Best Revival of A Musical

This year, this category almost got cut because there were only two revivals of musicals this broadway season: “Oklahoma!” and “Kiss Me Kate.” The latter is an up-beat romp classic, but Scott Ellis, the director did not receive a nomination for best director, which is not a good sign for “Kiss Me Kate”. In my humble opinion, “Kiss Me Kate” is much more enjoyable,but while an audience favorite, “Kiss Me Kate” has received less critical praise than “Oklahoma!”. The classic show tunes are catchy, and the dancing and choreography is unmatched. Yet, it might just not be “Too Darn Hot” to get the win.

The Tony committee often votes for revivals that reimagine the original show, and while Ellis did update “Kiss Me Kate” a bit to be more acceptable in the #metoo era, rightfully omitting just enough of the blatant sexism written in 1948, it is incomparable to the changes made to “Oklahoma!”

Daniel Fish, who made his debut as a Broadway director with the revival, completely reimagined the over-the-top optimistic (and in my opinion shallow) source material to mirror our current political climate. This Rodgers and Hammerstein’s production has been stripped down to give a more authentic feel and has lessened the cast of characters to only 11. Despite my disdain for its source material, this revival might just change my tune.