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From its 1975 debut on Broadway as “the super soul musical,” winning seven Tony Awards and spotlighting stars like Stephanie Mills, Hinton Battle, Dee Dee Bridgewater and Andre De Shields; to its Oscar-nominated screen adaptation starring Diana Ross and Michael Jackson among others; to its sing-along songs like “Ease on Down the Road,” “Home” and “Believe,” The Wiz has become a modern-day musical theater classic — and in its retelling of The Wizard of Oz through the lens of Black culture and music, a landmark in Broadway history.
Yet the show has only had one official Broadway revival, in 1984, which ran for a grand total of 20 performances — until now. A major new production of The Wiz is playing at the Marquis Theatre, and four of the stars of its cast and creative team — actors Wayne Brady and Deborah Cox; choreographer JaQuel Knight; and writer Amber Ruffin, who created additional material working with the show’s original book — stopped by Billboard News recently to talk about why the show is still a groundbreaker and a hugely entertaining crowd-pleaser.
For all four, The Wiz was a formative show, influencing their career paths in entertainment and showing what was possible for Black artists. “It was one of the drivers that made me go, ‘Oh, I think I can do this,’” says Brady.
“The film was just life-changing — it allowed me to see life as a choreographer and understand the essence and energy of movement,” adds Knight, known for his work with major pop artists including Beyoncé, Megan Thee Stallion, Zara Larsson, J Balvin and more.
For Ruffin, The Wiz was “a real introduction to Black weirdness not connected to Black pain…The Wiz is the thing that gives you permission to be your artsiest, weirdest self and just do what’s in your weird little heart.”
Brady, who’s starred in previous Broadway productions including Kinky Boots and Chicago, plays the showman titular character, while R&B veteran Cox displays vocal pyrotechnics as Glinda. Both discuss The Wiz‘s enduring significance as a universally welcoming show — and proof that Broadway can continue to diversify and evolve.
“This show is a testament to what you can do when you display Black people and Black culture not as a monolith,” says Cox. “We are all of it, and we are the origin of it, and I think this show is the beginning of what you’ll be seeing a lot more of on Broadway.” Adds Brady: “It’s a true display of Black excellence in every form. It’s so rich.”
To hear what else Brady, Cox, Knight and Ruffin had to say, watch the video above.
Sixty-eight years ago this week, the original cast album to the Broadway smash My Fair Lady, starring Julie Andrews and Rex Harrison, vaulted from No. 30 to No. 8 in its second week on the Billboard 200. The album logged 173 weeks in the top 10, which set a record which still stands for the longest run in the top 10 since the Billboard 200 began publishing on a regular, weekly basis in March 1956.
The astoundingly good score, composed by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe, includes such standards as “I Could Have Danced All Night,” “On the Street Where You Live,” “I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face,” “The Rain in Spain” and “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly.”
Brooks Atkinson, The New York Times’ influential theater critic at the time, touted My Fair Lady as “one of the best musicals of the century” – a line that, naturally, was plastered atop the show’s theatrical poster. In most cases, extravagant praise like that would reek of hyperbole. In this case, saying “one of” showed considerable restraint. Name one musical more chock-full of famous and beloved songs.
Incredibly, Andrews played a leading role on three of the eight albums with the most weeks in the top 10. The 1965 soundtrack to The Sound of Music is in fourth place on the all-time list with 109 weeks. The 1961 Broadway cast album to Camelot is tied for seventh place with 87 weeks.
Here’s the top 10 as it currently stands. Morgan Wallen’s Dangerous: The Double Album, which returns to the top 10 on the Billboard 200 this week, is currently in second place.
Weeks in Top 10, Artist, Title, Year First Reached Top 10173, Original Cast, My Fair Lady, 1956142, Morgan Wallen, Dangerous: The Double Album, 2021109, Soundtrack, The Sound of Music, 1965106, Soundtrack, West Side Story, 1962105, Original Cast, The Sound of Music, 196090, Soundtrack, South Pacific, 195887, Original Cast, Camelot, 196187, Soundtrack, Oklahoma!, 195685, Peter, Paul and Mary, Peter Paul and Mary, 196284, Adele, 21, 201184, Bruce Springsteen, Born in the U.S.A., 1984
Andrews has had a very unique history on the Billboard charts. She starred in two Broadway musicals with cast albums that topped the Billboard 200, as well as two films with soundtracks that topped that chart, but her only album under her own name to make the chart is Julie and Carol at Carnegie Hall, the soundtrack to a 1962 TV special in which she starred with another future legend, Carol Burnett. It peaked at No. 85.
Andrews has also had only one entry on the Billboard Hot 100, “Super-cali-fragil-istic-expi-ali-docious,” a novelty song from Mary Poppins on which she teamed with Dick Van Dyke and The Pearlies. The tongue-twister single reached No. 66 in 1965.
Andrews had a glorious singing voice, but for some reason it didn’t translate to the pop music world. Still, her work in soundtracks and cast albums can’t be denied.
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In 2011, Andrews received a lifetime achievement award from the Recording Academy. She was part of a wildly diverse class that also included country queen Dolly Parton, punk band The Ramones, pop-folk trio The Kingston Trio, gospel singer George Beverly Shea, classical ensemble Juilliard String Quartet and jazz drummer Roy Haynes.
Andrews attended the Special Merit Awards ceremony in Los Angeles to receive her lifetime achievement award on Feb. 12, 2011. Making it even sweeter, the following night, she won a competitive Grammy – her second – best spoken word album for children for Julie Andrews’ Collection of Poems, Songs and Lullabies. She won the award alongside her daughter, Emma Walton Hamilton.
Andrews’ generations-spanning appeal was seen in 2015, when Lady Gaga sang four songs from The Sound of Music score on the Oscars, to mark the film’s 50th anniversary. At the end of her performance, Andrews came out from the wings and embraced her. Gaga introduced with these warm words, “Ladies and gentlemen, the incomparable Julie Andrews.”
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It was also seen when the American Film Institute unveiled its roster of 25 Greatest Movie Musicals in 2006. Andrews starred in two of the top 10 musicals – The Sound of Music at No. 4 and Mary Poppins at No. 6. Gene Kelly also starred in two of their top 10 musicals (Singin’ in the Rain and An American in Paris). Judy Garland topped them both, starring in three of the top 10 (The Wizard of Oz, A Star Is Born and Meet Me in St. Louis.) That’s pretty good company.
Andrews is three-quarters of the way to EGOT status. She has won two Emmys, two Grammys (plus that lifetime achievement award) and an Oscar, but has yet to win a Tony, despite three nominations. (Considering that Andrews has appeared on Broadway in only four shows, to have been Tony-nominated three times is a quite a feat.) She appeared to finally be headed for a Tony win in 1996 for her lead role in the Broadway adaptation of Victor/Victoria, but when she was the only person from the show to receive a nomination, she famously declined the nod, telling a matinee audience two days after the nominations were announced: “I have searched my conscience and my heart and find that I cannot accept this nomination, and prefer instead to stand with the egregiously overlooked.”
That rather arch phrasing was mocked, but Andrews’ principled stand was admired. Andrews remained on the ballot, but having signaled disinterest in the award, it was no surprise when she lost to Donna Murphy for The King and I.
Despite that kerfuffle, Andrews remains strongly identified with Broadway. She won a Primetime Emmy in 2005 for hosting Broadway: The American Musical on PBS, which was voted outstanding non-fiction series. She has received two Grammy nominations for best traditional pop vocal performance, both for Broadway collections – Julie Andrews Broadway/Here I’ll Stay (1997) and Julie Andrews – Broadway – the Music of Richard Rodgers (1995).
Andrews has received 11 Primetime Emmy nods, spanning a remarkable 65 years. She received her first in 1958 for actress – best single performance – lead or support for Cinderella; her most recent just last year for outstanding character voice-over performance for Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story.
Andrews has received a slew of career achievement awards, including the Kennedy Center Honors (2001), a Life Achievement Award from the Screen Actors Guild Awards (2006) and the American Film Institute’s life achievement award (2022).
Here’s more background on the four No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 on which Andrews played a lead role. They are shown in chronological order:
‘My Fair Lady’ original cast album
Image Credit: Courtesy Everett Collection
This year’s Tony nominees include everyone from Hillary Rodham Clinton, nominated as one of the producers of Suffs, to Angelina Jolie, nominated as one of the producers of The Outsiders. Both shows are contenders for best musical. In case you missed the announcement on Tuesday (April 30), Hell’s Kitchen, a musical loosely based on the […]
A musical, Hell’s Kitchen, and a play, Stereophonic, lead the 2024 Tony nominations, which were announced on Tuesday (April 30) live from Sofitel New York by Tony winners Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Renée Elise Goldsberry. Both productions received 13 nods.
Those two shows were followed in the nominations count by The Outsiders (12), Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club (nine), Appropriate (eight), Merrily We Roll Along and Water for Elephants (seven each), and Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch and Suffs (six each).
The five nominees for best musical are Hell’s Kitchen, Illinoise, The Outsiders, Suffs and Water for Elephants.
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The 10 eligible musicals that were passed over for nods as best musical are: Back to the Future: The Musical, Days of Wine and Roses, The Great Gatsby, Harmony, The Heart of Rock and Roll, Here Lies Love, How to Dance in Ohio, Lempicka, The Notebook and Once Upon a One More Time.
The four nominees for best revival of a musical are Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club, which won best musical in 1967; The Who’s Tommy, which was nominated for best musical in 1993; Merrily We Roll Along, which received just one nod in 1982 – original musical score; and Gutenberg! The Musical!, which opened off Broadway in 2006 and on Broadway in 2023.
This is the third time Cabaret has been nominated for best revival of a musical, which puts it in a tie with six other shows for the most nods in this category. It joins Company, Fiddler on the Roof, Guys and Dolls, Gypsy, Peter Pan and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
The New Broadway Cast recording of Merrily We Roll Along — starring Daniel Radcliffe, Jonathan Groff and Lindsay Mendez — entered Billboard’s Cast Albums chart at No. 1 in November 2023 and returned to the top spot in January 2024. All three actors are nominated for Tonys for their performances.
The two eligible revivals that were passed over for nods for revival of a musical are The Wiz and Spamalot. The original productions of those musicals won best musical in 1975 and 2005, respectively.
Will Butler, formerly of Arcade Fire, was nominated in two categories – best original score and best orchestrations – for his work on Stereophonic. Jamestown Revival (Jonathan Clay and Zach Chance) and Justin Levine were nominated in those same two categories for their work on The Outsiders. Shaina Taub was also nominated in two categories – best original score and best book of a musical – for her work on Suffs.
The other nominees for best original score are David Byrne and Fatboy Slim (Here Lies Love) and Adam Guettel (Days of Wine and Roses). Byrne won an Oscar and a Grammy for his work on the score for the 1987 film The Last Emperor.
Former first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton is nominated for best musical as a producer of Suffs. She won a Grammy in 1997 for her audiobook It Takes a Village. Jon B. Platt is nominated in that same category as a producer of Illinoise. LaChanze is nominated for best musical as a producer of The Outsiders and for best play as a producer of Jaja’s African Hair Brading. Taraj P. Henson is also nominated for best play for the latter work.
Eddie Redmayne is nominated for best actor in a musical for his role as the emcee in the revival of Cabaret. He won in the same category at the Olivier Awards in 2022, when the production had its West End revival. Actors from the Cabaret revival were Tony-nominated in all four acting categories. Gayle Rankin is up for best actress. Steven Skybell and Bebe Neuwirth are nominated for their featured roles.
Leslie Odom Jr., who won a Tony in 2016 for best actor in a musical for Hamilton, is nominated for best actor in a play for Purlie Victorious. Kelli O’Hara, who won a Tony for best actress in a musical in 2015 for The King and I, is nominated in that category again for Days of Wine and Roses.
The 2024 American Theatre Wing’s Tony Awards are presented by The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing. The 2023-24 eligibility season began on April 28, 2023, and ended on Thursday, April 25, 2024. Tony Awards in 26 competitive categories will be voted on by 836 designated Tony voters within the theatre community.
The 77th Annual Tony Awards, which will be hosted by Ariana DeBose for the third consecutive year, will air live on both coasts from the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City on Sunday, June 16 (8-11 p.m. ET/5-8 p.m. PT) on CBS and will stream on Paramount+ in the U.S.
The Tony Awards are produced in collaboration with Tony Award Productions, a joint venture of the Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing, and White Cherry Entertainment. Ricky Kirshner and Glenn Weiss are showrunners and executive producers for White Cherry Entertainment, and Weiss will serve as director. Jack Sussman is also an executive producer.
CBS and Pluto TV will present a pre-show, The Tony Awards: Act One, leading into the Tonys. Viewers can access the show on their smart TV, streaming device, mobile app or online by going to Pluto TV and clicking on the “ET” channel.
Here’s a full list of nominations for the 2024 Tony Awards.
Musicals
Best musical
Hell’s Kitchen;Producers: AK Worldwide Media, Inc., Roc Nation, DML Productions, Mandy Hackett, The Sunshine Group, Julie Yorn, The Jacobs Family, No Guarantees Productions, Front Row Productions, Sharpton Swindal Productions, Grove Entertainment, The Jaime Family, John Gore Organization, Terria Joseph, Andy Nahas, James L. Nederlander, Candy Spelling, Clara Wu Tsai, Universal Music Publishing, Independent Presenters Network, Della Pietra Spark Theatricals, Today Tix ARGU, Score 3 Partners, Aaron Lustbader, The Public Theater, Oskar Eustis, Patrick Willingham
Illinoise;Producers: Orin Wolf, Seaview, John Styles, David Binder, Emily Blavatnik, Susan Rose, ArKtype/Thomas O. Kriegsmann, David F. Schwartz, Patrick Catullo, Jon B. Platt, Diamond & Melvin, Nelson & Tao, Ruth Hendel, Elysabeth Kleinhans, Ted & Mary Jo Shen, Putnam & Thau, Chase & F.K.R., GJJJM Productions, Steve & Leticia Trauber, Tim Forbes, John Gore Organization, James L. Nederlander, Park Avenue Armory, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Nate Koch, TT Partners, Fisher Center at Bard
The Outsiders;Producers: The Araca Group, American Zoetrope, Olympus Theatricals, Sue Gilad & Larry Rogowsky, Angelina Jolie, Betsy Dollinger, Jonathan & Michelle Clay, Cristina Marie Vivenzio, The Shubert Organization, LaChanze & Marylee Fairbanks, Debra Martin Chase, Sony Music Masterworks, Jamestown Revival Theater, Jennifer & Jonathan Allan Soros, Tanninger Entertainment, Tamlyn Brooke Shusterman, Geffen Playhouse/Howard Tenenbaum/Linda B. Rubin, Kevin Ryan, Mistry Theatrical Ventures, Galt & Irvin Productions, Tulsa Clarks, Paul & Margaret Liljenquist, Bob & Claire Patterson, Voltron Global Media, James L. Nederlander, Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures, The John Gore Organization, Independent Presenters Network, Stephen Lindsay & Brett Sirota, Jeffrey Finn, Playhouse Square, Sue Marks, Indelible InK, Lionheart Productions, The Broadway Investor’s Club, Starhawk Productions, Distant Rumble, Green Leaf Partnership, Michael & Elizabeth Venuti, Leslie Kavanaugh, Deborah & Dave Smith, Belle Productions, Chas & Jen Grossman, Miranda & Sahra Esmonde-White, Rungnapa & Jim Teague, Michael & Molly Schroeder, Casey & Chelsea Baugh, James L. Flautt, Jon L. Morris, Becky Winkler, William Moran Hickey, Jr. & William Horan Hickey, III, Oddly Specific Productions, Melissa Chamberlain & Michael McCartney, Rachel Weinstein, Wavelength Productions, Rob O’Neill & Shane Snow, Eric Stine, Cornice Productions, La Jolla Playhouse
Suffs;Producers: Jill Furman, Rachel Sussman, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Malala Yousafzai, Roy Furman, Allison Rubler, Cue to Cue Productions, Sandy Robertson, Kevin Ryan & Diane Scott Carter, Renee Ring & Paul Zofnass, Walport Productions, Judith Teel Davis & Joe Carroll, Tom D’Angora & Michael D’Angora, Louise Gund, Erica Lynn Schwartz, Stone Arch Theatricals/Mayer Productions, Xan Weiser/Matters of the Art, Nothing Ventured Productions, Christin Brecher, Chutzpah Productions, Morgan Steward, 16 Sunset Productions, The Broadway Investor’s Club, Ari Conte, Rose Maxi, Jennifer Friedland, David Carroll, Julie E. Cohen, The Garelicks, Ruth Ann Harnisch, Meena Harris, John Gore Organization, Laura Lonergan, Sally Martin, Peter May, The Mehiels, Nederlander Presentations, Brian Spector, Candy Spelling, Ed Walson, Zuckerberg/Segal, Needle Productions/Oddly Specific Productions, Alissandra Aronow/Wandi Productions, Craig Balsam/Jennifer Kroman, Burkhardt Jones Productions/Adam Cohen, Vibecke Dahle Dellapolla/Samantha Squeri, Funroe Productions/Kim Khoury, Sheri Clark Henriksen/Robert Tichio, Michelle Noh/Todd B. Rubin, Nick Padgett/Vasi Laurence
Water for Elephants; Producers: Peter Schneider, Jennifer Costello, Grove Entertainment, Frank Marshall, Isaac Robert Hurwitz, Seth A. Goldstein, Jane Bergère, Elizabeth Armstrong, Jason M. Brady, Carl & Jennifer Pasbjerg, Erica Rotstein & Crista Marie Jackson, Jana Bezdek & Jen Hoguet, John H. Tyson, Rich Entertainment Group, Jeremiah J. Harris, John Gore Organization, Jeff & Shannon Fallick, Patti & Mike Sullivan, Rodney Rigby, Larry Lelli, Bonnie Feld, Yonge Street Theatricals, Larry J. Kroll, The Shubert Organization, Nederlander Presentations, Nancy Gibbs, Jack Lane, Amy & PJ Lampi, Gwen Arment & Vasi Laurence, Mark Parkman Fairview Productions, Nothing Ventured Productions, Pam Hurst-Della Pietra & Stephen Pietra, Steven Spielberg & Kate Capshaw, The Glasshouse USA, Willette & Manny Klausner, John Paterakis, Hope Tschopik Schneider, Patty Baker, The Burcaws & Q’d Up Productions, Crescent Road, Cynthia Stroum, Sally Jacobs & Warren Baker, Tawnia Knox & Stuart Snyder, Madison Wells Live & Takonkiet Viravan, Terry H. Morgenthaler, Pamela Moschetti, Gabrielle Palitz & Fahs Productions, The Roehl Family & Chema Verduzco, Shapiro Jensen Schroeder, Tre Amici Productions, We Eat Dreams Productions, Rachel Weinstein, Maik Klokow, Margot Astrachan, Mehr-BB Entertainment
Best revival of a musical
Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club; Producers: ATG Productions, Underbelly, Gavin Kalin Productions, Hunter Arnold, Smith & Brant Theatricals, Wessex Grove, Julie Boardman, Tom Smedes, Peter Stern, Heather Shields, Caiola Productions, Kate Cannova, Adam Blanshay Productions & Nicolas Talar, Aleri Entertainment, Alex Levy Productions, Bunny Rabbit Productions, D’Angora Padgett Productions, Cyrene Esposito, David Treatman, Eddie Redmayne, The Array IV, Bad Robot Live, BlueJay Productions, Grace Street Creative Group, Iocane Productions, Jim Kierstead, Marco Santarelli, Tokyo Broadcasting System Television, George Waud, Yonge Street Theatricals, Federman Koenigsberg Productions/Sara Beth Zivitz, Tina Marie Casamento/Jennifer Johns, M. Kilburg Reedy/Tilman Kemmler, Greenspan Proffer/Kat Kit 4, Patty Baker/Matthew Christopher Pietras, Broadway Strategic Return Fund/Red Mountain Theatre Company, Evan Coles/The Cohn Sisters, Nolan Doran/Fakston Productions, Epic Theatricals/Jeffrey Grove, Jessica Goldman Foung/Andrew Paradis, William Frisbie Tilted Marguerite Steed Hoffman/Willette & Manny Klausner, Vasi Laurence/Stephen C Byrd, Brian & Dayna Lee/City Cowboy Productions, Maybe This Time/3D Productions, Nothing Ventured Productions/Theatre Producers of Color, Perfectly Marvelous/Catherine Schreiber & Co, Second Act/Freedom Theatricals, SSP Holdings/Todd & Bronwyn Bradley, Two Ladies/Nicole Eisenberg, Ilana Waldenberg/W Stage Productions, The Wolf Pack/Burnt Umber Productions, The Shubert Organization
Gutenberg! The Musical!; Producers: Ambassador Theatre Group, Patrick Catullo, Bad Robot Live, Seth A. Goldstein, Isaac Robert Hurwitz, Runyonland Productions, Elizabeth Armstrong, Timothy Bloom, Larry Lelli, Alchemation, The Council, Crescent Road, Wendy Federman, Marcia Goldberg, Hariton deRoy, LD Entertainment, James L. Nederlander, Al Nocciolino, Spencer Ross, Independent Presenters Network, Medley Houlihan/Score 3 Partners, Tryptyk Studios/Iris Smith, Jonathan Demar/Griffin Dohr, Andrew Diamond/Alexander Donnelly, Futurehome Productions/Koenigsberg Subhedar, Roy Gabay/Nicole Eisenberg, Jessica R. Jenen/Linda B. Rubin, Daniel Powell/Amplify Pictures, Jeremy Wein/Walport Productions, Kristin Caskey, Mike Isaacson, Bee Carrozzini
Merrily We Roll Along; Producers: Sonia Friedman Productions, David Babani, Patrick Catullo, Jeff Romley, Debbie Bisno, Lang Entertainment Group, OHenry Productions, Winkler & Smalberg, Stephanie P. McClelland, Timothy Bloom, Creative Partners Productions, Eastern Standard Time, Fakston Productions, Marc David Levine, No Guarantees, Ted & Mary Jo Shen, Gilad Rogowsky, Playing Field, Key to the City Productions, Richard Batchelder/Trunfio Ryan, FineWomen Productions/Henry R. Muñoz, III, Thomas Swayne/Lamar Richardson, Abrams Corr/Mary Maggio, Osh Ashruf/Brenner-Ivey, Craig Balsam/PBL Productions, deRoy DiMauro Productions/Medley Houlihan, Andrew Diamond/Katler-Solomon Productions, Dodge Hall Productions/Carl Moellenberg, Friedman Simpson/Vernon Stuckelman, William Frisbie/J.J. Powell, Robert Greenblatt/Jonathan Littman, Cleveland O’Neal, III/Tom Tuft, Roth-Manella Productions/Seaview, New York Theatre Workshop
The Who’s Tommy; Producers: Stephen Gabriel, Ira Pittelman, Sue Gilad & Larry Rogowsky, Mary Maggio & Scott Abrams, Tom Tuft and Glenn Fuhrman, Batman Harris/Elliott Cornelious, Laura Matalon/Spencer Waller, Richard Winkler, Sheldon Stone, Firemused Productions/Stone Arch Theatricals, LeonoffFedermanWolosky Productions/Koenigsberg Batchelder, Roy Putrino/Narang Moran, Rich Martino, Aged in Wood/Lee Sachs, Paul and Margaret Liljenquist, R & R Productions, Marla McNally Phillips, Merrie Robin, O’Neill Snow, Work Light Productions, Nederlander Presentations, Independent Presenters Network, John Gore Organization, Palomino Performing Arts, Wavelength Productions, Robert Nederlander, Jr., Botwin Ignal Dawson, Jamie deRoy, Betsy Dollinger, Stacey Woolf Feinberg, Gold Weinstein, Tyce Green, Jenen Rubin, Jim Kierstead, Marco Santarelli, Nancy Timmers, Thomas B. McGrath, Olympus Theatricals, Goodman Theatre
Best performance by an actor in a leading role in a musical
Brody Grant, The OutsidersJonathan Groff, Merrily We Roll AlongDorian Harewood, The NotebookBrian d’Arcy James, Days of Wine and RosesEddie Redmayne, Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club
Best performance by an actress in a leading role in a musical
Eden Espinosa, LempickaMaleah Joi Moon, Hell’s KitchenKelli O’Hara, Days of Wine and RosesMaryann Plunkett, The NotebookGayle Rankin, Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club
Best performance by an actor in a featured role in a musical
Roger Bart, Back to the Future: The MusicalJoshua Boone, The OutsidersBrandon Victor Dixon, Hell’s KitchenSky Lakota-Lynch, The OutsidersDaniel Radcliffe, Merrily We Roll AlongSteven Skybell, Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club
Best performance by an actress in a featured role in a musical
Shoshana Bean, Hell’s KitchenAmber Iman, LempickaNikki M. James, SuffsLeslie Rodriguez Kritzer, Monty Python’s SpamalotKecia Lewis, Hell’s KitchenLindsay Mendez, Merrily We Roll AlongBebe Neuwirth, Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club
Best direction of a musical
Maria Friedman, Merrily We Roll AlongMichael Greif, Hell’s KitchenLeigh Silverman, SuffsJessica Stone, Water for ElephantsDanya Taymor, The Outsiders
Best original score (music and/or lyrics) written for the theatre
Days of Wine and Roses; Music & Lyrics: Adam GuettelHere Lies Love; Music: David Byrne and Fatboy Slim; Lyrics: David ByrneThe Outsiders; Music & Lyrics: Jamestown Revival (Jonathan Clay and Zach Chance) and Justin LevineStereophonic; Music & Lyrics: Will ButlerSuffs; Music & Lyrics: Shaina Taub
Best orchestrations
Timo Andres, IllinoiseWill Butler and Justin Craig, StereophonicJustin Levine, Matt Hinkley and Jamestown Revival (Jonathan Clay and Zach Chance), The OutsidersTom Kitt and Adam Blackstone, Hell’s KitchenJonathan Tunick, Merrily We Roll Along
Best choreography
Annie-B Parson, Here Lies LoveCamille A. Brown, Hell’s KitchenRick Kuperman and Jeff Kuperman, The OutsidersJustin Peck, IllinoiseJesse Robb and Shana Carroll, Water for Elephants
Best book of a musical
Hell’s Kitchen; Kristoffer DiazThe Notebook; Bekah BrunstetterThe Outsiders; Adam Rapp and Justin LevineSuffs; Shaina TaubWater for Elephants; Rick Elice
Best scenic design of a musical
AMP featuring Tatiana Kahvegian, The OutsidersRobert Brill and Peter Nigrini, Hell’s KitchenTakeshi Kata, Water for ElephantsDavid Korins, Here Lies LoveRiccardo Hernández and Peter Nigrini, LempickaTim Hatley and Finn Ross, Back To The Future: The MusicalTom Scutt, Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club
Best costume design of a musical
Dede Ayite, Hell’s KitchenLinda Cho, The Great GatsbyDavid Israel Reynoso, Water for ElephantsTom Scutt, Cabaret at the Kit Kat ClubPaul Tazewell, Suffs
Best lighting design of a musical
Brandon Stirling Baker, IllinoiseIsabella Byrd, Cabaret at the Kit Kat ClubNatasha Katz, Hell’s KitchenBradley King and David Bengali, Water for ElephantsBrian MacDevitt and Hana S. Kim, The Outsiders
Best sound design of a musical
M.L. Dogg and Cody Spencer, Here Lies LoveKai Harada, Merrily We Roll AlongNick Lidster for Autograph, Cabaret at the Kit Kat ClubGareth Owen, Hell’s KitchenCody Spencer, The Outsiders
Plays
Best play
Jaja’s African Hair Braiding; Author: Jocelyn Bioh; Producers: Manhattan Theatre Club, Lynne Meadow, Chris Jennings, Madison Wells Live, LaChanze, Taraji P. Henson
Mary Jane; Author: Amy Herzog; Producers: Manhattan Theatre Club, Lynne Meadow, Chris Jennings
Mother Play; Author: Paula Vogel; Producers: Second Stage Theater, Carole Rothman, Lisa Lawer Post, Salman and Vienn Al-Rashid, Courtney Lederer and Mark Thierfelder, Jerry and Roz Meyer, Alix L.L. Ritchie, Jayne Baron Sherman
Prayer for the French Republic; Author: Joshua Harmon; Producers: Manhattan Theatre Club, Lynne Meadow, Chris Jennings
Stereophonic; Author: David Adjmi; Producers: Sue Wagner, John Johnson, Seaview, Sonia Friedman Productions, Linden Productions, Ashley Melone, Nick Mills, Jillian Robbins, Stella La Rue, Alex Levy & David Aron, Dori Berinstein, James Bolosh, Burnt Umber Productions, The Cohn Sisters, Cathy Dantchik, Alexander R. Donnelly, Emerald Drive, Federman Koenigsberg, Dann Fink, Ruth Hendel, Larry Hirschhorn, Jenen Rubin, John Gore Organization, Willette & Manny Klausner, LAMF Protozoa, Katrina McCann, Stephanie P. McClelland, No Guarantees, Marissa Palley & Daniel Aron, Anna Schafer, Soto Namoff Productions, Sean Walsh, Bruce & Peggy Wanta, Hillary Wyatt, deRoy Howard, Winkler & Smalberg, 42nd.club, Craig Balsam, Concord Theatricals, Creative Partners Productions, Jonathan Demar, Douglas Denoff, DJD Productions, Echo Lake Entertainment, Faliro House, FilmNation Entertainment, Roy Gabay, GFour Productions, Candy Kosow Gold, Wes Grantom, Rachel Bendit & Mark Bernstein, Playwrights Horizons, Adam Greenfield, Leslie Marcus, Carol Fishman
Best revival of a play
Appropriate; Author: Branden Jacobs-Jenkins; Producers: Second Stage Theater, Carole Rothman, Lisa Lawer Post, Ambassador Theatre Group, Amanda Dubois, Annapurna Theatre, Bad Robot Live
An Enemy of the People; Author: Amy Herzog; Producers: Seaview, Patrick Catullo, Plan B, Roth-Manella Productions, Eric & Marsi Gardiner, John Gore Organization, James L. Nederlander, Jon B. Platt, Atekwana Hutton, Bob Boyett, Chris & Ashlee Clarke, Cohen-Demar Productions, Andrew Diamond, GI6 Productions, Sony Music Masterworks, Triptyk Studios, Trunfio Ryan, Kate Cannova, DJL Productions
Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch; Producers: Jeffrey Richards, Hunter Arnold, Leslie Odom, Jr., Louise Gund, Bob Boyett, Curt Cronin, John Joseph, Willette and Manny Klausner, Brenda Boone, Salman Moudhy Al-Rashid, Creative Partners Productions, Irene Gandy, Kayla Greenspan, Mark and David Golub Productions, Kenny Leon, John Gore Organization, W3 Productions, Morwin Schmookler, Van Kaplan, Ken Greiner, Patrick W. Jones, Nicolette Robinson, National Black Theatre, Alan Alda, LaTanya Richardson Jackson, Samuel L. Jackson, Phylicia Rashad, Nnamdi Asomugha, Kerry Washington, The Shubert Organization
Best performance by an actor in a leading role in a play
William Jackson Harper, Uncle VanyaLeslie Odom, Jr., Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton PatchLiev Schreiber, Doubt: A ParableJeremy Strong, An Enemy of the PeopleMichael Stuhlbarg, Patriots
Best performance by an actress in a leading role in a play
Betsy Aidem, Prayer for the French RepublicJessica Lange, Mother PlayRachel McAdams, Mary JaneSarah Paulson, AppropriateAmy Ryan, Doubt: A Parable
Best performance by an actor in a featured role in a play
Will Brill, StereophonicEli Gelb, StereophonicJim Parsons, Mother PlayTom Pecinka, StereophonicCorey Stoll, Appropriate
Best performance by an actress in a featured role in a play
Quincy Tyler Bernstine, Doubt: A ParableJuliana Canfield, StereophonicCelia Keenan-Bolger, Mother PlaySarah Pidgeon, StereophonicKara Young, Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch
Best direction of a play
Daniel Aukin, StereophonicAnne Kauffman, Mary JaneKenny Leon, Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton PatchLila Neugebauer, AppropriateWhitney White, Jaja’s African Hair Braiding
Best scenic design of a play
dots, Appropriatedots, An Enemy of the PeopleDerek McLane, Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton PatchDavid Zinn, Jaja’s African Hair BraidingDavid Zinn, Stereophonic
Best costume design of a play
Dede Ayite, AppropriateDede Ayite, Jaja’s African Hair BraidingEnver Chakartash, StereophonicEmilio Sosa, Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton PatchDavid Zinn, An Enemy of the People
Best lighting design of a play
Isabella Byrd, An Enemy of the PeopleAmith Chandrashaker, Prayer for the French RepublicJiyoun Chang, StereophonicJane Cox, AppropriateNatasha Katz, Grey House
Best sound design of a play
Justin Ellington and Stefania Bulbarella, Jaja’s African Hair BraidingLeah Gelpe, Mary JaneTom Gibbons, Grey HouseBray Poor and Will Pickens, AppropriateRyan Rumery, Stereophonic
This year, Wicked isn’t the only Wizard of Oz-inspired musical that’s eliciting standing ovations on Broadway. A new revival of THE WIZ at the Marquis Theatre in Manhattan has been playing to sold-out crowds since its official opening night on April 17. And on July 12, the 2024 Broadway cast recording of this version of […]
Broadway Bares is back, and this time, the annual charity burlesque spectacular hits the jackpot with a sinful Las Vegas theme: Hit the Strip.
Each year, the razzle-dazzle show brings together Broadway’s finest dancers in a music-filled evening, produced by and benefiting Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS (BC/EFA). More than 150 of New York’s dancers will take the stage for two performances only on June 23 at Hammerstein Ballroom at 9:30 p.m. and midnight. Special guests are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.
Previous installments of Broadway Bares have boasted appearances by such stage and music stars as Kristin Chenoweth, Ariana DeBose, JoJo, Adam Lambert, Cyndi Lauper, Pentatonix’s Kirstin Maldonado, Alex Newell, Billy Porter and Vanessa Williams.
Broadway Bares: Hit the Strip will be directed by Kellen Stancil. Also on the creative team: Paula DeLuise (associate director), Jerry Mitchell (the show’s creator and executive producer), Nick Kenkel (executive producer), and choreographers John Alix, Mike Baerga, Phil Colgan, Karla Puno Garcia, Billy Griffin, Amber Jackson, Jonathan Lee, Leo Moctezuma, Rachelle Rak, Michael Lee Scott and Maleek Washington.
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Since the show’s launch in 1992, Broadway Bares has generated more than $26 million for BC/EFA. Last year’s edition brought in $1.9 million.
Broadway Bares is one of the many charity events produced by BC/EFA yearly. Among its other fundraisers: Broadway Backwards, Broadway Barks, Broadway Bets, the Fire Island Dance Festival, Broadway Flea Market & Grand Auction, Easter Bonnet Competition, Hudson Valley Dance Festival, Red Bucket Follies and Broadway Run.
According to BC/EFA, the organization “has raised more than $300 million for essential services for people living with HIV/AIDS, struggling with COVID-19 and facing other critical illnesses in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C.”
Few rock albums live as long and varied a life as The Who’s Tommy. Since its release in 1969, guitarist Pete Townshend’s conceptual masterpiece — centered around the story of the titular boy who witnesses a murder, becomes a “deaf, dumb and blind” pinball wizard, then something like a rock star-savior — has been translated into various mediums, including Ken Russell’s wild 1975 film starring the likes of Tina Turner, Elton John and Jack Nicholson.
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But none have persisted quite like The Who’s Tommy, the groundbreaking 1993 stage musical directed by Des McAnuff that brought Townshend’s electrifying music and haunting story to Broadway. It was nominated for 11 Tony Awards and won five, including best original score for Townshend and best direction for McAnuff.
Three decades later, The Who’s Tommy is back in its first major Broadway revival — a searing production with a cast of standout vocal and acting talent led by 23-year old Ali Louis Bourzgui as Tommy. If the show still feels incredibly vital, that’s in large part because McAnuff, who returns to direct, and Townshend still are, too. And as they told Billboard in a wide-ranging conversation, this production (a likely contender for best revival of a musical when the 2024 Tony nominations are announced April 30) is anything but the end of their alchemical creative partnership.
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Back before the original Broadway production, what convinced you to turn Tommy into a musical, Pete, and why with Des?
Pete Townshend: You know, The Who were not a particularly financially successful band. We had big hits and Tommy was our biggest, but the money didn’t exactly roll in. I tended to work purely for the art. I had written a bunch of songs, all of which had done pretty well, and one was “I Can See For Miles” which I took a lot of trouble with recording and arranging harmonically. I think still to this day it’s a masterpiece, and I can’t really work out why it isn’t in the shrine of rock history as the best song ever written about anything at all.
So after it [underperformed in the U.K.], I thought, “F–k, what am I going to have to do to get the interest of the public and maintain it and also to harness this incredible machine” which the band was at that time as a performing band. It hit me that I should write a major piece, a collection of good rock songs strung together that will tell a story. At the time, I was absolutely not interested in anything to do with music, theater, movies, anything other than just providing something for my band — something that would last, that we could perform on the stage.
Whip pan forward to 1992: I haven’t performed with The Who for nearly 10 years, I had gone to work with publisher Faber & Faber as a commissioning editor for a pop culture imprint within the company, I was doing some solo work. And I had a cycling accident, fell and broke my wrist, and my surgeon told me I’d never play music again with my right hand, so I thought, well, I’ve got to make a living. As ever, every couple of years the phone would ring and my manager would say “Somebody wants to talk to you about doing a theatrical version of Tommy” — God forgive me, it was ice skating Tommy, it was ballet Tommy, brass band Tommy, there was a reggae Tommy. And I just was not interested in any of it to be honest.
But when Des flew over to New York in late summer or early fall of ’92, I daresay — I don’t want to embarrass Des — that we fell in love. We struck an immediate relationship and I knew we would be friends forever, whether or not we worked together. And that’s where it began. I think Des has been so fantastic to hang on to the integrity of the original story, all of the nuances and some of the bum notes, and I thank him for that. And you know, I’ve done what I can to help out along the way.
Ali Louis Bourzgui as Tommy in The Who’s Tommy
Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman
When the original Broadway run ended (and then subsequent tours and productions elsewhere, like the West End), did you feel like a chapter was closed? Or did you have a sense that there might be a reason to revisit it down the line together?
Des McAnuff: It was kind of open ended — there wasn’t a moment where we said, “Okay, well, this is over.” Ultimately what happened is, I was traveling in Costa Rica and saw that Pete had called, and he suggested that we start talking about a film project, whether it was a motion picture or a live capture, he felt that the time had come. And I was very excited by that. We did a screenplay, and as we were doing it, we kind of said, hey, you know, it’s really time to reimagine this [for Broadway].
That was several years ago, and pre-COVID we started working on this in earnest. Nothing is easy, particularly in the theater — or for that matter in rock ‘n’ roll. But this has been remarkably smooth. The great thing about Tommy is while it has evolved, it’s deepened, there are new complexities in the story — themes that are sometimes even paradoxical — but it does remain faithful to what Pete composed.
Were there elements of the original production you wanted to be sure to preserve or pay homage to? Or likewise things you dreamed of doing the first time around that you now had the ability to do — particularly on the technology front?
McAnuff: I think we basically did what we imagined the first time around. I remember the conversations: “The bed’s going to spin here, Tommy’s gonna come flying in here.” Both at La Jolla Playhouse [where Tommy premiered in 1992] and this time around at the Goodman Theater [in Chicago], they were willing to just kind of follow us into hell, so we basically got to do what we wanted.
While the new production is very ambitious, interestingly enough nothing moves on that stage that is not moved by an actor. It really is about a company of actors, storytelling. The first one had a lot of gadgetry and technology and automation, and this certainly is very ambitious, technically, and somewhat of a spectacle. But I would say it has a kind of humanity that breaks through all of that.
Townshend: A number of people who saw the original show in ‘93 have told me they think the storytelling is more solid and clearer somehow this time around. And I don’t think it’s because there’s less distraction, because the stage is still a sleigh ride, a visual feast, an onslaught of image and light and color — and also of shadow, moments when you really feel drawn into the deep pathos of many of the characters. And that was only ever inferred in the original music that I wrote.
Ali Louis Bourzgui and the cast of The Who’s Tommy
Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman
I think this one exposes the actors in a much bigger way, and it feels to me to be more of a play than it ever was. There’s an incredible empathy for the creatures that we’ve created here, not just to make them real, but to make them solid enough that they spark a real identification with members of the audience. Tommy is about stuff that so many of us in my generation, and the generations that followed right up to today, are all still suffering from — from the trauma of 200 years of war. So everybody in the audience has this deep desire just to have a night out where they can forget their worries and have a good time, but also feel involved in something that is deep and reflects the very reason why they want to get out and get smashed. And of course that is what rock ‘n’ roll was about, and Tommy I believe is doing that now.
You’re in the Nederlander Theater, where Rent began on Broadway in 1996; I think few people realize that Tommy actually preceded Rent! In so many ways Tommy was the parent of the next generation of rock musicals — or, well, attempts at them — that have followed. Why do you think Tommy succeeds as a rock musical, where many others have not?
Townshend: We had a human story to tell. And the way that I realized that is we would get to the end of the show — after the songs about bullying, about drugs, about sexual abuse, about family trauma, about a kid who becomes a messiah in a sense — and it ends with what was perceived to be a prayer: “Listening to you, I get the music.” Why do we need that release at that point in the show? I think it’s because we’ve been taken on a journey where we look at the best and the worst of human nature. It’s not Dostoevsky, but it ain’t far off, the function of it. Actually, I do feel a bit like Dostoevsky.
McAnuff: Very much like Dostoevsky [Laughs.] I think what distinguishes Tommy from many other theatrical enterprises is that it has authenticity. Pete is really one of the reigning princes of rock ‘n’ roll to this day, he is rock ‘n’ roll, he personifies it. And he’s also a very good storyteller, and he’s made a wonderful partner because of that. It’s not just his imagination, but it’s his appreciation of good story points that’s made my job really a delight.
McAnuff (left) and Townshend with the cast of The Who’s Tommy.
Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman
When we did this 30 years ago, people were still very nervous about electric music. Electric music was something you made fun of in Bye Bye Birdie! It wasn’t legitimate somehow. And that’s totally changed. Now Broadway represents all of the richness of American music in all its different forms. In those days, all you could do was was, quote, “Broadway.” Well, that’s all gone.
In Tommy, there’s very little spoken dialogue — you both seem to have this inherent trust that the songs will communicate the story, that every point doesn’t need to make literal sense or feel totally linear, and that the audience will come along for the ride, which seems like something for more theater makers to internalize…
Townshend: I recently went to see the Sufjan Stevens piece at the [Park Avenue] Armory, Illinoise; I’m glad it’s moving [to Broadway]. I love his music, and I love the show, but the thing that really came across to me was, whether you got the story or not, whether you felt that the story was relevant or not, it was a poetic experience — I felt somehow moved and touched. And, wow, that’s all I want.
Behind Tommy is a performance piece, rooted in the engine of modern performance. If we look at the brilliance and massive success of somebody like Taylor Swift, it’s because she carries her audience with her, and they carry her with them. The essence of the period that Tommy came from, we were experimenting with the function and the importance and the value of the audience just showing up and listening but also contributing. How do you contribute if you’re sitting in an uncomfortable chair in a theater? You contribute in some way which is almost intangible. Yes, you can get up and you can clap along or you can smoke a joint and shout. But there’s something more going on.
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So many artists from the pop world now want to work in musical theater, and many find they prefer it to the commercial music industry. Having spent much of your life interacting with the theater world now, Pete, do you think anything is preferable about it?
Townshend: Working in music theater, you have everything that we have in rock ‘n’ roll, but you also have story. So for me, it’s been like being in a band but with extra cream. All art, all performance is play. It’s so important to play — and that’s how I feel about working in theater or going back and working with Roger Daltrey and what remains of The Who on a tour or producing other artists, as I’ve done largely for folk artists over the past few years. This is where creativity really comes alive. And remember, I’ve done this and the shows have not been successful, too. It’s just about whether or not you’ve actually spent the time in a useful way.
Tommy has had many different iterations since the album came out. Do you think of it as an eternally evolving work, or is each version of it merely a moment in time, without necessarily a “next”?
Townshend: As a songwriter and a storyteller, you create something and then you just let it go. You have to let it fly in each of its incarnations, some of which I’ve found difficult to live with and some of which I’ve enjoyed.
I have to be absolutely honest here: I think I do care about the lasting legacy of my work. I do very much. One of the reasons I’m with my current wife Rachel [Fuller], is that around 1996 The Who were struggling to get back together to help our bass player John Entwistle who was in dire straits financially, he was gonna go to prison for tax evasion. We had to tour to keep him out of jail, basically.
I decided that I wanted all of what I would call my story-based pieces to be put on paper— A Quick One While He’s Away, Rael, Tommy, Quadrophenia, Life House, my solo albums and so on — and I was looking for an orchestrator and found Rachel, and the first thing she orchestrated for me was Quadrophenia. I wanted it to be something that could be performed the way that I wanted it to be performed as a songwriter, without any bells and whistles, without the ideas of other creative people, just to be put up as a piece of music that I had personally rubber stamped.
So the legacy of Tommy is really important to me. At my age now, 79 in May, there are big decisions to make. I can’t jump out on a stage the way that I used to — some of the photographs of me jumping up in the air, it looks like I’m jumping seven feet in the air, I don’t know how it happened. I survived Keith Moon, and the fact is that Keith Moon didn’t survive Keith Moon.
On the other hand, you have to let this stuff go. You have to trust. In Chicago, I realized that time had moved under this piece, and it still worked. That’s all that matters; what you’ve done doesn’t have to be sacrosanct. For God’s sake, what AI might do to creative work might actually be good — who knows?
McAnuff: Somebody once said that musicals don’t get finished, they just get opened. And that’s true — we’re working on this even now. The theater exists, as Bob Dylan said, in the eternal present. I would have thought Tommy was more or less finished in the ‘90s for me, and then here it is. It has new life.
Townshend: In my first week at art college back in 1961, we were being told that computers were going to come within two or three years and they would change the nature of artistic and creative communication and would change the world for the better. And it took 40 years or so for those promised computers to arrive. Now we have Apple producing this great big thing like a television screen that you stick to your head and we’re supposed to be impressed by it? Give me a pill I can take that will help me to experience something more fabulous than looking at a f–king television screen!
I do think if there’s another iteration of Tommy, I probably won’t be here for it, but you could do it [using] these new media formats that are starting to rise up and maybe even be able to make something out of artificial intelligence as just a tool. Anything that makes my life as a creative easier and, incidentally, is fun to play with, I’m in.
The company of The Who’s Tommy.
Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman
You’ve both spent so much of your creative lives with Tommy but is there another piece from Pete’s catalog that you think deserves more theatrical attention?
Townshend: Well for me, it’s Life House. Songs like “Baba O’Riley,” “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” “Pure and Easy,” “Behind Blue Eyes,” those songs all emanated from a sci-fi piece that I wrote called Life House, which had a strong spiritual backbone and a lot of ethical issues are brought up in it. This was meant to be the follow up to Tommy, and it began at the Young Vic theater in 1971, but was really a bit too ambitious, I think, to survive [Ed. note: It’s since been adapted into a graphic novel.] I would love to do something theatrical or some kind of modern production based on that — that would be my dream, I think, right now. It feels like it has potential. I’ve recently shared some of the collateral of that with Des.
McAnuff: I’m digging into the box set, Who’s Next/Life House, and I’m incredibly excited because I think that the music in Who’s Next, as with Tommy, is obviously masterful, brilliant songs that continue to bounce around in my brain all these years later. I also love Quadrophenia — an extraordinary score. But for me it’s Life House next.
Townshend: Give us another five years.
You may not think of Buddhist philosophy and Huey Lewis as the same time very often, but it works for him when considering The Heart of Rock and Roll, the jukebox musical inspired by the song catalog of his band, the News.
“Y’know, Zen Buddhists say you need something to love, something to hope for and something to do — so for me, thank God for this show,” Lewis tells Billboard from New York City. The musician has been residing in the Big Apple to help prepare the musical comedy — which was first staged during 2018 in San Diego — for its April 22 opening at Broadway‘s James Earl Jones Theatre.
“This is, like, bonus time for me,” he continues. “It wasn’t something I’ve ever aspired to. I never thought about having a Broadway show. But it’s been a real kind of gift for me and a blessing for me because I don’t have anything else. It’s given me a creative outlet since I lost my hearing.”
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Lewis revealed his hearing struggles back in 2018, after he was diagnosed with Meniere’s disease, an inner-ear disorder that’s rendered him unable to sing with the band, scuttling any hopes of live performances for a group that was a dependable annual fixture on the touring circuit. And, Lewis reports, things have not been getting any better. “My hearing’s collapsing,” he laments, although he’s still fighting via a variety of therapies and a recent ocular implant.
The News dug into its vaults for a new album, Weather, in 2020, but his creative focus has been The Heart of Rock and Roll, which has been in previews since March 29. A love story and comedy in which the lead character, Bobby (portrayed by Corey Cott), grapples with his continuing rock n’ roll dreams within a comfortable corporate life, was written by Jonathan A. Abrams from a story he crafted with Tyler Mitchell of Imagine Entertainment. Brian Usifer arranged the songs for the stage.
“He sort of reimagined all the songs in kind of a wonderful way,” Lewis explains. “Rearranging them is more what he did, although more than that because he sort of zigs where the song zags and stays away from our version of things. It’s very interesting, and it’s gratifying to see the songs live this other life. You’re kind of happy for the songs, really.”
Some of the lyrics have been changed — with permission and buy-ins, Lewis says — “to push the story forward.” But he was conscious of maintaining a balance between the songs’ stage life and their original versions.
“It’s a balancing act; you don’t want to lose the credibility of the songs,” Lewis says. “That’s one of the problems these jukebox musicals have. In the old days, you write for a musical, and then those songs became popular when Sinatra or Dean Martin or somebody covered them. Nowadays, they’re wrapping whole shows around popular songs. But one of the reasons that’s happening is you need recognizability to open these shows, ’cause it’s so competitive.”
The idea for The Heart of Rock and Roll came up during a conversation with Mitchell’s in-laws, who are Lewis’ neighbors in both Montana and Ross, Calif. “They had me over for dinner for my birthday, and Tyler was there as well, and we started talking about Mamma Mia, ’cause I love Mamma Mia,” Lewis recalls. “And [Mitchell’s father-in-law] said to him, ‘You should do a musical on Huey’s music.’ I didn’t know about this at the time, but Tyler was a huge fan. He knows our music really well. He knows the lyrics better than I do! So he and Jonathan Abrams printed out all of our lyrics and put ’em on the wall and they immersed themselves, and this story emerged. They came to me with their very first draft, and it was very good.
“Of course, that was seven years and nine drafts ago,” he adds. “It’s only gotten better.”
Lewis says the show has changed “significantly” since its 2018 stagings at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego. “There are probably four new songs, some different scenes,” he notes. The story is set in the ’80s, which Lewis says allows it to “poke fun at Sony Walkmans and cassettes, a bunch of material there.” And while it’s not biographical in any way, there are elements of the book that related to Lewis’ own life.
“It’s actually got a lot of parallels, even though the story is not about me at all, or my band,” Lewis says. “Bobby’s 28, the same age I was when I formed Huey Lewis and the News. We’d been playing in bars for 12 years, and I had [the band] Clover that didn’t work out. So [the News] was my last shot, probably, at the ripe old age of 28, 29.”
Lewis drew on that to write the musical’s sole original song, “Be Somebody,” with Usifer and News bandmate Johnny Colla.
“Barry [Edelstein], the director in San Diego, said it’s customary in a musical to have the lead character sing a song early in the show, which articulates all of his or her aspirations, hopes, goals, etc.,” Lewis says. “Bobby’s got a day job, so I understood the anxiety he felt. So we wrote a song in which I kind of channeled that stuff a bit. I sang the melody, verse chords and words into my iPhone. Johnny tweaked the chorus, demoed it up, and Brian wrote the bridge chords.
“It’s fun to write for characters,” Lewis adds. “It’s liberating. You don’t have to write something that’s true to yourself. You can write for the character, and that fosters creativity.”
A Broadway cast album has already been recorded, according to Lewis, and is currently being shopped for a label deal. He’d love to record a News version of “Be Somebody,” too, but is uncertain about his ability to sing it. Regardless, the other News members will be on hand for a celebration April 19 in New York, and during his red carpet moments, Lewis will be sporting a new suit courtesy of good pal Jimmy Kimmel and his wardrobe director for Jimmy Kimmel Live!
“We’re texting, and he said, ‘I’m buying you a suit for the premiere,’” says Lewis, who hosts Huey’s ’80s Radio for Apple Music. “I said, ‘That’s strange … Where did you get the notion to buy me a suit? Is it the fact that you’ve seen me in those same two suits I wear all the time, over and over?’ And he nods his head, ‘Yep.’ [laughs] That’s a friend, right?”
Ariana Grande is Ethan Slater‘s biggest fan. The 30-year-old superstar was in the crowd at the St. James Theatre in New York City on Sunday night (April 7) for the final performance of Spamalot, which opened back in November. Grande was spotted by fans leaving the theater, hand in hand with her boyfriend Slater, dressed casually […]
A family outing! Michael Jackson’s three children — Paris Jackson, Prince Jackson and Bigi Jackson — attended a preview night in London on Wednesday night (March 27) for MJ: The Musical. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The sibling trio posed together for photos before walking into […]