Outer Critics & Drama Desk Nominations

by Nathaniel R

Eva Noblezada and Reeve Carney star in the wildly acclaimed "Hadestown"

Two big theater awards to cover at the moment, the Outer Critics Circle and the Drama Desk Nominations. Like the Drama League, previously covered, they're Tony precursors of a sort, the difference being that the Tony Awards only cover Broadway and all of the theater precursors also cover Off-Broadway. Among the musicals Hadestown led the Outer Critics nominations with 12 while at the Drama Desk Oklahoma! led the pack with 12 nominations. The stage adaptation of Tootsie did very well with both groups in runner-up position in terms of most nominations.

Complete honors for each awards group are listed after the jump...

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Fosse/Verdon - EP 3: "Me and My Baby"

Previously: Episode 1 and Episode 2

by Eric Blume

Fosse/Verdon certainly isn’t flawless, but it’s very strong out of the gate in these first three episodes.  Hamilton director Thomas Kail guided the first two episodes with an assured hand, throwing us headfirst into the theater world with little set-up, allowing audiences to feel their way into the environment, and trusting that his two star performances will keep people hooked.  His instincts were right on, and despite some awkward editing and temporal shifts, the show is arresting, absorbing, and intelligent.

Episode Three is directed by Adam Bernstein, a very talented guy who won an Emmy for 30 Rock and was nominated for Fargo...

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1972: The founding fathers musical "1776"

We're looking back at the 1972 film year before the Smackdown.

by Anna

Peter H Hunt's 1776, based on the stage musical of the same name, chronicles the many woes that went into the Declaration of Independence’s creation. At the forefront of its writing are the “obnoxious and disliked” John Adams (William Daniels), the dry-witted Benjamin Franklin (Howard Da Silva), and the homesick Thomas Jefferson (Ken Howard). Amid the clash of words and egos of the other delegates of Congress, will they succeed?

Recruiting many of the names involved with the original Broadway production (Producer Jack L. Warner’s attempt to atone for casting Audrey Hepburn over Julie Andrews for My Fair Lady), 1776 had the misfortune of being released the same year as another period piece musical. 

Would 1776 have won more acclaim had it been released a different year?

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Drama League Nominations

by Nathaniel R

Tracy Letts & Annette Bening are both nominated for the Broadway revival of "All My Sons"

The Drama League has announced the nominees for their five categories. Yours truly had the privilege of serving on their nominating committee this season. The nominating committee changes each year and is composed of industry professionals, producers, artists, audiences and critics. You're sent to random shows to evaluate (you don't get to pick which) and productions and performances that reach a certain threshold of collective enthusiasm are then nominated (that's why the category sizes differ so much. The awards will be giving out on May 17th. 

The Lucille Lortel Award nominations (which are strictly for Off Broadway Shows) were also announced. Full list of nominees is after the jump...

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New Podcast: High Life, Sauvage, and Mary Kay Place in Diane

by Murtada Elfadl and Nathaniel R

 

Index (50 minutes)
00:01 Claire Denis' High Life starring Robert Pattinson, Juliette Binoche, and the Fuck Box
16:00 A gay hustler movie from France Sauvage/Wild
24:10 Mary Kay Place is Diane in Kent Jones' intimate narrative debut starring a slew of underutilized older actresses
34:50 What we've been seeing on Broadway as the Tony nominations approach
44:44 Coming Soon & miscellaneous silliness since Murtada wants to know if Cate Blanchett is in Avengers: Endgame)

You can listen to the podcast here at the bottom of the post or download from iTunes. Continue the conversations in the comments, won't you? 

Sauvage Diane