Broadway Journal

A SAFE SPACE IN THE DARK: NEW YORK THEATRE WORKSHOP’S JAMES NICOLA

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What the Constitution Means to Me and Hadestown,  two of the most of the acclaimed Broadway shows of the season, were both developed at New York Theatre Workshop. Last night, Artistic Director James C. Nicola  received an Obie Award for lifetime achievement and discussed theater’s role as a haven and a vehicle for rebellion. An excerpt of his acceptance follows:

Somewhere along the way, I understood the absolute primacy of sitting in a dark room, with other people, watching other humans re-enact, ritualistically, that which we lived in daylight outside the holy space.

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THE FIRE BEHIND THEATRE FOR A NEW AUDIENCE: JEFFREY HOROWITZ AT THE OBIES

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While accepting a lifetime achievement award at the Obies last night, Founding Artistic Director Jeffrey Horowitz described how an apartment fire helped him create the nonprofit Theatre for a New Audience.

Thank you to Michael Feingold and the OBIE Committee….Over four decades ago, when I was an out of work actor, on a very hot and humid New York summer’s day,  while waiting for that big break to come,  I decided to engage in a little D.I.Y. and  polyurethane the wooden floor of my studio apartment. Continue Reading

WOMEN COMPOSERS SHINE LIGHT ON B’WAY BOYS CLUB

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Georgia Stitt

For female musical theater composers, this season has been a mixed bag. Of eight original Broadway scores, just one, Anaïs Mitchell’s Hadestown, was written by a woman. Yet with its standing-room-only audiences and 14 Tony Award nominations, the folk opera appears to be a hit, a sign that non-traditional work — by a man or woman — can defy conventional wisdom of what belongs on Broadway.

Amazingly, Hadestown is only the 38th Broadway musical composed by a woman since 1930, according to a new interactive timeline by Maestra Music Inc.Continue Reading

A NERD’S GUIDE TO THE 2019 TONY NOMINATIONS

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Santino Fontana & Lilli Cooper/Matthew Murphy

It’s been a few years since an old-fashioned mainstream comedy won best musical at the Tony Awards. Tootsie  could change that.

Its primary challenger appears to be the acclaimed New Orleans-infused folk opera Hadestown. But don’t count out the thriving Temptations musical, Ain’t Too Proud,  or the inclusive comedy The Prom.Continue Reading

HEEDLESS BARON AT TOPLESS TABLOID: ‘INK’ REVIEW

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Jonny Lee Miller & Bertie Carvel/Joan Marcus

Students of Rupert Murdoch may wonder why an 88-year-old multi-billionaire would devote his last years to destabilizing democracy, promoting division and thwarting efforts to slow climate change.

“There is no why,” newspaper editor Larry Lamb (Jonny Lee Miller) says early in James Graham’s absorbing Ink, as part of a discussion with the young Murdoch about journalism’s five “W’s.”  (Who, What, Where and When are the others.)    “Sometimes shit just happens.”

Ever-so-timely although ripped from headlines a half-century old, Ink  chronicles The Sun‘s first year under Murdoch control, 1969-70.Continue Reading

DAZZLING PERFORMANCES, FAMILIAR STORY: ‘AIN’T TOO PROUD’ REVIEW

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photo: Matthew Murphy

Ain’t Too Proud  isn’t too original, but it should appeal to fans of the Temptations, the most successful African-American recording group in history.

The musical’s five leads gorgeously harmonize on such hits as “Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me),” “My Girl” and “I Can’t Get Next to You.” Sergio Trujillo’s kinetic homage to the group’s original choreography includes dazzling splits, slides and spins. Continue Reading

MORRISSEY SELLS BRISKLY WITH $425 TOP TICKET

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Morrissey’s seven-night engagement at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre sold well in the first hour of general public availability, suggesting a bright future for rock stars on Broadway.

As of 11 am, scattered seats were available in the front orchestra for $399, or $424.70 with Ticketmaster fees, and for $279 in the mezzanine and rear orchestra. Tickets topped out at $850 for Bruce Springsteen, who ended 236 performances at the Walter Kerr in December. His shows went for thousands in the secondary market.Continue Reading

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