The calendar for the 74th annual Tony Awards,:

Thursday, April 23rd: Official cut-off for 2019-2020 Tony Eligibility

Tuesday, April 28th: Nominations announced

April 30th: Meet the nominees press reception

May 19th: Nominees luncheon

June 1: Tony Honors reception

June 7: The 74th Annual Tony Awards

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“As a director I’ve watched thousands of actors audition,” Jeff Zinn writes in Arts Fuse. “You can tell whether or not someone is of interest within the first 60 seconds.” His assessment of five of the major Democratic presidential candidates in the captions (and the current president in the article. Oddly, Zinn omits Biden.)

“Buttigieg is a natural performer in front of the lens. I’m in awe of his ability to respond to seemingly any question with a well thought out, perfectly formulated answer which, though you know he’s said it a hundred times, somehow still has the quality of spontaneity. You can tell he’s thought hard about the issues and has developed a coherent world view, so the words flow easily for him. That ease appeals to voters and is part of the reason he’s been building from the start and is now a legit front runner. His weakness is what you might call his unbearable lightness of being. I’ve noticed that, when it comes to actors taking on roles that are different from themselves, it’s much harder to add weight than to lighten it. So, his small stature and boyish appearance work against him. He does best in intimate settings – on the set of an interview show or in a town hall – but on the debate stage you can sense him trying to “bulk up” and put on a serious face. It doesn’t work. He should just relax and be himself.”

Bernie Sanders “is brilliant. His overriding quality, always, is his passion. He burns with intentionality. When he speaks, the stakes are existential. His shape – the easily caricatured rumple – makes the point that his exterior is irrelevant to the message, which makes the message all the more effective.”

Amy Klobuchar “has a sunny demeanor and her midwestern charm goes a long way toward helping her performance, but I find her tense and tight. I believe it was in the first debate that an unfortunate confluence of nerves and hairspray added up to a twitching of bangs that was disastrously distracting”.

Elizabeth Warren “speaks with passion and her message is strong. But this isn’t about message, it’s about affect. She tends to pivot away from tough questions into well-worn stories and talking points which come off as, well, canned.”

“Mike Bloomberg never seems to be trying very hard to project anything in particular. This is what [acting teacher Patsy] Rodenburg calls “first circle” where, “…the energy you generate falls back into you… You can come across to others as self-centered, uncaring and withdrawn…” I suppose that’s what happens when you’re REALLY rich and don’t much care what others think of you. But we are drawn to charismatic leaders who inspire. Will voters look past that lack of charisma?”

Presidents on stage over the past century.

Benjamin Chapin in “Lincoln,” 1906.

Christopher Jackson as George Washington in Hamilton, 2015

The drunken Virtual Real Estate Tycoon turned Dictator (T. Scott Lilly) is trapped in his own wall, in Theater for the New City’s musical “No Brainer,” which traveled to outdoor stages in all five boroughs in the summer of 2019

The current president of the United States has been depicted largely satirically on out-of-the-way New York stages, but nearly every past president has made it to Broadway over the last century, as this photo essay makes clear.

Broadway Theater Quiz

Ageism on stage – an international issue
The international theater journal Critical Stages offers a special issue on ageism and theater, with nine articles in seven different parts of the world, including the U.S.

David Byrne’s American Utopia, which closed on Sunday, will return to Broadway’s Hudson Theater September 18, 2020 through January 17, 2021, with an opening date to be announced. Spike Lee has directed a filmed version of the show, planned for a released sometime in Fall 2020, “in collaboration with the Broadway hit,” whatever that means.

The complete cast for Mrs. Doubtfire, which opens April 5 at the Stephen Sondheim, includes Cameron Adams (My Fair Lady), Akilah Ayanna (Broadway debut), Calvin L. Cooper (Broadway debut), Kaleigh Cronin (Summer: The Donna Summer Musical), Casey Garvin (King Kong), Maria Dalanno (Broadway debut), David Hibbard (Something Rotten!, Cats), KJ Hippensteel (The Book of Mormon), Aaron Kaburick (Hello, Dolly!), Erica Mansfield (Kiss Me, Kate), Brian Martin (Broadway debut), Alexandra Matteo (A Bronx Tale), Sam Middleton (Broadway debut), Doreen Montalvo (On Your Feet), LaQuet Sharnell Pringle (Lysistrata Jones), Jaquez André Sims (King Kong), Lily Tamburo (Broadway debut), Travis Waldschmidt (Kiss Me, Kate) and Aléna Watters (The Cher Show).

They join the previously announced Rob McClure as Daniel Hillard/Euphegenia Doubtfire, Jenn Gambatese as Miranda Hillard, Peter Bartlett as Mr. Jolly, Charity Angél Dawson as Wanda Sellner, Mark Evans as Stuart Dunmire, J. Harrison Ghee as Andre Mayem, Analise Scarpaci as Lydia Hillard, Jake Ryan Flynn as Christopher Hillard, Avery Sell as Natalie Hillard and Brad Oscar as Frank Hillard.

Cassie Levy and Patti Murin end their run in Frozen

Broadway theater goers hit with pepper spray-type irritant at ‘Jagged Little Pill’ matinee

60 Minutes: West Side Story behinds the scenes

How Instagram is shaping the theater industry

Do You Hear the People Sing?
, the defiant chorus from the musical Les Misérables, has become a song of protest in Hong Kong and, more recently, mainland China…The authorities have responded to the song’s incendiary impulse by removing it as an individual number and scrubbing it from the soundtrack albums

Rest in Peace

Lynn Cohen 86, well-known actress on screens large (Golda Meir in Munich) and small (Magda in Sex and the City) but a long-time fixture in New York theater, as both performer and theatergoer.
I talked to her frequently about shows we happened to see together.
This one stings.

A lovely appreciation of Lynn Cohen by Catherine Cusick, which ends:

“A proper tribute to Lynn wouldn’t be complete without a nod to her impeccable timing. Of course she died on Valentine’s Day. Of course she died on an unforgettable day to lose someone you love. “