What I've heard from a number of individuals (critics, writers, theatre historians) is that there is no great new musical this year like Fun Home, Hamilton, The Band's Visit, or others of that caliper from previous years. For example, Six is very popular, but it's also slight. A Strange Loop is an important, highly praised musical, but it's also off-putting to many. Mr. Saturday Night is very funny and a great showcase for Billy Crystal and the rest of the cast, but it's also very uneven. MJ has spectacular musical numbers, but a superficial book and a one-note performance by its lead, dialogue-wise.
All of the candidates have pluses and minuses. Paradise Square most certainly has a very problematic, flawed book, but its score, performances, ambition, scope, and choreography, compared to the other 4 shows, make it worthy of consideration, thus its 10 Tony nominations.
Just my assessment based on what I have been hearing. Nothing more than that. |
