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

Award Season Updates As many predicted, Hamilton won the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theatre Album. (Lin-Manuel Miranda posted the photo at right of a celebratory cake.) Playbill has details about that award, and you can visit grammy.com for the full list of this year's winners, including the Oscar-winning song, "Glory." Before Hamilton won, though, the cast performed the opening number. Entertainment Weekly  takes you behind the scenes of the performance. BAFTA Awards were handed out last week. The Revenant took home the top honor, and its star, Leonardo DiCaprio , director, Alejandro G. Inarritu , cinematographer, Emmanuel Lubezki , and sound design team were also winners. Three-time Tony Award winner Mark Rylance won for Best Supporting Actor ( Bridge of Spies ), and Tom McCarthy and Josh Singer won the Best Original Screenplay award for Spotlight . Visit bafta.org for the full list of winners. Additional Oscars presenters have been announced, in...

Bette Midler to Star in Hello Dolly The Divine Miss M will star as Dolly Levi in a 2017 revival of Hello Dolly . Bette Midler was last seen on Broadway in 2013's I'll Eat You Last: A Chat with Sue Mengers . Midler will be directed in Hello Dolly by Jerry Zaks , with Warren Carlyle choreographing. ( Scott Rudin is the lead producer.) Though the production does not have a theatre, it's been announced that previews will begin March 13, 2017. Opening night of the Jerry Herman – Michael Stewart musical is scheduled for April 20. Playbill has more. The Most Incredible Thing New York City Ballet soloist and resident choreographer Justin Peck ( Everywhere We Go , New Blood ) is putting the finishing touches on his new ballet, The Most Incredible Thing , which premieres on February 2. Based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale, this will mark Peck's first narrative ballet. Ever the collaborator, Peck is teaming with composer Bryce Dessner and artist Marcel Dz...

Checking in Off-Broadway There are several great new plays running off-Broadway. Here are interviews and news about some of them: Theater Mania and The New York Times spoke with playwright Joshua Harmon , who broke out a few years ago with Bad Jews , about his latest work, Significant Other , one of the most unflinchingly honest portrayals of being a young, single adult. Significant Other is at Roundabout. Rajiv Joseph 's fantastic new work, Guards at the Taj , has extended its run at the Atlantic Theater Company. The two-hander, which stars Omar Metwally and Arian Moayed , will play through July 12. Get your tickets now . The New York Times spoke with Jeremy Shamos about his career, which includes starring in the provocative new Bruce Norris play, The Qualms , now playing at Playwrights Horizons. The article also notes that Shamos will be part of Roundabout's upcoming Broadway revival of Noises Off . Heisenberg , the new play from Tony winner Simon Stephens ( T...

The nominations for the 69th Tony Awards are in! (And, big news, Tony winners Kristin Chenoweth and Alan Cumming will host the Tony Awards !) Without any further ado, here is the full list of nominees. (First the plays, then the musicals.) Best Play The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time , by Simon Stephens Disgraced , by Ayad Akhtar Hand to God , by Robert Askins Wolf Hall , by Hilary Mantel and Mike Poulton You know what I like about this slate of plays? They represent diversity in storytelling, tone, subject matter and size. Though I haven't seen Wolf Hall (I'm watching the BBC film adaptation, starring Mark Rylance, on PBS, instead), I feel confident in saying this race comes down to The Curious Incident and Hand to God , with The Curious Incident favored to win. (And with good reason: it's incredible!) That said, I am saddened to see Constellations left off the list. Best Revival of a Play The Elephant Man Skylight This is Our Youth ...