Tuesday, June 6, 2023

Charlie Rosen and Bryan Carter (‘Some Like it Hot’ orchestrators) played ‘with a lot of different colors’ to achieve a brassy big band sound [ by Sam Eckmann

“I think it makes for a more fruitful and varied and rich orchestration when you have people with different skill sets and musical backgrounds and vocabularies collaborating on the same th…

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 06:30PM

How have past film-to-Broadway adaptations fared at the Tony Awards? Read on to find out by Sebastian Ochoa Mendoza

The nominations leader of this year’s Tony Awards – which are being handed out this Sunday, June 11, at the United Palace in New York City – is Marc Shaiman’s “Some Like it Hot,”…

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 01:00PM
Monday, June 5, 2023

Audra McDonald (‘Ohio State Murders’) on the ‘psychological toll’ of Adrienne Kennedy’s play and tying the Tony Awards record [Exclusive Vid by Sam Eckmann

“It grabbed my heart and just shook it,” reveals Audra McDonald of Adrienne Kennedy’s searing play “Ohio State Murders.” The six-time Tony Award winner initially participated in a …

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 01:30PM
Friday, June 2, 2023

Annaleigh Ashford (‘Sweeney Todd’) on learning from Stephen Sondheim: ‘Every clown is crying underneath the laughter’ [Exclusive Video Intervi by Sam Eckmann

“Steve would always say this as a comedy, and I find Mrs. Lovett to surely and truly be the clown as she was written to be,” says Annaleigh Ashford of her character in the Broadway reviv…

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 10:30AM
Thursday, June 1, 2023

NaTasha Yvette Williams (‘Some Like it Hot’) on infusing the ‘extremely strong’ Sweet Sue with humor: ‘We’re having class every night’ [ by Sam Eckmann

“The moment before it happens, you’re like, okay, this is another year of not hearing your name and then just preparing yourself mentally for it not to hear it,” says NaTasha Yvette Wi…

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 11:30AM

Wendell Pierce (‘Death of a Salesman’) physicalizes a ‘psychic breakdown’ as the 1st Black actor to play Willy Loman on Broadway [Exclusive Vi by Sam Eckmann

“Who better to know how the American dream turns into the American nightmare than an African American family?,” asks Wendell Pierce. The actor earned a Tony nomination, his first as a pe…

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 10:30AM
Wednesday, May 31, 2023

1983 Tony Awards flashback: When ‘Torch Song Trilogy’ made history by Susan King

The 76th annual Tony Awards have already made history. For the first time, two of the acting nominees identify as non-binary: Harrison Ghee who is contending for lead actor in musical for �…

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 01:00PM
Tuesday, May 30, 2023

Jamie Walker McCall (‘Schmigadoon!’ production designer) on her ‘creative license to be a little bit more theatrical’ with the show’s ‘dar by Sam Eckmann

“I knew that we were going in a darker turn this year,” says “Schmigadoon!” production designer Jamie Walker McCall. “But still it was important to still have the fun liveliness of…

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 01:30PM

Kennedy Center Honors 2023: Who are our 50 deserving recommendations to be selected? by Chris Beachum

The Kennedy Center Honors selections for 2022 were George Clooney, Amy Grant, Gladys Knight, Tania Leon and U2. The KCH committee will be announcing the 2023 honorees sometime in the summer …

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 08:00AM
Monday, May 29, 2023

Jodie Comer (‘Prima Facie’) would be the 5th actress to win Tony for a one-woman play by Jeffrey Kare

According to our current combined predictions, Jodie Comer (“Prima Facie”) is the frontrunner to win Best Actress in a Play at this year’s Tony Awards with 12/5 odds. She already won a…

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 11:00AM
Saturday, May 27, 2023

Dominic Fallacaro and Bill Sherman (‘& Juliet’ orchestrations) on using strings to bring a ‘cohesive’ sound to Max Martin’s pop catalog by Sam Eckmann

“It was a major challenge,” admits Bill Sherman on working with the wide variety of music used in “& Juliet.” He and collaborator Dominic Fallacaro created the orchestrations for…

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 03:00PM
Friday, May 26, 2023

Betsy Wolfe (‘& Juliet’) on ‘filling in the gaps’ of Shakespeare’s women and finding empowerment through Celine Dion [Exclusive Video In by Sam Eckmann

“We don’t know a lot about these female characters,” says Betsy Wolfe of the women in the plays of William Shakespeare. The prospect of “filling in the gaps” of these women intrigu…

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 05:30PM
Thursday, May 25, 2023

Taylor Williams (‘Ain’t No Mo’ sound designer) on the ‘terrible and wonderful burden’ of encapsulating Black culture in a burst of audio [Ex by Sam Eckmann

“It is such a show about Blackness, and it’s so special for me to have been able to bring part of myself to the work in this way,” explains “Ain’t No Mo” sound designer Taylor Wi…

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 06:30PM
Tuesday, May 23, 2023

Jessica Stone (‘Kimberly Akimbo’ director) on ‘growing into the story’ with the transfer from downtown to Broadway [Exclusive Video Interview] by Sam Eckmann

“I think it was sort of a long time coming,” admits Jessica Stone of her transition to directing. She worked as an actor for years, with seven Broadway performance credits under her belt…

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 12:30PM
Monday, May 22, 2023

Scott Pask (‘Shucked’ and ‘Some Like it Hot’ scenic designer) on leaping from an ‘off-kilter’ barn to an Art Deco ‘crucible’ [Exclusiv by Sam Eckmann

“To be recognized, particularly in this year, it’s massive,” admits scenic designer Scott Pask. He earned two Tony nominations for Scenic Design of a Musical for the new tuners “Shuc…

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 06:30PM

David West Read (‘& Juliet’ book writer) tells ‘the ultimate story of young love and heartbreak’ with Max Martin pop songs [Exclusive vide by Sam Eckmann

“If I was going to repurpose and reinvent Max’s music, it also made sense to reinvent the story,” reveals “& Juliet” writer David West Read. He took on the daunting task of com…

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 03:30PM

Tony predictions: Will Sondheim’s ‘Into the Woods’ or ‘Sweeney Todd’ win Best Musical Revival or cancel each other out? by Jeffrey Kare

This year’s Tony race for Best Musical Revival has two Stephen Sondheim shows (“Into the Woods” and “Sweeney Todd”) in contention. Will one of them win or will they cancel each oth…

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 12:00PM
Saturday, May 20, 2023

2023 Drama League Awards winners: Annaleigh Ashford (‘Sweeney Todd’) takes Distinguished Performance by Sam Eckmann

Winners of the 2023 Drama League Awards were announced on Friday, May 19, 2023, at an in-person ceremony, hosted by Emmy-winning reporter Frank DiLella at The Ziegfeld Ballroom. The Drama Le…

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 07:00PM
Friday, May 19, 2023

Dane Laffrey (‘A Christmas Carol’ scenic designer) on the mysteries of his ‘shapeshifter’ set: ‘We want the space to be unreliable’ [Exclu by Sam Eckmann

When Jefferson Mays wanted to perform a solo version of “A Christmas Carol,” scenic designer Dane Laffrey knew right away that it wasn’t going to be a simplistic approach with an actor…

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 04:30PM

Sean Hayes (‘Good Night, Oscar’) on embodying Oscar Levant and tickling the ivories: ‘I could just see the mountain I had to climb’ [Exclusive by Sam Eckmann

“It’s rare that lightning in a bottle happens, but it did with this show. It’s wild,” exclaims Sean Hayes of “Good Night, Oscar.” The actor received a Tony Award nomination for h…

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 12:30PM
Tuesday, May 16, 2023

2023 Tony Awards will happen after all following special WGA deal amid writers’ strike by Jordan Hoffman

The show will go on.  Well, it was always likely going to go on, but now, thanks to a special arrangement with the Writers Guild, the 2023 Tony Awards will still happen as planned on CBS on…

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 09:45AM
Tuesday, May 9, 2023

Michael Arden (‘Parade’ director) on the trial of Leo Frank: ‘If we don’t grapple with the trauma… we are bound to repeat it’ [Exclusive V by Sam Eckmann

“The whole point of the piece to me is that if we don’t grapple with the trauma and the history of our past, we are bound to repeat it,” explains Michael Arden of “Parade.” The dir…

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 05:30PM
Monday, May 8, 2023

Tony Awards flashback to 1963: A not so funny thing happened to Stephen Sondheim by Susan King

What do the 76th annual Tonys have in common with the 17th annual awards? Stephen Sondheim. The late, great influential composer is represented in this year’s Tonys with the acclaimed, pop…

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 12:00PM
Friday, May 5, 2023

2023 Tony Awards: History made in the Best Play category with three Pulitzer-winning nominees by David Buchanan

For the first time in the 76-year history of the Tony Awards, three Pulitzer Prize-winning original dramas have been nominated in the Best Play category in the same year. Only five of the 17…

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 12:00PM
Thursday, May 4, 2023

Tony Awards nominations: ‘Sweeney Todd’ revival (almost) matches original 1979 production by David Buchanan

When Jesse Green wrote in his New York Times review of this season’s revival of “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” that the show had been “restored to its proper size,�…

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 01:00PM

Tom Stoppard could make Tony history with ‘Leopoldstadt’ by Susan King

Tom Stoppard and the late Terrence McNally have won the most Tonys for a playwright taking home four each. The 85-year-old Stoppard is a strong contender to pick up his fifth Tony for his la…

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 10:00AM
Wednesday, May 3, 2023

Tony Awards 2023 nominations: Best prediction scores by our Editors and Users (revised) by Chris Beachum

For the 20 years of predicting hundreds of awards shows, Gold Derby has not made a mistake in calculating scores for an event. However, for Tuesday’s Tony Awards nominations, Jordan Donica…

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 06:30PM
Tuesday, May 2, 2023

2023 Tony Awards nominations: 31 fascinating facts, stats and trivia by Jeffrey Kare

The 2023 Tony Awards nominations were announced on Tuesday, May 2. Out of all the nominees spread across the 26 categories, a number of them stand out as particularly noteworthy. Read my 31 …

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 05:00PM

2023 Tony Awards nominations surprises: ‘Ain’t No Mo’’ and ‘Cost of Living’ exceed expectations by David Buchanan

In a Broadway season bursting at the seams with critically-acclaimed production — 38 musicals, plays, and revivals opened during the 2022-2023 eligibility window — it is no surprise that…

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 10:45AM

Tony Awards: Brian Lipton (Cititour) tops all Experts predicting nominees by Chris Beachum

Congratulations to our Expert Brian Lipton (Cititour) for a wonderful score of 78.31% when predicting the 2023 Tony Awards nominations on Tuesday morning. He is best among 10 Experts, journa…

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 10:40AM

2023 Tony Awards nominations snubs: ‘Life of Pi,’ ‘Death of a Salesman,’ Phillippa Soo … by David Buchanan

With 38 productions eligible for this year’s Tony Awards, there were plenty of names missing when nominations were announced on Tuesday morning. Among the most surprising 2023 Tony nominat…

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 10:15AM

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