Visit
• Peter Hylenski- Once On This Island
• Scott Lehrer- Carousel
• Walter Trarbach- Spongebob Squarepants
• Best Direction of a Play
• Joe Mantello- Three Tall Women
• John Tiffany- Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
• Kenny Leon- Children of a Lesser God
• Marianne Elliot- Angels in America
• Patrick Marber- Travesties
• Best Direction of a Musical
• Bartlett Sher- My Fair Lady
• Casey Nicholaw- Mean Girls
• David Cromer- The Band's Visit
• Michael Arden- Once On This Island
• Tina Landa- Spongebob Squarepants
• Best Choreography
• Camille K. Brown- Once On This Island
• Casey Nicholaw- Mean Girls
• Christopher Gattelli- My Fair Lady
• Justin Peck- Carousel
• Sergio Trujillo- Summer: The Donna Summer Musical
• Best Orchestrations
• Jamshied Sharifi- The Band's Visit
• Jason Robert Brown- Prince of Broadway
• John Clancy- Mean Girls
• Jonathan Tunick- Carousel
• Michael Starobin and AnnMarie Milazzo- Once On This Island

Okay, so here's my question on this category. It has been ruled that Imogen Heap will not be eligible for the Best Original Score category for her music in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, but it never said anything about the orchestrations... So I'm going to put down Mean Girls, but I believe that if they do nominate Imogen Heap in this category then she will take the place of Mean Girls.

Nominations per production
14: Mean Girls
11: Angels in America, The Band's Visit, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Once On This Island
9: My Fair Lady
8: Spongebob Squarepants
6: Carousel, Children of a Lesser God
5: Three Tall Women
4: 1984
3: Frozen, M. Butterfly, Prince of Broadway, Summer: The Donna Summer Musical, Travesties
2: Farinelli and the King, The Iceman Cometh, Time and the Conways

1: Escape to Margaritaville, Junk: The Golden Age of Debt, Lobby Hero, Meteor Shower, The Parisian Woman, Saint Joan

The Last Midnight: May

Frozen
Theatre: Theatre Royal Haymarket (West End)
Opened: February 21, 2018
Closing: May 5, 2018
Olivier Awards: N/A

Lobby Hero
Theatre: Helen Hayes Theatre (Broadway)
Opened: March 26, 2018
Closing: May 13, 2018
Tony Awards:
Best Revival of a Play [Pending]
Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play for Bryan Tyree Henry as William [Pending]
Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play for Michael Cera as Jeff [Pending]

The Ferryman
Theatre: Gielgud Theatre (West End)
Opened: June 29, 2017
Closing: May 19, 2018
Olivier Awards:
Best New Play
Best Actor for Paddy Considine [Nominated]
Best Actress for Laura Donnelly
Best Actor in a Supporting Role for John Hodgkinson [Nominated]
Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Bríd Brennan [Nominated]
Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Dearbhla Molloy [Nominated]
Best Director for Sam Mendes
Best Set Design for Rob Howell [Nominated]

Children of A Lesser God
Theatre: Studio 54 (Broadway)
Opened: March 26, 2018
Closing: May 27, 2018
Tony Awards:
Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play for Lauren Ridloff as Sarah Norman [Pending]

How the 2017 Tony Awards should have gone

Okay, now that I'm much more aware of the 2016-2017 musicals and specifically the performers I can officially say that the 2017 Tony Awards really, really screwed things up. Here is my own personal list as to who I think should have been nominated and who should have one. Winners are underlined. Different winners than announced are in red text.

• Best Play
• A Doll's House, Part 2
• Indecent
• Oslo
• Sweat
• Best Musical
• Come From Away
• Dear Evan Hansen
• Groundhog Day
• Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812
• Best Revival of a Play
• Jitney
• The Little Foxes
• Present Laughter
• Six Degrees of Separation
• Best Revival of a Musical
• Falsettos
• Hello, Dolly!
• Miss Saigon
• Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play
• Denis Arndt- Heisenberg as Alex Priest
• Chris Cooper- A Doll's House, Part 2 as Torvald Helmer
• Corey Hawkins- Six Degrees of Separation as Paul
• Kevin Kline- Present Laughter as Garry Essendine
• Jefferson Mays- Oslo as Terje Rød-Larsen
• Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play
• Jennifer Ehle- Oslo as Mona Juul
• Sally Field- The Glass Menagerie as Amanda Wingfield
• Katrina Lenk- Indecent as Actor
• Laura Linney- The Little Foxes as Regina Hubbard Giddens
• Laurie Metcalf- A Doll's House, Part 2 as Nora
• Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical
• Christian Borle- Falsettos as Marvin
• Jon Jon Briones- Miss Saigon as The Engineer
• Corey Cott- Bandstand as Donny Novitski
• Andy Karl- Groundhog Day as Phil Connors
• Ben Platt- Dear Evan Hansen as Evan Hansen
• Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical
• Denée Benton- Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 as Natasha Rostova
• Patti LuPone- War Paint as Helena Rubinstein
• Bette Middler- Hello, Dolly! as Dolly Levi
• Eva Noblezada- Miss Saigon as Kim
• Laura Osnes- Bandstand as Julia Trojan
• Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play
• Michael Aronov- Oslo as Uri Savir
• Danny DeVito- The Price as Gregory Solomon
• Nathan Lane- The Front Page as Walter Burns
• Richard Thomas- The Little Foxes as Horace
• Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play
• Johanna Day- Sweat as Tracey
• Jayne Houdyshell- A Doll's House, Part 2 as Anne Marie
• Cynthia Nixon- The Little Foxes as Birdie Hubbard
• Sherie Rene Scott- The Front Page as Mollie Malloy
• Michelle Wilson- Sweat as Cynthia
• Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical
• Gavin Creel- Hello, Dolly! as Cornelius Hackl
• James Nathan Hopkins- Bandstand as Jimmy Campbell
• Andrew Rannells- Falsettos as Whizzer
• Lucas Steele- Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 as Anatole Kuragin 
• Brandon Uranowitz- Falsettos as Mendel
• Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical
• Stephanie J. Block- Falsettos as Trina
• Katie Rose Clarke- Miss Saigon as Ellen
• Jenn Colella- Come From Away as Annette, Beverley and others
• Amber Gray- Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 as Hélène Bezukhova
• Beth Leavel- Bandstand as Mrs. June Adams
• Best Book of a Musical
• David Hein and Irene Sankoff- Come From Away
• Steven Levenson- Dear Evan Hanson
• Dave Malloy- Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812
• Danny Rubin- Groundhog Day
• Best Original Score
• David Hein and Irene Sankoff- Come From Away
• Dave Malloy- Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812
• Tim Minchin- Groundhog Day
• Benj Pasek and Justin Paul- Dear Evan Hanson
• Best Scenic Design of a Play
• David Gallo- Jitney
• Nigel Hook- The Play That Goes Wrong
• Douglas W. Schmidt- The Front Page
• Michael Yeargan- Oslo
• David Zinn- Present Laughter
• Best Scenic Design of a Musical
• Rob Howell- Groundhog Day
• David Korins- Dear Evan Hanson
• Mimi Lien- Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812
• Santo Loquasto- Hello, Dolly!
• Best Costume Design of a Play
• Jane Greenwood- The Little Foxes
• Susan Hilferty- Present Laughter
• Toni-Leslie James- Jitney
• David Zinn- A Doll's House, Part 2
• Best Costume Design of a Musical
• Linda Cho- Anastasia
• Santo Loquasto- Hello, Dolly!
• Paloma Young- Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812
• Catharine Zuber- War Paint
• Best Lighting Design of a Play
• Christopher Akerlind- Indecent
• Donald Holder- Oslo
• Ric Mountjoy- The Play That Goes Wrong
• Jennifer Tipton- A Doll's House, Part 2
• Best Lighting Design of a Musical
• Howell Binkley- Come from Away
• Bradley King- Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812
• Bruno Poet- Miss Saigon
• Japhy Weideman- Dear Evan Hansen
• Best Direction of a Play
• Sam Gold- A Doll's House, Part 2
• Ruben Santiago-Hudson- Jitney
• Bartlett Sher- Oslo
• Daniel Sullivan- The Little Foxes
• Rebecca Taichman- Indecent
• Best Direction of a Musical
• Christopher Ashley- Come From Away
• Rachel Chavkin- Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812
• James Lapine- Falsettos
• Matthew Warchus- Groundhog Day
• Jerry Zaks- Hello, Dolly!
• Best Choreography
• Andy Blankenbuehler- Bandstand
• Peter Darling and Ellen Kane- Groundhog Day
• Day Kelly Devine- Come from Away
• Denis Jones- Holiday Inn
• Sam Pinkleton- Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812
• Best Orchestrations
• Bill Elliot and Greg Anthony Rassen- Bandstand
• Larry Hochman- Hello, Dolly!
• Alex Lacamoire- Dear Evan Hansen
• Dave Malloy- Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812

Fabulous Baby!: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

Okay, so I'm not a Harry Potter junkie, but I have to say that I am incredibly flabbergasted by the outstanding design elements of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, specifically the set and lighting design as well as the special effects. I am honestly in awe of the brilliance of these designers for being able to pull off a show filled with special effects that often seem impossible to pull off even in movies. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child premiered in the West End at the Palace Theatre, after having sold over 175,000 tickets in under 8 hours when tickets first went on sale. At the 2017 Olivier Awards, the production received a record-breaking 9 Olivier Awards, the highest ever received by any production and is still playing at the Palace Theatre playing to sold-out audiences. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is currently in previews at the newly renovated Lyric Theatre and will officially open on April 22. Anyway, back to the ridiculous designers who have designed this massive set that I couldn't begin to describe and so I'll simply show you.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
Set Design: Christine Jones
Costume Design: Katrina Lindsay
Lighting Design: Neil Austin
Sound Design: Gareth Fry
Video Design: Finn Ross and Ash Woodward
Hair & Wig & Make-Up Design: Carole Hancock
Illusions & Magic: Jamie Harrison
Special Effects: Jeremy Chernick

Stephanie J. Block as ????

I'm sure we all know love Stephanie J. Block, and if you don't then what is your problem? Stephanie J. Block is basically Betty Buckley 2.0 from that gorgeous brown hair to that gorgeous strong belt to sharing multiple roles, (I.E. Grizabella from Cats and Edwin Drood from The Mystery of Edwin Drood) and many people

aren't aware of some of the awesome credits that she has to her name so I figured why not compile a list of some of the iconic roles that she has played over the years.

• Audrey in Little Shop of the Horrors
• Mary Poppins in Mary Poppins
• Nancy in Oliver
• Nellie Forbush in South Pacific
• Rosie in Bye Bye Birdie
• Fanny Brice in Funny Girl
• Tzeitel in Fiddler on the Roof
• Rizzo in Grease
• Narrator in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
• Sarah Brown in Guys and Dolls
• Gloria Thorpe in Damn Yankees

These are some iconic roles! I mean my god Rizzo, Fanny Brice, Nancy and even Nellie Forbush? Block has played some iconic roles in musical theatre. #Blockheads

Wicked Lighting!

I created this gif and I just love this lighting effect so much!

Run and Tell That: Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert!

Note: Okay so I once again repeat that I'm terrible at organizing my thoughts and editing my reviews. I'm also extremely tired due to the amount of work I have for college, but it's been forever since I've done a review and I really wanted to do one. So just bear with me people. I already know this is not going to be one of my best reviews quality wise and will not have any of my normal smooth transitions, but again bear with me. I'm tired.

"Every time Bareilles was on screen she was a giant ball of sunshine... her gorgeous tone and acting choices shined like a lighthouse."

I don't really have a backstory for this review other than I remember watching the 2002 TV Movie when I was younger and was mesmerized by the entirety of the "Superstar" sequence. So I'm just gonna start. Going into this I didn't really have high expectations for this show. I thought it was an ingenious idea to have it be broadcast on Easter Sunday, but I still wasn't sure what to expect. While I loved The Wiz Live! and thought that it was exceptional and a huge improvement over Peter Pan Live! and The Sound of Music Live!, but then NBC did Hairspray Live! which I found to be a huge disappointment compared to The Wiz Live! However, I decided to go into this with an open mind. Overall, I was not that impressed with this show. There were multiple times where it was extremely difficult to hear because the actors were overpowered by A) The crowd B) The orchestra or C) The crowd and the orchestra. It was especially difficult to hear in the 

Ensemble

beginning when everyone would make their entrances and people would just scream and drown out the singing. The other main thing that I had a problem with was the cameras. Instead of having these smooth and clean shots a lot of the time they were rough and at very strangle angles and therefore couldn't see much of what was going on. I don't think that the massiveness of the set help. The set was designed by Jason Ardizzone-West and was supposed to resemble a decrepit church while covered in scaffolding that the cast was constantly climbed and used as a jungle gym by the different ensemble members. However, because of the massiveness of this set and how spread out, it was this caused many problems with how it was directed and made it clunky, but we'll get into that aspect later. The main design aspect that I had a problem with was the costume design by Paul Tazewell and while I loved his crazy inventive designs for The Wiz Live! I felt that these designs were very lackluster. I did not get why everyone was wearing black, punk rockesque costumes except for Mary Magdalene, portrayed by Sara Bareilles, who wore a bright yellow dress. I was extremely disappointed in most of Tazewell's costumes for the night. His dark colored costumes made it difficult to see people and distinguish them from one another so they just looked like a blob when not in focus. I also found the costumes for the major number of "Superstar" to

Brandon Victor Dixon and Ensemble

be extremely lackluster and boring. Maybe I'm just used to seeing that number be this huge spectacle like the 2002 Movie or my personal favorite the Arena Tour version. All in all, I found the costumes very bland and lacking color. However, Tazewell did design those killer black hooded coats that the High Priests wore and they were outstanding. The best design element of the night has got to be the lighting design by Al Gurdon which I actually really enjoyed. I think that Gurdon gave the audience rock concert vibes, while still having a very musical theatre touch. Now before I move onto the director I just wanted to give a quick shout out to Camille A. Brown and her inventive choreography which was horribly captured by those awkward camera angles and rough shots. Now I have one more person to talk about before I move onto the actors, that person is director David Leveaux and I have so many problems with how he put this show on. The biggest problem I had with him was during the "Superstar" sequence which is supposed to be a hallucination that Jesus has before being put on the cross, but Jesus WASN'T ON STAGE for the number. Judas has *****SPOILER ALERT***** killed himself ****END SPOILER ALERT**** so it's not like Judas is actually there. Also this number was so lackluster as well when it really is the time to go all out! Maybe I'm just used to seeing it be this entire spectacle (Once again please look up the Arena tour with Tim Minchin to see how it's done), but "Superstar" was just disappointing. The same thing could be said about how he staged "King Herod's Song" because all Herod did, played by Alice Cooper, was stand and walk around (But we'll talk about that later). When Leveaux was not downplaying what should big production numbers he was making weird choice after weird choice. For example during the scene "The Temple" where thieves and gamblers are supposed to have

John Legend and Ensemble

overthrown the temple Leveaux staged it as, for lack of better words, a glitter orgy. There was this giant table in the shape of the cross that was just covered in tons of glitter with weird pink lights over head and the ensemble was writhing on said glitter covered table. Another strange choice was the musical chairs game that went on during "Damned For All Time/Blood Money" and the entire overture/opening with a table and white cloth being set up only for it to be taken down immediately after and then never seen again. Another part that confused me was the fire pit that they had and the Olympic opening ceremony style of lighting it. What was the point of that? I could go on and on about everything that I have questions about when it comes to Leveaux's directing choices, but I'm not writing a dissertation. Before I talk about the leads I want to give a huge shout out to the ensemble for being amazing and having stellar vocals throughout the performance and specifically my favorite part was during the "The Arrest" when they were all reporters and belting their faces off. Now onto specific actors and who better to start with than the first man cast Mr. Alice Cooper who was cast in the role of King Herod and was very underwhelming. I did not like his interpretation of King Herod at all. In my mind King Herod is supposed to be a game show host of sorts he's supposed to be this big, cartoon caricature of a person. However, Cooper portrayed him as a very stiff,

Jin Ha and Norm Lewis

boring and toned down character. The comedy is just written in the number, but I got zero funny from Cooper. Now on the opposite of that spectrum was Erik Grönwall as Simon Zealotes, one of the apostles of Jesus, had killer vocals and took his moment and shined. Grönwall killed it, brought it back to life and then killed it again! Another one of the apostles, Peter, portrayed by Jason Tam delivered a strong performance. Similar to Tam was Ben Daniels as Pontius Pilate who had a nice voice, but I honestly forget he was in the show... He wasn't good or bad he was just there. Meanwhile one of the highlights of the night goes to the amazing Jin Ha who absolutely killed as the high priest Annas and hit all of those high notes so effortlessly and without cracking. Ha's vocal chemistry with fellow high priest Norm Lewis as Caiaphas was to be quiet honest eargasmic. The crazy high notes that Ha belted out with Lewis' low vibrato tremblings were jaw-dropping and haunting. Speaking of Lewis, he absolutely killed as Caiaphas and I just don't have words to describe how much I love Lewis and his voice. Lewis' sexy baritone voice was perfectly suited for this music and unlike most singers when they get lower Lewis was still perfectly audible. His rich vibrato did nothing but enhance the words he sang. Now onto the role of Mary Magdalene, portrayed brilliantly by Sara Bareilles who was the standout performance of the night. Every time Bareilles was on screen she was a giant ball of sunshine, not only because of her costume but because of her personality. Bareilles was a perfect choice for the role of Magdalene and her gorgeous tone and acting choices shined like a lighthouse. You could see

Sara Bareilles

how much she loved Jesus, but also how confused and scared she was of him. I was also overjoyed by the fact that Bareilles hit those high notes in "I Don't Know How To Love Him" and sounded absolutely gorgeous because most singers I've seen often scream those notes. I'm glad that Bareilles has decided to join the theatre community and I look forward to seeing what she does next. However, while Bareilles shined I felt that Brandon Victor Dixon's performance as Judas Iscariot fell short. I don't understand why, but for some reason, everyone loved him as Judas (Which leaves me feeling like Erin when she met Holly for the first time in The Office). I personally struggled to hear him on multiple occasions because everything seemed to overpower him and even when I could hear him I could barely understand him because his diction, in my opinion, was weak. All of his acting choices were rather strange to me. As for his rendition of "Superstar" instead of it being a show stopping number it was just him screaming and what looked like an attempt at break dancing. (Maybe I'm just biased because I really loved Tim Minchin's performance in the arena tour and thought his vocals were absolutely stunning. It may also just be that I think overall the arena tour was a superior production and its direction had much better character development.) Dixon made it a stand out role, as in I wanted to stand and get out of the room whenever he was on screen. Now onto the main man of the night, Jesus, portrayed by the multiple-award-winning John Legend who, in my opinion, was completely miscast in this role. He couldn't handle the score at all especially during his breathy rendition of "Gethsemane" which he seemed to give up on trying to reach those notes halfway through it. Legend

John Legend

also has this weird tendency to either A) Show no emotion at all or B) Show the weirdest emotion possibly imaginable or C) Gave this weird half and half result that was extremely off-putting. Whenever he did show emotions though it was always halfway through a line. Legend, in my opinion, was anything, but legendary (I'll see myself out for that pun) in his performance as Jesus Christ. Overall, I was not that much of a fan of Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert! and I felt that while a little bit of a step up from Hairspray Live! was still several flights below what was accomplished on The Wiz Live! Normally this is where I'd say I'm looking forward to NBC's next live event, but I have no idea what that is... Bye Bye Birdie Live! got delayed yet again so I have no idea what they plan on doing next. I would personally love to see The Music Man Live! or Sister Act Live! but who knows what NBC has up their sleeve. I am looking forward to Rent Live! on Fox in 2019 though. If you made it this far I congratulate you and wish you luck in life. I have to go paint some sets... Peace out!

"Everything's alright yes, everything's fine and we want you to sleep well tonight. Let the world turn without you tonight."