Tonight is the Tony Awards, hosted by James Corden. It’s the best awards show of the year, partly because it honors people who are at their best in live performance and partly because we get to see highlights from the best of Broadway. Everyone will be watching for “Hamilton” tonight. It’s one of the biggest hits in Broadway history and is nominated for a stunning and record-breaking 16 awards.
James Corden, a Broadway vet and Tony-winner before hosting his talk show, will be host. If you want to see him in his Tony-winning performance, check out the one-night-only Fathom Events presentation of “One Man, Two Guvnors” on June 21, 2016.
When the sad news came about the death of actor Dean Jones, those who remembered him most fondly mostly fell into two separate groups with not much overlap. Many baby boomers remembered him as the eternally fresh-faced star of Disney films like “The Love Bug” and “The Shaggy DA.” And Broadway musical fans remembered him as originating the central figure in the Stephen Sondheim Broadway musical “Company.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6S1EvWcub4
The “hippies” in this clip seem more of a fantasy than the magic car.
Here he is with Dorothy Provine and Hayley Mills in the original “That Darn Cat.”
Jones appeared in “Company” briefly, but his performance on the cast album is considered a classic.
He appeared in “Jailhouse Rock” with Elvis Presley and with Jane Fonda in “Any Wednesday.”
He was a committed Christian whose Christian Rescue Fund protects persecuted Christians and Jews.
The Tony nominations are out! I was delighted to see “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” get several nominations, including best play, best actor Alex Sharp, and best director Marianne Elliott. It is one of the most stunning evenings I have ever spent in the theater, with astonishing stagecraft that takes the audience inside the mind of an autistic teenager. It was even nominated for best choreography, although there is no dancing, just movement.
It’s nice to see Bradley Cooper nominated for his passion project, “The Elephant Man.” And it is very good to see special Tony awards going to John Cameron Mitchell, whose “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” has been a smash hit with Neil Patrick Harris, Darren Criss, and Michael C. Hall, and to the long-legged Broadway dancer Tommy Tune.
Best Musical
An American in Paris
Fun Home
Something Rotten!
The Visit
Best Play
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Disgraced
Hand to God
Wolf Hall Parts 1 and 2
Best Musical Revival
The King and I
On the Town
On the Twentieth Century
Best Play Revival
The Elephant Man
Skylight
This Is Our Youth
You Can’t Take It With You
Best Leading Actor in a Play
Steven Boyer, ‘Hand to God’ (In Performance Video)
Bradley Cooper, ‘The Elephant Man’
Ben Miles, ‘Wolf Hall Parts 1 and 2’
Bill Nighy, ‘Skylight’
Alex Sharp, ‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time’
Best Leading Actress in a Play
Geneva Carr, ‘Hand to God’
Helen Mirren, ‘The Audience’
Elisabeth Moss, ‘The Heidi Chronicles’
Carey Mulligan, ‘Skylight’
Ruth Wilson, ‘Constellations’
Best Leading Actor in a Musical
Michael Cerveris, ‘Fun Home’
Robert Fairchild, ‘An American in Paris’
Brian d’Arcy James, ‘Something Rotten!’
Ken Watanabe, ‘The King and I’
Tony Yazbeck, ‘On the Town’
Best Leading Actress in a Musical
Kristin Chenoweth, ‘On the Twentieth Century’
Leanne Cope, ‘An American in Paris’
Beth Malone, ‘Fun Home’
Kelli O’Hara, ‘The King and I’
Chita Rivera, ‘The Visit’
Best Book of a Musical
‘An American in Paris,’ Craig Lucas
‘Fun Home,’ Lisa Kron
‘Something Rotten!,’ Karey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell
‘The Visit,’Terrence McNally
Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics)
‘Fun Home,’ Music: Jeanine Tesori, Lyrics: Lisa Kron
‘The Last Ship,’Music and Lyrics: Sting (In Performance Video)
‘Something Rotten!,’ Music and Lyrics: Wayne Kirkpatrick and Karey Kirkpatrick
‘The Visit,’ Music: John Kander, Lyrics: Fred Ebb
Best Featured Actor in a Play
Matthew Beard, ‘Skylight’
K. Todd Freeman, ‘Airline Highway’
Richard McCabe, ‘The Audience’
Alessandro Nivola, ‘The Elephant Man’
Nathaniel Parker, ‘Wolf Hall Parts 1 and 2’
Micah Stock, ‘It’s Only a Play’
Best Featured Actress in a Play
Annaleigh Ashford, ‘You Can’t Take It with You’
Patricia Clarkson, ‘The Elephant Man’
Lydia Leonard, ‘Wolf Hall Parts 1 and 2’
Sarah Stiles, ‘Hand to God’
Julie White, ‘Airline Highway’
Best Featured Actor in a Musical
Christian Borle, ‘Something Rotten!’
Andy Karl, ‘On the Twentieth Century’
Brad Oscar, ‘Something Rotten!’
Brandon Uranowitz, ‘An American in Paris’
Max von Essen, ‘An American in Paris’
Best Featured Actress in a Musical
Victoria Clark, ‘Gigi’
Judy Kuhn, ‘Fun Home’
Sydney Lucas, ‘Fun Home’
Ruthie Ann Miles, ‘The King and I’
Emily Skeggs, ‘Fun Home’
Best Scenic Design of a Play
Bunny Christie and Finn Ross, ‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time’
Bob Crowley, ‘Skylight’
Christopher Oram, ‘Wolf Hall Parts 1 and 2’
David Rockwell, ‘You Can’t Take It with You’
Best Scenic Design of a Musical
Bob Crowley and 59 Productions, ‘An American in Paris’
David Rockwell, ‘On the Twentieth Century’
Michael Yeargan, ‘The King and I’
David Zinn, ‘Fun Home’
Best Costume Design of a Play
Bob Crowley, ‘The Audience’
Jane Greenwood, ‘You Can’t Take It with You’
Christopher Oram, ‘Wolf Hall Parts 1 and 2’
David Zinn, ‘Airline Highway’
Best Costume Design of a Musical
Gregg Barnes, ‘Something Rotten!’
Bob Crowley, ‘An American in Paris’
William Ivey Long, ‘On the Twentieth Century’
Catherine Zuber, ‘The King and I’
Best Lighting Design of a Play
Paule Constable, ‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time’
Paule Constable and David Plater, ‘Wolf Hall Parts 1 and 2’
Natasha Katz, ‘Skylight’
Japhy Weideman, ‘Airline Highway’
Best Lighting Design of a Musical
Donald Holder, ‘The King and I’
Natasha Katz, ‘An American in Paris’
Ben Stanton, ‘Fun Home’
Japhy Weideman, ‘The Visit’
Best Direction of a Play
Stephen Daldry, ‘Skylight’
Marianne Elliott, ‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time’
Scott Ellis, ‘You Can’t Take It with You’
Jeremy Herrin, ‘Wolf Hall Parts 1 and 2’
Moritz von Stuelpnagel, ‘Hand to God’
Best Direction of a Musical
Sam Gold, ‘Fun Home’
Casey Nicholaw, ‘Something Rotten!’
John Rando, ‘On the Town’
Bartlett Sher, ‘The King and I’
Christopher Wheeldon, ‘An American in Paris’
Best Choreography
Joshua Bergasse, ‘On the Town’
Christopher Gattelli, ‘The King and I’
Scott Graham & Steven Hoggett for Frantic Assembly, ‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time’
Casey Nicholaw, ‘Something Rotten!’
Christopher Wheeldon, ‘An American in Paris’
Best Orchestrations
Christopher Austin, Don Sebesky, Bill Elliott, ‘An American in Paris’
John Clancy, ‘Fun Home’
Larry Hochman, ‘Something Rotten!’
Rob Mathes, ‘The Last Ship’
Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theater
Tommy Tune
Isabelle Stevenson Tony Award
Stephen Schwartz
Regional Theatre Tony Award
Cleveland Play House
Special Tony Award
John Cameron Mitchell, ‘Hedwig and the Angry Inch’
The great Elaine Stritch has died at age 89. It is hard to imagine a world without that vibrant, brash, brassy, and utterly vital force of nature. She was the kind of woman about whom it was not just apt but the highest of compliments to use terms like “classy old broad” and “great gams.” She was frank about her many poor choices and wrong directions (she picked a date with Rock Hudson over Ben Gazzara and tells the story brilliantly in her one-woman show). But she did not need to be frank about the great passion of her life because it was evident in every breath and gesture: the theater.
Her one-woman show, Elaine Stritch at Liberty, is a master class in show business history. She talks about the highs and lows of her career with enormous insight and humor — and with every bit of the stage presence that made her a star for six decades.
She was unforgettable as Jack’s mother in “30 Rock” and she appeared in films from 1953’s “A Farewell to Arms” to 2012’s “Paranorman” (including Woody Allen’s “September” and “Small Time Crooks”). But her home was the Broadway stage, and there she was dazzling.
Here you can see her incredible focus and commitment in rehearsing her signature song, Sondheim’s “Ladies Who Lunch.”
Watch her knock it right out of the park and into orbit.
My own favorite of her songs: If Trust me on this. It will knock your socks off your feet and into the next room.
, is a master class in show business history. She talks about the highs and lows of her career with enormous insight and humor — and with every bit of the stage presence that made her a star for six decades.
, is smart, sassy, and lots of fun.
Trust me on this. It will knock your socks off your feet and into the next room.