Beowulf Boritt is one of the busiest set designers on Broadway. Since making his debut with 2005’s The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Boritt has designed the set of over 30 Broadway productions, earning two Tony Awards (from six nominations), and two Drama Desk Awards (from eight nominations) in the best scenic design category. His latest Broadway set was for Harmony, and next up is the upcoming revival of Thornton Wilder’s Our Town.
His 2023 Tony Award and Drama Desk Award wins were both for his design of the new musical New York, New York. These must have been particularly rewarding accolades, considering that show is the one Boritt named when we asked him about his toughest project to date. Here is Beowulf Boritt on his most challenging work to date:
An early sketch for ‘Wine & Peaches’ in New York, New York, courtesy of Beowulf Boritt.
This interview has been edited for clarity and conciseness.
Broadway’s Best Shows: What has been your most challenging work to date?
Beowulf Boritt:New York, New York (by John Kander, Fred Ebb, David Thompson, Sharon Washington, and Lin-Manuel Miranda at the St. James Theatre, Directed and Choreographed by Susan Stroman, 2023) was by far the largest, most complicated set I’ve designed.
BBS: What was so difficult about this project?
BB: The show required many, many locations in quick succession and it all had to squeeze into a Broadway theatre without a very big backstage. The rapid pace of the scene changes was hard because there were several 15-20 minute sequences in the show that were basically constant scene changes keeping the crew working at a fevered pace. For the first 10 days of tech, I think the crew and stage management just thought it was impossible, but they kept at it valiantly, and eventually, we got it all working efficiently, safely, and beautifully.
BBS: How did you address and/or resolve the challenges?
BB: We planned very carefully, making sure everything was exactly the size we had laid out in our technical drawings so it could all fit together like a giant three-dimensional Tetris game. We had to balance all these technical needs with the look of the design so it would all feel beautiful and effortless.
BBS: Are you proud of the result?
BB: I won a Tony Award for it, so that’s a nice cherry on top!
BBS: Is there anything you would do differently with the benefit of hindsight?
BB: The show was enormous. Perhaps too enormous to survive in the current Broadway climate. It was what the artistic and producing team wanted, I think, but I suppose in retrospect had we done a much simpler production it might have had a longer life.
When Hamilton opened at the Richard Rodgers Theatre in the summer of 2015 it set Broadway ablaze, triggering a cultural phenomenon not seen in the theater for quite some time before then (or since). Given the musical’s zeitgeisty success, it also skyrocketed the profiles of its leading players, many of whom have launched top-notch careers in the years since, both on and off the stage. Here’s our recap of what those original cast members have been up to since starring in Hamilton, one of Broadway’s Best Shows.
Photo by Marc J. Franklin
Lin-Manuel Miranda
The Pulitzer and Tony-winning writer-star of Hamilton has been exceptionally busy since departing the Broadway cast of his hit show. Miranda has lent his talents to several film & TV projects, both on and off screen, having written songs for Moana, Mary Poppins Returns, Vivo, Encanto, Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens, 2023’s The Little Mermaid remake, and more! He made his feature film directorial debut with Tick, Tick… Boom!, the adaptation of Jonathan Larson’s rock monologue musical.He also appeared onscreen in the Mary Poppins sequel, His Dark Materials, as well as in guest appearances on several long-running TV series. The proshot of Hamilton landed on Disney+ in 2020, featuring the full original cast, and his first Broadway musical, In the Heights, was adapted into a film in 2021 (he even made a cameo appearance!). His freestyle group, Freestyle Love Supreme, had a Broadway run at the Booth Theatre, for which he made multiple guest appearances. He made his Broadway writing return in the spring of 2022, contributing additional for the musical New York, New York, alongside iconic composer John Kander, based on the songs of Kander and his longtime collaborator Fred Ebb.
Leslie Odom, Jr.
Leslie’s star has been on the rise in the years since Hamilton, appearing in several films including Knives Out: Glass Onion, One Night in Miami (for which he was nominated for an Academy Award), and the upcoming reboot of The Exorcist. He has also made television appearances in hit shows Central Park, Abbott Elementary, and more! Six years later, he has made his grand return to Broadway in the titular role of the first ever Broadway revival of Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch by Ossie Davis.
Phillipa Soo
After making her Broadway debut as Eliza in the original Broadway cast, Soo has appeared in four Broadway productions, including the play The Parisian Woman, and musicals Amélie, Into the Woods, and most recently, Camelot. She has also appeared onscreen recently in TV series Dopesick and Shining Girls.
Girls5Eva.
Renée Elise Goldsberry
Goldsberry has not yet made a Broadway return since playing Angelica in Hamilton, but appeared on the New York stage in the summer of 2023 leading the Public Theater’s musical adaptation of The Tempest at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park. She has also starred in several television series, including Peacock’s Girls5Eva, and Marvel’s She-Hulk: Attorney at Law.
Wonder.
Daveed Diggs
The actor, rapper, writer, and producer has also been busy since his Hamilton days, appearing in films like Wonder, Ferdinand, The Little Mermaid, Soul, and Blindspotting (which he also wrote alongside collaborator Rafael Casal). He has also had recurring roles in Apple TV+’s Central Park, Netflix’s The Get Down, TNT’s Snowpiercer, and ABC’s Black-Ish, among cameos and guest spots on several series.
Anthony Ramos
Ramos led the 2021 adaptation of In the Heights as Usnavi, appeared as Lady Gaga’s best friend in A Star is Born, and has since become the face of the blockbuster Transformers franchise, starring in its latest installment, Rise of the Beasts. Also a burgeoning recording artist, Ramos has released two albums, and a slew of singles in the years since his Broadway run.
Photo by Emilio Madrid.
Okieriete Onaodowan
“Oak” has been on Broadway twice since Hamilton, with a brief run as Pierre in Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812, and more recently, a supporting role in the 2023 revival of A Doll’s House alongside Jessica Chastain under his belt. Onscreen, he is a lead of the Grey’s Anatomy spin-off series Station 19, and appears in the fourth season of Amazon Prime’s action series Jack Ryan.
Photo by Jose Corella.
Jasmine Cephas-Jones
Cephas-Jones has mostly turned her attention to film and television, appearing with her Hamilton co-star Daveed Diggs in his film Blindspotting, and in the television series based on the film. She also appeared in Marriage Story, Mrs. Fletcher, and #Freerayshawn, for which she won an Emmy in 2020. As a recording artist, she released her EP Blue Bird in 2020. She will next be seen in Ava DuVernay’s upcoming film Origin, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival to rave reviews in September 2023. A wide release date has not been set.
Spring Awakening Reunion Concert. Photo by Sarah Shatz.
Jonathan Groff
Groff returns to Broadway in fall 2023 in the revival of Merrily We Roll Along, opposite Daniel Radcliffe and Lindsay Mendez. Immediately post-Hamilton, he starred in David Fincher’s Netflix series Mindhunter for two seasons. He returned to voice Kristoff in 2019’s Frozen 2, and played one of the villains in 2021’s The Matrix: Resurrections. On the stage, he was the original Seymour in the still-running 2019 revival of Little Shop of Horrors off-Broadway.
Photo by Kevin Mazur.
Ariana DeBose
DeBose appeared in the ensemble of Hamilton as “The Bullet,” the dance soloist during the duel scenes. She graduated to Broadway principal status in 2018’s Summer: The Donna Summer Musical, but her huge break came when Steven Spielberg cast her as Anita in his West Side Story redux. She became the second Latina ever to win an acting Oscar in 2022 for that role, and hosted the Tony Awards in 2022 and 2023. She also voices the main character in Disney’s animated 2023 film Wish, and will appear in a Marvel Cinematic Universe film in 2024.
Which Broadway directors gave onstage performances before leaping to the other side of the table? Find out below!
George Abbott
The larger-than-life Abbott, who lived until he was 107, directed over 50 Broadway shows, including the original productions of Pal Joey, On the Town, The Pajama Game, Once Upon a Mattress, and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. He made his Broadway debut as an actor in The Misleading Lady all the way back in 1913.
Michael Arden
This year’s Tony winner for Best Direction of a Musical for Parade, Arden made his Broadway debut as an actor in the 2003 revival of Big River, and also performed in Twyla Tharp’s The Times They Are A-Changin’.
Vinnette Justine Carroll
Vinnette Carroll became the first Black woman to be nominated for a directing Tony in 1973, for Micki Grant’s Don’t Bother Me, I Can’t Cope. She was nominated for both directing and writing the book of Your Arms Too Short to Box With God in 1976. Her numerous acting credits include the 1961 revival of The Octoroon.
Gower Champion
Champion was the original director and choreographer of hits like Bye Bye Birdie,Hello, Dolly!, and 42nd Street. He got his start as a dancer in 1940s revues like The Streets of Paris.
David Cromer
In between directing The House of Blue Leaves and The Band’s Visit on Broadway, Cromer found time to play racist Homeowner’s Association member Karl Lindner in Kenny Leon’s revival of A Raisin in the Sun, as well as appear opposite Jeff Daniels in the pilot of HBO’s The Newsroom. He is also currently starring in an off-Broadway production of Uncle Vanya.
Graciela Daniele
Graciela Daniele started her career as a dancer for legends like Bob Fosse and Michael Bennett – she was in the original company of Follies, and was the original Hunyak, a.k.a. Uh-Uh in “Cell Block Tango,” in Chicago. She’s since choreographed 9 Broadway shows, and directed and choreographed another 6, including Once on this Island. She is the only Latina nominee in history for Best Choreography and Best Direction of a Musical at the Tonys, and she won a Lifetime Achievement Tony in 2020.
Graciela Daniele’s Tony-nominated choreography:
Bob Fosse
Before he was the legendary director-choreographer of Pippin, Chicago, The Pajama Game, Sweet Charity, and the director of movies like Cabaret and All That Jazz, he made his Broadway debut as a dancer in the forgotten 1950 revue Dance Me a Song. He understudied the role of Joey in the 1953 Pal Joey revival that turned it into a hit, and played the role at City Center in between choreography jobs in 1963.
Maria Friedman
Friedman will direct this fall’s upcoming revival of Merrily We Roll Along. She is a celebrated Sondheim interpreter, and earned Olivier awards for her performances as Fosca in Sondheim’s Passion, as well as Mother in Ahrens and Flaherty’s Ragtime.
Tony Goldwyn
Tony Goldwyn is co-directing the upcoming Pal Joey rework at City Center, but he’s best known to television audiences as Scandal’s President Fitz, and he’s also going to appear this summer in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer.
Kenny Leon
While Kenny Leon was the artistic director of Atlanta’s Alliance theater in the 1990s, he also found time to act in a number of TV shows– including The Rosa Parks Story, starring Angela Bassett. He won his Tony for directing A Raisin in the Sun in 2014, and is next represented on Broadway with Purlie Victorious, opening this fall.
Patrick Marber
Marber actually began his career in British sketch comedy. He then began writing for the English stage, and wrote and directed Closer, which transferred to Broadway in 1999 and was turned into a film directed by Mike Nichols in 2004. He is now known best for his work directing Tom Stoppard plays, including 2017’s Travesties and this season’s Leopoldstadt, for which he won his first Tony award.
Jerry Mitchell
Jerry Mitchell started dancing on Broadway as a replacement in A Chorus Line. He worked his way up to being Jerome Robbins’ assistant on Jerome Robbins’ Broadway, and choreographed You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown in 1999. His first time directing on Broadway was the beloved Legally Blonde.
Jerry Mitchell backstage at The Will Rogers Follies,
Casey Nicholaw
Nicholaw, who won a Tony this year for choreographing Some Like It Hot, was an ensemble member in 8 Broadway shows, including dancing Susan Stroman’s choreography in Crazy For You, and understudying Horton the Elephant in the original Seussical. Those performance chops came in handy this March, when Nicholaw went on as an emergency understudy in Some Like It Hot.
Nicholaw in the ensemble of Seussical (far right).
Jerome Robbins
Robbins, the legend at the helm of West Side Story, Fiddler on the Roof, and Gypsy, was born Jerome Rabinowitz, and began his career as a dancer in the 1920s in Yiddish modern dance companies. He was also a soloist with American Ballet Theatre in the early 1940s, and danced in George Balanchine’s Broadway revues. He choreographed Fancy Free for ABT, which he and Leonard Bernstein then transformed into his first Broadway choreography credit, On The Town.
Ruben Santiago-Hudson
Santiago-Hudson was Tony nominated for his direction of August Wilson’s Jitney, and has acted in three other Wilson plays on Broadway. He also wrote, directed, and starred in his one man show Lackawanna Blues.
Jessica Stone
Stone made her Broadway directing debut this year with Kimberly Akimbo, but her many credits as a performer include Frenchy in the 1994 Grease revival and replacing Sarah Jessica Parker as Rosemary in the 1996 revival of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. Her next project is directing the Broadway-bound Water for Elephants, which just premiered at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta.
Jessica Stone in Grease, with Billy Porter as the Teen Angel.
Susan Stroman
Five-time Tony winner Susan Stroman, represented on Broadway this year with New York, New York, made her debut as a dancer in the country Western musical Whoopee! in 1979.
Schele Williams
Schele Williams, who will direct the upcoming revivals of The Wiz and Aida, was an ensemble member in the original production of Aida in 2001.
Williams understudied the title role in Aida – here she is singing “Easy as Life” from that show:
Jerry Zaks
Jerry Zaks is a four-time Tony winning director, including for his Broadway directing debut, The House of Blue Leaves. He’s also known for lavish revivals like Hello, Dolly! and The Music Man. His Broadway resumé goes back quite far – he originated the role of Kenickie in Grease.
Broadway’s Biggest Night was held on Sunday, June 11th! Host Ariana DeBose presided over the WGA strike-induced unscripted ceremony, which was held uptown at the United Palace for the first time in the Tonys’ 76-year history.
Major winning productions included Kimberly Akimbo (Best Musical, Best Book, Best Score, Best Lead Actress for Victoria Clark, Best Featured Actress for Bonnie Milligan) and Leopoldstadt (Best Play, Best Direction of a Play, Best Lead Actor for Brandon Uranowitz, and more). Other notable winners included Alex Newell and J. Harrison Ghee, the first two openly non-binary performers to win Tony Awards, and this season’s productions of the Jason Robert Brown-Alfred Uhry musical Parade and Suzan-Lori Parks’ Topdog/Underdog, which nabbed the Best Revival of a Musical and Best Revival of a Play awards, respectively. See a complete list of the night’s winners here.
While the ceremony itself is but a memory now, the performances of all nine nominated musicals (and then some!) live on in the pantheon of Tony telecast performances past, an iconic treasure trove of Broadway history residing mostly on YouTube these days. Here are Broadway’s Best Shows’ picks for the season’s top numbers on the 2023 telecast.
Ariana DeBose leads a lyricless dance medley (no writing, remember?) to kick things off!
Brian D’Arcy James and Sara Bareilles duet ‘It Takes Two’ from Into the Woods, with a little help from Milky White
Ben Platt and Micaela Diamond perform Parade’s act two showstopper ‘This Is Not Over Yet’
Will Swenson whips the crowd up into a singalong of ‘Sweet Caroline’ with the cast of A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical
New York, New York’sColton Ryan, Anna Uzele, and company croon their show’s opening and title numbers
Some Like It Hot shows off its now-Tony-winning choreography with its title song
Joaquina Kalukango tributes the end of Phantom’s Broadway run and those who the Broadway community has lost this year with an In Memoriam to be remembered
Lea Michele belts out ‘Don’t Rain on My Parade’ with the cast of Funny Girl to close out the ceremony
