Will Audra McDonald win her record-breaking sixth Tony? Will Bryan Cranston’s Broadway debut performance, as LBJ, break good for him? Will more people watch Neil Patrick Harris perform as the transgendered Hedwig than watched him last year as the tuxedoed host?
Did the Tony voters pick the right winners?
These are some of the questions that theater fans might be asking as they await the 68th annual Tony Awards show, with Hugh Jackman as host, which will be presented at Radio City Music Hall today, Sunday, June 8th, and broadcast on CBS, from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. Eastern Time.
Last year’s broadcast drew 7.2 million viewers – which was 20 percent more than the previous year, but 1.6 million fewer people than follow Harris on Twitter – and five million fewer than attend a Broadway show in any given year.
Perhaps to prop up the ratings – or maybe due to actual excitement – there’s been an avalanche of pre-Tony promotion and publicity…more than I remember from past years. Let’s hope it doesn’t backfire. (Will Tony overkill kill the ratings?)
The 110 Tony Award nominees in 26 categories were chosen from 44 eligible shows in the 2013-14 Broadway season. Not all are household names. To beef up the allure, there will be performances by both the cast of Wicked, celebrating its 10th anniversary, and Sting’s The Last Ship, which is scheduled for Broadway next season. Patti LaBelle who joins the cast of After Midnight on Tuesday, and Fantasia, who is leaving the cast, are both scheduled to perform. The presenters will include Clint Eastwood, whose clearest connection to Broadway is that he is the director of the film adaptation of “Jersey Boys.”
Want to see the Tonys outdoors in a crowd? Come to the 6th annual Times Square “simulcast,” with hosts Justin Guarini and Kerry Butler.
The Week in New York Theater
June 1, 2014
Drama Desk Award Winners: All The Way, Gentleman’s Guide, Hedwig.
Jesus Christ Superstar cast aghast after producer Michael Cohl (Spider-Man) pulls plug due to ticket sales
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New digital music store BwayTunes.com wants to be the Colony Records of the Internet (but survive!)
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After Midnight sweeps Astaire Awards
The Elephant Man, w/ Bradley Cooper, Patricia Clarkson begins Oct. 18 at the Booth, opens Nov 13 pic.twitter.com/1rzlJ6SOGy
— Jonathan Mandell (@NewYorkTheater) June 3, 2014
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Broadway revival of Terrence McNally’s It’s Only A Play with Matthew Broderick,Stockard Channing,Nathan Lane,Megan Mullally et al opens October 9
Sophie Okonedo’s favorite line from Raisin in the Sun: “There is always something left to love.” pic.twitter.com/1ghgY4wNep
— Jonathan Mandell (@NewYorkTheater) June 4, 2014
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Act One, the play based on Moss Hart’s celebrated memoir, will end June 15, but be broadcast on PBS’s show Live from Lincoln Center (date unknown)
Starting June 21, cast members of The Fantasticks will officiate at actual weddings ON THE STAGE of Snapple Theater Center
Interview with Muslim playwrght Ayad Akhtar in on his relationship to Jewish artists, etc.
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Bartlett Sher (South Pacific) will direct the Broadway revival of The King and I, a production of Lincoln Center that is aiming for Spring 2015.
A look at the O’Neill Center on its 50th anniversary: series of articles in Howlround
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The Broadway season seen through its cross-dressing
Jonathan Mandell @NewYorkTheater · Jun 6
I hated the musical, but I just listened to cast recording — & I hate that too. Has an OCR ever changed your mind about a show?
.@NewYorkTheater No OCR has ever changed my mind about a show one way or another. You? #originalcastrecordings
— LJP (@lisajanepersky) June 6, 2014
@NewYorkTheater So many times… Jekyll & Hyde, anyone?
— The Seeing Place (@TheSeeingPlace) June 6, 2014
@NewYorkTheater I own all three J&H albums, and when I saw it on Bway it was even better.
— Jonathan Gaby (@jdgaby) June 6, 2014
@NewYorkTheater No, but it’s gone the other way. Loved the WICKED OCR, and was disappointed by the show. OCR seemed much darker & personal.
— BroadwayWorld Matt (@BWWMatt) June 6, 2014
@NewYorkTheater didnt love Rent when it first came out but it grew on me from the OCR.
— NYWicks (@NYWicks) June 6, 2014
@NewYorkTheater possibly ‘The Secret Garden’ or ‘Jekyll and Hyde’, both have fantastic cast albums that seemingly worked better on record
— Stage Door Records (@stagedoorlondon) June 6, 2014
The Commemorative Tony Awards Animated Gifs (1 of 4) by Nelson Diaz. Collect all four… http://t.co/XhPp6E6vAQ
— The Tony Awards (@TheTonyAwards) June 6, 2014
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<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet” lang=”en”><p>Cast of <a href=”https://twitter.com/AfterMidnightNY”>@AfterMidnightNY</a> including <a href=”https://twitter.com/DuleHill”>@DuleHill</a> celebrate renaming of Broadway & 47th St. Duke Ellington Way <a href=”http://t.co/Ate3GMrB8f”>pic.twitter.com/Ate3GMrB8f</a></p>— Jonathan Mandell (@NewYorkTheater) <a href=”https://twitter.com/NewYorkTheater/statuses/475607665612029952″>June 8, 2014</a></blockquote>
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