Looking Ahead to the Tonys

I must admit, I'm not all that jazzed about the Tony Awards this year. Besides the fact that I will watching them with my brother and sister, there isn't a lot that excites me about the performance. While there are some definite heavy hitters among the nominees (the Leading Actor in a Play nominees include Denzel Washington, Alfred Molina, and Christopher Walken), the musicals, which are, to me, the main attraction, don't excite me very much. I'm unfamiliar with the new musicals, and while the revivals have gotten some excellent reviews, the show that I would love to see (Ragtime) has already closed and it isn't likely that they will have a snippet to show during the ceremony.

That said, here are my two wishes for next Sunday's ceremonies:

• They actually pay some attention to the plays. Honestly, if Scarlett Johansson and Denzel Washington can't get the nominated plays some television time, then the plays will never get a fair shake.
• I want Sean Hayes to win Best Actor in a Musical just so the guy who wrote this article can go suck it. Incidentally, the writer has tried to backtrack and say that he was trying to start a dialog (insert an eye roll here).

If you are looking for more Tony fever than I can muster up this year, the New York Times has an entire section dedicated to the Tony Awards. Ben Brantley's Did He Like It site also has a page listing the nominees with illustrations of what Brantley thought of the best play and musical nominees.