Who's Irish in the Tony awards? And why watch?

The Tony awards, broadcast live from Radio City Music Hall on June 13 at 8 p.m. on CBS, can give a show a new lease on life. The award adds a seal of approval to any career. This year, critics didn't weigh in - a controversial move that may be reversed in the future. As with the Academy Awards, the best doesn't always win - some of the best movies of all time lost the year they were nominated, like Singin' in the Rain (1952) or or Planet of the Apes (1968). And wonderful shows don't always win Tony awards, too - in 1976 Chicago got 11 nominations and no awards. And in 1958 The Music Man won Best Musical, not West Side Story (Jerome Robbins did win for choreography, but nothing for Leonard Bernstein).

And some of the best theatre is not on Broadway - Irish Repertory Theatre, for example! (the Tony awards only cover Broadway). Nevertheless, the Tony awards are a high point of the theatrical year.

Almost as soon as they got here, the Irish have had a huge impact on theatre in this country. Broadway, or commercial theatre, owes a lot to the influx of Irish songwriters and performers, from producer nineteenth century Augustin Daly to George M. Cohan and on.

Who's Irish (a non-exhaustive list)

1. EUGENE O'NEILL - well, sort of. REGIONAL TONY AWARD. Although critics didn't vote, ATCA (the American Theatre Critics Association, www.americantheatrecritics.org, a group of which I am the webmistress) gives a recommendation each year to the TK for an award each year to a regional theatre. This year, the award goes to the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford, Connecticut. Named in honor of the great Irish-American playwright, the only American ever to win the Nobel prize. O'Neill grew up in Waterford, and the theater center hosts several developmental programs, including the Playwrights Conference, each summer. The Center also oversees the Monte Cristo cottage in neighboring New London, where O'Neill grew up. This award is not televised. www.theoneill.org/about/about.htm
2. FINIAN'S RAINBOW - nominated for BEST REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL. While the bookwriters and musical team, Yip Harburg and Fred Saidy, for this 1946 musical were Jewish, the show is about a father and daughter who come from Ireland to settle in Missitucky, America. Composer Harburg listened to Irish music while writing it, and Og, a leprechaun who followed his stolen gold to the new land, brings some Irish whimsy to the show, which takes on racism, among other things! The show had great reviews (I did a cover story on it for the Irish Examiner on October 20, 2009 ), and released a cast album, but had a relatively short run. It's not likely to win, but there may be a number from it in the broadcast.
3. CHRISTOPHER WALKEN - nominated for BEST PERFORMANCE BY A LEADING ACTOR IN A PLAY. Closed June 6. The play for which he is nominated is Martin McDonagh's A Behanding In Spokane (reviewed in the Irish Eaminer March 23). It's playwright McDonagah's first play set in America, and was offbeat and funny. Walken, who plays Carmichael, searching for his missing hand, is of Scottish and German descent. Not likely to win, all bets are on Denzel Washington in Fences.
4. SEAN HAYES - nominated for BEST PERFORMANCE BY LEADING ACTOR IN A MUSICAL. The show is Promises, Promises, and Hayes plays Chuck Baxter, who is coaxed into lending his apartment to executives to conduct their trysts, all the while pining for Kristen Chenoweth's Fran Kubelik. Hayes talks to the audience, sings and ably fills the shoes of Jerry Orbach, who originated the role in TK. Hayes is Irish-American, and best known for his longtime role as Jack McFarland in NBC's "Will and Grace." Sahr Ngaujah will probably win for Fela, but Hayes would be my next pick. This show is still running, and should not be missed.
5. KATE BALDWIN - nominated for BEST PERFORMANCE BY A LEADING ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL. Kate played Sharon in Finian's Rainbow. The redhead has a lovely soprano and was a delight, though she's unlikely to win; this is a strong category which includes Sherie Rene Scott of Everyday Rapture and Catherine Zeta-Jones in A Little Night Music.
6. CHRISTOPHER FITZGERALD - nominated for BEST PERFORMANCE BY A FEATURED ACTOR IN A MUSICAL. He played the leaping, wise-cracking, romantic leprechaun Og in Finian's Rainbow. Will likely be edged out by Levi Kreis, who played Jerry Lee Lewis in Million Dollar Quartet.
7. ANGELA LANSBURY - nominated for BEST PERFORMANCE BY A FEATURED ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL. For Madame Armfeldt in A Little Night Music. While Ms. Lansbury is English (you may remember her in "Murder, She Wrote"), her mother, actress Moyna MacGill, was from Belfast. Likely to be edged out by Katie Finneran who steals the show in Promises, Promises.
8. KATIE FINNERAN- nominated for BEST PERFORMANCE BY A FEATURED ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL. For Marge MacDougall in Promises, Promises. She steals the show as a drunken lonely heart in a bar, hilariously pretending to play hard to get while throwing herself at Hayes. I'm going out on a limb here because I couldn't find anything about her heritage but Finneran, at least, is an Irish name, from "O'Finnthigheirn."
9. VALERIE HARPER - nominated for BEST PERFORMANCE BY A LEADING ACTRESS IN A PLAY. Harper is partially of Irish descent. She played Talullah Bankhead in Looped, which had a short run. Viola Davis in Fences will probably win.