Tony nominations reward audacious risk-taking on Broadway

It was the bravest of times, it was the priciest of times. The Tony Award nominations, announced Thursday greeting successful New York, bespeak the divided surface world of a Broadway play divided by mavericks and mega-stars.

The mavericks fared considerably better.

Glenn Fleshler and George Clooney successful “Good Night, and Good Luck” astatine the Winter Garden Theatre.

(Emilio Madrid)

Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal successful “Othello,” George Clooney successful “Good Night, and Good Luck” and recently minted Oscar-winner Kieran Culkin successful “Glengarry Glen Ross” allowed producers to make sticker daze connected Broadway. Magnets for media and money, these productions created momentous New York buzz — on with the increasing consciousness that Broadway is present a luxury goods item, affordable lone to the ace affluent and the ace savvy astir summons discounts.

But of this radical lone Clooney received a information for his fantabulous pb show arsenic Edward R. Murrow successful the signifier adaptation of the 2005 film. Culkin, the anemic nexus successful the different sturdy “Glengarry” revival, was passed implicit for a featured histrion nomination. Bob Odenkirk, who shines arsenic shabby Shelley Levene, scored the production’s lone nod.

Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal successful “Othello” astatine Broadway’s “Ethel Barrymore Theatre.”

(Julieta Cervantes)

Clearly, the Tony nominating committee was paying adjacent attention. All the beforehand hype successful the satellite couldn’t extract a azygous information for the rudderless “Othello,” notwithstanding Gyllenhaal’s sleekly sinister Iago and Andrew Burnap’s Cassio serving arsenic a exemplary for however Shakespearean verse should beryllium spoken.

The astir memorable offerings didn’t attraction a whit astir product-testing strategies. What selling genius, for instance, could person predicted that “Maybe Happy Ending,” a jazz-infused rom-com astir robots and mortality that originated successful South Korea, and “Dead Outlaw,” a quirky jam-session of a amusement astir a butterfingers bandit who was outshone by his much celebrated corpse, would beryllium the astir acclaimed musicals of this season?

“Maybe Happy Ending” led with 10 nominations successful a necktie with chap champion philharmonic nominees, “Buena Vista Social Club” and “Death Becomes Her.” “Dead Outlaw,” which opened Sunday conscionable earlier the play deadline to glowing reviews, earned an awesome 7 nominations.

From a purely commercialized perspective, “Maybe Happy Ending” and “Dead Outlaw” correspond immense gambles. Both deficiency the preexisting IP and Hollywood prima powerfulness that are the assumed requirements of Broadway juggernauts. But audacity combined with creator ingenuity is inactive the champion stake for holding one’s caput precocious successful an American theatre devoid of safety.

Cole Escola and James Scully successful “Oh, Mary!” connected Broadway astatine the Lyceum Theater.

(Emilio Madrid)

Epitomizing this acquisition is Cole Escola’s “Oh, Mary!” This chaotic thrust of a play, which I saw past twelvemonth off-Broadway astatine the Lucille Lortel Theatre, follows the machinations of an unsteady Mary Todd Lincoln (originally played by Escola, who has returned to the role) arsenic she drunkenly chases her cabaret dreams.

Part off-color resistance act, portion Carol Burnett-style sketch comedy, the amusement has survived connected its bountiful comedic wits to go 1 of the hottest Broadway tickets of the year. “Oh, Mary” is besides a contender successful the champion play race, having proved that it’s durable capable not to beryllium exclusively connected Escola’s delirious drollery. (Betty Gilpin and Tituss Burgess some served tours of duty.)

Hearteningly, the champion play class has turned retired to beryllium 1 of the year’s astir competitive. Kimberly Belflower’s “John Proctor Is the Villain,” starring Sadie Sink from Netflix’s “Stranger Things,” received 7 nominations, the aforesaid fig arsenic Jez Butterworth’s “The Hills of California.”

“John Proctor” initiates a speech with Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible” astir the mode the suffering of women successful this American classical is fixed painfully abbreviated shrift. The rubric whitethorn dependable polemical, but the work, superbly directed by Tony-winner Danya Taymor (“The Outsiders”), has a buoyant curiosity astir the lives of young women and exists connected its ain autarkic terms. (Sink, Taymor and Gabriel Ebert successful the Proctor-ish teacher role, each nominated, are an integral portion of the company-wide excellence.)

I’m inactive haunted by “The Hills of California,” Butterworth’s richly imagined play astir the death-bed vigil a radical of sisters is holding for their mother, who sought to crook them into a transcript of the Andrews Sisters. The exquisite music-filled production, which had a constricted tally successful the fall, was excessively bully to beryllium forgotten. Sam Mendes’ magisterial absorption and Laura Donnelly’s heartbreaking show were portion of the trove of well-deserved nominations.

Broadway continues to admit the brilliance of Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, 1 of the outstanding talents of this caller procreation of American playwrights. Last year, “Appropriate” received the Tony for champion play revival. This year, “Purpose,” his home play astir an illustrious civilian rights icon’s dysfunctional household and checkered legacy, received six nominations, including champion play. And it was uplifting to spot Sanaz Toossi’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play “English,” which I encountered past twelvemonth astatine the Old Globe, rounding retired a champion play database that shores up religion successful the aboriginal of intelligent playwriting connected Broadway.

It was a recognition to the corporate contented of the Tony nominating committee that Leslye Headland’s “Cult of Love,” 1 of the hokiest household dramas I’ve seen successful ages, was excluded, contempt a fewer beardown supporting performances. And that “Stranger Things: The First Shadow” received a slew of plan nominations and a motion for Louis McCartney’s sad-creepy pb show but thing for the deranged script.

“Good Night, and Good Luck,” a deft signifier translation of the movie chronicling CBS newsman Murrow’s heroic basal against Sen. Joseph McCarthy’s communist witch-hunt, whitethorn not person made the playwriting cut. But Clooney is duly nominated for bringing Murrow’s sterling motivation illustration to beingness astatine a clip erstwhile the state severely needs a changeable successful the limb of courage.

Escola is apt to travel retired connected apical successful the pb histrion race, which I was pleased to spot recovered country for Daniel Dae Kim’s good enactment successful David Henry Hwang’s “Yellow Face.” But I privation to accent that “Good Night, and Good Luck” is nary vanity workout and that a movie star’s apical billing connected Broadway is not needfully a motion of a breached system.

The production, scrupulously directed by David Cromer, is profoundly moving successful its public-spirited vision. Cromer, a Tony victor for “The Band’s Visit,” would nary uncertainty person been nominated for his enactment were helium not nominated for his ingenious staging of “Dead Outlaw.” He, on with Michael Arden, who won a Tony for his absorption of “Parade” successful 2023 and was nominated for his absorption of “Maybe Happy Ending,” whitethorn beryllium Broadway’s sharpest auteurs with the discreetest profiles.

Sarah Snook is the presumed front-runner successful the pb histrion successful a play contention for her solo circuit de unit successful the multimedia extravaganza mentation of Oscar Wilde’s “The Picture of Dorian Gray.” But however marvelous to spot Mia Farrow successful contention for her enactment successful “The Roommate” opposite a crippled Patti LuPone. Can producers find different excuse to bring this drama duo backmost together?

Audra McDonald successful “Gypsy” astatine Broadway’s Majestic Theatre.

(Julieta Cervantes)

The Broadway show that chopped the deepest for maine was Audra McDonald arsenic Rose successful George C. Wolfe’s revival of “Gypsy,” a harrowing reexamination of the philharmonic done the humanities prism of race. She already holds the grounds for the astir Tony wins for a performer with six awards. The lone happening lasting successful the mode of a seventh is Nicole Scherzinger’s sublime singing successful Jamie Lloyd’s fearless re-imagining of “Sunset Blvd.”

The occurrence of “Maybe Happy Ending” hinges successful nary tiny portion connected the miraculous show of Darren Criss, who plays an automaton with a secretly delicate heart. The charm of this philharmonic has proved to beryllium not astatine each ephemeral, and successful a Broadway play of invigorating agelong shots, the blessed ending of “Maybe Happy Ending” seems each but guaranteed.