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Tony Awards 2015 – Best Revival of a Musical / Best Musical

Posted on: June 2nd, 2015 by B.I. C. No Comments

These are the productions nominated for Best Revival of a Musical:

Best Musical Revival - Twitter

Here are a few fun facts:

– “The King and I” won the 1952 Tony-Award for Best Musical.  It’s amazing to think that 63 years later, and it still has such resonance and poignancy to be revived and nominated again!

– “On The Town” is based off of a 1944 ballet called “Fancy Free,” which was developed by Leonard Bernstein and Jerome Robbins.

– The original Broadway production of “On The Twentieth Century” opened on February 19, 1978 at the St. James Theatre.  Judy Kaye replaced Madeline Kahn only 9 weeks into performances which turned her into an overnight star.

 

These are the productions nominated for Best Musical:

Best Musical - Twitter

Here are a few more fun facts:

– In the film version of “An American in Paris,” the climax of the film is a 16 minutes ballet featuring Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron set to Gershwin’s An American in Paris.  The ballet alone cost more than $500,000.

– “Fun Home” is based off the graphic memoir by American writer Alison Bechdel, and it stirred such controversy that a public library in Missouri once removed it from its shelves for five months after complaints from its residents.

– Karey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell, the creators of “Something Rotten!”, are also known for their work in the stop-motion animated film, “Chicken Run.”

– The musical adaptation of “The Visit” originally starred Angela Lansbury, and had planned to open on Broadway March 15, 2001.  However, in July 2000, Lansbury withdrew from the show because of the death of her husband.

 

Tony Awards 2015 – Best Book of a Musical

Posted on: May 18th, 2015 by B.I. C. No Comments

Here are the 5 Playwrights nominated for Best Book of a Musical:

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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

 

Here’s a few fun facts:

– Craig Lucas was originally a Broadway actor who performed in “Shenandoah” (1975), “Rex” (1976), “On the Twentieth Century” (1978) and “Sweeney Todd” (1979).

– Ben Brantley of the New York Times wrote about Lisa Kron’s “Fun Home” saying it is “a beautiful heartbreaker of a musical,” and that “Ms. Kron has already established herself as a vibrant family memoirist with her plays ”2.5 Minute Ride” and “Well,” and her book and resonantly precise lyrics give this show its essential spine.”

– “Something Rotten!” first began as an idea when Wayne Kirkpatrick and his brother, screenwriter-director Karey Kirkpatrick, approached producer Kevin McCollum back at the tech rehearsal of 1996 musical “Rent.”  Almost 20 years ago!

– Among all of Terrence McNally’s credits one of our favorite standouts is his writing of the musical “Ragtime” which toured through Chicago at the Oriental Theatre November 1, 1998 – June 27, 1999.