June 10, 2007
Tony special report
All the world's a stage ...
There's no people like show people, as the song goes, and this year's class of Tony nominees makes that as clear as ever. We have veterans of stage and screens large and small alongside a Broadway newcomer, plus the grand dames of acting in any venue, Vanessa Redgrave and Angela Lansbury. Here are a few of the stars you'll see during the Tony Awards broadcast Sunday on CBS at 8 p.m. ET.
The Newcomer
Laura Bell Bundy, nominated as leading actress in a musical for "Legally Blonde: The Musical," has won over critics the same way her character, Elle Woods, won over hers: with undeniable brio. There have been a few missteps, such as Bundy's flying shoe during one first act. "I do sort of a karate-chop kick," she explains. "The shoe flew off almost to the back of the house." Offstage, Bundy is kickin' up her heels on her debut country album, "Longing for a Place Already Gone." "It is a bit of a throwback to Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, Elvis and Merle Haggard," says Bundy, 26. "I've always been one of those people obsessed with a time that has already past."
The Familiar Face
Debra Monk is a lot more humble than her brassy counterpart, a musical producer, in "Curtains." "I was not expecting a nomination [for leading actress in a musical] because there were just too many great gals this year," she says. Although Monk, 58, already has a Tony, she might be more familiar from "Grey's Anatomy" (as George's mom) or "NYPD Blue" (as Katie Sipowicz). If you don't know her yet, keep an eye out for "The Great Buck Howard," a movie she made with John Malkovich. "I was ready to be a little afraid of him," she recalls. "But I loved being with him; we would sit at lunch and he would just tell stories."
The Veteran
As Richard Nixon in "Frost/Nixon," Frank Langella delivers a high-wire performance of histrionics that reviewers say would have been fumbled in lesser hands. He's nominated as lead actor in a play. "I've come to be incredibly empathetic -- rather than sympathetic -- with Nixon, very protective of him," Langella said in an interview with Broadway's "Playbill." "I've come to have compassion for a man who was very unhappy in his own soul, a man unable to breathe the very air most humans breathe." His compassion may have led Langella, 67, to go another round as Tricky Dick: He'll be in a movie version by Ron Howard.
The Voice
In a revival of "Talk Radio," Liev Schreiber steps up to the mic as Barry Champlain, a rampaging radio host specializing in verbal pugilism. The plot follows Champlain's night of Imus-like gonzo aggression toward callers on the eve of his show's going national. While it may be unlikely Schreiber, 39, will take the Tony for leading actor in a play, his schooling in wicked wordplay could make for a memorable acceptance speech.
The TV Star
David Hyde Pierce, nominated as leading actor in a musical, is a natural as Lt. Frank Cioffi, the toe-tapping, singing sleuth sent to solve a murder in "Curtains." But Pierce, 48, who polished his singing and dancing skills for the role, says, "I did not audition, and I can guarantee you that had I auditioned, not only would I not have a Tony nomination, I probably wouldn't even be in the show." While "Curtains" is a comedy, there have been a few moments of unintended drama. "I got caught hanging 30 feet above the stage in a piece of scenery," he recalls of a show in L.A. "It happened to be the night that Nancy Reagan and her Secret Service detail were all in the audience."
The Grand Dames
Vanessa Redgrave says "The Year of Magical Thinking," based on Joan Didion's memoir, has "brought out from me a performance I'm quite surprised to find myself giving." It also earned her a nod as leading actress in a play. "I got a card from a lady that said she hadn't read more than half of Joan's book because she was grieving," says Redgrave, 70. "She thought she must see it and said, 'Instead, I found myself laughing and crying, but at the end, at peace with myself.' " Wednesday, Redgrave can be seen in the HBO political drama "The Fever," her pet project seven years in the making. "I did a lot of mortgaging," she laughs. Just across 42nd Street from Redgrave is Angela Lansbury, 81, nominated in the same category for "Deuce." Lansbury, with four Tonys, has been away from Broadway for 24 years and is happy to be back.
Reporting by Jon Tollestrup
Go to top
BIRTHDAYS
June 10: Tara Lipinski, 25; Shane West, 29; Elizabeth Hurley, 42; Hugh Laurie, 48
June 11 Joshua Jackson, 29; Joe Montana, 51
June 12 George H.W. Bush, 83
June 13 Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, 21; Ethan Embry, 29; Tim Allen, 54
June 14 Donald Trump, 61
June 15 Neil Patrick Harris, 34; Leah Remini, 37; Ice Cube, 38; Courteney Cox Arquette, 43; Helen Hunt, 44
June 16 Joyce Carol Oates, 69
 Ask Lorrie Lynch a question about a celeb!
|
