This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:00] Mason Bray: Welcome back to Real Talk with me, Mason Bray.

[0:02] Mason Bray: Uh, you probably haven't heard that intro in a long time because I haven't done it for my interviews, and we've been packed with them for the past three months.

[0:10] Mason Bray: We haven't had this type of sit down and chat episode that I miss.

[0:15] Mason Bray: I hope that you guys miss it somewhat. I know that um the interviews are fascinating, and I hope that I can have more coming soon that you all will enjoy.

[0:24] Mason Bray: But we have a few things to talk about.

[0:26] Mason Bray: So, first of all, Tony nominations are out.

[0:29] Mason Bray: So, let me go through scenic design.

[0:32] Mason Bray: We have a few people from um Real Talk represented in the Tony Award nominations, which is fantastic.

[0:39] Mason Bray: Um, I'm so glad to see people that I know.

[0:42] Mason Bray: Um, like Scott Pask for American Buffalo, his scenic design is nominated um for a Tony Award.

[0:48] Mason Bray: And then scrolling down a little bit, we also have Bradley King nominated for Best Lighting Design of a Musical for Flying Over Sunset.

[0:57] Mason Bray: But best costume design for a musical.

[0:59] Mason Bray: We're gonna start off this episode with a hot take.

[1:01] Mason Bray: Diana's costumes and costume changes are stunning.

[1:06] Mason Bray: Like so beautiful, definitely award-worthy, but the designer, um why do we keep supporting him?

[1:16] Mason Bray: Uh if you don't know what I'm talking about, please research.

[1:19] Mason Bray: And maybe that should go to like his associates on the project and not necessarily him, because he has enough Tony Awards.

[1:26] Mason Bray: Um I don't think we should support that type of person in this age of theater and some of the stories that are even being told in this season.

[1:35] Mason Bray: But moving on from that, best sound design for a play, Dana H needs the Tony Award.

[1:42] Mason Bray: It needs it.

[1:43] Mason Bray: And yes, it is produced by Dory Berenstein and other people from the Broadway Podcast Network, but I think that that show was fascinating from the moment that the idea came up.

[1:52] Mason Bray: And just putting this out there, I have not seen any of these shows, but it's fine.

[1:59] Mason Bray: Um I can give my opinion because.

[2:01] Mason Bray: Uh-huh.

[2:03] Mason Bray: Best book for a musical.

[2:05] Mason Bray: I think this is gonna be one of the hard ones.

[2:08] Mason Bray: It's gonna be MJ versus Strange Loop in my mind, but I think Strange Loop might come out on top.

[2:14] Mason Bray: I have like a full document of like all of my predictions.

[2:17] Mason Bray: Let me know if you want to see it.

[2:18] Mason Bray: It's probably not gonna be right.

[2:19] Mason Bray: Best original score written for the theater.

[2:22] Mason Bray: Um six the musical.

[2:24] Mason Bray: If anyone knows me, I have beef with six.

[2:28] Mason Bray: But for the stupidest reason ever.

[2:30] Mason Bray: Because Waitress was at the Brooks Atkinson and then Six was there.

[2:32] Mason Bray: So I automatically blame that on Six, but I need to listen to it and take the time to um listen to it because it's really good.

[2:42] Mason Bray: Uh there's some that I don't have opinions on, like feature roles.

[2:45] Mason Bray: Since I haven't seen them perform, I haven't been able to understand their approach to it.

[2:51] Mason Bray: But I know that Jared Grimes and Funny Girl is iconic.

[2:55] Mason Bray: My boss was talking about that and how amazing he is at Tap.

[2:59] Mason Bray: But yeah, I think I would love to see him win a Tony Award for Funny Girl.

[3:03] Mason Bray: And that's also I believe that is the only Tony Award that Funny Girl is um nominated for, which is insane.

[3:10] Mason Bray: And going deeper into that, um, I think people went to the show expecting to see Barbara Streisand.

[3:16] Mason Bray: And they didn't understand that Beanie Feldstein is not Barbara Streisand, and they are having a hard time accepting that because from what I've heard, it's a phenomenal show.

[3:26] Mason Bray: Design wise, choreography-wise, all of that kind of stuff.

[3:30] Mason Bray: And it's been snubbed from so many of these awards, which I think it would probably be up in the running, if not win, um Best Choreography, but we'll get to that.

[3:40] Mason Bray: Featured actress in a musical.

[3:42] Mason Bray: I'd love to say Patty Lapone, but she has enough she has enough Tony Awards.

[3:47] Mason Bray: Let's share the wealth.

[3:49] Mason Bray: So the share the wealth card.

[3:50] Mason Bray: Jennifer Timard, I think Company would be a great choice.

[3:55] Mason Bray: L.

[3:55] Mason Bray: Morgan Lee for A Strange Loop.

[3:57] Mason Bray: Uh Shoshana Bean for Mr.

[3:59] Mason Bray: Saturday Night.

[4:00] Mason Bray: I saw a tweet that was like, she deserves the Tony Awards for carrying that show on their back.

[4:04] Mason Bray: And I don't even know anything about that show.

[4:06] Mason Bray: But take that as you will.

[4:07] Mason Bray: It's hard with plays because for musicals you get cast recordings and all that kind of stuff.

[4:12] Mason Bray: But I have no clue for these plays.

[4:14] Mason Bray: So um I know that Miles Frost deserves the Tony Award for Best Actor in a leading role in a musical.

[4:21] Mason Bray: I know that he deserves that from what I've seen, what I've heard about the show, the reviews, fantastic.

[4:28] Mason Bray: And then for color girls who have considered Suicide Win The Rainbow Isn't enough.

[4:32] Mason Bray: I know that there is an ad in my podcast for this show and like a partnership with the Broadway Podcast Network.

[4:38] Mason Bray: And I think that this direction of this play has been really moving to people um all over theater Twitter and all over theater in general, and I would love to see it win that award.

[4:48] Mason Bray: Um, because the photos look so moving and um meaningful.

[4:53] Mason Bray: And then Best Best Direction of a Musical, Strange Loop.

[4:56] Mason Bray: I think I am so glad that it's nominated for so many awards, and I think that it deserves every single one of them.

[5:02] Mason Bray: But there is so many good shows this year.

[5:04] Mason Bray: Like scenic design is a hard category this year.

[5:08] Mason Bray: We didn't get to talk much about that.

[5:09] Mason Bray: But for play, not biased, but American Buffalo, the detail in that set is phenomenal.

[5:16] Mason Bray: And scenic design for musical, I think it's between three.

[5:20] Mason Bray: Uh, Company, Strange Loop, and MJ.

[5:23] Mason Bray: I would love to see any of those win.

[5:26] Mason Bray: Best orchestrations.

[5:28] Mason Bray: See, um, maybe six or MJ.

[5:32] Mason Bray: I think one of those two.

[5:34] Mason Bray: But also, Charlie Rosen, um, I interviewed you at the Tony Awards last year.

[5:38] Mason Bray: It was fantastic meeting you.

[5:39] Mason Bray: I would love to see him win again for Strange Loop.

[5:42] Mason Bray: Best choreography, MJ.

[5:44] Mason Bray: Best Revival of Musical, Company.

[5:46] Mason Bray: But there's only three nominees.

[5:48] Mason Bray: That is not full.

[5:49] Mason Bray: Where's Funny Girl?

[5:51] Mason Bray: First of all.

[5:52] Mason Bray: It was open on time.

[5:54] Mason Bray: I know that for sure.

[5:55] Mason Bray: Where is she?

[5:56] Mason Bray: Where's Funny Girl?

[5:57] Mason Bray: And then I don't have any opinions on Best Play because I haven't seen any of them.

[6:01] Mason Bray: And then Best Musical.

[6:03] Mason Bray: Okay.

[6:05] Mason Bray: It's down to three.

[6:07] Mason Bray: The three that I think it could be are MJ, Six the Musical, and A Strange Loop.

[6:14] Mason Bray: Any of those three I think would be fantastic wins.

[6:18] Mason Bray: And honestly, great representation that we didn't see last year in September.

[6:23] Mason Bray: And I would love to have those people come through the press room.

[6:26] Mason Bray: And I hope that I get to be there again.

[6:28] Mason Bray: But moving on to my next topic.

[6:30] Mason Bray: I went to Chicago this past weekend and saw two beautiful shows.

[6:36] Mason Bray: One was Winnie the Pooh, one of the cutest, most adorable shows I've ever seen.

[6:43] Mason Bray: I was sad that we didn't get playbills for it.

[6:45] Mason Bray: Um, and I didn't have the money on top of the Pooh Bear to get one of the memorabilia books.

[6:52] Mason Bray: But that show, it was obviously geared towards the little ones in the audience or people who connected more to um the story, but I was so glad that I could see that show because it the set from the moment that you walk in with the carrot spelled out K-E-R-I-T-S.

[7:10] Mason Bray: Beautiful.

[7:11] Mason Bray: I loved it.

[7:12] Mason Bray: And watching the kids' faces win the leaves fell, when it turned to fall, and then the snow.

[7:17] Mason Bray: It was the cutest thing ever.

[7:19] Mason Bray: And I will never get over that.

[7:21] Mason Bray: So it was my first two show day, and you might be asking, Mason, what was your second show of the day?

[7:26] Mason Bray: Let me tell you.

[7:27] Mason Bray: Moulin Rouge.

[7:30] Mason Bray: Oh my god.

[7:33] Mason Bray: That was one of the best shows that I have ever seen, hands down.

[7:39] Mason Bray: And everyone has been telling me, Mason, it's not it's not a good show, it's just like a spectacle.

[7:45] Mason Bray: Yeah, that's really all that shows need to be sometimes.

[7:48] Mason Bray: And it is a good story.

[7:50] Mason Bray: It is a good story.

[7:51] Mason Bray: And I saw it on tour on the 30th in Chicago, but that didn't diminish the quality of the performance.

[7:58] Mason Bray: Like Connor and Courtney were the greatest couple ever.

[8:03] Mason Bray: Their voices are so beautiful, and I want to listen to Connor do the opt-up and Roxanne every single day of my entire life.

[8:11] Mason Bray: Not even joking.

[8:12] Mason Bray: Because he did it.

[8:13] Mason Bray: And mom, if you're listening to this, I'm so sorry.

[8:16] Mason Bray: I slapped my mother.

[8:18] Mason Bray: I like whispered, I was like, is he gonna do it?

[8:19] Mason Bray: Is he gonna do it?

[8:20] Mason Bray: Is he gonna do it?

[8:21] Mason Bray: And then I slapped my mom when he did it.

[8:24] Mason Bray: Um it's fine.

[8:26] Mason Bray: And then I met them after the show, and they are the sweetest people ever.

[8:30] Mason Bray: Like I will never get over Moulin Rouge.

[8:32] Mason Bray: And I emailed the lighting designer this week, just like out of nowhere, and I was like, how how?

[8:39] Mason Bray: Um, and then how many light cues are there in the show?

[8:42] Mason Bray: And he said that there were over a thousand light cues, and me as a lighting person, that's insane.

[8:50] Mason Bray: Insane.

[8:51] Mason Bray: But the lighting has left an impact over a week later, and I have not stopped thinking about it.

[8:58] Mason Bray: Like it tells such a story that I can only hope to be able to tell one day.

[9:04] Mason Bray: Which is amazing.

[9:06] Mason Bray: Uh the choreography, Sonia Taya really outdid herself on both Broadway and on tour to translate this beautiful story into beautiful dance.

[9:17] Mason Bray: And I know people are like, but it's not the movie.

[9:20] Mason Bray: The movie is amazing.

[9:22] Mason Bray: Uh small confession, I have not seen the movie, but I still thought the show was splendid, fabulous, fantastic.

[9:31] Mason Bray: Any adjective that you can think of to describe a show, it was that.

[9:36] Mason Bray: I could talk about Melan Rouge for days, and I quite literally have.

[9:41] Mason Bray: It's fine.

[9:42] Mason Bray: Everything everything's fine.

[9:45] Mason Bray: I was talking about that with Eli.

[9:46] Mason Bray: If you listen to that episode, everything is fine.

[9:50] Mason Bray: But yeah, that's the things that I wanted to come on and talk about because I didn't just want to post this all on my Instagram story or like on Twitter, even though I have already posted this on Twitter.

[9:59] Mason Bray: I wanted to get to sit down and talk with you guys since I didn't have an interview this week.

[10:03] Mason Bray: I wanted to connect with you as much as possible.

[10:06] Mason Bray: So thank you so much for being here.

[10:08] Mason Bray: Thank you so much for listening.

[10:10] Mason Bray: Thank you.

[10:10] Mason Bray: The support and the love that I've been feeling on Twitter, on Instagram is the greatest thing ever.

[10:16] Mason Bray: Thank you so much for being here.

[10:18] Mason Bray: Um and I hope that you will continue to join me throughout the rest of season seven.

[10:23] Mason Bray: We are a few weeks from the end, but I'll hope to see you back in season eight in just a few months.