Is Kelli O'Hara On Track To Win Her Second Tony?

[Soaring29]

Posted: 11/7/18 at 4:44pm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRzrHCLlHdI

 

The video is gorgeous as always but it makes me wonder- is Kelli the favorite right now for Best Leading Actress In A Musical? I personally wouldn't mind if the waiting time was longer(the longer the wait, the sweeter the victory) and for an original musical, but do you think she can pull it off? Or is this Stephanie J. Block's year?

Updated On: 11/7/18 at 04:44 PM

[kade.ivy]

Posted: 11/7/18 at 4:52pm

Can she pull it off? Absolutely. I would even consider her the frontrunner at this point. Is it a sure thing? No. I definitely think it will come down to O'Hara or Block. I also foresee the love for certain productions being a factor, as a large swath of the winners in acting categories over the past few years have tended to come from shows that received lots of love in other categories. The Tonys have enjoyed "sweep" years in the recent past. While neither of these productions (Cher or Kate) have opened, I'd assume O'Hara would have the edge there. 

I'd love either of these two wonderful talents to win, and I'd also add Samantha Barks to the mix, whom I think elevates Pretty Woman exponentially. I predict the nominees will be Barks, Block, O'Hara, Pitts, and a dark horse from The Prom or something unannounced (Noblezada in Hadestown?). I'd add Lilli Cooper, whom I loved in Tootsie, to the mix, but I feel like she will be petitioned for Featured. 

[MadsonMelo]

Posted: 11/7/18 at 5:44pm

The eligible nominees are:

Samantha Barks - Pretty Woman
Christiani Pitts - King Kong
Stephanie J Block - The Cher Show
Sophie Ann Caruso - Beetlejuice
Kelli O’Hara - Kiss Me Kate

Who else?

Beth Leavel is lead for The Prom?

I don’t think Lilli Cooper is anywhere lead for Tootsie.

There’s a chance that Hadestown won’t come.

Maybe only 4 nominees?

If so, Pitts is not getting a nom at all. And I still believe Block gets this.

[Scarlet Leigh]

Posted: 11/7/18 at 5:46pm

Possible, yes. Very. Likely the front runner at this point. However, it's another Kelli O'Hara sings a classic score beautifully role. We have seen this before from her lots and lots of times. Now, do NOT get me wrong she is a fantastic performer that does fantastic work and I am dying to see her in this role cus I know she is gonna kill the singing. Even in this video footage which shows dazzling vocals but the same thing we her from her every time. I think we are all going to need to see how she handles the acting on it before getting a REAL grasp of is she is the front runner or if it's another year of "Kelli is amazing, BUT..." like so many other years. She really needs to do something out of the box that elevates the material or her performance above and beyond the same old safe and expected to be flawless O'Hara performance. In fact, I dare say I could foresee her loosing some of the character's shrewness if she makes the wrong acting choices. Have we ever REALLY seen Kelli play anything less then the sweetheart but might have a few little dramatic moments? Lilli has to be a DIVA shrew with an attitude. Making that believable could either make or break her front runner standing.

And then there is Block who is in prime position to come in and take it because now SHE is in the same spot that O'Hara was when she won her Tony. It's VERY similar the more I think about it.... two amazing performances from two well respected and beloved actress that might split voters. However, for those that ultimately might find themselves unable to really hop on one side of the fence or the other, there will surely be the thought in their mind that... "Block always does AMAZING work but has yet to win. And Ohara already HAS a Tony... so..." that could tip the scale.

I really think it all depends on how far from her safe zone Kelli is willing to go with that bitchiness of Lilli's character. If she makes the choice to back off from it rather than dive deep in, go bold, and embrace it, I could see it big mistake with her chance should she do so. 

[adamgreer]

Posted: 11/7/18 at 6:26pm

They’re lucky that it looks like Company isn’t coming over until next season, or it seems likely Rosalie Craig would win. If something changes and Company accelerates its timetable, expect Craig to be the immediate front runner.

[haterobics]

Posted: 11/7/18 at 6:27pm

She's on a Tony track in the sense that she's leading a production this season, but we should probably wait until she gives one performance before handing her the Tony.

[BroadwayConcierge]

Posted: 11/7/18 at 6:29pm

She deserves a second Tony anyway to make up for the one she should've gotten for Bridges of Madison County.

[kade.ivy]

Posted: 11/7/18 at 6:34pm

Doh, I forgot about Caruso. Definitely a lock for a nomination with all her buzz.

[broadwayboy223]

Posted: 11/7/18 at 6:47pm

BroadwayConcierge said: "She deserves a second Tony anyway to make up for the one she should've gotten forBridges of Madison County."

THIS is the most accurate statement. She was so incredible in Bridges 

[Elegance101]

Posted: 11/7/18 at 6:51pm

kade.ivy said: "Doh, I forgot about Caruso. Definitely a lock for a nomination with all her buzz. "

I agree she’ll probably get nominated due to a lack of competition, but I wouldn’t say she has a ton of buzz. The show got bad reviews for its tryout, with her notices basically saying she’s fine.

[Scarlet Leigh]

Posted: 11/7/18 at 7:10pm

Let's all keep in mind as well that last season Joshua Henry was the Tony front runner.... until his show actually started performances. Then things turned round REAL fast. No matter how amazing the PAST work of a performer is, missteps can and will happen.

[MadsonMelo]

Posted: 11/7/18 at 7:45pm

To be fair, Henry almost won this Years Tony according to the NYT poll

[Wick3]

Posted: 11/7/18 at 8:06pm

Perhaps she is but it may be too early to tell (though I loved the youtube video the OP posted here).

I still remember watching this Kelli interview from 4 years ago with Paul Wontorek and it's amazing where she is now! She starts talking about the Tony Awards at 7:50 and later in the interview she talks about having 8 call backs to be NessaRose in Wicked and how it always seemed like she was against Patti or Audra for that Tony BTW, is it really true she did the first lesbian kiss on daytime television?!? I

 

[SomethingPeculiar]

Posted: 11/7/18 at 8:06pm

No Kate would win a Tony simply because she did a beautiful "So In Love." O'Hara sounds stunning and I like the arrangement/orchestration, but there's a LOT more to Lilli/Kate than this one ballad.

In my mind, she's the opposite of Joshua Henry last year: I don't think she stands a chance of winning a Tony (regardless of competition), but that could change once we see her performance.

[OlBlueEyes]

Posted: 11/7/18 at 8:16pm

I think we are all going to need to see how she handles the acting on it before getting a REAL grasp of is she is the front runner or if it's another year of "Kelli is amazing, BUT..." like so many other years. She really needs to do something out of the box that elevates the material or her performance above and beyond the same old safe and expected to be flawless O'Hara performance. 

Light in the Piazza and Bridges were not far enough off the beaten path?

But I see your problem with choosing Kiss Me, Kate for her next production, especially after she had said in one or two interviews that her remaining Broadway runs would be in shows that had something meaningful to say about our existence here.

One of the named creatives for Kate has been tagged as having the job of working on the book. Perhaps they have been thinking about major surgery for this show from back two years ago when Roundabout honored Kelli and Bart at its gala. Perhaps they will reinvent  this show.

[JBC3]

Posted: 11/7/18 at 8:39pm

As good as she is, Rosalie Craig is not necessarily giving a TONY-winning performance.

[SomethingPeculiar]

Posted: 11/7/18 at 9:51pm

OlBlueEyes said: "One of the named creatives for Kate has been tagged as having the job of working on the book. Perhaps they have been thinking about major surgery for this show from back two years ago when Roundabout honored Kelli and Bart at its gala. Perhaps they will reinvent this show."

Doesn't sound like the book update is major surgery. Maybe just toning down some of the sexism?

"Green will not be writing new music nor changing the structure of the show, according to a press representative, but her contributions are meant to add a more modern sensibility to the musical."

[haterobics]

Posted: 11/7/18 at 9:58pm

BroadwayConcierge said: "She deserves a second Tony anyway to make up for the one she should've gotten forBridges of Madison County."

Yes, but I just decided to use things like this to stop caring who won the award...

[enjoyable2]

Posted: 11/7/18 at 10:17pm

Gorgeous. What distinguishes her voice from all the others, for me, is that she is clearly so well trained  and, at the same time, has an utterly natural, unaffected voice.  Her vowels are gorgeous, not exaggerated or pretentious. Perfection. 

[BroadwayConcierge]

Posted: 11/7/18 at 10:33pm

Also, I just watched the video and holy hell. She is truly something else. It is like the heavens open up when she sings. I cannot wait to see her on stage again soon.

[BroadwayConcierge]

Posted: 11/7/18 at 10:33pm

(double post, sorry)

Updated On: 11/7/18 at 10:33 PM

[GeorgeandDot]

Posted: 11/7/18 at 10:54pm

Kelli O'Hara sings beautifully, but there's also such a strength as well as vulnerability to her onstage that makes her just incredible to watch. I think this definitely could be her year, especially if she kills it with the comedy in this show. That's a color she hasn't really fully explored in her other roles that might impress Tony voters.

Also, if Girl From the North Country transfers, she might get a lot of competition from Mare Winningham.

[Scarlet Leigh]

Posted: 11/7/18 at 11:41pm

OlBlueEyes said: "Light in the Piazzaand Bridges were not far enough off the beaten path?"

Light and Bridge had some dramatic moments that challenged her, true, and really she SHOULD have won her Tony for Bridges but at the end of the day both of those characters were still, at their base, sweet women with hearts of gold going through some very tough trials and tribulations.

Lilli is unlike anything she has yet to do because Lilli is... well Lilli is a bitch. Of course there is more to her under the surface but ON the surface she is, like the character of Kate, a shrew that needs to be tamed. I don't really know if O'Hara is capable of letting herself get genuinely ugly when she needs to for the sake of comedy. While her "So In Love" is simply lovely, will her "I Hate Men" be as impressive when she can't rely on her strong and pretty singing to sell the number but must play is harsh, bold, and brassy and CAN'T play the nice girl?

[ColorTheHours048]

Posted: 11/7/18 at 11:42pm

Wow. What a gorgeous, powerful rendition of that song. And the orchestra is appropriately swoon-worthy to match. I can’t wait to see this.

Also, she was excellent in Bells Are Ringing and very funny, so I have no doubt she’ll be able to play into Lilli’s humor as well as her resolve and determination, which we already know is very much in her wheelhouse.

[JBroadway]

Posted: 11/8/18 at 12:14am

Kelli O'Hara is better at acting than about 95% of Musical Theatre performers working these days, most of whom, while very talented, seem to think that acting = emoting while belting high notes, and maybe throwing in a quirky attitude. 

Updated On: 11/8/18 at 12:14 AM