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☆ ‘Sunset Boulevard,’ Heading to Broadway, Wins Big at Olivier Awards
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-14 | by ( Alex Marshall | More About Alex Marshall | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A reimagining of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Sunset Boulevard,” starring Nicole Scherzinger as Norma Desmond, the long forgotten silent movie star who descends into madness, was the big winner at this year’s Olivier Awards, Britain’s equivalent of the Tonys. The musical, which will open at the St. James Theater on Broadway this fall, was honored Sunday during a ceremony at the Royal Albert Hall in London with seven awards, including best musical revival, best actress in a musical for Scherzinger, best actor in a musical for Tom Francis, as the screenwriter who falls for Desmond’s charms, and best director for Jamie Lloyd. The number of awards was hardly a surprise. After the musical opened last fall, critics praised Lloyd’s stark production, especially highlighting its contemporary twists that included using cameras to zoom in on characters’ faces, then beam their emotions onto a screen at the back of the stage. Matt Wolf, writing in The New York Times, said that Lloyd’s production belonged firmly “to the here and now.” With this show, the director “takes an established musical by the scruff of the neck and sends it careering into the modern day,” Wolf added.

Persons: Andrew Lloyd Webber’s, ”, Nicole Scherzinger, Norma Desmond, Olivier, James, Scherzinger, Tom Francis, Jamie Lloyd, Matt Wolf, “, ” Wolf Organizations: St, James Theater, Broadway, Royal Albert Hall, New York Times Locations: London

☆ How to Restage ‘Cabaret’? Don’t Treat It Like a Classic.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-27 | by ( Douglas Greenwood | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When Rebecca Frecknall was a child, one of her favorite things to watch was a televised 1993 London revival of “Cabaret,” which her father had recorded on VHS tape. As the British theater director grew up, she hoped that one day she would stage a version of the musical, in which a writer falls in love with an exuberant and wayward cabaret performer in Weimar-era Germany. In early March, in a Midtown rehearsal room, Frecknall, 37, was preparing to do just that. Her “Cabaret,” which opens in previews at the August Wilson Theater on April 1, is a transfer from London’s West End, where it opened in 2021 to critical acclaim. “I always wanted to direct ‘Cabaret’,” Frecknall said later in an interview.

Persons: Rebecca Frecknall, Olivier, “, ” Frecknall, I’d, ”, Eddie Redmayne —, Broadway — Organizations: Wilson, Broadway Locations: London, British, Weimar, Germany, London’s

NEW YORK (AP) — It's a new location but the same host for the Tony Awards:Ariana DeBose will make it three in a row as MC of theater's most watched event, which this year moves uptown to Lincoln Center. “I couldn’t pass up the chance to host the Tonys one more time, at Lincoln Center. Photos You Should See View All 60 ImagesLike last year, the three-hour main telecast will air on CBS and stream on Paramount+ from 8 p.m.-11 p.m. EDT/5 p.m.-8 p.m. PDT with a pre-show on Pluto TV, with some Tony Awards handed out there. The Tony eligibility cut-off date for the 2023-2024 season is April 25, and nominations for the 2024 Tony Awards will be announced April 30. The awards are presented by The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing.

Persons: —, Ariana DeBose, Tony, ”, DeBose, ” “ Hamilton, ” “, Steven Spielberg’s, David H, Kimberly Akimbo ”, Tom Stoppard’s “, Sean Hayes, Victoria Clark, “ Kimberly Akimbo, ” ___ Mark Kennedy Organizations: Lincoln Center, The, Broadway, Hollywood, United, Theatre, “ Company, ”, Apple, Koch, New York City Ballet, Lincoln Square Theater, Beaumont, CBS, Paramount, The Broadway League, American Theatre Locations: “, New

☆ Broadway’s Crunchtime Is Also Its Best Life
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-20 | by ( Jesse Green | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Broadway is the pinnacle of the commercial theater, a billion-dollar cultural enterprise and a jewel of New York City. So why is it run like a Christmas tree farm? I don’t mean that it invites too much tinsel. I mean that it operates at a very low hum for 10 months of the year and then goes into a two-month frenzy of product dumping. From a business standpoint, this is obviously unwise.

Organizations: Broadway Locations: New York City

☆ 4.3 Million Watched the Emmys, a New Low
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-16 | by ( John Koblin | More About John Koblin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The Emmy Awards ratings collapse continues. An audience of 4.3 million people watched the Emmys on Fox on Monday night, the lowest viewership since records have been kept, according to preliminary Nielsen data. In 2022, the Emmys garnered 5.9 million viewers, the previous low. The ratings have put the Emmys dangerously close to the Tony Awards, which for decades has drawn a significantly smaller audience. But in June, 4.3 million people tuned into the Tonys, an increase from its previous ceremony.

Persons: Tony Organizations: Fox, Nielsen

PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — Audra McDonald will serve as grand marshal of the 135th Rose Parade next year. “As a California kid raised in Fresno — very proud to be from Fresno — the new year was always ushered in with the Rose Bowl,” McDonald said. McDonald will be part of the coin flip for the 110th Rose Bowl game later that day. Those barriers have been broken down so I can walk through.”McDonald was joined on the outdoor stage by members of the Rose Court, including 2024 queen Naomi Stillitano. “I was very pleased to see just how beautiful and diverse the court is,” McDonald said.

Persons: — Audra McDonald, ” McDonald, “, Tony, McDonald, “ I’m, ”, Naomi Stillitano, ” She's, Alex Aghajanian, Sandra Day O'Connor Organizations: 135th Rose Parade, House, Rose, 110th Rose Bowl Locations: PASADENA, Calif, Pasadena, California, Fresno, Colorado

☆ Frances Sternhagen, Actress Who Thrived in Mature Roles, Dies at 93
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Anita Gates | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Frances Sternhagen, the Tony Award-winning actress who played leading roles in stage productions of “Driving Miss Daisy” and “On Golden Pond” as formidable older women when she was so young that she had to wear aging makeup, died on Monday at her home in New Rochelle, N.Y. She was 93. Ms. Sternhagen won Tonys as featured actress in a play for her performances in two very different productions. In a 1995 Broadway revival of “The Heiress,” based on Henry James’s novel “Washington Square,” she was Cherry Jones’s well-meaning, matchmaking Aunt Lavinia. In “The Good Doctor,” Neil Simon’s 1973 take on Chekhov, she played multiple roles in comedy sketches. She received Tony nominations for her roles in the original productions of “On Golden Pond,” “Equus” and the musical “Angel” and in revivals of “Morning’s at Seven” and “The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window.”

Persons: Frances Sternhagen, Daisy ”, Tony Carlin, Sternhagen, “, ”, Henry James’s, Cherry Jones’s, ” Neil Simon’s, Chekhov, Alfred Uhry’s “, Ernest Thompson’s “, Tony, “ Morning’s Locations: New Rochelle, N.Y, ”, Brustein’s

NEW YORK (AP) — Frances Sternhagen, the veteran character actor who won two Tony Awards and became a familiar maternal face to TV viewers later in life in such shows as “Cheers,” “ER,” “Sex and the City” and “The Closer,” has died. Sternhagen died peacefully of natural causes in her home in Washington, D.C., her son, John Carlin, said in a statement posted to Instagram. She was nominated for Tonys four other times, for starring or featured roles in "The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window," "Equus," "Angel" and "Morning's at Seven." In 2013, she played Edie Falco’s mother in the off-Broadway play “The Madrid.”“I have been very fortunate,” Sternhagen told the Daily Breeze of Torrance, California, in 2002. “And I think a lot of that is because I’m considered a character actor — which really means you can do a variety of things.

Persons: — Frances Sternhagen, Tony, ” “, ”, Sternhagen, John Carlin, ” Carlin, ” Sternhagen, Neil Simon's, Edie Falco’s, I’m, —, you’re Organizations: City, Washington , D.C, Broadway, Daily Locations: Washington ,, “, Brustein's, Madrid, Torrance , California

☆ Barry Manilow Finally Gets His Wish: a Broadway Show
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( Jesse Mckinley | More About Jesse Mckinley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

One possible turning point in the show’s luck, Carlyle said, was the addition of a narrator character — an older rabbi played by Chip Zien — who walks the audience through the various eras of the show. “For me as director, it unlocks the whole show because previously it was kind of a six-headed dragon. In addition to his younger self the show would also include his older self, a rabbi, serving as a narrator. “And suddenly for me, it was like, now the story has a point of view,” Carlyle said. Writing in The New York Times, Elisabeth Vincentelli praised the songs “crafted in a defiantly classic mold,” which steer the show back to “solid emotional ground.”

Persons: Sussman, Manilow, Warren Carlyle, Tonys, Kate ”, Carlyle, Chip Zien —, “, ” Carlyle, —, Elisabeth Vincentelli Organizations: Museum of Jewish, The New York Times Locations: British

☆ ‘Only Murders in the Building’ Actress Andrea Martin on What Led to Two Emmys and Two Tonys
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-15 | by ( Marc Myers | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

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Persons: Dow Jones, martin, b6c312c0

☆ Aaron Rodgers Is Now a Jet (and Becoming a New Yorker, Too)
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( Wesley Morris | More About Wesley Morris | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

One recent Friday afternoon, I found myself walking a few feet behind a fellow who turned out to be Rodgers. We were both on our ways somewhere in SoHo, and I went out of mine to stick with him for a few extra blocks. At some point, on Grand, a street that doubles as a parking lot at that time of day, a gentleman with taxi-livery plates leaned out of his window and somehow audibly mouthed, “You’re walking behind Aaron Rodgers.” He could have yelled at Rodgers himself. They know that we know and are maybe grateful that we’re letting them be. That’s a question that’s dogged him all over the city, especially at the Tonys: You lost?

Persons: Rodgers, ”, Aaron Rodgers, We’ve, he’s Organizations: Jets, FedEx, Super Locations: SoHo, York, Green Bay, Soho

☆ If You Like Broadway and Cruises (and Are Between 19 and 90), This Vacation’s for You
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( Margaret Engel | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

WHEN MY TWIN SISTER AND I signed up for a Broadway cruise from New York City to Bermuda, it wasn’t the destination that attracted us but the talent on board. The headliners had won a boatload of Tonys, and we wondered how close we’d get to stars such as Laura Benanti (“My Fair Lady”) and Joshua Henry (“Carousel”). Would we pass them on deck? Might we find ourselves chitchatting in the hot tub with Michael Cerveris (“Fun Home”)? Would Kristin Chenoweth (“Wicked”) actually mingle?

Persons: Laura Benanti, ”, Joshua Henry, Michael Cerveris, Kristin Chenoweth Locations: New York City, Bermuda

☆ Unscripted or Not, the Tonys Were Mostly Predictable
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Jesse Green | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

No writers’ names crawled up the screen at the end of Sunday night’s telecast of the Tony Awards, and though the writers might not like to hear it, their absence made little difference. The names of the show’s producers and director were the same as always, and in television as in the theater, they call the game. Mostly those things bore out the predictions, and many people’s predilections too. “Kimberly Akimbo,” the sweet, intimate, tragicomic “nerdical” by Jeanine Tesori and David Lindsay-Abaire, won the most musical prizes, including one for its star, Victoria Clark, and one for the show itself. “Some Like It Hot” followed with a reasonable haul, and though “Parade” picked up just two, they were good ones: best direction of a musical and best musical revival.

Persons: Awards, —, “ Kimberly Akimbo, Jeanine Tesori, David Lindsay, Abaire, Victoria Clark, ” Organizations: Writers Guild of America, Paramount, Broadway

☆ Tony Awards Viewership Increases to 4.3 Million
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( John Koblin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

(The writers had already successfully disrupted the MTV Movie & TV Awards last month, which prompted the cancellation of the live ceremony; MTV and CBS share the same corporate parent, Paramount.) The Tony Awards represent a vital marketing tool for Broadway as it still makes its slow recovery out of the pandemic. Given the relatively low viewership of the Tonys, the show has always been more of a prestige play for CBS than a profit machine. relented, and the end result was an awards show that went heavy on live performances and introductory videos, and went without scripted material or pre-written bits. Thank you to attendees wearing #WGAstrong pins, and to everyone who showed solidarity with the writers during last night’s unscripted awards show.”The unscripted ceremony, which was hosted by Ariana DeBose, was mostly well received.

Persons: W.G.A, Ariana DeBose, Jesse Green Organizations: CBS, MTV, Paramount, Writers Guild of America, The Locations: York

Tony voters struck a perfect equilibrium with the awards for scenic design. Beowulf Boritt won for the musical “New York, New York,” a big, buoyant throwback of a show whose aesthetic is decidedly classic Broadway. “There’s no video wall in ‘New York, New York,’” he assured the audience, which sounded glad to hear it. Recognizing such different kinds of excellence, the Tonys gracefully embraced both tradition and tradition-breaking. LAURA COLLINS-HUGHESSmall is beautiful

Persons: Tony, Beowulf Boritt, ”, “, ’ ”, Tim Hatley, Andrzej Goulding, LAURA COLLINS, HUGHES Organizations: “ Locations: York , New York, ‘ New York , New York

☆ 'Kimberly Akimbo,' Tom Stoppard’s 'Leopoldstadt' among winners on writerless Tony night
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Kathryn Lurie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] The cast of “Kimberly Akimbo” perform at the 76th Annual Tony Awards in New York City, U.S., June 11, 2023. REUTERS/Brendan McdermidJune 11 - “Kimberly Akimbo,” about a teenager who ages in reverse, and Tom Stoppard’s autobiographical “Leopoldstadt” were among the winners Sunday as the Tony Awards went on despite the Writers Guild of America strike. The three-hour telecast on CBS was hosted by Tony- and Academy Award-winner Ariana DeBose. Patrick Marber, who won best director of a play for “Leopoldstadt,” was among several winners who used their acceptance speeches to express support for the strike. The pre-show included the award for best regional theater, which went to the Pasadena Playhouse, and the Isabelle Stevenson Award, which went to director and choreographer Jerry Mitchell.

Persons: “ Kimberly Akimbo ”, Tony, Brendan Mcdermid, “ Kimberly Akimbo, Tom, Tony Awards, Ariana DeBose, Joel Grey, John Kander, Patrick Marber, “, ”, Marber, I’m, ” “ Kimberly Akimbo ”, Victoria Clark, ” Clark, Sean Hayes, Oscar Levant, Oscar, ” J, Harrison, Alex Newell, Newell, Lulu, Jodie Comer, Tessa, “ Prima, ” Michael Arden, Julianne Hough, Skyler Astin, Tonys, Isabelle Stevenson, Jerry Mitchell, Kathryn Lurie, Donna Bryson, Gerry Doyle Organizations: REUTERS, Writers Guild of America, CBS, Pasadena Playhouse, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, Washington Heights, Manhattan, York , New York, Piazza, London, “, “ Shucked

At this point, Audra McDonald is part of Tony Awards history. McDonald previously won four featured actress Tonys in the play and musical categories for her roles in “Carousel” (1994), “Master Class” (1996), “Ragtime” (1998) and “A Raisin in the Sun” (2004). She is the only person to win in all four acting categories. Despite the cascade of awards, she told The New York Times in an interview last month that the recognition remained special. “It’s an honor,” she said while on a lunch break from working on yet another project.

Persons: Audra McDonald, Tony, who’s, —, Suzanne Alexander, Adrienne Kennedy’s, McDonald, Chita Rivera, Julie Harris, Tonys, ”, Bess, Porgy, Bess ”, Billie Holiday Organizations: Sun, New York Times

☆ How to Watch the Tony Awards
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-10 | by ( Michael Paulson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Lea Michele is going to lead a number from the revival of “Funny Girl” that opened a year ago. And Joaquina Kalukango, one of last year’s Tony winners, will sing a song to accompany the In Memoriam segment. Broadway is still struggling to recover from the lengthy coronavirus shutdown — attendance remains 17 percent below prepandemic levels — and producers view the Tony Awards as an important way to introduce a large audience to the newest shows. Also, the Tonys are a way to lift up theater as an art form, often boosting the careers of the artists involved. Wins and nominations help plays get staged at regional theaters and taught in colleges, and telecast performances help musicals sell tickets and tour.

Persons: Ariana DeBose, Steven Spielberg’s “, Donna Summer, Julianne Hough, Skylar Astin, “, ” “ Kimberly Akimbo, ”, “ Sweeney Todd, Lea Michele, Neil Diamond, Tony Locations: ” “ New York , New York

☆ As the Tonys Head Uptown, Step Inside the United Palace ‘Dream World’
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Darryn King | Gioncarlo Valentine | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Nearly eight miles north of Times Square, the United Palace in Washington Heights is a dazzling remnant of a golden age of cinema. On Sunday, it will provide the backdrop for Broadway’s biggest night. This former Loew’s “Wonder Theater,” at Broadway between 175th and 176th Streets, is beguiling, if mysterious. Its landmark exterior — where pigeons make themselves at home among terra-cotta ziggurats and pilasters — is said to have been influenced by Egyptian, Aztec or Mayan design, or perhaps the architecture of the 16th- to 18th-century Mughal Empire.

Persons: ” Organizations: Times, Broadway, 176th Locations: Washington Heights

☆ Opinion | What’s the Point of Prizes?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-27 | by ( Roger Rosenblatt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Ah, the magical season of prizes is once again upon us. The award ceremonies for literary prizes are usually demure, decorous little things, but award shows on TV are like a country music hoedown. And the Oscars rank so high in the culture that actors measure their worth by rehearsing their acceptance speeches. It is, in essence, the world’s way of telling you that you’ve done something noteworthy and valuable. Would the minds and achievements of Copernicus, Galileo, Vermeer or van Gogh have suffered chilling effects from winning prizes?

☆ Tony Nominations 2023 Live Updates: How to Watch the Announcement
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Michael Paulson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

ETImage Ariana DeBose will return this year after hosting last year’s Tony Awards ceremony. Credit... Sara Krulwich/The New York TimesNominations for this year’s Tony Awards, which honor plays and musicals performed on Broadway, are being announced on Tuesday morning in New York. There are 26 competitive categories, and the Tonys hand out some noncompetitive awards as well. The Tony Awards ceremony, presented by the Broadway League and the American Theater Wing, will be on June 11. To be eligible for this year’s Tony Awards, shows must have opened between April 29, 2022, and April 27, 2023.

☆ U.S. composer Burt Bacharach dies at age 94
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Bill Trott | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Bacharach and David had 30 Top-40 hits in the '60s alone. I'd hear his melodies and I'd hear lyrics. I'd hear rhymes, I'd hear thoughts and I'd hear it almost immediately." Bacharach and David scored the Neil Simon Broadway musical "Promises, Promises," which won them two Tonys and a Grammy. While star performers made his songs hits, Bacharach said he also enjoyed performing himself and making a personal connection with smaller audiences.

This fall, Ross made history as the first trans woman to ever play a leading role on Broadway. He added that Ross’ debut in the long-running American musical “opens the door to full acceptance” for the transgender community. “Black theater artists are asking for white American theater to see us and consider us in producing work,” Jackson said. The Black Theatre Coalition said it aimed “to remove the ‘ILLUSION OF INCLUSION’ in the American Theatre,” by combating racism and providing more work opportunities for Black artists, according to the group’s mission statement. “I hope there’s an Angelica Ross backstage, whether that’s in stage management, whether that’s in front of the house,” he said.

"We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Angela Lansbury," according to statement by Actors' Equity, the union representing live stage performers. "A star of stage, TV and movies, Lansbury was an Equity member for an astounding 65 years. Angela Lansbury stars as mystery writer and crime solver Jessica Fletcher on the CBS television crime drama series "Murder, She Wrote" in 1990. The TV academy nominated Lansbury for 12 Emmys for “Murder,” although she never took home the trophy. Edgar Lansbury was mayor of the London borough of Poplar, while George Lansbury served as Labour Party leader in 1932-34.

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