Prediction: A Tony For Raul?
You heard it here first: if the new musical “Leap of Faith,” based on the 1992 movie with Steve Martin, does indeed make it to Broadway this spring before the Tony-nom cutoff, then Raul Esparza (pictured) will finally win his Tony award. (He’s been nommed four times already.) The show got mixed reviews in 2010 in L.A., but lots of work has been done since then, and Raul’s L.A. costar, Brooke Shields, who wasn’t quite right in her part, won’t be coming back. A Tony for playing the “Leap of Faith” conman, you say? What about Ricky Martin in “Evita”? Well, that little bon-bon will be eligible in Best Featured Actor in a Musical, not in lead like Raul. And what about Jeremy Jordan, who acquitted himself well in “Bonnie & Clyde” and who is now official for “Newsies”? Yeah, it’s possible he could win, but he’s still The Fresh Young Face, and Raul is way way overdue.
