Tony Awards
One of the most acclaimed new musicals on Broadway right now has all the charm of a corpse — literally.
The unlikely subject of Dead Outlaw is the life — and death — of Elmer McCurdy, a late 19th-century ne’er-do-well who came to an early end but whose corporeal form enjoyed a bizarrely long afterlife as a well-preserved (well, for a time) traveling oddity. On paper, it might not sound like typical musical fare, but thanks to an expert creative team — led by co-composers David Yazbek and Erik Della Penna, director David Cromer and writer Itamar Moses — Elmer’s tale becomes not just strangely humorous and poignant but deeply thought-provoking.
Yazbek has a résumé stacked with great musical adaptations of films — including The Full Monty, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, Tootsie and The Band’s Visit, the latter of which won him the Tony for best original score. But Dead Outlaw is an increasingly rare breed of show on Broadway these days, based on no pre-existing intellectual property and not driven at the box office by celebrity names above its marquee.
So far, that’s working out well: Dead Outlaw just received a best musical nomination for the 2025 Tony Awards, one of seven nods for the show also including best score for Yazbek and Della Penna’s music, which is performed by a crackerjack band onstage. Yazbek is rarely working on one show at a time — among many overlapping projects, he’s also creative consultant on the Tony-nominated Buena Vista Social Club — but he and Della Penna took the time post-opening to talk to Billboard about Dead Outlaw and why often, on Broadway, smaller is better.
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How did you become aware of McCurdy’s crazy story in the first place, and how did you know it would lend itself well to musical form?
David Yazbek: The answer to the second part of that question is not until basicallyopening night (laughs). I heard the Elmer McCurdy story like 30-something years ago; when his body was discovered in 1976 by The Six Million Dollar Man TV crew it was a national story briefly, and I think a college friend’s mother sent him clippings about it. He told me the story and it really stuck, especially the themes of identity and death and mortality and greed and fame. For years and years, anyone who heard the actual true story was just amazed that it actually happened. And one of the people I told it to eventually was Erik, who I was in a band with and had written some songs with, and he got hooked.
Erik Della Penna: It was just such an odd story that it’s immediately compelling — anybody I tell this story to is immediately interested. I consider myself a student of American music and of history in general, so this kind of hit all my buttons for those interests
Yazbek: And those factors don’t make it an obvious thing for a musical or a play or whatever, but…
Della Penna: I feel like a musical is sort of the best way to tell the story. Theater really succeeds when it in some way represents an otherworldly environment, and there’s only scant facts in the Elmer McCurdy story. So it’s the perfect way to present them and to really show the depth of it, and not just the cold facts — to bring some humanity to it and relatability.
Yazbek: We both had the instinct that that would be the way to tell the story, and that we could write the songs to tell the story. And, you know, I guess we’re right. So far.
Erik Della Penna (left) and David Yazbek
Jennifer Small
The ideas it brings up about achieving fame and notoriety at any cost — about this very American obsession with being remembered for something, anything — feels especially timely…
Yazbek: I have his memory of when I was maybe 15, I wrote a short story for a class, and it was kind of about that ephemeral idea that for some reason being remembered will afford you some degree of immortality. It’s just another f–king illusory comfort, but it really does drive people, sometimes for their entire lives — this idea of, “Oh sh-t, I’m gonna die. But wait a minute, I’ll be remembered! I’ll have a legacy!” Even the word legacy is dangerous. It’s why some people amass much more wealth than they should and put their name on buildings.
Della Penna: It doesn’t even work with buildings. Like, [New York’s] Alice Tully Hall is now David Geffen Hall, so what happened to Alice Tully? Now we all forget about her?
The onstage band is central to the show. Did you have a particular sonic palette or influences you were drawing upon in writing the music?
Della Penna: I think Yazbek asked me because my musical interests were in early 20th century American music…
Yazbek: That’s pretty accurate. I don’t read reviews, but people keep throwing little bits at me, and [the New York Times review] was referencing an album of mine called Evil Monkey Man, and Erik is all over that album, and just like in this show, he’s playing lap steel, different electric and acoustics, and there’s some banjo. That’s sort of at the root of all of this: Erik and I are both capable of being very eclectic in our songwriting. We both love this genre — I don’t want to call it Americana, but like you just said, that early 20th century American music…
Della Penna: And that includes Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, Jimmy Rogers…
Yazbek: And all of that stuff is very apropos for this show. The show is 100 years of American history. And from the very beginning, we sort of said, “Let’s Lennon and McCartney this” — in other words, let’s not be counting bars and who wrote what, let’s go all in, and that was part of the fun of it.
Though you do have two standout performances in central roles — Tony nominees Andrew Durand as Elmer and Jeb Brown as the narrator and bandleader — this truly feels like an ensemble piece. The cast is a band too, in a way.
Della Penna Absolutely — the cast as a band, that’s right. We were thinking about that for a while, getting a star in there [as] the narrator. I thought that would be more guaranteed juice for this to move [to Broadway]. But I also felt bad that it was sort of a cop out for the quality of the piece and the quality of the music. So I’m glad where it landed.
Yazbek: Yeah, me too. I was talking to somebody, maybe one of our producers, about how there’s the artistic currency of a show, but then there’s also, like, the currency for marketing the show itself. And to me, the currency for marketing the show is quality with a capital Q. The star of the show is how great everyone is who’s in it, and its uniqueness and its depth. Like, can’t you market that? (laughs)
Dead Outlaw
Matthew Murphy
Dead Outlaw started out at New York’s Minetta Lane Theater as part of Audible’s theater series there. How did that help launch the show?
Yazbek: There are several independent theaters, regional and local, that should have just immediately said, “Oh, the Band’s Visit guys. Oh, this music, oh, this story. Yeah, sure, here’s a slot.” And for some reason, I guess because we didn’t have a star and it wasn’t [preexistent] IP, they didn’t do it. I’ve had at least two artistic directors tell me how much they regret not doing it, which is very satisfying. But it was [Audible’s] Kate Nathan who said, “Oh, I think we can do this. I think we want to do this.” And as the budget grew, she just saw us through the development. That takes vision.
David, you’ve done big, splashy shows, and you’ve done smaller shows like this one. As creators, does doing a smaller-scale show allow you to do something that a big budget spectacle doesn’t as much?
Yazbek: Part of it is like independent film versus studio films. There are producers out there who don’t really understand how to bring quality, other than just bringing the big flying helicopter or whatever the money can buy. There are economic exigencies to putting up a show on Broadway and keeping it running. And from the very beginning [with Dead Outlaw], I had that in my head. When we first were thinking, “Oh, well, let’s just do this as a band show with one narrator, and that narrator’s in the band” — to me, that was like, how could you say no to that? It’s just got to be good, but it’ll also be so inexpensive that you could put it in a playhouse and it could run as long as people want to see it without us having to charge $800 a ticket. Sometimes great art is done with a limited palette, as opposed to with anything you want. How much value is there in seeing these eight performers do 60 parts, and they’re great? Like, that’s f–king theater right there.
What’s the greatest leading role in Broadway history? Based on Tony nominations, which date to 1947, the answer is Rose in Gypsy.
Every actress who has played the part on Broadway has at least been nominated for the Tony for best actress in a musical – from Ethel Merman, who originated the role in 1959, to Audra McDonald, who stars in the current revival, and whose nomination was announced Thursday (May 1) morning.
Angela Lansbury, who starred in a 1974-75 revival, and Tyne Daly, who starred in a 1989-90 revival, both won Tonys for their performances. (Linda Lavin, who replaced Daly, wasn’t nominated, but replacements in a production aren’t eligible.) Bernadette Peters, who starred in a 2003-04 revival, was nominated, and Patti LuPone, who starred in a 2008-09 revival, won.
No other lead character – across both musicals and plays – has led to six Tony nominations. Here are the runners-up: Five actors have been nominated for best actor in a musical for playing Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof. Five actresses have been nominated for best actress in a play for playing Josie Hogan in A Moon for the Misbegotten.
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In addition, actresses who have played Rose on both large and small screens have won Golden Globes for their performances. Rosalind Russell won actress in a leading role – musical or comedy in 1963 – for the previous year’s film. Bette Midler won best performance by an actress in a limited series, anthology series or a motion picture made for television in 1994 for playing the role in a 1993 TV movie for CBS. Midler also received a Primetime Emmy nod for her performance.
It’s easy to see why the role of Rose has led to so many awards and nominations. The actress who plays the role gets to sing some of the greatest songs ever written for a Broadway musical, including “Some People,” “Everything’s Coming Up Roses,” “Rose’s Turn” and “Small World” (the latter a Grammy nominee for song of the year in 1960). Jule Styne and a young Stephen Sondheim collaborated on the song score.
The 1959 original cast album to Gypsy has been voted into both the Grammy Hall of Fame and the National Recording Registry.
Gypsy also includes one of the greatest featured roles in Broadway history – Rose’s daughter, Louise. Six actresses have been nominated for playing her, more than any other featured role. Sandra Church was nominated for originating the role. Joy Woods was nominated for the latest revival. In between, Zan Charisse, Crista Moore, Tammy Blanchard and Laura Benanti were nominated. (Benanti won.)
The latest revival of Gypsy was nominated for best revival of a musical. It’s the fourth time the show has been nominated in that category (or in a predecessor category, best revival). No other musical has been nominated four times in that category. Sharing second place, with three nods each, are Cabaret, Company, Fiddler on the Roof, Guys and Dolls, Peter Pan and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
Only one play, Arthur Miller’s A View from a Bridge, has been nominated four times for best revival of a play.
McDonald, 54, is Broadway royalty, having won six Tonys in competitive categories, more than any other performer. She won featured actress in a musical for both Carousel and Ragtime; featured actress in a play for both Master Class and A Raisin in the Sun; actress in a musical for Porgy and Bess; and actress in a play for Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill.
This is McDonald’s 11th nomination, which is again more than any other performer. She pulls ahead Julie Harris and Chita Rivera, who landed 10 each. (Harris died in 2013; Rivera died in 2024.)
The eligibility period for the 2025 Tony Awards was April 29, 2024 through April 27, 2025. The 78th Tony Awards, hosted by Cynthia Erivo, will be held on June 8. The ceremony will be held at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, airing live coast-to-coast on CBS.
Buena Vista Social Club, Death Becomes Her and Maybe Happy Ending are the leading nominees for the 2025 Tony Awards, with 10 nods each. They are followed by Dead Outlaw, John Proctor Is the Villain, Sunset Blvd. and The Hills of California with seven nods each. The nominations were announced on Thursday morning (May 1).
Buena Vista Social Club, which features music recorded by Buena Vista Social Club, is nominated for best musical, along with Dead Outlaw, Death Becomes Her, Maybe Happy Ending and Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical.
Buena Vista Social Club is set in Havana, Cuba and follows the lives of four musicians, and their eventual collaboration in 1997 on the landmark , Grammy-winning album Buena Vista Social Club. The music in the show is presented entirely in Spanish. The original album was inducted into the National Recording Registry in 2022 and the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2024. This musical is based on a 1999 documentary about the making of the album that received an Oscar nod for documentary (feature).
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The musicians who make up the band in Buena Vista Social Club are set to receive a Special Tony Award on the show. They are: Marco Paguia (Music Director, Conductor/Piano); David Oquendo (Associate Music Director, Guitar); Renesito Avich (Tres); Gustavo Schartz (Bass); Javier Díaz, Román Diaz, Mauricio Herrera (Percussion); Jesus Ricardo (Trumpet); Eddie Venegas (Trombone); Hery Paz (Woodwinds); Leonardo Reyna (Piano).
Death Becomes Her is based on the 1992 film of the same name starring Meryl Streep, Bruce Willis and Goldie Hawn that was directed and produced by Robert Zemeckis. Maybe Happy Ending is based on a South Korean one-act musical. The musical follows two life-like helper-bots, who discover each other in Seoul in the late 21st century.
The four nominees for best revival of a musical are Floyd Collins, Gypsy, Pirates! The Penzance Musical and Sunset Blvd. The original production of Gypsy, starring Ethel Merman, was nominated for best musical in 1960. The original production of Sunset Blvd., starring Glenn Close won in 1995. The Joseph Papp production of The Pirates of Penzance, starring Rex Smith, Linda Ronstadt and Kevin Kline, won best revival of a musical in 1981. (The Gilbert & Sullivan operetta was more than a century old at that point.)
Gypsy has been nominated for best revival of a musical (or in a predecessor category, best revival) four times, more than any other show. Audra McDonald is nominated for best actress in a musical for her role this latest revival of Gypsy. It’s her 11th nomination, which is more than any other performer. She pulls ahead Julie Harris and Chita Rivera, who landed 10 Tony nods each. (Harris died in 2013; Rivera died in 2024.)
McDonald is the sixth actress to receive a Tony nomination for playing Rose in Gypsy. No other lead character – across plays and musicals – has netted six Tony nominations.
Two artists who have made various Billboard charts over the years are nominated. Darren Criss, who was part of the chart-conquering Glee phenomenon and has had such solo successes as A Very Darren Crissmas, is up for best actor in a musical for Maybe Happy Ending. Nicole Scherzinger, who had four top 10 hits on the Hot 100 with The Pussycat Dolls, is up for best actress in a musical for Sunset Blvd.
Criss is competing with, among others, Jonathan Groff for Just in Time and James Monroe Iglehart for A Wonderful World: The Louis Armstrong Musical. Groff was last year’s winner in the category for the revival of Merrily We Roll Along. The versatile Criss won a Primetime Emmy for his role as Andrew Cunanan in The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story (2018).
George Clooney received his first Tony nod for best performance by an actor in a leading role in a play for Good Night, and Good Luck. Clooney was nominated for Oscars for directing and co-writing (but not acting in) the 2005 film. Clooney is a two-time Oscar winner and the recipient of an honorary Emmy Award, the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award.
A Special Tony Award will be presented to The Illusions & Technical Effects of Stranger Things: The First Shadow (Jamie Harrison, Chris Fisher, Gary Beestone & Edward Pierce).
As previously announced, the 2025 Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre will be presented to Great Performances, Michael Price, New 42, and The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. The Isabelle Stevenson Tony Award will be presented to Celia Keenan-Bolger. Harvey Fierstein will receive the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre.
The 2024/2025 eligibility season began April 26, 2024 and ended April 27, 2025. The Tony Awards will be voted in 26 competitive categories by 840 designated Tony voters within the theatre community.
The Tony Awards are produced in collaboration with Tony Award Productions, a joint venture of the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League, and White Cherry Entertainment. Ricky Kirshner and Glenn Weiss are executive producers and showrunners for White Cherry Entertainment. Weiss will serve as director.
The 78th Annual Tony Awards will return to Radio City Music Hall in New York City next month. Hosted for the first time by Cynthia Erivo, The American Theatre Wing’s Tony Awards will broadcast live to both coasts on Sunday, June 8, 2025 (8:00 – 11:00 p.m. ET/5:00 – 8:00 p.m. PT) on the CBS Television Network, and streaming on Paramount+ in the U.S.
CBS and Pluto TV will present The Tony Awards: Act One, a pre-show of live, exclusive content leading into the 78th Annual Tony Awards.
Here’s the full list of 2025 Tony nominations:
Best Musical
Buena Vista Social Club – Producers: Orin Wolf, John Styles, Jr., Barbara Broccoli, Atlantic Theater Company, Viajes Miranda, LaChanze, David Yazbek, John Leguizamo, David F. Schwartz, Zak Kilberg, J. Todd Harris, Cabo Productions, Roy Furman, Hannah Rosenthal, Jamie deRoy/Marvin Rosen, Grove • REG & Frank Marshall, F.K.R.J. Productions, Patrick Milling-Smith/Brian Carmody, DJ Stage Productions, Palitz Wiesenfeld Productions, Richard & Roberta Shaker, Front Row Productions, Cathy Dantchik, Brooke & Brian Devine, Gilad Rogowsky, MacPac Entertainment, No Guarantees Productions, Rhythm & Rain Productions, Hadley Schnuck, James Francis Trezza, Yonge Street Theatricals, Patrick Daly, Olympus Theatricals/Firemused Productions, Ioana Alfonso/Eric Stine, William Berlind/W.M. Klausner, Creative Endeavor Office/Untitled Theatricals, Ruth Hendel/The Kaplans, Pam Hurst-Della Pietra/Philip Van Dijk, Debbie Ohanian/Stone Arch Theatricals, Composite Capital Partners, Larry Levien, Matt Murphy, Marc Platt, Sandy Robertson, Iris Smith, Thomas Steven Perakos/Douglas A. Fellman, Brad Blume/The Klaes’, Ankit Agrawal/Constance Cincotta, Independent Presenters Network, Nick & Nicky Gold, HoriPro Inc., Playful Productions UK, The Shubert Organization, Frederick Zollo, John Gore Organization, Nederlander Presentations Inc., Marco Ramirez, Allan Williams
Dead Outlaw – Producers: Lia Vollack Productions, Sonia Friedman Productions, Roy Furman, Ken & Janet Schur, Cue to Cue Productions, James Bolosh/Hillary Wyatt, Carl Moellenberg/Ricardo Hornos, Carl & Jennifer Pasbjerg/H2H Concord Theatricals, Masquerade Partners, Douglas Denoff, John Gore Organization, GFour Productions, Brian Hedden, KFRJ Productions, Lang Entertainment Group, James L. Nederlander, Marvin Rosen, Stanely S. Shuman, James L. Walker, Jr., Winkler & Smalberg, 42nd.club/Aligned Theatricals, Craig Balsam/Richard Batchelder, Jane Bergère/Willette and Manny Klausner, The Broadway Investor’s Club/Eastern Standard Time, Barbara Chiodo/Adam Cohen, Merrie L. Davis/Tony Spinosa, Noah Eisenberg/Sue Drew, Robin Gorman Newman/Laurence Padgett Productions, LLPR Productions/Patinogal, Mary Maggio/Janet Rosen, Thomas Swayne, Lawryn LaCroix, Audible
Death Becomes Her – Producers: Universal Theatrical Group, James L. Nederlander, Steven Spielberg & Kate Capshaw, Jason Blum & James Wan, Debra Martin Chase, John Gore Organization, Marc Platt, Lowe Cunningham, Marcia Goldberg
Maybe Happy Ending – Producers: Jeffrey Richards, Hunter Arnold, Darren Criss, Dr. Pam Hurst-Della Pietra & Stephen Della Pietra, NHN Link Corporation, Greg & Lisa Love, Kayla Greenspan, Jayne Baron Sherman, Louise Gund, Spencer Ross, Yonge Street Theatricals, Ruth Hendel, Kaplan-Gopal-MMC, Adam Zotovich, At Rise Creative, Broadway Strategic Return Fund, Curt Cronin, Fahs Productions, Greg Field, Paul Gavriani/Michael Patrick, Rebecca Gold, Grace Street Creative Group, John Gore Organization, Willette & Manny Klausner, Kent Knudsen, James L. Nederlander, Salmira Productions, The Shubert Organization, Jacob Stuckelman & John Albert Harris, Wooran Foundation, You Should Smile More Productions, Mark and David Golub Productions, Diego Kolankowsky, Takonkiet Viravan, Brad Blume, Will Aronson & Hue Park, Hugo Six, Clarissa Cueva, Ali Daylami, Maia Kayla Glasman, Patrick W. Jones, Brandon J. Schwartz, Allan Williams
Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical – Producers: Avalon, SpitLip, Jon Thoday, Richard Allen-Turner, Bryan McCaffrey, Walport Productions, LeftNoRing Productions, Barbara Chiodo, Feuille Dooley North Productions, The Shubert Organization, Ken Davenport, Steve & Paula Reynolds, Concord Theatricals, Byron Grote & Susan Miller, John Gore Organization, M. Kilburg Reedy, Sony Music Entertainment, You Should Smile More Productions, Tom Smedes & Peter Stern, Judith Ann Abrams Productions/The Broadway Investor’s Club, Lang Entertainment Group, Alli Folk/Evelyn Hoffman & Gregory Stern, Nick Flatto/Evan & Claudia Caplan Reynolds, Larry Hirschhorn & Ricardo Hornos/Carl & Jennifer Pasbjerg, Independent Presenters Network/Lloyd Tichio Productions, Kendall Kellaway III/Megan Minutillo, Blume Johnson Rubin & Silver, Russell Citron, The Council, Jamie deRoy & Brian Rooney/Corey Brunish & Matthew P. Hui, Dodge Hall Productions, 42nd.club, IJB Productions, Mickey Liddell & Pete Shilaimon, Stephanie P. McClelland, James L. Simon, Mark Weinstein, Adam Cohen/Nick Padgett, Vibecke Dahle Dellapolla/Lynnette Barkley, Willette & Manny Klausner/Elizabeth Faulkner Salem, Michael Page/Burnt Umber Productions, Wallace-Phoebe/Laurie Oki & Alexander Oki, Margot Astrachan/TT Partners, Andrew Fell
Best Revival of a Musical
Floyd Collins – Book/Additional Lyrics: Tina Landau; Music & Lyrics: Adam Guettel; Producers: Lincoln Center Theater, André Bishop, Adam Siegel, Naomi Grabel, Ira Weitzman, Creative Partners Productions, Mark Cortale & Charles D. Urstadt
Gypsy – Producers: Tom Kirdahy, Mara Isaacs, Kevin Ryan, Diane Scott Carter, Wendy Federman & Heni Koenigsberg, Roy Furman, Viajes Miranda, Kerry Washington, Peter May, Thomas M. Neff, Cynthia J. Tong, Adam Hyndman, A Perfect Team Productions, Cue to Cue Productions, Da Silva Stone, DMQR Productions, Grant Spark Productions, Marguerite Steed Hoffman, KarmaHendelMcCabe, James L. Nederlander, Janet and Marvin Rosen, Archer Entertainment, Dale Franzen, 42nd.club, Rob Acton, All That JJAS, Mike Audet, Patty Baker, Cohen Soto, Concord Theatricals, Creative Partners Productions, Crumhale Taylor Productions, Ken Davenport, DJD Productions, Flipswitch Entertainment, Frankly Spoken Productions, Roy Gabay, Happy Recap Productions, Sandra and Howard Hoffen, John Gore Organization, Johnson Maggio Productions, Willette and Manny Klausner, Kors Le Pere Theatricals, LaCroix Eisenberg, David Lai, Little Lamb Productions, Bill and Sally Martin, Mohari Media, No Guarantees Productions, Pam Hurst-Della Pietra and Stephen Della Pietra, Regian Davison, Lamar Richardson, Patti and Michael Roberts, RTK Rose, Score 3 Partners, Silva Theatrical Group, Some People, Stone Arch Theatricals, Storyboard Entertainment LE, Mary and Jay Sullivan, The Adams Hendel Group, The Array VI, The Broadway Investor’s Club, Theatre Producers of Color, Tom Tuft, TreAmici Gooding, Waiting in the Wings Productions, Whitney Williams, Sara Beth Zivitz, Jamila Ponton Bragg, The Industry Standard Group
Pirates! The Penzance Musical – Producers: Roundabout Theatre Company, Todd Haimes, Scott Ellis, Sydney Beers, Christopher Nave, Steven Showalter, James L. Nederlander, Fran and Paul Turner, ATG Productions/Gavin Kalin Productions
Sunset Blvd. – Producers: The Jamie Lloyd Company, ATG Productions, Michael Harrison for Lloyd Webber Harrison Musicals, Gavin Kalin Productions, Wessex Grove, Christopher Ketner, Aleri Entertainment, Sonia Friedman, Roth-Manella Productions, Winkler Smalberg, Caitlin Clements, 42nd.club, Abrams Johnson, Aron on Broadway, The Array V, At Rise Creative, Bad Robot Live, Craig Balsam, Greg Berlanti, Boardman Cannova Productions, Bob Boyett, Burnt Umber Productions, Patrick Catullo, Crane McGill Trunfio, Core Four Productions, Nicole Eisenberg, The Factor Gavin Partnership, Federman Jenen Koenigsberg, Forshaw Turchin, John Gore, Jake Hine, LAMF Secret Hideout, Jack Lane, Lang Entertainment Group, Lelli Armstrong, Alex Levy, Luftig Reade St. Kawana, Mary Maggio, Jay Marcus, Stephanie P. McClelland, James L. Nederlander, No Guarantees Productions, P3 Productions, Thomas Steven Perakos, Pam Hurst-Della Pietra, Shari Redstone, Regian Davison Buckman, Sand & Snow Entertainment, SBK Productions, The Shubert Organization, Smedes Stern Productions, Tilted, Willowrow Entertainment, WMKlausner
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical
Darren Criss, Maybe Happy Ending
Andrew Durand, Dead Outlaw
Tom Francis, Sunset Blvd.
Jonathan Groff, Just in Time
James Monroe Iglehart, A Wonderful World: The Louis Armstrong Musical
Jeremy Jordan, Floyd Collins
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical
Megan Hilty, Death Becomes Her
Audra McDonald, Gypsy
Jasmine Amy Rogers, BOOP! The Musical
Nicole Scherzinger, Sunset Blvd.
Jennifer Simard, Death Becomes Her
Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical
Brooks Ashmanskas, SMASH
Jeb Brown, Dead Outlaw
Danny Burstein, Gypsy
Jak Malone, Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical
Taylor Trensch, Floyd Collins
Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical
Natalie Venetia Belcon, Buena Vista Social Club
Julia Knitel, Dead Outlaw
Gracie Lawrence, Just in Time
Justina Machado, Real Women Have Curves: The Musical
Joy Woods, Gypsy
Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre
Dead Outlaw, Music & Lyrics: David Yazbek and Erik Della Penna
Death Becomes Her, Music & Lyrics: Julia Mattison and Noel Carey
Maybe Happy Ending, Music: Will Aronson; Lyrics: Will Aronson and Hue Park
Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical, Music & Lyrics: David Cumming, Felix Hagan, Natasha Hodgson and Zoë Roberts
Real Women Have Curves: The Musical, Music & Lyrics: Joy Huerta and Benjamin Velez
Best Book of a Musical
Buena Vista Social Club, Marco Ramirez
Dead Outlaw, Itamar Moses
Death Becomes Her, Marco Pennette
Maybe Happy Ending, Will Aronson and Hue Park
Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical, David Cumming, Felix Hagan, Natasha Hodgson and Zoë Roberts
Best Direction of a Musical
Saheem Ali, Buena Vista Social Club
Michael Arden, Maybe Happy Ending
David Cromer, Dead Outlaw
Christopher Gattelli, Death Becomes Her
Jamie Lloyd, Sunset Blvd.
Best Choreography
Joshua Bergasse, SMASH
Camille A. Brown, Gypsy
Christopher Gattelli, Death Becomes Her
Jerry Mitchell, BOOP! The Musical
Patricia Delgado and Justin Peck, Buena Vista Social Club
Best Orchestrations
Andrew Resnick and Michael Thurber, Just in Time
Will Aronson, Maybe Happy Ending
Bruce Coughlin, Floyd Collins
Marco Paguia, Buena Vista Social Club
David Cullen and Andrew Lloyd Webber, Sunset Blvd.
Best Scenic Design of a Musical
Rachel Hauck, Swept Away
Dane Laffrey and George Reeve, Maybe Happy Ending
Arnulfo Maldonado, Buena Vista Social Club
Derek McLane, Death Becomes Her
Derek McLane, Just in Time
Best Costume Design of a Musical
Dede Ayite, Buena Vista Social Club
Gregg Barnes, BOOP! The Musical
Clint Ramos, Maybe Happy Ending
Paul Tazewell, Death Becomes Her
Catherine Zuber, Just in Time
Best Lighting Design of a Musical
Jack Knowles, Sunset Blvd.
Tyler Micoleau, Buena Vista Social Club
Scott Zielinski and Ruey Horng Sun, Floyd Collins
Ben Stanton, Maybe Happy Ending
Justin Townsend, Death Becomes Her
Best Sound Design of a Musical
Jonathan Deans, Buena Vista Social Club
Adam Fisher, Sunset Blvd.
Peter Hylenski, Just in Time
Peter Hylenski, Maybe Happy Ending
Dan Moses Schreier, Floyd Collins
Best Play
English – Author: Sanaz Toossi; Producers: Roundabout Theatre Company, Todd Haimes, Scott Ellis, Sydney Beers, Christopher Nave, Steven Showalter, Atlantic Theater Company
The Hills of California – Author: Jez Butterworth; Producers: Sonia Friedman Productions, No Guarantees Productions, Neal Street Productions, Brian Spector, Sand & Snow Entertainment, Stephanie P. McClelland, Barry Diller, Reade St. Productions, Van Dean, Andrew Paradis/We R Broadway Artists Alliance, Patty Baker, Wendy Bingham Cox, Bob Boyett, Butcher Brothers, Caitlin Clements, Kallish Weinstein Creative, Michael Scott, Steven Toll & Randy Jones Toll, City Cowboy Productions/Jamie deRoy, JKVL Productions/Padgett Ross Productions, Koenigsberg Riley/Tulchin Bartner Productions, Todd B. Rubin/Carlos Medina, Silly Bears Productions/Omara Productions, Michael Wolk/Cali e Amici, Manhattan Theatre Club, Lynne Meadow, Chris Jennings
John Proctor is the Villain – Author: Kimberly Belflower;Producers: Sue Wagner, John Johnson, John Mara, Jr., Runyonland, Eric Falkenstein, Jillian Robbins, Jen Hoguet, Rialto Productions, Corets Gough Kench Cohen, The Shubert Organization, James L. Nederlander, John Gore Organization, Patty Baker, Cue to Cue Productions, Echo Lake Entertainment, Harris Rubin Productions, Klausner & Zell, Jennifer Kroman, Mickey Liddell & Pete Shilaimon, Mahnster Productions, Nathan Winoto, The Cohn Sisters & Stifelman-Burkhardt, Astro Lab Productions, Creative Partners Productions, Sarah Daniels & Christopher Barrett, Frimmer & Benmosche, Joan Rechnitz, Melissa Chamberlain & Michael McCartney, Pam Hurst-Della Pietra & Stephen Della Pietra, McCaffrey & Demar, Alan & Peggy Mendelson, Newport & Smerigan, Jamie deRoy, Jaime Gleicher, Wes Grantom, Meena Harris & Jessica Foung, Los Angeles Media Fund, Corey Steinfast, SunnySpot & Valentine, Turchin Clements, Jane Bergère & Douglas Denoff, Amy Wen & Meister Leonard, 7th Inning Stretch & Stella La Rue, Indie Slingshot, Annaleise Loxton
Oh, Mary! – Author: Cole Escola; Producers: Kevin McCollum & Lucas McMahon, Mike Lavoie & Carlee Briglia, Bob Boyett, The Council, Jean Doumanian Productions, Nicole Eisenberg, Jay Marcus & George Strus, Irony Point, Richard Batchelder/Bradley Reynolds, Tyler Mount/Tommy Doyle, Nelson & Tao, Palomares & Rosenberg, ShowTown Productions
Purpose – Author: Branden Jacobs-Jenkins; Producers: David Stone, Debra Martin Chase, Marc Platt, LaChanze, Rashad V. Chambers, Aaron Glick, Universal Theatrical Group, Eastern Standard Time, Trate Productions, Nancy Nagel Gibbs, James L. Nederlander, John Gore, ATG Entertainment, The Shubert Organization, Steppenwolf Theatre Company
Best Revival of a Play
Eureka Day – Author: Jonathan Spector; Producers: Manhattan Theatre Club, Lynne Meadow, Chris Jennings
Romeo + Juliet – Producers: Seaview, Harbor Entertainment, Kevin Ryan, Eric & Marsi Gardiner, Roth-Manella Productions, Kate Cannova, J + J Productions, Julie Boardman, Alexander-Taylor Deignan, Atekwana Hutton, Bensmihen Mann Productions, Patrick Catullo, Chutzpah Productions, Corets Gough Willman Productions, Dave Johnson Productions, DJD Productions, Hornos Moellenberg, Pam Hurst-Della Pietra & Stephen Della Pietra, Mark Gordon Pictures, Oren Michels, No Guarantees Productions, Nothing Ventured Productions, Strus Lynch, Sunset Cruz Productions, Dennis Trunfio, Stephen C. Byrd, Fourth Wall Theatricals, Level Forward, Soto Productions, WMKlausner
Thornton Wilder’s Our Town – Producers: Jeffrey Richards, Samsational Entertainment, Louise Gund, Eric Falkenstein, Suzanne Grant, Patty Baker, Daryl Roth/Tom Tuft, Ronald Frankel, Rebecca Gold, Gabrielle Palitz, Brunish-Rooney-Hui/Laura Little, Thom and Karen Lauzon, Pamela Hurst-Della Pietra & Stephen Della Pietra, Score 3 Partners, Secret Hideout, David S. Stone, Craig Balsam, John Gore Organization, Caiola Productions, Concord Theatricals, Melissa & Bradford Coolidge, Irene Gandy, Kenny Leon, Willette & Manny Klausner, Andrew Marderian-Davis, Ellen Susman, Leslie Rainbolt, Randy Jones Toll & Steven Toll, James S. Levine, Hank & Kara Steinberg, Alexander “Sandy” Marshall, Ken & Rande Greiner/David Schwartz & Trudy Zohn, Patrick W. Jones, Maia Kayla Glasman, Brandon J. Schwartz, The Shubert Organization
Yellow Face – Author: David Henry Hwang; Producers: Roundabout Theatre Company, Todd Haimes, Scott Ellis, Sydney Beers, Christopher Nave, Steven Showalter
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play
George Clooney, Good Night, and Good Luck
Cole Escola, Oh, Mary!
Jon Michael Hill, Purpose
Daniel Dae Kim, Yellow Face
Harry Lennix, Purpose
Louis McCartney, Stranger Things: The First Shadow
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play
Laura Donnelly, The Hills of California
Mia Farrow, The Roommate
LaTanya Richardson Jackson, Purpose
Sadie Sink, John Proctor is the Villain
Sarah Snook, The Picture of Dorian Gray
Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play
Glenn Davis, Purpose
Gabriel Ebert, John Proctor is the Villain
Francis Jue, Yellow Face
Bob Odenkirk, Glengarry Glen Ross
Conrad Ricamora, Oh, Mary!
Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play
Tala Ashe, English
Jessica Hecht, Eureka Day
Marjan Neshat, English
Fina Strazza, John Proctor is the Villain
Kara Young, Purpose
Best Direction of a Play
Knud Adams, English
Sam Mendes, The Hills of California
Sam Pinkleton, Oh, Mary!
Danya Taymor, John Proctor is the Villain
Kip Williams, The Picture of Dorian Gray
Best Scenic Design of a Play
Marsha Ginsberg, English
Rob Howell, The Hills of California
Marg Horwell and David Bergman, The Picture of Dorian Gray
Miriam Buether and 59, Stranger Things: The First Shadow
Scott Pask, Good Night, and Good Luck
Best Costume Design of a Play
Brenda Abbandandolo, Good Night, and Good Luck
Marg Horwell, The Picture of Dorian Gray
Rob Howell, The Hills of California
Holly Pierson, Oh, Mary!
Brigitte Reiffenstuel, Stranger Things: The First Shadow
Best Lighting Design of a Play
Natasha Chivers, The Hills of California
Jon Clark, Stranger Things: The First Shadow
Heather Gilbert and David Bengali, Good Night, and Good Luck
Natasha Katz and Hannah Wasileski, John Proctor is the Villain
Nick Schlieper, The Picture of Dorian Gray
Best Sound Design of a Play
Paul Arditti, Stranger Things: The First Shadow
Palmer Hefferan, John Proctor is the Villain
Daniel Kluger, Good Night, and Good Luck
Nick Powell, The Hills of California
Clemence Williams, The Picture of Dorian Gray
Buena Vista Social Club – 10
Death Becomes Her – 10
Maybe Happy Ending – 10
Dead Outlaw – 7
John Proctor is the Villain – 7
Sunset Blvd. – 7
The Hills of California – 7
Floyd Collins – 6
Just in Time – 6
Purpose – 6
The Picture of Dorian Gray – 6
English – 5
Good Night, and Good Luck – 5
Gypsy – 5
Oh, Mary! – 5
Stranger Things: The First Shadow – 5
Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical – 4
BOOP! The Musical – 3
Yellow Face – 3
Eureka Day – 2
Real Women Have Curves: The Musical – 2
SMASH – 2
A Wonderful World: The Louis Armstrong Musical – 1
Glengarry Glen Ross – 1
Pirates! The Penzance Musical – 1
Romeo + Juliet – 1
Swept Away – 1
The Roommate – 1
Thornton Wilder’s Our Town – 1
You can be among the first to find out who is nominated for the 78th annual Tony Awards by tuning into a livestream on the Tony Awards YouTube Page on Thursday (May 1) at 9 a.m. ET. If you’re really a dedicated Broadway fan, be sure to tune in to CBS Mornings at 8:30 a.m. […]
Actor and writer Harvey Fierstein will receive the 2025 Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre at the 78th annual Tony Awards. The show, with first-time host Cynthia Erivo, will broadcast live on both coasts on Sunday, June 8 (8-11 p.m. ET/5-8 p.m. PT) on CBS and streaming on Paramount+ in the U.S.
Fierstein has won four Tony Awards — two for Torch Song Trilogy (best play and best actor in a play) and one each for La Cage Aux Folles (best book of a musical) and Hairspray (best actor in a musical). He also wrote the Tony-winning hit Kinky Boots. Other Broadway credits include Newsies, Legs Diamond and the revival of Funny Girl. He revised the book for the latter show, which had a hit run on Broadway following its London production.
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Some of the luminaries previously honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award include Carol Channing, Graciela Daniele, Joel Gray, Jane Greenwood, Sheldon Harnick, Julie Harris, Rosemary Harris, Jerry Herman, James Earl Jones, John Kander, Angela Lansbury, Marshall W. Mason, Terrence McNally, Jack O’Brien, Harold Prince, Chita Rivera, Marian Seldes, Stephen Sondheim, Tommy Tune, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Harold Wheeler and George C. Wolfe.
Fierstein, 72, received a Primetime Emmy nod in 1992 for outstanding supporting actor in a comedy series for a guest spot on Cheers.
The Tony Awards will be held at Radio City Music Hall in New York City for the first time in three years. Nominations will be announced on Thursday, May 1, at 9 a.m. ET live on the Tony Awards’ YouTube Page.
The Tony Awards are produced in collaboration with Tony Award Productions, a joint venture of the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League, and White Cherry Entertainment. Ricky Kirshner and Glenn Weiss are executive producers and showrunners for White Cherry Entertainment. Weiss will serve as director.
A limited number of tickets to the show are now on sale to the general public. Ticket prices begin at $595 for seats in the second and third mezzanines and are available for purchase at the Tony Awards’ website and Ticketmaster. There is a six-ticket limit and all ticket sales are final (Ticketmaster services charges will apply).
When Will Brill got home after winning his first Tony award, he was a little, well….spooked. “I was in bed and somebody texted me like, ‘How are you feeling?’” Brill recalls. “And I was suddenly hit with like, There’s a Tony in this house. It can’t be seen. It is lurking! So weird.”
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A week after winning best featured actor in a play for his performance in Stereophonic, Brill admits it still “feels a little weird.” His portrayal of Reg – the hilarious, endearing, and often frighteningly coke-and-booze-addled bass player in Stereophonic’s fictional 1970s rock band on the verge of mega stardom – made Brill the only cast member from the most-Tony-nominated-ever play to bring home hardware. But on Tony night, Brill made sure to give his full cast its due: in his delightfully off-the-cuff acceptance speech, he asked all his castmates to stand up for an ovation (he also, memorably, thanked his therapist).
Like his fellow Stereophonic cast members, Brill wasn’t an experienced, trained musician before joining the ensemble. But acquiring the skill to convincingly play one onstage (and perform the play’s Tony-nominated score by Will Butler there) was the kind of deep-dive experience Brill has long relished as an actor: His wide-ranging roles have included Dr. Astrov, in the hyper-intimate off-Broadway production of Uncle Vanya that took place in a private New York loft last year, as well as Roy Cohn in Showtime’s miniseries Fellow Travelers, and the peddler Ali Hakim in the 2019 Broadway reimagining of Oklahoma!.
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As Stereophonic continues its run on Broadway through Jan. 5, 2025, Brill spoke to Billboard about adding Reg to that list, as well as about his action-packed Tony night.
Have you started to come to terms with cohabitating with your Tony?Sort of… I mean, people keep like asking, “Where are you going to put it?” I don’t know…. wherever it…looks good? Wherever it fits? Like, I had to put my bike in this one corner because that’s where it fit. I don’t have a lot of art in my house, and now I have this thing I’m like, obligated to display.
You have to put it somewhere unexpected, like the bathroom.
Totally. My idea, which I believe is a step too far, was to put it in the toilet. So it’s really a surprise to anybody who is using the bathroom. I have a buddy who keeps his in the fridge. And I heard that Ian McKellen keeps his many awards on his roof so that they can “rest.” I don’t know what that means, but that’s allegedly what he does.
Before we discuss anything else, I need the story of your ensemble for Tonys night: the pleats, the jewelry… it was a look!
I was working with a stylist, Savannah White, and we had bounced around a lot of ideas of stores and designers and we were largely on the same page: Vivienne Westwood, Thom Browne, Commes des Garcons, and Issey Miyake, who I didn’t really know of until he passed. I just saw an article about him and started Googling him and was really moved by his aesthetic.
So then Savannah came back with the two looks [of Miyake’s] that I wound up wearing. I was like, “Oh my God, this is so unlike anything I’ve seen, and I have to imagine it’s going to be totally unlike what anybody else is going to be wearing.” I wanted to be wearing something that wasn’t following a gender binary, and I feel like Issey’s stuff hangs on any human body beautifully. I felt really lucky that we sort of nailed it. Everything was sort of flowy and weird and off-kilter — and few straight lines except for the pleats themselves. It was really a fun fit.
Will Brill accepts the Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play award for Stereophonic onstage during The 77th Annual Tony Awards at David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center on June 16, 2024 in New York City.
Theo Wargo/Getty Images
Your speech was iconic, to say the least. When you thanked your therapist, it became one of the most-memed moments of the night. How did you hear about that?
My PR person came up to me and was like, “The internet loved your speech.” And I was like, “Oh, that’s so nice. I just assumed that it was like, either the internet loves your speech or hates your speech — I had no idea that me shouting out my therapist was going to be any kind of a big deal or that shouting out the rest of my cast, for that matter, was going to be a big deal too. But they both sort of showed up everywhere. I got a really sweet text from my therapist that at first was all caps, “HOLY S–T, YOU WON! F–K YEAH!” And then, two minutes later, “Oh my God Will, this is so sweet,” which really made me happy.
You also gave a shoutout to your bass teacher. What was the process of learning the instrument like for you? You really get the physicality and personality of a bass player down, as well as the technical aspects, which seems uniquely challenging.
It was really important for me to look authentic. I had experience learning an instrument for a [project] before — I learned to play 12 songs on the guitar for this David Chase film Not Fade Away, and that’s actually where I met Robbie Mangano, who was in The Grandmothers of Invention and is an astonishing guitar and bass player. He taught me and Jack Huston how to play guitar for the movie.
But it was a different thing; we really just needed to look like we were playing the songs, which were pre-recorded by essentially the E Street Band. We didn’t actually have to play for sound, we just had to look like we knew what we were doing, and there were all sorts of ways to cut around the fact that we didn’t know what we were doing.
So for this show, I called Robbie to help me learn the bass. But Robbie was also weirdly at the intersection of my life where I started to think about sobriety, which is like another huge part of Reg. I got really drunk at a show of Robbie’s, and he wrote me this two-page letter, where he was like, “I’ve seen too many talented people not have the life that they should because they got caught up with drugs and alcohol, and I really believe in you and I count you as a friend and I hope that that would not be something that happened to you.”
At the time I couldn’t hear it, and I actually wound up not talking to him for several years because I was so embarrassed. Years and years later, I got a divorce and then I got sober and then [Stereophonic] came back around. So by the time I called Robbie to start learning the bass again, I was two years sober and got to tell him that he was a big part of that. And he wound up saying to me, “Wow, that’s crazy. I am recently sober too.” It was really crazy and moving. So he’s been a very special touchstone in my life.
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Great bass players especially seem to have this innate comfort in your own skin. Was that natural for you to achieve or more of a journey?
It was a journey, for sure. But what was cool was, when I was a little kid, I thought I was going to be a magician. I would practice card tricks alone in my room for literally 12 hours a day. I didn’t pursue magic because it was too scary to perform in front of people these things that required incredible dexterity. But when I started learning the bass, it triggered this long dormant part of my brain, which was like the joy of doing something dexterous 1000 times alone in your bedroom and losing sleep over it and trying to perfect this one thing and getting closer and closer. So I really felt like I was practicing magic again.
You and your castmates opened for Will Butler at his own actual album release show just a few weeks after previews for Stereophonic started. What was that like?
It was insane. A lot of people took videos with their phones and sent them to me afterward, and I was so embarrassed at how stiff and terrible I was that I was like, “Okay, you don’t have to just get good at the bass, you have to look amazing, you have to be able to dance and play the bass at the same time.” It still never feels like it’s easy, but it’s cool to have audiences come now and say that it looks like it’s easy, because that’s sort of the goal.
From left: Tom Pecinka, Will Brill and Sarah Pidgeon in Stereophonic.
Julieta Cervantes
Were there particular bass players who were models for your portrayal of Reg?
I definitely watched videos of John McVie playing. Will Butler is the only frontman I can think of off the top of my head who also plays bass, and he is so dance-y in his shows — he’s so free, he’s a true wild man on stage, and he was really a big source of inspiration.
I went to see Muna recently, and the band that opened for them [Nova Twins], it was these two British girls playing kind of hardcore music and dressed up sort of like punk-style Raggedy Ann. The bassist would jump around and run around the stage, and I remember thinking like, “I want to get close to that and I want to have that freedom of movement.” Other than that, learning the instrument was so hard and learning the play was so hard that there was not really a lot of room outside your imagination to do extra research.
This seems like such a lightning in a bottle kind of experience for all of you. Has it in any fundamental ways changed what you want from the work you do going forward?
Yeah, for sure — but I think every role I play, to a certain extent, is a reassessment of what I want to do going forward. The ultimate thing that I love about performing and exploring characters is exploring the different the levels of myself that I don’t know completely or understand and by extrapolation exploring the human condition more and more deeply.
I was just talking about this in therapy today, actually. Like, I’m constantly straddling a line: Am I doing justice to myself and the role that I’m playing by putting in an amount of effort that actually does meaningful excavation for myself and for the people coming? Or should I be resting a little bit more, and can the process be easier and more joyful?
I would say the peddler in Oklahoma! was a more joyful than difficult experience for me; probably A Case For The Existence of God was too and probably Fellow Travelers was a little more joyful than it was difficult. And then Uncle Vanya and this have both really ridden on the cusp of joy and difficulty. They have been the most challenging experiences of my life, but also deeply, deeply gratifying.
In a community of multitaskers, Shaina Taub is still most likely one of the busiest people on Broadway. Taub wrote the music, lyrics and book for Suffs, her musical bringing the women who fomented the women’s suffrage movement vividly back to life and firmly out of the history books to which they’ve long been relegated; she’s also one of the show’s stars, playing the central role of movement instigator Alice Paul.
At last week’s Tony Awards, Taub took home the prizes for both original score and book of a musical, and gave a moving televised speech calling out some of the pioneering women who paved the way for her – including both fellow composers and one of her lead producers, Sec. Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Shaina Taub as Alice Paul in Suffs.
Joan Marcus
Sitting in her dressing room a little over an hour from showtime on a recent night, the 35-year old Taub is clearly still absorbing her wins, though she admits that the ongoing routine of performing onstage each night has helped keep her grounded. “To have the tangible act of doing the show,” she says, “brings me back to reality in a beautiful way.” (The show’s original Broadway cast recording is currently out on Atlantic Records).
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Below, she speaks to Billboard about Suffs’ long road to Broadway (including its run at New York’s Public Theater in spring of 2022), the status of her next project – writing the lyrics for Elton John’s music in the The Devil Wears Prada musical (set to open at London’s Dominion theater in July prior to a West End transfer in October) – and more.
The world of theater often feels like a more progressive one than TV or film — but as you pointed out in your acceptance speech it’s still a fairly small group of women composers who are getting recognition of this level. What’s been your experience?
I’ve been so blessed to have been taught well for so long by so many brilliant women. Elizabeth Swados — who’s a legend of theater, composer, educator — I got to be in her class [at NYU], and she was the first person who pushed me off the cliff to write a song before that was something I thought I could even do. And Jeanine [Tesori] especially is just a titan of composing in our field for any gender. She’s been so generous — she just let me come and play crappy first drafts, and gave me essential devastating feedback, tough love and real-talk in moments when I’ve had questions about the business and about the craft. Georgia Stitt too, who put together Maestra, which is such an amazing community for women and non-binary folks making theater. Kristen Anderson-Lopez has been so kind.
A lot has been made this season of me being the second woman to write and star in a musical but the first one is Micki Grant, an incredible artist I sadly never got to meet whose legacy should be given a lot more attention. We’ve always been here, and so many women are my peers on Broadway right now: Rebekah Greer Melocik is a good friend, and her work for How to Dance in Ohio was so gorgeous; Kate Kerrigan with The Great Gatsby, she and I have come up together; Bekah [Brunstetter] and Ingrid [Michaelson] for The Notebook. Anais Mitchell – whose Hadestown I was in off-Broadway — we’re both Vermont girls and she’s such a confidante. Everyone is just so forthcoming; it’s a real sisterhood.
You clearly did work on Suffs between the Public and Broadway runs. How did you come to terms with what needed editing? Was there a moment between the runs of reset for you?
There really wasn’t a lot of a moment of reset. There was no back in the saddle – we kinda stayed in the saddle. I had demos of new ideas for songs from May 2022 that are now in the show on Broadway. I knew that it wasn’t finished, and there’s just that intel you get from a first production that you can’t get in a workshop or reading because the audience tells you everything and they tell you fast. It took a lot of willpower to keep going; I’m so proud of what we did downtown, and we had so much love for the show and also a lot of critique of the show. There were times that got me down, but any sense of feeling down pretty quickly transformed into almost this adrenaline, this sense of being underestimated that put me on fire to be like, we’re gonna finish this show, dammit!
From left: Jenn Colella, Kim Blanck, Shaina Taub, Nikki M James and Ally Bonino at Suffs‘ first preview performance.
Jenny Anderson / @jennyandersonphoto
What kind of changes did you know you had to make?
There were two driving principles to my revision. More humanity, less history: just making sure everything was as character- and emotion-forward as possible, with all the historical detail I fell in love with taking a bit more of a backseat. And then I kind of made a promise to myself that I was gonna spend more time sitting at the piano than the computer, trying to let my impulses be visceral, let me pull from my musical heart first and see where that would lead.
Did you always intend to perform in Suffs?
I always wanted to perform in it. I’ve always performed in my work — I find writing and performing feed each other. But I initially thought I’d play Doris, the young intern type character who documents everything. It sort of felt like the Mark in Rent character and I’ve always wanted to play Mark in a gender-flipped Rent. [Laughs.] But Alice was a difficult nut to crack, finding her inner life. She didn’t leave that much of a paper trail in terms of her emotional life.
And it was also about finding Alice’s sense of humor. I got a great note from our orchestrator, Michael Starobin, who came to see me play at Joe’s Pub early last year and was like, “I wish there as more of that girl in Alice – that self-deprecation and humor.” It was such a great note, and I think it helped me make her come alive.
What has Sec. Clinton been like as a producer?
She’s just been such a cheerleader and a warm, supportive presence — how vocal she’s been in her support of us before reviews, nominations, awards, just her vote of confidence in us and that we could see through this thing we started at the Public, that gave me faith in the dark and hard moments of tech and previews and the “Oh boy, we’re gonna go face the music again [on Broadway], what are people gonna say…” Knowing she believed in us so wholeheartedly that she was willing to attach her name and her legacy to this piece of art, that gave me confidence I needed in really vulnerable moments.
Suffs producers Rachel Sussman, Sec. Clinton, and Jill Furman, and co-producer Morgan Steward.
Jenny Anderson / @jennyandersonphoto
Can we please discuss her amazing Tony night caftan? It was definitely one of the biggest stories of the night…
I loved it. She looked gorgeous as always, and she seemed to me to be so liberated. And to see her be so celebrated by the theater community with that standing ovation — it was great to see her given her due. She’s a theater lover, and beyond just being an enthusiast I think she understands the importance of theater to the public discourse. She gets that it matters beyond just entertainment; it’s a public common good that should be funded, that should be championed, and that’s rare in a leader of her stature. New York theater loves HRC!
Have you been juggling Devil Wears Prada work with all this too? Are there lessons you’ve learned in the editing process for Suffs that you’re finding are applicable there?
I mean, that’s another long and winding road — we’re going through a lot of changes, and it’s exciting. I was actually just texting with the creative team right now! I’ve been working on that show for six years, it’s gone through so many permutations, and yet we keep trying to figure it out. It’s such a fundamentally different experience [from Suffs] in that I’m collaborating so much, writing lyrics for a composer who’s worked lyrics-first for his whole 50-plus-years songwriting career. That’s really strengthened me as a songwriter, to write lyrics first and lyrics only. It’s gotten me excited for my projects after this to be a little more in the music seat, after this lyric-honing time.
It’s crazy with theater, you can never plan these things in advance. I never imagined it would be this insane overlapping season, but luckily we got to do a lot of amazing work last year. Elton and I wrote a few new songs, so it’s on its way.
One of the most exciting moments of the 2024 Tony Awards on Sunday night (June 16) was when the cast of Hell’s Kitchen took the stage to perform a medley of songs from the musical, with Alicia Keys on the piano for a crowd-riling performance of her 2009 hit, “Empire State of Mind.” Halfway through […]
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The 2024 Tony Awards took place on Sunday (June 16), and the musical category was stacked with productions beloved by fans and critics.
Hell’s Kitchen, Water for Elephants, Illinoise, The Outsiders and Suffs were some of the award-winning and nominated musicals at the 77th annual Tony Awards. (Missed the show? Here’s how to watch this year’s Tony Awards for free.)
With the weather getting nicer on the East Coast and summer travel heating up, it’s a great time to start planning to see one of this year’s Tony-winning and nominated musicals on Broadway.
Tickets to musicals and other productions can be purchased at sites such as Broadway.com and Telecharge, in addition to TodaysTix, StubHub and Vivid Seats, but we rounded up other ticketing sites to utilize too. Ticket prices range from around $60 and up, but prices for some of the popular shows (Hell’s Kitchen included) can range from upwards of $100 to $300, depending on demand.
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Keep reading for a breakdown of each of the best musical nominees for 2024, and a couple of other buzzing musicals, and places to buy tickets.
Hell’s Kitchen
Leading the pack as the most Tony Award-nominated show of the year, Alicia Key’s Hell’s Kitchen took home two Tony Awards on Sunday (best performance by an actress in a leading role for Maleah Joi Moon and best performance in a featured role for Kecia Lewis).
Featuring music from Keys, Hell’s Kitchen is a coming-of-age story centered around a 17-year-old teen who lives in New York City’s Hell’s Kitchen and dreams of blazing a path through music. The cast includes Shoshana Bean, Brandon Victor Dixon, Lewis, Chris Lee and Moon.
‘Hell’s Kitchen’ Tickets
Illinoise
The 2024 Tony Award winner for best choreography, Illinoise is based on the Sufjan Steven’s 2005 album of the same name and features “a group of friends gather around a campfire, sharing stories of first love, grief, and growing up in this new musical.” The musical was created by Tony nominee Justin Peck and Pulitzer Prize winner Jackie Sibblies Drury.
‘Illinoise’ Tickets
Water for Elephants
Based on the New York Times bestselling novel, Water for Elephants is a Great Depression-era story about a man who steps onto a new life path after jumping in front of a moving train and subsequently joining a traveling circus.
‘Water for Elephants’ Tickets
The Outsiders
A stage adaptation of the S.E. Hinton novel , The Outsiders follows the story of Ponyboy Curtis, a 14-year-old orphan. The musical explores classism and gang rivalries in 1960s Tulsa, featuring music from Jamestown Revival (Jonathan Clay and Zach Chance) and Justin Levine.
The Outsiders won for best musical at the Tonys.
‘The Outsiders’ Tickets
Stereophonic
Stereophonic centers around a fictional 1976 rock band on the edge of superstardom. Featuring original music from Arcade Fire’s Will Butler, Stereophonic follows the band as they record a new album and navigate “ensuing pressures” that could end in a “breakup or a breakthrough.”
The musical won five Tony Awards out of 13 nominations (tying with Hell’s Kitchen‘s nods).
‘Stereophonic’ Tickets
Merrily We Roll Along
The Stephen Sondheim musical is about two artists whose friendship falls apart just as their careers start to come together. The play starts at the end and takes viewers down memory lane with Daniel Radcliffe, Jonathan Groff and Lindsay Mendez as its stars.
Merrily We Roll Along took home four Tonys, including best revival musical.
‘Merrily We Roll Along’ Tickets
Suffs
Suffs is a musical about the women’s suffrages movement of the early 1900s. The cast includes Shaina Taub, Jenna Bainbridge, Kim Blanck, Nikki M. James, Tsilala Brock, Jenn Colella, Ally Bonino, Hannah Cruz and Nadia Dandashi.
The musical notched six Tony nominations and won two awards.
‘Suffs’ Tickets
Jay-Z and Alicia Keys reunited for their first performance of “Empire State of Mind” since 2016, and Lil Mama was nowhere in sight. Hov and Keys took the stage for their Big Apple anthem — which turns 15 later this year — on Sunday night (June 16) in their hometown at the 2024 Tony Awards […]