2011 Tony Awards: Nominee Predictions
The Tony Award nominations are upon us, Broadway lovers, and the choices are as difficult as ever! The original musical returned with a vengeance this Broadway season, offering daring works like Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson and The Scottsboro Boys to crowd pleasers like The Book of Mormon and Catch Me If You Can. There is also a refreshing crop of young actors populating the musical performance categories. Here’s my take on what shows will make the cut when the nominations are announced Tuesday, May 3 at 8:30 a.m. Stage Rush will be syndicating the live video feed of the announcements, so log on and watch here on Tuesday morning.
Best Play
Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo
Jerusalem
The Motherf**ker With The Hat
War Horse Read more 
Stage Rush TV: Episode 42
Talking points:
- Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark plays its first, much talked about, preview
- Stage Rush favorites The Scottsboro Boys and Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson post closing notices
- American Idiot trying to hold on, announces Billie Joe Armstrong returning for 50 performances
- Broadway grosses
What do you think, Rushers? How did Spider-Man sound to you after all the coverage from the first preview? Are you as crushed as I am that Scottsboro and Bloody Bloody are closing so prematurely? Do you think Billie Joe’s return to American Idiot will keep the show afloat? Take solace with other concerned Rushers in the comments below. Let’s all have a group hug!
Stage Rush TV: Episode 35
Talking points:
- Going to the opening night of Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson
- Interviewing Lion King ensemble members Ray Mercer and Jean Michelle Grier
- Broadway grosses
What do you think, Rushers? Is Bloody Bloody the coolest show to hit Broadway this season, or do you have your eye on another show? What Broadway openings have you been to? Tell me your stories and leave your thoughts and questions in the comments below! Don’t forget to follow Stage Rush on Facebook and Twitter for updates, news, and sightings when you’re on the go!
On the scene: Opening night of ‘Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson’
I was there when it played off Broadway, then attended the media day, and even was present at its first Broadway preview. So when I was invited to the opening night performance and party of Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, despite my excitement, I worried people would start thinking I was a Jackson groupie. And maybe I am! Well, not exactly, but there’s no shame in supporting a show that’s this good or one you believe in. And I believe in Andrew Jackson.
I was the plus one of the very generous Sammy Davis, my friend and the mind behind the self-titled Sammy Davis Vintage, who is a vintage fashion expert and stylist. We arrived at the Bernard Jacobs Theatre early enough to soak up the opening-night flashbulbs and festivities occurring on the street. We first saw Liev Schreiber and Naomi Watts walk the press line, followed by the very pregnant Katie Finneran, Eve Best, Keith Powell, and Andrew McCarthy. Bloody Bloody writer/director Alex Timbers and composer Michael Friedman also passed through photographers, looking ebullient for the debut of their creative baby. Getting swept up in all the famous faces and buzz, it was easy to lose track of time, and we realized we should go in and take our seats before we missed the curtain.
The excitement in the theater was palpable. I had already observed Donyale Werle and Justin Townsend’s enveloping set and lighting when I attended the first preview performance, but I swear the ornaments glowed brighter this night. The performance began 15 minutes late, but when it did, the audience gave the cast of Bloody Bloody a warm welcome. Title star Benjamin Walker riffed a little more than usual in his opening statements, warning the audience that their sustained applause was just delaying them all from the open bar at the after party. Read more
Review: Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson
After receiving what was undoubtedly the most kick-ass history lesson of my life last spring when I saw Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson at The Public Theater, I wondered how the show would handle a Broadway transfer. Even now, the emo-rock musical about America’s seventh president still has a more off-Broadway feel to me. Its humor is incredibly specific and the story verges on off-putting and offensive at times. But like its title character, this show doesn’t follow convention.
Now playing at the Bernard Jacobs Theatre, Bloody Bloody has once again opened with commitment. The show’s focused style of humor and aesthetics would not work without pure dedication, and Bloody Bloody has gone whole hog. Or rather whole horse, as one hangs upside down from the ceiling over the audience.
Walking into the home of Bloody Bloody is an instant immersion into another world. Scenic designer Donyale Werle has done stupendous work, expanding beautifully on the setting at The Public. One of the most enjoyable aspects of Bloody Bloody last spring was the all-inclusive set design, with gaudy chandeliers and Christmas lights stretching far out into the audience. Werle has adapted the themes wonderfully for the 1,000-seat Jacobs Theatre. The house is splashed in deep read and painted portraits adorn the walls all the way to the back. The Christmas lights and chandeliers have returned, hoisted high above the audience, stretching back through the mezzanine. The Jacobs Theatre looks like a ghoulish setting for a Halloween party.
Once in the theater, the audience is prepped for all the sights of Bloody Bloody. The creative team for this show is the one to beat come Tony season. Werle, lighting designer Justin Townsend, and costume designer Emily Rebholz have collaborated with such unity. Rebholz’s costumes have done the actors the service of making them look as sexy and radical as they need to portray themselves. All aspects of Bloody Bloody fit together like a puzzle. Read more
Stage Rush TV: Episode 31
Talking points:
- Broadway on Broadway concert lacks new material
- Stage Rush’s top 3 most-anticipated musicals of the fall
- Diving into John Tartaglia’s mind in Imaginocean
- Broadway grosses
Were you at Broadway on Broadway, Rushers? Did you love the concert, or were you left wanting more performances from new shows? What show opening this fall are you most excited for? Have you seen Imaginocean? Leave your thoughts and questions in the comments!
Don’t forget to follow Stage Rush on Twitter and Facebook for on-the-go updates, news, and sightings!
Concert recap: Broadway on Broadway
The new Broadway season swoops in with quite a homecoming when it takes over the area it inhabits. During the annual Broadway on Broadway concert, Broadway the art takes full control of Broadway the district. In its nineteenth year, the free outdoor concert in Times Square offered strong performances, many of theater’s biggest stars, and a lack of new offerings.
Sponsored by The Broadway League and billed as a kick-off to the new theater season, Broadway on Broadway should (and usually does) feature the new musical productions that will be bowing in the coming months. It’s an exciting sneak peak of shows that are opening in a few weeks, and some much further into the year. Last year, new productions like Finian’s Rainbow and Memphis were among those that debuted their songs and cast to the Times Square audience. This year, just two new musicals performed, out of the 10+ productions slated for Broadway this year.
Only one of those two productions, Elf, features original music. Beth Leavel was on hand to perform “There Is A Santa Claus,” which was pretty paint-by-numbers in melody, but embodied a strong seasonal flavor. Will Swenson (with newly cropped hair, much to the female audience’s audible disdain) performed “I Say A Little Prayer” from Priscilla Queen of the Desert—a jukebox musical. Not two of the strongest numbers of the day, but still exciting, being they were new.
Where was the cast of Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, who is clearly ready to go? The Scottsboro Boys are still performing at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, so they get a pass on this event. But why couldn’t Reeve Carney represent Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark like he did on Good Morning America on Friday? Were the A-list stars of Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown above the free concert? Being that all these shows are set to open in the next two months, a one-song performance couldn’t have been too far out of their reach. Instead of performances, Sutton Foster, from the upcoming revival of Anything Goes (another production that didn’t perform—like she doesn’t know how to sing “Blow, Gabriel, Blow?) appeared on stage to read from the list of all these shows that are coming to Broadway and wouldn’t be performing. Some tease. Read more
Stage Rush TV: Episode 30
Talking points:
- Thank you for making 30 episodes of SRTV possible!
- Winning the American Idiot ticket lottery and getting a detailed view of the show
- Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson cast rocks the press and gives sneak peak of show
- Trust underwhelms, but the acting saves
- Broadway grosses
Have you gotten a close-up view of American Idiot, Rushers? Are you marking your calendar’s for Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson’s first performance on Broadway? What did you think of their performance for the press? Did you catch Zach Braff in Trust? Leave your thoughts and questions in the comments below!
Follow Stage Rush on Twitter and Facebook for on-the-go updates, news, and sightings.
‘Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson’ readies for Broadway
Indians and politicians invaded the Playwrights Horizons Theatre on Wednesday when the cast and creative team of Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson met with the press to promote their upcoming September 20 Broadway bow. The cast came armed with a medley performance of two of the show’s numbers, and writer/director Alex Timbers offered a sneak peak of what will happen when Jackson takes the stage.
Video: The cast of Bloody Bloody Andre Jackson performs “Populism, Yea Yea” and “Rock Star”