77th Annual Tony Awards Predictions, Mason Pilevsky
CATEGORY: ORIGINAL SCORE
Adam Guttel, Days of Wine and Roses
Although I did not see the production, I have listened to the score. The score (as recorded) has a thin, quasi-orchestral, quasi-chamber feeling that is flighty and reminiscent of the pre-pop/rock era of musical theatre where the pulse comes from the moving lines, not from a percussion heavy beat you can feel.
David Byrne and Fatboy Slim, Here Lies Love
Emotional and frightening, this score relies on its carefully calculated repetition to evoke earlier ideas and future ones. David Byrne and Fatboy Slim are constantly introducing us to what comes next with the vague feeing that it might be what came before.
Will Butler, Stereophonic
This show leaned heavily into actors who gave performances out of pain. I think without the emotions and the context, these songs wouldn’t stand on their own or evoke much other than a casual, feel good listen while doing something else. Though consistent with the Arcade Fire style, the new contributions didn’t stand out in the realm of how music for theatre usually effects me. Also worth noting, there are really only four original songs in the show, and we only hear the full duration of “Masquerade. Despite the decision of the Tony Award nominators, I don’t personally think this constitutes enough material to really be a score.
Shaina Taub, Suffs
Shaina Taub is a pillar for vocal harmonies and textures. She doesn’t write a melody on top of her orchestral parts and call it a day. The strength of her vocal arrangements lends power to her orchestra parts. She is unafraid to mostly or entirely drop the orchestra out at several points in the score to let the raw power of the human voice impact the audience.
Jamestown Revival and Justin Levine, The Outsiders
The score for The Outsiders is where the emotional vulnerability of these boys, who pride themselves on their toughness and lack of emotions, is allowed to shine through. It’s as though they communicate with each other in a different way when the music allows them to say things that would ordinarily have been left unsaid.
WHO I THINK WILL WIN: Shaina Taub
IF IT WAS UP TO ME: Shaina Taub
CATEGORY: BEST ORCHESTRATIONS
Adam Blackstone and Tom Kitt, Hell’s Kitchen
In orchestrating Hell’s Kitchen, Blackstone and Kitt had to simultaneously replicate Alicia Keys’s distinct feel, and break out of it to allow other characters with other voices to reimagine these words into something else. The addition of strings and brass in certain places fleshed out and enlivened this score; the decisions about what to keep on the Ableton tracks was not always clear cut and they showed tremendously good judgment in this regard.
Will Butler and Justin Craig, Stereophonic
Though I marvel at actors who learned to play instruments for their parts, the simplified orchestrations made it difficult at times to feel that the band was going to be successful in their own right. Perhaps this is a thematic questions, but perhaps it really just evolves out of only working with power chords and amateur musicians. Knowing how to simplify works and cut things down to the bare bones of what is necessary and have the show work is a frequently underestimated skill.
Matt Hinkley, Justin Levine, and Jamestown Revival, The Outsiders
This show has the only truly original score to be nominated for orchestrations. The Outsiders instrumentation is perfect for this piece— effortlessly pulling you in and out of each character’s world. While I wish for more dynamic harmonies, this is a fantastic start.
Jonathan Tunick, Merrily We Roll Along
Although not familiar with other productions of this specific show, I am very familiar with the body of Stephen Sondheim’s work, and I think he would be proud of Jonathan Tunick’s meticulous preservation of Sondheim’s signature style.
Timos Andres, Illinoise
I embraced and enjoyed the way vocals were almost an afterthought in the musical texture and tapestry of this show. The story was universally understandable, and the orchestrations played a big part in creating liminal space for the story.
WHO I THINK WILL WIN: Timos Andres
IF IT WAS UP TO ME: Adam Blackstone and Tom Kitt
CATEGORY: BEST BOOK OF A MUSICAL
Kristoffer Diaz, Hell’s Kitchen
I’m surprised to see Hell’s Kitchen in this category. Although there is a book, it is mostly two person scenes between Ali and Jersey and moments when Ali breaks the fourth wall to say a sentence or two that are very thinly veiled attempts to move us to the next scene. I think the book is actually the weak point of Hell’s Kitchen.
Bekah Brunstetter, The Notebook
The book for The Notebook leaned into the universality of a love story while simultaneously leaning into the specificity of this one. In collaboration with very powerful staging, Brunstetter wove parallels at different points in life into a story that showcased the pain of remembering and the pain of forgetting, side by side.
Justin Levine and Adam Rapp, The Outsiders
Ponyboy narrates The Outsiders and is, in a way, a liaison between is world and ours. Levine and Rapp use the book as a device to show us the similarities, so that it is easier to confront and humanize the differences.
Shaina Taub, Suffs
The book of Suffs is where Taub really gets into the factions within the suffragist movement. The quiet arguments, the condescending glances, and the whispered uncertainties present a different story than the unity of songs the women march to, and this juxtaposition reminds us that sometimes we have to forsake individual concerns for a larger cause.
Rick Elice, Water for Elephants
Elice’s book told a good story as a fond remembrance. Though not especially memorable, it certainly held my attention while I was in the theatre. I think the book was not well integrated with the music, and it was hard to reconcile sometimes.
WHO I THINK WILL WIN: Justin Levine and Adam Rapp
IF IT WERE UP TO ME: Bekah Brunstetter
About the Author: Mason Pilevsky
Check back June 4 for our next set of Tony Awards predictions!
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