Best Musical Duel Heats Up Between Jersey Boys & Drowsy Chaperone
May 21st, 2006In the latest issue of Variety, David Rooney notes that while there are 24 competitive categories to be decided when the 2006 Tony awards are announced June 11 and a number of them are wide open, the race that has Broadway insiders buzzing is the unpredictable duel between The Drowsy Chaperone and Jersey Boys for best musical. What makes the two competing shows work so well is their combination of elements from both ends of the spectrum.
What makes Jersey Boys such hot competition? Here’s what Rooney has to say:
While it cobbles together the vintage hits of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, Jersey Boys, which scored eight Tony noms, is anything but an underdog.
But Jersey Boys has proved a resounding hit with both critics and auds, with robust prospects both for a long New York run and as a touring vehicle. Spinning the true tale of blue-collar suburban boys on the bumpy road to fame, the show’s book by vet screenwriter Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice brings a gritty cinematic feel to the material that distinguishes it from standard Broadway fare.
“These shows are so profoundly different, they really do come from different ends of the musical solar system,” says “Jersey Boys” helmer Des McAnuff, who launched the tuner at the La Jolla Playhouse, where he is artistic director. “It’s good for everybody to have such different musicals working on Broadway. Successful shows feed off each other.”
Broadway Plays and Tony Awards…
One of the best things about living in NYC: Going to the plays and musicals and not having to pack my suitcase and go home. These are boom times on Broadway. Grosses are up, theatres are booked and audiences are
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