*Billy* is dancin'

Variety reports that *Billy Elliott* has earned 15 Tony nominations.
It looks like *Billy* for new musical (vs. "Next to Normal"); "God of Carnage" for New Play (vs. "Dividing the Estate"); "Hair" for Revival Musical (vs. "West Side Story"); and *The Norman Conquests* for Revival Play (vs. *Mary Stuart*).
But another big story is how many good actors were left unnominated for plays: Kristin Scott Thomas for *The Seagull*; three of the four cast members in *Godot*; all of the *All My Sons* cast; and more.
The show's on Sunday, June 7, on CBS.

ADDED May 6:
Charles McNulty in the L.A. Times discusses the strong competition in New Play and Revival Play while taking a swipe at the slim pickin's in New Musical (and not lamenting, too much, the absence of the Dolly Parton vehicle, *9 to 5*).

ADDED May 8:
Jeremy Gerard at Bloomberg agrees that some actors (like Frank Langella) got snubbed, and that lots of Tony voters demonstrably aren't following the rules and aren't going to all the shows they're supposedly sitting in judgement upon. Naughty, naughty Tony voters.
And Tom O'Neil at The Envelope reminds us that the three boys sharing the nomination for *Billy Elliott* isn't the only time that multiple actors have been nominated for the same Tony acting award. What's more, you know -- or SHOULD know -- when that happened for the first (and still most bizarre) time. Trivia hour!

ADDED June 1:
Chris Jones in the Chicago Tribune
http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/arts/chi-0531-tony-awards-previewmay31,0,7036839.story
praises Billy Elliott and God of Carnage.

Survey your audience ... or your imagination?

Michael Riedel in the N.Y. Post castigates the practice of audience surveys, as if musicals and plays aren't already workshopped to death and now require assembly by committees numbering in the thousands. Here's the most incisive comment, from Hal Prince on the current state of Broadway shows:
"We've become very good at giving people what they want. But there's got to be something more on the menu. The whole point should be to offer them something they didn't even know they wanted to see."
Artists and artistic directors should be leaders. Audiences didn't KNOW they had anything in common with people who want to kill presidents, or with domineering mothers, or with little old ladies from Appalachia. Show your audiences new facets of themselves.
(photo: Hal Prince with *Phantom* in Las Vegas)

Upcoming B'way season is male-dominated

The Broadway season preview in the New York Times cites shows such as A Man for All Seasons, Equus, Pal Joey, Speed-the-Plow, Billy Elliott and All My Sons as evidence of a male focus this season.

Ben Brantley has a follow-up commentary on movie actors (Katie Holmes, Daniel Radcliffe) acting on the Nooh Yawhk stage.