Week in Review 5.30.14

Theatre Award Season
Tony Awards—The first round of presenters/performers for the Tony Awards, taking place on Sunday, June8, and hosted by Hugh Jackman, has been announced. Viewers can expect to see Bradley Cooper (American Hustle), who is looking to return to Broadway in a revival of The Elephant Man, and Patricia Clarkson, who is set to join Cooper in the revival; Carole King, who will likely perform with Jessie Mueller and the cast of Beautiful; Maggie Gyllenhaal (Crazy Heart), who will make her Broadway debut next season in The Real Thing; all the Zacharys who made their Broadway debuts this season: Zachary Quinto (The Glass Menagerie), Zachary Levi (First Date) and Zach Braff (Bullets Over Broadway); Clint Eastwood (J. Edgar), who might or might not bring along a chair; and many more. Read this press release for the full list of stars and read this press release for details about performer. Note that the releases state that TonyAwards.com will feature red carpet coverage beginning at 6pm.

(Tony Bonus: The New York Times presents a special Tony "In Performance" section, featuring nominees Jessie Mueller (Beautiful), Tony Shalhoub (Act One), Sutton Foster (Violet), James Monroe Iglehart (Aladdin) and Kelli O'Hara (The Bridges of Madison County) performing for a small, intimate audience.)

(2nd Tony Bonus: Broadway.com presents photos of 16 Broadway power couples with Tony connections.)

(3rd Tony Bonus: Watch the Hollywood Reporter's roundtable discussion with Broadway's leading ladies: Tyne Daly, Sutton Foster, LaTanya Richardson Jackson, Idina Menzel, Jessie Mueller and Kelli O'Hara.)

(4th Tony Bonus: In honor of the second annual Tie the Knot Tony Bow Tie, stage veteran and Modern Family star Jesse Tyler Ferguson sat down with several of this year's Tony nominees. Watch below!)

Off-Broadway Alliance Awards—Winners were announced for the fourth annual Off-Broadway Alliance Awards. Fun Home won for Best New Musical while Hand to God nabbed the Best New Play prize. Broadway.com has the full list of winners.

Television Critics Association Award Nominations
Nominees were announced for the TCA Awards as we head into the "For Your Consideration" Emmy stretch. (Emmy nominations will be announced this summer.) Winners for the 30th annual TCA Awards will be announced on July 19. Nominees include:
  • Louis C.K. (Louie), Mindy Kaling (The Mindy Project), Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Veep) and Amy Poehler (Parks and Recreation), Individual Achievement in Comedy
  • Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad) and Julianna Margulies (The Good Wife), Individual Achievement in Drama
  • Cosmos and The Daily Show, Outstanding Achievement in News and Information
  • Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Outstanding New Program
  • Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, House of Cards and The Good Wife, Outstanding Achievement in Drama
  • Brooklyn Nine-Nine, The Mindy Project and Veep, Outstanding Achievement in Comedy
  • Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones and The Good Wife, Program of the Year
The Hollywood Reporter has the full list of nominees. In addition, nominees for the Critics' Choice Television Awards (presented by the Broadcast Television Journalists Association), were announced, and they skewed heavily toward cable fare. Of particular note among the nominees is Chris Messina (The Mindy Project) as Best Actor in a Comedy Series; theatre veteran Uzo Aduba (Godspell) as Best Guest Performer in a Comedy Series (Orange is the New Black); Cosmos as Best Reality Series (one of the few "reality" programs that actually depicts reality); and several nominations for The Normal Heart, the adaptation of Larry Kramer's play that just debuted on HBO. Broadwayworld.com has the full list of nominees.

Forbes's 100 Most Powerful Women List
The finance magazine has released its annual list of the 100 most powerful women. German chancellor Angela Merkel tops the list, and is joined by 99 other powerful women, including First Lady Michelle Obama; former Secretary of State, former senator, former First Lady and grandmother-to-be Hillary Clinton; Oprah (duh!); superstar Beyonce; House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi; entertainment mover and shaker Amy Pascal; actress Sofia Vergara; everyone's favorite host Ellen DeGeneres; and actress and activist Angelina Jolie. Visit the Forbes website for the full list of honored women.

Holler for the Hip Hop Museum
When previews for Holler if Ya Hear Me begin on June 2 (and then for the duration of the run), visitors to the Palace Theatre will not only get to see the non-autobiographical show using Tupac Shakur's music, but they'll also be able to take in a National Museum of Hip-Hop exhibition. According to the press release, the exhibit will allow patrons to learn about the history of hip-hop through one-of-a-kind artifacts and memorabilia, interact with "Dream Walls" by inscribing them with their dreams; and view a dynamic mural featuring the four elements of hip-hop, DJing, emceeing, B-boying and graffiti. The Palace Theatre will open one hour prior to curtain (rather than the typical half-hour opening) so ticketholders can explore the exhibition (at no additional cost). Tickets are now available for Holler, so visit hollerifyahearme.com to learn more and to purchase tickets.

Casting Updates
  • The talented Will Swenson will take a leave from his current post, playing Javert in Les Miserables, to be part of the Atlanta premiere of the Bull Durham musical, which is based on the memorable baseball movie. The Alliance Theatre production will run September 3–October 5, and Swenson will be out of Les Miserables July 22–October 5. Broadway.com has details.

  • 2012 Tony Award winner Steve Kazee (Once) will join the cast of Showtime's Shameless, itself an American adaptation of the British series that originally starred James McAvoy and his wife, Ann-Marie Duff (Macbeth). Deadline reports that Kazee will have a significant recurring role as a musician.

  • While Terrence Mann takes a leave of absence from his Tony-nominated turn in Pippin, the original Pippin, John Rubinstein, will cover the role of Charles. Theater Mania has details.
Tickets for Hugh Jackman and Jez Buttworth's Broadway Return
You might recall that a few weeks ago we learned that Hugh Jackman (Les Miserables) will return to Broadway in a new play, The River, by Jez Butterworth (Jerusalem). This week, ticket policies for the limited engagement were announced. Tickets are on pre-sale to American Express card members, and will go on sale to the public on June 16. In addition, $35 rush tickets will be available, as will SRO "seats" (at $30/ticket), when applicable. Ian Rickson will direct the play, which is set to begin previews at the Circle in the Square Theatre on October 31. Opening night is scheduled for November 16, and the 13-week run will conclude on January 25, 2015. Playbill has more.

Coming Up Off-Broadway
Cast Recordings News
  • Hooray—it's your chance to hear the If/Then original Broadway cast recording before its release on June 3. Head to USA Today to listen. (For more If/Then fun, watch the third episode of Hey Kid, James Snyder's behind the scenes vlog.)

  • There will be a live recording of Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill, featuring Audra McDonald singing and channeling Billie Holiday. Broadway.com has details.

  • Neil Patrick Harris, Lena Hall and the rest of the Hedwig and the Angry Inch company will record a cast album. This will be the third Hedwig recording, following the off-Broadway and film recordings, but composer Stephen Trask thinks this is the best one yet. He says, "The talents of Neil and Lena and this amazing fucking band have made this the best version of the score ever." Playbill has more.

  • The Bridges of Madison County may be off the boards, but the music lives on in the OBCR, which recently returned to the Billboard Top 200 chart and leads the Cast Album chart! Visit sh-k-boom.com to order your copy!
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