“Gentlemen’s Guide” leads with 10 Tony Nominations!

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There is rejoicing and crying, as usual on Broadway, this morning as the Tony Nominations were announced. “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder” which I’m seeing for the SECOND time tomorrow got the lion’s share of the nominations with 10. Daniel Radcliffe and Denzel Wasington were both left out of the Best Actor cateories, though both were nominated for Drama Desk Awards. And the lists of exclusions, snubs and overlooks is too long to go into here, but let’s accentuate the positive and include of all those who DID get nominated this morning. Here’s the complete list !
Best Play
Act One
All the Way
Casa Valentina
Mothers and Sons
Outside Mullingar
Best Musical
After Midnight
Aladdin
Beautiful — The Carole King Musical
A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder
Best Revival of a Play
The Cripple of Inishmaan
The Glass Menagerie
A Raisin in the Sun
Twelfth Night
Best Revival of a Musical
Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Les Misérables
Violet
Best Book of a Musical
Aladdin
Beautiful — The Carole King Musical
Bullets Over Broadway
A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder
Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre
Aladdin
The Bridges of Madison County
A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder
If/Then
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play
Samuel Barnett, Twelfth Night
Bryan Cranston, All the Way
Chris O’Dowd, Of Mice and Men
Mark Rylance, Richard III
Tony Shalhoub, Act One
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play
Tyne Daly, Mothers and Sons
LaTanya Richardson Jackson, A Raisin in the Sun
Cherry Jones, The Glass Menagerie
Audra McDonald, Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill
Estelle Parsons, The Velocity of Autumn
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical
Neil Patrick Harris, Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Ramin Karimloo, Les Misérables
Andy Karl, Rocky
Jefferson Mays, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder
Bryce Pinkham, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical
Mary Bridget Davies, A Night With Janis Joplin
Sutton Foster, Violet
Idina Menzel, If/Then
Jessie Mueller, Beautiful — The Carole King Musical
Kelli O’Hara, The Bridges of Madison County
Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play
Reed Birney, Casa Valentina
Paul Chahidi, Twelfth Night
Stephen Fry, Twelfth Night
Mark Rylance, Twelfth Night
Brian J. Smith, The Glass Menagerie
Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play
Sarah Greene, The Cripple of Inishmaan
Celia Keenan-Bolger, The Glass Menagerie
Sophie Okonedo, A Raisin in the Sun
Anika Noni Rose, A Raisin in the Sun
Mare Winningham, Casa Valentina
Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical
Danny Burstein, Cabaret
Nick Cordero, Bullets Over Broadway
Joshua Henry, Violet
James Monroe Iglehart, Aladdin
Jarrod Spector, Beautiful — The Carole King Musical
Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical
Linda Emond, Cabaret
Lena Hall, Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Anika Larsen, Beautiful — The Carole King Musical
Adriane Lenox, After Midnight
Lauren Worsham, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder
Best Scenic Design of a Play
Beowulf Boritt, Act One
Bob Crowley, The Glass Menagerie
Es Devlin, Machinal
Christopher Oram, The Cripple of Inishmaan
Best Scenic Design of a Musical
Christopher Barreca, Rocky
Julian Crouch, Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Alexander Dodge, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder
Santo Loquasto, Bullets Over Broadway
Best Costume Design of a Play
Jane Greenwood, Act One
Michael Krass, Machinal
Rita Ryack, Casa Valentina
Jenny Tiramani, Twelfth Night
Best Costume Design of a Musical
Linda Cho, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder
William Ivey Long, Bullets Over Broadway
Arianne Phillips, Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Isabel Toledo, After Midnight
Best Lighting Design of a Play
Paule Constable, The Cripple of Inishmaan
Jane Cox, Machinal
Natasha Katz, The Glass Menagerie
Japhy Weideman, Of Mice and Men
Best Lighting Design of a Musical
Kevin Adams, Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Christopher Akerlind, Rocky
Howell Binkley, After Midnight
Donald Holder, The Bridges of Madison County
Best Sound Design of a Play
Alex Baranowski, The Cripple of Inishmaan
Steve Canyon Kennedy, Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill
Dan Moses Schreier, Act One
Matt Tierney, Machinal
Best Sound Design of a Musical
Peter Hylenski, After Midnight
Tim O’Heir, Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Mick Potter, Les Misérables
Brian Ronan, Beautiful — The Carole King Musical
Best Direction of a Play
Tim Carroll, Twelfth Night
Michael Grandage, The Cripple of Inishmaan
Kenny Leon, A Raisin in the Sun
John Tiffany, The Glass Menagerie
Best Direction of a Musical
Warren Carlyle, After Midnight
Michael Mayer, Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Leigh Silverman, Violet
Darko Tresnjak, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder
Best Choreography
Warren Carlyle, After Midnight
Steven Hoggett & Kelly Devine, Rocky
Casey Nicholaw, Aladdin
Susan Stroman, Bullets Over Broadway
Best Orchestrations
Doug Besterman, Bullets Over Broadway
Jason Robert Brown, The Bridges of Madison County
Steve Sidwell, Beautiful — The Carole King Musical
Jonathan Tunick, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder
Awards and Honors in Non-competitive Categories
Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre
Jane Greenwood
Regional Theatre Award
Signature Theatre, New York, N.Y.
Isabelle Stevenson Award
Rosie O’Donnell
Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre
Joseph P. Benincasa
Joan Marcus
Charlotte Wilcox
Tony Nominations by Production
A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder – 10
Hedwig and the Angry Inch – 8
After Midnight – 7
Beautiful — The Carole King Musical – 7
The Glass Menagerie – 7
Twelfth Night – 7
Bullets Over Broadway – 6
The Cripple of Inishmaan – 6
Act One – 5
Aladdin – 5
A Raisin in the Sun – 5
The Bridges of Madison County – 4
Casa Valentina – 4
Machinal – 4
Rocky – 4
Violet – 4
Les Misérables – 3
All the Way – 2
Cabaret – 2
If/Then – 2
Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill – 2
Mothers and Sons – 2
Of Mice and Men – 2
A Night With Janis Joplin – 1
Outside Mullingar – 1
Richard III – 1
The Velocity of Autumn – 1

“Casa Valentina” Best New Play on Broadway

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I can’t believe it! But I think “Casa Valentina” by Harvey Fierstein is the best new play on Broadway. Harvey Fierstein has written the most mature, crafted play of his chequered career, and yes, once again, drag queens are front and center. Or more specifically in this case, transvestites, who are straight, married men with children and careers, who come to the Casa Valentina, a secluded resort in the Catskills, to escape, relax and be themselves.

The transformations of the many well-known actors is nothing short of amazing. And it’s magic that happens in plain sight, as John Collum, Tom McGowan and the Green Goblin himself Patrick Page, sit in front of endless make-up mirrors, well, making up.

Theirs is an enchanting introduction to many of the characters this way and it beguiles because you see how it is making these sad, uptight men of all ages happy.

Some are so into their drag personas that they arrive that way and stay that way, never a hair out of place. Nick Westrate makes a dazzling red-headed spark plug named Gloria, who arrives with the equally stunning cool, older, society deb-like champagne blonde Charlotte,(a superb Reed Birney) who likes to organize things. Maybe a bit too much.

Charlotte is on a mission this summer weekend. She wants to organize the trannies into a “sorority” along the lines of the Mattachine Society and the lesbian Daughters of Bilitus. In unity, there is strength, and she feels that transvestites as the gay groups before that I’ve mentioned need to stand up and be counted. But for some, if not all of these men, it is a very dangerous proposition.

The time is 1962, and Casa Valentina describes itself as a “run down bungalow colony in the Catskills, ” but it seems to be a decade earlier.

All these lovely ladies are stuck in a time-warp of the mid-50s, and costume designer Rita Ryack and Hair, Wig and Make-up designer Jason P. Hayes, are to be commended(and hopefully awarded) for their just too-too perfect recreations of the these amazing transformations that take place at the Casa Valentina.

The newest resident is last year’s Tony Winner for Best Featured Actor in a Musical, Gabriel Ebert, who played “Matilda”s skeevy British dad. Here he’s the uptight, innocent Jonathan who wants to transform into Miranda. And does!

I defy anyone not to fall in love with the entire cast. They really seem totally adorable. You want to hug them all.

Even later in the play when the question of homosexuality raises its’ “ugly” head. These are all heterosexual men who adamantly proclaim their straightness despite their comme il faut wardrobes.

Homosexuality and the word “queer” are something that they can’t condone. And Charlotte’s attempt to organize them into a sorority also comes with a codicil. She wants them to sign a statement of purpose document, stating that they have nothing to do with repellent world of homosexual men and their practices.

This causes dissension, and is really the well-spring of the plot and propels the serious debate of these issues. Which I feel is commendable. I’ve never seen these questions raised so completely on a Broadway stage before.

I’ve lived in a world full of drag queens all my life, or a large part of it anyway, certainly my long-gone youth. But it was always in a theatrical context, like with the Ridiculous Theatrical Company and the Playhouse of the Ridiculous, which I was once upon a time a member of both, back in my salad days.

The late great Charles Ludlam elevated drag to a new height, but he always maintained that he was an actor playing the role of a woman. Charles Busch’s new play called “The Tribute Artist” is how he phrased it. He wasn’t a female impersonator, he was a tribute artist, honoring the great celluloid divas of Hollywood’s past.The late beauty Candy Darling was truly a transexual, though she never had the operation. She lived in drag. Warhol superstar Jackie Curtis lived in drag, but had periods where as Lou Reed said in his song “thought he was James Dean for a day.”

Sexuality is, as its’ emblified, a rainbow. It’s complicated, and sometimes seems full of unanswerable questions, and “Casa Valentina” raises all the right ones in this endless, eternal debate of the fluidity of sexuality, male and female. It doesn’t necessarily answer all of the concerns it raises, but I was very happy to see the revered Manhattan Theater Club putting on this important new play, in a bang up production,at the height of awards season, that illuminates as it entertains. And kudos to MTC, and to the astounding director Joe Mantello, for bringing this together in a sometimes joyous, sometimes bittersweet, sometimes hilarious, but always impeccable, smooth production.

Don’t miss it!

Tony Awards Committee Announces Who Goes In What Category

It always a question with all these theater awards announcements raining down upon us – which actors go in which category. And this last announcement before the TONY Awards nominations are officially announced on Tuesday AM, is interesting in one other way. They have chosen to categorize “Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grille” as a play. Not a musical. Putting Audra McDonald in the Best Actress in a Play category. Pitting her against Tyne Daly. Audra, as you all know who read this, is having a career-topping high with her role as Billie Holiday at the end of her life in Emerson’s Bar and Grille. And has five Tonys already. Tyne Daly who is exemplary in “Mothers and Sons” has only one. 

Another interesting note of all these awards is “Bullets Over Broadway” is not fairing well at all.

These releases are interesting in to who is on the Tony Nominating Comittee’s mind this season.

TONY AWARDS ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE MEETS

FOR FOURTH & FINAL TIME DURING THE 2013-2014 SEASON

TO DETERMINE ELIGIBILITY

 

New York, New York (April 25, 2014) – The Tony Awards Administration Committee met today for the fourth and final time this season to determine the eligibility of eighteen Broadway productions for the 2014 American Theatre Wing’s Tony Awards®, presented by The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing.   The Tony Awards Administration Committee has met a total of four times throughout the 2013-2014 season to decide the eligibility for the 68^th Annual Tony Awards.  

 

The eighteen productions discussed include: All the Way, Rocky, Aladdin, Les Misérables, Mothers and Sons, If/Then, A Raisin in the Sun, The Realistic Joneses, Bullets Over Broadway, Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill, Of Mice and Men, Act One, The Cripple of Inishmaan, Violet, The Velocity of Autumn, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Casa Valentina and Cabaret.

 

The committee made the following determinations:

 

Andy Karl will be considered eligible in the Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical category for his performance in Rocky. 

 

Adam Jacobs and Courtney Reed will be considered eligible in the Best Performance by an Actor/Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical categories for their respective performances inAladdin.

 

Ramin Karimloo and Will Swenson will be considered eligible in the Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical category for their respective performances in Les Misérables.

 

Tyne Daly and Frederick Weller will be considered eligible in the Best Performance by an Actress/Actor in a Leading Role in a Play categories for their respective performances in Mothers and Sons.

 

LaTanya Richardson Jackson will be considered eligible in the Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play category for her performance in A Raisin in the Sun.

 

Zach Braff will be considered eligible in the Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical category for his performance 

 

 

Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill will be considered eligible in the Best Revival of a Play category. 

 

Santino Fontana and Tony Shalhoub will be considered eligible in the Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play category for their respective performances in Act One.

 

The Cripple of Inishmaan will be considered eligible in the Best Revival of a Play category.  

 

Violet will be considered eligible in the Best Revival of a Musical category.

 

Colin Donnell, Alexander Gemignani and Joshua Henry will be considered eligible in the Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical category for their respective performances in Violet. 

 

Hedwig and the Angry Inch will be considered eligible in the Best Revival of a Musical category.

 

All other eligibility determinations were consistent with the show’s opening night credits.

 

The 2014 Tony Awards, hosted by Hugh Jackman, will be broadcast live from Radio City Music Hall in New York City, on Sunday, June 8^th, (8:00 – 11:00 p.m. ET/PT time delay) on the CBS Television Network.   

 

The Tony Nominations, hosted by Lucy Liu and Jonathan Groff will take place on Tuesday, April 29^that the Paramount Hotel’s Diamond Horseshoe.     The Tony Nominations will stream live at 8:30 AM on www.tonyawards.com. 

 

TonyAwards.com, developed, produced, and hosted by IBM, is centerpiece of the Tony Awards digital platform that includes an interactive Second Screen (TonyAwards.com/secondscreen) to complement the CBS telecast on June 8; a Spotlight Series on potential nominees; Google+ hangouts; a live webcast of the Nominations Announcement; multimedia coverage before, during, and after the Tony ceremony; and much more. Visit TonyAwards.com, and follow the Tonys at Facebook.com/TheTonyAwards, @TheTonyAwards on Twitter, and Instagram.com/TheTonyAwards. #TonyAwards.

 

Drama Desk Award Nominations Announced!

The Drama Desk Award Nominations for 2014 were announced this morning at 54 Below. Fran Drescher(of all people!) was the perfect wake-up cup of entertainment coffee as she rasped out the many, many nominees and didn’t once mispronounce  any Adele Dazeems. Or at least I think she didn’t.

The Drama Desks are considered the most prestigious theater awards of the season because they  are the only awards-giving body to consider Broadway, Off-Broadway and Off-Off Broadway on an equal playing field. They are also only voted on by members of the press.

A Gentlemen’s Guide to Love and Murder received the most nominations -11.

The nominations for the 59th Annual Drama Desk Awards are:

 Outstanding Play

Nell Benjamin, The Explorers Club 
Steven Levenson, Core Values
Conor McPherson, The Night Alive 
Richard Nelson, Regular Singing
Bruce Norris, Domesticated
Robert Schenkkan, All The Way
John Patrick Shanley, Outside Mullingar

Outstanding Musical
A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder 
Aladdin
Beautiful: The Carole King Musical
Fun Home
Love’s Labour’s Lost
Rocky
The Bridges of Madison County

Outstanding Revival of a Play
I Remember Mama
London Wall
No Man’s Land
Of Mice and Men
The Cripple of Inishmaan 
The Model Apartment 
Twelfth Night (Shakespeare’s Globe Production)

Outstanding Revival of a Musical
Hedwig and the Angry Inch 
Les Misérables
Violet

Outstanding Actor in a Play
Bryan Cranston, All The Way
Hamish Linklater, The Comedy of Errors
Ian McKellen, No Man’s Land
David Morse, The Unavoidable Disappearance of Tom Durnin 
Chris O’Dowd, Of Mice and Men
Daniel Radcliffe, The Cripple of Inishmaan
Denzel Washington, A Raisin in the Sun

Outstanding Actress in a Play
Barbara Andres, I Remember Mama
Tyne Daly, Mothers and Sons
Audra McDonald, Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill 
Laurie Metcalf, Domesticated
J. Smith-Cameron, Juno and the Paycock
Harriet Walter, Julius Caesar

Outstanding Actor in a Musical
Neil Patrick Harris, Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Adam Jacobs, Aladdin
Andy Karl, Rocky
Jefferson Mays, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder 
Steven Pasquale, The Bridges of Madison County
Bryce Pinkham, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder

Outstanding Actress in a Musical
Sutton Foster, Violet
Idina Menzel, If/Then
Jessie Mueller, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical 
Kelli O’Hara, The Bridges of Madison County 
Margo Seibert, Tamar of the River
Barrett Wilbert Weed, Heathers: The Musical

Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play
Reed Birney, Casa Valentina
Chuck Cooper, Choir Boy
Peter Maloney, Outside Mullingar 
Bobby Moreno, Year of the Rooster 
Bill Pullman, The Jacksonian
Brian J. Smith, The Glass Menagerie

Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play
Betty Buckley, The Old Friends
Julia Coffey, London Wall
Diane Davis, The Model Apartment
Celia Keenan-Bolger, The Glass Menagerie 
Jan Maxwell, The Castle
Sophie Okonedo, A Raisin in the Sun

Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical
Danny Burstein, Cabaret
Nick Cordero, Bullets Over Broadway: The Musical 
Joshua Henry, Violet
James Monroe Iglehart, Aladdin
Rory O’Malley, Nobody Loves You
Bobby Steggert, Big Fish

Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical
Stephanie J. Block, Little Miss Sunshine
Anika Larsen, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical
Adriane Lenox, After Midnight
Sydney Lucas, Fun Home
Laura Osnes, The Threepenny Opera
Jennifer Simard, Disaster!
Lauren Worsham, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder

Outstanding Director of a Play
Joe Calarco, A Christmas Carol 
Tim Carroll, Twelfth Night 
Thomas Kail, Family Furniture 
Bill Rauch, All The Way
Anna D. Shapiro, Domesticated
Julie Taymor, A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Outstanding Director of a Musical
Sam Gold, Fun Home
Michael Mayer, Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Bartlett Sher, The Bridges of Madison County
Susan Stroman, Bullets Over Broadway: The Musical 
Alex Timbers, Rocky
Darko Tresnjak, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder

Outstanding Choreography
Warren Carlyle, After Midnight
Steven Hoggett, Kelly Devine, Rocky
Danny Mefford, Love’s Labour’s Lost
Casey Nicholaw, Aladdin
Susan Stroman, Bullets Over Broadway: The Musical 
Sonya Tayeh, Kung Fu

Outstanding Music
Jason Robert Brown, The Bridges of Madison County 
Andrew Lippa, Big Fish
Steven Lutvak, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder 
Alan Menken, Aladdin
Kevin Murphy and Laurence O’Keefe, Heathers: The Musical 
Jeanine Tesori, Fun Home

Outstanding Lyrics
Howard Ashman, Tim Rice, and Chad Beguelin, Aladdin
Jason Robert Brown, The Bridges of Madison County
Robert L. Freedman and Steven Lutvak, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder 
Michael Friedman, Love’s Labour’s Lost
Michael Korie, Far from Heaven
Lisa Kron, Fun Home

Outstanding Book of a Musical
Chad Beguelin, Aladdin
Robert L. Freedman, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder 
Joe Kinosian, Murder for Two
Lisa Kron, Fun Home
Douglas McGrath, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical 
Marsha Norman, The Bridges of Madison County

Outstanding Orchestrations
Jason Robert Brown, The Bridges of Madison County 
John Clancy, Fun Home
Larry Hochman, Big Fish
Steve Sidwell, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical 
Michael Starobin, If/Then
Jonathan Tunick, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder

Outstanding Music in a Play
Lewis Flinn, The Tribute Artist
Elliot Goldenthal, A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Rob Kearns, The Life and Sort of Death of Eric Argyle 
Tom Kochan, Almost, Maine
Nico Muhly, The Glass Menagerie
Duncan Sheik, A Man’s a Man

Outstanding Revue
After Midnight
I’m a Stranger Here Myself: Musik from the Weimar and Beyond 
Le Jazz Hot: How the French Saved Jazz
Til Divorce Do Us Part
What’s It All About? Bacharach Reimagined

Outstanding Set Design
Christopher Barreca, Rocky
Alexander Dodge, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder 
Richard Hoover, Small Engine Repair
Santo Loquasto, Bullets Over Broadway: The Musical
Ian MacNeil, A Doll’s House
Donyale Werle, The Explorers Club

Outstanding Costume Design
Constance Hoffman, A Midsummer Night’s Dream 
William Ivey Long, Bullets Over Broadway: The Musical 
Zane Pihlstrom, Nutcracker Rouge
Loren Shaw, The Mysteries
Jenny Tiramani, Twelfth Night
David C. Woolard, The Heir Apparent

Outstanding Lighting Design
Christopher Akerlind, Rocky 
Jane Cox, Machinal
David Lander, The Civil War 
Peter Mumford, King Lear 
Brian Tovar, Tamar of the River 
Japhy Weideman, Macbeth

Outstanding Projection Design
Robert Massicotte and Alexis Laurence, Cirkopolis 
Sven Ortel, A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Aaron Rhyne, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder 
Shawn Sagady, All The Way
Austin Switser, Sontag: Reborn Ben Rubin, Arguendo

Outstanding Sound Design in a Musical
Kai Harada, Fun Home
Peter Hylenski, Bullets Over Broadway: The Musical
Peter Hylenski, Rocky
Brian Ronan, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical
Dan Moses Schreier, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder 
Jon Weston, The Bridges of Madison County

Outstanding Sound Design in a Play
M.L. Dogg, The Open House
Katie Down, The Golden Dragon
Paul James Prendergast, All The Way 
Dan Moses Schreier, Act One 
Christopher Shutt, Love and Information 
Matt Tierney, Machinal

Outstanding Solo Performance
David Barlow, This is My Office
Jim Brochu, Character Man
Hannah Cabell, Grounded
Debra Jo Rupp, Becoming Dr. Ruth
Ruben Santiago-Hudson, August Wilson’s How I Learned What I Learned 
John Douglas Thompson, Satchmo at the Waldorf

Unique Theatrical Experience
Charlatan Cirkopolis
Mother Africa
Nothing to Hide
Nutcracker Rouge
The Complete and Condensed Stage Directions of Eugene O’Neill Vol. 2

PRODUCTIONS WITH MULTIPLE NOMINATIONS:
12 A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder 
9 The Bridges of Madison County
8 Fun Home
7 Aladdin
7 Rocky
6 Beautiful: The Carole King Musical 
6 Bullets Over Broadway: The Musical
5 All The Way
4 A Midsummer Night’s Dream
3 After Midnight
3 Big Fish
3 Domesticated
3 Hedwig and the Angry Inch
3 London Wall
3 Love’s Labour’s Lost
3 The Glass Menagerie
3 Twelfth Night (Shakespeare’s Globe Production)
3 Violet
2 A Raisin in the Sun
2 Cirkopolis
2 Heathers: The Musical
2 I Remember Mama
2 If/Then
2 Machinal
2 No Man’s Land
2 Nutcracker Rouge
2 Of Mice and Men
2 Outside Mullingar
2 Tamar of the River
2 The Cripple of Inishmaan
2 The Explorers Club
2 The Model Apartment

Special Awards: Each year, the Drama Desk votes special awards to recognize excellence and significant contributions to the theatre.

For 2013-2014, these awards are:

To Soho Rep: For nearly four decades of artistic distinction, innovative production, and provocative play selection.
To Veanne Cox: For her ability to express the eccentricities, strengths, and vulnerabilities of a range of characters, and notably for her comedic flair as evidenced in this season’s The Old Friends and The Most Deserving.
To Ed Sylvanus Iskandar, the Sam Norkin Off-Broadway Award: For his visionary directorial excellence. This season’s The Golden Dragon andThe Mysteries exemplify his bold and strikingly original imagination.
To the ensembles of Off-Broadway’s The Open House and Broadway’sThe Realistic Joneses and to the creator of both plays, Will Eno: For two extraordinary casts and one impressively inventive playwright.
The Open House: Hannah Bos, Michael Countryman, Peter Friedman Danny McCarthy, and Carolyn McCormick
The Realistic Joneses: Toni Collette, Michael C. Hall, Tracy Letts and Marisa Tomei

A few notes from the Drama Desk: “As the current revival of Cabaretreplicates the 1998 production, the Board deemed the show ineligible in the Outstanding Revival of a Musical category, as were performers, creative team members, and technical personnel associated with the earlier incarnation in their respective categories. Soul Doctor was considered for its Off-Broadway production in the 2012-13 season. Under Drama Desk rules, only new elements in its transfer to Broadway were eligible this season. Finally, Billy Crystal’s 700 Sundays was deemed ineligible because it was a return engagement of the 2005 Drama Desk winning show.”

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Dolmen -Six Part French TV series now on MHz DVD

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Oui, I just watched the ENTIRE six part, 90 mins each, episodes of the popular French TV series “Dolmen” and I have to say the knock-out star was the beautiful Belle-Ile-en-Mer island where it was almost entirely shot.

Belle-Ile-En-Mer is a small, very picturesque island off the coast of Brittany and its scenic beauty captured the eye of many French artists including Monet, who you wouldn’t think would be attracted to such craggy, treeless, unforgivingly bleak terrain.

“Dolmen” refers to the Stonehenge-like rock formations that the series revolves around. Every time the rocks start to bleed someone prominent on the Island dies. Murdered. The body count is so high by the end of the series, it’s amazing the island called Ty Kern in the series is still populated.

“Dolmen” is written by two women Nicole Jamet and Marie-Jean Le Pezennec. But you’d never know it. The P.O.V. is strictly in line with the typical super-masculine police procedural with an extremely busty heroine Marie(Ingrid Chavin). who is haunted by bloody waves of nightmares, and who nevertheless is the picture of blooming good health.

Her poitrine is extremely belle, and we see her often soaking wet, or jogging, jogging, jogging. Those who want plus de poitrine have to wait til Episode 5 and 6, when Ingrid is more or less constantly taking her top off. Oh, and yes, she’s a cop. French female cops evidently look like porn stars. And Marie is the central figure in this very twisty terrain of “Dolmen”s plot.

Some one is up to no good and Ingrid/Marie is constantly in jeopardy, no matter which way she turns.

Mlle. Chauvin’s acting improves as the series wears on. And on. She at first used to half-giggle or have a dopey little smile, before she’d have to evince a big emotion other than breathlessly jogging or swimming. But Ep.5 and 6, she seemed to finally be learning what carrying a gigantic epic like this one demands and she bouncily goes with the flow. Helped in no small part by her uber-handsome co-star Parisian cop Bruno Madinier.

He’s there to give a certain gravitas to the proceedings and Ingrid’s strenuous heavings. And he more than fills the bill. He has better hair than she does.

Many French character actors are on board to fill out the very large capable cast, who seem to be enjoying themselves on their Belle-ile-en-Mer vacations. And are simply too numerous to mention.

It starts out shockingly enough in Ep.1 when Marie’s brother is killed, and a bloody seagull found in her wedding dress(I’m not making this up). But after his departure, there’s still six or seven more grisly deaths to endure, all seemingly inspired by the legend of “The Wreckers” That is an ancient island legend where starving islanders centuries ago, during a famine yet, lured ships to be smashed on the rugged rocks of Ty Kern by putting lamps on cows, and confusing the vessels as to wear the danger zones were. And then killing the victims that survived as they struggled to the shore.

Nice.

And spooky. But if you want to know why the Dolmen’s were bleeding at the exact moment that someone was being killed(and it’s the victims own blood that ran down the Dolmens!) you will have to stay tuned til the last few minutes of the six-part series to find out.

“Mothers & Sons” to Display AIDS Quilt in Lobby

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BROADWAY’S

” M O T H E R S A N D S O N S ”

DISPLAYS PORTIONS OF

THE AIDS MEMORIAL QUILT

IN LOWER LOBBY OF THE

GOLDEN THEATRE

ONE OF THE MOST ICONIC EXAMPLES
OF AMERICAN FOLK ART
INSTALLED FOR THE FIRST TIME

IN A BROADWAY HOUSE

New York, NY (April 7, 2014) – The new Broadway play Mothers and Sons from 4-time Tony® Award winner Terrence McNally and starring Tony® Award and six-time Emmy® Award winner Tyne Daly is proud to announce that portions of The AIDS Memorial Quilt are now on display in the lower lobby of the Golden Theatre (252 West 45th Street), where the critically-acclaimed play currently resides. The Quilt, fittingly, is prominently referenced during the course of the 90-minute play, making its residency inside the theater especially poignant. Audience members of Mothers and Sons are encouraged to view the quilt before or after any performance. The quilt will be on display for the entirety of the run of Mothers and Sons. For tickets and information, please visit http://www.MothersAndSonsBroadway.com.

Mothers and Sons lead producer Tom Kirdahy said: “The Quilt is perhaps the most powerful reminder we have of those lost to AIDS; a hand-made monument lovingly constructed. Mothers and Sons is honored to display panels of the quilt in the lobby of the Golden Theatre as a tribute to those lost, who were all foot soldiers in the march towards equality. We must never forget those we lost during the darkest days of the plague as we joyfully celebrate our hard won victories today. Remember Their Names.”

Chelsea Pines Inn is proudly sponsoring the AIDS Quilt display in memory and honor of the hotel’s founder, Sheldon Post.

“A triumphant masterpiece.” – New York Observer

“An impeccably acted production wrapped in a sense of urgency.” – The New York Times

“Terrence McNally has just written his best play.” – The Huffington Post

Mothers and Sons marks Mr. McNally’s 20th Broadway show, and will be directed by Tony nominee Sheryl Kaller (Next Fall). It stars Tony® and Emmy® Award winner Tyne Daly, Obie and Drama Desk Award winner Frederick Weller, Tony® Award nominee Bobby Steggert and newcomer Grayson Taylor. Preview performances began on Sunday, February 23, 2014, and the opening night is set for Monday, March 24, 2014. Mothers and Sons is produced on Broadway by Tom Kirdahy, Roy Furman, Paula Wagner & Debbie Bisno, and Barbara Freitag & Loraine Alterman Boyle.

Mothers and Sons, the new play by 4-time Tony Award® winner Terrence McNally, is a timely and provocative new play that explores our evolving understanding of family in today’s world. At turns funny and powerful, Mothers and Sons follows a woman (Daly) who pays an unexpected visit to the New York apartment of her late son’s ex-partner (Weller), who is now married to another man (Steggert) and has a young son. Challenged to face how society has changed around her, generations collide as she revisits the past and discovers a new connection she never expected.

The design team for Mothers and Sons includes scenic design by John Lee Beatty, costume design by Jess Goldstein, lighting design by Jeff Croiter, and sound design by Nevin Steinberg.

Mothers and Sons had its world premiere production at Bucks County Playhouse (Jed Bernstein, Producing Director) on June 13, 2013. Tyne Daly also starred in that production. Mr. McNally’s other works for Broadway include Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune; The Full Monty; Ragtime; Master Class; Love! Valour! Compassion!; Kiss of the Spider Woman; The Rink; The Ritz; and Bad Habits.

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Tony Award Nominations to be announced on Tuesday Apr.29

THE 2014 TONY AWARDS® NOMINATIONS

SPONSORED BY IBM

 

LUCY LIU & JONATHAN GROFF

CO-HOST THE NOMINATIONS ANNOUNCEMENT ON TUESDAY APRIL 29^th    

LIVE FROM THE DIAMOND HORSESHOE AT THE PARAMOUNT HOTEL

 

NOMINATIONS TO BE BROADCAST LIVE ON TONYAWARDS.COM & CBS THIS MORNING

 

WHO:                                   The Tony Awards Nominations Announcement will be co-hosted by multiple SAG and Emmy nominated actress and star of ELEMENTARY on CBS, Lucy Liu, and Tony-nominated star of HBO’s LOOKING & Disney’s FROZEN, Jonathan Groff. Also in attendance will be: William Ivey Long, Chairman of the American Theatre Wing; Heather Hitchens, Executive Director of the American Theatre Wing; Nick Scandalios, Chairman of The Broadway League; Charlotte St. Martin, Executive Director of the Broadway League.

Drama League Announces Nominees!

And congratulations to Carson Elrod for his Drama League Nomination for “Heir Apparent!”

THE DRAMA LEAGUE

ANNOUNCES 2014 AWARD NOMINEES FOR

80^th ANNUAL AWARDS

 

CEREMONY SET FOR FRIDAY, MAY 16^th

AT THE MARRIOTT MARQUIS TIMES SQUARE

 

HOSTED BY JESSE TYLER FERGUSON

 

New York, NY (April 23, 2014) – The Drama League (Executive Director, Gabriel Shanks) has announced the 2014 Drama League Awards Nominees for Distinguished Play, Distinguished Revival of a Play, Distinguished Musical, Distinguished Revival of a Musical, and Distinguished Performance Award.  The nominations were announced at a ceremony hosted by Judith Light and Christopher Sieber this morning at Sardi’s Restaurant and streamed live atwww.BroadwayWorld.com. 

 

The nominations announcement begins the month of celebrations leading up to the 80th Annual Drama League Awards, which will be held at the Marriott Marquis Times Square (1535 Broadway) on Friday, May 16, 2014 at 11:30am.  Tickets for The Drama League Awards, which includes pre-event cocktails and the star-studded afternoon luncheon ceremony hosted by Jesse Tyler Ferguson, are available by calling (212) 244-9494 or visitingwww.dramaleague.org.

 

First awarded in 1922 and formalized in 1935, The Drama League Awards are the oldest theatrical honors in America. GenSpring Family Offices, National Life Group and Financier Patisserie are the 2014 Sponsors of The 80th Annual Drama League Awards.

 

For more information about the Drama League Awards, please call (212) 244-9494 ext 101, or e-mailevents@dramaleague.org, or visit the website at www.dramaleague.org.

 

 

2014 DRAMA LEAGUE AWARDS NOMINATIONS

 

OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION OF A BROADWAY OR OFF-BROADWAY PLAY

 

All That Fall

59 East 59 Theatres

By Samuel Beckett

Directed by Trevor Nunn

59E59 Theaters, Richard Darbourne Limited, Jermyn Street Theatre, producers

 

All The Way

Neil Simon Theatre

By Robert Schenkkan

Directed by Bill Rauch

Jeffrey Richards, Louise Gund, Jerry Frankel, Stephanie P. McClelland, Double Gemini Productions, Rebecca Gold, Scott M. Delman, Barbara H. Freitag, Harvey Weinstein, Gene Korf, William Berlind, Caiola Productions, Gutterman Chernoff, Jam Theatricals, Gabrielle Palitz, Cheryl Wiesenfeld, Will Trice, producers

 

Casa Valentina

Manhattan Theatre Club/Samuel J. Friedman Theatre

By Harvey Fierstein

Directed by Joe Mantello

Lynne Meadow, Artistic Director; Barry Grove, Executive Producer

By special arrangement with Colin Callender, Robert Cole, Frederick M. Zollo, The Shubert Organization, producers

 

Domesticated

Lincoln Center Theater/Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater

By Bruce Norris

Directed by Anna D. Shapiro

Andre Bishop, Artistic Director; Adam Siegel, Managing Director; Hattie K. Jutagir, Executive Director of Development and Planning

 

Mothers and Sons

Golden Theatre

By Terrence McNally

Directed by Sheryl Kaller

Tom Kirdahy, Roy Furman, Paula Wagner and Debbie Bisno, Barbara Freitag and Loraine Alterman Boyle, Hunter Arnold, Paul Boskind, Ken Davenport, LAMS Productions, Mark Lee and Ed Filipowski, Roberta Pereira/Brunish-Trinchero, Sanford Robertson, Tom Smedes & Peter Stern, Jack Thomas/Susan Dietz, producers

 

Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play

Playwrights Horizons

By Anne Washburn

Directed by Steve Cosson

Tim Sanford, Artistic Director; Leslie Marcus, Managing Director; Carol Fishman, General Manager

 

The Open House

Signature Theatre Company

By Will Eno

Directed by Oliver Butler

James Houghton, Founding Artistic Director; Erika Mallin, Executive Director

 

The Realistic Joneses

Lyceum Theatre

By Will Eno

Directed by Sam Gold

Jeffrey Richards, Jerry Frankel, Jam Theatricals, Stacey Mindich, Susan Gallin, Mary Lu Roffe, Andy Sandberg, Scott M. Delman, William Berlind, Caiola Productions, CandyWendyJamie Productions, Amy Danis & Mark Johannes, Finn Moellenberg Productions, Angelina Fiordellisi, Jay Franke, Gesso Productions, Grimaldi Astrachan Hello Entertainment, Meg Herman, Mara Smigel Rutter Productions, KM-R&D, Will Trice, in association with Yale Repertory Theatre

 

 

OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION OF A BROADWAY OR OFF-BROADWAY MUSICAL

 

After Midnight

Brooks Atkinson Theatre

Conceived by Jack Viertel

Directed by Warren Carlyle

Scott Sanders Productions, Wynton Marsalis, Roy Furman, Candy Spelling, Starry Night Entertainment, Hal Newman, Allan S. Gordon/Adam S. Gordon, James L. Nederlander, Robert K. Kraft, Catherine and Fred Adler, Robert Appel, Jeffrey Bolton, Scott M. Delman, James Fantaci, Ted Liebowitz, Stephanie P. McClelland, Sandy Block, Carol Fineman, producers in association with Marks-Moore-Turnbull Group, Stephen and Ruth Hendel, and Tom Kirdahy

 

Aladdin

New Amsterdam Theatre

Music by Alan Menken, Lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice, Book and Additional Lyrics by Chad Beguelin

Directed by Casey Nicholaw

Disney Theatrical Productions, Thomas Schumacher, Director

 

Beautiful: The Carole King Musical

Stephen Sondheim Theatre

Book by Douglas McGrath, Music by Barry Mann and Carole King, Lyrics by Cynthia Weil and Gerry Goffin

Directed by Marc Bruni

Paul Blake, Sony/ATV Music Publishing, Jeffrey A. Sine, Richard A. Smith, Mike Bosner, Harriet N. Leve/Elaine Krauss, Terry Schnuck, Orin Wolf, Patty Baker/Good Productions, Roger Faxon, Larry Magid, Kit Seidel, Lawrence S. Toppall, Fakston Productions/Mary Solomon, William Court Cohen, John Gore, BarLor Productions, Matthew C. Blank, Tim Hogue, Joel Hyatt, Marianne Mills, Michael J. Moritz, Jr., StylesFour Productions, Brunish & Trinchero, Jeremiah J. Harris, producers

 

The Bridges of Madison County

Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre

Book by Marsha Norman, Music and Lyrics by Jason Robert Brown

Directed by Bartlett Sher

Jeffrey Richards, Stacey Mindich, Jerry Frankel, Gutterman Chernoff, Hunter Arnold, Ken Davenport, Carl Daikeler, Michael DeSantis, Aaron Priest, Libby Adler Mages/Mari Glick Stuart, Scott M. Delman, Independent Presenters Network, Red Mountain Theatre Company, Caiola Productions, Remmel T. Dickinson, Ken Greiner, David Lancaster, Bellanca Smigel Rutter, Mark S. Golub & David S. Golub, Will Trice, producers with Warner Bros Theatre Ventures and The Shubert Organization in association with Williamstown Theatre Festival

 

Bullets Over Broadway

St. James Theatre

Book by Woody Allen, Music Adaptation and Additional Lyrics by Glen Kelly

Directed by Susan Stroman

Letty Aronson, Julian Schlossberg, Edward Walson, Leroy Schector, Roy Furman, Broadway Across America, Just For Laughs Theatricals/Jacki Barlia Florin, Harold Newman and Jujamcyn Theaters, producers

 

Fun Home

The Public Theater

Music by Jeanine Tesori, Book and Lyrics by Lisa Kron

Directed by Sam Gold

Oskar Eustis, Artistic Director; Patrick Willingham, Executive Director

 

A Gentleman’s Guide To Love And Murder

Walter Kerr Theatre

Book and Lyrics by Robert L.  Freedman, Music and Lyrics by Steven Lutvak

Directed by Darko Tresnjak

Joey Parnes, S.D. Wagner, John Johnson, 50 Church Street Productions, Joan Raffe and Jhett Tolentino, Jay Alix and Una Jackman, Catherine and Fred Adler, Rhoda Herrick, Kathleen K. Johnson, Megan Savage, Shadowcatcher Entertainment, Ron Simons, True Love Productions, Jamie deRoy, Four Ladies & One Gent, John Arthur Pinckard, Greg Nobile, Stewart Lane and Bonnie Comley, Exeter Capital/Ted Snowdon, Ryan Hugh Mackey, Cricket-CTM Media/Mano-Horn Productions, Dennis Grimaldi/Margot Astrachan, Hello Entertainment/Jamie Bendell, Michael T. Cohen/Joe Strola, Joseph and Carson Gleberman/William Megevick, Green State Productions, Robert Greenblatt, producers in association with Hartford Stage and The Old Globe

 

Murder For Two

Second Stage Theatre/New World Stages

Book and Music by Joe Kinosian, Book and Lyrics by Kellan Blair

Directed by Scott Schwartz

Second Stage Theatre, Carole Rothman, Artistic Director; Casey Reitz, Executive Director; Christopher Burney, Associate Artistic Director; Jayson Raitt, Barbara Whitman, Steven Chaikelson, producers

 

Rocky

Winter Garden Theatre

Book by Thomas Meehan and Sylvester Stallone, Music by Stephen Flaherty, Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens

Directed by Alex Timbers

Stage Entertainment USA and Sylvester Stallone, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, The Shubert Organization, Kevin King-Templeton, James L. Nederlander and Terry Allen Kramer, Roy Furman, Cheryl Wiesenfeld, Zane Tankel, Lucky Champions, Scott Delman, JFL Theatricals/Judith Ann Abrams, Latitude Link, Waxman/Shin/Bergère, Lauren Stevens/Josh Goodman, producers

 

 

OUTSTANDING REVIVAL OF A BROADWAY OR OFF-BROADWAY PLAY

 

The Cripple of Inishmaan

Cort Theatre

By Martin McDonagh

Directed by Michael Grandage

Michael Grandage Company, Arielle Tepper Madover, L.T.D. Productions, Stacey Mindich, Starry Night Entertainment, Scott M. Delman, Martin McCallum, Stephanie P. McClelland, Zeilinger Productions and The Shubert Organization, producers

 

The Glass Menagerie

Booth Theatre

By Tennessee Williams

Directed by John Tiffany

Jeffrey Richards, John N. Hart Jr., Jerry Frankel, Lou Spisto/Lucky VIII, Infinity Stages, Scott M. Delman, Jam Theatricals, Mauro Taylor, Rebecca Gold, Michael Palitz, Charles E. Stone, Will Trice, Gfour Productions, producers

 

Good Person of Szechwan

The Public Theater

By Bertolt Brecht, translated by John Willett

Directed by Lear deBessonet

Oskar Eustis, Artistic Director; Patrick Willingham, Executive Director; The Foundry Theatre

 

The Mutilated

The New Ohio Theatre

By Tennessee Williams

Directed by Cosmin Chivu

Beth Bartley Productions, Thomas Keith and New Ohio Theatre, Robert Lyons, Artistic Director

 

Of  Mice and Men

Longacre Theatre

By John Steinbeck

Directed by Anna D. Shapiro

 

 

David Binder, Kate Lear, Darren Bagert, Adam Zotovich, Latitude Link/Piedmont Productions, Raise The Roof, Paula Marie Black, Marc Turtletaub, Ruth Hendel/Barbara Whitman, Marianne Mills/Jayne Baron Sherman, Martin Massman, Judy Kent/Wendy Knudsen, Kevin Niu, Michael Watt, and The Shubert Organization, producers

 

A Raisin in the Sun

Ethel Barrymore Theatre

By Lorraine Hansberry

Directed by Kenny Leon

Scott Rudin, Roger Berlind, Eli Bush, Jon B. Platt, Scott M. Delman, Roy Furman, Stephanie P. McClelland, Ruth Hendel, Sonia Friedman/Tulchin Bartner, The Araca Group, Heni Koenigsberg, Daryl Roth, Joan Raffe and Jhett Tolentino, Joey Parnes, S.D. Wagner, John Johnson, producers

 

Twelfth Night, or What You Will

Belasco Theatre

By William Shakespeare

Directed by Tim Carroll

Sonia Friedman Productions, Scott Landis, Roger Berlind, Glass Half Full Productions/Just For Laughs Theatricals, 1001 Nights Productions, Tulchin Bartner Productions, Jane Bergère, Paula Marie Black, Rupert Gavin, Stephanie P. McClelland, Shakespeare’s Globe Centre USA, Max Cooper, Tanya Link Productions and Shakespeare Road,producers

 

Waiting For Godot

Cort Theatre

By Samuel Beckett

Directed by Sean Mathias

Stuart Thompson, Nomango Productions, Jon B. Platt, Elizabeth Williams/Jack M. Dalgleish, producers

 

 

OUTSTANDING REVIVAL OF A BROADWAY OR OFF-BROADWAY MUSICAL

 

Hedwig and the Angry Inch

Belasco Theatre

Book by John Cameron Mitchell, Music and Lyrics by Stephen Trask

Directed by Michael Mayer

David Binder, Jayne Baron Sherman, Barbara Whitman, Latitude Link, Patrick Catullo, Raise The Roof, Paula Marie Black, Colin Callender, Ruth Hendel, Saron Karmazin, Martian Entertainment, Stacey Mindich, Eric Schnall and The Shubert Organization, producers

 

Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill

Circle in the Square Theatre

by Lanie Robertson

Directed by Lonny Price

Jeffrey Richards, Jerry Frankel, Jessica Genick, Will Trice, Ronald Frankel, Rebecca Gold, Roger Berlind, Ken Grenier, Gabrielle Palitz, Irene Gandy, Gfour Productions, producers

 

Les Misérables

Imperial Theatre

Music by Claude-Michel Schonberg, Lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer

Original French Text by Alain Boubilil and Jean-Marc Natel

Directed by Laurence Connor and James Powell

Cameron Mackintosh, producer

 

Violet

Roundabout Theatre Company/American Airlines Theatre

Music by Jeanine Tesori, Book and Lyrics by Brian Crawley

Directed by Leigh Silverman

Todd Haimes, Artistic Director; Harold Wolpert, Managing Director; Julia Levy, Executive Director

 

PLEASE NOTE: The Roundabout Theatre Company production of Cabaret received The Drama League’s Outstanding Revival of a Musical Award in 1998, during its original engagement.  Therefore, it is ineligible for a production nomination this season.  However, it was determined that the cast of the production would be eligible for consideration.

 

 

DISTINGUISHED PERFORMANCE AWARD

One winner is selected from this category.  The recipient can only receive the award once during his or her career. 

 

Reed Birney, Casa Valentina

Steven Boyer, Hand to God

Zach Braff, Bullets over Broadway

Arnie Burton, The Mystery of Irma Vep

Michael Cerveris, Fun Home

Nick Cordero, Bullets over Broadway

Bryan Cranston, All the Way

Alan Cumming, Cabaret

Tyne Daly, Mothers and Sons

Mary Bridget Davies, A Night With Janis Joplin

Gabriel Ebert, Casa Valentina

Carson Elrod, The Heir Apparent

Jesse Tyler Ferguson, The Comedy of Errors

Sutton Foster, Violet

James Franco, Of Mice and Men

Peter Friedman, The Open House

Michael C. Hall, The Realistic Joneses

Lena Hall, Hedwig and the Angry Inch

Neil Patrick Harris, Hedwig and the Angry Inch

Joshua Henry, Violet

James Monroe Iglehart, Aladdin

LaTanya Richardson Jackson, A Raisin in the Sun

Ramin Karimloo, Les Misérables

Andy Karl, Rocky

Adriane Lenox, After Midnight

Tracy Letts, The Realistic Joneses

Zachary Levi, First Date

Sydney Lucas, Fun Home

Taylor Mac, Good Person of Szechwan

Jefferson Mays, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder

Idina Menzel, If/Then

Laurie Metcalf, Domesticated

Jessie Mueller, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical

Chris O’Dowd, Of Mice and Men

Kelli O’Hara, The Bridges of Madison County

Estelle Parsons, The Velocity of Autumn

Steven Pasquale, The Bridges of Madison County

Jeremy Pope, Choir Boy

Zachary Quinto, The Glass Menagerie

Daniel Radcliffe, The Cripple of Inishmaan

Ruben Santiago-Hudson, How I Learned What I Learned

Margo Seibert, Rocky

Robert Sella, The Mystery of Irma Vep

Tony Shalhoub, Act One

Jennifer Simard, Disaster!

Brian J. Smith, The Glass Menagerie

Patrick Stewart, Waiting for Godot

John Douglas Thompson, Satchmo at the Waldorf

Denzel Washington, A Raisin in the Sun

Michelle Williams, Cabaret    

 

The Drama League also wishes to acknowledge the previous recipients of the Distinguished Performance Award who appeared in New York productions this season.  As the Award can only be won once in a performer’s lifetime, they are ineligible this season.  Their exemplary work, however, is recognized and applauded.

 

Eileen Atkins, All That Fall

Norbert Leo Butz, Big Fish

Kathleen Chalfant, Somewhere Fun/Tales From Red Vienna

Cherry Jones, The Glass Menagerie

Audra McDonald, Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill

Ian McKellen, Waiting For Godot/No Man’s Land

Frank Langella, King Lear

Mary-Louise Parker, The Snow Geese

Mark Rylance, Twelfth Night, Or What You Will/Richard III

 

The Drama League recently announced the 2014 recipients for Distinguished Contributions and Achievements in the Theatre, as follows:  Kennedy Center Honoree, Tony®, and Grammy® Award nominee, Barbara Cook will receive the Distinguished Achievement in Musical Theatre Award in recognition of her contribution to the musical theatre; Key Brand Entertainment/Broadway Across America: John Gore will receive the Unique Contribution to the Theatre Award for their vital work of bringing New York productions to theaters across America; and Tony®, Drama Desk and OBIE Award-winner John Tiffany will receive The Founders Award for Excellence in Directing.  

 

 

Distinguished Achievement in Musical Theatre

Barbara Cook

 

Unique Contribution to the Theatre

Key Brand Entertainment/Broadway Across America

 

Founders Award for Excellence in Directing

John Tiffany

 

 

The 80^th Annual Drama League Awards Ceremony and Luncheon includes a nominees cocktail reception, luncheon, and awards presentation and will be held at the Marriott Marquis Times Square in the Broadway Ballroom (1535 Broadway) on Friday, May 16, 2014 beginning at 11:30am.

 

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Lupita Nyong’o Chosen People Magazine”s Most Beautiful!

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The lovely Lupita Nyong’o has just been chosen as People Magazine’s Most Beautiful Person of the Year.

The Academy Award Winner ‘s on the cover this week looking as lovely as ever. You can read about it here ~ http://www.people.com/people/package/gallery/1,,20360857_20809145,00.html

Outer Critics Circle Announce Nominees!

Dear readers, dear cineastes the Outer Critics Circle has announced its’ list of nominations, the first of the season, with “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder” leading the pack with 11 nominations. I’m shocked, shocked! At Disney’s sub-par(to put it mildly)”Aladdin” getting as many nods as it got. And Audra McDonald’s splendifrous “Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grille” is in the Best Actress in a Musical category. Not Best Actress in a Play which she could’ve easily gotten, as there is as much play in “Lady Day” as their is singing.

Both Bryce Pinkham AND Jefferson Mays’ were both nominated for Best Actor in a Musical category, pitting them against each other and against Neil Patrick Harris for “Hedwig” which I’m seeing Friday. Surprisingly now Best Musical nomination for “Bridges of Madison County,” but it got nominated for Best Music.

And “Bullets Over Broadway” did not score in the Best Musical category, nor Best Director of a Musical,but it did get Best Featured Actress for Marrin (Mugsalot)Mazzie, and Best Choreography (Susan Stroman) and Best Costumes (William Ivey Long). The Outer Critics Circle is voted on byy critics whose outlets are outside the metropolitan area. Some call them the Bridge and Tunnel Awards.

64th Annual Awards

Outer Critics Circle Announce

2013-14 Season Nominees

“A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder”

Heads the List with 11 Nominations!

Followed by

8 for “Aladdin,” 7 for “Fun Home” & 6 for “Rocky”

The First Broadway/Off-Broadway Award Nominees of the Season!

Outer Critics Circle, the organization of writers and commentators covering New York theater for out-of-town newspapers, national publications and other media beyond Broadway, announced today (April 22, 2014) its nominees for the 2013-14 season in 24 categories. Stage and screen stars Cecily Tyson and Vanessa Williams presided over the (11AM) announcement ceremony at Manhattan’s Friars Club.

Celebrating its 64th season of bestowing awards of excellence in the field of theater, the Outer Critics Circle is an association with members affiliated with more than ninety newspapers, magazines, websites, radio and television stations, and theatre publications in America and abroad. The winners of the following categories will be announced on Monday, May 12th and the annual awards ceremony will be held on Thursday, May 22nd (4PM) at the legendary Sardi’s Restaurant.

– Nominations follow-

Outer Critics Circle

2013-2014 Award Nominations

OUTSTANDING NEW BROADWAY PLAY

Act One

All the Way

Casa Valentina

Outside Mullingar

The Realistic Joneses

OUTSTANDING NEW BROADWAY MUSICAL

After Midnight

Aladdin

Beautiful The Carole King Musical

A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder

Rocky

OUTSTANDING NEW OFF-BROADWAY PLAY

Appropriate

Choir Boy

The Explorer’s Club

The Heir Apparent

Stage Kiss

OUTSTANDING NEW OFF-BROADWAY MUSICAL

Far From Heaven

Fun Home

Murder For Two

Storyville

What’s It All About? Bacharach Reimagined

OUTSTANDING BOOK OF A MUSICAL

(Broadway or Off-Broadway)

Aladdin

Beautiful The Carole King Musical

Fun Home

A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder

Rocky

OUTSTANDING NEW SCORE

(Broadway or Off-Broadway)

Aladdin

The Bridges of Madison County

Fun Home

A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder

If / Then

OUTSTANDING REVIVAL OF A PLAY

(Broadway or Off-Broadway)

The Cripple of Inishmaan

The Glass Menagerie

Machinal

Twelfth Night

The Winslow Boy

OUTSTANDING REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL

(Broadway or Off-Broadway)

Cabaret

Hedwig and the Angry Inch

Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill

Les Misérables

Violet

OUTSTANDING DIRECTOR OF A PLAY

Tim Carroll Twelfth Night

Michael Grandage The Cripple of Inishmaan

Lindsay Posner The Winslow Boy

Bill Rauch All the Way

Lyndsey Turner Machinal

OUTSTANDING DIRECTOR OF A MUSICAL

Warren Carlyle After Midnight

Laurence Connor & James Powell Les Misérables

Sam Gold Fun Home

Alex Timbers Rocky

Darko Tresnjak A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder

OUTSTANDING CHOREOGRAPHER

Warren Carlyle After Midnight

Peggy Hickey A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder

Steven Hoggett & Kelly Devine Rocky

Casey Nicholaw Aladdin

Susan Stroman Bullets Over Broadway

OUTSTANDING SET DESIGN

(Play or Musical)

Christopher Barreca Rocky

Beowulf Boritt Act One

Bob Crowley Aladdin

Es Devlin Machinal

Alexander Dodge A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder

OUTSTANDING COSTUME DESIGN

(Play or Musical)

Gregg Barnes Aladdin

Linda Cho A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder

William Ivey Long Bullets Over Broadway

Jenny Tiramani Twelfth Night

Isabel Toledo After Midnight

OUTSTANDING LIGHTING DESIGN

(Play or Musical)
Kevin Adams Hedwig and the Angry Inch

Howell Binkley After Midnight

Paule Constable Les Misérables

Natasha Katz Aladdin

Philip S. Rosenberg A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder

OUTSTANDING ACTOR IN A PLAY

Bryan Cranston All the Way

Ian McKellen No Man’s Land

Brían F. O’Byrne Outside Mullingar

Mark Rylance Twelfth Night

Tony Shaloub Act One

OUTSTANDING ACTRESS IN A PLAY

Tyne Daly Mothers and Sons

Rebecca Hall Machinal

Jessica Hecht Stage Kiss

Cherry Jones The Glass Menagerie

Estelle Parsons The Velocity of Autumn

OUTSTANDING ACTOR IN A MUSICAL

Michael Cerveris Fun Home

Neil Patrick Harris Hedwig and the Angry Inch

Andy Karl Rocky

Jefferson Mays A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder

Bryce Pinkham A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder

OUTSTANDING ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL

Sutton Foster Violet

Audra McDonald Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill

Jessie Mueller Beautiful The Carole King Musical

Kelli O’Hara The Bridges of Madison County

Michelle Williams Cabaret

OUTSTANDING FEATURED ACTOR IN A PLAY

Paul Chahidi Twelfth Night

Michael Cyril Creighton Stage Kiss

John McMartin All the Way

Alessandro Nivola The Winslow Boy

Brian J. Smith The Glass Menagerie

OUTSTANDING FEATURED ACTRESS IN A PLAY

Barbara Barrie I Remember Mama

Andrea Martin Act One

Sophie Okonedo A Raisin in the Sun

Anika Noni Rose A Raisin in the Sun

Mare Winningham Casa Valentina

OUTSTANDING FEATURED ACTOR IN A MUSICAL

Danny Burstein Cabaret

Nick Cordero Bullets Over Broadway

Joshua Henry Violet

James Monroe Iglehart Aladdin

Jarrod Specter Beautiful The Carole King Musical

OUTSTANDING FEATURED ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL

Judy Kuhn Fun Home

Anika Larsen Beautiful The Carole King Musical

Sydney Lucas Fun Home

Marin Mazzie Bullets Over Broadway

Lisa O’Hare A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder

OUTSTANDING SOLO PERFORMANCE

Jim Brochu Character Man

Debra Jo Rupp Becoming Dr. Ruth

Ruben Santiago-Hudson How I Learned What I Learned

Alexandra Silber Arlington

John Douglas Thompson Satchmo at the Waldorf

JOHN GASSNER AWARD

(Presented for an American play, preferably by a new playwright)

Scott Z. Burns The Library

Eric Dufault Year of the Rooster

Madeleine George The (Curious Case of the) Watson Intelligence

Steven Levenson The Unavoidable Disappearance of Tom Durnin

Lauren Yee The Hatmaker’s Wife

Nominations Talley for 3 or more:

A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder 11; Aladdin 8; Fun Home 7; Rocky 6; After Midnight 5; Beautiful 5;

Twelfth Night 5; Act One 4; All the Way 4; Bullets Over Broadway 4; Machinal 4; Cabaret 3; The Glass Menagerie 3; Hedwig and the Angry Inch 3; Les Miserables 3; Stage Kiss 3; Violet 3; The Winslow Boy 3

2013-14 Outer Critics Circle Executive / Nominating Committee

Simon Saltzman (President)

Mario Fratti (Vice-President) Patrick Hoffman (Corresponding Secretary)

Stanley L. Cohen (Treasurer) Glenn Loney (Historian & Member-at-Large)

Rosalind Friedman (Recording Secretary) and

Aubrey Reuben & Harry Haun (Members-at-Large)