Two-time Tony Award winner Sutton Foster (Anything Goes, Thoroughly Modern Millie) returns to Roundabout in the highly anticipated Broadway debut of Violet, following the acclaimed concert performance at City Center Encores! Off-Center. Winner of the Drama Critics' Circle Award and Lucille Lortel Award for Best Musical when it premiered Off-Broadway, Violet features music by Tony nominee Jeanine Tesori (Caroline, or Change, Fun Home) and book and lyrics by Brian Crawley (A Little Princess). Leigh Silverman (Chinglish, Well) directs.
Violethas the intimate feel of a chamber piece, so the vast space here doesn't seem like an ideal setting. Crawley's sensitive dialogue can drag at times - as can Tesori's rootsy score, which veers from country-flavored ballads to R&B and gospel-tinged production numbers. But Silverman and her cast reward our patience with performances that transcend clichés, taking care to make the fragility of these characters, and their different quests for dignity and love, authentic...The leading lady, not surprisingly, meets the challenges posed by her role - which proves a nice showcase for the folkier, more nuanced quality Foster's singing can take on when she's not belting to the back rows. Not that you'll have any problem hearing her here, or appreciating the courage and passion she brings to her latest star turn.
So here it finally is, 17 years later and officially considered a revival, in a taut, vibrant, dirt-kicking show directed with exuberance and minimal fuss by Leigh Silverman...Colin Donnell plays the hunk, surprised to find himself drawn to her. Joshua Henry portrays the black man, the first Violet ever knew, who sings that he wants her to 'see me the way I see you'...In the middle of it all is Foster's Violet, with lank hair and lanky limbs and a glorious voice that cuts through complicated emotions without ever belting. She embodies both Violet's defensive armor and the childlike trust in a miracle that will give her 'Gene Tierney's eyes and Ava Gardner's eyebrows'...Yes, this is an ugly-duckling Cinderella tale about beauty being skin deep. But it is filled with unexpected details, compassion for its quirky characters and, especially, a rigorous score that reaches its own destinations through gospel, bluegrass and heart-aching anthems to tentative hopes.
| 1997 | Off-Broadway |
Original Off-Broadway Production Off-Broadway |
| 2014 | Broadway |
Roundabout Production Broadway |
| 2019 | West End |
London Premiere at Charing Cross Theatre West End |
| Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Actress in a Musical | Sutton Foster |
| 2014 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical | Joshua Henry |
| 2014 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Award | Sutton Foster |
| 2014 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Award | Joshua Henry |
| 2014 | Drama League Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Broadway or Off-Broadway Musical | Violet |
| 2014 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Actress in a Musical | Sutton Foster |
| 2014 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical | Joshua Henry |
| 2014 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Musical (Broadway or Off-Broadway) | Violet |
| 2014 | Theatre World Awards | Outstanding Broadway or Off-Broadway Debut Performance | Emerson Steele |
| 2014 | Tony Awards | Best Direction of a Musical | Leigh Silverman |
| 2014 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical | Joshua Henry |
| 2014 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical | Sutton Foster |
| 2014 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Musical | Ted Shen |
| 2014 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Musical | Mary Jo Shen |
| 2014 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Musical | Elizabeth Armstrong |
| 2014 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Musical | Fran Weissler |
| 2014 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Musical | Barry Weissler |
| 2014 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Musical | David Mirvish |
| 2014 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Musical | Daniel Palladino |
| 2014 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Musical | Amy Sherman-Palladino |
| 2014 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Musical | Sydney Beers |
| 2014 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Musical | Julia C. Levy |
| 2014 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Musical | Harold Wolpert |
| 2014 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Musical | Todd Haimes |
| 2014 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Musical | Roundabout Theatre Company |
| 2014 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Musical | Violet |
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