Meet Jessica Hecht, the Tony-nominated actress from this season’s two-hander SUMMER, 1976, in which she stars opposite Laura Linney.
SUMMER, 1976. Photo by Jeremy Daniel
Hecht is one of our most versatile and gifted theater artists, with Broadway credits dating back to 1997, when she starred in the Tony-winning play THE LAST NIGHT OF BALLYHOO. This year’s marks her second Tony nomination, after being recognized for her work in 2010’s A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE. Additional Broadway appearances include BRIGHTON BEACH MEMOIRS, A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE, and FIDDLER ON THE ROOF, among several others.
Fiddler on the Roof. Photo by Joan Marcus
She has appeared many times on the New York stage throughout her career, including this season’s LETTERS FROM MAX by Sarah Ruhl at Signature Theatre Company. She is also known for her television roles on Friends, Breaking Bad, and Special, for which was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award, among others.
Get to know this New York theater icon with our TONY TALK Q&A:
Who was the first person to text/call you when you got the nomination?
I texted Laura Linney to express how indebted I am to her.
Show some love to a fellow nominee this year. Whose work blew you away?
I loved David Zayas in Cost of Living.
Top restaurant in the theater district?
I like Bond 45 for the incredible Antipasto…Also I met Todd Haimes there several times and it now holds these memories of him.
The first Broadway show you ever saw?
Shenandoah!! Which I saw in 1976! I went with my class from middle school in Bloomfield, CT. It was a revelation!
When did you decide to become a theater artist? While at Connecticut College, I met the great Morris Carnovsky and he was so devoted to the work he had done in the Group Theatre and I was awed by him and just followed him around like a puppy and he told me to go to New York and Study with Stella Adler and I never looked back.
What is your earliest Tonys memory? Well I think being at the live awards for The Last Night of Ballyhoo…and having our play win for Best Play…as we sat in the nosebleed seats (in a dress I borrowed from magnificent Dana Ivey!) has become my earliest adult memory…and it just trumps all other memories.
Who’s your favorite Tonys host in history, and why?
Nathan Lane and Mathew Broderick made you feel like you were on the inside of some delicious joke in a familiar and true, “this is our time” way that was thrilling.
All-time favorite Tonys performance on the telecast, and why?
Hamilton… Come on… 🙂
Most memorable Tonys acceptance speech, and why?
Danny Burstein. So genuine, so simple. It was ultimately a love note to the community from him …and Becca.
What is one play or musical you would like to perform on Broadway, and why?
Sarah Ruhl’s Stage Kiss would be a dream to do on Broadway. It’s equally theatrical and intimate …ingeniously so. I’d also do anything by Tennessee Williams of course….for much the same reason as Stage Kiss….Isn’t that the thrill? To be both wonderfully theatrical and steadily real.
Manhattan Theatre Club’s production of SUMMER, 1976 is running at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, currently scheduled through June 18, 2023.
Meet Audra McDonald, the Tony-nominated star of this season’s OHIO STATE MURDERS.
OHIO STATE MURDERS. Photo by Richard Termine.
A bona fide Broadway star, Audra McDonald is the only actress to have been recognized in all four acting categories. This year, she is nominated for the 10th time for her performance as Suzanne Alexander in Adrienne Kennedy’s OHIO STATE MURDERS. The production marked Adrienne Kennedy’s Broadway debut at the age of 91, and was directed by Kenny Leon.
THE GERSHWINS’ PORGY AND BESS. Photo by Michael J. Lutch.
Of her 13 Broadway outings, some of her most notable include CAROUSEL (1994), MASTER CLASS (1996), RAGTIME (1998), A RAISIN IN THE SUN (2004), THE GERSHWINS’ PORGY AND BESS (2012), and LADY DAY AT EMERSON’S BAR & GRILL (2014), all of which won her Tony Awards for her performances.
Audra McDonald as Billie Holiday for LADY DAY AT EMERSON’S BAR & GRILL (Photo by Warwick Saint)
Get to know more about this Broadway icon with our TONY TALK Q&A:
Who was the first person to text/call you when you got the nomination? I was on the train heading to the city for rehearsal, and my friend sent me a video message of his son saying “Hi Auntie Audra, congratulations on your Tony nomination!” That’s how I found out.
Show some love to a fellow nominee this year. Whose work blew you away? I was bowled over by “Fat Ham”. I thought it was an incredible adaptation and I was truly blown away.
Top restaurant in the theater district? It’s just south of the Theater District, but Boqueria – incredible tapas!
The first Broadway show you ever saw? Starlight Express
When did you decide to become a theater artist? When I was 9 years old, the first time I stepped on the stage in my dinner theater in Fresno, California. I felt such electricity and the sense that was where I belonged. I felt normal for the first time in my life.
What is your earliest Tonys memory? One of my earliest Tonys memories was being in the elevator heading to the stage for “Carousel” to rehearse our number and running into Sally Mayes. She had just come from rehearsal for their number, she was starring in the revival of “She Loves Me” and we both had nominations in the same category. I didn’t know her very well, but we saw each other, fell into each other’s arms, gave each other the biggest hug and said, “have the most amazing night!” It was my first sense of true camaraderie with performers and theater makers. I learned in the end, it’s all a lovefest.
Who’s your favorite Tonys host in history, and why? Rosie O’Donnell always did a wonderful job. With Rosie, it was about the love of the community and musical theater. She gave so much support to the theater with her TV show. There was such a love and an ease, and she hosted with awe and joy.
All-time favorite Tonys performance on the telecast, and why? There are so many amazing performances, but what comes to my mind is Jennifer Holiday’s ‘And I Am Telling You’ from “Dreamgirls.”
Most memorable Tonys acceptance speech, and why? I remember being incredibly moved by Billy Porter’s speech when he won for “Kinky Boots” declaring “this is who I am.” He spoke about his mother not necessarily understanding who he was but loving him anyway and her acceptance. She was there for him and nurtured him so he could grow to be his best self. His love for his mother in that moment and honoring her in that way was intensely moving.
What is one play or musical you would like to perform on Broadway, and why? The answer is all of them, because I love Broadway so much.
Over a hundred years of evolution have transformed vaudeville, burlesque, and operetta into the mature art form we know today as musical theater. Certain shows in particular pushed the artform forward, deepening the nuance, complexity, and depth of musical content and form. Yet, interestingly enough, these unusual musicals did not have the same transformative impact on cinema, and most have become footnotes to their grander Broadway successes. Below are some of the musicals that transformed the medium, and their film adaptations.
Show Boat
1927’s Show Boat was the first musical to explore dark, socially relevant themes. Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein innovated the musical melodrama, with a story about workers on a Mississippi River steamship that deals with gambling, alcoholism, racism, and in particular, anti-miscegenation laws. It might not seem novel today, but in the 1920s, Broadway musicals were exclusively comedies, with shoestring plots just to tie the songs and comic business together, if they had plots at all. The musical opened December 27th, 1927 at the former Ziegfeld Theatre, has been revived on Broadway multiple times, and is perhaps best known for the song “Ol Man River.”
Show Boat was adapted into a movie not once, not twice, but thrice: by Universal Studios in 1929 and 1936, and by MGM in 1951, in Technicolor.
Ava Gardner sings “Bill” in the Show Boat 1951 film.
The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess
Porgy & Bess broke new ground in part because it was written as an opera, not a musical. Its Broadway premiere at the Alvin Theatre (now the Neil Simon) on October 10th, 1935 was because its composer, George Gershwin, wanted to “appeal to the many rather than the cultured few,” as he wrote in an essay in the New York Timesin 1936. The result is a groundbreaking “folk opera” (Gershwin’s words) about Black Americans that fuses operatic structures and musical theatre conventions like dance breaks and humorous subplots. For decades it was the only opera written for Black performers. While its lush romantic score has made it a mainstay in opera houses around the world, its story of drug addiction, rape, and murder features many negative stereotypes about Black people. Playwright Suzan-Lori Parks, who adapted the show’s book for the 2012 Broadway revival, loved the music, and tried to “make the story just as great.”
It was adapted into a movie in 1959 with a stacked cast of Black Hollywood and Broadway trailblazers like Sammy Davis Jr., Pearl Bailey, and Diahann Carroll, with Sidney Poitier and Dorothy Dandridge in the title roles. It was to be legendary film producer Samuel Goldwyn’s final film. (The Goldwyn family has something of an affinity for groundbreaking musicals—Samuel’s grandson Tony Goldwyn is co-directing the upcoming Pal Joey revival.)
Audra McDonald and Norm Lewis perform “I Loves You, Porgy” from the 2012 Broadway revival.
Pal Joey
When Pal Joey opened at the Barrymore Theatre on Christmas Day 1940 it introduced something alien to the musical theater canon: cynicism. In the love triangle between a charming and slimy nightclub singer named Joey, his wide-eyed paramour Linda, and his rich, and married, lover Vera, no one ends up together in the end. Joey starts and ends the show a scoundrel, making him Broadway’s first anti-hero (Show Boat’s tragic couple reunite at the end, and Bess dies in Porgy’s arms. Joey gets out of his misdeeds unscathed but utterly alone.) Lorenz Hart’s witty, suggestive lyrics got now-classics like “Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered” shunned from radio broadcast in 1940.
In this clip from the heavily sanitized Pal Joey film, Rita Hayworth performs “Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered,” with the singing voice of Jo Ann Greer.
Notice the lyric discrepancies between the movie and this clip of Patti LuPone singing Hart’s original lyrics:
the Rogers and Hammerstein Organization
Oklahoma
Hammerstein wrote the lyrics for Show Boat, Rodgers composed Pal Joey; their first collaboration was guaranteed to be fascinating. On March 31st, 1943, at the St. James Theatre, Rodgers and Hammerstein opened the first musical to use music and dance not just to entertain but to tell the story: Oklahoma, a tragic yet hopeful fable of community cohesion and romantic desire in rural America. Agnes de Mille’s choreography was particularly innovative, staging farm girl Laurie’s inner torment and indecision as a dream ballet. Oklahoma’s incredibly sophisticated integration of text, music, choreography, and design created the modern musical form, influencing everything from My Fair Lady to Hamilton,Dreamgirls to A Strange Loop, and everything in between.
Like Show Boat, Porgy & Bess, and Pal Joey, Oklahoma was made into a film in the 1950s. As with Joey, some sexually suggestive lyrics were excised, in order to abide by the Hayes Code, a conservative set of rules all film studios followed at the time.
Backstage stories like Show Boat, Pal Joey, and Kiss Me Kate have been a constant presence on Broadway, but none have been as raw or honest as A Chorus Line. The first musical to be developed through a series of workshops, A Chorus Line set the industry standard, although basing the story on the actors’ life experiences remains unusual. It was also the first musical to run for over 10 years on Broadway. Streamlining the plot to just one afternoon cattle call audition for the chorus of an unnamed show, A Chorus Line might be most innovative in its seeming simplicity. Every character has the same objective: they “really need this job,” as Marvin Hamlisch and Edward Kleban’s peripatetic score explains to us in the opening number.
The 1985 film adaptation was directed by Richard Attenborough, and did not have the success that the stage show did.
Donna McKechnie performs “The Music & The Mirror” in the original Broadway production of A Chorus Line. Slipping between dialogue and singing like this was pioneered by Oklahoma, as was choreographers Michael Bennett and Bob Avian’s ability to visualize Cassie’s pain and ambition through dance.
Meet Casey Nicholaw, the Director-Choreographer of SOME LIKE IT HOT!
Nicholaw is double-nominated at this year’s Tony Awards, for Best Direction of a Musical and Best Choreography, accounting for two of the show’s 13 nominations (the most of any production this season!). This year’s additions also bring his personal Tony nominations to 13 – he won his Tony in 2011 for his direction of THE BOOK OF MORMON.
Photo by Marc J Franklin
A mainstay of the Main Stem, Nicholaw launched his Broadway career as a performer, appearing in eight shows including CRAZY FOR YOU, VICTOR / VICTORIA, SEUSSICAL, and THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE, before pivoting to the other side of the table. He has consistently worked as both a choreographer and director since choreographing SPAMALOT in 2005, helming the likes of THE DROWSY CHAPERONE, ALL ABOUT ME, ELF, SOMETHING ROTTEN, MEAN GIRLS, and THE PROM, to name just a few.
Get to know more about this Broadway favorite with our TONY TALK Q&A:
Who was the first person to text/call you when you got the nomination? It was the best nomination morning that I’ve ever experienced. The cast of Some Like it Hot was waiting to perform on the Today Show when the nominations came in so we all got to experience hearing them together as a cast and screaming and crying and jumping around with joy!
Show some love to a fellow nominee this year. Whose work blew you away? Vicki Clark in Kimberly Akimbo. Her performance is so funny and moving and heartbreaking and uplifting.
44 and X
Top restaurant in the theater district? 44 and X
The first Broadway show you ever saw? Barnum with Jim Dale
When did you decide to become a theater artist? When I did my first show at San Diego Junior Theater. I was in the chorus of Annie Get Your Gun and I was hooked.
What is your earliest Tonys memory? My teen years were when I started watching and became obsessed. Watching the Tonys was the only chance to see numbers from the shows until they toured through LA or San Diego where I grew up. The big shows for me were Ain’t Misbehavin, Evita, Annie, A Chorus Line and The Wiz.
Who’s your favorite Tonys host in history, and why? Angela Lansbury, because she was Angela Lansbury
All-time favorite Tonys performance on the telecast, and why? As a kid I loved seeing Dorthy Loudon and Bob Fitch doing Easy Street – it was such a good number and perfect musical comedy.
Most memorable Tonys acceptance speech, and why? I somehow can still see Nell Carter’s face when she was so surprised that she won for Aint Misbehavin. It was so exciting!
What is one play or musical you would like to direct and/or choreograph on Broadway, and why? I don’t know that I have one anymore – My list never changed for years, it was always Dreamgirls and Most Happy Fella, and I got to do Dreamgirls in London and Most Happy Fella at encores!
You can currently see Nicholaw’s direction and choreography in THE BOOK OF MORMON, ALADDIN, and of course, SOME LIKE IT HOT, currently running at the Shubert Theatre with a score by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, a book by Matthew Lòpez and Amber Ruffin, and starring Christian Borle, J. Harrison Ghee, and Adrianna Hicks.
He’s currently working on a musical adaptation of the 1972 film WHAT’S UP, DOC?, which is aimed for a Broadway run in the coming years!
Meet Jennifer Weber, the choreographer of this season’s & JULIET and KPOP!
This is Jennifer Weber’s first season as a Broadway choreographer, and she’s off to an auspicious start—she’s landed Tony nominations, plural, for her work in& JULIET and KPOP. While a lifelong Broadway obsessive, as you’ll learn below, and cut her teeth choreographing TV commercials for brands like Marc Jacobs and American Express, and interdisciplinary dance pieces like A HIPHOP NUTCRACKER for Disney+ and PBS. For & JULIET, Weber was also nominated for an Olivier award for her combination of contemporary pop choreography and Shakespearean wit.
Learn more about Jennifer Weber with our TONY TALK Q&A:
Who was the first person to text/call you when you got the nomination?
My Mom was the first person to text me after I got the nominations. I think she said something like “Congrats, Call me later” and then my phone started exploding and it was many hours before I called her back. I was absolutely in shock! I feel like my Mom was way less surprised.
Show some love to a fellow nominee this year. Whose work blew you away?
This is such an amazing year for dance on Broadway. When I saw Casey’s work in Some Like it Hot I was so jealous I didn’t get to make an epic tap dance chase scene. That’s how I know I really love something—when I’m jealous I didn’t get to do it. That scene is just a brilliant piece of musical theater choreography– storytelling, comedy and showmanship all perfectly constructed. I was blown away. Susan’s work in New York, New York is classic Broadway beauty. I’ve been such a big fan of her ever since Contact. That show had a big impact on me and the potential for dance to tell stories without spoken text. And I have to really shout out Steven Hoggett whose work I first saw in London when I was doing study abroad in college. His use of physical vocabulary and magical visuals in storytelling was my main inspiration to start off on my journey into theatrical choreography. I was lucky enough to take a three-day workshop with him in London many years ago and that’s the only actual choreography training I’ve ever had. I learned so much during that experience. I hope I’m now his star student!
Top restaurant in the theater district?
Although it’s a little out of the way I love B Side Pizza Bar. When I was working on KPOP at Ars Nova it was my staple. The kale salad and zucchini noodles are incredible.
The first Broadway show you ever saw?
The first Broadway show I saw was A Chorus Line. I grew up in a small town in Massachusetts, but my parents were ex-NY’ers and took me to a lot of theater as a kid. I think I was about 8 or 9 when I saw A Chorus Line and it made me fall in love with theater. All the music, all the dancing, all the gold costumes, I just loved everything about it. I had no idea that was a job—it just seemed like magic.
When did you decide to become a theater artist?
I don’t know if I decided to become a theater artist, but I love working in theatre and I feel incredibly lucky to be a part of this fabulous Broadway community. My journey to theater was very roundabout. I was never in a musical and I’ve never worked as an assistant or associate choreographer. I came from working in concert and commercial dance. I love working in different mediums so I can take things I’ve learned creating one type of choreography and apply it in another arena.
What is your earliest Tonys memory?
My earliest Tony memory is probably the 1994 Tonys and watching the cast of Damn Yankees rock the stage. I was in high school and had gotten really, really into dance. I recorded the Tonys that year and taught myself all of Rob Marshall’s choreography to “Shoeless Joe.” If asked, I absolutely can still do a few of the 8 counts from that number. I just re-watched that number and it totally holds up.
Who’s your favorite Tonys host in history, and why?
I thought Ariana DeBose did a really great job. Triple threats make great hosts.
All-time favorite Tonys performance on the telecast, and why?
My all-time favorite Tony performance. Ok this is obscure, but the 1999 cast of Footloose performing the title song. I used to take dance class at Broadway Dance Center with AC Ciulla who was Tony-nominated for choreographing that show. I was super shy so I always hung out in the back and never talked to him, but a lot of the people who were often in the front of his classes ended up in the Footloose cast. I think that was the first time I recognized people who I had danced in a room with on TV. It blew my mind. I also recorded that performance and learned it.
Most memorable Tonys acceptance speech, and why?
Savion Glover when he won for Bring in Da Noise Bring in Da Funk. I clearly remember him going up and simply saying “Big ups to my peeps” and then leaving. His absolute coolness was next level.
What is one play or musical you would like to choreograph on Broadway, and why?
My dream project—just putting it out there—is to put my own choreography twist on Guys and Dolls. I can see it so clearly. I love fusing worlds together, so I’d love to take on a real classic dance musical and give the choreography a very contemporary vibe while keeping all the sets and costumes in a classic vocabulary.
& JULIET is currently running at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre, and earned nine Tony nominations, including Best Musical.
Meet Emilio Sosa, the veteran Broadway costume designer and double nominee at this year’s Tony Awards for his work on the plays AIN’T NO MO’ and GOOD NIGHT, OSCAR.
Ain’t No Mo’. Photo by Joan Marcus
Sosa’s costumes have been a fixture on Broadway for over 20 years, having designed 13 shows since his first credit in 2002, the original Broadway production of TOPDOG/UNDERDOG (revived this year in a new Tony-nominated production directed by Kenny Leon). He had already earned two Tony nominations prior to this year, for Best Costume Design of a Musical for THE GERSHWINS’ PORGY AND BESS in 2012, and Best Costume Design of a Play for TROUBLE IN MIND last season (2022).
Good Night, Oscar. Photo by Joan Marcus
Sosa designed the costumes for an impressive five Broadway shows this season, including last fall’s 1776 and AIN’T NO MO’, and the currently running A BEAUTIFUL NOISE, THE NEIL DIAMOND MUSICAL; SWEENEY TODD; and GOOD NIGHT, OSCAR.
The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess (2012). Photos by Michael J. Lutch
Get to know this Broadway perennial with our TONY TALK Q&A:
Who was the first person to text/call you when you got the nominations?
My agent was the first person to call me to congratulate me on the nominations and then my phone alerts started going off nonstop. Soon after, I called my mother to share the good news.
Show some love to a fellow nominee this year. Whose work blew you away?
Crystal Lucas-Perry. I was honored to design for her for both Ain’t No Mo’ and 1776.
Top Restaurant in the Theatre District?
Glass House Tavern and Bond 45
The first Broadway show you ever saw?
A Chorus Line in 1986
When did you decide to become a theater artist?
When I met George C. Wolfe and he hired me to design Topdog / Underdog at the Public.
What is your earliest Tonys memory?
I remember when costume designer Ann Hould-Wald was nominated for Beauty & the Beast. I was working at Grace Costumes at the time and we made a lot of the costumes for the production. It truly was a formative experience.
Who’s your favorite Tonys host in history, and why?
Ariana DeBose brought a new energy to the telecast. And I worked with her on Motown when she was just starting in the business, so it’s a pleasure to see the growth and success.
All-time favorite Tonys performance on the telecast, and why?
Jennifer Holiday and Dreamgirls. The sheer emotions of her performance captivated me through the tv screen and still resonates today.
Most memorable Tony’s acceptance speech, and why?
Andre De Shields and his philosophy on life and success. He’s an ICON!
What is one play or musical you would like to costume design on Broadway and why?
Anything Jordan E. Cooper writes! His voice is much needed as Broadway expands its mind and ability to depict stories reflective of all cultures.
Next up for Sosa is the upcoming Broadway revival of PURLIE VICTORIOUS, directed by Kenny Leon and starring Leslie Odom Jr., set to hit Broadway later this year!
GOOD NIGHT, OSCAR is currently running at the Belasco Theatre, in a limited engagement starring Sean Hayes, also nominated for a Tony Award this year for his leading performance in the production. SWEENEY TODD is running at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre in a grand revival led by Josh Groban and Annaleigh Ashford, both also nominated for their starring turns. A BEAUTIFUL NOISE, THE NEIL DIAMOND MUSICAL is at the Broadhurst Theatre, starring Will Swenson as the music icon.
Meet Daryl Waters, the Tony-nominated Orchestrator of NEW YORK, NEW YORK!
We have Daryl to thank for the luscious big band sound emanating nightly from the St. James Theatre, bringing those Kander & Ebb classics (with additions from Lin-Manuel Miranda!) to reverberating life. And Daryl is no stranger to New York, New York, having worked on 12 Broadway shows to date!
This is Daryl’s fourth Tony nomination and third in the Best Orchestrations category. He won the Tony Award for Best Orchestrations in 2010 for his work on MEMPHIS and was nominated for Best Original Score in 1996 for BRING IN ‘DA NOISE, BRING IN ‘DA FUNK.
Bring in the Noise, Bring in the Funk
Get to know more about this musical theatre powerhouse here with our TONY TALK Q&A:
Who was the first person to text/call you when you got the nomination?
A good friend I’ve known for decades actually alerted me to my nomination with a “congratulations” text. She’s a journalist who follows theatre news professionally, but also sincerely loves all things theatre.
Show some love to a fellow nominee this year. Whose work blew you away?
Everyone in the orchestration category blew me away. They’re ALL badasses.
Top restaurant in the theater district?
I usually end up at Bond 45. I love all of their dishes, but my fave is their fettuccine bolognese with a three-meat ragu.
The first Broadway show you ever saw?
Don’t Bother Me I Can’t Cope. It was amazing. When I moved to New York years later, the music director, Danny Holgate, became a mentor and friend.
When did you decide to become a theater artist?
I started conducting shows in Cleveland, Ohio when I was a teen, but it wasn’t till I graduated from college that I decided to make the move to NYC and pursue a career in theatre.
What is your earliest Tonys memory?
I don’t recall my family watching them growing up, so my earliest Tony memory was as an adult, watching Jennifer Holliday leaving us all emotionally drained after singing “And I Am Telling You” the year she won her Tony for Dreamgirls.
Who’s your favorite Tonys host in history, and why?
NPH. Irreverence rocks!
All-time favorite Tonys performance on the telecast, and why?
Jennifer Holliday singing “And I Am Telling You” from Dreamgirls. You can’t watch her performance and not be moved.
Most memorable Tonys acceptance speech, and why?
I’d say the most memorable for me was Ann Duquesnay’s speech when she won for Bring In ‘Da Noise/ Bring In ‘Da Funk. Six of us, including Ann, had written the show. Her emotional speech was an extension of how we all felt about her winning for a show we all had collaborated on.
What is one play or musical you would like to adapt and/or orchestrate on Broadway, and why?
I always wanted to adapt a stage version of the darkly entertaining film All That Jazz. Living life on the edge with a lotta razzle dazzle…my type of show!
Daryl’s got some exciting music in the pipeline. He’s currently working on bringing another classic duo’s tunes to the Main Steam with the upcoming revival of Rodgers & Hart’s PAL JOEY. Keep an eye (and ear) out for that!
In honor of National Native American Heritage Day, we asked The Thanksgiving Play writer about the show’s rebirth coming to Broadway this spring, making greater Indigenous strides from Hollywood to the theatre, and how she uses yoga (and much more) to help her through it all.
By Jim Glaub
A member of the Sicangu Lakota nation of South Dakota, Larissa FastHorse is the first known, female Native American playwright produced on Broadway. Her show, The Thanksgiving Play, was a 2018 hit and was apart of the Broadway’s Best Show’s award-winning series Spotlight on Plays and will return to the stage, this time at the Helen Hayes Theater in the spring of 2023, and will be directed by Rachel Chavkin, who won a Tony for Hadestown.
In honor of National Native American Heritage Day on November 26, we asked FastHorse a number of questions we had for the history-making playwright. Read on for her witty answers.
Where did The Thanksgiving Play come from?
Larissa FastHorse: For starters, it wasn’t easy locking down non-white actors for my shows. It was early in my career and Broadway producers were more timid about casting too far outside of traditional norms in order to draw demand. But what I mostly wanted to accomplish with this play is what it’s like to be me in the room—a contemporary Indigenous person—and where the pitfalls are to the best-meaning folks in the theatre industry who, if not for lack of trying and sometimes to their own detriment, do want to make sincere cultural strides.
Now that The Thanksgiving Play is something that people really love to see and that it’s such a fun production, and I was able to keep the things I wanted to say in it, I was really excited to have this as my first real Broadway play.
That fact that the show is so funny, and has such an approachableness to the otherwise difficult conversation on American colonialism, really sets it apart from other comedy. Do you find comedy a lot easier to do?
FastHorse: Oh yes. Comedy and satire is what I do. I don’t love going to the theatre and being hit over the head. Plenty of people do and that’s great for them! I go to the theatre to engage with those around me in a fun and silly way. That’s my gift to the audience. You’re going to show up to my show and laugh and have a great time and be able to engage your friends afterwards. I like to make you think and contemplate things, but I want you to have fun with it too.
Do you imagine yourself stepping off the stage and into film and TV?
FastHorse: I have several in development right now, actually. They’re comedies, of course, and I’m doing a lot of animation. Suddenly, here I am with Dreamworks and Netflix, working on movies. When they gave me Peter Pan to work with, you’ve never seen funnier pirates. I’m the girl writing fart jokes and getting carried away with the silliness before I tone it down and make sure it’s also intelligent enough for adults.
How do you approach a story as big as Peter Pan and make it your own?
FastHorse: I’ll be honest—it’s hard. As someone who wasn’t a Peter Rooter or a watcher growing up, I had no clue how to approach it, which was probably a good thing. By having some conversations about it, I began to realize that so many people love this title and have unique and differing experiences watching it with their parents and grandparents. So I asked folks what they loved most about the story because all I could see were the problems. It’s been a great time listening and starting to write based on these personal stories.
How did you find your way to doing theatre?
FastHorse: Long story short, I was a young ballerina finding my creative way before someone suggested I start writing. Back then I wasn’t seeing a lot of Native representation in Hollywood. I’d sold a few TV shows but felt really frustrated with the watered down nativism so I then found my way to the theatre. I got commissioned to do my first play at Children’s Theater Company in Minneapolis. And that was the first place where I was told, okay, you tell us how best to do this. From there we hired Native American consultants in every area, including elders, and we simply wanted everything done correctly. It was incredible getting to do all the things that Hollywood wasn’t doing yet. From the caterer on opening night to the commissioned art in the lobby—it was all Native talent.
So that’s how Indigenous Directions came to be?
FastHorse: To be more accurately Native American, yes. At least to fight for that accuracy. We’ve gotten to do some good things. We’ve even been working with Macy’s for the annual Thanksgiving Day Parade to make floats and balloons a more appropriate. These are subtle changes slowly happening over the last three years and this project is weirdly one of our favorites. For example, the Tom Turkey is no longer a pilgrim but a Show Turkey, complete with top hat and bowtie. He’s very New York now!
The theatre is an institution that has existed for a very long time. So it’s hard to come in and shake things up. But you’ve got to know the rules in order to break the rules, right?
FastHorse: Oh yeah. I’ve known Rachel Chavkin, the new director of the upcoming version of The Thanksgiving Play, for a long time now, but this is our first time working together. It’s great because she really knows the rules of Broadway from all sides of the stage and inner production. She’s helped me understand a lot of things that are newer to me. It’s important to have good partners to help guide you, especially as a Native American newcomer who didn’t have the same access to such folks and resources as I do now.
Okay, last question. You’re in the “explosive” stage of your rising career. What are you doing to nurture yourself and stay safe?
FastHorse: It’s definitely a challenge. Just as suddenly as it hit us, COVID protocols ended and then everything came flooding in at once. I now have five shows in a row next year. It’s your best and worst nightmare at once. From Broadway to film, every production is challenging in its own way but also hugely exciting. I’ll be honest, I’m nervous about it all because it’s a lot and a lot of pressure. And with a Broadway show also comes all the other Broadway stuff, like the Tony’s and press and so forth. So I’m currently trying out a million things to relax and steady myself, too. Haha.
I’m trying new types of yoga and meditation and self-care things to try and figure out what’s best for me and which practice to add to my toolkit. I’m also working to stay conscious and focused on what’s ahead.
It’s going to be an incredible year for Larissa FastHorse so be sure and see and experience any production she’s behind as it will be unlike anything else on the stage or screen.
Wishing everyone a happy Thanksgiving and hope that you join us in celebrating National Native American Heritage day for all days to come.
We did a Q&A with Ohio State Murders Tony nominated lighting designer, Allen Lee Hughes (four times for K2, Strange Interlude, Once on This Island, A Soldier’s Play) and here’s what he has in store for us.
Q: What drew you to this play?
A: I was drawn to the play by the great director Kenny Leon. I did not know the play. Now that I know it, I can see why it is so respected. I have also admired Audra McDonald’s work and I’m looking forward to lighting her.
Q: What is your process like?
A: Of course, I read the script two or three times. I do a scene breakdown and meet with the director. Usually the light plot (drawing of where to place the lights) is due around or before first rehearsal. I have to take an educated guess about what I will need when we go into technical rehearsals. I then attend rehearsals, where I get a sense of what the show really needs.
Q: Who in the theater world has been an inspiration to you?
A: Lighting Designers; Jennifer Tipton, Tharon Musser, Arden Fingerhut. Notice that I picked all women.
Q: What’s your favorite restaurant in the Theater District?
A: It used to be a Sushi place on 45 or 46th and 8th avenue. Alas, they did not survive the pandemic.
Q: What do you like to do when you’re not at the theater?
A: I like to hang out and eat with friends and watch the news.
Q: What other projects are you working on this season?
A: I designed the lighting for Topdog/Underdog and later I will design the tour for A Soldier’s Play the tour.
This week, I got the change to do a Q&A with Ohio State MurdersTony nominated sound designer, Justin Ellington (For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/ When The Rainbow Is Enuf) and here’s what he had to say:
Q: What drew you to this play?
A: Adrienne Kennedy, Kenny Leon and Audra McDonald for starters. I have been a fan of Ms. Kennedy’s writing and had the opportunity to compose and sound design for her most recent play, He Brought Her Heart Back In A Box (2018). Her writing, rich imagination and particular construction of story is intriguing, bold and delicate and offers a welcomed challenge for me.
Q: What is the most exciting part about working with Audra McDonald?
A: First time working with Mrs. McDonald actually. I am excited to tell this story with a truly superb group of people. Having the pleasure to share space and collaborate with Audra McDonald, Kenny Leon and this creative team will forever be cherished.
Q: What is your process like?
A: Before I start making any sound, I do a lot of listening. I listen to the cast and their collective rhythm, I listen to the descriptive words and phrases used by my director and collaborators. I take all of that information along with my own life experiences and start building the sonic world of the play. I tend to make more than enough material so that my director can have options to choose from. Once we find “it”, the work because implementing these ideas into storytelling. It should be stated that most theaters DO NOT have a sound system in house, so a huge part of the process is designing a speaker system that can support the sonic storytelling needs.
Q: Who in the theater world has been an inspiration to you?
A: Freddie Hendricks, Kenny Leon, Kent Gash, Dwight Andrews. I can name so many others because I am inspired by each new group of people I work with, but these four gentleman have showed me some of the possibilities this theater world has to offer and how my talents can work within this arena.
Q: What’s your favorite restaurant in the Theater District?
A: Ohh this is not an easy question, but if I had to pick one, I am a big fan of Hummus Kitchen on 9th Ave between 51st and 52nd.
Q: What do you like to do when you’re not at the theater?
A: I have really fallen in love with photography over the years and when I am not in tech or preparing for a show, I like to get out of the city and access some of the amazing offerings mother nature has for my camera to capture. Also, I am always writing music and spending time in the music industry working with various artist and producers.
Q: What other projects are you working on this season?
A: Soon after Ohio State Murders opens, I will be in La Jolla working on a premiere production of The Outsiders which has been made into a musical.
Congratulations to the cast and crew who go into their first preview on Friday 11/10!
