www.broadwayinchicago.com

Posts Tagged ‘On the Twentieth Century’

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 Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play / Musical

Posted on: May 27th, 2015 by B.I. C. No Comments

Here are the women nominated for “Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play” and “Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical”:

 

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play

Geneva Carr, “Hand to God”

Helen Mirren, “The Audience”

Elisabeth Moss, “The Heidi Chronicles”

Carey Mulligan, “Skylight”

Ruth Wilson, “Constellations”

 

Here are a few fun facts:

– Geneva Carr is making her Broadway debut at age 44 in “Hand to God,” but you’d also recognize her recurring role as the mom in the AT&T Mobility phone commercials.

– Helen Mirren has played a Queen a total of six times: The Queen (2006), Elizabeth I (2005), The Prince of Egypt (1998), The Snow Queen (1995), The Madness of King George (1994), and Caligola (1979).

– You know Elisabeth Moss best from her portrayal as Peggy Olson on the AMC series “Mad Men.”

– Carey Mulligan’s Broadway debut was in a 2008 production of Chekhov’s “The Seagull.”

– Ruth Wilson won the Golden Globe for best actress in a TV drama for her role in “The Affair” and days later made her Broadway debut in “Constellations.”

 

 

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role 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”

 

Here are a few more fun facts:

– Kristin Chenoweth’s birth name is Kristi Dawn. She became “Kristin” when her musical theater teacher at Oklahoma City University, Florence Birdwell, suggested adding the “n” to make it sound more professional.

– Leanne Cope is currently on leave from London’s Royal Ballet to be performing in “An American In Paris.”

– Beth Malone made her Broadway debut in “Ring of Fire,” which played at the Barrymore Theatre in 2006.

– This year marks Kelli O’Hara’s 6th Tony nomination.  Her previous nominations have been for her performances in “The Light in the Piazza,” “The Pajama Game,” “South Pacific,” “Nice Work If You Can Get It,” and “The Bridges of Madison County.”

– Chita Rivera has gained 9 Tony Award nominations throughout her career, with two wins for “The Rink” and “Kiss of the Spider Woman.”

 

Tony Awards 2015 – Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play / Musical

Posted on: May 27th, 2015 by B.I. C. No Comments

Here are the men nominated for “Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play” and “Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical”:

 

 

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play

Matthew Beard, “Skylight”

Todd Freeman, “Airline Highway”

Richard McCabe, “The Audience”

Alessandro Nivola, “The Elephant Man”

Nathaniel Parker, “Wolf Hall Parts One & Two”

Micah Stock, “It’s Only a Play”

 

Here are a few fun facts:

– You may recognize Matthew Beard from his recent work in the Academy nominated film, “The Imitation Game.”

– K. Todd Freeman’s first Tony nomination came in 1993 for his portrayal of the title character in Steppenwolf Theatre Company’s transfer of “The Song of Jacob Zulu.”

– Alessandro Nivola worked with Bradley Cooper on the 2013 film “American Hustle,” and apparently spent the whole time on set talking about their future work together in “The Elephant Man.”

– Micah Stock performed in Terrence McNally’s play last fall called “And Away We Go,” which Nathan Lane and Jack O’Brien saw and loved Micah’s performance, helping him gain his role in “It’s Only a Play.”

 

 

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role 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”

 

Here are a few more fun facts:

– Christian Borle has been in the last two live musicals featured on NBC: 2013’s “The Sound of Music Live!” and last year’s “Peter Pan Live!”

– Andy Karl’s first Broadway productions included “Wicked” in which he was the Fiyero replacement and “Jersey Boys” where he was the Tommy DeVito replacement.

– Brad Oscar was the original Uncle Fester in the Broadway production of “The Addams Family.”

 

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:

)

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.

 

 

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.