77th Annual Tony Awards Predictions, Mason Pilevsky
CATEGORY: SOUND DESIGN OF A PLAY
Stefania Bulbarella and Justin Ellington, Jaja’s African Hair Braiding
I have long admired Justin Ellington’s commitment to preshow music that sets an atmosphere before the show even starts. The sounds in the transitions of this show filled the space, and the soundscapes remained under a lot of the scenes so that their absence at the end made the space feel empty, emphasizing the emotional distress and uncertainty at the sows inconclusive conclusion.
Leah Gelpe, Mary Jane
Listening to Alex’s sounds, feeling the sterility and hopelessness in the hospital, the breathing, and the imperfections in the music created a beautiful but haunting soundscape that reinforced the emptiness and holes in Mary Jane’s life.
Tom Gibbons, Grey House
Sound perfectly aided and abetted Grey House’s horror genre. The room tones just below where the audience would notice them are a favorite technique of mine. Tom Gibbons played an integral role in telling this story.
Will Pickens and Bray Poor, Appropriate
Appropriate’s biggest sound triumph was actually in the way the actor’s microphones were mixed in all of these moments where people were talking over each other. Making sure the right lines and most important moments in these fights was no small feat.
Ryan Rumery, Stereophonic
Ryan Rumery is the clear winner here. Each type of sonic communication in this show had a distinct system and feeling. The sounds of the actors recording, versus when they listened to it played back, the sounds of the characters speaking to each other on stage versus in the recording studio versus backstage (with the audience eavesdropping) were all wonderfully distinct textures. Add to it the elements that were being recorded and played back in real time and the ability of the actors to control some of the mixing, and you have an incredibly unique and historic soundscape.
WHO I THINK WILL WIN: Ryan Rumery
IF IT WAS UP TO ME: Ryan Rumery
CATEGORY: SOUND DESIGN OF A MUSICAL
M.L. Dogg and Cody Spencer, Here Lies Love
Here Lies Love had to effectively create three sound systems—one for the dance floor, one for the mezzanine, and one that enabled the actors, who were all over the space, to hear themselves and the music they were singing and dancing to. The audio in this show was crisp and clear, simultaneously easy to understand and atmospherically appropriate to the setting and the glitz and glamor of most of the scenes, juxtaposed with the pain and simplicity of others.
Kai Harada, Merrily We Roll Along
Kai Harada’s sound design for Merrily We Roll Along met every requirement of sound design. It was easy to understand, did not use audio effects that arose after the time of its writing, and provided a classic musical theatre auditory experience that perfectly augmented a classic show.
Nick Lidster for Autograph, Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club
We all had difficulty understanding Eddie Redmayne at times, but Redmayne’s stylized performance was a directorial choice, not a sound one. Nick Lidster for Autograph put forth a valiant effort to make this show sound impactful in the round, and, for the most part, succeeded. The building renovations made this challenging.
Gareth Owen, Hell’s Kitchen
Alicia Keys has two distinct sounds, one for concerts and one on her studio recordings. Gareth Owen chose to lean into her concert sound. As a result, the show is bass heavy and really gets the audience moving in their seats. A lot of the vocal parts go impressively high, and sometimes it felt like the middle range of the music got lost in the Off Broadway production at The Public—this issue was fixed as the show came into its own on Broadway. Moments like “Kaleidoscope” really come alive in the new space.
Cody Spencer, The Outsiders
There were moments in which I had difficulty understanding some of the words, but appreciated the subtlety of his design and decision to allow the actors’ vocals and musicians’ performances to speak for themselves. Spencer reinforced these performances, but did not over inundate them with tracks. The beauty and humanity shone through this design.
WHO I THINK WILL WIN: Gareth Owen
IF IT WAS UP TO ME: Cody Spencer
About the Author: Mason Pilevsky
Tomorrow, May 24, we will be dropping some joke awards as well as some thoughts on design categories that are very much a part of the theatrical process that do not have awards categories!
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