04/30/2024
Back from a whirlwind trip to NYC! Saw 9 shows in 6 days!
The Tony nominations are out! Thrilled about 4 noms for PAULA VOGEL'S "Mother Play"! Jessica Lange Broke my Heart! What a Performance! She has my vote. Jim Parsons Brilliant as was Celia Keenan-Bolger! Play is nominated for Best Play. (Agree with Joan Lipkin that omitting DIRECTOR Tina Landau was inexcusable)
"Hell's Kitchen" was quite the ride! Congrats to Shoshana Bean (powerhouse) This girl is a bona fide STAR! Watch her ascendance! Kudos to KECIA LEWIS as well. What gravitas that woman displayed. Goose bumps thinking about her performance. (Both nominated for Supporting Actress in a Musical) "Hell's Kitchen" many, many nom's! Choreography was off the charts fabulous!
I would be remiss not to mention "Cabaret" (Many nom's) They tore apart The August Wilson Theatre to design a space in the round, that made you feel as if you were in the midst of it all.. Kudos to Scenic and Lighting Designers. WOW . Intense Production. (Orchestrations sublime) Performers EDDIE REDMAYNE, GAYLE RANKIN, BEBE NEUWIRTH, STEVEN SKYBELL all received nom's (All DESERVING)
Then there is "APPROPRIATE" Highly recommended! (Best Play REVIVAL) Sarah Paulson in contention with Jessica Lange. This one is hard. I'd say it's a tie. Set Design contains some big surprises ! Sound and Lighting Terrific. GO SEE THIS!
"Enemy of the People" Brava AMY HERZOG , for her brilliant adaptation of Henrik Ibsen's work. The play's message of the importance of valuing the truth, of the sanctity of human life, of the myriad ways in which we are complicit and must hold ourselves accountable- speaks more urgently then perhaps ever.
Jeremy Strong (Best Actor nom) , Michael Imperioli, Kudos!
Lastly "Merrily We Roll Along." Well ya know, Sondheim... This is directed by Maria Friedman who retooled this show with Sondheim's blessing... It Stared Out Like A Song...
What a masterpiece it is! Best Director ...Maria Friedman.. No Question! Brava DANIEL RADCLIFFE, JONATHAN GROFF, LINDSAY MENDEZ (all Nominated) and company (The Blob)
Then there was "Sally & Tom" by Suzan-Lori Parks at The Public (Off Broadway not eligible for nom's) BUT HIGHLY RECOMMENDED folks at The Public. The relationship between the author of the Declaration of Independence, the document that declared to the world that all men are created equal, and the enslaved Sally Hemings is inescapably dangerous... Check it Out!
The other Two shows I saw were "Mary Jane" by Amy Herzog and "The Neil Diamond Musical Beautiful Noise" (only, and I mean ONLY, because there was a Thursday Matinee) See my comments below in response to What were the other Two Shows you saw ?
