LGBTQ news and entertainment
In his Tony Award acceptance speech tonight for “Best Score of a Musical,” Lin-Manuel Miranda read a sonnet he wrote acknowledging life, love, and today’s tragedy.
“Senseless acts of tragedy remind us that nothing here is promised, not one day,” he said. “This show is proof that history remembers. We live through times when hate and fear seem stronger. We rise and fall and light from dying embers, remembrances that hope and love last longer.”
Oscar/Emmy/Grammy and special Tony Award winner Barbra Streisand has been announced as a presenter at this year’s Tony Awards airing June 12th on CBS.
This will be the first time since 1970 that La Babs will appear on the awards show that honors the best in Broadway theater.
The appearance comes as Streisand preps for her upcoming tour set to begin in August. The tour will promote her upcoming theater-themed album, “Encore: Movie Partners Sing Broadway.”
Additional star power will appear on the Tonys telecast: host James Corden, Cate Blanchett, Steve Martin, Nathan Lane, and Oprah Winfrey.
Ok, who wouldn’t want to see every one of those shows?
#TonyAwards #Broadway
The 2016 Tony Award nominations were announced this morning and, no surprise, the Pulitzer Prize-winning Hamilton leads all productions with a record-breaking 16 nominations.
What is surprising to me is the omission of Audra McDonald and her two previous Tony Award winning male stars (Brian Stokes Mitchell, Billy Porter) in any of the performance categories for Shuffle Along, Or the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed.
Click here for a list of notable snubs this year.
The full list of nominations follows:
Best Play
Eclipsed– Author: Danai Gurira
The Father – Author: Florian Zeller
The Humans – Author: Stephen Karam
King Charles III – Author: Mike Bartlett
Best Musical
Bright Star
Hamilton
School of Rock-The Musical
Shuffle Along, Or the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed
Waitress
Best Revival of a Play
Arthur Miller’s The Crucible
Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge
Blackbird
Long Day’s Journey Into Night
Noises Off
Best Revival of a Musical
The Color Purple
Fiddler on the Roof
She Loves Me
Spring Awakening
Best Book of a Musical
Bright Star – Steve Martin
Hamilton – Lin-Manuel Miranda
School of Rock-The Musical – Julian Fellowes
Shuffle Along, Or the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed – George C. Wolfe
Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre
Bright Star – Music: Steve Martin and Edie Brickell, Lyrics: Edie Brickell
Hamilton – Music & Lyrics: Lin-Manuel Miranda
School of Rock-The Musical – Music: Andrew Lloyd Webber, Lyrics: Glenn Slater
Waitress – Music & Lyrics: Sara Bareilles
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play
Gabriel Byrne, Long Day’s Journey Into Night
Jeff Daniels, Blackbird
Frank Langella, The Father
Tim Pigott-Smith, King Charles III
Mark Strong, Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play
Jessica Lange, Long Day’s Journey Into Night
Laurie Metcalf, Misery
Lupita Nyong’o, Eclipsed
Sophie Okonedo, Arthur Miller’s The Crucible
Michelle Williams, Blackbird
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical
Alex Brightman, School of Rock-The Musical
Danny Burstein, Fiddler on the Roof
Zachary Levi, She Loves Me
Lin-Manuel Miranda, Hamilton
Leslie Odom, Jr., Hamilton
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical
Laura Benanti, She Loves Me
Carmen Cusack, Bright Star
Cynthia Erivo, The Color Purple
Jessie Mueller, Waitress
Phillipa Soo, Hamilton
Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play
Reed Birney, The Humans
Bill Camp, Arthur Miller’s The Crucible
David Furr, Noises Off
Richard Goulding, King Charles III
Michael Shannon, Long Day’s Journey Into Night
Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play
Pascale Armand, Eclipsed
Megan Hilty, Noises Off
Jayne Houdyshell, The Humans
Andrea Martin, Noises Off
Saycon Sengbloh, Eclipsed
Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical
Daveed Diggs, Hamilton
Brandon Victor Dixon, Shuffle Along, Or the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed
Christopher Fitzgerald, Waitress
Jonathan Groff, Hamilton
Christopher Jackson, Hamilton
Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical
Danielle Brooks, The Color Purple
Renée Elise Goldsberry, Hamilton
Jane Krakowski, She Loves Me
Jennifer Simard, Disaster!
Adrienne Warren, Shuffle Along, Or the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed
Best Scenic Design of a Play
Beowulf Boritt, Thérèse Raquin
Christopher Oram, Hughie
Jan Versweyveld, Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge
David Zinn, The Humans
Best Scenic Design of a Musical
Es Devlin & Finn Ross, American Psycho
David Korins, Hamilton
Santo Loquasto, Shuffle Along, Or the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed
David Rockwell, She Loves Me
Best Costume Design of a Play
Jane Greenwood, Long Day’s Journey Into Night
Michael Krass, Noises Off
Clint Ramos, Eclipsed
Tom Scutt, King Charles III
Best Costume Design of a Musical
Gregg Barnes, Tuck Everlasting
Jeff Mahshie, She Loves Me
Ann Roth, Shuffle Along, Or the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed
Paul Tazewell, Hamilton
Best Lighting Design of a Play
Natasha Katz, Long Day’s Journey Into Night
Justin Townsend, The Humans
Jan Versweyveld, Arthur Miller’s The Crucible
Jan Versweyveld, Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge
Best Lighting Design of a Musical
Howell Binkley, Hamilton
Jules Fisher & Peggy Eisenhauer, Shuffle Along, Or the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed
Ben Stanton, Spring Awakening
Justin Townsend, American Psycho
Best Direction of a Play
Rupert Goold, King Charles III
Jonathan Kent, Long Day’s Journey Into Night
Joe Mantello, The Humans
Liesl Tommy, Eclipsed
Ivo Van Hove, Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge
Best Direction of a Musical
Michael Arden, Spring Awakening
John Doyle, The Color Purple
Scott Ellis, She Loves Me
Thomas Kail, Hamilton
George C. Wolfe, Shuffle Along, Or the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed
Best Choreography
Andy Blankenbuehler, Hamilton
Savion Glover, Shuffle Along, Or the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed
Hofesh Shechter, Fiddler on the Roof
Randy Skinner, Dames at Sea
Sergio Trujillo, On Your Feet! The Story of Emilio and Gloria Estefan
Best Orchestrations
August Eriksmoen, Bright Star
Larry Hochman, She Loves Me
Alex Lacamoire, Hamilton
Daryl Waters, Shuffle Along, Or the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed
Recipients of Awards and Honors in Non-competitive Categories
Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre
Sheldon Harnick
Marshall W. Mason
Special Tony Award
National Endowment for the Arts
Miles Wilkin
Regional Theatre Tony Award
Paper Mill Playhouse
Millburn, NJ
Isabelle Stevenson Tony Award
Brian Stokes Mitchell
Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre
Seth Gelblum
Joan Lader
Sally Ann Parsons
So many great moments from last night’s Tony Awards honoring excellence on Broadway.
Full list of winners over on Playbill.
My biggest take-away was the extraordinary sophistication and complexity of work being done by choreographers right now on the Great White Way. From An American In Paris, to On The Town, to Gigi and so many more. Great, great work.
(I’m a little more aware than usual of the dancing being done as I’m in choreography-mode myself for Bye Bye Birdie at Sacramento Music Circus beginning rehearsals in two weeks.)
Another great highlight was seeing Tony voters embrace the more exploratory shows like Best Musical winner Fun Home and Best Play winner The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time versus more conventional, commercial fare.
Breaking new ground, Fun Home is the first Best Musical to feature a lesbian as protagonist. The show took home the aforementioned Best Musical trophy, plus Best Actor in a Musical (Michael Servers), Best Book of a Musical (Lisa Kron), Best Original Score for a Musical (Jeanine Tesori and Lisa Kron) and Best Direction of a Musical (Sam Gold).
The show is a lesbian coming of age story wherein the journey the main character discovers her father is a closeted gay man. All the while, the family lives in a funeral home. I know, I know… complicated stuff here. But I hear it’s fascinating.
Another highlight for me was Kelli O’Hara (who I worked with on Broadway in the 2001 revival of Follies) finally won on her sixth nomination for her gorgeous work starring in Best Revival of a Musical winner The King and I. Broadway wanted this for Kelli, and she’s seriously deserving. Good on you, Kelli.
The Tony Awards also began a new award last night for Excellence in Theater Education, which went to Corey Mitchell of North Carolina. One strange thing – no mention of WHERE Corey taught. Struck me as odd.
There was a “spreading of the wealth” also. Of the 22 shows nominated for Tony Awards, a total of nine shows came away with at least one award.
All around a great and inspiring night for theater.
Bonus – Michael Cerveris gave marriage equality a shout-out as he closed out his acceptance speech, mentioning the impending SCOTUS ruling on same-sex marriage.
Watch below:
In advance of tonight’s Tony Awards show on CBS at 8PM, I wanted to reflect back on the days when the Tonys would pay tribute to the giants of the Broadway world.
From the 1970s through the 1980s the telecast, in addition to handing out the awards for excellence that year on Broadway, would deliver world-class numbers and entertainment honoring the artists of the Broadway genre.
In 1988, a year after 7-time Tony Award winner Michael Bennett’s death, original cast members of A Chorus Line and Dreamgirls came together for a terrific montage to remind of his genius.
More than any other director or choreographer, I think (in my mind) I’ve hoped to aspire to the kind of vision Michael brought to his work. Breaking ground time after time with Company, Follies, A Chorus Line and the breathtaking Dreamgirls, I’ve had a visceral connection to his genius ever since I can remember understanding who he was.
Watch below – AND don’t forget to watch the Tony tonight!
Thanks to my blogger buddy Wicked Gay Blog for reminding me of this fab clip.
See who was nominated for the 2015 Tony Awards and watch as they tell us things like, how they heard about their nomination, who they would like to take to their High School Prom, and more.
The nominations for the 2015 Tony Awards were announced this morning.
A few things that bear noting:
Big winners – “American in Paris” and “Fun Home,” which each received 12 nominations. “Something Rotten!” received 10 nods.
Tony snub – the musical “Finding Neverland,” produced by Harvey Weinstein, which did not receive a single nomination.
Watch the 69th Tony Awards live on CBS on June 7th hosted by Kristin Chenoweth and Alan Cumming.
Best Musical
An American in Paris
Fun Home
Something Rotten!
The Visit
Best Play
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Disgraced
Hand to God
Wolf Hall
Best Musical Revival
The King and I
On the Town
On the Twentieth Century
Best Play Revival
The Elephant Man
Skylight
This Is Our Youth
You Can’t Take It With You
Best Leading Actor in a Play
Steven Boyer, ‘Hand to God’
Bradley Cooper, ‘The Elephant Man’
Ben Miles, ‘Wolf Hall’
Bill Nighy, ‘Skylight’
Alex Sharp, ‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time’
Best Leading Actress in a Play
Geneva Carr, ‘Hand to God’
Helen Mirren, ‘The Audience’
Elisabeth Moss, ‘The Heidi Chronicles’
Carey Mulligan, ‘Skylight’
Ruth Wilson, ‘Constellations’
Best Leading Actor in a Musical
Michael Cerveris, ‘Fun Home’
Robert Fairchild, ‘An American in Paris’
Brian d’Arcy James, ‘Something Rotten!’
Ken Watanabe, ‘The King and I’
Tony Yazbeck, ‘On the Town’
Best Leading Actress in a Musical
Kristin Chenoweth, ‘On the Twentieth Century’
Leanne Cope, ‘An American in Paris’
Beth Malone, ‘Fun Home’
Kelli O’Hara, ‘The King and I’
Chita Rivera, ‘The Visit’
Best Book of a Musical
‘An American in Paris,’ Craig Lucas
‘Fun Home,’ Lisa Kron
‘Something Rotten!,’ Karey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell
‘The Visit,’Terrence McNally
Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics)
‘Fun Home,’ Music: Jeanine Tesori, Lyrics: Lisa Kron
‘The Last Ship,’ Music and Lyrics: Sting
‘Something Rotten!,’ Music and Lyrics: Wayne Kirkpatrick and Karey Kirkpatrick
‘The Visit,’ Music: John Kander, Lyrics: Fred Ebb
Best Featured Actor in a Play
Matthew Beard, ‘Skylight’
K. Todd Freeman, ‘Airline Highway’
Richard McCabe, ‘The Audience’
Alessandro Nivola, ‘The Elephant Man’
Nathaniel Parker, ‘Wolf Hall’
Micah Stock, ‘It’s Only a Play’
Best Featured Actress in a Play
Annaleigh Ashford, ‘You Can’t Take It with You’
Patricia Clarkson, ‘The Elephant Man’
Lydia Leonard, ‘Wolf Hall’
Sarah Stiles, ‘Hand to God’
Julie White, ‘Airline Highway’
Best Featured Actor in a Musical
Christian Borle, ‘Something Rotten!’
Andy Karl, ‘On the Twentieth Century’
Brad Oscar, ‘Something Rotten!’
Brandon Uranowitz, ‘An American in Paris’
Max von Essen, ‘An American in Paris’
Best Featured Actress in a Musical
Victoria Clark, ‘Gigi’
Judy Kuhn, ‘Fun Home’
Sydney Lucas, ‘Fun Home’
Ruthie Ann Miles, ‘The King and I’
Emily Skeggs, ‘Fun Home’
Best Scenic Design of a Play
Bunny Christie and Finn Ross, ‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time’
Bob Crowley, ‘Skylight’
Christopher Oram, ‘Wolf Hall’
David Rockwell, ‘You Can’t Take It with You’
Best Scenic Design of a Musical
Bob Crowley and 59 Productions, ‘An American in Paris’
David Rockwell, ‘On the Twentieth Century’
Michael Yeargan, ‘The King and I’
David Zinn, ‘Fun Home’
Best Costume Design of a Play
Bob Crowley, ‘The Audience’
Jane Greenwood, ‘You Can’t Take It with You’
Christopher Oram, ‘Wolf Hall’
David Zinn, ‘Airline Highway’
Best Costume Design of a Musical
Gregg Barnes, ‘Something Rotten!’
Bob Crowley, ‘An American in Paris’
William Ivey Long, ‘On the Twentieth Century’
Catherine Zuber, ‘The King and I’
Best Lighting Design of a Play
Paule Constable, ‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time’
Paule Constable and David Plater, ‘Wolf Hall’
Natasha Katz, ‘Skylight’
Japhy Weideman, ‘Airline Highway’
Best Lighting Design of a Musical
Donald Holder, ‘The King and I’
Natasha Katz, ‘An American in Paris’
Ben Stanton, ‘Fun Home’
Japhy Weideman, ‘The Visit’
Best Direction of a Play
Stephen Daldry, ‘Skylight’
Marianne Elliott, ‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time’
Scott Ellis, ‘You Can’t Take It with You’
Jeremy Herrin, ‘Wolf Hall’
Moritz von Stuelpnagel, ‘Hand to God’
Best Direction of a Musical
Sam Gold, ‘Fun Home’
Casey Nicholaw, ‘Something Rotten!’
John Rando, ‘On the Town’
Bartlett Sher, ‘The King and I’
Christopher Wheeldon, ‘An American in Paris’
Best Choreography
Joshua Bergasse, ‘On the Town’
Christopher Gattelli, ‘The King and I’
Scott Graham & Steven Hoggett for Frantic Assembly, ‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time’
Casey Nicholaw, ‘Something Rotten!’
Christopher Wheeldon, ‘An American in Paris’
Best Orchestrations
Christopher Austin, Don Sebesky, Bill Elliott, ‘An American in Paris’
John Clancy, ‘Fun Home’
Larry Hochman, ‘Something Rotten!’
Rob Mathes, ‘The Last Ship’
Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theater
Tommy Tune
Isabelle Stevenson Tony Award
Stephen Schwartz
Regional Theatre Tony Award
Cleveland Play House
Special Tony Award
John Cameron Mitchell, ‘Hedwig and the Angry Inch’
Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theater
Arnold Abramson
Adrian Bryan-Brown
Gene O’Donovan
Sadly, this did not make the telecast last night.
The Tony Awards did post to their YouTube account. If you missed any performances or acceptance speeches, I think just about everything is posted there. Great resource.
So many familiar faces here gone too soon.
First of all, Idina Menzel was in terrific voice performing “Always Starting Over’ at the 2014 Tony Awards last night.
And second, you’ve got to love the introduction by cutie Jonathan Groff referencing John Travolta’s “Adele Dazeem” introduction at this year’s Oscars.
