Monday, May 13, 2019

Hadestown Tops Outer Critics Award Winners

Amber Gray and the Broadway cast of Hadestown credit Matthew Murphy

Outer Critics Circle
2018-2019 Awards
Winners are in bold with *

OUTSTANDING NEW BROADWAY PLAY
*The Ferryman
Ink
Network
To Kill a Mockingbird
What the Constitution Means to Me

OUTSTANDING NEW BROADWAY MUSICAL
Be More Chill
*Hadestown
Head Over Heels
The Prom
Tootsie

OUTSTANDING NEW OFF-BROADWAY PLAY
Fairview
The House That Will Not Stand
Lewiston / Clarkston
The Light
*White Noise

OUTSTANDING NEW OFF-BROADWAY MUSICAL
The Beast in the Jungle
Black Light
*Girl from the North Country
The Hello Girls
Midnight at the Never Get

OUTSTANDING BOOK OF A MUSICAL
(Broadway or Off-Broadway)
*Robert Horn     Tootsie
Conor McPherson     Girl from the North Country
Peter Mills and Cara Reichel     The Hello Girls
Anaïs Mitchell     Hadestown
Jeff Whitty and James Magruder     Head Over Heels

OUTSTANDING NEW SCORE (THE MARJORIE GUNNER AWARD)
(Broadway or Off-Broadway)
Matthew Sklar and Chad Beguelin      The Prom
Joe Iconis     Be More Chill
Peter Mills     The Hello Girls
*Anaïs Mitchell     Hadestown
David Yazbek     Tootsie

OUTSTANDING REVIVAL OF A PLAY
(Broadway or Off-Broadway)
*All My Sons
By the Way, Meet Vera Stark
Juno and the Paycock
Our Lady of 121st Street
The Waverly Gallery

OUTSTANDING REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL
(Broadway or Off-Broadway)
Carmen Jones
*Fiddler on the Roof (in Yiddish)
Kiss Me, Kate
Oklahoma!
Smokey Joe’s Café 


OUTSTANDING DIRECTOR OF A PLAY
(THE LUCILLE LORTEL AWARD)
Rupert Goold     Ink
*Sam Mendes     The Ferryman
Jack O’Brien     All My Sons
Bartlett Sher     To Kill a Mockingbird
Logan Vaughn     The Light

OUTSTANDING DIRECTOR OF A MUSICAL
*Rachel Chavkin     Hadestown
Scott Ellis     Tootsie
Daniel Fish     Oklahoma!
Joel Grey     Fiddler on the Roof (in Yiddish)
Cara Reichel     The Hello Girls

OUTSTANDING CHOREOGRAPHER
*Warren Carlyle     Kiss Me, Kate
Christopher Gattelli     The Cher Show
Denis Jones     Tootsie
David Neumann     Hadestown
Sergio Trujillo     Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations

OUTSTANDING SCENIC DESIGN
(Play or Musical)
Beowulf Boritt     Bernhardt/Hamlet
Bunny Christie     Ink
Rachel Hauck     Hadestown
Rob Howell     The Ferryman
*David Korins     Beetlejuice

OUTSTANDING COSTUME DESIGN
(Play or Musical)
Rob Howell     The Ferryman
*Bob Mackie     The Cher Show
William Ivey Long     Beetlejuice
William Ivey Long     Tootsie
Arianne Phillips     Head Over Heels

OUTSTANDING LIGHTING DESIGN
(Play or Musical)
Neil Austin     Ink
Stacey Derosier     Lewiston / Clarkston
*Bradley King     Hadestown
Jason Lyons     Sugar in Our Wounds
Peter Mumford     King Kong

OUTSTANDING PROJECTION DESIGN
(Play or Musical)
*Peter England     King Kong
Alex Basco Koch     Be More Chill
Peter Nigrini     Beetlejuice
Jeff Sugg     All My Sons
Tal Yarden     Network

OUTSTANDING SOUND DESIGN
(Play or Musical)
John Gromada     All My Sons
*Peter Hylenski     King Kong
Drew Levy     Oklahoma!
Eric Sleichim     Network
Nevin Steinberg and Jessica Paz     Hadestown

OUTSTANDING ORCHESTRATIONS
Michael Chorney and Todd Sickafoose     Hadestown
Simon Hale     Girl from the North Country
Joseph Joubert     Carmen Jones
*Daniel Kluger     Oklahoma!
Harold Wheeler     Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations

OUTSTANDING ACTOR IN A PLAY
McKinley Belcher III     The Light
*Bryan Cranston     Network
Daveed Diggs     White Noise
Bill Irwin     On Beckett
Jeremy Pope     Choir Boy

OUTSTANDING ACTRESS IN A PLAY
Glenn Close     Mother of the Maid
Edie Falco     The True
Glenda Jackson     King Lear
Mandi Masden     The Light
*Elaine May     The Waverly Gallery

OUTSTANDING ACTOR IN A MUSICAL
Brooks Ashmanskas     The Prom
Reeve Carney     Hadestown
Damon Daunno     Oklahoma!
*Santino Fontana     Tootsie
Steven Skybell     Fiddler on the Roof (in Yiddish)

OUTSTANDING ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL
*Stephanie J. Block     The Cher Show
Kelli O’Hara     Kiss Me, Kate
Beth Leavel     The Prom
Anika Noni Rose     Carmen Jones
Mare Winningham     Girl from the North Country

OUTSTANDING FEATURED ACTOR IN A PLAY
Bertie Carvel     Ink
John Clay III     Choir Boy
Hugh Dancy     Apologia
John Procaccino     Downstairs
*Benjamin Walker     All My Sons

OUTSTANDING FEATURED ACTRESS IN A PLAY
Joan Allen     The Waverly Gallery
Stephanie Berry     Sugar in Our Wounds
Fionnula Flanagan     The Ferryman
Harriett D. Foy     The House That Will Not Stand
*Celia Keenan-Bolger     To Kill a Mockingbird

OUTSTANDING FEATURED ACTOR IN A MUSICAL
John Behlmann     Tootsie
*André De Shields     Hadestown
Reg Rogers     Tootsie
George Salazar     Be More Chill
Ephraim Sykes     Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations

OUTSTANDING FEATURED ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL
*Amber Gray     Hadestown
Leslie Kritzer     Beetlejuice
Bonnie Milligan     Head Over Heels
Sarah Stiles     Tootsie
Ali Stroker     Oklahoma!

OUTSTANDING SOLO PERFORMANCE
*Mike Birbiglia     The New One
Maddie Corman     Accidentally Brave
Jake Gyllenhaal     A Life
Carey Mulligan     Girls & Boys
Renée Taylor     My Life on a Diet

JOHN GASSNER PLAYWRITING AWARD
(Presented for an American play, preferably by a new playwright)
Jeremy O. Harris     Slave Play
*Jeremy Kareken, David Murrell and Gordon Farrell     The Lifespan of a Fact
Donja R. Love     Sugar in Our Wounds
Ming Peiffer     Usual Girls
Charly Evon Simpson     Behind the Sheet

SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS
The Executive Committee voted and decided upon the presentation of Special Achievement Awards to:
The Puppetry Team That Created and Operates King Kongrecognizing the artistry and technical achievement that brings a 2,000-pound gorilla to life:
 * Puppet designer and builder Sonny Tilders and the Creature Technology Company
 * Scenic designer Peter England, who collaborated on the aesthetics of the puppet 
* Aerial and movement director Gavin Robins 
* The members of the King’s Company, who move Kong on stage: Mike Baerga, Rhaamell Burke-Missouri, Jōvan Dansberry, Casey Garvin, Gabriel Hyman, Marty Lawson, Roberto Olvera, Khadija Tariyan, Lauren Yalango-Grant, David Yijae, Christopher Hampton Grant, Jena VanEslander, Scott Webber, Warren Yang, James Retter Duncan, Jonathan MacMillan, and Leigh-Ann Vizer.
 * Kong’s Voodoo Operators, who control his facial expressions: Jon Hoche, Danny Miller, and Jacob Williams.

The York Theatre Company
James Morgan, Producing Artistic Director
Evans Haile, Executive Director
in recognition of 50 years of producing new musicals, as well as classics from the past

Tuesday, May 7, 2019

Broadway Theater Review: Hadestown

Amber Gray and the Broadway cast of Hadestown credit Matthew Murphy
Commentary here:
http://www.audreyrusso.com/Lauren_Yarger_0519_intro.mp3

Hadestown
Book, Music and Lyrics by Anaïs Mitchell, developed with Rachel Chavkin
Choreographed by David Neumann
Directed by Rachel Chavkin
Walter Kerr Theatre

Following two intertwining love stories — that of young dreamers Orpheus and Eurydice, and that of King Hades and his wife Persephone — Hadestown invites audiences on a hell-raising journey to the underworld and back. Anaïs Mitchell’s (music, lyrics & book) beguiling melodies and Rachel Chavkin’s (director) poetic imagination pit industry against nature, doubt against faith, and fear against love. Performed by a vibrant ensemble of actors, dancers, and singers, Hadestown delivers a deeply resonant and defiantly hopeful theatrical experience.

The cast is led by Reeve Carney as Orpheus, Eva Noblezada as Eurydice, Amber Gray as Persephone, Patrick Page as Hades, and André De Shields as Hermes. The cast also features Jewelle Blackman, Yvette Gonzalez-Nacer, and Kay Trinidad as the Fates. The Workers Chorus is played by Afra Hines, Timothy Hughes, John Krause, Kimberly Marable, and Ahmad Simmons. The full cast also includes swings Malcolm Armwood, T. Oliver Reid, Jessie Shelton, and Khaila Wilcoxon.

The creative team for Broadway features Rachel Hauck (scenic design), Michael Krass (costume design), Bradley King (lighting design), Nevin Steinberg and Jessica Paz (sound design), David Neumann (choreography), Liam Robinson (music direction and vocal arrangements), Michael Chorney and Todd Sickafoose (arrangements and orchestrations), and Ken Cerniglia (dramaturgy). Production stage manager is Beverly Jenkins and casting is by Stewart/Whitley.

Broadway Theater Review: Tootsie




Tootsie
Music and Lyrics by David Yazbek
Book by Robert Horn
Choreographed by Denis Jones
Directed by Scott Ellis

TOOTSIE tells the story of a talented but difficult actor who struggles to find work until one show-stopping act of desperation lands him the role of a lifetime – as the star of a new Broadway musical.

The company is led by Tony Award nominee Santino Fontana as Michael Dorsey/Dorothy Michaels, Lilli Cooper as Julie Nichols, Tony Award nominee Sarah Stiles as Sandy Lester, John Behlmann as Max Van Horn, Andy Grotelueschen as Jeff Slater, Julie Halston as Rita Marshall, Tony Award winner MICHAEL Mcgrath as Stan Fields, and Tony Award nominee Reg Rogers as Ron Carlisle.

The design team for TOOTSIE includes scenic designer David Rockwell, costume designer William Ivey Long, lighting designer Donald Holder, sound designer Brian Ronan, hair and wig design by Paul Huntley, and make-up design by Angelina Avallone.

Broadway Theater Review: Ink

Bertie Carvel, Bill Buell, JOhnny Lee Miller, Robert Stanton, Eden Marryschool. Photo: Joan Marcus
By James Graham
Directed by Robert Goold
Friedman Theatre


Manhattan Theatre Club’s American premiere of INK, written by Olivier Award winner James Graham (Labour of Love, Privacy, Finding Neverland) and directed by two-time Olivier Award winner, Tony and BAFTA Award nominee and Almeida Theatre Artistic Director Rupert Goold(King Charles III).

Two-time Olivier Award winner Bertie Carvel (Matilda) reprises his Olivier Award-winning performance as Rupert Murdoch and Olivier Award winner Jonny Lee Miller (“Elementary,” Frankenstein) plays the editor of The Sun, Larry Lamb.

It’s 1969 London.  The brash young Rupert Murdoch purchases a struggling paper, The Sun, and sets out to make it a must-read smash which will destroy - and ultimately horrify - the competition. He brings on rogue editor Larry Lamb who in turn recruits an unlikely team of underdog reporters. Together, they will go to any lengths for success and the race for the most ink is on! Inspired by real events and a recent hit in London’s West End, James Graham’s electrifying new play comes to Broadway in the exhilarating Almeida Theatre production, directed by Rupert Goold. In its London run, The Guardian called it “riveting,” and Time Out hailed it as “an incredibly brilliant stunner.”

Joining Olivier Award winners Bertie Carvel and Jonny Lee Miller are David Wilson Barnes (The Lieutenant of Inishmore), Bill Buell (The History Boys), Andrew Durand (Head Over Heels), Eden Marryshow (Broadway Debut),Colin McPhillamy (The Ferryman), Erin Neufer (Broadway Debut), Kevin Pariseau (Legally Blonde), Rana Roy(Broadway Debut), Michael Siberry (Junk), Robert Stanton (Saint Joan), and Tara Summers (The Hard Problem). 

I

Broadway Theater Review: Beetljuice


Commentary here:
http://www.audreyrusso.com/Lauren_Yarger_0519_intro.mp3

Beetlejuice
Music by Eddie Perfect
Book by Scott Browan and Anthony King
Choreography by Connor Gallagher
Directed by Alex Timbers


BEETLEJUICE, directed by Alex Timbers, with an original score by Eddie Perfect, a book byScott Brown & Anthony King, music supervision, orchestrations and incidental music by Kris Kukul, and choreography by Connor Gallagher.

BEETLEJUICE stars Alex Brightman, Sophia Anne Caruso, Kerry Butler, Rob McClure, Adam Dannheisser, and Leslie Kritzer, with Jill Abramovitz, Kelvin Moon Loh, Danny Rutigliano, and Dana Steingold, in a cast of 25 that includes Tessa Alves, Gilbert L. Bailey II, Will Blum, Johnny Brantley III, Ryan Breslin, Natalie Charle Ellis, Brooke Engen, Abe Goldfarb, Eric Anthony Johnson, Elliott Mattox, Mateo Melendez, Sean Montgomery, Ramone Owens, Presley Ryan and Kim Sava.



It’s showtime, folks! The ghost-with-the-most comes to the stage in this edgy and irreverent musical comedy based on Tim Burton’s dearly beloved film.BEETLEJUICE tells the story of Lydia Deetz, a strange and unusual teenager obsessed with the whole “being dead thing.” Lucky for Lydia, her new house is haunted by a recently deceased couple and Beetlejuice, a delightful demon with a real zest for life. When Lydia calls on Beetlejuice to scare away anyone with a pulse, this double-crossing specter shows his true stripes, unleashing a (Nether)world of pandemonium, and the biggest sandworm Broadway has ever seen.

BEETLEJUICE features scenic design by David Korins, costume design by William Ivey Long, lighting design by Kenneth Posner, sound design by Peter Hylenski, projection design by Peter Nigrini, puppet design by Michael Curry, special effects design by Jeremy Chernick, illusions by Michael Weber, hair & wig design by Charles G. LaPointe and make-up design by Joe Dulude.

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Our reviews are professional reviews written without a religious bias. At the end of them, you can find a listing of language, content or theological issues that Christians might want to know about when deciding which shows to see.

** Mature indicates that the show has posted an advisory because of content. Usually this means I would recommend no one under the age of 16 attend.

Theater Critic Lauren Yarger

Theater Critic Lauren Yarger

My Bio

Lauren Yarger has written, directed and produced numerous shows and special events for both secular and Christian audiences. She co-wrote a Christian musical version of “A Christmas Carol” which played to sold-out audiences of over 3,000 in Vermont and was awarded the Vermont Bessie (theater and film awards) for “People’s Choice for Theatre.” She also has written two other dinner theaters, sketches for church services and devotions for Christian artists. Her play concept, "From Reel to Real: The Jennifer O'Neill Story" was presented as part of the League of professional Theatre Women's Julia's reading Room Series in New York. Shifting from reviewing to producing, Yarger owns Gracewell Productions, which produced the Table Reading Series at the Palace Theater in Waterbury, CT. She trained for three years in the Broadway League’s Producer Development Program, completed the Commercial Theater Institute's Producing Intensive and other training and produced a one-woman musical about Mary Magdalene that toured nationally and closed with an off-Broadway run. She was a Fellow at the National Critics Institute at the O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford, CT. She wrote reviews of Broadway and Off-Broadway theater (the only ones you can find in the US with an added Christian perspective) at http://reflectionsinthelight.blogspot.com/.

She is editor of The Connecticut Arts Connection (http://ctarts.blogspot.com), an award-winning website featuring theater and arts news for the state. She was a contributing editor for BroadwayWorld.com. She previously served as theater reviewer for the Manchester Journal-Inquirer, Connecticut theater editor for CurtainUp.com and as Connecticut and New York reviewer for American Theater Web.

She is a Co-Founder of the Connecticut Chapter of the League of Professional Theatre Women. She is a former vice president and voting member of The Drama Desk.

She is a freelance writer and playwright (member Dramatists Guild of America). She is a member if the The Outer Critics Circle (producer of the annual awards ceremony) and a member of The League of Professional Theatre Women, serving as Co-Founder of the Connecticut Chapter. Yarger was a book reviewer for Publishers Weekly A former newspaper editor and graduate of the University of Missouri’s School of Journalism, Yarger also worked in arts management for the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts, the Hartford Symphony Orchestra and served for nine years as the Executive Director of Masterwork Productions, Inc. She lives with her husband in West Granby, CT. They have two adult children.

Copyright

All material is copyright 2008- 2022 by Lauren Yarger. Reviews and articles may not be reprinted without permission. Contact reflectionsinthelight@gmail.com

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Key to Content Notes:

God's name taken in vain -- means God or Jesus is used in dialogue without speaking directly to or about them.

Language -- means some curse words are used. "Minor" usually means the words are not too strong or that it only occurs once or twice throughout the show.

Strong Language -- means some of the more heavy duty curse words are used.

Nudity -- means a man or woman's backside, a man's lower front or a woman's front are revealed.

Scantily clad -- means actors' private areas are technically covered, but I can see a lot of them.

Sexual Language -- means the dialogue contains sexually explicit language but there's no action.

Sexual Activity -- means a man and woman are performing sexual acts.

Adultery -- Means a married man or woman is involved sexually with someone besides their spouse. If this is depicted with sexual acts on stage, the list would include "sexual activity" as well.

Sex Outside of Marriage -- means a man and woman are involved sexually without being married. If this is depicted sexually on stage, the list would include "sexual activity" as well.

Homosexuality -- means this is in the show, but not physically depicted.

Homosexual activity -- means two persons of the same sex are embracing/kissing. If they do more than that, the list would include "sexual activity" as well.

Cross Dresser -- Means someone is dressing as the opposite sex. If they do more than that on stage the listing would include the corresponding "sexual activity" and/or "homosexual activity" as well.

Cross Gender -- A man is playing a female part or a woman is playing a man's part.

Suggestive Dancing -- means dancing contains sexually suggestive moves.

Derogatory (category added Fall 2012) Language or circumstances where women or people of a certain race are referred to or treated in a negative and demeaning manner.

Other content matters such as torture, suicide, or rape will be noted, with details revealed only as necessary in the review itself.

The term "throughout" added to any of the above means it happens many times throughout the show.

Reviewing Policy

I receive free seats to Broadway and Off-Broadway shows made available to all voting members of the Outer Critics Circle. Journalistically, I provide an unbiased review and am under no obligation to make positive statements. Sometimes shows do not make tickets available to reviewers. If these are shows my readers want to know about I will purchase a ticket. If a personal friend is involved in a production, I'll let you know, but it won't influence a review. If I feel there is a conflict, I won't review their portion of the production.

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