Results tagged “Awards” from Blogway Baby

Shine a Light on Camp Broadway!

My oldest daughter Myrna was lucky enough to attend Camp Broadway in New York a few years back and it was indeed a life-changing experience. Not only did she work with Broadway professionals, it was with Camp Broadway that she was able to attend the Tony Awards hosted by Hugh Jackman. And, her picture still comes up on the Camp Broadway website.

Camp Broadway has really grown over the years thanks to a dedicated and hard-working staff. So when I got this information from Susan Lee, I wanted to share it with y'all right away!

I wanted to make you aware of an exciting opportunity for Camp Broadway...

Later this afternoon Mrs. Patricia Smith (a mom whose daughter was given a scholarship to attend Camp Broadway this summer) is going to nominate Camp Broadway in American Express' "Shine A Light" Competition, a national search for a small business that has had a positive social impact on their community. To be eligible, (1) the company must be a private, independently-owned and operated business, (2) organized for profit and operates primarily in the US, (3) has less than 100 employees with revenues under $10 million and (4) accepts the American Express card. Camp Broadway is eligible.

The judging will be based on: An inspiring story about a small business that has devised a new way of working in order to survive tough times ("innovation"), still finds ways to give back to the community, even when staying afloat is a challenge ("community") and continually demonstrates a "customer first" mentality, and during challenging times recognizes that connections are more important than ever ("customer service).

Once the nomination is posted it needs to get a minimum of 50 votes NO LATER THAN September 13 at 11:59 PM ET to be considered by the judges. Our team is hereby requesting your support of our nomination... Please go to http://shinealight.ivillage.com/ later tonight or soon thereafter and vote for CB if you believe our work over the last 15 years merits consideration. We believe there is an opportunity for you to add your own comment about how we have helped you, your family, a person you know and/or the community at large. If you have something nice to say, we would appreciate your adding it to the nomination.

You might also take a moment to review the other nominations. I hope you agree that we are worthy to be considered in this group.

The winning small business will receive $50,000 and $50,000 in marketing support. Someone has to win...why not Camp Broadway? You can encourage your friends around the country to vote for us too if you believe that a little company that is dedicated to theatre arts education for kids, whether or not they can afford it, deserves a helping hand.

Our staff, teaching artists and all the kids we work with appreciate your support (now as always).

Love and thanks,

Susan

What are you waiting for? Vote!

If you are looking for something free to do at 4:00pm in New York on Monday August 31, why not check out the industry reading of the new musical FLYER ...

From the press release:

Fresh from its premiere Equity Regional Production in Delaware , Flyer, an award-winning musical based on the majestic and turbulent lives of the Wright Brothers, comes to NYC with a one-night reading presentation at the esteemed Florence Gould Hall Theatre next Monday, Aug. 31 at 4:00 pm.

Flyer was the first recipient of an unprecedented two-time (consecutive years) ASCAP / Disney Workshop Award for its Co-Composer/Lyricists Dan Tramon and Diana Belkowski. The second ASCAP award given was for their musical, Rocket Boys (film version known as October Sky with Jake Gyllenhaal), which had its own premiere last year in Huntsville, AL. Directed by Carl Anthony Tramon (SDC), Flyer was initially presented at the Lamb’s Mainstage Theatre in NYC, followed by a week-long stay as part of North Carolina's NASA/Smithsonian 2003 'Festival of Flight. It was also presented in abridged concert form at Oklahoma City University in 2006.

Dan and Diana have long-collaborated for the Broadway community and beyond, also composing for jingles, multi-media, and both Presidential and gubernatorial campaigns. Carl has been performing on stage since 3 yrs old, and directing professionally for the past 5 years. The current Flyer cast includes Billy Clark Taylor (Wilbur), Michael Mott (Orville), Natalie Newman (Kate), Beau Allen (Milton), Sabina Petra (Susan), and Trip Plymale (Charlie).

This year marks the 100th Anniversary of the Wright Brothers’ very first plane sold. 2009 also celebrates the Centennial of the renowned Paris Air Show, which figured greatly in Wilbur and Orville’s path to notoriety. However, the message of Flyer is timeless, as the story is as much about the complex influences that nurture or inhibit potential as it is about a child’s dream to fly.

The Florence Gould Hall is the premier theater of the French Institute Alliance, and is located at 55 East 59^th Street in Manhattan. Tickets are free, and may be reserved online at www.flyerthemusical.com.

The best kind of deja vu...

Contemporary Classics is bringing back ZANNA DON'T! for a limited run at the Seattle Repertory PONCHO Forum, from June 26 to July 5 2009!

I saw this show last summer and it was a blast! Not only was it funny, but I really liked the music too!

Brandon Ivie, who is the Artistic Director of Contemporary Classics is directing the show again, with a lot of the same cast members as last year. Contemporary Classics also presents the concert series New Voices (the next one is August 3 at ACT in the Falls Theatre), which is always a blast, and is introducing Showtune Suckapunch!

From the Facebook event page:

ZANNA, DON'T! is a hip musical fairy tale about a matchmaking teen who turns relationships upside down, challenges our point of view, and changes the world forever. In a world where it's normal to be gay and taboo to be straight when Kate and Steve fall in love it's up to Zanna, the local love fairy, to search for the right spell to make the world safe for the two lovers. But Zanna's spell has a bigger impact than he planned. Is this new world really what he wanted? With a little magic and a fresh pop score, ZANNA celebrates the discovery of love in a world of adversity.

The Seattle production was named one of the Best Musicals of 2008 by Seattle Gay News and won a Seattle Times Footlight Award.

Creative Team
Director: Brandon Ivie
Music Director: Mark Rabe
Set Design: Andrea Bush
Costume Design: Harmony Arnold
Lighting Design: Robert J. Aguilar

Cast
Zanna: Justin Huertas
Steve: Jared Michael Brown
Kate: Sarah Davis
Mike: Connor Russell
Roberta: Diana Huey
Tank: Don Darryl Rivera
Candi: Lindsey Hedberg
Arvin: Arthur Allen

"Few shows have the appeal of ZANNA, DON'T! Something about it's pure sugary hopefulness satisfies a sweet tooth that many of us may have forgotten we have."
-The New York Times

"ZANNA, DON'T! is hands down the gayest thing I have ever seen on stage - and that's a good thing‚ It isn't without a profound message that's bound to put ideas into people's heads."
-Seattle Weekly

"A joyful romp!... ZANNA, DON'T! is a sparkler la John Waters to brighten your Fourth of July celebration."
-The Seattle Times

Hey, ZANNA DON'T! opens next Friday! Better get your tickets soon!

I am so excited for this year’s Tony Awards!

First of all, I’m glad they are done with that whole “we don’t need a host” thing that they did last year. Every awards show needs a host! Thankfully, Neil Patrick Harris will be hosting this year! My oldest daughter Myrna is currently watching old Doogie Howser episodes, and Neil Patrick Harris looks about 6 years old on that show! He didn’t look that young when I watched it!

And that electric keyboard musical theme! But I digress..

Most of all I am thrilled that Hunter Bell is nominated for best book for TITLE OF SHOW! I still remember my “first time” at the 2004 New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF), sitting on wooden bench, looking down at Hunter, Jeff, Heidi and Susan perform a show I felt they wrote just for me! I also remember laughing so hard I actually fell off that wooden bench. I’ve been following them (no, not stalking, just following) ever since, reading the TITLE OF SHOW blog, watching THE TITLE OF SHOW SHOW, and even watching Hunter compete in LEGALLY BROWN: THE SEARCH FOR THE NEXT PIRAGUA GUY.

So today as I was casually checking out their site, I noticed there is a “TONY VOTERS CLICK HERE” button on the site. I clicked through, only to be met with a login/password request. Foiled again! So it got me wondering – what marvels lie beyond that login page? What treats? Is it a portal into some kind of musical theatre wonderland?

Sadly, I may never know! All I know is that I’ll be tuned in to The 63^rd Annual Tony Awards on CBS at 8pm on Sunday June 7, with a glass of champagne in my hand, toasting all the wonderfully talented nominees!

Someone bring me my smelling salts -- I just fainted!

Okay, maybe I am a little disappointed that Hugh Jackman isn't returning to Broadway in a musical, but this will do!

From an article on Playbill.com :

Two major Hollywood box-office draws will join forces in the fall for a new Broadway play.

The New York Post reports that Hugh Jackman (Wolverine) and Daniel Craig (James Bond) will co-star in Keith Huff's A Steady Rain.

No official announcement about the production has been made; however, should it come to pass the drama will likely be the hottest ticket of the fall season.

Barbara Broccoli, who was a Chitty Chitty Bang Bang producer, will produce the Broadway outing.

A Steady Rain tells of two seasoned cops whose lifelong friendship is severely tested when a seemingly routine domestic disturbance call results in the death of a young boy. When the horrific truth of the situation is revealed, one of the two must take the blame for the fatal mistake.

A Steady Rain would mark Craig's Broadway debut. His film credits include "Defiance," "Quantum of Solace," "Flashbacks of a Fool," "The Golden Compass," "The Invasion," "Casino Royale," "Infamous" and "Renaissance," among others.

Jackman, who was recently seen on screen in "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," earned a Tony Award for his work in the Broadway musical The Boy From Oz.He is also known for his film roles in the "X-Men" trilogy, "Someone Like You," "Swordfish," "Kate and Leopold," "Van Helsing" and the recent "The Fountain" and "Happy Feet" (in voice). His stage credits also include Trevor Nunn's staging of Oklahoma! at Britian's National Theatre and award-winning work in productions of Sunset Boulevard and Beauty and the Beast in his homeland.

A Steady Rain played a six-week sold-out engagement at Chicago Dramatists in fall 2007. The cast and artistic team, headed by director Russ Tutterow, remained intact for the 2008 run at Chicago's Royal George Theater.

Playwright Keith Huff is the recipient of a Drama-Logue Award, the Cunningham Prize, the John Gassner Award, the Berrilla Kerr Award, and three Illinois Arts Council Playwriting Fellowships. He has developed plays at American Repertory Theater, The O'Neill Theatre Center National Playwrights Conference, Steppenwolf, New York Theatre Workshop, New York Stage and Film, and The Public Theater. His plays have been produced nationally and Off-Broadway.

  

Now this is why I miss New York!

The Astaire Awards, presented by Ava Astaire in tribute to her Father and Aunt, will be held this year on June 1^st at 7:30pm in The Haft Auditorium at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City.

Wow. What a night! Alan Cumming will host the evening, with Liza Minnelli presenting Stanley Donen with The Douglas Watt 2009 Lifetime Acheivement Award, Georfffrey Rush presenting The Best Choreography in Film Award and Bebe Neuwirth presenting the Best Male Dancer Award!

Here are the nominees from Broadwayworld.com:

BEST BROADWAY CHOREOGRAPHER NOMINEES:

9 to 5: Andy Blankenbuehler

Hair: Karole Armitage

Billy Elliot: Peter Darling

Guys and Dolls: Sergio Trujillo

Pal Joey: Graciela Daniele


BEST FILM CHOREOGRAPHER NOMINEES:

Mamma Mia: Anthony Van Laast

Slumdog Millionaire: Longines Fernandes

Center Stage Turn It Up: Aakomon "AJ" Jones

Make It Happen: Tracy Phillips

Fados: Patrick De Bana and Pedro Gomes

High School Musical 3: Kenny Ortega

Were the World Mine: Todd Underwood



BEST FEMALE DANCER NOMINEES: 

West Side Story: Karen Olivo

Rock Of Ages: Angel Reed, Katherine Tokarz, Savannah Wise

Guys and Dolls: Kearran Giovanni

You're Welcome America. A Final Night with George W Bush: Pia Glenn



BEST MALE DANCER NOMINEES:

Billy Elliot - role of Billy: David Alvarez, Trent Kowalik and Kiril Kulish

Billy Elliot - role of Michael: David Bologna, Frank Dolce

White Christmas: Jeffry Denman

Pal Joey: Matthew Risch



The Astaire Awards, established 26 years ago by the Anglo-American Contemporary Dance Foundation, recognize outstanding achievement in dance on Broadway each season. The awards were established with the cooperation of Fred Astaire to honor him and his sister, Adele, who starred with her brother in 10 Broadway musicals between 1917 and 1931. In 2008 the Awards were expanded to include dance in choreography for film as this was the métier that brought Fred Astaire to international fame and a permanent slot on every list of the top movie stars of the century.



In addition to the Awards Ceremony, the show will include some of the best live Broadway and Hollywood dance numbers! Holy Top Hat Batman! Not only that, but a friend of mine and extremely talented playwright, Randall David Cook, is writing the show (you know, the stuff that is said between numbers and awards, and creating the order of events!) So that means I am one degree of separation from Liza...just sayin’!

i have a sudden urge to put on my tap shoes!

THE TONY AWARDS at The 5^th Avenue Theatre!

The 5^th Avenue Theatre will be hosting a Tony Awards party this year!

This is going to be an amazing party! This year Neil Patrick Harris is hosting the Tony Awards (maybe he'll sing the Confrontation from LES MIZ with Jason Segal!) so don’t miss this chance to see it in style!

From The 5^th Avenue website:

The 63rd Annual Tony Awards ...In Your Own Backyard

SUNDAY JUNE 7, 2009  7:30-11:00 PM
The 5th Avenue Theatre --- 1308 5th Avenue, Seattle, WA 98101

There’s a Little Bit of Broadway in Everyone

Join us for the biggest Tony Awards party in town! Watch the festivities with fellow theatre lovers as Shrek The Musical competes for 8 coveted Tony Awards, including Best Musical! Follow other Seattle stars such as The 5th Avenue’s own Louis Hobson (Best Musical Nominee, Next To Normal), as they shine on stage at Radio City Music Hall.

Meet past Tony Winners and Nominees. Challenge the 5th Avenue's Producing Artistic Director David Armstrong with Broadway Trivia questions! Win exclusive Tony swag playing "Broadway Bingo" and "Name That Showtune!"

At 8 PM, watch the Tonys on the big 5th Avenue Theatre screen! Games and Entertainment will fill the commercial breaks!

TICKETS

Tony Winners ($130): Enjoy an exclusive preshow champagne reception in the STAR dressing room of The 5th Avenue Theatre. Experience what it is like to be a Broadway star as David Armstrong shares stories of the many Tony Winners who have shared your dressing room. Be seated in the BEST seats for the Tony Awards party with your personal Tony Swag Bag that includes one complimentary ticket (value $71-$78) to a preview of Catch Me If You Can! (Limited to 30 guests)

Tony Nominees ($63): Attend the Tony Party at The 5th Avenue Theatre with reserved seating among the other nominees. Receive a Tony Swag Bag filled with gourmet snacks and fun showbiz prizes including one complimentary ticket (value $71-$78) to a preview of Catch Me If You Can!

Special rates for artists ($25) and high school students ($15).

Dress: Smart Casual/Festive

RSVP BY WEDNESDAY MAY 20, 2009
For more information or to RSVP, please contact Kat Ramsburg in the Development Office at (206) 625-1418 x285 or kramsburg@5thavenue.org .

Mack David and Hal David -- Legendary Songwriting Brothers!

Wow, talk about songwriting talent running in the family!  Mack and Hal David are brothers (Mack was older by nine years). Hal David is probably most famous for his collaborations with Burt Bacharach (“What The World Needs Now”, “Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head” just to name a couple!).

Now, I knew Mack David was a songwriter, but I never knew just how extensive and famous his song catalogue was, and that he sued Jerry Herman over “Hello Dolly”, claiming that it was partially taken from David’s “Sunflower”;  they settled out of court.

Here is Mack David’s impressive bio off the fabulous Songwriters Hall of Fame website

Mack David was born in New York City on July 5, 1912. He originally thought of becoming an attorney, and attended Cornell University and then St. John's University Law School. When his younger brother Hal David was considering careers, Mack advised his brother against becoming a songwriter and urged him to take up a more stable profession. However, he failed to follow his own advice, and instead of following a career in law, Mack David began writing songs on Tin Pan Alley.

His song "Moon Love", written with Mack Davis and Andre Kostelanetz, and based on a theme by Tchaikovsky, was a hit in 1939. In 1945, he wrote the words for Duke Ellington's "I'm Just A Lucky So-And-So," and in 1947, he had a hit with a novelty number "Chi-Baba, Chi-Baba", written with Jerry Livingston and Al Hoffman.

While primarily a lyricist, David sometimes also contributed to a song's music, and he wrote both words and music for 1948's "Sunflower" (years later, he filed an infringement of copyright lawsuit over resemblences between this song and Jerry Herman’s “Hello, Dolly").



In 1948, David moved to Hollywood, where he became active in film and television. His songs were featured in the score for the Disney animated featureCinderella (1950), written with Jerry Livingston and Al Hoffman. These songs include "A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes", "The Working Song", and the film's hit song "Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo", which was nominated for an Academy Award in 1950. For another Disney feature Alice in Wonderland (1951), the same team wrote "The Unbirthday Song".

The nomination for "Bibbidy Bobbidi Boo" was the first of eight Academy Award nominations David would receive. The other nominations came for his songs "The Hanging Tree" (1959, title song, with Jerry Livingston), "Bachelor In Paradise" (1961, title song, with Henry Mancini), "Walk On The Wild Side" (1962, title song, with Elmer Bernstein), "It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" (1961, title song, with Ernest Gold), “Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte" (1964, title song, with Frank De Vol), "The Ballad of Cat Ballou" (1965, from Cat Ballou, with Jerry Livingston), and "My Wishing Doll" (1966, from Hawaii, with Elmer Bernstein.).



Another great success came in 1950, when he wrote the English-language version of "La Vie en Rose" (French lyric by Edith Piaf, music by Louigny). And in 1961, the Shirelles had a hit with his song "Baby, It's You", written with Burt Bacharach (whose collaboration with Mack's brother Hal David has become legendary) and Barney Williams. Mack David and Jerry Livingston wrote theme songs together for many successful television series, including Caspar the Friendly Ghost, 77 Sunset Strip, Hawaiian Eye, Bourbon Street Beat and Surfside 6. Their theme song “This is It” for 1960's The Bugs Bunny Hour also became a hit. In addition to those already mentioned, Mack David's collaborators included John Green, Jimmy Van Heusen, Alex Kramer, Joan Whitney, Count Basie and Franz Waxman. Mack David died on December 30, 1993 at his home in Rancho Mirage, California.

Boy, I'm really glad he decided not to become a lawyer!

From an article on Bloomberg.com:

July 10 (Bloomberg) -- The acclaimed Broadway rock musical Passing Strangewill close on July 20 after a six-month run, its producers announced today.

Investors haven't recouped any of the $5 million the show cost on Broadway.

The coming-of-age story of a young black American musician in bohemian Amsterdam and Berlin wowed critics but never attracted a mass audience. Last week it played to just over one- third capacity and was the lowest-grossing show on Broadway, taking in $176,068.

Not going to lie, did not love their performance at the Tonys. However, it did show how Broadway is evolving. It definitely was not "traditional" Broadway that some young people (not my friends...hehe) shun. Therefore, we must take a moment of silence to mourn this loss.

Okay, moment's over.

According to this article in Playbill:

The latest edition of Forbidden Broadway reopens June 24 at its new home, the 47th Street Theatre.

The long-running Gerard Alessandrini revue ended its run at the Douglas Fairbanks Theatre May 29. This revamped version of Forbidden Broadway: Special Victims' Unit will include new jabs at Sweet Charity's Christina Applegate, La Cage aux Folles' Robert Goulet, Doubt's Cherry Jones and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf's Kathleen Turner.

The company at the 47th Street Theatre includes Ron Bohmer, Jason Mills, Megan Lewis, Jeanne Montano and David Caldwell at the piano. Created, written and co-directed by Alessandrini, the creative team also includes Phillip George (co-director), Alvin Colt (costume designer), Megan K. Halpern (set designer) and Marc Janowitz (lighting designer).

This edition of Forbidden Broadway pokes fun at such Broadway shows as Wicked, Avenue Q, Movin' Out, All Shook Up, Good Vibrations and Mamma Mia!. The show won the 2005 Drama Desk Award for Best Musical Revue.

Normally I wouldn't be wildly excited about this kind of parody, but my producer friend Michael Rubinoff insists that I see it. I must admit I have been curious to see it in the past, so hey, what the heck!

I'd better go see Doubt, and Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf first, so I can fully appreciate the jabbing. I guess it's too late for Good Vibrations...

Apparently, Broadway is contributing to a rosy economic picture in the U.S.

An article in the Money section of USA Today (Economic Picture Comes Up Rosy in Fed's "Beige Book", Thursday, June 16, 2005) featured a picture of Sara Ramirez performing at the Tony Awards. According to the article:

The Federal Reserve's "beige book" says the U.S. economy continued to expand in April and May. Job markets across the USA improved, and New York's Broadway theaters even tallied a 10% increase in attendance.

Give my regards to Broadway...

Ramsey keeps pinging me to talk about RENT the Movie, and his post on the subject...so here goes.

Parent Advisory: If you're a huge RENT fan, you might not want to read any further...

OK, RENT was a cultural phenomenon without compare, in the late '90s. And Jonathan Larson's death on opening night (for the Off-Broadway Workshop) was so poetically tragic that it added to the legend.

Also, let's face it, this musical was feted almost beyond compare: 1996 Pulitzer Prize for Drama; four 1996 Tony Awards (including Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical and Best Score of a Musical); six drama Desk Awards (including Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, Best Music and Best Lyrics); Best Musical Awards from the New York Drama Critics Circle and the Outer Critics Circle (Off-Broadway); and three Obie Awards (including Outstanding Book, Music and Lyrics); the Richard Rodgers Production Award; the Richard Rodgers Development Grant; the Stephen Sondheim Award and the Gilman & Gonzalez-Falla Theatre Foundation's Commendation Award.

So, honestly, who cares what I think? Well, I'm going to tell you anyway. In my opinion, RENT isn't finished. It's too long, and there are too many songs. It drags like crazy in the Second Act. And I'd like to believe that if Jonathan had survived to see it on the stage in front of an audience, he would have modified it.

I can't even imagine what the movie is going to be like...but since they always cut songs in the movie versions of musicals (although I'm watching Phantom of the Opera right now as I write this and it seems pretty unaltered...), there's a good possibility that the movie version of RENT will fix the length and song problems that bother me.

Who knows, like Chicago, this may be one musical that works well on film. Long live movie musicals!

I'm in New York a lot and I love droppping by Ellen's Stardust Diner at 51st and Broadway.

It's a lot of fun and a great place to go on your own. It's a fifties diner with lots of wonderful kitchy decorations -- old albums covers on the wall (Sugar n' Peggy Lee, Sing-a-long withConnie Francis, Showtime with Doris Day, Johnny Mathis).

It's a big tourist place but we go 'cuz it is very kid friendly.

But the best part is that the waiters and waitresses, who are dressed up in fifties garb, sing to karaoke musical theater songs and standards.

Sometimes they even do it while they are serving which is lots of fun. What I love is that these performers seem to be having a blast singing and serving. These kids are great -- great voices, great presence and great interaction with the customers while they are performing.

Even the gruff maitre d' who won't seat you unless your whole party is present, will do a song (tonight he sang the Dean Martin hit "Ain't That A Kick in the Head").

Funny thing, this time I dropped by for a late snack and a beer (boy it's hot here!). The first song one of the waiters sang was "Artificial Flowers"! It's funny -- I hadn't heard that song before and now I've heard it twice (see my previous post). Usually these things happen in threes so I wonder where I'll hear it next...

And now I read this great follow-up to the Tony Awards by Liz Smith in theBaltimore Sun. It's behind a registration, so here's the relevant part of the article -- read the last sentence:

A star is born?

During a commercial break in the Tony Awards Sunday night, host Hugh Jackman asked the audience if they had any requests? Somebody shouted out, "The Boy Next Door!" Hugh asked, "Who said that?" In the audience, Matthew Hoffman raised his hand and tentatively replied, "I did."

Jackman had him up on stage in a flash. He and Hoffman, who is (natch!) an aspiring singer-actor, began a duet of the famous song from Meet Me in St. Louis. But young Matthew wasn't giving it his all. Jackman stopped and said, "So, what else have you got?" Matthew said "I Can See It" (from The Fantasticks.) Hugh then stepped aside and gave Matthew the stage. Matthew offered a true Broadway performance. He hit the last notes just as the back-on-air signal came. Big applause!

Later, at the post-show parties, Matthew was stopped by many big names. He was congratulated on his impromptu moment in the spotlight. If he becomes a star, it'll be the best up-from-nowhere tale since Shirley MacLaine got lucky because of Carole Haney's broken ankle. For now, he is a singing waiter at Ellen's Stardust Diner.

Well, here's a nice Tonybounce: The Light in the Piazza has been extended to January 1, 2006...

Winner of Best Musical at Sunday night's Tony Awards,The Light in the Piazza is The big Tony winner of the season (with six awards, including Best Score, Best Leading Actress in a Musical for Victoria Clark and a clutch of design trophies). Most importantly, The Light in the Piazza had a surge in ticket sales of around $300,000 directly after the Tonys ceremony.

This is one of the last shows I have to see...and I have awesome tickets to see it Saturday night with Michael Rubinoff, my producer onPlane Crazy. We're going to have a great time!

Read this article from Playbill for all the details:

Adam Guettel and Craig Lucas' new musical The Light in the Piazza, which took home six Tony Awards on June 5, has extended its run at Lincoln Center's Vivian Beaumont Theatre through the end of the year.

The show, which opened on April 18 after a month of previews, will now play until Jan. 1, 2006. It was to have closed on June 12, but then extended until Sept. 4.

The big Tony winner of the season (with six awards, including Best Score, Best Leading Actress in a Musical for Victoria Clark and a clutch of design trophies), The Light in the Piazza, had a surge in ticket sales of around $300,000 directly after the Tonys ceremony, a production spokesperson confirmed.

Though it opened to mixed reviews, Piazza has since become a favorite of New York's awards organizations. Along with the Tonys showing, it led the Outer Critics Circle Awards nominations with 11 nods, while the Drama Desk organization also nominated it in 11 categories.

Craig Lucas penned the book for the show, which has already been seen in stagings at both Seattle's Intiman Theatre and, more recently, at Chicago's Goodman Theatre.

The Light in the Piazza is a love story of a young American woman, Clara (Kelli O'Hara), who, while on holiday, falls for a young Italian man. When the young woman's mother (Victoria Clark) learns of the affair, she opposes it for unknown reasons. The musical is set in Florence and Rome in the summer of 1953.

The musical's other leads include Michael Berresse (Kiss Me, Kate), Sarah Uriarte Berry (Taboo), Patti Cohenour, Beau Gravitte, Mark Harelik and Matthew Morrison (Hairspray). Bartlett Sher directs.

The cast of 18 also includes Glenn Seven Allen, David Bonanno, David Burnham, Laura Griffith, Prudence Wright Holmes, Jennifer Hughes, Felicity LaFortune, Catherine LaValle, Michel Moinot and Joseph Siravo.

The creative team includes Ted Sperling (musical direction), Michael Yeargan (sets), Catherine Zuber (costumes) and Christopher Akerlind (lights).

Piazza is based on Elizabeth Spencer's 1960 novella.

According to this article in Playbill:

La Cage aux Folles won Tony Awards Sunday for Best Revival of a Musical and Best Choreography, but by Tuesday its producers told the company the show will close June 26.

It will have played 30 previews and 229 regular performances. The producers announced the Jerry Zaks-directed revival of Jerry Herman and Harvey Fierstein's musical comedy will play its final performance on June 26 Broadway's Marquis Theatre.

"I am so proud of this wonderful production," said producer James L. Nederlander. "Unfortunately, despite winning the Tony Award on Sunday, our sales have not increased. We've decided to set the closing date for June 26th to give theatregoers a window of opportunity to see this beautiful show."

La Cage stars Gary Beach and Robert Goulet, who, producers have said expressed an interest in touring the show. No plan has been announced.

La Cage Aux Folles is a great show, and Robert Goulet was fantastic. It's a real shame that this show is closing: Rush out now and buy tickets...

Let's hope the Cagelles are coming to a theater near you!

Glad you asked.

My daughter Myrna is involved withCamp Broadway. Last year she spent a week at Camp Broadway taking dance, singing, and acting classes in the heart of the theater district and getting backstage looks at the workings of musicals such as Wickedand Fiddler on the Roof (how cool is that...).

Every year Camp Broadway runs a great Tony Master Class weekend. Sunday started with a two-hour dance class where they study the different dance styles from nominated shows (dancing like the Cagelles from La Cage Aux Folles, like Fosse fromSweet Charity, or hoofing it fromSpamalot). Then it's back to the hotel to get glammed up for the mocktail party at Alfredo's of Rome at Rockefeller Center.

Myrna looked amazing in a brand new pink dress from Camari, with black crinoline and two little black bows (very Sarah Jessica Parker, very New York). She wore sparkling little sandals and looked gorgeous. They had a group of about 20 kids at Alfredo's all dressed up, all very excited to be going to the Tonys. They offered a limited number of tickets to the parents -- so motherhood paid off big time and I got a ticket to the Tonys as well!

Even the tickets are classy -- all silver and black and glossy -- not yer average theater ticket, my friend. And it does say black tie only!

And starting early on Sunday, Radio City Music Hall gets busy! The policevans park, the red carpet goes up, the crowds start to gather. This is big time stuff for New York!

So my husband took Myrna over in style, in a pedicab, at 4:30pm while I started to get ready (the parents don't get dinner -- just the kids). I wore my best fancy black gown with my black pumps and sparkly black handbag. The best part of meeting the kids at 6:30pm is all the tourists looking at you, trying to figure out if you are somebody famous!

We filed in (squished in, really) to Radio City, opening our handbags to security. Once inside my daughter spied the I LOVE HUGH (I HUGH) t-shirts for sale. We went up to the second mezzanine where we bought one of those t-shirts and got our program. They are special bound versions -- one ticket, one program. We tentatively went to our seats and discovered all of Camp Broadway was front row second balcony -- w00t! Awesome seats! And there were two very large TV screens on either side of the stage. Myrna went nuts with excitement.

The beginning of the untelevised portion of the show was already in progress as we took out seats. Immediately we went on "celebrity watch" with our binoculars, scoping out famous people in the orchestra. Myrna "eagle-eye" Conn found Marcia Cross sitting in the front row and we followed her every move the whole night (stalkers anyone?). It was so much fun picking out the celebs -- including Kathleen Turner, Billy Crystal, and Matthew Broderick.

Idina Menzel came out and gave a number of awards before the show started and Sally Field (who is she? Asked Myrna -- yikes!) gave Edward Albee the lifetime achievement award.

Then it started!! Of course the bit between Billy Crystal and Hugh Jackmanwas hilarious. We furiously passed the binoculars back and forth the whole night. The sound was awesome. Hugh sounded amazing in his opening number. The live numbers from the musicals were great, lots of energy and electricity. And of course nothing was bleeped out, so we were able to hear the lyrics "Hummer in my Hummer" sung by Norbert Leo Butz!

During commercials Hugh Jackman would come out and chat with the audience, occasionally bringing a seat filler or crazed audience member up on stage for some schtick. That man is so damned charming! Also, they played video bits (a la Letterman) after every show performance where a Tony reporter would be out on the streets of Manhattan asking questions (after Dirty Rotten, the intrepid reporter asked people what they thought of Norbert Leo Butz's name, and how would they rearrange the letters to come up with a new name!).

I thought it was an interesting choice to sing "Somewhere" from West Side Story to honor Sondheim's 75th...didn't it always bug him that he was only asked to do lyrics and not music as well on that project? And thank God he wasn't?

Myrna and I screamed and hooted and then hooted and screamed. And then we did it again, even louder. And then we got up and shook our respective booties! What a night! And I've already told you in another post about how Hugh Jackman confessed his love for Myrna.

It was kind of cool sitting up high. We could see the "Christina Applegate" stunt woman fall onto a mattress and then watch the real Christina crawl out of the pit.

Walking out after it was over we rubbed elbows with Celia Keenan-Bolger ofSpelling Bee and Adam Guettel who had won for Light in the Piazza (Myrna thought it was supremely cool that he was not only the grandson of Richard Rodgers, but the son of Mary Rodgers who had written the music for The Mad Show!)

Of course we took a pedicab home, pointing out all the celebrities and producers as we drove by, so elegantly outfitted in our Sunday finest.

It was an honor just to be there!

I really enjoyed Sara Ramirez' acceptance speech for her role as Lady of the Lake in Spamalot (Best Featured Actress in a Musical).

Her first thank you was toClaritin, followed by "her doctors".

That's an interesting little peak into the demands of performing 8 times a week on Broadway. And Sara is belting out every female role in Spamalot, so she must be under a lot of pressure.

It reminded me of Kristen Chenoweth's appearance on Letterman a few weeks ago (here's the post) where she talked about the damage she sustained to her neck by constantly flipping her hair in her role as Glinda in Wicked. She had actually damaged her neck vertabrae by constantly throwing her hair back over the two years that she had been inWicked (rehearsals, SF try-outs, and Broadway). She was still moving her head very stiffly...now that's dedication to the craft!

Sara Ramirez also managed to provide one of the most suspenseful moments of the evening, at least for my husband...

As she got up to accept her Tony, she started madly adjusting her dress, primarily by lifting up the top to adjust her boobs. She continued adjusting her boobs right up to the podium...it was even money that she would drop them right out. Alas, it was not to be, although Hugh Jackman later commented that after Sara's acceptance speech, there were no longer Twelve Angry Men in the room...

Here's alink to an archive of all the acceptance speeches from the 2005 Tony Awards.

There was an interesting moment during the Tonys when Alan Alda came up to present an award.

Earlier in the evening, he'd lost the Tony for Best Featured Actor in a Play to his castmate from Glengarry Glen Ross, Liev Schreiber.

So, when he got to the podium to present the award, Alan Alda said to the audience (and I'm paraphrasing here): "Can I read you my acceptance speech...it's really funny..."

That got me thinking. We always hear from the people who win. Wouldn't it be interesting to hear all the acceptance speeches that were written, BUT NEVER GIVEN?

Hey, how 'bout a musical called "Acceptance Speech"...I can see it already, the ghosts of moments of glory that never came to be, paraded before us in an alternate universe of might-have-beens...

This article from the official Tony Awards site is a nice summary of some of the stuff that happened off camera.

What they don't mention is that a certain 11-year old girl named Myrna Conn (that's MY Myrna) yelled out, 15 seconds to air in one of the commercial breaks "I LOVE YOU" to Hugh Jackman, who responded with "I love you too!" Hugh's reply was caught on air, so if you noticed a moment in the later part of the show where Hugh seems to be talking and smiling to someone in the audience, that's MY DAUGHTER HE'S TALKING TO...w00t!

A Night of Surprises
By Randy Gener

At the 2005 Tony Awards, everything is a surprise--the identities of the winners, the number of producers who will file onstage to receive a best play or best musical awards, the words the winners will say once they accept their trophies.

But, aside from who wins, there are other surprises that turn the annual ceremonies into a can't-miss event. And this year was no exception.

One surprise was that Billy Crystal, who won a 2005 Tony Award for Best Special Theatrical Event for his one-man show Billy Crystal's 700 Sundays, turned out not to be the host of this year's ceremony. Although it was widely known that Hugh Jackman is actually this year's emcee, some audience members at Radio City Music Hall were briefly puzzled when Crystal was the one who appeared at the top of the show began announcing that all the musical numbers this year "will be sung by Beyonce--in French".

Jackman soon returned to his place in center stage, and another unexpected happening occurred when Christina Applegate, the Tony-nominated star of Sweet Charity, twirled around an onstage lamppost and toppled over into a pit. It turned out to be an elaborately choreographed--and very funny--bit leading in to Applegate's presentation of the Tony Award for Best Choreography.

Later in evening the Reverend Al Sharpton made an unexpected appearance as a spelling-bee contestant. He put on a numbered placard and took his place on stage, joining the very young and very multicultural cast of The 25th Annual Putnam Country Spelling Bee. When his name was called, Sharpton approached the microphone and was asked to spell the word "dengue."

"Can you give me a definition please," Sharpton asked. And the reply was the dengue is a kind of hemorrhagic fever, caused by a virus, transmitted by mosquitoes and causing infected victims to feel skin rashes, headache, nausea and vomiting.

When the former presidential candidate failed to spell "dengue" correctly, the Spelling Bee cast escorted their bemused guest, in song, back to his seat.

A couple of other Tony surprises were improvised or choreographed moments that involved Hugh Jackman entertaining the Radio City Music Hall audience during TV commercials.

In one bit, Jackman publicly apologized to Matthew Broderick for Jackman's onstage antics when he danced with Broderick's wife, Sarah Jessica Parker, at the 2004 Tony ceremony.

Later Jackman took requests from the audience. Someone from the audience suggested that he sing "I Go to Rio" from The Boy from Oz, the show for which he won a Tony Award--and he did.

And to the delight of the Radio City audience, Jackman asked a couple of spectators (including a spirited female friend and a young man who sang from The Fantasticks) to come on stage. He gave them a chance to show their stuff. "Come on, go do it" Jackman suggested, egging the two on. "This house is full of Broadway producers."

Speaking of Jackman's irrepressible hosting antics, Radio City Music Hall audiences were amazed to find out, during a commercial break, that his well-received opening "Gotta Dance" solo number was written and arranged by composer Michael John LaChiusa, directed by George C. Wolfe, and choreographed by Kathleen Marshall. That's a lot of Broadway heavy-hitters.

Well, I'm still flying high from the Tony Awards last night...although I'm crushed that Sweet Charitydidn't win anything: They was robbed! In fact, having seen bothLa Cage and Sweet Charity, I would respectfully submit that the Tony voters made a mistake:Charity was a much stronger show.

Anyway, I've got a ton of things to report on last night's festivities, but let me start with a round-up of the winners and nominees:

So here's a quick look at the nominees and winners of the 2005 Tony Awards, which were presented June 5 at Radio City Musical Hall in New York City.

Winners below are indicated by boldface type and an asterisk:

BEST MUSICAL
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
The Light in the Piazza
*Monty Python's Spamalot
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

BEST PLAY
Democracy
*Doubt
Gem of the Ocean
The Pillowman

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A LEADING ACTOR IN A MUSICAL
Hank Azaria, Monty Python's Spamalot
Gary Beach, La Cage aux Folles
*Norbert Leo Butz, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Tim Curry, Monty Python's Spamalot
John Lithgow, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A LEADING ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL
Christina Applegate, Sweet Charity
*Victoria Clark, The Light in the Piazza
Erin Dilly, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Sutton Foster, Little Women
Sherie Rene Scott, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A LEADING ACTRESS IN A PLAY
*Cherry Jones, Doubt
Laura Linney, Sight Unseen
Mary-Louise Parker, Reckless
Phylicia Rashad, Gem of the Ocean
Kathleen Turner, Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A LEADING ACTOR IN A PLAY
Philip Bosco, Twelve Angry Men
Billy Crudup, The Pillowman
*Bill Irwin, Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
James Earl Jones, On Golden Pond
Brían F. O'Byrne, Doubt

BEST REVIVAL OF A PLAY
Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
*Glengarry Glen Ross
On Golden Pond
Twelve Angry Men

BEST REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL
*La Cage aux Folles
Pacific Overtures
Sweet Charity

BEST DIRECTION OF A MUSICAL
James Lapine, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
*Mike Nichols, Monty Python's Spamalot
Jack O'Brien, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Bartlett Sher, The Light in the Piazza

BEST THEATRICAL EVENT
Dame Edna: Back with a Vengeance!
Laugh Whore
*700 Sundays
Whoopi, the 20th Anniversary Show

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A FEATURED ACTOR IN A MUSICAL
*Dan Fogler, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
Marc Kudisch, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Michael McGrath, Monty Python's Spamalot
Matthew Morrison, The Light in the Piazza
Christopher Sieber, Monty Python's Spamalot

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A FEATURED ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL
Joanna Gleason, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Celia Keenan-Bolger, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
Jan Maxwell, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Kelli O'Hara, The Light in the Piazza
*Sara Ramirez, Monty Python's Spamalot

BEST DIRECTION OF A PLAY
John Crowley, The Pillowman
Scott Ellis, Twelve Angry Men
*Doug Hughes, Doubt
Joe Mantello, Glengarry Glen Ross

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE (MUSIC AND/OR LYRICS) WRITTEN FOR THE THEATRE
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Music & Lyrics: David Yazbek

*The Light in the Piazza
Music & Lyrics: Adam Guettel

Monty Python's Spamalot
Music: John Du Prez and Eric Idle; Lyrics: Eric Idle

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
Music & Lyrics: William Finn

BEST CHOREOGRAPHY
Wayne Cilento, Sweet Charity
Jerry Mitchell, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
*Jerry Mitchell, La Cage aux Folles
Casey Nicholaw, Monty Python's Spamalot

BEST BOOK OF A MUSICAL
Jeffrey Lane, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Craig Lucas, The Light in the Piazza
Eric Idle, Monty Python's Spamalot
*Rachel Sheinkin, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A FEATURED ACTRESS IN A PLAY
Mireille Enos, Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Heather Goldenhersh, Doubt
Dana Ivey, The Rivals
*Adriane Lenox, Doubt
Amy Ryan, A Streetcar Named Desire

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A FEATURED ACTOR IN A PLAY
Alan Alda, Glengarry Glen Ross
Gordon Clapp, Glengarry Glen Ross
David Harbour, Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
*Liev Schreiber, Glengarry Glen Ross
Michael Stuhlbarg, The Pillowman

BEST SCENIC DESIGN OF A MUSICAL
Tim Hatley, Monty Python's Spamalot
Rumi Matsui, Pacific Overtures
Anthony Ward, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
*Michael Yeargan, The Light in the Piazza

BEST SCENIC DESIGN OF A PLAY
John Lee Beatty, Doubt
David Gallo, Gem of the Ocean
Santo Loquasto, Glengarry Glen Ross
*Scott Pask, The Pillowman

BEST LIGHTING DESIGN OF A PLAY
Pat Collins, Doubt
Donald Holder, Gem of the Ocean
Donald Holder, A Streetcar Named Desire
*Brian MacDevitt, The Pillowman

BEST LIGHTING DESIGN OF A MUSICAL
*Christopher Akerlind, The Light in the Piazza
Mark Henderson, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Kenneth Posner, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Hugh Vanstone, Monty Python's Spamalot

BEST COSTUME DESIGN OF A PLAY
*Jess Goldstein, The Rivals
Jane Greenwood, Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
William Ivey Long, A Streetcar Named Desire
Constanza Romero, Gem of the Ocean

BEST COSTUME DESIGN OF A MUSICAL
Tim Hatley, Monty Python's Spamalot
Junko Koshino, Pacific Overtures
William Ivey Long, La Cage aux Folles
*Catherine Zuber, The Light in the Piazza

BEST ORCHESTRATIONS
Larry Hochman, Monty Python's Spamalot
*Ted Sperling, Adam Guettel and Bruce Coughlin, The Light in the Piazza
Jonathan Tunick, Pacific Overtures
Harold Wheeler, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

SPECIAL TONY AWARD FOR LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT IN THE THEATRE
Edward Albee

REGIONAL THEATRE TONY AWARD
Theatre de la Jeune Lune
Minneapolis, Minnesota

****

The total number of awards received by each production:

Monty Python's Spamalot - 3
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels - 1
The Light in the Piazza - 6
Doubt - 4
Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? - 1
Glengarry Glen Ross - 2
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee - 2
The Pillowman - 2
La Cage aux Folles - 2
The Rivals - 1
700 Sundays - 1

Oh boy, oh boy, am I ever excited...Tony Awards here I come! And my oldest daughter, Myrna, is going as well, all pretty in pink and looking like Sarah Jessica Parker!

According to this article in Playbill, the peformance line-up for Sunday night is going to be fantastic! Make sure you watch it on TV to catch a glimpse of moi!

Aretha Franklin, Jesse Martin and Bernadette Peters to Perform at Tonys
By Andrew Gans

In addition to the nominated musicals, the 2005 Tony Awards will feature other performances as well.

Tony Award winner Bernadette Peters, Grammy Award winner Aretha Franklin and original Rent star Jesse Martin will all lend their talents to the 59th Annual Tony Awards broadcast.

The 59th Annual Antoinette Perry "Tony" Awards will be broadcast on CBS-TV Sunday, June 5 from 8-11 PM ET. For the third consecutive year, Tony Award winner Hugh Jackman -- on Broadway last season in The Boy From Oz -- will host.

Visit www.tonyawards.com for more information.

*

Monty Python's Spamalot -- the Eric Idle-John Du Prez musical at the Shubert Theatre -- will perform "Find Your Grail." The song features Tony nominees Sara Ramirez and Tim Curry and the entire company of the musical, which has been nominated for 14 Tony Awards.

The revival of La Cage aux Folles -- the Jerry Herman-Harvey Fierstein musical at the Marquis Theatre -- will offer its title tune, "La Cage aux Folles," which spotlights the talents of Les Cagelles.

The Light in the Piazza -- the Adam Guettel-Craig Lucas musical at the Vivian Beaumont Theater -- will perform their opening number, "Statues and Stories," which features Victoria Clark, Kelli O'Hara and the Piazza company.

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels -- the David Yazbek-Jeffrey Lane musical at the Imperial Theatre -- will offer "Great Big Stuff," which features Norbert Leo Butz, John Lithgow, Gregory Jbara and members of the Scoundrels ensemble.

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee -- the William Finn Rachel Sheinkin Rebecca Feldman musical at Circle in the Square Theatre -- will offer portions of two songs: their opening number, "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee," and "Prayer of the Comfort Counselor."

The revival of Sweet Charity -- starring Christina Applegate at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre -- will perform a medley of songs from the Cy Coleman Dorothy Fields-Neil Simon musical.

Pacific Overtures, which played Studio 54 this past summer and was nominated for a Tony for Best Revival of a Musical, will not be performing at the upcoming awards program.

Like the 2004 Tony Awards telecast, the opening number of the 2005 Tony Awards will feature host Hugh Jackman and cast members from most of the season's nominated musicals and musical revivals. The company of Spamalot will perform a portion of the song "Camelot" and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels will perform part of the "Dirty Rotten Number," among others.

OK, I'll admit that this week might be getting the best of me...

I'm in NY for a party Tuesday night...then back in Toronto for Wednesday...then back to NY for Thursday and the Tonys...and not sure WHEN I'll get back to Toronto.

I'm busy apartment and Director hunting in NY, and trying to explain to my family why I won't see them for he rest of the year...

And you know what? I don't remember the time when I had this much fun...

In an article in the Sunday New York Times("How Do You Spell Smackdown" by Jesse McKinley The New York Times, Sunday, May 22, 2005) the drama for best new musical was described as a David and Goliath showdown.

According to the article:

For a while, it was all so simple: the big-money musical almost always won big at the Tony Awards. Then came "Avenue Q". For those not steeped in Broadway legend, about this time last year, Tony watchers were convinced that "Wicked", a $14 million crowd pleaseer with $1 million a week in sales was going to win best musical. But in a furry little heartbeat, there was a surprise: "Avenue Q", a quirky Off-Broadway puppet musical that had jumped to Broadway, won. It was an upset that thrilled anyone who ever rooted for an underdog, and perhaps more important, it changed the way people look at the Tony game.

Hmm...I thought Avenue Q went straight to Broadway, but maybe I'm wrong...

Anyways, the big brute this year is Spamalot "the brand name with the $27 million advance" and the little guy is another(?) little Off-Broadway musical that made its way to the big time:The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. The interesting angle here is that David Stone, one of the leading producers of last year's Goliath, Wicked, is "back in the race with this year's potential David, Spelling Bee.

The article goes on to say:

"A lot of people think David Stone got robbed last year", (BB Editor: Not to mention Stephen Schwartz!) said one major Broadway producer, who has no money in either show but would not allow his name to be used because he doesn't want to offend either camp. "And I think that feeds a Spamalot backlash".

Oh, the intrigue...the s-u-s-p-e-n-s-e!

I'm so excited that I'm going to the Tonys this year, but here's my big question: Will I recognize her without the green make-up?

Today, Playbill announced that Idina Menzel will be a celebrity presenter at the 2005 Tony Awards.

In this article, they went on to say:

Idina Menzel, who won a Tony Award last season for her performance as Elphaba in Stephen Schwartz's "Wicked", will be among the celebrity presenters at the 2005 Tony Awards.

The actress, who will also appear in the May 18 episode of the UPN series "Kevin Hill," announced the news on her official website. Menzel will also be seen in the upcoming screen adaptation of "Rent", reprising her stage role as Maureen. That film is set to hit theatres in November.

First Hugh, and now Idina! I better bring my binoculars!

According to this article in Playbill (and my TV) the 2004-2005 Tony Award nominations were announced this morning by Alan Cumming, Lynn Redgrave, Kate Burton and Brian Stokes Mitchell at the Marriott Marquis Hotel.

Not surprisingly, best musical nominations included Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, The Light in the Piazza, Monty Python's Spamalot, and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. I have been anxious to see The Light In the Piazza ever since I read about it when it was playing at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago.

Although Chitty and Little Women were not nominated in this category, both Erin Dilly and Sutton Foster, respectively, were nominated for best performance for a leading actress in a musical.

Christina Applegate was also nominated for the best performance for a leading actress in a musical (Sweet Charity was nominated as best revival of a musical). Maybe she should have also been nominated for the "Show Must Go On" award, given she is currently performing with a foot brace!

The full list of nominations is:

Best Play
Democracy
Author: Michael Frayn

Doubt
Author: John Patrick Shanley

Gem of the Ocean
Author: August Wilson

The Pillowman
Author: Martin McDonagh

Best Musical
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
The Light in the Piazza
Monty Python's Spamalot
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play
Philip Bosco, Twelve Angry Men
Billy Crudup, The Pillowman
Bill Irwin, Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
James Earl Jones, On Golden Pond
Brían F. O'Byrne, Doubt

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play
Cherry Jones, Doubt
Laura Linney, Sight Unseen
Mary-Louise Parker, Reckless
Phylicia Rashad, Gem of the Ocean
Kathleen Turner, Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical
Hank Azaria, Monty Python's Spamalot
Gary Beach, La Cage aux Folles
Norbert Leo Butz, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Tim Curry, Monty Python's Spamalot
John Lithgow, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical
Christina Applegate, Sweet Charity
Victoria Clark, The Light in the Piazza
Erin Dilly, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Sutton Foster, Little Women
Sherie Rene Scott, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play
Alan Alda, Glengarry Glen Ross
Gordon Clapp, Glengarry Glen Ross
David Harbour, Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Liev Schreiber, Glengarry Glen Ross
Michael Stuhlbarg, The Pillowman

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play
Mireille Enos, Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Heather Goldenhersh, Doubt
Dana Ivey, The Rivals
Adriane Lenox, Doubt
Amy Ryan, A Streetcar Named Desire

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical
Dan Fogler, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
Marc Kudisch, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Michael McGrath, Monty Python's Spamalot
Matthew Morrison, The Light in the Piazza
Christopher Sieber, Monty Python's Spamalot

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical
Joanna Gleason, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Celia Keenan-Bolger, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
Jan Maxwell, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Kelli O'Hara, The Light in the Piazza
Sara Ramirez, Monty Python's Spamalot

Best Direction of a Play
John Crowley, The Pillowman
Scott Ellis, Twelve Angry Men
Doug Hughes, Doubt
Joe Mantello, Glengarry Glen Ross

Best Direction of a Musical
James Lapine, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
Mike Nichols, Monty Python's Spamalot
Jack O’Brien, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Bartlett Sher, The Light in the Piazza

Best Choreography
Wayne Cilento, Sweet Charity
Jerry Mitchell, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Jerry Mitchell, La Cage aux Folles
Casey Nicholaw, Monty Python's Spamalot

Best Orchestrations
Larry Hochman, Monty Python's Spamalot
Ted Sperling, Adam Guettel and Bruce Coughlin, The Light in the Piazza
Jonathan Tunick, Pacific Overtures
Harold Wheeler, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Music & Lyrics: David Yazbek

The Light in the Piazza
Music & Lyrics: Adam Guettel

Monty Python's Spamalot
Music: John Du Prez and Eric Idle; Lyrics: Eric Idle

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
Music & Lyrics: William Finn

Best Book of a Musical
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Jeffrey Lane
The Light in the Piazza, Craig Lucas
Monty Python's Spamalot, Eric Idle
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Rachel Sheinkin

Best Scenic Design of a Play
John Lee Beatty, Doubt
David Gallo, Gem of the Ocean
Santo Loquasto, Glengarry Glen Ross
Scott Pask, The Pillowman

Best Scenic Design of a Musical
Tim Hatley, Monty Python's Spamalot
Rumi Matsui, Pacific Overtures
Anthony Ward, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Michael Yeargan, The Light in the Piazza

Best Costume Design of a Play
Jess Goldstein, The Rivals
Jane Greenwood, Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
William Ivey Long, A Streetcar Named Desire
Constanza Romero, Gem of the Ocean

Best Costume Design of a Musical
Tim Hatley, Monty Python's Spamalot
Junko Koshino, Pacific Overtures
William Ivey Long, La Cage aux Folles
Catherine Zuber, The Light in the Piazza

Best Lighting Design of a Play
Pat Collins, Doubt
Donald Holder, Gem of the Ocean
Donald Holder, A Streetcar Named Desire
Brian MacDevitt, The Pillowman

Best Lighting Design of a Musical
Christopher Akerlind, The Light in the Piazza
Mark Henderson, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Kenneth Posner, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Hugh Vanstone, Monty Python's Spamalot

Best Special Theatrical Event
Dame Edna: Back with a Vengeance!
Producers: Creative Battery, Harley Medcalf and Boxjellyfish LLC

Laugh Whore
Producer: Showtime Networks

700 Sundays
Producers: Janice Crystal, Larry Magid, Face Productions

Whoopi, the 20th Anniversary Show
Producers: Mike Nichols, Hal Luftig, Leonard Soloway, Steven M. Levy, Tom Leonardis, Eric Falkenstein, Amy Nederlander

Best Revival of a Play
Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Glengarry Glen Ross
On Golden Pond
Twelve Angry Men

Best Revival of a Musical
La Cage aux Folles
Pacific Overtures
Sweet Charity

Regional Theatre Tony Award
Theatre de la Jeune Lune
Minneapolis, Minnesota

Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre
Edward Albee

And from TonyAwards.com:

Productions with Multiple Nominations
14 - Monty Python's Spamalot
11 - Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
11 - The Light in the Piazza
8 - Doubt
6 - Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
6 - Glengarry Glen Ross
6 - The Pillowman
6 - The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
5 - Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
5 - Gem of the Ocean
4 - La Cage aux Folles
4 - Pacific Overtures
3 - A Streetcar Named Desire
3 - Sweet Charity
3 - Twelve Angry Men
2 - On Golden Pond
2 - The Rivals

Best of luck to all the nominees - and hey, it's an honor just to be on stage with Hugh Jackman!

I read this article in Playbill today that the Tony Award nominations are being announced May 10, 2005 at the Marquis Theatre in New York.

I got to wondering about where the name of the Tony Award came from. I'm ashamed to say: I had no idea.

Unlike the Academy Awards, a real person inspired the Tony. When actor and director Antoinette Perrydied in 1946 at the age of 58, her loss was so deeply felt on Broadway that conventional eulogies seemed inadequate; a permanent memorial would be necessary. And so the following year, the Tony Award was born.

These awards were first presented in theWaldorf=Astoria Hotel (sigh) in 1947.

The story of her life is well laid out in an article written by Joseph Gustaitis and originally published in American History Magazine in April 1997.

Not only was she an esteemed actor, but director as well -- her biggest hit was her 1944 smash,Harvey. According to the article:

When Perry first read the script of Mary Coyle Chase's comedy about a pacific boozer named Elwood P. Dowd and his chum Harvey, a six-foot-one-inch rabbit that only Elwood could see, Perry feared that staging it would be impossible. But she toiled on the project, helped whip the unpolished script into shape, and mounted a triumph starring Frank Fay that ran for 1,755 performances at the 48th Street Theater in New York.

I also didn't know (shame on me!) that the American Theatre Wing was founded by playwrightRachel Crothers and six other women.

According to the article:

Perry also dedicated herself to the American Theatre Wing, the organization that today oversees the Tony Awards. Established in 1917 by playwright Rachel Crothers and six other women of the theater as the "Stage Women's War Relief," the Wing's self-appointed duties included the collection of food and clothing for war relief, selling Liberty Bonds, and entertaining servicemen. After World War I, the Wing turned to helping civilians, but remained fairly dormant until 1939 and the beginning of World War II in Europe. Once again, Crothers summoned the women of Broadway, and the organization reemerged as a branch of the British War Relief Society. When the United States entered the war in 1941, the organization became independent, with such notables as Gertrude Lawrence, Helen Hayes, Josephine Hull, and Perry, assisting Crothers as officers.

Hey: It's an honor just to have an award named after you!

Aaaaaaaarrrrrrrggggggghhhhhhhh! Must. See. Hugh. Must. See. Hugh. From this soul-searing article in Playbill:

On April 30 Tony Award winner Hugh Jackman follows in the footsteps of Peter Allen, the late entertainer he memorably portrayed in Broadway's The Boy From Oz.

Jackman will play a one-night, by-invitation-only engagement in Las Vegas, one of Peter Allen's more frequent concert destinations. Jackman will play the brand-new Wynn Resort with his concert act, which boasts direction by Caroline, or Change's George C. Wolfe and choreography by Wonderful Town Tony Award winner Kathleen Marshall.

According to a recent report in the New York Post, Jackman is also considering bringing this new show to Broadway for a limited engagement. The Tony-winning actor will also return as host of this year's Tony Awards telecast.

Hugh Jackman received a Tony Award for his portrayal of the late Peter Allen in The Boy From Oz. He received an Olivier Award nomination for his work in the London revival of Oklahoma! and an MO Award for his performance as Joe Gillis in the Australian production of Sunset Boulevard. Jackman's film credits include "The X-Men," "Someone Like You," "Swordfish," "Kate and Leopold" (Golden Globe nomination) and "Van Helsing."

Of course, the good news is that this year, I'm going to the Tony Awards, and Hugh is the host. Yeah!

And if Hugh takes his show to Broadway, I'm in the front row, tossing my panties!

It was announced today that Plane Crazy, The Classic '60s Musical Comedy, has received a record 15 Tony nominations!

Plane Crazy was nominated for Best New Musical, Best Score, Best Book, Best Web Site Design, Best Costumes, Best Sets, and in a special category: Best Functioning Jet Plane on a Stage, among many other nominations.

When author Suzy Conn was contacted for comment she was quoted as saying "I'm so thrilled just to be nominated, but when do I get to meet Hugh Jackman?"

This extraordinary announcement comes on the eve of the launch of the official Plane Crazy Web site and merchandise store. Exciting things are store for Suzy Conn! What's next, The Ellen DeGeneres Show?

Oh, and Happy April Fools Day!

Yes, Virginia there is a Santa Claus!

Christmas comes early to Broadway! Today, Playbillconfirmed that Hugh Jackman will host the 2005 Tony Awards! My husband and I were betting on who was going to host the awards this year (yes, I know, we need to get out more...). We both thought Hugh wouldn't do it, so I said it was going to be John Lithgow or Jason Alexander, but definitely a man. My husband thought it might be Ellen Degeneres...but definitely a woman. Then last night we both thought for SURE it would be Billy Crystal since he is a great host and on Broadway this season with 700 Sundays.

I'm glad to say we both lost the bet, but it is an honor just to be nominated!

From Playbill:

That Boy From Oz, Hugh Jackman -- who will soon open Las Vegas' Wynn Resort with a solo concert directed by George C. Wolfe -- will return as host of this year's annual Tony Awards telecast.

The 59th Annual Tony Awards will mark Jackman's third consecutive year as host. This year's awards will be executive produced by Ricky Kirshner and Glenn Weiss. In a statement Weiss said, "We are very excited to be working with Hugh Jackman on the Tony Awards again. Hugh has proved himself time and time again to be the perfect host, with all the talent fitting for a show honoring the exceptional talents of the Broadway community."

As previously announced, the 2005 Tony Awards will once again be held at Radio City Music Hall and will be broadcast by CBS from 8 to 11 PM. Sunday, June 5 is the date.

Hugh Jackman received a Tony Award for his portrayal of the late Peter Allen in TheBoy From Oz. He received an Olivier Award nomination for his work in the London revival of Oklahoma! and an MO Award for his performance as Joe Gillis in the Australian production of Sunset Boulevard. Jackman's film credits include The X-Men,Someone Like You, Swordfish, Kate and Leopold (Golden Globe nomination) and Van Helsing.

Well I fell asleep during the Academy Awards. No, I didn't just nod off during the award for best Grip. I missed a fair chunk of the broadcast. But I did see enough to decide it was one of the most unexciting, unglamorous, unremarkable, ho hum (which is what you say to Beyonceto get her to sing...) Oscar nights I'd ever seen. And what made it worse was the tribute to Johnny Carson, although touching, only served to remind me of how great the OscarsUSED to be!

It started off well enough, if not particularly eventful, with movie clips. This montage did contain an unusually large number of movie musical clips, which was encouraging. And Renee Zellweger did look gorgeous in her black hair and super thin de-Bridgeted body.

But the whole thing looked a bit like a hastily assembled telethon, what with awards being given in the aisles, in the box seats, in the bathroom, etc. Chris Rock was fine. But not classy. And he has one decibel level -- yelling. And was Beyonce the only singer available? I can’t believe Celine Dion wasn't available...she's always available!

Where were the stars? Where was Jack Nicholson? Tom Hanks? Nicole Kidman? Tom Cruise? Hugh Jackman? Meryl Streep? Catherine Zeta-Jones? Did the invitations not go out in time? Were they printed with the wrong date?

Well, Mickey Rooney was there...And I understand why Jude Law wasn't there. It just seemed to me like the nominated stars were there, and that was about it.

And why wasn't Kevin Kline nominated for De-Lovely? Why isn't there a movie musical category? I mean, there's an animated category. Why, why, why!!!

The highlight of the evening for me was the clip of Johnny Carson and Miss Piggy and the Oscar Meyer joke! For others it might have been Jenny Lumet.

So endeth the rant.