Shark Week

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Words to live by as a performer.

2013 Tony Awards Highlights

SO as most of you probably know, the Tony Awards were this past Sunday, June 9. Here are the highlights.

The evening started out with an incredible opening number by the wonderful Neil Patrick Harris, as per usual (at least the usual within the last few years.) It was so fantastic, actually, that I have posted a link to it below because if you haven't seen it yet YOU NEED TO and if you have, YOU SHOULD WATCH IT AGAIN. It's absolutely amazing.  (There's even an appearance from Mike Tyson.)

Just click below to see it. 

2013 Tony Awards Opening

Now that you've watched it, I think we can both agree that we're unsure of how Neil Patrick Harris isn't dead by the end. 

Something that really impressed me this year, too, was the number of talented children that were up on the stage! Matilda the Musical, Annie, A Christmas Carol the Musical, I mean, wow. Those are some performances you gotta see too. 

Anyway- here is a list of the 2013 Tony Award winners!

Best performance by an actor in a leading role in a play

WINNER: Tracy Letts, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf

Other nominees: Tom Hanks, Lucky Guy; Nathan Lane, The Nance; David Hyde Pierce, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike; Tom Sturridge,Orphans


Best performance by an actress in a leading role in a play

WINNER: Cicely Tyson, The Trip to Bountiful

Other nominees: Laurie Metcalf, The Other Place; Amy Morton, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?; Kristine Nielsen, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike; Holland Taylor, ANN


Best performance by an actor in a leading role in a musical

WINNER: Billy Porter, Kinky Boots

Other nominees: Bertie Carvel, Matilda The Musical; Santino Fontana, Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella; Rob McClure, Chaplin; Stark Sands, Kinky Boots


Best performance by an actress in a leading role in a musical

WINNER: Patina Miller, Pippin

Other nominees: Stephanie J. Block, The Mystery of Edwin Drood; Carolee Carmello,Scandalous; Valisia LeKae, Motown: The Musical; Laura Osnes, Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella


Best revival of a play

WINNER: Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Other nominees: Golden Boy; Orphans; The Trip to Bountiful


Best play

WINNER: Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike

Other nominees: The Assembled Parties; Lucky Guy; The Testament of Mary


Best musical

WINNER: Kinky Boots

Other nominees: Bring It On: The Musical; A Christmas Story, The Musical; Matilda The Musical


Best revival of a musical

WINNER: Pippin

Other nominees: Annie; The Mystery of Edwin Drood; Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella


Best performance by an actor in a featured role in a play

WINNER: Courtney B. Vance, Lucky Guy

Other nominees: Danny Burstein, Golden Boy; Richard Kind, The Big Knife; Billy Magnussen,Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike; Tony Shalhoub, Golden Boy


Best performance by an actress in a featured role in a play

WINNER: Judith Light, The Assembled Parties

Other nominees: Carrie Coon, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?; Shalita Grant, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike; Judith Ivey, The Heiress; Condola Rashad, The Trip to Bountiful


Best performance by an actor in a featured role in a musical

WINNER: Gabriel Ebert, Matilda The Musical

Other nominees: Charl Brown, Motown: The Musical; Keith Carradine, Hands on a Hardbody; Will Chase, The Mystery of Edwin Drood; Terrence Mann, Pippin

Best performance by an actress in a featured role in a musical

WINNER: Andrea Martin, Pippin

Other nominees: Annaleigh Ashford, Kinky Boots; Victoria Clark, Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella; Keala Settle, Hands on a Hardbody; Lauren Ward, Matilda The Musical


Best direction of a play
WINNER: Pam MacKinnon, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Other nominees: Nicholas Martin, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike; Bartlett Sher, Golden Boy; George C. Wolfe, Lucky Guy

Best direction of a musical

WINNER: Diane Paulus, Pippin

Other nominees: Scott Ellis, The Mystery of Edwin Drood; Jerry Mitchell, Kinky Boots;Matthew Warchus, Matilda The Musical


Best book of a musical

WINNER: Matilda The Musical, Dennis Kelly

Other nominees: A Christmas Story, The Musical, Joseph Robinette; Kinky Boots, Harvey Fierstein ; Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella, Douglas Carter Beane

Best original score (music and/or lyrics) written for the theater

WINNER: Kinky Boots, music & lyrics: Cyndi Lauper

Other nominees: A Christmas Story, The Musical, music and Lyrics: Benj Pasek and Justin Paul; Hands on a Hardbody, music: Trey Anastasio and Amanda Green; Lyrics: Amanda Green; Matilda The Musical, music & lyrics: Tim Minchin

Best scenic design of a play

WINNER: John Lee Beatty, The Nance

Other nominees: Santo Loquasto, The Assembled Parties; David Rockwell, Lucky Guy; Michael Yeargan, Golden Boy

Best scenic design of a musical

WINNER: Rob Howell, Matilda: The Musical

Other nominees: Anna Louizos, The Mystery of Edwin Drood; Scott Pask, Pippin;David Rockwell, Kinky Boots

Best costume design of a play

WINNER: Ann Roth, The Nance

Other nominees: Soutra Gilmour, Cyrano de Bergerac; Albert Wolsky, The Heiress;Catherine Zuber, Golden Boy

Best costume design of a musical

WINNER: William Ivey Long, Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella

Other nominees: Gregg Barnes, Kinky Boots; Rob Howell, Matilda The Musical;Dominique Lemieux, Pippin


Best lighting design of a play

WINNER: Jules Fisher & Peggy Eisenhauer, Lucky Guy

Other nominees: Donald Holder, Golden Boy; Jennifer Tipton, The Testament of Mary; Japhy Weideman, The Nance

Best lighting design of a musical

WINNER: Hugh Vanstone, Matilda The Musical

Other nominees: Kenneth Posner, Kinky Boots; Kenneth Posner, Pippin; Kenneth Posner, Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella


Best sound design of a play

WINNER: Leon Rothenberg, The Nance

Other nominees: John Gromada, The Trip to Bountiful; Mel Mercier, The Testament of Mary; Peter John Still and Marc Salzberg, Golden Boy

Best sound design of a musical

WINNER: John Shivers, Kinky Boots

Other nominees: Jonathan Deans & Garth Helm, Pippin; Peter Hylenski, Motown: The Musical; Nevin Steinberg, Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella

Best choreography

WINNER: Jerry Mitchell, Kinky Boots

Other nominees: Andy Blankenbuehler, Bring It On: The Musical; Peter Darling,Matilda The Musical; Chet Walker, Pippin

Best orchestrations

WINNER: Stephen Oremus, Kinky Boots

Other nominees: Chris Nightingale, Matilda The Musical; Ethan Popp & Bryan Crook,Motown: The Musical; Danny Troob, Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella

Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre

Bernard Gersten

Paul Libin

Ming Cho Lee

Regional Theatre Award

Huntington Theatre Company, Boston

Isabelle Stevenson Award

Larry Kramer

Tony Honor for Excellence in the Theatre

Career Transition For Dancers

William Craver

Peter Lawrence

The Lost Colony

The four actresses who created the title role of Matilda The Musical on Broadway — Sophia Gennusa, Oona Laurence, Bailey Ryon and Milly Shapiro

Click here for some photo highlights of the night!

Guest Writer #5- Great Memories and The Love for Theater

"My Grandmother and I had a ritual, every couple of months we would take the train into the city and stand in line in Times Square in the Theater District for tickets to the theater. We saw shows for A Chorus Line, 42nd Street, La Cage au Folles, Grand Hotel, How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying, Phantom of the Opera, Miss Saigon and The Music Man.
It all started after she took me to my first show, Annie. I constantly listened to the album at home. The day I was going to see the show I only went to school for a half a day. Then my parents put me on a bus and my Grandmother picked me up at the other end and we were off to the city.

Grandmother tried to get us twofer cities for the show but they were all taken. So she purchased us third row seats. I still remember Annie starred Alison Smith as Annie and Harve Presnell as Oliver Warbucks. It was an excellent performance.
One of my favorite actors is Jim Dale and when I heard he was in Me and My Gal I wanted us to go see him perform on stage, and that we did. I was so excited. I was really surprised when the cast left the stage and danced around the orchestra seats.
My Grandmother told me she loved taking me to the theater because my eyes lighted up when we went to see the shows. 

After the shows we often went out to dinner at some of the ritzy of places. I still remember one of the restaurants had desserts with Broadway show themes. We went to the Rainbow Room, Lindy’s, The Russian Tea Room, and the rotating restaurant atop the Hilton and many others. What can I say, it was the 1980’s. 

I enjoy watching actors perform on television and in the movies, but there is nothing better than seeing them on stage. The actor transforms themselves right in front of you. That is magic, and it is simple but that can be really exciting.
My mother and I continue this ritual by volunteering as ushers at our local theater, the Ivoryton Playhouse. I still enjoy every show we see, and in many ways I help make a difference for my local theater. "


Cassandra Goduti
http://cagoduti.blogspot.com/
http://www.etsy.com/shop/BeadCuriosities?ref=si_shop

Guest Writer #4- from India

Theater reaches people all over the world...

"I think theater/drama gives us an opportunity to live a life of a character in such less time on stage. It's rely important for an actor to reveal the innermost feeling of that character by reading the script, by knowing the view of the writer about the character by improvisations and by using imagination of his/her own. After that, a great bridge forms between the audience and that character.This is the truest way to live a character's life. This is the reason why I love theater /drama a lot.

Regards,

Ritika Parashar

India "

Words of wisdom from Sierra Boggess

Sierra Boggess is an alumni of my university, Millikin, and last weekend we were lucky enough to have her back for a weekend master class. Here are some words of wisdom and some incredibly handy tips that are sure to help out any performer. 

Sierra Boggess intently and excitedly watches a student sing. 

BUT FIRST - 

Sierra originated the role of Ariel in The Little Mermaid on Broadway, played Christine Daae in Las Vegas, Broadway and in the 25th Anniversary production of Phantom of the Opera. She recently finished a run of Les Miserables in the West End in London where she played Fantine. Other credits include Master Class on Broadway and Love Never Dies in the West End. 

She shared with us that she is currently workshopping a brand new musical called Ever After based on the movie. She couldn't tell us anymore about it but it's exciting to know that Sierra will be hitting the Broadway stage again within the next few years in a new show. 

Historical Theater Gems

On my spring break here in Washington, D.C. and yesterday we saw these gems that I thought you theater people might enjoy!

The first pictures are of Elphaba's original dress worn by, of course, Idina Menzel in Wicked. It is so incredibly detailed and overall was worth thousands and thousands of dollars. Beautiful!

And the next two pictures are Dorothy's ruby slippers! They were worn by Judy Garland and we read that she actually had multiple pairs of these slippers. These have felt on the bottom so that when she danced it would not be too loud on the floors of the emerald city or the yellow brick road.