Just felt the need to say that in my meeting, I was clutching my arm and pressing my eye to help hold down the twitching, as though somehow grabbing an arm and plugging my eye looks less weird than a mild shaking that no one else probably noticed. My body is bugging out on me. Is this a sign?

Work is stressful. At times I really question whether or not I can do my job. Mornings like this, however, I feel empowered. Pumpkin spice makes me strong. I can do it. At least until my little paper cup is empty.

To respect their privacy, I’ll leave out the details of my family members’ trials and travails. I will say that one is waging her own war and we wonder when a truce will be called. One is stuck in some sort vacuum of awful. And one is on a weird treadmill of the same stuff over and over.

Then there’s the added level of complexity that my family is a little different. I thought that our version of different was different even from the usual different, but it seems our different is just like everyone else’s different. I thought we had done away with the traditional by being such a non-traditional bunch. Turns out, the grandest tradition of family dysfunction and finger pointing can still rear its ugly head, even if you’ve been keeping your head buried in the ground.

I love my family. I love them even when we argue about football and politics and relationships and cake. I still cherish them every day. Even when they are making my damn eyes bleed from frustration.

And every once in a while, I really want to see who’s paying attention. I wonder about posting big, crazy, false announcements and seeing who responds. You know, something like being pregnant or moving to Bora Bora or getting arrested for smuggling lace undies into berka-wearing countries.

It’s something to think about.

The job has been quite a transition. I was working for a woman who was much more a friend than a boss, and it turns out all the stuff they tell you about that being a bad idea is actually pretty on the money. I loved that job and a big part of why was working for her. I almost turned down a huge promotion with a big pay raise because of my relationship with her. There were other reasons, but if I’m being really honest, that was the biggest one. Made the transition and she hardly spoke to me for three weeks. She was cordial, but I could tell she was hurt that I moved.

So here I went from working for a friend to having people work for me. One temp, one remote, and one brand new employee were all sitting with baited breath, just waiting for me to give them something to do. I feel like I’m ok with the managerial stuff, but it’s all pretty new. I just don’t want to screw things up too badly.

So that’s my big change for now. Fingers crossed that it doesn’t kill me.

It’s a little fancy for me. It’s a lot darker than I normally wear. But I have to say, I’m feeling kind of sexy this Saturday morning. Not a bad deal, all things considered.

First of all, every single person I invited, save one, canceled. Everyone had reasons that they couldn’t come. Some told me early and some told me the night before and some the day of, but every person canceled. My sister came, which was lovely. And she brought a friend, which helped. But not one other person could be troubled to attend. Irving watched with me for most of the show. He slipped out to catch the last period of the NBA finals, but was back before the finale. This is why I love him.

But that did leave me with an awful lot of food. I’d planned to cook for nearly a dozen people and we ended up with three and a half. That hurt. I have attended many events in the last few years and I try really hard to respect the things that my friends and family enjoy. And at work I’m often extending ignored invitations from people who claim they want to see me outside the office.

Despite Irving’s insistence to the contrary, I couldn’t help but take it personally. I mean really? Every one? It was a little harder to enjoy with that thought in the back of my mind.

Tomorrow I’ll go to work and I know that at least one person will ask how it was. Do I say that it was a great, but lonely show or do I just act like it’s not a big deal? This is a tough one for me because it’s really the only thing this month I’ve had to look forward to. I wanted a victory, you know? Because it’s felt like a while since I’ve had a win of any kind, I was putting a lot on this evening. As I do every year, I wanted it to be the thing that buoys me until next summer. From the perspective of the show itself, it absolutely delivered. For the rest of it, I guess I just need to be happy with the fact that my food was still pretty awesome.

Tuesday I had some extra time in the morning and decided that I’d try it again, curling my hair with one hand while I brushed my teeth with the other.

Wednesday I woke up with a nasty case of bed head and realized that curling my hair was the only way to look like I hadn’t just been electrocuted.

Thursday I curled my hair because on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday I received compliments on how nice I look with curled hair.

Best Play

Good People
Welcome to Southie, a Boston neighborhood where a night on the town means a few rounds of bingo where this month’s paycheck covers last month’s bills and where Margie Walsh has just been let go from yet another job. Facing eviction and scrambling to catch a break, Margie thinks an old fling who has made it out of Southie might be her ticket to a fresh new start. But is this apparently self-made man secure enough to face his humble beginnings? Margie is about to risk what little she has left to find out. Tate Donovan and Frances McDormand star in this new play by David Lindsay-Abaire.

Author: David Lindsay-Abaire (Ok, so I love this author. I have read a few of his works and I find him really compelling. Look him up. He’s worth the read.)
Producers: Manhattan Theatre Club, Lynne Meadow, Barry Grove

Jerusalem
In the woods of South West England, Johnny “Rooster” Byron, former daredevil motorcyclist and modern-day Pied Piper, is a wanted man. The council officials want to serve him an eviction notice, his son wants to be taken to the country fair, a stepfather wants to give him a serious kicking, and a motley crew of friends wants his ample supply of drugs and alcohol.  Mark Rylance stars in this new play by Jez Butterworth.

Author: Jez Butterworth
Producers: Sonia Friedman Productions, Stuart Thompson, Scott Rudin, Roger Berlind, Royal Court Theatre Productions, Beverly Bartner/Alice Tulchin, Dede Harris/Rupert Gavin, Broadway Across America, Jon B. Platt, 1001 Nights/Stephanie P. McClelland, Carole L. Haber/Richard Willis, Jacki Barlia Florin/Adam Blanshay

The Motherf**ker with the Hat

A high-octane, verbal cage match about love, fidelity, and misplaced haberdashery from playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis. Jackie and Veronica have been in love since the eighth grade. But now, Jackie is on parole and living clean and sober under the guidance of his sponsor, Ralph D., while still living and loving with his volatile soul mate, Veronica, who is fiercely loving, but far from sober. Still, their love is pure. And true. Nothing can come between them except a hat.

Author: Stephen Adly Guirgis
Producers: Scott Rudin, Stuart Thompson, Public Theater Productions, Oskar Eustis, Joey Parnes, Labyrinth Theater Company, Stephen Adly Guirgis, Mimi O’Donnell, Yul Vázquez, Danny Feldman, Fabula Media Partners LLC, Jean Doumanian, Ruth Hendel, Carl Moellenberg, Jon B. Platt, Tulchin Bartner/Jamie deRoy

War Horse
At the outbreak of World War I, Joey, young Albert’s beloved horse, is sold to the cavalry and shipped to France. He’s soon caught up in enemy fire, and fate takes him on an extraordinary odyssey, serving on both sides before finding himself alone in no man’s land. But Albert cannot forget Joey and, still not old enough to enlist, he embarks on a mission to find him and bring him home.

Author: Nick Stafford
Producers: Lincoln Center Theater, André Bishop, Bernard Gersten, National Theatre of Great Britain, Nicholas Hytner, Nick Starr, Bob Boyett, War Horse LP

Best Musical

The Book of Mormon (The one thing I’ll say for the South Park guys is that they seem to appreciate good musical numbers.)
Described as “God’s favorite musical,” this show from the creators of “South Park” and the co-composer/lyricist of Avenue Q features a pair of mismatched Mormon boys who are sent on a mission to a place that’s about as far from Salt Lake City as you can get.

Producers: Anne Garefino, Scott Rudin, Roger Berlind, Scott M. Delman, Jean Doumanian, Roy Furman, Important Musicals LLC, Stephanie P. McClelland, Kevin Morris, Jon B. Platt, Sonia Friedman Productions, Stuart Thompson

Catch Me If You Can (Another movie-turned-musical. Sometimes they work and sometimes, we end up with High Fidelity the Musical.)
This new musical captures the astonishing true story of Frank Abagnale, Jr., a world-class con artist who passed himself off as a doctor, a lawyer, and a jet pilot all before the age of 21. With straight-arrow FBI agent Carl Hanratty on Frank’s trail, we’re off on a jet-setting, cat-and-mouse chase, as a jazzy, swinging-sixties score keeps this adventure in constant motion. In the end, Agent Hanratty learns he and Frank aren’t so very different after all, and Frank finds out what happens when love catches up to a man on the run.

Producers: Margo Lion, Hal Luftig, Stacey Mindich, Yasuhiro Kawana, Scott & Brian Zeilinger, The Rialto Group, The Araca Group, Michael Watt, Barbara & Buddy Freitag, Jay & Cindy Gutterman/Pittsburgh CLO, Elizabeth Williams, Johnny Roscoe Productions/Van Dean, Fakston Productions/Solshay Productions, Patty Baker/Richard Winkler, Nederlander Presentations, Inc., Warren Trepp, Remmel T. Dickinson, Paula Herold/Kate Lear, Stephanie P. McClelland, Jamie deRoy, Barry Feirstein, Rainerio J. Reyes, Rodney Rigby, Loraine Boyle, Amuse Inc., Joseph & Matthew Deitch/Cathy Chernoff, Joan Stein/Jon Murray, The 5th Avenue Theatre

The Scottsboro Boys (Kander and Ebb gave us Cabaret, so if anyone can write snappy show tunes about a really dark time in history with racism and violence, it would be them.)
The Scottsboro Boys is based on the notorious “Scottsboro” case in the 1930s, where nine African American men were unjustly accused of attacking two white women on a train in Alabama. The young men were convicted by an all-white jury and spent years in jail, while the case was tried and retried. This new musical features a score by John Kander and Fred Ebb.

Producers: Barry and Fran Weissler, Jacki Barlia Florin, Janet Pailet/Sharon A. Carr/Patricia R. Klausner, Nederlander Presentations, Inc./The Shubert Organization, Beechwood Entertainment, Broadway Across America, Mark Zimmerman, Adam Blanshay/R2D2 Productions, Rick Danzansky/Barry Tatelman, Bruce Robert Harris/Jack W. Batman, Allen Spivak/Jerry Frankel, Bard Theatricals/Probo Productions/Randy Donaldson, Catherine Schreiber/Michael Palitz/Patti Laskawy, Vineyard Theatre

Sister Act (See my earlier comments for Catch Me if You Can.)
When disco diva Deloris witnesses a crime, the cops hide her in the last place anyone would think to look – a convent. Under the suspicious watch of Mother Superior, Deloris helps her fellow sisters find their voices as she unexpectedly rediscovers her own. The musical is a sparkling tribute to the power of friendship.

Producers: Whoopi Goldberg & Stage Entertainment, The Shubert Organization and Disney Theatrical Productions

Best Book of a Musical

Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson – Alex Timbers

An audacious mix of historical fact and invention, this musical uses the story of America’s controversial seventh president, “the man who invented the Democratic Party, doubled the size of our nation, and signed the Indian Removal Acts that started the Trail of Tears,” to investigate the attraction and terrors of American populism, using a raucous blend of outrageous comedy, anarchic theatricality and infectious emo rock.

The Book of Mormon – Trey Parker, Robert Lopez and Matt Stone

The Scottsboro Boys – David Thompson

Sister Act – Cheri Steinkellner, Bill Steinkellner and Douglas Carter Beane

Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre
(Given how I feel about showtunes, this is sort of my favorite part. Ok, one of several favorite parts.)

The Book of Mormon – Music & Lyrics: Trey Parker, Robert Lopez and Matt Stone

The Scottsboro Boys – Music & Lyrics: John Kander & Fred Ebb

Sister Act – Music: Alan Menken, Lyrics: Glenn Slater

Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown – Music & Lyrics: David Yazbek (David Yazbek wrote the music for Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, which I quite enjoyed. Also, I have a feeling I’ll be able to dig this show based on the women in it, the title, and the general oomph it seems to have.)
Set in late 20th-century Madrid, this musical tells the story of the intertwining lives of a group of women whose relationships with men lead to a tumultuous 48 hours of love, confusion and passion. At the show’s center is an actress whose lover has left her, putting into motion a dizzying set of complications, farcical comedy, and some pretty potent gazpacho.

Best Revival of a Play

Arcadia (I’m currently reading this. I like how it crosses back and forth a bit through time. Plus it has Raul Esparza. Love him!!)
Tom Stoppard’s play is a masterpiece of wit, misunderstanding, and quest for knowledge, resonating across centuries. It is April 1809 on an elegant English country estate. Thomasina, a gifted pupil, proposes a startling theory well beyond her comprehension. All around her, the adults, including her tutor, Septimus, are preoccupied with secret desires, illicit passions and professional rivalries. Two hundred years later, academic adversaries Hannah and Bernard are piecing together puzzling clues, curiously recalling those events of 1809 in their quest for an increasingly elusive truth. Starring Billy Crudup, Raúl Esparza, and Margaret Colin

Producers: Sonia Friedman Productions, Roger Berlind, Stephanie P. McClelland, Scott M. Delman, Nicholas Quinn Rosenkranz, Disney Theatrical Group, Robert G. Bartner, Olympus Theatricals, Douglas Smith, Janine Safer Whitney

The Importance of Being Earnest (A classic for a reason.)
Oscar Wilde’s comedy of mistaken identity ridicules codes of propriety and etiquette. Dashing men-about-town John Worthing and Algernon Moncrieff pursue fair ladies Gwendolen Fairfax and Cecily Cardew. Matters are complicated by the imaginary characters invented by both men to cover their on-the-sly activities – not to mention the disapproval of Gwendolen’s mother, the formidable Lady Bracknell.

Producers: Roundabout Theatre Company, Todd Haimes, Harold Wolpert, Julia C. Levy

The Merchant of Venice (I love so many things about this play. Sadly, the website is no longer available.)
In Shakespeare’s comedy, Antonio is a young man who pledges a pound of his own flesh to a moneylender, Shylock (Al Pacino), so a friend can woo his lady-love in style. Antonio learns a hard lesson in loyalty, humanity, friendship and prejudice when the revenge-seeking Shylock comes to collect and he is unable to pay.

Producers: The Public Theater, Oskar Eustis, Andrew D. Hamingson, Jeffrey Richards, Jerry Frankel, Debbie Bisno & Eva Price, Amy Nederlander, Jonathan First, Stewart F. Lane & Bonnie Comley, Universal Pictures Stage Productions, Merritt Forrest Baer, The Araca Group, Broadway Across America, Joseph & Matthew Deitch, JK Productions, Terry Allen Kramer, Cathy Chernoff/Jay & Cindy Gutterman, Mallory Factor/Cheryl Lachowicz, Joey Parnes, The Shubert Organization

The Normal Heart (I’ve seen this show. We did this at the Upstart festival a few years ago and it will get you hard. I am glad that people are seeing this again.)
Larry Kramer’s The Normal Heart focuses on the early years of the AIDS epidemic in New York and the criminal silence of America’s political and media powers in addressing the issue. A quarter-century after it burst onto the stage and forever changed a generation, the issues it tackles are more relevant than ever.

Producers: Daryl Roth, Paul Boskind, Martian Entertainment, Gregory Rae, Jayne Baron Sherman/Alexander Fraser

Best Revival of a Musical (I’m sad there are so few revivals this year, but I love the two that are nominated. I’ve seen them both and they are fun, silly, and full of big musical numbers just the way I like.)

Anything Goes
When the S. S. American heads out to sea, etiquette and convention head out the portholes as two unlikely pairs set off on the course to true love… proving that sometimes destiny needs a little help from a crew of singing sailors, an exotic disguise and some good old-fashioned blackmail. Peppering this hilariously bumpy ride are some of musical theatre’s most memorable Cole Porter standards. Sutton Foster stars as Reno Sweeney. (Yay Sutton Foster!)

Producers: Roundabout Theatre Company, Todd Haimes, Harold Wolpert, Julia C. Levy

How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Daniel Radcliffe stars in a new Broadway production of the classic musical with a score by Frank Loesser. Following the advice of a book entitled How to Succeed in Business, a young window-cleaner, J. Pierrepont Finch, begins a meteoric rise from the mail-room to Vice President of Advertising at the World-Wide Wicket Company. Finch’s unorthodox and morally-questionable business practices jeopardize not only his career but also his romance with a secretary, Rosemary Pilkington.

Producers: Broadway Across America, Craig Zadan, Neil Meron, Joseph Smith, Michael McCabe, Candy Spelling, Takonkiet Viravan/Scenario Thailand, Hilary A. Williams, Jen Namoff/Fakston Productions, Two Left Feet Productions/Power Arts, Hop Theatricals, LLC/Paul Chau/Daniel Frishwasser/Michael Jackowitz, Michael Speyer-Bernie Abrams/Jacki Barlia Florin-Adam Blanshay/Arlene Scanlan/TBS Service

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play

Brian Bedford, The Importance of Being Earnest (He plays a lady. Hehe.)
Bobby Cannavale, The Motherf**ker with the Hat (I knew him as Will’s significant other in the final days of Will and Grace.)
Joe Mantello, The Normal Heart (He’s mostly a director, but he acted in Angels in America. Makes me think this show is really important to him.)
Al Pacino, The Merchant of Venice (Do you even need his link? Seriously?)
Mark Rylance, Jerusalem

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play

Nina Arianda, Born Yesterday (So far this is Nina’s only play on Broadway. What a debut!)
Frances McDormand, Good People
Lily Rabe, The Merchant of Venice
Vanessa Redgrave, Driving Miss Daisy
Hannah Yelland, Brief Encounter (Another newbie.)

More to come, friends. However, as I am battling a horrific sinus attack, this is it for now and I will continue the update post-medicated nap.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical

Norbert Leo Butz, Catch Me If You Can
Josh Gad, The Book of Mormon
Joshua Henry, The Scottsboro Boys
Andrew Rannells, The Book of Mormon
Tony Sheldon, Priscilla Queen of the Desert

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical

Sutton Foster, Anything Goes
Beth Leavel, Baby It’s You!
Patina Miller, Sister Act
Donna Murphy, The People in the Picture

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play

Mackenzie Crook, Jerusalem
Billy Crudup, Arcadia
John Benjamin Hickey, The Normal Heart
Arian Moayed, Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo
Yul Vázquez, The Motherf**ker with the Hat

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play

Ellen Barkin, The Normal Heart
Edie Falco, The House of Blue Leaves
Judith Light, Lombardi
Joanna Lumley, La Bête
Elizabeth Rodriguez, The Motherf**ker with the Hat

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical

Colman Domingo, The Scottsboro Boys
Adam Godley, Anything Goes
John Larroquette, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Forrest McClendon, The Scottsboro Boys
Rory O’Malley, The Book of Mormon

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical

Laura Benanti, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
Tammy Blanchard, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Victoria Clark, Sister Act
Nikki M. James, The Book of Mormon
Patti LuPone, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown

Best Scenic Design of a Play

Todd Rosenthal, The Motherf**ker with the Hat
Rae Smith, War Horse
Ultz, Jerusalem
Mark Wendland, The Merchant of Venice

Best Scenic Design of a Musical

Beowulf Boritt, The Scottsboro Boys
Derek McLane, Anything Goes
Scott Pask, The Book of Mormon
Donyale Werle, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson

Best Costume Design of a Play

Jess Goldstein, The Merchant of Venice
Desmond Heeley, The Importance of Being Earnest
Mark Thompson, La Bête
Catherine Zuber, Born Yesterday

Best Costume Design of a Musical

Tim Chappel & Lizzy Gardiner, Priscilla Queen of the Desert
Martin Pakledinaz, Anything Goes
Ann Roth, The Book of Mormon
Catherine Zuber, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying

Best Lighting Design of a Play

Paule Constable, War Horse
David Lander, Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo
Kenneth Posner, The Merchant of Venice
Mimi Jordan Sherin, Jerusalem

Best Lighting Design of a Musical

Ken Billington, The Scottsboro Boys
Howell Binkley, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Peter Kaczorowski, Anything Goes
Brian MacDevitt, The Book of Mormon

Best Sound Design of a Play

Acme Sound Partners and Cricket S. Myers, Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo

Simon Baker, Brief Encounter
Ian Dickinson for Autograph, Jerusalem
Christopher Shutt, War Horse

Best Sound Design of a Musical

Peter Hylenski, The Scottsboro Boys
Steve Canyon Kennedy, Catch Me If You Can
Brian Ronan, Anything Goes
Brian Ronan, The Book of Mormon

Best Direction of a Play

Marianne Elliott and Tom Morris, War Horse
Joel Grey & George C. Wolfe, The Normal Heart
Anna D. Shapiro, The Motherf**ker with the Hat
Daniel Sullivan, The Merchant of Venice

Best Direction of a Musical

Rob Ashford, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Kathleen Marshall, Anything Goes
Casey Nicholaw and Trey Parker, The Book of Mormon
Susan Stroman, The Scottsboro Boys

Best Choreography

Rob Ashford, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Kathleen Marshall, Anything Goes
Casey Nicholaw, The Book of Mormon
Susan Stroman, The Scottsboro Boys

Best Orchestrations

Doug Besterman, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Larry Hochman, The Scottsboro Boys

Larry Hochman & Stephen Oremus, The Book of Mormon
Marc Shaiman & Larry Blank, Catch Me If You Can

Tony Nominations by Production

The Book of Mormon – 14

The Scottsboro Boys – 12

Anything Goes – 9

How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying – 8

The Merchant of Venice – 7

Jerusalem – 6

The Motherf**ker with the Hat – 6

The Normal Heart – 5

Sister Act – 5

War Horse – 5

Catch Me If You Can – 4

Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo – 3

The Importance of Being Earnest – 3

Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown – 3

Arcadia – 2

Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson – 2

Born Yesterday – 2

Brief Encounter – 2

Good People – 2

La Bête – 2

Priscilla Queen of the Desert – 2

Baby It’s You! – 1

Driving Miss Daisy – 1

The House of Blue Leaves – 1

Lombardi – 1

The People in the Picture – 1

www.TonyAwards.com