Paradise Square - 2022 Broadway History , Info & More
Ethel Barrymore Theatre (Broadway)
243 West 47th St. New York, NY
New York City. 1863. The Civil War raged on. An extraordinary thing occurred amid the dangerous streets and crumbling tenement houses of the Five Points, the notorious 19th-century Lower Manhattan slum. Irish immigrants escaping the devastation of the Great Famine settled alongside free-born Black Americans and those who escaped slavery, arriving by means of the Underground Railroad. The Irish, relegated at that time to the lowest rung of America's social status, received a sympathetic welcome from their Black neighbors (who enjoyed only slightly better treatment in the burgeoning industrial-era city). The two communities co-existed, intermarried, raised families, and shared their cultures in this unlikeliest of neighborhoods.
Paradise Square - 2022 - Broadway Cast
FEATURED REVIEWS FOR Paradise Square
Review: Joaquina Kalukango elevates an ambitious ‘Paradise Square’
6 / 10
The musical's score, an impressive mixture of Irish jigs, 19th century work songs and jazz, reinforces the musical's themes of racial harmony and racial division, while driving the show's energy forward. One group number, 'Why Should I Die in Springtime,' in which the Irish characters lament having to fight in the Civil War, is immediately answered by 'I'll Be a Soldier,' in which the Black characters declare they would fight if America would let them. It's a brilliant battle in musical form. Bill T. Jones's expansive choreography similarly takes on these themes. Jones combines Irish step dancing, tap dancing, modern break dancing and Haitian Yanvalou, yet creates distinctive dances for the Irish characters and the Black characters. The result is character-motivated choreography that is astounding in its density and gorgeous in appearance.
The Several Original Sins of Paradise Square
4 / 10
There is one good thing about the way Paradise Square has been developed into the ground: The ensemble members have had plenty of time to figure out their parts. Allen Moyer's tall, skeletal tenement set gives the two-dozen-strong cast plenty of places to stand, so director Moisés Kaufman often puts them on various levels, staring down at the floor of the bar. If the repetitive elements pall - you will start out amazed by the dancers, then those returns will diminish - you could always cast your eyes up, into the shadows. I had several favorites among the supernumeraries, including a guy who brought his baby to watch the competition and a mandolin player who fell asleep. Appropriately for a show about a neighborhood, the chorus gives us a sense of lives and passions moving just out of the field of focus.
BUY Paradise Square - 2022 - Broadway MERCH & SOUVENIERS
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Paradise Square History
Other Productions of Paradise Square
| 2019 | San Francisco (Regional) |
World Premiere Berkeley Production San Francisco (Regional) |
| 2022 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
Paradise Square - 2022 Broadway Awards and Nominations
| Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Actress in a Musical | Joaquina Kalukango |
| 2022 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Choreography | Bill T. Jones |
| 2022 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Music | Jason Howland |
| 2022 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Wig and Hair | Matthew B. Armentrout |
| 2022 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Awards | Joaquina Kalukango |
| 2022 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Actress in a Musical | Joaquina Kalukango |
| 2022 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Choreography | Bill T. Jones |
| 2022 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Choreography | Alex Sanchez |
| 2022 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Choreography | Garrett Coleman |
| 2022 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Choreography | Jason Oremus |
| 2022 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Director of a Musical | Moisés Kaufman |
| 2022 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical | A.J. Shively |
| 2022 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding New Broadway Musical | Paradise Square |
| 2022 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Orchestrations | Jason Howland |
| 2022 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Score | Jason Howland |
| 2022 | Tony Awards | Best Book of a Musical | Christina Anderson |
| 2022 | Tony Awards | Best Choreography | Bill T. Jones |
| 2022 | Tony Awards | Best Costume Design of a Musical | Toni-Leslie James |
| 2022 | Tony Awards | Best Lighting Design of a Musical | Donald Holder |
| 2022 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | Paradise Square |
| 2022 | Tony Awards | Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre | Jason Howland |
| 2022 | Tony Awards | Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre | Jason Howland |
| 2022 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical | Sidney DuPont |
| 2022 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical | A.J. Shively |
| 2022 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical | Joaquina Kalukango |
| 2022 | Tony Awards | Best Scenic Design of a Musical | Allen Moyer |
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