2009 Tony Award Nominees: 'Best Revival Of A Musical'

 

Guys and Dolls
Nederlander Theatre. First Preview: 02/05/2009, Opened: 03/01/2009, Currently Running.
Book by Abe Burrows and Jo Swerling, Music and Lyrics by Frank Loesser.

Based on "The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" and "Blood Pressure," two short stories by Damon Runyon, Guys and Dolls also borrows characters and plot elements from other Runyon stories, most notably "Pick the Winner." Guys and Dolls is packed with such classic hits as "Fugue for Tinhorns," "A Bushel and a Peck," "Adelaide's Lament," "I'll Know," "Guys and Dolls," "More I Cannot Wish You," "Luck Be A Lady," and "Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat".

Guys and Dolls is produced by Howard Panter and Ambassador Theatre Group, Tulchin/Bartner, Bill Kenwright, Northwater Entertainment, Darren Bagert, Tom Gregory, Nederlander Presentations, Inc., David Mirvish, Michael Jenkins/Dallas Summer Musicals, Independent Presenters Network, Olympus Theatricals, and Sonia Friedman Productions.

 

Hair
Al Hirschfeld Theatre. First Preview: 03/06/2009, Opened: 03/31/2009, Currently Running.
Book by Gerome Ragni and James Rado; Music by Galt MacDermot; Lyrics by Gerome Ragni and James Rado.

With a score including such enduring musical numbers as "Let the Sunshine In," "Aquarius," "Hair" and "Good Morning Starshine," Hair depicts the the birth of a cultural movement in the 60's and 70's that changed America forever: the musical follows a group of hopeful, free-spirited young people who advocate a lifestyle of pacifism and free-love in a society riddled with intolerance and brutality during the Vietnam War. As they explore sexual identity, challenge racism, experiment with drugs and burn draft cards, the "tribe" in Hair creates an irresistable message of 'hope' that continues to resonate with audiences 40 years later. This acclaimed production played Central Park last summer.

Hair is produced by The Public Theater, Oskar Eustis, Andrew D. Hamingson, Jeffrey Richards, Jerry Frankel, Gary Goddard Entertainment, Kathleen K. Johnson, Nederlander Productions, Inc., Fran Kirmser Productions/Jed Bernstein, Marc Frankel, Broadway Across America, Barbara Manocherian/Wencarlar Productions, JK Productions/Terry Schnuck, Andy Sandberg, Jam Theatricals, The Weinstein Company/Norton Herrick, Jujamcyn Theaters, Joey Parnes, and Elizabeth Ireland McCann.

 

Pal Joey
Studio 54. First Preview: 11/14/2008, Opened: 12/18/2008, Closed: 03/01/2009.
New Book by Richard Greenberg, Original book by John O'Hara, Music by Richard Rodgers, Lyrics by Lorenz Hart.

Set in Chicago in the late 1930s, Pal Joey is the story of Joey Evans, a brash, scheming song and dance man with dreams of owning his own nightclub. Joey abandons his wholesome girlfriend Linda English, to charm a rich, married older woman, Vera Simpson, in the hope that she'll set him up in business. The score includes such classic songs as "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered," "I Could Write a Book," "You Mustn't Kick It Around," and "Zip," among others. This production also featured "I'm Talking to My Pal," a song that had been dropped from the score during its out-of-town tryout.

Pal Joey was produced by Roundabout Theatre Company, Todd Haimes, Harold Wolpert, Julia C. Levy, and Marc Platt.

 

West Side Story
Palace Theatre. First Preview: 02/23/2009, Opened: 03/19/2009, Currently Running.
Book by Arthur Laurents, Music by Leonard Bernstein, Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, Translations: Lin-Manuel Miranda.

West Side Story transposes Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet to the gang-ridden streets of Manhattan in the 1950s. Instead of the Capulets and Montagues, we have the Puerto Rican Sharks versus the Anglo Jets. In place of Romeo and Juliet are Tony and Maria, two teens torn between ethnic loyalty and their intense, abrupt love for one another. The Leonard Bernstein-Stephen Sondheim score includes "Tonight," "Somewhere," "Maria," "I Have a Love" and "Something's Coming." This production of the landmark musical has Spanish interwoven in the dialogue and songs and gang members who are more thug life than thug lite.

West Side Story is produced by Kevin McCollum, James L. Nederlander, Jeffrey Seller, Terry Allen Kramer, Sander Jacobs, Roy Furman/Jill Furman Willis, Freddy DeMann, Robyn Goodman/Walt Grossman, Hal Luftig, Roy Miller, The Weinstein Company, and Broadway Across America.