Meet Kara Young, Tony-nominated actress from Manhattan Theatre Club’s COST OF LIVING.
COST OF LIVING. Photo by Jeremy Daniel.
After her Broadway debut in last year’s CLYDE’S and stunning turn in COST OF LIVING, Young is nominated in the Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role for the second year in a row! She is recognized alongside her co-stars Katy Sullivan and David Zayas, the production’s director Jo Bonney, and the play itself by Martyna Majok, nominated in the Best Play category.
CLYDE’S. Photo by Joan Marcus.
Young is an exciting rising Broadway star, with several film and theater projects on the horizon. Learn more about her with our TONY TALK Q&A:
Who was the first person to text/call you when you got the nomination?
My mom and dad!
Show some love to a fellow nominee this year. Whose work blew you away?
Crystal Lucas PERRY!!! I’ve been watching her for years and her work always blows me away. Also, Nikki Crawford, when I saw her at The Public Theater’s production of Fat Ham, I walked out of the theater crying to the entire cast… This is what theater is supposed to be (and I’ve seen it twice on Broadway.) Nikki’s work is literal magic. Stephen McKinley Henderson. Omg!!! This man is our golden gem; watching him is a masterclass!! And David Zayas!!!! I can’t believe I was in a play with him; after watching him for years, I was watching him from backstage every night and genuinely feeling like, “Whoa, is this real?”
Top restaurant in the theater district?
Glass House Tavern
The first Broadway show you ever saw?
The Christmas Spectacular, the fabulous Rockettes!!
When did you decide to become a theater artist?
I was a mime when I was five years old at the 92nd street Y. My instructor Zahava Gratz took me under her wing. At the time, I didn’t know the full concept of what theater was, but I believe that was the first time I fell in love with performing.
What is your earliest Tonys memory?
There are too many!!
Who’s your favorite Tonys host in history, and why?
Well I have to say Ariana [DeBose] because I gotta see her do it live!
All-time favorite Tonys performance on the telecast, and why?
Also because I was there last year, being a long time fan of the great Bernadette Peters; seeing, hearing and feeling her from my seat was one of the most magical experiences of my life.
Most memorable Tonys acceptance speech, and why?
Phylicia Rashad for her performance in [A Raisin in the Sun], and her speech last year as well in Skeleton Crew. Her grace is colossal, her work is paramount, and her legacy is monumental.
What is one play or musical (and role) would you like to perform on Broadway, and why?
I’m not a singer but I would love to be Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd.
This year’s 76th Annual Tony Awards will be broadcast live from the United Palace in Washington Heights on Sunday, June 11th. As this year’s nominated shows head into the final stretch of their awards campaigns, Broadway’s Best Shows is here to remind you that no one is guaranteed a Tony, not even Aaron Tveit. Here is a list of our top 10 surprise upset wins, across 76 years of Tony history.
10. Christopher Ashley wins for directing Come From Away – 2017
Conventional wisdom had the category as a showdown between Michael Greif for Dear Evan Hansen and Rachel Chavkin for Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812, parallel to the competition happening over in the Best Musical category. Perhaps because Greif and Chavkin split the vote, Christopher Ashley was genuinely flabbergasted when he won his first Tony. Ashley was previously nominated in the same category for Memphis and The Rocky Horror Show.
The cast of Come From Away performs in the 2017 Tonys:
9. 1978 Best Play
The Pulitzer Prize-winning The Gin Game was the anticipated winner for best play – that, or Chapter Two, a comedy about grief from Broadway heavyweight Neil Simon. However, the Tony voters chose the lesser-known Irish playwright Hugh Leonard, for Da, a memory play about a man traveling back to the suburbs of Dublin to cope with the death of his adopted father.
Cicely Tyson and James Earl Jones in the 2015 revival of The Gin Game:
8. Follies and the 2012 Revivals category
For whatever reason, Follies has particularly bad Tonys luck, as we also discuss below. Its revival in 2011, starring Bernadette Peters, Jan Maxwell, and Elaine Paige, was not a major commercial success, but it was expected to win the Best Revival category against Evita, Jesus Christ Superstar, and Porgy & Bess. Instead, the Diane Paulus-directed Porgy won the statue.
Norm Lewis, Audra McDonald, and the company of Porgy & Bess perform at the 2012 Tonys:
The always delightful Danny Burstein performs a song from Follies at the 2012 Tonys broadcast:
7. Children of a Lesser God wins Best Play – 1980
Best known for its 1986 film adaptation starring Marlee Matlin, Children of a Lesser God was a watershed moment for portrayals of Deaf people in theater, exploring the complex issue of Deaf schools insisting students learn to speak, instead of using ASL. Its original star Phyllis Frelich was the first Deaf person ever to win a Tony Award. It beat out Talley’s Folly, a romance by Lanford Wilson that won the Pulitzer and was expected to win, and Bent, a gut wrenching drama about queer people in Nazi concentration camps by Martin Sherman.
Children of a Lesser God was also revived on Broadway in 2018, with direction by Kenny Leon:
6. Marissa Jaret Winokur wins Best Actress
While Hairspray was expected to win Best Musical in 2003, Bernadette Peters was the favorite to win the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her performance as Mama Rose in Gypsy. Peters had previously won for Song and Dance and Annie Get Your Gun. But it was Marissa Janet Winokur, in her Broadway principal debut as Tracy Turnblad in Hairspray, who ended up winning.
Marissa’s acceptance speech:
5. Kinky Boots wins Best Musical
Prevailing wisdom said that Matilda, like the many British mega-musicals before it, was going to sweep the 2013 Tony awards. In a battle between the lovably sassy British drag queens and the lovably sassy British schoolchildren (only in New York!), it was the American-produced Kinky Boots that won out. Why? Perhaps its surprise win at the Drama League Awards earlier that month moved the needle, or perhaps the almost entirely American Tony voter pool wanted to support one of its own. While both shows were uplifting, Kinky Boots’ pro-LGBTQ+ rights message may have resonated extra hard. (Matilda ended up just fine though – it ran for four years on Broadway, and is still open in the West End.)
4. 2007 Best Actor in a Musical
Theater fans are still arguing over whether Raúl Esparza should have won for Company over David Hyde Pierce for Curtains. Esparza gave a heart wrenching performance as Bobby in John Doyle’s stripped down reimagining of the Sondheim classic. While the rest of the cast played their own instruments throughout the show, Esparza-as-Bobby only sits down in front of a piano to accompany himself in the finale, “Being Alive.” Sondheim is notoriously tricky for pianists, and to also act and sing it at the same time is a rare feat:
But it was beloved Frasier star David Hyde Pierce who won out, for his portrayal of a sensitive and theater-obsessed police detective in Curtains. Pierce, who had put himself into musical theater bootcamp to prepare for his debut in Spamalot a few years prior, may have been helped by his reputation as the nicest person in showbusiness, and the goodwill he had amassed by choosing to come back to Broadway after winning four Emmys for Frasier. Below, DHP and the company of Curtains perform at the Tonys:
3. 1972 – Follies loses best musical
A piece of Tonys trivia that always surprises theater lovers: Stephen Sondheim’s masterpiece Follies did not win the 1972 Tony Award for Best Musical. That award went to Two Gentlemen of Verona, a groovy Shakspeare adaptation by Galt McDermot, the composer behind Hair, in collaboration with playwright John Guare. It also beat out heavyweights like Grease and Ain’t Supposed to Die A Natural Death, and Jesus Christ Superstar wasn’t even nominated in the category.There are a few theories for why this happened: first, 2 Gents is a much frothier, more optimistic show than Follies. It was a diverting entertainment that left audiences joyful, while Follies matched the dark reality of the national mood amidst the Vietnam war, Watergate, and Greatest Generation discontent. 2 Gents takes a firm antiwar stance, but it didn’t confront middle-aged Tony voters with their unhappy marriages they way Follies did. At the same time, voters may have picked 2 Gents to save face after Hair was a massive cultural moment back in 1968 but didn’t win any Tonys, making the awards seem out of touch.
2 Gents was revived off-Broadway in 2005 at the Delacorte with Norm Lewis, Oscar Isaac, Rosario Dawson, John Cariani, and Renee Elise Goldsberry. Here’s Goldsberry and Lewis performing “Night Letter” from that production:
2. Nine beats Dreamgirls
Dreamgirls was an instant, massive smash when it opened to rave reviews in December of 1981. Loosely based on the story of Diana Ross and The Supremes, and with an energetic Motown-inspired score, the production starred Jennifer Holliday and Sheryl Lee Ralph. Nine, a baroque exploration of an Italian film director’s psychosexual whirlwind based on Federico Fellini’s film 8½, had its first *workshop* performance in February of 1982, and opened on Broadway the day of the Tonys cutoff in May. Dreamgirls, directed by Michael Bennett of A Chorus Line fame,was at the Shubert-owned Imperial, and Nine played at the Nederlander-owned Rodgers right next door, and was directed by Tommy Tune. Even juicier, Bennett and Tune had once been dear friends, with Bennett having taken Tune under his wing (if you can take someone who’s 6’6” under your wing.) When Nine was quickly announced to open in the 1981-1982 season, on the final day of Tonys eligibility no less, Bennett called Tune and begged/threatened him to take the show out of town and bring it to New York next year instead. Tune refused. So the story goes, during the Tonys campaigning period in May 1982, the Dreamgirls team refused to step into restaurants the Nine people went to, and vice-versa. The American Theatre Wing, the producer of the Tony Awards, amped up the drama by seating the teams on opposite sides of the Imperial Theatre for the ceremony in June. The producers of Nine pushed their narrative as the scrappy show that could, and that Dreamgirls, backed by the mighty Shubert Organization, didn’t need – or deserve – a vote. Many in the industry were grateful for how fierce the competition got, since Broadway hadn’t had a huge hit since 1975’s A Chorus Line, and the brewing feud got lots of press. While Dreamgirls won many awards at the ceremony, including Best Actress for Jennifer Holliday, Nine shocked the world and won Best Musical. It ran for two years on Broadway, and was also revived in 2003 – when it won again, for Best Revival. Dreamgirls ran for four years, and was only briefly revived in 1987, although its historical impact as a Broadway show with three-dimensional roles for Black women and the way it tackles fatphobia, racism, and colorism in the music industry makes Nine’s womanizer-genius focus look a bit hollow in retrospect.
Jennifer Holliday brings down the house with “I Am Telling You I’m Not Going”:
The cast of Nine performs at the Tonys:
Avenue Q bests Wicked
Stephen Schwartz’s Wicked was the enormous smash of the 2003-2004 Broadway season, its creative team and producers all established industry veterans. Avenue Q, a weirder but better-reviewed show by then-unknowns Robert Lopez, Jeff Marx, and Jeff Whitty, wasn’t expected to do well at the Tonys, or last longer than a few months on Broadway. In spring 2004, the country was also gearing up for the 2004 presidential election, and the Avenue Q producers crafted a campaign that both parodied politics and spoke to voters directly: “Vote Your Heart,” pleaded the red, white, and blue posters and buttons, and the puppets even participated in a mock debate. The producers were using a strategy first used by Nine in 1982, the last time a Best Musical race was this excruciating (see below). They appealed to the Tony voters, all 700 or so of them, to support the underdog, the subtext being that Wicked would do well regardless of whether it won, while a Best Musical win could make or break Avenue Q’s future. The campaign worked, and the little puppet show written by newcomers won not just Best Musical, but Best Book and Score of a Musical as well. Avenue Q ran on Broadway for 6 years, and Off-Broadway for another 10. Wicked seems to be doing okay too.
Note the shock on the producer’s faces when they announce that Avenue Q won:
Meet David Stone, the Tony-nominated producer of KIMBERLY AKIMBO.
Photo by Joan Marcus
With this season’s new musical KIMBERLY AKIMBO, which transferred to Broadway’s Booth Theatre after endearing audiences at Atlantic Theater Company last year, David Stone earns his eighth Tony nomination as a Broadway producer.
Photo by Joan Marcus
Stone’s contribution to Broadway theater is immeasurable. He is responsible for bringing to Broadway so many of the musicals that we now consider modern classics, including WICKED, THE 25th ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE, and NEXT TO NORMAL. He has also produced a number of plays, including THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK, THE BOYS IN THE BAND (for which he won his Tony Award in 2019), and this season’s revival of TOPDOG/UNDERDOG.
Topdog/Underdog. Photo by Marc J. Franklin
Get to know this Broadway producing giant in our TONY TALK Q&A:
Who was the first person to text/call you when you got the nomination news?
My husband and I were watching on CBS and then New York 1. My phone immediately buzzed with a text from my nephew.
Show some love to a fellow nominee this year. Whose work blew you away?
Ben Platt’s deeply soulful performance in Parade makes me very proud to be Jewish. And, it’s impossible not to acknowledge Jessica Stone’s miraculous work on Kimberly Akimbo. She navigated the trickiest tone imaginable, with grace and confidence.
Top restaurant in the theater district?
Joe Allen for food, Glass House for drinks
The first Broadway show you ever saw?
Man of La Mancha at the Martin Beck Theater for my 5th birthday. I eventually produced Man of La Mancha starring Brian Stokes Mitchell at the Martin Beck Theater. It was my mother’s favorite show.
When did you decide to become a theater artist?
Ha! I wish I could remember the moment. I don’t know if there was a decision. It’s all I’ve ever done.
What is your earliest Tonys memory?
My parents had taken us to see A Chorus Line right when it had opened, so we got to watch the Tony Awards that year. I think I was 10.
Who’s your favorite Tonys host in history, and why?
My dear friend Kristin Chenoweth (I call her Bubbles) was dressed in an E.T. costume when she hosted. I mean…
All-time favorite Tonys performance on the telecast, and why?
Patti LuPone singing A New Argentina from Evita (1980). And Jennifer Holliday singing And I Am Tellin’ You I’m Not Going (1982). It’s a tie.
Most memorable Tonys acceptance speech, and why?
Idina Menzel’s speech. My heart almost burst.
What is one play or musical you would like to adapt or revive on Broadway, and why?
Our Town, but I think it may already be in the works 🙂
Meet Annaleigh Ashford, the Tony-nominated star of this season’s revival of SWEENEY TODD.
Photo by Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.
Ashford earns her third Tony Award nomination as Mrs. Lovett in the latest revival of Sondheim’s demon barber murder musical, this time for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical. She has already collected several of the season’s precursor awards for her performance, taking home a Drama Desk Award and the Drama League’s Distinguished Performance Award.
She has previously received Tony recognition for her role in the 2013 musical KINKY BOOTS and then for her performance in the 2015 revival of the play YOU CAN’T TAKE IT WITH YOU, for which she then won the award.
Photo by Joan Marcus.
A regular of the Broadway stage, Ashford has appeared in seven Broadway shows before this year’s revival, dating back to her turn as Glinda in WICKED. She was also seen in LEGALLY BLONDE, HAIR, SYLVIA, and SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE.
Get to know more about this distinguished diva of Broadway with our TONY TALK Q&A:
Who was the first person to text/call you when you got the nomination?
The first person to hug me and give me a kiss was my sweet husband who was sitting with me having our morning coffee as I was also getting my blood drawn for a physical. The blood draw timing was very apropos for Sweeney Todd.
Show some love to a fellow nominee this year. Whose work blew you away?
I have so many wonderful old friends and new friends who are nominated this year. I haven’t gotten to see any of the other shows except for Into the Woods. Sending big love to that beautiful production and all involved.
Top restaurant in the theater district?
Always Joe Allens. It’s a theatre legend and always top notch tasty.
The first Broadway show you ever saw?
Les Miserables.
When did you decide to become a theater artist?
Even as a young child I knew that I wanted to be a storyteller. I found theatre as a 7 year old and my soul immediately loved the light that came out of the dark space. I knew I was home.
What is your earliest Tonys memory?
I remember watching the Tonys with my theatre friends and cast mates in Denver, Colorado. Someone would always host a party and we would huddle around to watch the magic.
Who’s your favorite Tonys host in history, and why?
I can’t have a favorite host. They are all brilliant in their own ways. And I’m friends with a bunch of them. I can’t have a favorite.
All-time favorite Tonys performance on the telecast, and why?
I love the anniversary celebrations where they would perform snippets of past years. Angela Lansbury sang By the Sea to celebrate Sweeney Todd one year.
Most memorable Tonys acceptance speech, and why?
There have been so many incredible speeches but I will always remember Lin Manuel Miranda saying love is “love is love is love.” We needed to hear that right at that moment.
What is one play or musical (and role) would you like to perform on Broadway, and why?
A new play written by a female playwright with a strong female character… and Martha in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf.
Meet Dane Laffrey & Lucy MacKinnon, the Tony-nominated team responsible for the scenic design in last holiday season’s one-man Broadway staging of A CHRISTMAS CAROL.
A Christmas Carol Live
The spooky magic surrounding Jefferson Mays’ tour-de-force performance as all the characters of the classic tale is largely attributable to Laffrey’s set and MacKinnon’s accompanying video projections transporting us through time and space. Laffrey conceived of the production alongside director Michael Arden, and also designed the production’s costumes.
This is neither designer’s first rodeo, with Laffrey having been Tony-nominated for scenic design of the 2018 revival of ONCE ON THIS ISLAND, and MacKinnon a prior Tony nominee for designing the video in JAGGED LITTLE PILL.
Spring Awakening. Photo by Joan Marcus
The pair previously worked together on Arden’s 2015 revival of SPRING AWAKENING, for which Laffrey also designed the costumes. Some of Laffrey’s other Broadway credits include . MacKinnon has designed video assets for nine productions, including THE LIFESPAN OF A FACT and HOW I LEARNED TO DRIVE.
Both designers are currently represented on Broadway! Laffrey designed the set for this season’s multi-nominated revival of PARADE, currently running at the Jacobs Theatre (another Arden collaboration), and MacKinnon provided video design for KIMBERLY AKIMBO, the Best Musical-nominated show running at the Booth Theatre.
Get to know more about this design duo with our TONY TALK Q&A:
Who was the first person to text/call you when you got the nomination?
Dane Laffrey: When the nominations were announced I was on a plane with no wifi – when I landed my phone did a great deal of pinging and vibrating. Hard to know who reached out first, but I received a lot of wonderful notes.
Lucy MacKinnon: My associate on the show! He called me early because he’d mistaken the predictions for nominations, but I appreciated it all the same.
Show some love to a fellow nominee this year. Whose work blew you away?
DL: I have to be biased and say my creative partner and dearest friend Michael Arden, nominated this year for Parade. We conceived A Christmas Carol together and he directed it brilliantly. His work on Parade is also staggeringly nuanced and expert. What can I say…he’s the best! I’m incredibly lucky to share all the work we have so far, and coming up.
LM: Bonnie Milligan in Kimberly Akimbo. I worked on the show so I’m biased, but every performance she gives is incredible.
Top restaurant in the theater district?
DL: Vice Versa
LM: Bea on West 43rd street.
The first Broadway show you ever saw?
DL: Not counting the big tours (eg. Rent, Les Mis, Miss Saigon, etc.) I believe on Broadway it was Dame Edna: The Royal Tour at The Booth in 1999. I laughed ’til I cried. May she (and her manager Barry) rest well!
LM: I saw The Lion King the year it opened with my fifth grade class. I went to PS139 in Brooklyn, and seeing that show was a big event for all of us.
When did you decide to become a theater artist?
DL: After struggling a lot in school and at other ’normal’ childhood pursuits, theatre was the first thing I encountered that I actually wanted to do. I was hungry for it, and looked forward to it and was sad when it ended. Basically it’s been clear to me for as long as I can remember that theatre was what I was supposed to do.
LM: Watching David Byrne’s Stop Making Sense over and over again on a VHS tape got me interested in design. Seeing William Kentridge’s Magic Flute at BAM made me want to try to become a projection designer in earnest.
What is your earliest Tonys memory?
DL: Watching (and re-watching) old Tonys telecasts on VHS with my theatre friends, naturally. Fast-forwarding through the commercials.
LM: When Fun Home won Best Musical in 2015. I was there with my husband, who was also nominated for the show, and it was the most thrilling moment.
All-time favorite Tonys performance on the telecast, and why?
DL: I’m going to say the Once On This Island performance in 2018. My first nomination was for that show, and I was SO happy that we managed to capture the feeling of Circle in the Square for the performance. It was also quickly followed by us winning Best Revival, which doesn’t hurt either!
LM: Sydney Lucas standing all alone on stage singing “Ring of Keys.” That performance was so simple, and it was such a remarkable display of courage on her part.
Most memorable Tonys acceptance speech, and why?
DL: It’s a tie. Ali Stroker for Oklahoma! Ali’s a friend, we did Spring Awakening together, which was both of our Broadway debuts. Her work in Oklahoma! was extraordinary and I was so thrilled to see her recognized. And Deirde O’Connell, last year for Dana H. That show off-Broadway was the last thing I saw before the pandemic and her work is burned in my memory. I think Dede is one of the best actresses we have and her encouragement to “Do the weird art” are words to live by.
LM: David Byrne accepting a special Tony award for American Utopia. His show didn’t quite fit the Tony boxes.
What is one play or musical you would like to scenic design on Broadway, and why?
DL: A wonderful new musical called Maybe Happy Ending which, fingers crossed, we’ll be bringing in very soon. Michael Arden and I did it out of town right before covid and it’s both a thrilling production and a fabulous, original story by Hue Park and Will Aronson. I’m very excited for the world to see what I know is going to be a very special show.
LM: I’d love to work with Kate Berlant on just about anything.
Broadway-to-movie-musical adaptations first emerged after the arrival of ‘talkie’ motion pictures at the end of the 1920s. Studios competed with each other to produce the highest-budget, glitziest spectaculars, and MGM was particularly known for huge musical productions. The genre thinned out when the studio system lost its prominence in the ‘70s and ‘80s, but has been in something of a resurgence in the 2000s, and with the two-part Wickedadaptation coming next year, the big-screen musical adaptation is here to stay. There are far too many to count, but here are some of the best Broadway to movie musical adaptations of all time.
1. Cabaret (1972)
Set in Berlin during the rise of Nazi Germany, Cabaret is a classic Broadway musical by John Kander and Fred Ebb that opened at the Shubert Theatre in 1966 and was adapted into a movie in 1972. The film starred Liza Minnelli and Joel Grey and won eight Academy Awards, including Best Director for Bob Fosse and Best Actress for Minnelli. The film is known for its dark and gritty portrayal of pre-war Berlin and for its iconic musical numbers, and its Academy Award-winning rhythmic editing. In that same year, 1972, Bob Fosse also directed Pippin on Broadway and the Liza With a Z television special, and won the Tony and the Emmy–making him the only person in history to win three such awards in the span of one year.
Cabaret is on all rental VOD platforms.
2. Oliver! (1968)
Based on the classic Charles Dickens novel, Oliver Twist, Oliver! is a beloved West End and Broadway musical. It ran in the West End from 1960 to 1966, and in New York at the Imperial Theatre in 1963-64. It was adapted into a movie in 1968 by Carol Reed, an English director who had himself helmed a Broadway play in 1930, On the Spot. The film won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, and a special award for choreographer Onna White. It starred Mark Lester and Ron Moody as Oliver and Fagin, respectively. With memorable songs like “Consider Yourself” and “Food, Glorious Food,” Oliver! is a timeless classic that is still enjoyed by audiences today. You can stream Oliver! On MAX.
3. The King & I (1956)
Based on the true story of Anna Leonowens, a British schoolteacher who became the governess to the children of the King of Siam, The King & I was adapted into a movie in 1956. The film starred Deborah Kerr and Yul Brynner and won five Academy Awards, including Best Actor for Brynner. It happens to be the Rodgers & Hammerstein musical that was turned into a movie the fastest – only five years between its Broadway premiere and film release (Oklahoma!, one of the duo’s prior Broadway hits,took 12 years to reach the screen.) It is also one of three films on this list in which the female lead’s singing was dubbed by Marni Nixon. The King & I is available for rent on VUDU.
4. Grease (1978)
Set in the 1950s, Grease is a Broadway musical that was adapted into a movie in 1978. It was a massive hit when it opened in New York in 1972, and ran at the Broadhurst Theatre and later the Jacobs, for 8 years. The film starred John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John and became a cultural phenomenon, inspiring countless imitations and becoming one of the highest-grossing movie musicals of all time. A parody of the naive and optimistic 1950s, it continues to be a huge crowd-pleaser decades later. The movie can be rented on all VOD platforms and the cult-classic sequel Grease 2 starring Michelle Pfeiffer and zero material from the original musical is on Paramount+.
5. Chicago (2002)
Set in the Jazz Age of the 1920s, Chicago, another Kander & Ebb classic,was adapted into a movie in 2002, after the original 1975 Broadway production, and the 1996 revival that is still running as of this writing. The film starred Renee Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Richard Gere and won six Academy Awards, for editing, sound, costume design, art direction, Best Supporting Actress (for Zeta-Jones’ turn as Velma Kelly), and Best Picture after being nominated in nearly every category. The editing in particular follows Fosse’s strategy for Cabaret, with quick cuts in rhythm with the music.Its cynical portrayal of the justice system, originally written in response to the Watergate scandal, resonated with audiences in the wake of the tabloid trials of the 1990s. It is available to stream on HBOMax and Hulu.
6. West Side Story (1961 and 2021)
Jerome Robbins originally had the idea to translate Romeo and Juliet to ethnic gang violence in Manhattan’s West Side, and collaborated with Leonard Bernstein (music) and a young newcomer, Stephen Sondheim (lyrics) to create West Side Story. Robbins ended up not just directing and choreographing the 1957 Broadway production, but co-directing and choreographing its 1961 film adaptation as well, raking in a Tony and two Oscars. The film starred Natalie Wood (with the singing voice of Marni Nixon) and Richard Beymer, and won ten Academy Awards, including Best Picture. In 2021, Steven Spielberg, who had been mentioning in interviews his desire to do a musical for decades, directed a new version with a rewritten script by Tony Kushner. A handful of dancers even did both the movie summer 2019 and the 2020 Ivo van Hove West Side Story Broadway revival, faring far better than their counterparts from 60 years ago, since no one from Broadway appeared onscreen in the 1961 movie. Spielberg’s take on the material was nominated for 7 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Supporting Actress. History rhymed when Ariana DeBose won Best Supporting Actress for the role of Anita, the same role for which Rita Moreno became the first Latina Oscar winner ever in 1961. The original film leaves Paramount+ at the end of May, and the 2021 Spielberg version is on Disney+.
7. The Sound of Music (1965)
Based on the true story of the von Trapp family, The Sound of Music was less successful than previous Rodgers and Hammerstein hits when it premiered on Broadway in 1959. It was the 1965 movie version that propelled it into a household name. The film starred Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer and won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Robert Wise, Jerome Robbins’ co-director on West Side Story, insisted it be shot on location in Austria, and the stunning Alpine scenery is almost another character in the film. (Fascinatingly, though, the film is not well-known in the Germanophone world.) It is currently available to watch on all VOD rental services.
8. The Music Man (1962)
Set in early 1900s Indiana, The Music Man is a classic Broadway musical that was adapted into a movie in 1962. The film starred Robert Preston and Shirley Jones and was a critical and commercial success, earning six Academy Award nominations and winning one, for Best Score. Preston was cast to lead the film as Harold Hill after originating the role on Broadway, much to the chagrin of Jack Warner of Warner Bros., who wanted to cast a bigger star. Preston got the part thanks to Cary Grant not only refusing it, but going out of his way to tell Jack Warner that Preston had been so good in the part on Broadway that he wouldn’t bother seeing it on screen without him.
The movie is on all rental VOD platforms.
9. My Fair Lady (1962)
Producer Jack Warner of Warner Bros. passed on Broadway’s original Eliza, Julie Andrews, and instead cast Audrey Hepburn, with the dubbed singing voice of Marni Nixon (the same singing voice of Maria in West Side Story a year prior). Hepburn found herself competing with Andrews and Mary Poppins at the Golden Globes. And when Andrews won, the first person she thanked in her speech? Jack Warner.
My Fair Lady was the longest-running and highest-grossing musical of its time, opening at the Mark Hellinger Theatre in 1956 and running until 1962. The My Fair Lady movie, with its Lerner and Loewe score and script based on Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw, was nominated for 6 Oscars, and winning for Best Score. Rex Harrison, also an established film actor who survived making Cleopatra with Elizabeth Taylor, got to keep the part of Henry Higgins between Broadway and the film.
The movie is on all rental VOD platforms.
10. Funny Girl (1968)
The melodramatic fable of Fanny Brice’s rise to fame and tragic personal life, Funny Girl features songs by Bob Merrill and Jule Styne like “Don’t Rain on My Parade” and “People.” It opened on Broadway at the Winter Garden Theatre in March 1964, and ran until 1967. Barbra Streisand starred, who had previously made a splash at age 19 as Miss Marmelstein in 1962’s I Can Get It For You Wholesale.Funny Girl was the highest grossing film of 1968, and was nominated for 8 Oscars. OnlyStreisand won for her performance as Fanny, crystallizing her film stardom – she has not appeared on Broadway since departing Funny Girl in December 1965. The film is a very rare instance of a Broadway star getting to reprise their stage performance on screen. The handful of other examples includes Robert Preston in The Music Man, Zero Mostel in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and Ethel Merman in Call Me Madam, but no film has announced the arrival of a major star quite like Funny Girl. The current revival, playing at the August Wilson starring Lea Michele, is running through Labor Day weekend 2023.
Meet Joshua D. Reid, the Tony-nominated sound designer of A CHRISTMAS CAROL.
This year’s nomination for Best Sound Design of a Play marks Reid’s first Tony nomination after serving as an Assistant or Associate Sound Designer on 11 Broadway productions over the last decade.
Some of Reid’s previous Broadway credits include AMERICAN PSYCHO, the 2017 revival of FALSETTOS, THE FERRYMAN, and FLYING OVER SUNSET.
AMERICAN PSYCHO: THE MUSICAL. Photo by Jeremy Daniel.
Last holiday season’s one-man iteration of A CHRISTMAS CAROL is recognized in several categories for this year’s Tony Awards, including in scenic design for set designer Dane Laffrey & projections designer Lucy MacKinnon, and in lighting design for Ben Stanton.
Learn more about Reid with our TONY TALK Q&A:
Who was the first person to text/call you when you got the nomination?
Within seconds of the nomination, my wonderful agent Amy Wagner at A3 Artists Agency was calling with congratulations. I was watching the live announcements and was in such a state of bewilderment that I’m not exactly sure what was said, but it was heartfelt and genuine. At the same time, I was receiving all kinds of messages from friends and family who were also expressing their admiration and adoration.
Show some love to a fellow nominee this year. Whose work blew you away?
If I absolutely only get to pick one, I have to send my heart to Crystal Lucas-Perry. Her performance in Ain’t No Mo’ left me feeling like I wanted to challenge my own thoughts towards others and make positive changes in my own life; and at the same time it was a performance that complimented every other actor and story being told. There were so many really amazing contributions to the broadway community this year; and I have to admit the personal bias of my choice. Crystal and I went to college together, and she is one of the most kind and caring people I know. So I feel personally fortunate to have seen her grow so beautifully as both an artist and as a person over the years. For both of us to be nominated in the same year, and in our broadway debut year, is something I’ll always be able to cherish and share with her.
Top restaurant in the theater district?
Definitely Glass House Tavern on 47th Street. I’ve spent so many occasions at this restaurant, catching up with friends, celebrating a special occasion, or simply unwinding before or after a show. The atmosphere is perfect for connecting with people, and there isn’t a single thing on the menu that I wouldn’t recommend. I’ve been going there for years, and have some wonderful memories with people I cherish. It’s definitely a staple of my time in the theatre district.
The first Broadway show you ever saw?
The 2008 revival of Sunday in the Park with George. It was my first time in New York City, and this was the first show of 6 that I saw with my mother over the course of a week. I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect first Broadway experience. The production and the performances were all pinnacle experiences, and really showed how selective focus could be used to enhance the storytelling and the audience’s experience. I left the show with fascination for what my own technical artistry could contribute to a live performance.
When did you decide to become a theater artist?
I really discovered my passion for theatre and live performance in high school; and I very much discovered it by chance. I was a musician who was asked to play in the pit orchestra for the spring musical of the Wizard of Oz. Once I saw the community that theater artists had, even at that young age, I knew it was something that I wanted to be a part of. I (very briefly) tried my hand at acting, but felt like my musicianship and technical skills were what I really wanted to cultivate. So over the next three years I helped out on the technical side of productions and discovered a passion for scenic and sound design. It wasn’t until my senior year that I even considered pursuing a collegiate education and making a career out of it.
What is your earliest Tonys memory?
I remember going to a friend’s house for a Tony Party in 10th grade. At this point, my theatrical knowledge was shallow at best; but all my friends were discussing the various shows, which were their favorites and who was performing in them. It was also my first time watching the Tony Awards, and the first time that I got to see what Broadway had to offer. To my friends, this was their Super Bowl, and I was simply there to be exposed and enjoy their company. But I’ll always remember the feeling of exhilaration, seeing all of the various artists nominated for making contributions that brought the productions to life, and the caliber that these productions were delivering. In a word, it really inspired hope – that this relatively new love I had discovered was something worth pursuing.
Who’s your favorite Tonys host in history, and why?
I have a particular adoration for Neil Patrick Harris as the host of the ceremony. I think in his time as the host he’s always known when to be comical and featured, and when it’s necessary to step out of the spotlight to provide praise and support to the productions and people that are being celebrated. Neil Patrick Harris was also a public role model for the LGBTQ community at a time in my life when I was searching for my own identity. So while I have great admiration for him, I also have tremendous respect for other hosts who have used this honor to reach out to their own communities.
All-time favorite Tonys performance on the telecast, and why?
In 2018, in the wake of the Parkland High School mass shooting, the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Drama students were invited to the stage to sing ’Seasons of Love’ by Jonathan Larson. It was a heartfelt moment that acknowledged the very same hope and community I felt when I first became a theatre artist. As an arts educator myself, I wholeheartedly believe that seeking and cultivating change begins at the entry point to industries; and in our industry, this begins by nurturing young artists as they are discovering theatre and their own artistry. This performance was a brief moment where the Broadway community shared their own national spotlight to reach out to local communities everywhere with their support and strength.
Most memorable Tonys acceptance speech, and why?
Broadway shows carry a message of their own that are able to reach far and wide through the retelling of their stories and music. But the Tony Awards offer a rare opportunity for the general public to hear directly from the people who create those works and compose those messages. Lin Manuel Miranda delivering his acceptance speech for Best Original Score in 2016 was a raw and heartfelt moment. The fact that he was able to deliver such a powerful address on the very evening of the Orlando nightclub shooting spoke to his character and empathy for a community in mourning.
What is one play or musical you would like to sound design on Broadway, and why?
Ragtime. Without a doubt. Every contribution to this production on its own is beautiful, and collectively it has the potential to be breathtaking. Ahrens and Flaherty wrote a truly beautiful complex symphony of both storytelling and musicality, and this musical brings audiences back to the hope that we all once felt when beginning to pursue the things we are passionate about. I also think that these are the types of stories that need to be told so that they can resonate and be reflected upon in today’s cultural climate. I love being able to design and be a part of the storytelling for any new production that challenges the status quo. Honestly, anything that holds a mirror up to society deserves to be celebrated.
Whether you’re cramming in a few more shows before this year’s Tony Awards (reminder: June 11th!), entertaining friends from out-of-town, or just in need of a good meal in Midtown, here are five quality restaurants in the Theater District, hand-picked by the Broadway’s Best Shows editorial team. All five wait staffs will get you to your 7 or 8 o’clock curtain in time if you ask. We highly recommend reserving tables in advance.
La Masseria
This Theater District mainstay opened in 2004, and is more elegant and a little less chaotic than other red sauce joints in the neighborhood, while still being great for families or groups. Try the Capri-style ravioli di angelina or the i cucuzielli fritti alla Chef Pino, a.k.a. the chef’s specialty fried zucchini.
235 W 48th St (between Broadway and 8th.) Reservations available by phone or email here.
The Lambs Club
The Lambs Club was formerly the home of a private club for actors and performers, and the decor might make you feel dropped into an episode of Mad Men. Chef Jack Logue offers a three-course pre theater menu for $75, or you might try the baroque-ish “Stanford White burger” with Gruyere and pickled onion.
132 W 44th st (between 6th and 7th.) Reservations on Resy.
Gallagher’s
This nearly one hundred year old institution is so old school it even has a dress code (no tank tops, sports jerseys, or hats) but the menu isn’t tired at all. The name of the game here is the steaks, which you can see carefully aging through a storefront window on 52nd. Again, not a spot for a light meal! Try to save room for the pecan pie a la mode.
228 W 52nd (between Broadway and 8th.) Reservations on OpenTable.
Barbetta
Situated in a former Astor mansion, the luxurious Barbetta is the oldest restaurant in New York to still be owned by the family that opened it, way back in 1906. The menu features delicacies from the Peimonte region of Northwest Italy. If you arrive for the pre-theatre pre fixe menu early enough, you might be able to score a table in the restaurant’s jaw dropping back patio – it’s first come, first serve. The menu notes the year each dish was added to the repertoire, like the minestrone soup, made using the same recipe they used on opening day in 1906.
321 W 46th (between 8th and 9th.) Reservations here.
The Mermaid Inn
The Mermaid Inn might be best known as a stylish and unpretentious cocktails and oysters bar, and their raw selections and happy hour options are excellent. For those who prefer their crustaceans cooked, they offer Manhattan’s best lobster roll. Be sure to try their french fries seasoned with Old Bay spice mix. The Inn also has locations in Greenwich Village and Chelsea, and will soon reopen on the Upper West Side at Columbus and 76th.
127 W 43rd (between Broadway and 6th.) Reservations on OpenTable.
We would be remiss not to mention:
Sardi’s and Joe Allen
We’ll never reveal just how much of our “Broadway’s Best Kept Secrets” newsletter feature comes from overheard conversations at Sardi’s and Joe Allen. The caricatures lining the walls at Sardi’s have become so famous that sometimes we need a reminder that they also serve food there– particularly classic the spinach cannelloni. Joe Allen stays open late for an after-theater burger, and you can eye the posters of flop shows while you gossip and eat.
Sardi’s, 234 W 44th (between Broadway and 8th.) Reservations on OpenTable.
Joe Allen, 326 W 46th (between 8th and 9th, across the street from Barbetta.) Reservations on OpenTable.
Meet Tom Kitt, the Tony-nominated composer of this season’s ALMOST FAMOUS.
Photo by Jenny Anderson
Tony, Emmy, Grammy, and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer and orchestrator Tom Kitt earns his seventh Tony nomination with ALMOST FAMOUS. He shares his nomination with co-lyricist and book writer Cameron Crowe, who also wrote the original film.
Kitt won his two Tonys, as well as a Pulitzer Prize, for composing and orchestrating NEXT TO NORMALwith lyricist Brian Yorkey. He has also been nominated for orchestrating SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTSand JAGGED LITTLE PILL, and for composing IF/THENand FLYING OVER SUNSET. He won an Emmy for composing the 2013 Tony Awards opening number with Lin-Manuel Miranda, and a Grammy for the JAGGED LITTLE PILL original Broadway cast album.
Get to know more about this Broadway musical stalwart with our TONY TALK Q&A:
Who was the first person to text/call you when you got the nomination?
The first text I received was from my friend Sarah Levine Hall who is a producer on the Tony Awards. I was watching my son’s percussion recital, and I briefly checked my phone and saw that she had sent me a hand clap emoji.
Show some love to a fellow nominee this year. Whose work blew you away?
This is a hard question to answer as there is so much brilliant work on Broadway this season, but personal favorite would be my friend Annaleigh Ashford whose work in Sweeney Todd is virtuosic in every way.
Top restaurant in the theater district?
Joe Allen is my go-to. Love the food, the ambience, and the “High Fidelity” poster.
The first Broadway show you ever saw?
Peter Pan with Sandy Duncan.
When did you decide to become a theater artist?
It was when I was at Columbia University as an undergrad. My girlfriend at the time (now my wife) Rita Pietropinto introduced me to another student named Brian Yorkey and we began writing shows together, dreaming of someday getting to Broadway.
What is your earliest Tonys memory?
My earliest memory is of me convincing my mom to let me stay up past my bedtime to watch the show with her and my sister. We couldn’t wait for the performances of the musicals we were constantly singing songs from.
Who’s your favorite Tonys host in history, and why?
This would be a tie between Neil Patrick Harris and James Corden, because they both entrusted me with the great honor of co-writing the opening number for them. Also, special shoutout to my friend Ariana DeBose who was incredible last year.
All-time favorite Tonys performance on the telecast, and why?
It would be “Bigger,” the opening number that I wrote with Lin-Manuel Miranda for Neil Patrick Harris in 2013. It was the first time I had ever done anything like that, and it was so gargantuan and terrifying. And then on the telecast, everything clicked, and it was truly magical. To this day, I marvel at what the entire team (Neil especially) was able to pull off and how emotional it all makes me feel.
Most memorable Tonys acceptance speech, and why?
For me, it would be Lin-Manuel Miranda’s acceptance speech in 2016 for Hamilton, where his “love is love is love” rallying cry was a direct call for humanity to rise above the hate and violent acts that divide us, and for artists to continue to find the melodies that bring us into harmony.
What is one play or musical you would like to adapt or revive on Broadway, and why?
I would love to explore an adaptation of Sam Shepherd’s play, “True West” as a musical. It would be exciting to see Shepherd’s indelible characters and rich dialogue become songs, maybe in an alt-country feel.
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.
