Welcome back to the final round of the 4th Annual Marco Awards, this time honoring Excellence in Theatre. Looking at this year’s nominees we are getting a valuable lesson in the mindset of the elite Broadway community. These awards arose in 2021 as a comforting mechanism for all of us to deal with the way Covid had devastated our lives, especially the way we viewed the arts. Streaming TV platforms popped up all over the place. Movies were available for immediate streaming in our home, or at least a few weeks instead of months or a year later. And Broadway, the one industry that came to a complete, screeching halt, saw the wisdom of the producers of Hamilton who arranged a successful deal to stream a filmed version of the show for free on Disney+. Suddenly the self-important unions who have fought streaming for greedy profits, demanding top dollar for talent and stage managers and all other staff (who put no extra work into these production, just showed up for work and allowed video cameras to film already scheduled performances, and would get royalties for work they’re already doing) relinquished their “pay per” attitude and encouraged free streaming of their filmed shows in the spirit of “our fans who are suffering too need entertainment” (in retrospect, it’s more like, “we need attention”).
Mind you, London has gratefully filmed and released their productions forever, both in movie theatres and on streaming platforms. As a matter of fact, most of the free theatre that was streamed over the lockdown was previously filmed London. Well, this year with theatre back in pretty full swing, American theatre obviously feels no need to continue with their generosity of free streaming. Their attention needs must be getting met again. Ultimately, as a result this year, there are no nominees for any categories of streaming theatre, save for one streaming one-person event, as the requirement is that it be free. Even NBC and Fox, a staple of streamed musicals for the better part of the last decade have apparently dropped out of the game. But that’s not the industry. I blame the Broadway “fans” for which nothing was ever good enough and all their little church basement productions were “fiercer” than each year’s professional TV versions. If you don’t appreciate what you get for free, it will go away…..
Several seasons in, the rules for theatre are being modified slightly as far as eligibility. As usual, any show I was able to attend in the nomination period is eligible, Broadway, notional tour, or regional, original or revival. Replacement casts are also eligible. In the past, the current season Tony winners have been ineligible, like the Oscar and Emmy winners of that year, to avoid just rehashing those ceremonies. This year, those restrictions have been lifted, mostly because the awards ceremonies are so far in the past and so disconnected from the reality of the extended fields. Because the awards are ongoing, prior winners are ineligible for the same role in the same production, as are repeats in any category for the show as long is it is an ongoing run.
This year, as I said above, there were absolutely zero free nominations available for streaming. How little the theatre community remembers about how their audiences are suffering. I guess if they can get full paychecks, we don’t matter. If this continues into next season, the streaming option may officially be removed from the competition despite it being the spirit of the Marco Awards. Not my fault, tell the unions and the theatre community to get it back together. We still are suffering and need you. In 2020 Netflix hosted Diana, Apple hosted Come From Away, and Disney+ hosted, famously, Hamilton. Plus the National Theatre from London hosted free performances every week for months. We need a return to affordable theatre, both in the venues and in our homes.
And with that, Welcome to the 4th Annual Marco Awards for Excellence in Theatre. Let the festivities begin…
The 4th Annual MARCO AWARDS 2024: THEATRE (LIVE and STREAMING)
BEST LIVE MUSICAL
Frozen—Disney’s latest showstopping musical (which has the distinction to be the first national tour to return to the road post-Covid), continues to build steam thanks to amazing special effects and local actor Caroline Bowman who has been the only Elsa since the road company originated.
Into the Woods—The bulk of the replacement cast I saw in New York, featuring huge Broadway names including reigning Queen of American Musical Theater Tony winner Stephanie J. Block and her husband Sebastian Arcelus (House of Cards), and Tony winners Montego Glover (Memphis) and Gavin Creel (Bette Midler’s Hello Dolly), there hasn’t been this kind of star-studded national tour in decades. And director Lear deBessonet keeps the broad humor flowing, for the funniest trip into The Woods ever.
The Lion King—35 years has only added to the majesty of Disney and director Julie Taymor’s masterpiece retelling of the animated take. Credit Taymor’s elaborate puppet work and her intricate blending of scene, costume, props, choreography, and lights into one unique new storytelling form.
Moulin Rouge—Revisited this show in New York and on it’s first leg of the national tour at the Kennedy Center, and it’s every bit as breathtaking as it was on first impact.
Mrs. Doubtfire—The best surprise of the season, having heard nothing good from anyone who saw it in New York, but Rob McClure heading the national tour was a dizzying, delightful exploration of a well-known tale, without missing the obvious presence of Robin Williams who originated the character.
Spamalot—The Kennedy Center’s follow-up to last season’s breathtaking Sunset Boulevard with a killer New York cast including James Monroe Iglehart, Alex Brightman, Leslie Kritzer, and Michael Urie, it was better than the original, and the Kennedy Center’s first crack at taking one of the Broadway Center Stage masterpieces to Broadway, where it has a good chance of a Best Musical Revival nomination.
The Wiz—The revised and improved 70s classic takes to the road for a pre-Broadway 50th Anniversary revival run with a more universal humor, funnier script, and, most importantly, more Evillene, the single best reason to ever see this show.
WINNER: Into the Woods. I never imagined I’d be granting a best show to an old, overdone Sondheim, but Lear deBessonet’s reinvented update of his most performed effort travels well, thanks to the veteran New York cast that completely is game to take the trip into til now unseen depths of humor and emotions. This isn’t your Granny’s Into the Woods. When MIlky White the puppet cow is the heart of the show, that’s brilliant direction.
BEST LIVE PLAY
Girl From the North Country—I recategorized this production because it had no feel of or even a resemblance to a regular musical, but that of a play with musical interludes to reflect or comment upon the action. Plus I always need nominees in the straight play category. This Bob Dylan catalog show uses his obscure music to help tell the tale of a group of down-and-out misfits living in an Minnesota boarding house during the Depression.
The Play That Goes Wrong—The biggest and the best of all the backstage fiasco shows, we watch the entire production fall apart in front of the audience’s eyes throughout the evening.
The Shark is Broken—Actor Ian Shaw found a goldmine in the drunk diaries his father, actor Robert Shaw, would keep while drinking on set breaks. Finding the ones from Jaws, ruminations during the many breaks forced when the expensive mechanical shark continuously broke down during filming, gave him all the fodder to create this fun show about life on the boat between extended takes. Tales about behind the scenes action, Hollywood gossip, the film industry in general, and three actors getting on each others nerves specifically.
Ineliglible: The first winner of Best Play, To Kill a Mockingbird. This tour is the same production.
WINNER: The Play that Goes Wrong. This backstage farce is the funniest of its kind and still packs its punch. Even when upstaged by a dissintigrating set, the script is the real star.
BEST ACTOR in a LIVE MUSICAL
John Cardoza (Moulin Rouge)—the most current Christian on National Tour, he may have the smoothest voice yet I’ve heard sing “Your Song”. And as unofficial president of the Tveiter-Tot fan club, I realize what I said.
Alex Brightman (Spamalot)—The former Marco Winner as the manic Beetlejuice brings that same force of nature personality to the Court of King Arthur at the Kennedy Center as a sexually confused Sir Lancelot and a track of equally outlandish characters. Turns out Brightman, a double nominee this year for his Broadway stage work in The Shark is Broken, steals virtually any show he’s in.
Jason Forbach (Into The Woods)—Last year’s Best Supporting Actor Marco Winner as an understudy filling in for Cinderella’s Prince in the original New York production of this show, Forbach repeated the magic when he had to fill in for an injured Sebastian Arcelus as the Baker, as if he’d been working in that capacity all along. Even with the benefit of playing opposite the sublime Stephanie J. Block to guide him, he is even more impressive because the character is so different than the first role he dazzled me with.
J. Harrison Ghee (Some Like It Hot)—As Jack Lemmon’s role of Jerry/Daphne, a bandmember on the run from the mob who finds new things about himself in the guise of a woman, Ghee brings a modern day sensibility about gender to the classic role that won them a Tony.
Justin Guarini (Once Upon a One More Time)—Previously nominated for the role of a not-so-Charming Prince in the DC Shakespeare Theatre premiere of the piece, Guarini was even better in the New York upgrade, mostly thanks to hiring Britney Spears’ actual choreographer to up his game.
James Monroe Iglehart (Spamalot)—The forever Aladdin’s Genie was a strong core for the Kennedy Center to build their Monty Python nonsense upon as King Arthur. His steadfastness in the role was a perfect foil for the rest of the versatile cast to bounce their nonsense off.
Rob McClure (Mrs. Doubtfire)—McClure, another double nominee this year for his stellar work on the Kennedy Center’s Spamalot, gave the surprise performance of the season with a funny, fresh take on a beloved character, without making us miss the immortal stamp of Robin Williams. The national tour was fortunate to have McClure reprise his Broadway role on the road.
WINNER: Rob McClure. If there was any doubt about the success of the show, McClure is the entire production. A strong triple threat, he carries the show, saluting all the proper Robin Williams moments we expect to see, but without feeling the comparison. McClure has always been a dependable performer, but he is the reason this Doubtfire even works.
BEST ACTRESS in a LIVE MUSICAL
Stephanie J. Block (Into the Woods)—Last year’s winner for her landmark performance as Norma Desmond in the Kennedy Center Broadway Center Stage’s masterpiece Sunset Boulevard, two weeks later, Block recreated her New York success back at the Kennedy Center as a stronger, different Baker’s Wife on a star-studded national tour of the show.
Caroline Bowman (Frozen)—Local girl made good, Bowman has been the only Elsa in the four year run of the first national tour, and shows with good reason why she is irreplaceable. I saw her first performance back from Covid in Buffalo, and she’s only gotten better since she froze over the Kennedy Center.
Charlotte d’Amboise (Chicago)—With Jinkx Monsoon the celebrity cast of this iteration, we were treated with a real dancer Roxie in New York’s best, d’Amboise. She’s been every dancer’s replacement but comes into her own in her comfort zone, making this 35-year-old show fresh and fun as when it opened.
Montego Glover (Into the Woods)—If the sublime Stephanie Block wasn’t enough, second leading lady Glover (Memphis) brings new depth and bigger vocals and significantly broader comedy to the role of the Witch. With a strong line of predecessors including original Bernadette Peters, Phylicia Rashad, and Vanessa Williams, Glover is a most worthy successor. Another New York star the national tour is blessed to have in the cast.
Arielle Jacobs (Here Lies Love)—Playing Filipino First Lady Imelda Marcos as a disco queen in this original musical by David Byrne, set in a theatre transformed into a discotheque. Jacobs performance was not so unlike another groundbreaking actress portraying another foreign First Lady who rose and fell from power.
Katerina McCrimmon (Funny Girl)—McCrimmon has the hardest job of the season, selling Fanny Brice for the first time not as Barbra Streisand. And she delivers. While not the instant legend Streisand was, McCrimmon put her own spin on the role and set all comparisons aside.
Bianca Moracin (Chicago)—On the first weekend of her return to the show, Moracin was a stellar Velma Kelly (the best I’ve seen since Bebe Neuwirth rose up out of the stage), and with good reason. Moracin, a sublime dancer, has already played the role, of sorts, portraying Chita Rivera playing Velma Kelly in the remarkable FX miniseries Fosse/Verdon. She was even more amazing live.
WINNER: Stephanie J. Block. There should be no mystery here, when the actress I have just deemed the reigning Queen of American Musical Theatre should repeat last year’s win for this performance, a mere two weeks after giving the performance of her life (so far) in Sunset Boulevard. Every time I think she has just delivered her best work ever—her (long overdue) Tony Award winning performance as older, wiser Cher in The Cher Show, the most thought-provoking Baker’s Wife I’ve ever seen in Into the Woods straight into the heartbreaking Norma Desmond at the Kennedy Center. Preserving her acclaimed performance in New York, Miss Block has arrived and is perhaps the most worthy winner of a Marco (or three) to date, and how gracious of her to tour with the show.
BEST ACTOR in a LIVE PLAY
Alex Brightman (The Shark is Broken)—As a neurotic upstart Richard Dreyfus, Brightman is the energy that drives the behind-the-scenes action aboard the boat between takes, which should surprise no one who has seen him in Beetlejuice, Spamalot, or School of Rock..
Colin Donnell (The Shark is Broken)—As voice of reason Roy Scheider, Donnell tries his best to keep the calm between his volatile waves his castmates are stirring up aboard the boat between takes,
Matt Harrington (The Play That Goes Wrong)—Pulling triple duty as the president of the company “producing” the murder mystery, as well as the director of the play within the play and the star detective who comes in to solve the mystery, as the show he has directed comes falling down around him. Harrington keeps the straightest face amidst the broadest farce.
Richard Thomas (To Kill a Mockingbird)—Thomas plays on his other Depression-era persona that made him famous, walking us through the story of racism and small town politics like John Boy Walton grown up and gone to law school. Atticus Finch plays right into all of Thomas’ humble strengths as an actor.
Ian Shaw (The Shark is Broken)—Having the honor of playing his father in a show he wrote from his father’s own words on the experiences, Shaw must be having the time of his career. And being a dead ringer for dad Robert in his Jaws days makes him even more effective. While I maintain the show would tour wonderfully, the New York production had an extra layer of realism by having the perfect playwright/actor/son in the pivotal role of his dad, the volatile antagonist of the piece. (There was no love lost between he and upstart costar Dreyfus)
John Schiappa (Girl From the North Country)—Schiappa is the center of the story as a proprietor of a Depression era boarding house doing all he can to handle his own family’s problems in addition to those of his boarders.
Jeremy Webb (Girl From the North Country)—As the shady “Reverand” who just escaped from prison, Webb adds the darkest layer or intrigue in the already dark show.
WINNER: Richard Thomas. Thomas is the perfect earnest heart to build this morality tale from an amoral time on. He uses his built-in association with good, honest John Boy Walton as if he’d grown up to save a small town and right the world, as best as he can.
BEST ACTRESS in a LIVE PLAY
Kelly McCormick (Girl From the North Country)—Another outstanding understudy performance, McCormick is moving as a wife suffering from dementia. In one of her more lucid moments, she delivers the biggest number of the show “Like a Rolling Stone”, and bonus points for understanding the lyrics for the first time ever.
Maeve Moynihan (To Kill a Mockingbird)—Moynihan was a warm and engaging as Scout Finch in the DC stop of the national tour. Childlike when she needed to be to act out the story, and grown up when narrating, Moynihan was a great contrast to Thomas’ downhome charm.
Melanie Moore (To Kill a Mockingbird)—In a Marco Awards first, there are two actors nominated for the same role in the same production, when Moore, who originated the role at the first stop in Baltimore, was replaced Moynihan by the time the tour landed at the Kennedy Center in the fall. Moore was everything Moynihan was, making for a hard comparison.
WINNER: Melanie Moore. Hard call, same role in the same production under the same director opposite the same costar. Moore was just slightly more comfortable and engaging as Scout, a hair more at ease and more believable at being childlike. Almost impossible call, but there was a subtle difference.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR in a LIVE MUSICAL
Andrew Brewer (Moulin Rouge)—Brewer is the perfect villain of the piece, a slimy, hot, arrogant aristocrat who is everything the Moulin Rouge stands against.
Gavin Creel (Into The Woods)—Creel toured in his original New York role of Cinderella’s Prince, who I did not see go on at the St. James Theatre. Expecting to be let down compared to how brilliant his understudy, last year’s winner Jason Forbach, was in the role, I was not disappointed, I was even more impressed at Creel’s strong vocals and never before seen exquisite broad comic timing and hysterical pretentious peacock preening.
Andy Karl (Into the Woods)—The triple Tony nominee showed how professional the Baltimore native is when he filled in on 24 hour notice in a different state to cover Rapunzel’s Prince when Forebach stepped into the Baker’s shoes. Karl slipped into his previous role on 2 hours of rehearsal and brought the house down.
Jose Llana (Here Lies Love)—Heretofore know in my world as the most amazing King of Siam ever in the Broadway and national tours of the flawless Lincoln Center The King & I, Llana here plays a less likeable but no less impressive Juan Marcos in the disco musical. Llana is all anyone could hope for in any role
Rob McClure (Spamalot)—In his second nomination this season, McClure compliments his success as Eupheginia Doubtfire with this turn as the Historian, Not Dead Fred, and the effeminate Prince Herbert. Somehow in the strongest company, McClure still holds his own and stands out when he’s supposed to.
Conrad Ricamora (Here Lies Love)—Ricamora, best know to the other 98% of the country as the nerdy tech specialist in Viola Davis’ gripping How to Get Away With Murder, shows his strong musical theatre roots (he’s a former Marco Winner for his fantastic performance as the first Asian Seymour in the new Little Shop of Horrors revival). As former boyfriend and current revolutionary antagonist Ninoy Aquino, Ricamora is the one we root for in this dancefloor spectacle.
Michael Urie (Spamalot)—In his second appearance as part of the Kennedy Center Broadways Center Stage series (How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying) the Ugly Betty costar is a hilarious anti-hero as the ineffective Sir Robin.
WINNER: Gavin Creel. Last year his understudy won for the role, this year Creel shows why he earned the job bringing all his humor, bravura, and hilarious hubris on the road.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS in a LIVE MUSICAL
Denée Benton (tick…tick…Boom!)—Last seen in the game-changing Natasha, Pierre, & the Great Comet of 1812 as the first character of the titular trio, Benton changes gear here as the girlfriend of the angsty lead in the Jonathan Larson Rent-inspired prequel/reboot. More credit to the Kennedy Center and Larson-preservationist director Neil Patrick Harris for elevating this glorified rock chamber piece to a full blown production with a new ensemble and background vocals creating a showcase for the material and its leads.
Melody A. Betts (The Wiz)—In the newly rewritten book for The Wiz, Evillene gets more stage time and her definitive showstopper, “Don’t Nobody Bring Me No Bad News” is moved further into the second act where it dramatically deserves to be. The character and the song are the high points of the show if it is cast right. And Betts is the best cast since Ella Mitchell retired from the role three decades ago. Betts is also a return to the original vision of the character, which after decades of off-base miscasts proves to still be the best. And to complete it, Betts rises to the occasion and walks off with the show as she should.
Kassandra Haddock (1776)—Haddock was almost hypnotic as Southern villain and last-minute holdout Edward Rutledge, bringing her own special menace and shade to her showstopping 11:00 number “Molasses to Rum” (delivered almost as if it were a James Bond theme), made all the more haunting and threatening by Diane Paulus’ visionary reinterpretation of the piece.
Lesley Kritzer (Spamalot)—Kritzer, who somehow has zero Tony awards, steals this amazing Kennedy Center Broadway Center Stage production (now on Broadway eying up a Best Musical Revival nomination). As the lone Lady of the Lake in a cast of screwball gentlemen, Kritzer brings the energy of a young Carol Burnett (something I stated in my review last spring, which she actually followed weeks later by playing young Carol Burnett in the Amazon Prime award-winning comedy The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, nominated for a TV Marco last week). The comparison is not made lightly.
Jinkx Monsoon (Chicago)—The RuPaul’s Drag Race and Drag Race All-Stars All Winners champion, whose win in the best of the best contest arguably makes her the greatest drag queen of all time, took Broadway by storm and suddenly made the 35-year-old revival the top-grossing show running and the hardest ticket to get the month she was slaying as Mama Morton. Who knew Drag Race was that mainstream? Oh, and just like her flawless impression of Judy Garland that pretty much cemented that All-Star All-Winner crown, she was flawless and amazing, worth the hype.
Lea Salonga (Here Lies Love)—Salonga’s elegant presence elevates any show. As a producer of the all-Filipino production, she helped aid her cause originating the role of assassinated Ninoy Aquino’s mother, who wows the audience with her 11:00 funeral lament. Salonga, who has conquered vocal work from stage (Miss Saigon, Once on This Island), TV (Crazy Ex-Girfriend), and movies (Aladdin, Mulan), her exquisite voice is a high point of any production she graces.
Jennifer Simard (Once Upon a One More Time)—The versatile character actress who made a name for herself as a Helen Reddy-inspired singing, neurotic nun, circa Airport ’75, fighting a gambling addiction in the underrated pre-Covid 70s jukebox musical Disaster. After stints as a saloon singing Ernestina Money to Bette Midler’s Dolly Levi and all the adult women in Mean Girls, Simard scores in this show replacing Emily Skinner from the Shakespeare production as Cinderella’s Stepmother and finds even more laughs than written in her distinct style of delivery. Keep an eye on Simard, who got robbed for Disaster (what was that Hamilton thing she was up against?), but will have a Tony soon, guaranteed.
WINNER: Jinkx Monsoon. This was the strongest category of this year’s Theatre Marcos, a virtual season-long three-way tie between Betts, Kritzer, and Monsoon. I have vacillated between the three for the month I’ve been writing results up, but at time of publication landed on Monsoon who literally took Broadway by topical storm. I considered a three way tie, but that would have been a cop out. So, no disrespect at all to Betts and Kritzer, who were were both magnificent, but guess it’s still Monsoon season as Jinkx sashays away with the award.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR in a LIVE PLAY
Ben Biggers (Girl From the North Country)—As the son of the family who runs the boarding house, Biggers plays a Depression era dreamer who has big plans to become a writer, which are hampered as much by his alcoholism as his lack of inspiration and discipline.
Bradley Booz (The Play That Goes Wrong)—In a strong ensemble cast well-versed in pratfalls and shenanigans, his turn as a bumbling butler was impressive, tripping over his verbal skills even more than the set, when his “Hooked on Phonics” illiteracy frustrates his scene partners.
Steven Lee Johnson (To Kill a Mockingbird)—As older but not exactly wiser brother Jem, Johnson was a fun sidekick in the DC leg of this drama as he corrected Scout’s narration, in a charming portrayal of an adolescent boy who grows into a man in front of his father’s eyes.
Alex Mandel (The Play That Goes Wrong)—Mandel was charming as a player in the murder mystery whose preoccupation with audience adoration periodically stops his performance to show his fan appreciation.
Justin Mark (To Kill a Mockingbird)—For the second time two different actors are nominated for the same role in the same show, with Mark being equally as accomplished playing Jem in the Baltimore portion of the tour.
Akron Watson (The Play That Goes Wrong)—As the show within the show’s no-nonsense light and sound operator, Watson is good surly fun when called upon to reluctantly fill an onstage role due to multiple injuries, a total angry fish out of water onstage.
Yagel T. Welch (To Kill a Mockingbird)—Welch as accused rapist Tom Robinson is the true victim of small town “justice”, giving a heartbreaking performance as a man dependant on a system which never stood him a chance.
WINNER: Yagel T. Welch. Welch is the soul of the show as the scapegoat for white justice in a segregated town. He is the one adult character who touches the audience and the pillar to rally around for what’s right.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS in a LIVE PLAY
Rayle Garske (Girl From the North Country)—Garske, an understudy, was moving as the unmarried pregnant adopted daughter of the couple who own the boarding house, with a secret love and a bigger secret of who the father of her baby is.
Kai Heath (The Play That Goes Wrong)—Heath gets good comic mileage out of the role of a bumbling stage manager tossed centerstage to fill in for an injured leading lady.
Jill Van Velzer (Girl From the North Country)—Van Velzer gives a strong performance as a mother with good questions about the fate of her mentally challenged son.
Jacqueline Williams (To Kill a Mockingbird)—Williams is excellent in the expanded part of Calpurnia, who is the voice of racial equality whether Atticus Finch wants to hear it or not.
WINNER: Jacqueline Williams. Benefitting from Sorkin’s revised book, she becomes the black everywoman of the piece and provider of the black truth that the segretated town is intent on running ramshod over. Williams is dignified and heartwarming as she stands up for what’s right and influences Finch to do the right thing.
BEST SCORE of a LIVE MUSICAL
Frozen—music & lyrics by Kristen Anderson-Lopez & Robert Lopez
Here Lies Love—music & lyrics by David Byrne & Fat Boy Slim
Funny Girl—music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Isobel Lennart
Some Like It Hot—music by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Scott Whitman
Mrs Doubtfire—music & lyrics by Wayne Kirkpatrick & Karey Kirkpatrick
The Wiz—music and lyrics by Charlie Small
The Lion King—music by Elton John, lyrics by Tim Rice
Ineligible: Original Marco best score winner Six
WINNER: The Wiz. Another category I stewed over for weeks. Boiling down to Small and Sir Elton, even though The Lion King was still remarkably fresh and regal after 35 years, Small’s slightly reengineered score of the 50 year old Wiz seemed actually fresher and more consistent throughout. Whereas with Lion King, like most Disney-to-stage musicals, the movie songs are the superior portion of the show (and are they still some of the best out there!), the new material generally pales compared to them. Small’s score is more even and seems even mor jubilant than it was in its first 20 years of touring.
BEST SCRIPT of a LIVE MUSICAL
Funny Girl— by Isobel Lennart
Frozen— by Jennifer Lee
Mrs. Doubtfire— by Karey Kirkpatrick & John O’Farrell
Once Upon a One More Time— by Jon Hartmere
Six—by Toby Marlowe & Lucy Moss
Spamalot— by Eric Idle
The Wiz—by William F. Brown & Amber Ruffin
WINNER: William Brown & Amber Ruffin (The Wiz). With the addition of Amber Ruffin, this is the rare instance when reworking a script for present day sensibilities actually produces a markedly better script. Other than erasing the 70s jive humor, not much else was needed, but Ruffin punched things up accentuating what was strong (more Evillene) and just making things tighter and funnier.
BEST SCRIPT of a LIVE PLAY
Girl From the North Country—by Joe DiPietro
The Shark Is Broken—by Ian Shaw
The Play That Goes Wrong—by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer, & Henry Shields
To Kill a Mockingird—by Aaron Sorkin
WINNER: Aaron Sorkin (To Kill a Mockingbird) Although he lost this award in 2021 when the play was named best play, he gets the recognition this season. Sorkin has a way with dialogue and it all plays into the very moving performances throughout.
BEST STREAMED ONE-PERSON SPECIAL EVENT
The Old Man & the Pool—Former nominee Mike Birbiglia (The New One) scores again with this gentle exploration on life, death, and aging, centered around his experiences as a child at the YMCA. Yes he’s the only nominee again, but it’s a great one.
BEST PERFORMANCE IN A STREAMED ONE-PERSON SPECIAL EVENT
Mike Birbiglia (The Old Man & the Pool)—Birbiglia scores again with his easy humor and everyman approach to life and the grand comedy of it.
The balance of the awards are again surprisingly a little off from what one may expect, with only 1 (absolute last minute) New York winner and a sweep of the remaining live events for National Tours (with an astounding 80% of the total nominees), which used to be the elephant burial grounds of professional theatre. There is a little gray here because all the Into the Woods wins were direct transplants from New York, but last year the Broadway company lost to a regional Kennedy Center Production of Sunset Boulevard, which kind of evens things out. As I’ve said since the return of live theatre, post-Covid Broadway seems to have lost track of what its audience wants to see and is intent on giving them what they want their captive audience to see, and it’s backfiring. While there is a huge amount of last minute Broadway productions opening in the next six weeks to be fresh in the Tony voters’ minds, this season so far has been totally underwhelming, while the road companies have been stellar, with some amazing things on tap at the Kennedy Center’s Broadway Center Stage season. Get it together, New York, your fans are begging you. And missing you.
If you missed the first two installments of Awards for Movies, or TV, you can use the links provided here.
BEST STREAMING PRODUCTION of a MUSICAL
No nominees
BEST STREAMING PRODUCTION of a PLAY
No nominees
BEST ACTOR in a STREAMED BROADWAY PLAY or MUSICAL
No nominees
BEST ACTRESS in a STREAMED BROADWAY MUSICAL
No nominees
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR in a STREAMED BROADWAY PLAY or MUSICAL
No nominees
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS in a STREAMED BROADWAY PLAY or
No nominees
PAST WINNERS
BEST LIVE MUSICAL
2021 Mean Girls (New York)
2022 Six (New York)
2023 Sunset Boulevard (Kennedy Center, Broadway Center Stage)
BEST LIVE PLAY
2021 To Kill a Mockingbird (New York)
2022 Slave Play (New York)
2023 Change Agent (Arena Stage, DC)
BEST STREAMED MUSICAL
2021 Miss Saigon
2022 Come From Away
2023 [no category]
BEST STREAMED PLAY
2021 A Streetcar Named Desire
2022 [no category]
2023 [no category]
BEST ACTOR IN A LIVE MUSICAL
2021 Alex Brightman (Beetlejuice, NY)
2022 Conrad Ricamora (Little Shop of Horrors, NY)
2023 Derek Klena (Sunset Boulevard, Kennedy Center DC)
BEST ACTRESS IN A LIVE MUSICAL
2021 Taylor Louderman (Mean Girls, NY)
2022 Heidi Blickenstaff (Jagged Little Pill, NY)
2023 Stephanie J. Block (Sunset Boulevard, Kennedy Center DC)
BEST ACTOR IN A STREAMED MUSICAL
2021 Jon Jon Briones (Miss Saigon)
2022 Matt Henry (Kinky Boots)
2023 [no category]
BEST ACTRESS IN A STREAMED MUSICAL
2021 [combined with streamed play]
2022 Jenna de Waal (Diana)
2023 [no category]
BEST ACTOR IN A LIVE PLAY
2021 [combined with live musical]
2022 [combined with live musical]
2023 Jessie Williams (Take Me Out, NY)
BEST ACTRESS IN A LIVE PLAY
2021 [combined with live musical]
2022 [combined with live musical]
2023 Andrea Abello (Change Agent, Arena Stage DC)
BEST ACTOR IN A STREAMED PLAY
2021 [combined with streamed musical]
2022 [combined with streamed musical]
2023 [no category]
BEST ACTRESS IN A STREAMED PLAY
2021 Gillian Anderson (A Streetcar Named Desire)
2022 [combined with streamed musical]
2023 [no category]
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A STREAMED MUSICAL
2021 Daveed Diggs (Hamilton)
2022 Cesar Samoya (Come From Away)
2023 [no category]
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A STREAMED MUSICAL
2021 Stephanie J. Block (Falsettos)
2022 Judy Kaye (Diana)
2023 [no category]
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A LIVE MUSICAL
2021 [combined with live play]
2022 Daniel J. Watts (Tina, NY)
2023 Jason Forbach (Into the Woods, NY)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A LIVE MUSICAL
2021 Kate Rockwell (Mean Girls, NY)
2022 Dawnn Lewis (Tina, NY)
2023 Jonalynn Saxer (Mean Girls, National Tour DC)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A STREAMED PLAY
2021 [combined with streamed musical]
2022 [combined with streamed musical]
2023 [no category]
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A STREAMED PLAY
2021 [combined with streamed musical]
2022 [combined with streamed musical]
2023 [no category]
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A LIVE PLAY
2021 Nick Robinson (To Kill a Mockingbird, NY)
2022 [combined with live musical]
2023 Matthew Hydzik (Doubt, Fulton Theatre Lancaster PA)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A LIVE PLAY
2021 [combined with live musical]
2022 [combines with live musical
2023 Ché Lyons (Doubt, Fulton Theatre Lancaster PA)
BEST SCORE OF A LIVE MUSICAL
2021 Jeff Richmond & Nell Benjamin (Mean Girls)
2022 Toby Marlowe & Lucy Moss (Six)
2023 Andrew Lloyd Webber & Don Black/Christopher Hampton (Sunset Boulevard)
BEST SCRIPT OF A LIVE MUSICAL
2021 Tina Fey (Mean Girls)
2022 Joe DiPietro (Diana)
2023 James Lapine (Into the Woods)
BEST SCRIPT OF A LIVE PLAY
2021 Jeremy O. Harris (Slave Play, NY)
2022 [no category]
2023 Joe DiPietro (Change Agent, Arena Stage DC)
BEST STREAMED ONE-PERSON SPECIAL EVENT
2021 What the Constitution Means to Me
2022 [no category]
2023 David Byrne’s Utopia
BEST PERFORMANCE IN A ONE-PERSON STREAMED EVENT
2021 John Leguizamo (Latin History for Morons)
2022 [no category]
2023 David Byrne (Utopia)