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

Posted on: June 2nd, 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 Featured Role:

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A FEATURED ROLE IN A MUSICAL

Daveed Diggs – “Hamilton”

Brandon Victor Dixon – “Shuffle Along, Or the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed”

Christopher Fitzgerald – “Waitress”

Jonathan Groff – “Hamilton”

Christopher Jackson – “Hamilton”

Fun facts:

-Brandon Victor Dixon was the “Harpo” replacement in The Color Purple touring production which came through Chicago at the Cadillac Palace Theatre April 17 – September 30, 2007.

-Christopher Fitzgerald is the only actor who has played both “Billy Flynn” AND “Amos Hart” in the Broadway production of Chicago.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A FEATURED ROLE IN A MUSICAL

Danielle Brooks – “The Color Purple”

Renee Elise Goldsberry – “Hamilton”

Jane Krakowski – “She Loves Me”

Jennifer Simard – “Disaster!”

Adrienne Warren – “Shuffle Along, Or the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed”

Fun Facts:

-Jennifer Simard played “Rona Lisa Peretti” in the touring production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee which played at the Drury Lane Theatre Water Tower Place March 28, 2006 – September 2, 2007.

-Adrienne Warren played “Danielle” in Bring It On: The Musical also at the Cadillac Palace Theatre March 6 – 25, 2012 and also “Lorrell” in Dreamgirls which also played at the Cadillac Palace January 19 – 31, 2010.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A FEATURED ROLE IN A PLAY

Reed Birney – “The Humans”

Bill Camp – “The Crucible”

David Furr – “Noises Off”

Richard Goulding – “King Charles III”

Michael Shannon – “Long Day’s Journey Into Night”

Fun facts:

-You might recognize Reed Birney from the acclaimed political thriller House of Cards as the major recurring character, “Donald Blythe.”

-Michael Shannon was awarded the 2013 Equity Joseph Jefferson Award for Principal Actor in a Play for Simpatico at the “A Red Orchid Theater” here in Chicago.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A FEATURED ROLE IN A PLAY

Pascale Armand – “Eclipsed”

Megan Hilty – “Noises Off”

Jayne Houdyshell – “The Humans”

Andrea Martin – “Noises Off”

Saycon Sengbloh – “Eclipsed”

Fun Facts:

-Megan Hilty is well known for being the first “Glinda” replacement after Kristin Chenoweth in the Broadway production of Wicked.

-Andrea Martin won the 2013 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical for her portrayal of “Berthe” in the recent Pippin revival that played at the Cadillac Palace Theatre July 29 – August 9, 2015.

2016 Tony Award Nominations – Best Book of a Musical / Best Original Score / Best Orchestrations

Posted on: May 20th, 2016 by B.I. C. No Comments

Here are the 4 writers nominated for Best Book of a Musical:

BEST BOOK OF A MUSICAL

“Bright Star” – Steve Martin

“Hamilton” – Lin-Manuel Miranda

“School of Rock – The Musical” – Julian Fellowes

“Shuffle Along, Or the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed” – George C. Wolfe

Here are some fun facts:

-Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote the book for “Hamilton” after reading Ron Chernow’s biography of Alexander Hamilton. Miranda then read Hamilton’s letters and works and visited sites important to the American Revolution in New York City to add further factual information into the core of the show’s book.

-Julian Fellows who wrote the book for “School of Rock – The Musical” is also famously well known for being the creator, writer and executive producer of the multiple award-winning British television series “Downton Abbey” from 2010 – 2015.

These are the individuals nominated for Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre:

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE (MUSIC AND LYRICS) WRITTEN FOR THE THEATER

“Bright Star” – Music: Steve Martin and Edie Brickell, Lyrics: Edie Brickell

“Hamilton” – Music and lyrics: Lin-Manuel Miranda

“School of Rock – The Musical” – Music: Andrew Lloyd Webber, Lyrics: Glenn Slater

“Waitress” – Music and lyrics: Sara Bareilles

Some more fun facts:

-In 2014, Steve Martin and Edie Brickell won a Grammy for the title track to their Bluegrass album Love Has Come for You. It was that album that inspired them to write the music together for “Bright Star.”

-The first song Sara Bareilles wrote for “Waitress” was She Used to Be Mine being inspired by the main character Jenna and her character arc after viewing the film. That song then served as her portal into the world of writing the rest of the music for the show.

Here are the musicians and composers nominated for this year’s Best Orchestrations Tony Award:

BEST ORCHESTRATIONS

August Eriksmoen – “Bright Star”

Larry Hochman – “She Loves Me”

Alex Lacamoire – “Hamilton”

Daryl Waters – “Shuffle Along, Or the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed”

Here are some more fun facts:

-Larry Hochman provided orchestrations for “The Addams Family” which last played Chicago November 13, 2009 – January 10, 2010 at the Oriental Theatre. He also is known for his Tony Award winning orchestrations for “The Book of Mormon.”

-Daryl Waters won the 2010 Best Orchestrations Tony Award for “Memphis” which played at the Cadillac Palace Theatre November 22 – December 4, 2011.

2016 Tony Award Nominations – Best Direction of a Play / Musical

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

Here are the 10 phenomenal directors nominated for Best Direction of a Play and Best Direction of a Musical:

BEST DIRECTION OF A PLAY

Rupert Goold – “King Charles III”

Jonathan Kent – “Long Day’s Journey Into Night”

Joe Mantello – “The Humans”

Liesl Tommy – “Eclipsed”

Ivo van Hove – “A View from the Bridge”

Here are some fun facts:

-Jonathan Kent directed the revival of “Man of La Mancha” in 2002. Flashback to when “Man of La Mancha” first premiered in Chicago at the old Shubert Theatre June 2 – June 28, 1969!

-“Eclipsed”, led by the direction of Liesl Tommy, is making history as the first all black and all female Broadway show!

-Joe Mantello is well known for his direction of “Wicked” which was last at the Oriental Theatre October 30 – December 21, 2013.

BEST DIRECTION OF A MUSICAL

Michael Arden – “Spring Awakening”

John Doyle – “The Color Purple”

Scott Ellis – “She Loves Me”

Thomas Kail – “Hamilton”

George C. Wolfe – “Shuffle Along, Or the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed”

Here are a few more fun facts:

-John Doyle’s “Sweeney Todd” toured through Chicago April 23 – May 4, 2008 at the Cadillac Palace Theatre.

-Thomas Kail directed “In The Heights” which last played here in Chicago January 10 – 15, 2012 at the Oriental Theatre.

2016 Tony Award Nominations – Best Choreography

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

Here are this year’s nominees for Best Choreography:

BEST CHOREOGRAPHY

Andy Blankenbuehler – “Hamilton”

Savion Glover – “Shuffle Along, Or the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed”

Hofesh Shechter – “Fiddler on the Roof”

Randy Skinner – “Dames at Sea”

Sergio Trujillo – “On Your Feet! The Story of Emilio and Gloria Estefan”

Here are a few fun facts:

-Sergio Trujillo’s nomination for “On Your Feet” is quite exciting since it recently premiered here at the Oriental Theatre June 2 – July 5, 2015 before moving to Broadway.

-Randy Skinner choreographed the 42^nd St tour that recently came through Chicago this year at the Cadillac Palace Theatre from March 8 – 20.

-A bit of an off topic but fact about Savion Glover was that his grandmother, Anna Lundy Lewis, was the minister of music at New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, NJ and she played for Whitney Houston when she was sang in the gospel choir there as a child.

-Andy Blankenbuehler’s first touring production choreography credit was for “In The Heights” which played the Cadillac Palace Theatre December 15, 2009 – January 3, 2010. He also directed the revival of Joseph starring Ace Young & Diana de Garmo also at the Cadillac Palace Theatre March 18 – 30, 2014.

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

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

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!