Tony Awards 2019

The 73rd Tony Awards, hosted by James Corden, took place on June 9, 2019 at Radio City Hall, New York, New York.

Nominated for Best Musical:

"Hadestown: The Myth. The Musical" is a musical adaptation of the 2010 folk opera by Anais Mitchell.  It premiered on off-Broadway on May 6, 2016.  It tells a version of the ancient Green myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, where Orpheus journeys to the underground to rescue his fiancee Eurydice.

It won: Best Musical, Best Original Score (Anais Mitchell), Best Featured Actor in a Musical (Andre De Shields), Best Scenic Design of a Musical (Rachel Hauck), Best Lighting Design of a Musical (Bradley King), Best Sound Design of a Musical (Nevin Steinberg and Jessica Paz), and Best Orchestrations (Michael Chorney and Todd Sickafoose).

"Ain't Too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations" is a jukebox music with music and lyrics by The Temptations and the book by Dominique Morisseau.  It is based on the story of the Temptations.  It premiered on August 31, 2017.

It won: Best Choreography (Sergio Trujillo)

"Beetlejuice" is a musical by Eddie Perfect, with book by Scott Brown and Anthony King.  It premiered on October 14, 2018 at the National Theatre in Washington, D.C.  It is based on the 1988 film Beetlejuice about a deceased couple who try to haunt the new inhabitants of their former home with the help of a devious bio-exorcist ghost name Betelgeuse, who is summoned when you call his name three times.

"The Prom" is a musical by Matthew Sklar and Chad Beguelin, with a book by Bob Martin and Beguelin.  It is based on an original concept by Jack Viertel.  The musical is about four former famous Broadway actors who travel to Edgewater, Indiana, after reading about a lesbian student who is not allowed to bring her partner to the high school prom.  They want to help, but also get good press for themselves.

"Tootsie" is a musical comedy by David Yazbek and book by Robert Horn.  It is based on the 1982 American comedy film, written by Larry Gelbart, Barry levinson, Elaine May and Murrary Schisgal from the story by Gelbart and Don McGuire.  It premiered at the Cadillac Palace Theatre in Chicago on September 11, 2018.  It tells the story of a talented but volatile actor who is difficult to work with and forces him to adopt a new identity as a woman in order to get a job.

It won: Best Book of a Musical (Robert Horn), Best Leading Actor in a musical (Santino Fontana).

Other Awards:

Best Revival of a Musical ("Oklahoma!")

Best Leading Actress in a Musical (Stephanie J. Block) "Oklahoma!"

Best Featured Actress in a Musical (Ali Stroker) "Oklahoma!"

Best Costume Design of a Musical (Bob Mackie) "The Cher Show"

Women's Prize for Fiction

The UK's Women's Prize for Fiction published its shortlist for 2019:

I find the books on lists like these are all good reads, not just the winners. But this year I'll go straight for the prize-winner named at the end of this list. It has just the kind of complexity that keeps me intrigued. Happy reading!


Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker
In her own take on the events of The Iliad, Barker explores the Trojan War from the perspective of women, who served mainly as slaves or prostitutes, or those who lay out the dead. The story focuses on the battle between Achilles and Agamemnon over Briseis, once queen of a kingdom near Troy.




 Circe by Madeline Miller
Circe, born without the power of her father Helios or the astonishing allure of her mother, turns to mortals for companionship and discovers her own tremendous power of witchcraft that can menace the gods themselves. Will she suffer retribution?



Ordinary People by Diana Evans
Evans follows two couples who are dealing with changing values and commitments. Melissa and Michael, still engaged after 13 years, are grappling with the changes the come with their role as parents of a seven-year-old and a new baby. Melissa misses her job as a fashion editor, and Michael feels ignored and is in danger of being unfaithful. Their friends Damian and Stephanie realize 16 years into their marriage that they both want very different lives.




My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
Realizing that her beautiful and favored sister Ayoola is actually a sociopath, Koreda tries to help her cover up the murders of her boyfriends until the doctor that Koreda works with, her long-term secret love, asks her for Ayoola's phone number. ("The wittiest and most fun murder party you've ever been invited to." -- Marie Claire)




Milkman by Anna Burns
In Northern Ireland in the Troubles of the 1970s, an unnamed narrator, who stands out because she reads while walking and takes French night classes, finds herself pursued by a high-ranking paramilitary known as Milkman, though she does not want the danger such attention could bring. (Milkman won the 2018 Man Booker Prize.)




An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
Celeste, an artist on the brink of success, marries Roy, a young executive. Soon Roy is arrested for a crime and sentenced to twelve years in prison. Celeste knows he did not commit the crime, but eventually she takes comfort in Andre, her dear friend from childhood. When Roy's sentence is suddenly overturned, Celeste must find a way to face the past and move forward.


The Winner: An American Marriage by Tayari Jones.

Your 2019 Academy Award Nominees

This year's Oscars ceremony will air on Sunday, February 24th. Below is a list of each film nominated for an award - many you can place on hold. What are your predictions for this year's big winners? 

• At Eternity's Gate - Best Actor (Willem Dafoe)

• Avengers: Infinity War - Best Visual Effects

• The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (Netflix Exclusive - Try our Roku devices!) (3)  - Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Costume Design, Best Original Song (When A Cowboy Trades His Spurs For Wings)

• Black Panther (7) - Best Picture, Best Production Design, Best Costume Design, Best Original Score, Best Original Song (All the Stars), Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing

• BlackKklansman (6) - Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor (Adam Driver), Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Editing, Best Original Score

• Bohemian Rhapsody  (5) - Best Picture, Best Actor (Rami Malek), Best Editing, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing

• Border - Best Makeup and Hairstyling

• Can You Ever Forgive Me?(3)  - Best Actress (Melissa McCarthy), Best Supporting Actor (Richard E. Grant), Best Adapted Screenplay

• Capernaum - Best Foreign Language Film

• Christopher Robin - Best Visual Effects 

• Cold War (3) - Best Director, Best Foreign Language Film, Best Cinematography

• The Favourite (10) - Best Picture, Best Actress (Olivia Colman), Best Supporting Actress (Emma Stone, Rachel Weisz), Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Production Design, Best Editing, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design 

• First Man (4) - Best Production Design, Best Visual Effects, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing

• First Reformed - Best Original Screenplay

• Free Solo - Best Documentary

• Green Book (5) - Best Picture, Best Actor (Viggo Mortensen), Best Supporting Actor (Mahershala Ali), Best Original Screenplay, Best Editing

• Hale County, This Morning This Evening - Best Documentary

• If Beale Street Could Talk (3) - Best Supporting Actress (Regina King), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score

• Incredibles 2 - Best Animated Feature

• Isle of Dogs - Best Animated Feature, Best Original Score

• Mary Poppins Returns (3) - Best Costume Design, Best Original Score, Best Original Song (The Place Where Lost Things Go)

• Mary Queen of Scots (3) - Best Costume Design, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Original Score

• Minding the Gap - Best Documentary

• Mirai - Best Animated Feature

• Never Look Away - Best Foreign Language Film, Best Cinematography

• Of Fathers and Sons - Best Documentary

• A Quiet Place - Bets Sound Editing

• Ralph Breaks the Internet - Best Animated Feature

• RBG - Best Documentary, Best Original Song (I Will Fight)

• Ready Player One -  Best Visual Effects 

• Roma (9) - Best Picture, Best Actress (Yalitza Aparicio), Best Supporting Actress (Marina de Tavira), Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Foreign Language Film, Best Cinematography, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing

• Shoplifters - Best Foreign Language Film

• Solo: A Star Wars Story - Best Visual Effects

• Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse - Best Animated Feature

• A Star is Born (8) - Best Picture, Best Actress (Lady Gaga), Best Actor (Bradley Cooper), Best Supporting Actor (Sam Elliott), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Original Song (Shallow), Best Sound Mixing

• Vice (8) - Best Picture, Best Actor (Christian Bale), Best Supporting Actress (Amy Adams), Best Supporting Actor (Sam Rockwell), Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Editing, Best Makeup and Hairstyling

• The Wife - Best Actress (Glenn Close)

Best Animated Short Films: Animal Behavior, Bao, Late Afternoon, One Small Step, Weekends

Best Documentary Short Subject: Black Sheep, End Game, Lifeboat, A Night At The Garden, Period. End of Sentence. 

Best Live Action Short Film: Detainment, Fauve, Marguerite, Mother, Skin

Kennedy Center Honors - 2018

On December 2, 2018, the Kennedy Center will host its 41st annual national celebration of the arts.  Artists include, Cher, Philip Glass, Reba McEntire, Wayne Shorter. Also the creators of Hamilton - Lin-Manuel Miranda, Thomas Kail, Andy Blankenbuehler, and Alex Lacamoire, will be presented with a special Kennedy Center Honors as trailblazing creators of a transformative work that defies category.  The Honors Gala will be broadcasted on CBS Network on Wednesday, December 26 at 8 p.m. ET.

Cher was born Cherilyn Sarkisian, May 20, 1946 in El Centro, California. (Singer, actress, author, businesswoman, comedian, dancer, fashion designer, model, philanthropist, record producer,
songwriter, television host) (Genres - Pop, dance, disco, folk, rock)
She has been awarded an Academy Award for "Moonstruck", a Grammy for "Believe", an Emmy, three Golden Globes, a Cannes Film Festival Award and a People's Choice Award.
In 1965, Cher, along with her husband Sonny, gained popularity.  Her first solo in 1966, "Band Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)", was her first million-seller song.  She is currently starring in the current movie "Mamma Mia2 - Here We go Again".

Philip Glass was born on January 31, 1937 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Composer) (Genres - Minimalism, contemporary classical, film score)  Glass is a graduate of the University of Chicago and the Julliard School.  In 1974 he wrote Music in Twelve Parts and his opera Einstein on the Beach.  He has receive an Academy Award nomination for Kundun, The Hours, Notes on a Scandal and a Golden Globe for The Truman Show.  He was presented with the U.S. National Medal of the Arts by Barack Obama in 2015.  He also was named the 11th recipient of the Glenn Gould Prize, a lifetime achievement award.
His Symphony No. 11 was premiered on his 80th birthday on January 31, 2017.  The Los Angeles Philharmonic will present the word premiere of glass' Symphony No 12, based on David Bowie's album Lodger, on January 10, 2019.

Reba McEntire was born on March 28, 1955 in McAlester, Oklahoma. (Singer, songwriter, actress, record producer( (Genre - Country)
Reba began her music career singing in the Kowa High School Band.  Her first solo album was release in 1977 plus an additional five albums.  She has released 29 studio albums, 42 number one singles, 16 number one albums, and 28 albums are gold, platinum or multi-platinum sales.  She is referred to as "The Queen of Country".  She has sold more than 95 million record worldwide.
McEntire also starred in  the film Tremors and in the Broadway revival of Annie Get Your Gun, TV sitcom Reba, which she was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series-Musical or Comedy.

Wayne Shorter was born on August 25, 1933 in Newark, New Jersey. (Musician, composer) (Genres - Modal jazz, crossover jazz, post-bop, hard bop, jazz fusion, third stream)
In the late 1950s Shorter became a member, saxophone, composer and music director of Art Blakey's Jazz Messenger. In the 1960s he joined Miles Davis's Second Great Quintet and late cofounded the jazz fusion band Weather Report.  He has won 10 Grammy Awards, NEA Jazz Masters Award (1998), the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (2015), and the Polar Music Prize (2017).

Lin-Manuel Miranda was born January 16, 1980 and is known for creating and starring in the Broadway musicals In the Heights and Hamilton.  He has won a Pulitzer Prize, three Grammy Awards, an Emmy Award, a MacArthur Fellowship, and three Tony Awards.

Thomas Kail was born on January 20, 1978 in Alexandria, Virginia and is an American film and theatre director, known for directing In the Heights and Hamilton.  He received the Drama Desk Award and Tony Award for Best Director of a Musical.

Andy Blankenbuehler was born on March 7, 1970 in Cincinnati, Ohio.  he is an American dancer, choreogrpaher and director.  He has been nominated 5 times for the Tony Award for Best Choreography and has won 3 times for Bandstand, Hamilton, and In the Heights.  He has also choreographed 9 to 5, Bring it On: The Music, and the 2016 Cats revival.

Alex Lacamoire was born on May 24, 1975 in Los Angeles, California.  He is of Cuban descent and is a composer, conductor, musical director, music copyist, and orchestrator.  He has won many Tony and Grammy Awards, including In the Heights, Hamilton, and Dear Evan Hansen.

Tony Awards - 2018

The 72nd Annual Tony Awards was held on June 10, 2018 at Radio City Hall in New York City.  Josh Groban and Sara Bareilles served as hosts.



The Band's Visit
Musical about an Egyptian police orchestra stranded for a night in Israel.  From the musical - "Nothing is as beautiful as something you don't expect."


Best Musical
Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical (Tony Shalhoub)
Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical (Katrina Lenk)
Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical (Ari'l Stachle)
Best Book of a Musical in a Musical (Itamar Moses)
Best Original Score of a Musical (David Yazbek)
Best Lighting Design of a Musical (Tyler Micoleau)
Best Direction of a Musical (David Cromer)
Best Orchestrations of a Musical (Iamshied Sharifi)
Best Sound Design of a Musical (Kai Harada)


Once on This Island
Best Revival of a Musical


Carousel
Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical (Lindsay Mendez)
Best Choreography of a Musical (Justin Peck)


SpongeBob SquarePants
Best Scenic Design of a Musical (David Zinn)


My Fair Lady
Best Costume Design of a Musical (Catherine Zuber)


Harry Potter & the Cursed Child, Parts 1 and 2
Best Play


Angels in Heaven
Best Actors (Andrew Garfield and Nathan Lane)


Three Tall Women
Best Actresses (Glenda Jackson and Laurie Metcalf)


Lifetime Achievement
Chita Rivera and Andrew Lloyd Webber