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Tony Awards nominees include multiple Chicago connections!

Posted on: May 8th, 2018 by B.I. C. No Comments

Another Tony Awards season is upon us! We are looking forward to celebrating another exciting season of theatre and equally thrilled to highlight all the Chicago connections to this year’s nominees.

Perhaps one of the most anticipated shows this season is The Band’s Visit, which garnered a total of 11 nominations, including best direction of a musical by David Cromer. Before his work on Broadway, Cromer spent a large portion of his career in Chicago helming acclaimed productions of Angels in America Parts I and II at The Journeymen Theatre, The Price at Writers’ Theatre and Rent at American Theater Company.

SpongeBob SquarePants, which made its Pre-Broadway World Premiere in summer of 2016 at the Oriental Theatre, soaked up 12 nominations and is directed by Steppenwolf Theatre ensemble member Tina Landau. Also hailing from the Steppenwolf stage is Laurie Metcalf, nominated for her performance in Three Tall Women.

Additionally, David Zinn received two nominations for his dual role as both scenic and costume designer for the whimsical world of Bikini Bottom in SpongeBob SquarePants. And of course, a special shout out to the variety of artists who took home a best original score nomination for SpongeBob SquarePants including: Yolanda Adams, Steven Tyler & Joe Perry of Aerosmith, Sara Bareilles (a previous Best Score nominee for the upcoming Waitress the Musical), Jonathan Coulton, Alex Ebert of Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, The Flaming Lips, Lady Antebellum, Cyndi Lauper (a previous Best Score Tony Award winner for Kinky Boots, which also originated in Chicago) & Rob Hyman, John Legend, Panic! at the Disco, Plain White T’s, They Might Be Giants, T.I., Domani & Lil’C.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child cast its spell over the Tony Awards and earned a total of 10 nominations including Best Play. This production features several Chicago actors including Alex Weisman, Jessie Fisher, Nathan Salstone and James Romney. Weisman, a Northwestern graduate, and Romney, a graduate of Roosevelt University’s Chicago College for Performing Arts, and Salstone, the 2012 IHSMTA Best Actor winner, all made their Broadway debuts, while Fisher previously appeared on Broadway in Once and is a native of Highland Park.

Tina Fey, who got her start at Second City in Chicago, was nominated for best book of a musical for Mean Girls and Fey’s husband, former Second City musician Jeff Richmond, was nominated for best score with his co-writer Nell Benjamin. Two-time Tony winner Gregg Barnes is also nominated for his costume design work in Mean Girls. Gregg’s costume creations have been seen by Chicagoans in Disney’s Aladdin and most recently on stage at the Oriental Theatre in Pretty Woman: The Musical.

Jessie Mueller, an Evanston native and a veteran to the Chicago stage, was nominated for her leading performance as Julie in Carousel, alongside Joshua Henry, who played opposite her as Billy Bigelow. Henry appeared most recently with Broadway In Chicago as Aaron Burr in the original Chicago cast of Hamilton.

On the design front; Academy and Tony Award-winner Ann Roth is nominated for her costume design in Three Tall Women. Ann’s designs brought Mormon to the minds of Chicagoans in 2012 and will sure do the same when The Book of Mormon says “Hello” again in November.

We are also thrilled that members of the creative team for the upcoming The Cher Show have rounded up several nominations as well. Kevin Adams (Nominated for lighting design of a musical – SpongeBob SquarePants), Christopher Gattelli (Nominated for choreography – SpongeBob SquarePants) and Christine Jones (Nominated for scenic design – Harry Potter and the Cursed Child) all come together this June when The Cher Show has its Pre-Broadway Premiere at the Oriental Theatre June 12 – July 15.

Tune in to the 72nd annual Tony Awards hosted by CBS on Sunday, June 10, 2018 beginning at 7 p.m. CT!

 

2016 Tony Award Nominations – Best Scenic Design of a Play / Musical

Posted on: May 13th, 2016 by B.I. C. No Comments

Broadway In Chicago is beyond excited for the 2016 Tony Awards on Sunday June 12th 7-10PM CT! We’ll be highlighting the nominees in each category and filling you in on some fun facts each week leading up to the award ceremony.

Here are the incredible designers nominated this year for Best Scenic Design:

 

BEST SCENIC DESIGN OF A PLAY

Beowulf Boritt – “Therese Raquin”

Christopher Oram – “Hughie”

Jan Versweyveld – “A View from the Bridge”

David Zinn – “The Humans”

Here are a few fun facts:

-Beowulf Boritt was the scenic designer for “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” which was extremely popular here in Chicago from March 28, 2006 – September 2, 2007.

-As noted again, David Zinn is the scenic designer for “The SpongeBob Musical” which will be making its Pre-Broadway World Premiere at the Oriental Theatre June 7 – July 10 this summer!

 

BEST SCENIC DESIGN OF A MUSICAL

Es Devlin and 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”

Here are a few more fun facts:

-David Korins also designed “Motown The Musical” which played the Oriental Theatre April 22 – August 9, 2014.

-David Rockwell is a Chicago native and has designed many Broadway In Chicago favorites such as Hairspray, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Kinky Boots and Legally Blonde!

 

Tony Awards 2015 – Best Scenic Design

Posted on: May 8th, 2015 by B.I. C. No Comments

Here are the incredible designers nominated this year for Best Scenic Design:

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 Parts One & Two”

David Rockwell, “You Can’t Take It With You”

 

Here’s a few fun facts:

– “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” has received much acclaim, and Ben Brantley of The New York Times, wrote: “As directed by Marianne Elliott, working with an inspired set of designers, Christopher’s maiden voyage into an alien metropolis becomes a virtuoso study in sensory overload. Those lights, noises, street signs, road maps, random words that spell themselves into being, and, oh yes, that moving staircase that materializes out of nowhere: it all keeps coming at you”.

– Bob Crowley was quite busy this season designing for three Broadway shows: “The Audience,” “An American in Paris,” and “Skylight.”

– David Rockwell is a native Chicagoan and was the set designer for the hit musical “Legally Blonde” which played at Chicago’s Oriental Theatre from May 12, 2009 – June 7, 2009.

 

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”

 

Here’s a few more fun facts:

– Michael Yeargan was the set designer for the beautiful musical “The Light in the Piazza” at the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University from July 10, 2007 to July 22, 2007.

– “Fun Home” has a quite interesting scenic design because, “It’s like going from Google Street View to Google Maps,” says scenic designer David Zinn, who has filled the set with objects that speak to the real Alison and to authenticity’s sake. In the show, she’s played as a young girl, a college coed and an adult by three actresses.

 

Tony Awards 2015 – Best Costume Design

Posted on: May 6th, 2015 by B.I. C. No Comments

Costumes set the tone and time period of a play or musical as soon as an actor walks out on stage.  They’re also able to make an immediate time lapse believable when actors have costume quick changes.  Here are the brilliant designers nominated for this year’s Best Costume Design Tony Awards:

 

costume-d1(Left to Right: Bob Crowley, Jane Greenwood, Christopher Oram, David Zinn)

 

Best Costume Design of a Play

Bob Crowley, “The Audience”

Jane Greenwood, “You Can’t Take It With You”

Christopher Oram, “Wolf Hall Parts One & Two”

David Zinn, “Airline Highway”

 

Here’s a few fun facts:

– Bob Crowley designed set and costume for “Mary Poppins,” which played in both the West End, on Broadway, and toured through Chicago at the Cadillac Palace Theatre from March 11, 2009 – July 12, 2009.

– David Zinn designed the costumes for the Broadway production of “Xanadu” that toured through Chicago at the Drury Lane Theatre Water Tower Place from January 16, 2009 – March 29, 2009.

 

costume-d2(Left to Right: Gregg Barnes, Bob Crowley, William Ivey Long, Catherine Zuber)

 

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”

 

Here’s a few more fun facts:

– Gregg Barnes was nominated for Best Costume Design in 2013 for “Kinky Boots,” which will be returning to Chicago this summer at the Cadillac Palace Theatre July 7 – 26, 2015.

– William Ivey Long has costume designed over 60 Broadway shows, including previous Broadway In Chicago touring companies such as “9 to 5,” “Big Fish,” “Cinderella,” and the upcoming “Cabaret” which will play at the Bank of America Theatre February 9 – 21, 2016.

– Catherine Zuber costume designed “South Pacific” that toured through the Cadillac Palace Theatre February 14 – 26, 2012.