And the honors for 2002 go to . . .

Best Book
Greg Kotis, Urinetown
A hilarious, deliciously intelligent spoof.

Best Direction of a Musical
John Rando, Urinetown
It took rare perception to pull off such an unusual farce – and Rado deserves additional kudos for his brilliant work as director for several outstanding entries in the City Center Encores concert series.

Best Choreography
Rob Ashford, Thoroughly Modern Millie
His "Typing Test" was the best bit of staging I saw this year -- an all too rare terpsichorean combination of wit and style.

Best Revival of a Musical
Carnival at City Center Encores!
Oklahoma and Into the Woods have plenty of merit, but neither captured the same excitement as this loving concert staging of the old Bob Merrill revamp of MGM's Lili. Hope this one gets a full scale production sometime soon.

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical
Elaine Stritch, Elaine Stritch at Liberty
She came, she saw, she kicked ass.

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical
John Cullum, Urinetown
When the Buddha is in town, see him and give thanks! This masterful veteran was crucial to this daring show's success.

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical
Nancy Opel, Urintetown
The Tonys can pretend all they want to, but Opel works her magic in a clearly featured role. Her performance is nevertheless a comic masterpiece.

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical
Mark Kudisch, Thoroughly Modern Millie
Hunter Foster, Urinetown
Could not avoid a tie between equally gifted actors who both blend comic style and solid musical talent with more than a little sex appeal.

Best Performance by an Ensemble in a Musical
Urinetown
Farce relies on this kind of cast, with everyone flawlessly spoofing on the same track. Plenty of gifted troopers in this platoon.

Best Set Design
Riccardo Hernandez, Elaine Stritch at Liberty
Gorgeous simplicity made this the most striking set of the year.

Best Costume Design
Paul Tazwell, Elaine Stritch at Liberty
This is the man to call if you want to look sexy at 70-something!

Best Orchestrations
Jonathan Tunick, Elaine Stritch at Liberty
This master craftsman makes nine pieces sound like a pit band three times the size.

SPECIAL HONORS - AND DISHONORS

Best Musical Newcomer
Anne Hathaway, Carnival
Real stage presence and a dazzling soprano voice made her Encores debut one of the surprise treats of the season.

Best Love Song
"I'm Falling in Love With Someone," Thoroughly Modern Millie
Hey, it doesn't have to be new to be a winner! Composer Victor Herbert and lyricist Rida Johnson Young wrote this classic for Naughty Marietta back in 1910, but it gives the mediocre Millie both its funniest and its most touching musical moments.

Best Comedy Song
"Don't Be the Bunny," Urinetown
John Cullum plays this one to the hilt, God bless him!

Best Cheap Laugh
"Mammy," Thoroughly Modern Millie
About as low a low comedy moment as will ever find, but a superb belly laugh.

Worst Broadway Musical of the Year
Thou Shalt Not
There were more contenders for this category than I'd care to admit, but none could match this spectacular mistake. Talk about "not since Carrie!" A bad idea seriously bungled, it never should have made it to Broadway. But it seems no one had the brains or the guts to say no to Susan Stroman. If this is what Lincoln Center Theater is doing with its money, then these fools and their moolah were justly parted.

Worst 10 O'Clock Number
"Don't Look Now," Sweet Smell of Success
John Lithgow does his damnedest, but this incoherent number never does figure out which way it means to go – and consequently goes nowhere, turning this show's dramatic climax into a vague yawn. But the composer's don't stop there . . .

Most Forgettable Score
Marvin Hamlisch and Craig Carnelia, Sweet Smell of Success
Two wonderfully talented men turned out this charmless, witless attempt to recapture the jazzy nightclub sound of the 1950s. We will overlook this clunker and hope for bettr from both of them in shows to come.

Sexiest Performer in a Musical
Craig Bierko, Thou Shalt Not
So what if the show was a Carrie-level bomb? Bierko is to drool over – especially in flimsy briefs. One almost blushed to remember he was cavorting about half-naked with the girl who played Zaneeta Shinn to his Music Man the year before!

Sexiest Performer in a Non-Musical Play
Billy Crudup, The Elephant Man
His dapper co-star Rupert Graves and the hunky Liam Neeson in The Crucible both came close, but Crudup's searing performance and sculpted physique sent pulses racing fastest.

Most Gratuitous Chest Baring on Broadway
Liam Neeson, The Crucible
Other men and women threw their nipples to the spotlight, but the big lug wins with this bit. He enters for the second scene and peels off his shirt to reveal his muscular torso, glistening with sweat. Then he vigorously washes up for dinner. None of this is in Arthur Miller's script, but who's complaining? Neeson can splash around in my dining room anytime. Oh yeah, he acts up a storm, too.

Best Non-Musical Revival
Noises Off
Much as I adored the new Mornings at Seven, this one made me laugh until I ached. Yes, the original may have been better (like anyone's memory is that reliable after so many years?), but this stellar remounting is far too good to miss.

Unfairest Fate of the Year
Summer of '42
This funny, intimate charmer deserved far better than its barely month long Off-Broadway run. its first-rate book was by Dean's List honoree Hunter Foster.

Grandest Gesture of the Year
Broadway's "New York, New York" Commercial
In the wake of 9/11, there were many wonderful gestures, but few lifted the spirits of theatergoers like the site of damn near every star Broadway can call its own gathered in Duffy Square belting Kander and Ebb's "New York, New York."

Best Re-Opening of the Year
Lincoln Center Library for the Performing Arts
Students, performers and researchers are quietly celebrating the return of this vial resource center. It now offers state of the art amenities, a superb new exhibit space, and the largest publicly owned performing arts collection in the country. Free to all, it is once again one of New York's cultural gems.

Copout of the Year
The producers of The Producers
Firing their replacement lead because "he wasn't funny enough" rates as spectacular gall – they had no business hiring someone for such an important role unless they were damn sure he was right for it.

Most Obnoxious Thing in Times Square
The Fat, Balding Slob in The TKTS Booth
I know, there are plenty of obnoxious things in the theater district, but this creep beats 'em all. If you've ever purchased tickets from him, you'll know exactly who I mean. While most of the TKTS staff are helpful, this rude shmuck gives out attitude with almost every ticket. He keeps people standing there while he scratches himself, gossips and annoys his fellow workers. Then he gives ticket buyers a filthy look as if they have some nerve interrupting his afternoon. He forgets that he is not doing us a favor – we are providing his sorry ass with a job. My hats off to the rest of the TKTS staff for having to put up with this bloated loser!

Heroes of the Year
All Theatergoers
Bomb scares, bag checks, $100 tickets, inflated sales charges, bogus "theater restoration fees" – its now clear no form of terrorism can keep these dedicated sojourners from filling seats and cheering on the theater. No one is more deserving of the final award. After all, this business we call show is really all about these folks. And I am damn proud to be among them.

Back to Deans List Start