As Broadway’s rebound from pandemic-induced shutdowns accelerates, Tony’s nominators have given much-needed attention to shows ranging from dazzling spectacles to quirky and adventurous cuisine.
Based on the classic Billy Wilder film, Some Like It Hot is the musical about two musicians who witness the murder of a mob and dress up as women to escape a mob. It was nominated in 13 categories. A new musical — ticket buyers haven’t turned any of the candidates into slam dunk hits, and there seems to be no consensus among the industry players who make up Tony’s voting pool.
Three other musicals were nominated for nine categories each. “New York, New York” is a dance-driven show about a pair of young musicians seeking success and love in a post-war city. and “Shucked,” his pun-filled country comedy about a rural community facing a corn crisis. “Kimberly Akimbo” Important Favorites It won eight nominations about a high school student with a life-altering genetic condition and a criminally dysfunctional family.
Tony’s nominations also have plenty of names in bold. Among the stars of the world of pop music, film and television are Sara Bareilles, Jessica Chastain, Jodie Comer, Josh Groban, Sean Hayes, Samuel L. Jackson, Wendell Pierce and Ben Platt. The other went to Oudram McDonald, one of Broadway’s most admired stars. Audra McDonald is the most competitive Tony Award-winning performer of all time, with nine nominations and six wins for him to date.
This year’s Tony Awards come at the end of the first full-length season since the coronavirus pandemic shut theaters for nearly a year and a half. The season has been surprisingly strong, with a wide variety of offerings, given that no one has returned to their Midtown offices and inflation has made production costs much higher.
“Entertainment is like food. Sometimes I crave organic small plates, other times I crave burgers and fries. The best thing about New York is the variety. Nominated star for “Kimberly Akimbo.”
Broadway shows this season had grossed $1.48 billion as of April 30, according to figures released Tuesday by the Broadway League. That’s almost double his total earnings of $751 million at the same point last season, but lower than his $1.72 billion at the same point in 2019.
Other key metrics have also improved: 11.5 million seats were filled this season on Broadway, compared with 6 million at the same point last season, but 11.5 million seats were filled at this point in 2019. It is still down from 13.8 million seats.
Selected by a panel of 40 theater industry professionals who have seen all 38 eligible shows and have no financial interest in any of them, Tony’s nomination is particularly useful for shows seeking to take advantage of the vote of confidence. It is important. Attract potential ticket buyers.
“Some Like It Hot” director and choreographer Casey Nicholaw says, “It’s all about what makes the show run longer and create more work for more people.” . “We hope to sell more tickets and make the show more successful.”
A Tony Award nomination can also boost an artist’s employment prospects and pay. And, of course, they are a tribute to excellence. “When your peers and colleagues see beauty in what you’ve created, it means something,” says James Ijames, whose play “Fat Ham” was one of his nominated works. Told.
Broadway is a complex place dominated by commercial producers, but there are also six theaters operated by non-profit organizations. This season’s production, as is often the case, featured everything from experimental theater that tackled challenging themes to more mainstream fare that was primarily aimed at entertainment.
Of the five nominees for Best New Drama, three have already won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. “Cost of Living,” an exploration of caregiving and disability by Martyna Majok. “Fat Ham” is her Ijames riff on “Hamlet,” which is set in the backyard of the family who runs Barbecue He restaurant in North Carolina.
The other two Tony Award-nominated films are significant in their own ways. “Leopoldstadt” is Tom He Stoppard’s autobiographical drama about a Jewish family in Europe before, during and after World War II, and “Ain’t No Mo” is Jordan E. Cooper’s quirky comedy imagining America offering black residents a one-way ticket to Africa.
The nominations for “Ain’t No Mo” were particularly memorable given that the show struggled to find an audience and ended early. I am so excited I can hardly find words.
Stoppard is already the most award-winning playwright in Broadway history, having written four plays to date (Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Travesties, The Real Thing, The Coast of Utopia” won a Tony Award. He is now 85 and ‘Leopoldstadt’ is his 19th production on Broadway. Stoppard said he was proud to have been nominated, but regretted that the play seemed timely at a time of heightened anti-Semitic concerns. ing.
“Nobody wants society to be divided,” he said in an interview.
Of the 38 Tony Award-eligible plays and musicals this season, 27 earned at least one nomination, and the remaining 11 did not. Among the musicals snubbed by the nominators are Andrew, one of the most successful musical theater composers of all time, his critically blown new musical “Bad His Cinderella” by Lloyd Webber; There was a progressive rethinking of ‘1776’. A revived Declaration of Independence with female, nonbinary and transgender performers.
The revival of “Dancin'”, one of the musicals not nominated, has announced plans to close soon.
Among the seven plays that closed were the “Thanksgiving Play”, believed to be the first Broadway production by Native American female playwright Larissa Fasthorse.
The season has featured shows that explore a wide variety of diverse storylines, and the nominations reflect that.
At a time when issues of gender identity became more and more politicized in the country, the nominations went to “Some Like It Hot” star J. Harrison Gee and “Shucked.”
Helen Park, Broadway’s first Asian-American female composer, has been nominated for the Best Musical Award for the musical ‘KPOP’. “The more loyal we are to our respective cultures and stories, the richer the Broadway soundscapes and Broadway landscapes,” she said.
Five plays by black writers were nominated in either the Best Play or Best Play Revival category, and four of the five Best Actor nominees in a play were black.
“I broke down crying,” Pierce said of playing Willie Roman in the revival of “Death of a Salesman,” whose traditionally white Roman family is now African-American, that he was one of those candidates. “I didn’t know how emotional it would be. It’s the culmination of years of hard work and the challenge of playing the part.” It was a reflection of how much effort and effort was put into
This season has been a season of musical revival. Nominated shows include Steven’s two of his Sondheim scores, ‘Into the Woods’ and ‘Sweeney Todd’, as well as Golden Age classics ‘Camelot’ and ‘Parade’. A show about the lynching of Jewish men in Georgia in the early 20th century.
“I’m very happy that the audience liked it. I hope Sondheim is happy this morning,” said Groban, who played the lead role in “Sweeney Todd.”
The revival of the nominated play is also a compelling production. Hypnotic minimal his version of Ibsen’s “A Doll’s House”. Bracing his production of Susan Lori Parks’ “Top Dog/Under Dog,” about his two brothers ominously named Lincoln and Booth. A rare staging of Lorraine Hansbury’s “Sidney Bluestein’s Window Sign” featuring Oscar Isaac and Rachel Brosnahan. A ghostly performance of August Wilson’s classic drama, The Piano Lesson, about a family struggling with the meaning and monetary value of heirlooms.
The 769 Tony voters will be able to catch up on shows they haven’t seen yet until early June before they go electronic voting. The awards ceremony itself will be held on June 11th at the United Palace in Washington Heights in Upper Manhattan in a ceremony hosted by Ariana DeVose.
Julia Jacobs and Kalia Richardson contributed to the report.
