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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!

 

2017 Tony Award Nominations – Chicago Connections!

Posted on: May 22nd, 2017 by B.I. C.

The Tony Awards are always the most anticipated theatre event of the year, and we always love discovering if there are any nominees that have connections to Chicago to share in their excitement.  This year we have quite a few to celebrate!

One of these connections involve Laurie Metcalf, a veteran Steppenwolf Theatre ensemble member, who was nominated for her portrayal of Nora Helmer in A Doll’s House, Part 2. The show, currently nominated for 8 Tony Awards, is playwright Lucas Hnath’s take on what happened to Nora Helmer, 20 years later from where Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House left off.

The musical War Paint, which premiered here in Chicago at the Goodman Theatre last July 2016, is also being showcased in the Tony Award nominations.  Patti LuPone and Christine Ebersole, who originated the roles of Helena Rubinstein and Elizabeth Arden, are both nominated for Best Leading Actress in a Musical.  The show also features several Chicago actors in supporting roles, including Mary Ernster and David Girolmo.

Ben Platt, who is currently leading the company of Dear Evan Hansen, was nominated for Best Leading Actor in a Musical.  He’s no stranger to the Chicago theatre scene since you may remember him as Elder Cunningham in the First National Tour of the hit musical The Book of Mormon from December 2012 – October 2013 at the Bank of America Theatre (now known as The PrivateBank Theatre).

Kate Baldwin, a Northwestern University graduate who was last seen in Chicago as Sandra Bloom in the Chicago premiere of Big Fish at the Oriental Theatre April – May 2013, will be competing for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her portrayal of Irene Molloy in Hello, Dolly.

Stephanie J. Block, who is also nominated for Best Featured Actress in a musical for her work in Falsettos, has spent a good amount of time in Chicago herself.  She played Elphaba in the Chicago premiere of Wicked at the Oriental Theatre back in June 2005, which ended up running until January 2009.  She also played Grace O’Malley in The Pirate Queen at the Cadillac Palace Theatre October – November 2006.

Lynn Nottage, the playwright of Sweat, which is now nominated for Best Play, has also recently received this year’s Pulitzer Prize for Drama.  You may recognize her work from the play Ruined, which premiered at the Goodman Theater in 2007.  Nottage won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2009 for Ruined, making her the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama twice!

Come From Away, the new musical which has landed 7 Tony Award nominations, has nominees for Best Director of a Musical Christopher Ashley and Best Choreography Kelly Devine, who will also be a part of the Escape To Margaritaville creative team set to premiere here in Chicago at the Oriental Theatre beginning November 9, 2017!

Make sure to tune in to the 71st annual Tony Awards hosted by CBS on Sunday, June 11, 2017  beginning at  7 p.m. CT!

 

2016 Tony Award Nominations – Best Performance by an Actor/Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical/Play

Posted on: June 7th, 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 actors and actresses in musicals and plays nominated for Best Performance in a Leading Role:

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”

Fun Facts:

-Alex Brightman played “Zacky Price” in the original cast of Big Fish which originated here in Chicago at the Oriental Theatre April 2 – May 5, 2013.

-Although Lin-Manuel Miranda has gained so much recognition for his creation of Hamilton, he was well known before that as well for writing the music and lyrics for both In the Heights and Bring It On: The Musical, both which have toured through Chicago.

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”

Fun Facts:

-Carmen Cusack was just recently in Chicago premiering the First Wives Club musical at the Oriental Theatre February 17 – March 29, 2015.

-Jessie Mueller won the 2014 Tony Award for her portrayal of Carole King in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical which was last seen at the Oriental Theatre December 1, 2015 – February 21, 2016 and will be returning to Chicago in the upcoming 2017 holiday season.

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 – “A View from the Bridge”

Fun facts:

-You may recognize Jeff Daniels from movies such as The Martian, Steve Jobs and also the classic 1994 comedy, Dumb and Dumber.

-Both Frank Langella and Anthony Hopkins received Oscar nominations for portraying Richard Nixon: Hopkins for Nixon in 1995 and Langella for Frost/Nixon in 2008.

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 – “The Crucible”

Michelle Williams – “Blackbird”

Fun Facts:

-You’ll recognize Jessica Lange from movies such as Big Fish, Tootsie or Cape Fear, but most recently because of her work in the hit TV show American Horror Story.

-Lupita Nyong’o won an Oscar in 2014 for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in the movie 12 Years a Slave.

-Michelle Williams starred as Sally Bowles in the Cabaret revival on Broadway, which then toured through Chicago recently at The PrivateBank Theatre February 9 – 21, 2016 with Andrea Goss in the leading role.

 

2016 Tony Award Nominations – Chicago Connections!

Posted on: May 3rd, 2016 by B.I. C. No Comments

Broadway In Chicago couldn’t be more thrilled for the announcement of this year’s Tony Award nominations!  Here are a few of the amazing local ties this year:

Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “Hamilton” received a record-setting 16 nominations including Best Musical, which makes us even more thrilled that it will be premiering at The Private Bank Theatre this coming September!  Phillipa Soo, an Illinois native herself from Libertyville, was nominated in Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical for her portrayal of Eliza Hamilton. For more information about the upcoming Chicago production visit: http://broadwayinchicago.com/show/hamilton/

Sara Bareilles’ “Waitress” has been nominated for Best Original Score. She is one of the many artists whose music will be featured in the upcoming world premiere of “The SpongeBob Musical” beginning performances at the Oriental Theatre June 7th!  For more information visit: http://broadwayinchicago.com/show/the-spongebob-musical/

Sergio Trujillo was nominated for Best Choreography in “On Your Feet!” which had its start here in Chicago at the Oriental Theatre on June 2nd – July 5th, 2015 before transferring to Broadway.

David Zinn was nominated for Best Scenic Design for “The Humans,” and is currently working on the design for the world premiere of “The SpongeBob Musical.”  He was also nominated last year for his design of the musical, “Fun Home,” which will also play the Oriental Theatre this fall starting November 2nd.

Chicago native Jessie Mueller was nominated for the second time in the category of Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical for her spectacular work in “Waitress.”  She won this category’s Tony Award in 2014 for her performance as Carole King in “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical” which was last seen at the Oriental Theatre December 1, 2015 – February 21, 2016 and will be returning to Chicago in the 2017 holiday season.

You may remember Carmen Cusack from her performance in “First Wives Club” which premiered here February 17th – March 29th, 2015 at the Oriental Theatre.  She was just nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical in “Bright Star.”

Michael Shannon, whom you might recognize as an ensemble member from A Red Orchid Theatre in Chicago’s Old Town area, was nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play in “Long Day’s Journey Into Night.”

Stephen Karam’s “The Humans,” which was nominated for Best Play originated at the American Theater Company and played November 14, 2014 – February 1, 2015 before moving to Broadway.

“Eclipsed” by Danai Gurira, which is also nominated for Best Play, was first seen in Chicago as well at the Northlight Theatre January 13 – February 20, 2011.

Laurie Metcalf who was nominated in the category Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play for “Misery,” is remembered well in Chicago as a Steppenwolf ensemble member.

Be sure to check out Chris Jones’ Chicago Tribune article for the full list of nominations! – See more at: http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/theater/news/ct-tony-award-nominations-hamilton-2016-20160502-story.html

 

Tony Tuesday

Posted on: April 30th, 2013 by broadwayinchicago No Comments
Billy Porter, Annaleigh Ashford and Stark Sands in Kinky Boots (Photo by Sean Williams)

Billy Porter, Annaleigh Ashford and Stark Sands in Kinky Boots
(Photo by Sean Williams)

Nominations for the 2013 Tony Awards were announced this morning! Kinky Boots, which had its pre-Broadway World Premiere here in Chicago last fall, led the way with 13 nominations! Matilda was close behind with 12 nominations and the revival of Stephen Schwartz’s Pippin with 10.

Other nominated shows that played here before Broadway include Bring It On (Best Musical and Best Choreography) and Holland Taylor earning a Leading Actress in a Play nomination for Ann, the story of Texas Governor  Ann Richards. The Broadway transfer of Steppenwolf Theatre Company‘s production of Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? earned five nominations, while ensemble member Laurie Metcalf was also recognized for her work in The Other Place.

For the complete list of nominations, click here. Are you surprised by any of the nominations? Were there any shows you feel were snubbed? And most importantly, what shows are you hoping come here to Chicago? (I’ll start — a return engagement of Kinky Boots!.