Show o June Standard-Examine- r 5-- 1 1 Tony awards tonight Broadway had good season By MICHAEL KUCHWARA AP dt ima writer NEW YORK — Will the best musical be a big British blockbuster based on a variation of “Beauty and the Beast” or a dark fairy tale where happily ever after never comes? Will the best play be a savage comedy about two movie moguls in the making or a haunting tale about the children of slaves coming to terms with the past or a bizarre love story involving a French diplomat and a Chinese opera singer of indeterminate sex? The competition for the 1988 Tony Awards reflects the fact that artistically this was Broadway’s best season in several years And more importantly for the New York theater industry all the shows nominated for best play and best musical are still running The awards show to be televised tonight at 8 on Channel 5 should be a giant advertisement for Broadway There are a number of strong candidates in almost every category particularly musical with “The Phantom of the Opera” “Into the Woods” and a revival of Cole Porter’s “Anything Goes” each getting 10 nominations The battle between “The Phantom of the Opera” the English extravaganza by Andrew Lloyd Webber and “Into the Woods” an American challenger written by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine holds the most interest The best play competition is also spirited The nominees arc “M Butterfly” by David Henry ” Hwang by David Mamet “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone" by August Wilson and “A Walk in the Woods” by Lee Blessing More than any other theater award the Tony has always helped a show where it counts — at the box office “Joe Turn-Se- e “Speed-the-Plow- TONY on Page 6 |