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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!

 

WICKED is flying back to Chicago!

Posted on: January 17th, 2017 by B.I. C. No Comments

Broadway In Chicago is pleased to announce WICKED, Broadway’s biggest blockbuster and Chicago’s most popular musical, will return to Chicago’s Oriental Theatre (24 W Randolph) during the holiday season for a limited seven-week engagement Dec. 6, 2017- Jan. 21, 2018.

With music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz (Pippin, Godspell, Academy Award®-winner for Pocahontas and The Prince of Egypt) and book by Winnie Holzman (“My So Called Life,” “Once And Again” and “thirtysomething”), WICKED is directed by two-time Tony® Award winner Joe Mantello (Take Me Out, Love! Valour! Compassion!, The Vagina Monologues) and features musical staging by Tony® Award winner Wayne Cilento (Aida, The Who’s Tommy, How To Succeed…). The musical is based on the best-selling 1995 novel by Gregory Maguire.

The Broadway sensation, WICKED, looks at what happened in the Land of Oz…but from a different angle. Long before Dorothy arrives, there is another young woman, born with emerald-green skin, who is smart, fiery, misunderstood, and possessing an extraordinary talent. When she meets a bubbly blonde who is exceptionally popular, their initial rivalry turns into the unlikeliest of friendships…until the world decides to call one “good,” and the other one “wicked.”

With a thrilling score that includes the hits “Defying Gravity,” “Popular” and “For Good,” WICKED has been hailed by The New York Times as “the defining musical of the decade,” and by Time Magazine as “a magical Broadway musical with brains, heart, and courage.”

Winner of over 100 international awards including the Grammy Award and three Tony Awards, WICKED has been performed in over 100 cities in 14 countries around the world (U.S., Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, Japan, Germany, Holland, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, The Philippines, Mexico, and Brazil) and has thus far been translated into six languages: Japanese, German, Dutch, Spanish, Korean, and Portuguese.

TICKET INFORMATION
Group tickets for 15 or more are now on sale by calling Broadway In Chicago Group Sales at (312) 977-1710. Individual tickets for WICKED will go on sale at a later date.

 

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.

 

 

Tony Awards 2015 – Best Direction of a Play / Best Direction of a Musical

Posted on: May 13th, 2015 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

Stephen Daldry, “Skylight”

Marianne Elliott, “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time”

Scott Ellis, “You Can’t Take It With You”

Jeremy Herrin, “Wolf Hall Parts One & Two”

Moritz von Stuelpnagel, “Hand to God”

 

Here’s a few fun facts:

– Stephen Daldry made his feature film directorial debut in 2000 with “Billy Elliot” and then went on to win Best Direction of a Musical for the stage version in 2009.  “Billy Elliot” also played here in Chicago at the Oriental Theatre from March 18, 2010 – November 28, 2010.

– In 2011, Marianne Elliott won the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play for the Broadway production of “War Horse,” along with co-director Tom Morris.  The production toured through Chicago December 18, 2012 – January 5, 2013 at the Cadillac Palace Theatre.

– Scott Ellis attended the Chicago Goodman School of Drama.

 

Best Direction of a Musical

Sam Gold, “Fun Home”

Casey Nicholaw, “Something Rotten!”

John Rando, “On the Town”

Bartlett Sher, “The King and I”

Christopher Wheeldon, “An American in Paris”

 

Here’s a few more fun facts:

– Sam Gold started out as an actor, appearing as a replacement understudy in “The Diary of Anne Frank” on Broadway in 1997-1998.

– John Rando won the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical for “Urinetown the Musical” in 2002.  He also directed “The Wedding Singer” on Broadway in 2006.

– In 2014, Bartlett Sher directed the beautiful musical, “The Bridges of Madison County” which unfortunately only ran for 100 performances from February 2014 to May 2014.

 

Tony Awards 2015 – Best Choreography

Posted on: May 11th, 2015 by B.I. C. No Comments

Here are this year’s nominees for Best Choreography:

 

 

Best Choreography

Joshua Bergasse, “On the Town”

Christopher Gattelli, “The King and I”

Scott Graham & Steven Hoggett for Frantic Assembly, “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time”

Casey Nicholaw, “Something Rotten!”

Christopher Wheeldon, “An American in Paris”

 

Here’s a few fun facts:

– Before gaining acclaim as a choreographer, Joshua Bergasse was a performer himself and actually toured through Chicago with the musical “Movin’ Out” at the Shubert Theater June 25, 2002 – September 1, 2002.

– Christopher Gattelli choreographed the Tony-Award winning musical “Newsies” which just recently played at the Oriental Theatre December 10, 2014 – January 04, 2015.

– Casey Nicholaw choreographed The Book of Mormon which is currently playing at the Bank of America Theatre through May 17, 2015, and also directed and choreographed Elf the Musical which toured through Chicago at the Cadillac Palace November 26, 2013 – December 15, 2013.