War Paint - 2017 Broadway History , Info & More
Nederlander Theatre (Broadway)
208 W. 41st St. New York, NY 10036
War Paint tells the remarkable story of cosmetics titans Helena Rubinstein (Patti LuPone) and Elizabeth Arden (Christine Ebersole), who defined beauty standards for the first half of the 20th Century.
Brilliant innovators with humble roots, both women were masters of self-invention who sacrificed everything to become the country's first major female entrepreneurs. They were also fierce competitors, whose 50-year tug-of-war would give birth to an industry that would forever change the face of America. From Fifth Avenue society to the halls of Congress, their intense rivalry was ruthless, relentless and legendary- pushing both women to build international empires in a world dominated by men.
War Paint - 2017 - Broadway Cast
FEATURED REVIEWS FOR War Paint
'War Paint': Theater Review
8 / 10
The musical is an admiring feminist salute to two trailblazing entrepreneurs - the first women to head American corporations that bore their names - whose success was fueled in part by their rivalry. It would seem perfectly timed to follow FX's juicy Feud, though War Paint is more notable for the distanced sparring of its glambitious animus. Despite the bellicose title, this is no wig-pulling, lipstick-smearing catfight. There's delicious bitchery and barbs aplenty, but the more indelible takeaway is the poignancy of all that these women had in common.
War Paint
6 / 10
At first blush, the new Broadway musical War Paint looks like a face-off between rival 20th-century cosmetics magnates Helena Rubinstein (Patti LuPone) and Elizabeth Arden (Christine Ebersole). In fact, it's more about putting faces on. Titans of the beauty industry, Rubinstein and Arden made their names in makeup and put their names on it, but they never actually met-a serious challenge for War Paint's authors. As the show contrasts their personas and careers, it does what it can to keep them in the same frame-sitting, for example, in adjacent booths at a hotel bar-as it cuts back and forth between their stories. (It's like a conjoined-twins relative of Coco, the 1969 Coco Chanel biomusical: Co-Coco.) With two narratives to track, and a lot of time soaked up by musical numbers about customers and sales pitches, the show is heavy on primer and contours but light on blending and shading.
Category
War Paint History
Other Productions of War Paint
| 2016 | Chicago |
Goodman Theatre World Premiere Production Chicago |
| 2017 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
War Paint - 2017 Broadway Awards and Nominations
| Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Actress in a Musical | Christine Ebersole |
| 2017 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Actress in a Musical | Patti LuPone |
| 2017 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Costume Design for a Musical | Catherine Zuber |
| 2017 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Lyrics | Michael Korie |
| 2017 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Orchestrations | Bruce Coughlin |
| 2017 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Sound Design in a Musical | Brian Ronan |
| 2017 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Wig and Hair | David Brian Brown |
| 2017 | Drama League Awards | Outstanding Production of a Broadway of Off-Broadway Musical | War Paint |
| 2017 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Actress in a Musical | Christine Ebersole |
| 2017 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Actress in a Musical | Patti LuPone |
| 2017 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Costume Design (Play or Musical) | Catherine Zuber |
| 2017 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Lighting Design (Play or Musical) | Kenneth Posner |
| 2017 | Tony Awards | Best Costume Design of a Musical | Catherine Zuber |
| 2017 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical | Christine Ebersole |
| 2017 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical | Patti LuPone |
| 2017 | Tony Awards | Best Scenic Design of a Musical | David Korins |
Videos

