Week in Review 4.28.17

Tony Awards

Lots of Tony Awards news.
  • In a long-overdue decision, the Tony Awards Administration Committee  has decided to reinstate the Best Sound Design categories, which had been eliminated after the 2013-2014 season. The categories, as well as a new voting process for that and the Best Orchestrations category, will be effective starting with the upcoming 2017-2018 season. Broadway.com has more. Tony Award nominations for this season will be announced May 2.

     
  • Baayork Lee, a member of the original A Chorus Line company, will receive the honorary Isabelle Stevenson Tony Award in recognition of her humanitarian work. Playbill has more.

     
  • James Earl Jones (You Can't Take It With You) will receive the 2017 Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre. Broadway.com has more.
Additionally, the final round of eligibility rulings were announced. Unless noted below, eligibility is consistent with opening night credits. That means that actors billed above the title are eligible in the Lead Actor categories, while actors billed below the title are eligible in the Featured Actor categories. Tony nominations will be announced on May 2, and the Tonys will be handed out on Sunday, June 11. Broadway.com has more.
  • Jon Jon Briones and Eva Noblezada will be eligible in the Lead Actor/Actress in a Musical categories for Miss Saigon
  • Henry Shields will be eligible in the Lead Actor in a Play category for The Play that Goes Wrong
  • Phillipa Soo will be eligible in the Lead Actress in a Musical category for Amelie
  • Jefferson Mays and Jennifer Ehle will be eligible in the Lead Actor/Actress in a Play categories for Oslo
  • Groundhog Day: Andy Karl will be eligible in the Lead Actor in a Musical category; Peter Darling and Ellen Kane will be jointly eligible in the Best Choreography category
  • Laura Linney will be eligible in the Lead Actress in a Play category for The Little Foxes
  • Hello, Dolly: David Hyde Pierce will be eligible in the Lead Actor in a Musical category; Larry Hochman will be eligible in the Best Orchestrations category
  • Christian Borle will be eligible in the Lead Actor in a Musical category for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
  • Anastasia: Christy Altomare will be eligible n the Lead Actress category; Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty will be eligible in the Best Original Score category; Alexander Dodge and Aaron Rhyne will be jointly eligible in the Best Scenic Design category
  • John Benjamin Hickey will be eligible in the Featured Actor in a Play category for Six Degrees of Separation
  • Corey Cott and Laura Osnes will be eligible in the Lead Actor/Actress categories for Bandstand
  • Jayne Houdyshell and Condola Rashad will be eligible in the Featured Actress category for A Doll's House, Part 2 
Casting News

  • Complete casting for Dominique Morisseau's play, Pipeline has bee announced. Karen Pittman (Disgraced) will lead the cast, which also includes Tasha Lawrence (If I Forget). Previews of the LCT production begin June 15, with opening night scheduled for July 10. Playbill has more.


  • Complete casting for the Roundabout revival of Marvin's Room has been announced. Medra McClyde is among those joining the previously announced Janeane Garofalo and Lili Taylor. Preview begin June 8, with opening night scheduled for August 27. The limited engagement is scheduled to conclude August 27. Playbill has details.

  • Michael Xavier has joined the company of the upcoming Prince of Broadway, a celebration of Hal Prince's works. Previews begin August 3, and opening night is scheduled for August 23. Broadway.com has more.
It's an Honor

  • The Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced several changes to various Golden Globe categories. The Hollywood Reporter has full details regarding changes to directing credits on animated and foreign language films, as well as we rule change about the eligibility timeline. This year's nominees will be announced December 11.

  • Outer Critics Circle Award nominations, Drama Desk Award nominations, and the Off-Broadway Alliance Award nominations were all announced this week. Playbill has the full list of OCC Award nominees; the Drama Desk website has the full list of Drama Desk Award nominees; and Broadway.com has the full list of Off-Broadway Alliance Award nominees.

  • Tony winner Billy Porter (Kinky Boots, Shuffle Along...) will receive the Vito Russo Award at the 28th GLAAD Media Awards, to be held May 6. The specific award is presented to media professionals who make "a significant difference in promoting equality and acceptance." Playbill has more.

  • Pulitzer Prize winner Paula Vogel will receive the Lifetime Achievement Obie Award in recognition of her prolific work off-Broadway. Vogel, a veteran playwright, is making her Broadway debut this spring with the Broadway transfer of Indecent. The Obies will be presented May 22. Visit Playbill for more.

  • Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812 creators Dave Malloy (writer) and Rachel Chavkin (director) will receive the inaugural American Ingenuity Award, presented by Smithsonian magazine. They'll receive their honor at the November 29 ceremony. Broadway World has more.
The Great Comet Music Video

Leading up to the release of the original Broadway cast recording for Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812, the production has treated fans to another music video, this one for "Charming," featuring Amber Gray. Watch below, and then pre-order the album, which comes out May 19.


In Other News

  • Chef Vivian Howard talks to Saveur about food bridging divides in an increasingly divisive times, and what to expect on the next season of A Chef's Life.

  • Extensions: The MTC revival of The Little Foxes has been extended through July 2. Playbill has more. The world premiere of Annie Baker's The Antipodes has been extended (again) through June 11. Playbill has more.

  • The TV adaptation of Mike Bartlett's King Charles III will debut on PBS on May 14. The adaptation features the late Tim Pigott-Smith, who earned a Tony nomination for playing the title character on Broadway.

  • Reminder: The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony will air on HBO this Saturday, April 29. Rolling Stone has more.

     
  • The late great Roger Rees (The West Wing, Peter and the Starcatcher) is the namesake of a newly established Master Voices fund, the Roger Rees Fund for Musical Theater. Broadway World has details.


  • Congratulations to Tony winner Leslie Odom, Jr. (Hamilton) and his wife, Nicolette Robinson (Invisible Thread)! The talented couple welcomed their first child, Lucille Ruby, on April 23. Odom posted on Instagram about the new addition to their family, as did Robinson.


  • Wendy Whelan talks to Vogue about the documentary, Restless Creature. The film follows Whelan as she recuperates from an injury and makes the decision to retire from New York City Ballet. (I saw it at the NYFF last year and LOVED it.) Watch the trailer below.

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