Editor’s note: Each April, Hap Erstein heads to New York to check out the current Broadway season in advance of the Tony Awards, which are broadcast June 9. Here’s his overview of the musicals: NEW YORK — Gauged by quantity, it was an above-average season on Broadway for new musicals. As far as quality, though, there was only one standout show (Hadestown), several … [Read more...]
Tony nominations led by ‘Hadestown’; some snubs surprising
It was a busy year on Broadway this season, which means that many Tony Award categories were expanded, but also that several prominent shows and performances were snubbed when the nominations were announced this morning. Hadestown, a jazzy contemporary retelling of the Orpheus and Eurydice legend, led the field with 14 nominations – nearly every category for which it was … [Read more...]
Tony predictions: ‘Harry Potter,’ ‘Band’s Visit’ to take top honors
Your fearless prognosticator goes out on a limb once again, predicting this season’s Tony Award winners for Broadway excellence. The winners will be announced this Sunday at Radio City Music Hall (broadcast on CBS-TV, beginning at 8 p.m.) A lot of the imminent recipients are obvious, thanks to a fairly anemic season with a lot of categories filled with blatant … [Read more...]
So-so Broadway season still yields some Tony suprises
By all accounts, this was not a season of quality on Broadway, but you would never know that from the Tony Award nominations announced this morning. The nominating committee must have wracked its brains, but it came up with five nominees to fill the Best Play category, even though four of them have long since closed. And the committee was either instructed to nominate … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: June 9-11
Music: The Mainly Mozart Festival in Coral Gables, which last month introduced audiences to violinist Liana Gourdjia, on Sunday welcomes the Ukrainian-born Canadian pianist Serhiy Salov in a program of two Mozart sonatas and the Fantasy in D minor, along with Debussy’s Des pas sur la neige and Salov’s own arrangement of Nocturnes. If that wasn’t enough, Salov also will perform … [Read more...]
Tony predictions: ‘Evan Hansen,’ ‘Dolly!’ likely to win big
Without a blockbuster hit like Hamilton to sweep the Tony Awards (broadcast this Sunday evening on CBS-TV, beginning at 8 p.m.), predicting this season’s winners is substantially more difficult. It was a year of many new musicals, but look for the awards to be split largely between Dear Evan Hansen and the hot-ticket revival of Hello, Dolly! In plays, the season was stronger … [Read more...]
Tony nominations: Many productions, many snubs
In recent seasons on Broadway, all a show had to do to be showered with Tony nominations was open near the award deadline and not close quickly. But this year, with so many new productions, a higher-than-usual snub count was almost inevitable. For instance, A Bronx Tale, Amelie, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and revivals of Cats and Sunset Boulevard came up empty-handed … [Read more...]
In Tony nominations, it’s all ‘Hamilton,’ all the time
Lin-Manuel Miranda and the cast of Hamilton. (Photo by Joan Marcus) With this week’s Tony Award nominations, the Hamilton juggernaut continues. The Lin-Manuel Miranda musical about the first Secretary of the Treasury has been a scorching hot ticket since it arrived on Broadway last summer. Now, with this year’s Pulitzer Prize for Drama in its pocket and only half-kidding … [Read more...]