Cara Joy David - Page 7

Last week, at a time when Broadway producers were worried about last-minute campaigning and how performers are going to change at the United Palace with limited dressing room space, a fact buried in a New York Times article shook the theater community. It was there that it was announced that The Public’s Under the Radar festival was no more.

The Tony Awards are less than two weeks away and there are still many unanswered questions. The most important is likely—who is going to win? That is of course always an unanswered question until the names are announced, but usually at least one of the major races has a clear-cut favorite.

Last night, BroadwayWorld celebrated its 20th anniversary with a concert at Sony Hall. The show, which benefited Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, took over a year to plan.

The industry has been consumed with Tony chaos. And the latest rumor on that front is that there are some still trying to appeal to the WGA, but awards will be given out on June 11 no matter. That might change by the time you read this and it is also worth noting that it is unimportant to the vast majority of people currently enjoying Broadway.

Last week there were several first-time Tony nominees. One of them was KIMBERLY AKIMBO helmer Jessica Stone, an actress-turned-director who made her Broadway directorial debut with the acclaimed musical, which overall picked up eight Tony nominations.

Tomorrow is the big day—the Tony nominations. That means last week was the last eligibility decisions. Let’s peek behind the curtain at some of the main things we learned last week.

Last week, my friend Michelle, inspired by my story on the talent of Alli Mauzey, went to buy tickets to KIMBERLY AKIMBO. She went to SeatGeek. Why? Because the last time she went to a show, it was FUNNY GIRL, and I told her SeatGeek was the box office, so she assumed that was true for all Broadway theaters.

When last week's Tony eligibility decisions were announced, there was nothing terribly surprising in the announcements themselves. But there were some interesting tidbits not announced. First, BroadwayWorld has confirmed that DANCIN' standout Kolton Krouse, who is nonbinary, will compete in the Featured Actor in a Musical category. Additionally, although SHUCKED was not dealt with this eligibility meeting, BroadwayWorld has also confirmed that Alex Newell, who identifies as gender nonconforming and plays a woman in SHUCKED, has also requested to be considered in that category.

In January 2001, Carrington Vilmont made his Broadway debut in The Phantom of the Opera. He has spent the majority of the years since in the company, appearing in the final company as the Auctioneer. As of last night, he had played 6066 performances in the musical. Today he woke up without it.

Remember Garth Drabinsky’s case against Actors’ Equity Association? It is now no more. Equity has won its motion to dismiss the complaint filed by Drabinsky.

This week, the New York City Council passed a new ticket transparency bill. The law was not opposed by any of the major ticket services--Ticketmaster, SeatGeek, etc.--but it was opposed by one major player in the city: The Broadway League. Just why the League was so opposed to the bill gets a little confusing.

During the second act of Kimberly Akimbo, eagle-eyed fans may notice that Alli Mauzey, playing the character of Pattie, switches the leg brace she is wearing from one leg to the other between scenes. The move is missed by the vast majority of the audience and it’s possible some who do catch it may think it an accident. But for Mauzey it has meaning. It saves her hips, but it also adds another layer to the character: Pattie, already established as a hypochondriac, is so much of one that she could easily forget which leg the brace belongs on.

When SHUCKED opened on Broadway last week, it marked the first time a musical that tried out in Utah made it to the big time. We hear a lot about the more mainstream regional tryout venues—La Jolla Playhouse, the Old Globe, 5th Avenue Theatre—but very few producers utilize lesser-known non-profits to try out their shows.

Last month, when the Lucille Lortel Theatre announced the purchase of a new building in Chelsea, there was some surprise. What caught some off-guard is that the Lortel also announced new artistic leaders focusing on the development of new works.

This time of year, most know the most important people in the industry are sadly not anyone putting on a show, but rather the Tony nominators. Usually, this is the time that many selected nominators start dropping out, typically because of involvement in an eligible production or failure to see all eligible productions. This season, we’ve so far had very few recusals, so as of now there is a pretty full slate.

Theater is often focused on the young. One would think this is only true on the stage—actors and appearance receive the bulk of attention. But behind-the-scenes it is that way too. With a few exceptions for established writers like Tom Stoppard, emerging writers are given way more attention than older ones.

Theater fans are used to seeing multiple shows with the same name. We all know about the dueling WILD PARTYs. Yet the producer of ANNE OF GREEN GABLES: A NEW MUSICAL has felt the need to go to court to ask the court to declare the show legally entitled to keep its name.

Jujamcyn Theaters’ fight for Covid-related insurance coverage has suffered a mighty blow. A Court in the Southern District of New York, which is a federal court, decided against Jujamcyn in its lawsuit against Federal Insurance Company and trimmed Jujamcyn’s case against another insurer, Pacific Indemnity Company.

In some ways, it was a surprise that antisemites took to the streets last week to demonstrate outside of PARADE. We don't see that sort of thing outside a Broadway show. We don't typically see it at all in New York City. But, if you were paying attention--and, as a member of an Anti-Defamation League NextGeneration Advisory Board, I have been--you would know that antisemitic sentiment is increasingly spilling onto the streets.

When walking into MCC Theater to see Hansol Jung‘s WOLF PLAY, you are greeted by very little on the floor where the action will take place—a couch, a table, some balloons—but yet an entire wall chock full of stuff. Where did the stuff come from? Some came from part productions the team members have worked on, but much of it came from NYC.