Antoinette Perry founded the American Theater Wing. When she passed the Tony Awards were created in her honor. The nominees for the 76th annual Tony Awards were announced on May 2. The ceremony will be held on Sunday, June 11. In the 1990’s the broadcast was my first access to Broadway musical performances as a small town theatre kid.
The nominees for Best Musical are:
- & Juliet by David West Read, Max Martin and others. Shakespeare’s characters sing 90’s pop hits.
- Kimberly Akimbo by Jeanine Tesori and David Lindsay-Abaire. Kimberly has a rapid aging disease that will soon end her life. She spends her 16th year having adventures.
- New York, New York by John Kander, Fred Ebb, Lin-Manuel Miranda, David Thompson and Sharon Washington. Artists pursue their NY dreams and sing Kander & Ebb trunk songs. Loosely based on the Martin Scorsese film.
- Shucked by Robert Horn, Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally. The writers had attempted to adapted the variety show Hee Haw to the stage in 2015. When the rights fell through they created an original story set in a fictional rural town.
- Some Like It Hot by Marc Shaiman, Scott Wittman, Matthew Lopez and Amber Ruffin. The classic film has been adapted to the stage before. This new version adds a diverse cast and explicit queer representation.
Runner ups include:
- Almost Famous by Tom Kitt and Cameron Crowe. The critically panned adaptation of Crowe’s 2000 film.
- Bad Cinderella by Andrew Lloyd Webber, David Zippel and Emerald Fennell. A controversial update of the classic tale. She’s not your Cinderella. She’s your Bad Cinderella.
- KPOP by Helen Park, Max Vernon and Jason Kim. A whirlwind tour of the KPOP industry, with an original score.
This season also featured revivals of 1776, Camelot, Dancin’, Into the Woods, Parade and Sweeney Todd.
Will you be watching the Tonys this year? What are some of your favorite musicals?
Happy Night Thread Avocado!