Lucas Hnath’s “Hillary and Clinton” is a depressing form of inept and backhanded fan fiction, the very existence of which is irredeemably sexist. Putting the marriage and choices of one of the most accomplished and celebrated women in American history on stage for yet more public scrutiny is an indignity no male politician would ever face. Great performances aside, this inaccurate and intrusive play’s existence on Broadway feels irresponsible as a matter of civic integrity.
“Tootsie” is a mixed bag. A well-constructed, cheerful, and funny musical comedy with a suite of magnetic performances, it has a confused tone, disconnected visual and aural sensibility, and next to nothing smart to say about gender despite gender playing such a central role in the plot. It exists in no consistent reality, and leaves many circles left un-squared.
The 2019 Tony Award Nominations were announced this morning by Bebe Neuwirth and Brandon Victor Dixon. Take a look at the list and read my analysis of the surprises and snubs.
Take a look at the 2019 Drama Desk Award nominations; stay tuned for the winners to be announced at the 64th Annual Drama Desk Awards ceremony on Sunday, June 2nd.
"Hadestown" leads in Outer Critics Circle nominations, followed by "Tootsie" and "Oklahoma!"; Disney plans revival of "Beauty and the Beast"; “Sea Wall/A Life" headed to Broadway this summer; Phylicia Rashad to direct "Blue" on Broadway next spring; Mel Brooks will play a two night residency at the Lunt Fontanne Theatre; MCC announces 2019-2020 season; "The Boys in the Band" cast to reunite for Netflix adaptation; "Survivor: The Destiny's Child Musical" will premiere in Houston; Noah Galvin to join the cast of "Waitress"; “The Lehman Trilogy" eyes Broadway; "Nowhere Boy" musical in development; "The Prom" to receive YA novel treatment; cast album news update; RIP Harvey Sabinson
“Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations” is a seamless, slick, and exuberantly entertaining new musical that reclaims the “jukebox” genre with an energetic, fast-moving, and engrossing portrait-like study of The Temptations. This show looks good, sounds good, and feels good, and is easily one of the best catalogue musicals ever to grace The Great White Way.
Breathtaking and exquisitely crafted, “Hadestown” is easily the most tautly constructed and beautifully realized musical on this side of “Hamilton”—a riveting, heart-wrenching, and sumptuous folk opera that vibrantly renders some of mankind’s oldest and most enduring myths as an epic and compelling piece of modern musical theatre. This musical triumph is a must-see.
Jackie Sibblies Drury's "Fairview" wins the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for Drama; Laurie Metcalf, Eddie Izzard, Russell Tovey, and Patsy Ferran to star in 2020 Broadway revival of Edward Albee's "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?"; "Oklahoma!" musical television series in development; 2019-2020 seasons announced at Off-Broadway's Signature Theatre and Playwright's Horizons; "Grease" movie prequel is in the works; Mike Faist will play Riff in “West Side Story" film; Olga Merediz, Gregory Diaz IV, Jimmy Smits join "In the Heights" film; Lila Neugebauer to make film debut; RIP Georgia Engel
From The Great Depression to The Great Recession, I take a look at a musical and a play that are now unwittingly in conversation with each other some eighty years and fifty blocks apart, from “The Cradle Will Rock” downtown at Classic Stage Company to “The Lehman Trilogy” uptown at the Park Avenue Armory.
Glenda Jackson is ravishing in an otherwise incohesive and uneven “King Lear” by auteur Sam Gold. Ms. Jackson’s captivating storm of a performance, an original score by Philip Glass, and arresting visual and aural moments are highlights. The balance of the cast is uneven, and the play itself rendered as emotionally clinical.
List of Olivier Award winners; Michael Urie to host Drama Desk Awards; Ryan Murphy to adapt "The Prom" into a movie musical for Netflix; "Tina: The Tina Turner Musical" books Broadway's Lunt-Fontanne Theatre; Patti LuPone may head all-female version of "Glengarry Glen Ross" on Broadway next season; "Do You Feel Anger?" extends; a musical of "The Outsiders", a Maya Angelou bio-play, 3 musicals using the BMG catalogue, and a musical of "Mr. Saturday Night" are all in development; 2 new songs from “Beetlejuice”; “The Cher Show” cast recording out tomorrow; RIP Eric LaJuan Summers
Theatre for a New Audience in Brooklyn presents a new nondescript production of Shakespeare’s “The Tragedy of Julius Caesar” featuring an athletic use of choreographed movement to summon the emotional charge created by crowd and battle scenes, elevating and sustaining the intensity of the political drama. “Julius Caesar” is hard to get right; TFANA pulls it off with this well-acted, smartly staged, deeply engaging, and flat-out thrilling production.
