Courtesy BroadwayBox.
Time for another chance to try getting completely caught up.
Dear Evan Hansen, which opened in 2016 at the Music Box. This was the big winner at the 2017 Tonys, scoring for the show itself, Steven Levenson's book, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul's score, Ben Platt's lead actor in a musical performance, Rachel Bay Jones' featured actress in a musical performance, and Alex Lacamoire's orchestrations. DEH ran for nearly 1,700 performances, which is pretty impressive for a show that could have easily been laughed off the stage for being so earnest and yet having such an awkward premise. Mr. and Mrs. Murphy must have felt so violated!
Courtesy YouTube.
SpongeBob SquarePants, which opened in 2017 at the Palace. It was the Palace's last production for nearly six years, before it returned with ... Ben Platt's concerts. Anyway, SpongeBob had a score from just about everybody (Sara Bareilles, Jonathan Coulton, Cyndi Lauper, John Legend, and They Might Be Giants, to name five) and Tony-nominated performances from Ethan Slater (as SpongeBob) and Gavin Lee (as Squidward). The show itself went one for 12 at the 2018 Tonys, scoring for David Zinn's scenic design.
Courtesy YouTube.
A Beautiful Noise, The Neil Diamond Musical, which opened in 2022 at the Broadhurst. Will Swenson starred as "Neil -- Then" in this show that ran for a year-and-a-half.
Courtesy YouTube.
Notable Dec. 11 openings include:
A Woman of No Importance, which opened in 1893 at the now-demolished Miner's Fifth Avenue. This was the American premiere of Oscar Wilde's comedy about a humble bank clerk who's the illegitimate son of an English aristocrat.
Angel in the Wings, which opened in 1947 at what is now the Eugene O'Neill. The then-husband and wife team of Paul and Grace Hartman won the first leading actor and actress in a musical Tonys for this revue. The Hartmans, who divorced in 1951 after 28 years together, were also part of the show's creative team. The ensemble included 22-year-old Elaine Stritch.
Courtesy YouTube.
J.B., which opened in 1958 at what is now the August Wilson. Christopher Plummer was Satan, Raymond Massey was God, and Pat Hingle was Job in Archibald MacLeish's verse drama that won both 1959's Tony and its Pulitzer Prize. Elia Kazan also won for his direction, while Plummer, Nan Martin (as Sarah, J.B.'s wife), and scenic designer Boris Aronson were nominees.
Courtesy YouTube.
God's Favorite, which opened in 1974 at the Eugene O'Neill. The Book of Job again, this time by Neil Simon. Despite its playwright, director Michael Bennett, and a cast led by Vincent Gardenia, Maria Karnilova, and Charles Nelson Reilly, the show flopped.
Noises Off, which opened in 1983 at what is now the Lena Horne. Michael Frayn's comedy, a West End hit, successfully crossed the pond. Act One, the dress rehearsal of a really lousy sex farce. Act Two, the goings on backstage during a performance. Act Three, a performance where everything that can go wrong does go wrong. Comedies don't have the best luck at the Tonys, and Noises Off lost Best Play, Direction of a Play, and Featured Actress in a Play to Tom Stoppard's The Real Thing, and Featured Actor in a Play to Glengarry Glen Ross.
Courtesy YouTube.
City of Angels, which opened in 1989 at what is now the August Wilson. Once again, we've got a high concept show. Cy Coleman, David Zippel, and Larry Gelbart teamed up for this musical juxtaposing the travails of an author-screenwriter (Gregg Edelman) and his hard nosed hero (James Naughton). The brain trust won Tonys, as did Naughton, scenic designer Robin Wagner, and featured actress Randy Graff.
Courtesy YouTube.
Some Like It Hot, which opened in 2022 at the Shubert. J. Harrison Ghee scored the Tony for playing Jerry and Daphne in this Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman musical with a book by Matthew López and Amber Ruffin. Ghee got to be glamorous, compared to Christian Borle as Joe(sephine).
Courtesy YouTube.
Notable Dec. 18 openings include:
The Children's Hour, revived in 1952 at what is now the Eugene O'Neill. This was the production led by Kim Hunter and Patricia Neal, marking The Children's Hour's last Broadway run to date.
Coco, which opened in 1969 at the Mark Hellinger. Five years before Neil Simon, Michael Bennett crossed paths with Katharine Hepburn. Her lone Broadway musical was this André Previn-Alan Jay Lerner show with La Chanel attempting a professional comeback, butting into the life of a model (Gale Dixon), and coming to terms with her independence. Katharine lost the Tony (to Lauren Bacall for Applause), while René Auberjonois won for playing a prissy queen.
Courtesy YouTube.
The Me Nobody Knows, which opened in 1970 at the now-demolished Helen Hayes before closing 11 months later at the Longacre. This was the Broadway production of a successful off-Broadway musical. Concord Theatricals: "Inspired by actual writings of students in the New York City Public Schools, The Me Nobody Knows poetically examines the aspirations and fears of a multiracial cast of young people." The OBC included 11-year-old Irene Cara.
Courtesy YouTube.
Appropriate, which opened in 2023 at the current Hayes before closing in June 2024 at the Belasco. Sarah Paulson, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' play, and Jane Cox's lighting won Tonys. Prior to its Broadway run, Appropriate had successful regional, off-Broadway, and overseas production. Dramatists Play Service: "Every estranged member of the Lafayette clan has descended upon the crumbling Arkansas homestead to settle the accounts of the newly-dead patriarch. As his three adult children sort through a lifetime of hoarded mementos and junk, they collide over clutter, debt, and a contentious family history. But after a disturbing discovery surfaces among their father’s possessions, the reunion takes a turn for the explosive, unleashing a series of crackling surprises and confrontations." I've never read or seen the play, but I'm assuming Daddy Lafayette was a Klansman.
No comments:
Post a Comment