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Entries in Broadway and Stage (405)

Monday
May152023

Stage Door: Great actressing in "Summer 1976"

by Nathaniel R

It begins with a gesture. Twinned gestures, really, though they’re not identical. Laura Linney and Jessica Hecht enter from stage right and stage left, respectively and face the audience. Linney’s hand sweeps away from her body presentationally to the audience, It’s a fun and curious movement as if to say  ‘here you are and here we are’ at once. There’s a sharp edge to it, though. Is it mocking and, if so, who is the target? Hecht soon makes a similar gesture, though the body language is sloppier with a ‘whatever’ nonchalance.  And we’re off. 

The two actresses begin to recount the story of how two very dissimilar mothers, Diana (Linney) and Alice (Hecht) met and how they improbably became close friends…

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Saturday
May132023

Books @ the Movies: Chita Rivera on "West Side Story"

by Nathaniel R

Memoir alert! For those of you who love showbiz biographies, take note that "Chita: A Memoir" is now on sale. The legendary dancer and multiple Tony winner Chita Rivera, turned 90 earlier this year. She was spurred to write the memoir (with the help of Patrick Pacheco) during the pandemic when there was so much down time.

Rivera and Pacheco are smart and know to drop the goods immediately; The very first chapter is on how she landed the legend-making role of "Anita" in Broadway's original incarnation of West Side Story... aka the greatest musical ever written. "Anita" is one of those roles. If you deliver, your career will never be the same again (just ask Rita Moreno and Ariana DeBose) but it all started with Chita.

Having just started the book, we can't speak to how often the memoir will return to the iconic musical but we wanted to share a couple of tidbits...

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Saturday
May062023

Chastain or Comer -- Who will inch closer to the Triple Crown? 

by Matt St Clair

When looking at the recently announced Tony nominations, you might have noticed that the Best Actress in a Play lineup has only four nominees. That's because there were fewer than nine leading actresses from the 23 eligible plays during the 2022-23 Broadway season. Due to Tony rules and regulations, only four women were able to nab a spot. As a refresher, those four women are Jessica Chastain for A Doll’s House, Jodie Comer for Prima Facie, Jessica Hecht for Summer, 1976, and Audra McDonald for Ohio State Murders. Given that Hecht and McDonald are the only nominees for their respective plays, the potential winner is surely a contest between Jessica Chastain and Jodie Comer...

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Wednesday
May032023

Drama Desk Nominees + Dorian Awards expand to honor theater

by Nathaniel R

"Shucked" is a hit and leads the Drama Desk Nominations

Are there too many awards groups? We've often bemoaned the ever expanding roster. But, in a stunning feat of hypocrisy I'm personally excited to announce that I'm part of a new group. Or, rather, an already established group expanding to cover something else! So, two things to report. First the Drama Desk Awards (which honor Broadway and Off Broadway productions) and then a new theatrical wing of GALECA: The Society for LGTBQ Entertainment Critics. Several members of Team Experience are part of GALECA but the Dorian Theater Awards are a small subsection of that large group of national critics. In the inaugural year I am excited to be among its 31 charter members. We have covered Broadway (and random theatrical events) on and off over the years here at TFE but we've always wanted to make that a weekly happening so now hopefully we can make that happen.

But first the Drama Desk Nominations...

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Tuesday
May022023

Tony Award Nominations! "Some Like It Hot" leads

by Nathaniel R

Christian Borle and J Harrison Ghee are 2 of "Some Like It Hot"'s 13 nominations

 

Lea Michele, still treading the boards in Funny Girl, and Myles Frost who won Best Actor in a Musical last season for the Michael Jackson musical "MJ" announced the Tony Award nominations this morning honoring the current season on Broadway. The nomination leader, far out front, was the musical adaptation of movie classic Some Like It Hot (review coming soon!) with 13 nominations. Jessica Chastain scored her first Tony nominations (with her second Broadway show) though other screen stars weren't as lucky this year. Though the Tony Awards are gendered for acting, two non-binary performers became the first to score nods for acting with their work in popular musicals: Alex Newell (Shucked) and J Harrison Ghee (Some Like It Hot). 

Nominations are after the jump...

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