Tony Nominations

Just last weekend at the beach, I was asking Seattle Rep Marketing Director Cynthia Fuhrman what's been hot on Broadway in the past year. I haven't been paying attention. Well the Tony nominations just came out, and apparently the toast of Broadway is "Spring Awakening," a rock musical about 19th century horny German teenagers, with 11 nominations. Tom Stoppard's trilogy "The Coast of Utopia" (also set in the 19th centruy) and the Jacquie Onassis musical "Grey Gardens" each received 10 nominations.

But the coolest thing about this year's nominations is the nod for Beaverton High School graduate Brooks Ashmanskas -- seen here as the very tall Tommy Tune in Martin Short's one-man musical (with a cast of four): "Fame Becomes Me."




Rob and I saw Brooks in the show in San Francisco last year, before it went to Broadway, and had a great time. (Although, ironically, we remember saying "this is silly and fun but isn't going to win any Tony awards.") We got to enjoy a few drinks with Brooks after the show, and heard that he was having a wonderful time hanging out with Marty. And just last week we had seen Brooks in All My Children, playing Susan Lucci's uptight TV show producer, but "Leon" was fired after expressing his frustration with the on-air interview of a transexual rock star who was having an affair with Lucci's lesbian daughter. They don't call them soap operas for nothin'!

But anyway. Hey Brooks, way to go! We'll be watching you on the Tonys on June 10th.