Reviewing the Drama: Broadway, Off-Broadway, Ballet, Movies, and TV Reviews

The winners for the 71st annual Tony Awards have been announced and feted! The full list of winners is below, beginning with the big four categories. Thereafter are the winners in the play categories followed by the nominees in the musical categories. Winners are notated with bold typeface and an asterisk. Best Musical Come From Away Dear Evan Hansen * Groundhog Day Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812 Hooray!!! Dear Evan Hansen  had been the early frontrunner, but Come From Away  was the horse that broke late, and made the category competitive. (I certainly don't mean that as a knock on Great Comet , which I've seen and loved, or Groundhog Day , which I haven't seen; that's just what the race, according to chatter, was.) I love this musical. It's raw, honest, and important. It worked so well off-Broadway, it works amazingly on Broadway, and you better look for it in your town because I have no doubt it will be incredible on tour. Best Play ...

The nominees for the 71st annual Tony Awards have been announced. The full list of nominees is below, beginning with the big four categories. Thereafter are the nominees in the play categories followed by the nominees in the musical categories. Tune into the Tony Awards on CBS June 11 to find out who will walk away with a statue. Best Musical Come From Away Dear Evan Hansen Groundhog Day Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812 There were 13 new musicals this season, necessarily leaving several off this list. That said, from what I've seen and heard, these are the right choices. (A fifth nominee was possible if a certain number of shows earned a certain percentage of the vote, but, clearly, that didn't happen.) What's notable is that two of the four musicals, Dear Evan Hansen and The Great Comet , opened in the fall. All too often, shows that open in the fall either quickly close, or, if they're still open, are forgotten by Tony nominators amid the glu...

In 1879, Nora slammed the door on Torvald, and it shocked Victorian readers and, soon thereafter, audiences world-wide. A Doll's House  catapulted Henrik Ibsen into the international spotlight, and solidified his position as a subversive writer. Nearly 140 years later, Lucas Hnath , a subversive and gifted writer in his own right, imagines what happened after the door slammed. Details reveal themselves naturally so I won't give too much away (especially not the 100% perfect, A++ first and final moments of the show). Suffice it to say that A Doll's House, Part 2  picks up 15 years after Nora (Laurie Metcalf) left her husband, Torvald (Chris Cooper), and young children. The doll returns to her house, which Miriam Buether has cleverly designed to suggest a boxing ring. The metaphor continues in the direction (by Tony winner Sam Gold), as actors brace themselves on and grasp at the walls like a boxer working the ropes. Toward the end, we find both Nora and Torvald on the...

The Emmys will be handed out on Sunday, September 18, in a ceremony hosted by Jimmy Kimmel. Herein, nominees in select categories. Visit emmys.org for the full list of nominees. Comedy Series Outstanding Comedy Series Black-ish Master of None Modern Family Silicon Valley Transparent Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt Veep Outstanding Lead Actor Anthony Anderson , Black-ish Aziz Ansari , Master of None Will Forte , The Last Man on Earth William H. Macy , Shameless Thomas Middleditch , Silicon Valley Jeffrey Tambor , Transparent  Outstanding Lead Actress Ellie Kemper , Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt Julia Louis-Dreyfus , Veep Laurie Metcalf , Getting On Tracee Ellis Ross , Black-ish Amy Schumer , Inside Amy Schumer Lily Tomlin , Grace and Frankie   Outstanding Supporting Actor Louie Anderson , Baskets Andre Braugher , Brooklyn Nine-Nine Tituss Burgess , Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt Ty Burrell , Modern Family Tony Hale , Veep  Keegan-Michael Key ...