Theater

[BagelOnAPlate]

2023 Tony Nominations

Best Play
Ain’t No Mo’
Between Riverside and Crazy
Cost of Living
Fat Ham
Leopoldstadt

Best Musical
& Juliet
Kimberly Akimbo
New York, New York
Shucked
Some Like It Hot

Best Revival of a Play
August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson
A Doll’s House
The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window
Suzan-Lori Parks’ Topdog/Underdog

Best Revival of a Musical
Into the Woods
Lerner & Loewe’s Camelot
Parade
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street


Best Book of a Musical
David West Read, & Juliet
David Lindsay-Abaire, Kimberly Akimbo
David Thompson & Sharon Washington, New York, New York
Robert Horn, Shucked
Matthew López & Amber Ruffin, Some Like It Hot

Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre
Music: Tom Kitt; Lyrics: Cameron Crowe & Tom Kitt, Almost Famous
Music: Jeanine Tesori; Lyrics: David Lindsay-Abaire, Kimberly Akimbo
Music & Lyrics: Helen Park & Max Vernon, KPOP
Music and Lyrics: Brandy Clark & Shane McAnally, Shucked
Music: Marc Shaiman; Lyrics: Scott Wittman & Marc Shaiman, Some Like It Hot

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Suzan-Lori Parks’ Topdog/Underdog
Corey Hawkins, Suzan-Lori Parks’ Topdog/Underdog
Sean Hayes, Good Night, Oscar
Stephen McKinley Henderson, Between Riverside and Crazy
Wendell Pierce, Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman


Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play
Jessica Chastain, A Doll’s House
Jodie Comer, Prima Facie
Jessica Hecht, Summer, 1976
Audra McDonald, Ohio State Murders

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical
Christian Borle, Some Like It Hot
J. Harrison Ghee, Some Like It Hot
Josh Groban, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Brian d’Arcy James, Into the Woods
Ben Platt, Parade
Colton Ryan, New York, New York

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical
Annaleigh Ashford, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Sara Bareilles, Into the Woods
Victoria Clark, Kimberly Akimbo
Lorna Courtney, & Juliet
Micaela Diamond, Parade

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play
Jordan E. Cooper, Ain’t No Mo’
Samuel L. Jackson, August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson
Arian Moayed, A Doll’s House
Brandon Uranowitz, Leopoldstadt
David Zayas, Cost of Living


Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play
Nikki Crawford, Fat Ham
Crystal Lucas-Perry, Ain’t No Mo’
Miriam Silverman, The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window
Katy Sullivan, Cost of Living
Kara Young, Cost of Living

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical
Kevin Cahoon, Shucked
Justin Cooley, Kimberly Akimbo
Kevin Del Aguila, Some Like It Hot
Jordan Donica, Lerner & Loewe’s Camelot
Alex Newell, Shucked

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical
Julia Lester, Into the Woods
Ruthie Ann Miles, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Bonnie Milligan, Kimberly Akimbo
NaTasha Yvette Williams, Some Like It Hot
Betsy Wolfe, & Juliet

Best Scenic Design of a Play
Miriam Buether, Prima Facie
Tim Hatley & Andrzej Goulding, Life of Pi
Rachel Hauck, Good Night, Oscar
Richard Hudson, Leopoldstadt
Dane Laffrey & Lucy Mackinnon, A Christmas Carol


Best Scenic Design of a Musical
Beowulf Boritt, New York, New York
Mimi Lien, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Michael Yeargan & 59 Productions, Lerner & Loewe’s Camelot
Scott Pask, Shucked
Scott Pask, Some Like It Hot

Best Costume Design of a Play
Tim Hatley, Nick Barnes & Finn Caldwell, Life of Pi
Dominique Fawn Hill, Fat Ham
Brigitte Reiffenstuel, Leopoldstadt
Emilio Sosa, Ain’t No Mo’
Emilio Sosa, Good Night, Oscar


Best Costume Design of a Musical
Gregg Barnes, Some Like It Hot
Susan Hilferty, Parade
Jennifer Moeller, Lerner & Loewe’s Camelot
Clint Ramos & Sophia Choi, KPOP
Paloma Young, & Juliet
Donna Zakowska, New York, New York


Best Lighting Design of a Play
Neil Austin, Leopoldstadt
Natasha Chivers, Prima Facie
Jon Clark, A Doll’s House
Bradley King, Fat Ham
Tim Lutkin, Life of Pi
Jen Schriever, Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman
Ben Stanton, A Christmas Carol

Best Lighting Design of a Musical
Ken Billington, New York, New York
Lap Chi Chu, Lerner & Loewe’s Camelot
Heather Gilbert, Parade
Howard Hudson, & Juliet
Natasha Katz, Some Like It Hot
Natasha Katz, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Best Sound Design of a Play
Jonathan Deans & Taylor Williams, Ain’t No Mo’
Carolyn Downing, Life of Pi
Joshua D. Reid, A Christmas Carol
Ben & Max Ringham, A Doll’s House
Ben & Max Ringham, Prima Facie

Best Sound Design of a Musical
Kai Harada, New York, New York
John Shivers, Shucked
Scott Lehrer & Alex Neumann, Into the Woods
Gareth Owen, & Juliet
Nevin Steinberg, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Best Direction of a Play
Saheem Ali, Fat Ham
Jo Bonney, Cost of Living
Jamie Lloyd, A Doll’s House
Patrick Marber, Leopoldstadt
Stevie Walker-Webb, Ain’t No Mo’
Max Webster, Life of Pi

Best Direction of a Musical
Michael Arden, Parade
Lear deBessonet, Into the Woods
Casey Nicholaw, Some Like It Hot
Jack O’Brien, Shucked
Jessica Stone, Kimberly Akimbo

Best Choreography
Steven Hoggett, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Casey Nicholaw, Some Like It Hot
Susan Stroman, New York, New York
Jennifer Weber, & Juliet
Jennifer Weber, KPOP

Best Orchestrations
Bill Sherman and Dominic Fallacaro, & Juliet
John Clancy, Kimberly Akimbo
Jason Howland, Shucked
Charlie Rosen & Bryan Carter, Some Like It Hot
Daryl Waters & Sam Davis, New York, New York

[txfilmfan]

Allow me to venture into theater history for a bit...

I was listening to Sirius XM's Broadway channel (as I often do while on the computer) and upon hearing a song from a later production of On the Town (the original production did not have a cast album, unfortunately), it prompted me to look at the original production's listing in IBDB. What I never knew was that the original Miss Turnstiles was a Japanese-American ballet dancer named Sono Osato. Her father was an immigrant from Japan. I've looked at that cast listing several times before (it includes the then little-known powerhouse of Nancy Walker), but this detail has escaped my attention until now.

The show revolves around US sailors on a 24-hour leave in New York and was originally staged during the last months of WWII. What's astounding is that this casting of a Japanese-American was made during this era, in a show about military men on leave during the war, while Japanese-Americans were in held captive in camps scattered around the country. The US Government finally rescinded the internment order in December 1944, the same month the show opened, effective January 1945. It would take several months for the dismantling of the camps to occur. Ms. Osato's father was arrested and sent from his home in Omaha to live under military confinement in Chicago. He was unable to see her premiere, but was released in time to see her later in the spring of 1945.

Given the voracity of anti-Japanese sentiment (and propaganda) in the country during the war, it must have been a tense time for the production when it opened.

The story of the casting of the show is a bit of Broadway history that's been lost, I believe. In her autobiography, she stated "It was amazing to me that at the height of a world war fought over the vital political, moral and racial issues, a Broadway musical should feature, and have audiences unquestionably accept, a half-Japanese as an all-American girl." Ms. Osato passed away in December 2018, age 99.

History is full of contradictions and small stories like this one get glossed over as time marches on. I'm glad I was able to stumble across it.

This article provides a good analysis of the backstory on the casting of the show.

https://www.neh.gov/humanities/2015/jan ... turnstiles

[Swithin]

There is a recording of On the Town with many of the original cast members, but I think it was made years later. I particularly like Nancy Walker's rendition of Come Up to My Place. I've worked with Betty and Adolph, two of the sweetest, kindest people in the theater, and incredible talents. Sometimes it's forgotten that, in addition to their considerable Broadway output, they wrote the screenplays for Auntie Mame and many other great films. The song New York, New York from On the Town is one of the great songs. I consider the Kander/Ebb song with the same title to be trash, a violent song about unpleasant people.

Here's Nancy Walker and Cris Alexander, from the original Broadway cast:

[LostHorizons]

For On the Town, my classical music book recommends Michael Tilson Thomas’ performance from 1991 iirc. The entire thing was up on YouTube. It’s very good.

[txfilmfan]

There is a recording of On the Town with many of the original cast members, but I think it was made years later. I particularly like Nancy Walker's rendition of Come Up to My Place. I've worked with Betty and Adolph, two of the sweetest, kindest people in the theater, and incredible talents. Sometimes it's forgotten that, in addition to their considerable Broadway output, they wrote the screenplays for Auntie Mame and many other great films. The song New York, New York from On the Town is one of the great songs. I consider the Kander/Ebb song with the same title to be trash, a violent song about unpleasant people.

Here's Nancy Walker and Cris Alexander, from the original Broadway cast:

Yes, it was a recording made with some of the original cast, in 1960, with Bernstein conducting.

[Swithin]

I'm in London and recently saw two plays/musicals related to popular movies. Brokeback Mountain is actually a play with music; The Third Man is a musical. One can argue ad infinitum as to whether these shows were based on the movies or the original source material or both. But without question it was the popularity of the movies that inspired them.

They both met with mediocre reviews, in the case of The Third Man, really bad reviews. But I liked them both. The Third Man was recommended to me by friends, and I agree it was a compelling, inventive evening in the theater.

[txfilmfan]

I'm in London and recently saw two plays/musicals related to popular movies. Brokeback Mountain is actually a play with music; The Third Man is a musical. One can argue ad infinitum as to whether these shows were based on the movies or the original source material or both. But without question it was the popularity of the movies that inspired them.

They both met with mediocre reviews, in the case of The Third Man, really bad reviews. But I liked them both. The Third Man was recommended to me by friends, and I agree it was a compelling, inventive evening in the theater.

I'll be in London next week - am interested in checking these out.

Thanks!

[BagelOnAPlate]

I'm in London and recently saw two plays/musicals related to popular movies. Brokeback Mountain is actually a play with music; The Third Man is a musical. One can argue ad infinitum as to whether these shows were based on the movies or the original source material or both. But without question it was the popularity of the movies that inspired them.

I hope Brokeback Mountain comes to Broadway with the same cast as the West End production.

Mike Faist played Riff in Steven Spielberg's movie adaptation of West Sise Story and was fantastic!

[Swithin]

I'm in London and recently saw two plays/musicals related to popular movies. Brokeback Mountain is actually a play with music; The Third Man is a musical. One can argue ad infinitum as to whether these shows were based on the movies or the original source material or both. But without question it was the popularity of the movies that inspired them.

They both met with mediocre reviews, in the case of The Third Man, really bad reviews. But I liked them both. The Third Man was recommended to me by friends, and I agree it was a compelling, inventive evening in the theater.

I'll be in London next week - am interested in checking these out.

Thanks!

I'll give you my other reviews, in this thread, for what they're worth, at the end of the week. I saw Patriots tonight, really excellent (and timely). Putin is a character.

[txfilmfan]

Frank Sinatra agreed to do the movie version of On the Town only because of the opportunity to sing "Lonely Town." One day he heard "That's a wrap" and was told that filming was over. He objected that they hadn't shot "Lonely Town." "Oh, we cut that."

Also cut was my favorite song in the show, "Some Other Time." Bittersweet perfection.

Interesting story. Since they typically record the musical numbers before filming, this would imply there was a recording of Sinatra singing "Lonely Town" for the film. Otherwise, he would have known long before filming wrapped that the number had been cut. I know he recorded it in the 1950s (at a much slower tempo than typically taken on stage).

[Swithin]

I'm in London and recently saw two plays/musicals related to popular movies. Brokeback Mountain is actually a play with music; The Third Man is a musical. One can argue ad infinitum as to whether these shows were based on the movies or the original source material or both. But without question it was the popularity of the movies that inspired them.

They both met with mediocre reviews, in the case of The Third Man, really bad reviews. But I liked them both. The Third Man was recommended to me by friends, and I agree it was a compelling, inventive evening in the theater.

I'll be in London next week - am interested in checking these out.

Thanks!

I'll give you my other reviews, in this thread, for what they're worth, at the end of the week. I saw Patriots tonight, really excellent (and timely). Putin is a character.

Best thing I've seen: Dear England at the National Theatre, with Joseph Fiennes. And Grenfell, also at the National, is a harrowing play about the terrible tragedy of a few years ago.

[txfilmfan]

I'll be in London next week - am interested in checking these out.

Thanks!

I'll give you my other reviews, in this thread, for what they're worth, at the end of the week. I saw Patriots tonight, really excellent (and timely). Putin is a character.

Best thing I've seen: Dear England at the National Theatre, with Joseph Fiennes. And Grenfell, also at the National, is a harrowing play about the terrible tragedy of a few years ago.

Looks like I'll miss Dear England as it's closing tomorrow and transfers in October to the Prince Edward.

[Swithin]

I'll give you my other reviews, in this thread, for what they're worth, at the end of the week. I saw Patriots tonight, really excellent (and timely). Putin is a character.

Best thing I've seen: Dear England at the National Theatre, with Joseph Fiennes. And Grenfell, also at the National, is a harrowing play about the terrible tragedy of a few years ago.

Looks like I'll miss Dear England as it's closing tomorrow and transfers in October to the Prince Edward.

La Cage aux Folles at the Open Air is great fun. Hope you’re as lucky with the weather as I’ve been.

[Swithin]

I'm in London at the moment. Partly for work, but lots of time to see friends and go to the theater. Saw a brilliant Sondheim show last night: Old Friends, with Bernadette Peters, Lea Salonga, and many great Brits. Basically a musical tribute, presented by Cameron Mackintosh.

The ladies in the cast singing "Broadway Baby," first solo, then all together, were among the many brilliant segments.