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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 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 Original Score

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

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

Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre:

“Fun Home” – Music: Jeanine Tesori, Lyrics: Lisa Kron

“The Last Ship” – Music & Lyrics: Sting

“Something Rotten!” – Music & Lyrics: Wayne Kirkpatrick and Karey Kirkpatrick

“The Visit” – Music: John Kander, Lyrics: Fred Ebb

Here are a few fun facts:

-We’re extremely happy for Sting being nominated for “The Last Ship” since it premiered here in Chicago at the Bank of America Theatre June 10, 2014 – July 13, 2014 before moving to Broadway.

– Jeanine Tesori wrote the music for “Shrek the Musical,” which opened on Broadway in 2008 and earned her both Tony and Drama Desk Award nominations.  “Shrek the Musical” toured through Chicago at the Cadillac Palace Theatre July 25, 2010 – September 5, 2010.

-John Kander and Fred Ebb are one of the most successful songwriting teams in history.  If you know shows such as “Cabaret,” “Chicago,” “Kiss of the Spiderwoman,” “Curtains,” “The Scottsboro Boys,” etc., then you definitely know Kander and Ebb.  Another fun fact is that Liza Minnelli became strongly associated with Kander and Ebb, with Ebb producing Minnelli’s Emmy-winning television special “Liza with a Z.”

 

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 Lighting Design

Posted on: May 4th, 2015 by B.I. C. No Comments

Broadway In Chicago is beyond excited for the 2015 Tony Awards on June 7th! Until the award ceremony, we’ll be highlighting the nominees in each category and filling you in on some fun facts each week. Today we’re focusing on Best Lighting Design of a Play and Best Lighting Design of a Musical!

Lighting1(Left to Right: Paule Constable, David Plater, Natasha Katz, Japhy Weideman)

 

Best Lighting Design of a Play

Paule Constable – “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time”

Paule Constable and David Plater – “Wolf Hall Parts One & Two”

Natasha Katz – “Skylight”

Japhy Weideman – “Airline Highway”

 

Here’s a few fun facts:

– Paule Constable won the 2011 Tony Award for Best Lighting Design of a play for “War Horse.”  The production of “War Horse” toured through Chicago at the Cadillac Palace Theatre December 18, 2012 – January 5, 2013.

– Paule Constable was also the lighting designer for the 2010 25th Anniversary Touring Production of “Les Misérables” which played at the Cadillac Palace Theatre November 14, 2012 – December 2, 2012.

– Natasha Katz won the 2012 Tony Award for Best Lighting Design of a Musical for “Once,” which toured through the Oriental Theatre October 9, 2013 – October 27, 2013 and will be returning to Chicago June 2, 2015 – June 7, 2015 at the Cadillac Palace Theatre.

– Natasha Katz was also nominated for a Tony Award for Best Lighting Design in 1994 for “Disney’s Beauty and the Beast” which recently toured through Chicago at the Cadillac Palace Theatre March 25, 2015 – March 29, 2015.

 

Lighting2(Left to Right: Donald Holder, Natasha Katz, Ben Stanton, Japhy Weideman)

Best Lighting Design of a Musical

Donald Holder – “The King and I”

Natasha Katz – “An American in Paris”

Ben Stanton – “Fun Home”

Japhy Weideman – “The Visit”

 

Here’s a few more fun facts:

– Japhy Weideman designed the lighting for “Airline Highway” at Steppenwolf Theatre Company which premiered here in Chicago December 14, 2014 – February 14, 2015.

– Donald Holder won the 1998 Tony Award for Best Lighting Design of a Musical for “The Lion King” which will be returning to Chicago at the Cadillac Palace December 2, 2015 – January 17, 2016.

– Don Holder was also was the lighting designer for “Big Fish” which premiered at the Oriental Theatre April 2, 2013 – May 5, 2013.