Outer Critics Circle Nominations Announced

Nominations for the 2024 Outer Critics Circle Awards, celebrating the 2023-24 Broadway and off-Broadway season have been announced.

Leading the pack are the off-Broadway musicals Dead Outlaw and The Connector, which received nine and seven nominations, respectively. The most-nominated Broadway show of the season is Stereophonic, which earned seven nominations. Check out the full list below:

Outstanding New Broadway Play
Jaja’s African Hair Braiding by Jocelyn Bioh
Mother Play: A Play in Five Evictions by Paula Vogel
Patriots by Peter Morgan
Stereophonic by David Adjmi
The Shark Is Broken by Joseph Nixon and Ian Shaw

Outstanding New Broadway Musical
Days of Wine and Roses
Suffs
The Great Gatsby
The Outsiders
Water for Elephants

Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical
Buena Vista Social Club
Dead Outlaw
Illinoise
Teeth
The Connector

Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play
Dig by Theresa Rebeck
King of the Jews by Leslie Epstein
King James by Rajiv Joseph
Primary Trust by Eboni Booth
Swing State by Rebecca Gilman

John Gassner Award (new American play preferably by a new playwright)
Job by Max Wolf Friedlich
Manahatta by Mary Kathryn Nagle
Oh, Mary! by Cole Escola
The Apiary by Kate Douglas
Wet Brain by John J. Caswell Jr.

Outstanding Revival of a Musical
Cabaret
Here Lies Love
I Can Get It for You Wholesale
Monty Python’s Spamalot
The Who’s Tommy

Outstanding Revival of a Play
An Enemy of the People
Appropriate
Doubt: A Parable
Mary Jane
Philadelphia, Here I Come!
Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch

Outstanding Lead Performer in a Broadway Play
Jessica Lange – Mother Play
Rachel McAdams – Mary Jane
Sarah Paulson – Appropriate
Jeremy Strong – An Enemy of the People
Michael Stuhlbarg – Patriots

Outstanding Featured Performer in a Broadway Play
Billy Eugene Jones – Purlie Victorious
Celia Keenan-Bolger – Mother Play
Alex Moffat – The Cottage
Jim Parsons – Mother Play
Sarah Pidgeon – Stereophonic
Kara Young – Purlie Victorious

Outstanding Lead Performer in a Broadway Musical
Ali Louis Bourzgui – The Who’s Tommy
Brian d’Arcy James – Days of Wine and Roses
Casey Likes – Back to the Future
Kelli O’Hara – Days of Wine and Roses
Maryann Plunkett – The Notebook

Outstanding Featured Performer in a Broadway Musical
Roger Bart – Back to the Future
Justin Guarini – Once Upon a One More Time
Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer – Spamalot
Kecia Lewis – Hell’s Kitchen
Bebe Neuwirth – Cabaret

Outstanding Lead Performer in an Off-Broadway Musical
Jeb Brown – Dead Outlaw
Andrew Durand – Dead Outlaw
Alyse Alan Louis – Teeth
Ben Levi Ross – The Connector
Ricky Ubeda – Illinoise

Outstanding Featured Performer in an Off-Broadway Musical
Ben Cook – Illinoise
Hannah Cruz – The Connector
Julia Knitel – Dead Outlaw
Judy Kuhn – I Can Get It For You Wholesale
Jessica Molaskey – The Connector
Thom Sesma – Dead Outlaw

Outstanding Lead Performer in an Off-Broadway Play
Cole Escola – Oh, Mary!
Mary Beth Fisher – Swing State
William Jackson Harper – Primary Trust
Marie Mullen – The Saviour
Paul Sparks – Waiting for Godot

Outstanding Featured Performer in an Off-Broadway Play
Gus Birney – Our Class
April Matthis – Primary Trust
Conrad Ricamora – Oh, Mary!
Jay O. Sanders – Primary Trust
Bubba Weiler – Swing State

Outstanding Solo Performance
Eddie Izzard – Hamlet
Patrick Page – All the Devils Are Here
Mona Pirnot – I Love You So Much I Could Die
Robert Montano – Small
John Rubenstein – Eisenhower: This Piece of Ground

Outstanding Book of a Musical (Broadway or Off-Broadway)
Justin Peck and Jackie Sibblies Drury – Illinoise
Anna K. Jacobs and Michael R. Jackson – Teeth
Itamar Moses – Dead Outlaw
Jonathan Marc Sherman – The Connector
Shaina Taub – Suffs

Outstanding Score (Broadway or Off-Broadway)
Jason Robert Brown – The Connector
Will Butler – Stereophonic
Adam Guettel – Days of Wine and Roses
David Yazbek and Erik Della Penna – Dead Outlaw
Shaina Taub – Suffs

Outstanding Orchestrations (Broadway or Off-Broadway)
Timo Andres – Illinoise
Adam Guettel and Jamie Lawrence – Days of Wine and Roses
Marco Paguia – Buena Vista Social Club
Michael Starobin – Suffs
Erik Della Penna, Dean Sharenow, and David Yazbek – Dead Outlaw

Outstanding Direction of a Musical (Broadway or Off-Broadway)
David Cromer – Dead Outlaw
Michael Greif – Days of Wine and Roses
Daisy Prince – The Connector
Leigh Silverman – Suffs
Jessica Stone – Water for Elephants

Outstanding Direction of a Play (Broadway of Off-Broadway)
Knud Adams – Primary Trust
Daniel Aukin – Stereophonic
Robert Falls – Swing State
Kenny Leon – Purlie Victorious
Lila Neugebauer – Appropriate

Outstanding Choreography (Broadway or Off-Broadway)
Jesse Robb and Shana Carroll – Water for Elephants
Rick Kuperman and Jeff Kuperman – The Outsiders
Lorin Latarro – The Who’s Tommy
Patricia Delgado and Justin Peck – Buena Vista Social Club
Justin Peck — Illinoise

Outstanding Scenic Design (Broadway or Off-Broadway)
Paul Tate dePoo III – The Cottage
Paul Tate dePoo III – The Great Gatsby 
Dots – Appropriate
David Korins – Here Lies Love
David Zinn – Stereophonic

Outstanding Costume Design
Dede Ayite – Jaja’s African Hair Braiding
Enver Chakartash – Stereophonic
Enver Chakartash – Teeth
Linda Cho – The Great Gatsby
Sydney Maresca – The Cottage

Outstanding Lighting Design
Bradley King – Water for Elephants
Brian MacDevitt – The Outsiders
Justin Townsend – Here Lies Love
Tim Lutkin and Hugh Vanstone – Back to the Future
Amanda Zieve – The Who’s Tommy

Outstanding Sound Design
Tom Gibbons – Grey House
Gareth Owen – Back to the Future
Gareth Owen – The Who’s Tommy
Ryan Rumery – Stereophonic
M.L. Dogg and Cody Spencer – Here Lies Love

Outstanding Video/Projections
David Bengali – Water for Elephants
Paul Tate dePoo III — The Great Gatsby
Peter Nigrini – The Who’s Tommy
Finn Ross – Back to the Future
Ash J. Woodward – Patriots

2024 Drama League Nominees Announced

The Drama League announced its 2024 award nominations honoring Broadway and off-Broadway productions on April 22.

The list is follows:

Outstanding Production of a Play
The Comeuppance
Flex
Grief Hotel
The Hunt
Jaja’s African Hair Braiding
Mother Play
Oh, Mary!
Patriots
Prayer for the French Republic
Stereophonic
Wet Brain

Outstanding Revival of a Play
An Enemy of the People
Appropriate
Danny and the Deep Blue Sea
Doubt: A Parable
The Effect
Mary Jane
Our Class
Purlie Victorious
Uncle Vanya
The White Chip

Outstanding Production of a Musical
Buena Vista Social Club
Dead Outlaw
Harmony
The Heart of Rock and Roll
Hell’s Kitchen
Illinoise
Lempicka
The Notebook
The Outsiders
Suffs
Teeth
Water for Elephants

Outstanding Revival of a Musical
Cabaret
Gutenberg! The Musical
Here Lies Love
I Can Get It For You Wholesale
Merrily We Roll Along
Monty Python’s Spamalot
The Who’s Tommy
The Wiz

Outstanding Direction of a Play
Tara Ahmadinejad, Grief Hotel
Daniel Aukin, Stereophonic
Sam Gold, An Enemy of The People
Rupert Goold, The Hunt
Rupert Goold, Patriots
Jamie Lloyd, The Effect
Lila Neugebauer, Appropriate
Lila Neugebauer, Uncle Vanya
Sam Pinkleton, Oh, Mary!
Eric Ting, The Comeuppance
Whitney White, Jaja’s African Hair Braiding

Outstanding Direction of a Musical
Saheem Ali, Buena Vista Social Club
Sarah Benson, Teeth
David Cromer, Dead Outlaw
Rebecca Frecknall, Cabaret
Maria Friedman, Merrily We Roll Along
Des McAnuff, The Who’s Tommy
Leigh Silverman, Suffs
Alex Timbers, Gutenberg! The Musical!
Alex Timbers, Here Lies Love

Distinguished Performance
Betsy Aidem, Prayer for the French Republic
Shoshana Bean, Hell’s Kitchen
Gabby Beans, Jonah
Joshua Boone, The Outsiders
Ali Louis Bourzgui, The Who’s Tommy
Steve Carell, Uncle Vanya
Jenn Colella, Suffs
Danny DeVito, I Need That
Caleb Eberhardt, The Comeuppance and An Enemy of the People
Alex Edelman, Just for Us
Cole Escola, Oh, Mary!
Eden Espinosa, The Gardens of Anuncia and Lempicka
Paapa Essiedu, The Effect
Melissa Etheridge, Melissa Etheridge: My Window
Laurence Fishburne, Like They Do in the Movies
Josh Gad, Gutenberg! The Musical!
Eli Gelb, Stereophonic
Brody Grant, The Outsiders
Jonathan Groff, Merrily We Roll Along
Dorian Harewood, The Notebook
Willam Jackson Harper, Primary Trust and Uncle Vanya
Amber Iman, Lempicka
Eddie Izzard, Hamlet
Nikki M. James, Suffs
Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer, Spamalot
Jessica Lange, Mother Play
Kecia Lewis, Hell’s Kitchen
Nichelle Lewis, The Wiz
Maribel Martinez, Bees and Honey
Rachel McAdams, Mary Jane
Lindsay Mendez, Merrily We Roll Along
Tobias Menzies, The Hunt
Cynthia Nixon, The Seven Year Disappear
Eva Noblezada, The Great Gatsby
Kelli O’Hara, Days of Wine and Roses
Leslie Odom, Jr., Purlie Victorious, A Non-Confederate Romp Through The Cotton Patch
Patrick Page, All the Devils Are Here: How Shakespeare Invented The Villain
Nicole Ari Parker, The Refuge Plays
Jim Parsons, Mother Play
Sarah Paulson, Appropriate
Sarah Pidgeon, Stereophonic
Aubrey Plaza, Danny and The Deep Blue Sea
Maryann Plunkett, The Notebook
Daniel Radcliffe, Merrily We Roll Along
Gayle Rankin, Cabaret
Andrew Rannells, Gutenberg! The Musical!
Eddie Redmayne, Cabaret
Conrad Ricamora, Here Lies Love and Oh, Mary!
Corey Stoll, Appropriate
Michael Stuhlbarg, Patriots
Jeremy Strong, An Enemy of the People
Zenzi Williams, Jaja’s African Hair Braiding
Kara Young, Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through The Cotton Patch
Jehan O. Young, The Cotillion

Special Awards
Distinguished Achievement in Musical Theater – Jonathan Groff
Founders Award for Excellence in Directing – Schele Williams
Contribution to the Theater – Jessica Lange
Gratitude Award – Kandi Burruss

 

277 Broadway Shows So Far - Oh, The Memories!

I decided to make a list of every Broadway show I've ever seen.

And the list kept growing and growing and growing. So far I've got 277.

Mind you, I've seen some of these shows two or three times.
I've put an asterisk (*) next to some of my very favorites. I've put a pound (#) next to some of the shows I've seen more than once. And the tilde (~) represents shows that flopped.

How many hours in the theater does this amount to? Probably more than 700! Going over these shows brought back so many memories of time spent cocooned in Broadway theaters. 

Of course, some shows I barely remember while others stand out so vividly in my mind I feel like that are part of me. And all the moments that come to mind. For example, one weekend we saw three musicals, each 20 years apart: Barnam from the 1980s, Camelot from the 1960s and Oklahoma! from the 1940s -- all one word titles, too. What a weekend that was!

The real standouts include the magnificent Hal Prince production of Show Boat; Sondheim's original Sweeney Todd, Sunday In The Park With George and Pacific Overtures; Tommy Tune's Will Rogers Follies and Nine; Jerry Herman's Hello Dolly!, Mame and La Cage; Lloyd Webber's Phantom and Sunset Boulevard, and so many, many stars: Carol Channing, Lena Horne, Angela Lansbury, Bernadette Peters, Ethel Merman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Mandy Patinkin, Raul Julia, Nathan Lane, Gregory Hines, Jerry Orbach, Robert Preston, Matthew Broderick and on and on! 
This is still an incomplete list, but here it is up to this point:

110 In The Shade

1776

42nd Street*
A Bronx Tale

A Chorus Line

A Day In Hollywood/A Night In The Ukraine

A Funny Thing . . . #

A Gentlemen’s Guide To . . .

Ain't Too Proud

A Joyful Noise

A Little Night Music
All American~

Always, Patsy Cline

A Matter of Gravity
Amelie
Anastasia

A Party With . . .

A View From the Bridge#

After Midnight*

After the Fall

Ain’t Misbehavin’*

An American in Paris*

Annie

Annie Get Your Gun#
Any Wednesday

Anything Goes

Applause

Assassins

Baby~

Barnum* 

Beautiful

Beauty and the Beast
Beetlejuice

Big

Big Fish~

Big River

Blithe Spirit*#

Bonnie & Clyde~
Brigadoon

Bubbling Brown Sugar

Bullets Over Broadway
Butterflies Are Free

Bye, Bye Birdie#

Cabaret*

Camelot#

Can-Can

Candide

Carousel*#

Catch Me If You Can

Chapter Two

Chess*

Chicago*#

Chinglish~

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

Cinderella

City of Angels

Clothes for a Summer Hotel~
Coco

Company*#

Crazy for You

Curtains

Damn Yankees

Defending The Caveman

Design For Living#

Elaine Stritch At Liberty*
End Of Te Rainbow

Equus

Eubie!

Evita

Fiddler on the Roof

Finding Neverland

Finian’s Rainbow*
Fiorello#

Five Guys Named Moe

Follies*#

Footloose
Forty Carats

Foxy

Funny Girl

Gigi

Girl From The North Country

Godspell

Golden Boy

Golden Rainbow~
Grand Hotel#

Grease

Grey Gardens

Grind~
Groundhog Day

Guys and Dolls#

Gypsy*

Hadestown

Hair

Hairspray

Hamilton

Happy Birthday, Gemini~

Harmony

Hay Fever

Hello, Dolly!*# 

Henry Sweet henry
Here's Love~

Here We Are

High Fidelity~

High Society

Honeymoon in Vegas~

How To Succeed In Business . . .#
I Do, I Do

I Love My Wife
I Married An Angel

I Remember Mama~

Into The Woods

Irene~
It's A Bird, It's A Plane, It's Superman

It Shoulda Been You~

It’s Only a Play

I’m Not Rappaport

Jackie Mason on Broadway

Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well

Jekyll & Hyde

Jelly's Last Jam

Jersey Boys#

Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

Kelly~

Kinky Boots

Kiss Me, Kate#

Kiss of the Spider Woman

La Cage aux Folles 

Last of the Red Hot Lovers

Legally Blonde

Lena Horne – The Lady and Her Music#

Lend Me A Tenor

Les Miserables

Light Up The Sky

Little Me*#

Little Shop of Horrors#

Lorelei~
Love Never Dies~

Luther

M. Butterfly
Mack & Mabel

Mame*#

Man of La Mancha

Mandy Patinkin in Concert
Marat/Sade

Mary Poppins

Mass Appeal

Matilda

Me and My Girl*#

Memphis

Metro~

Million Dollar Quartet

Miss Moffat~

Mr. Saturday Night

Moon Over Buffalo

Mornings At Seven

Motown

Moulin Rouge

Mr. Saturday Night

Mrs. Doubtfire

Mummenschanz

My Fair Lady#

My One and Only*

Newsies
Network

Nice Work If You Can Get It*

Nine*

No, No, Nanette*

Noises Off

Oh Coward!
Oh! What A Lovely War

Oklahoma!*#

Oliver!*
Once On This Island

On Your Toes

On the Town

On the Twentieth Century

Over Here!

Pacific Overtures*#

Paint Your Wagon

Pal Joey

Paradise Alley~

Passion

Penn & Teller

Peter Pan*

Pippin
Play It Again, Sam
Present Laughter
Pretty Woman
Prince of Broadway

Private Lives#

Promises, Promises

Pump Boys and Dinettes

Putting It Together

Purlie Victorious

Pygmalion

Ragtime*

Rocky
Romulus~

Same Time, Next Year

Saturday Night Fever

Seesaw
She Loves Me

Shenandoah

Show Boat*#

Shucked
Shuffle Along*

Side Show

Side by Side by Sondheim*

Singin’ In The Rain#

Sly Fox

Smokey Joe’s Cafe

Social Security~

Some Like It Hot

Something Rotten!

Sophisticated Ladies*

South Pacific*

Spamalot
SpongeBob Square Pants

Starlight Express

Steel Pier~

Sugar~

Sugar Babies*#

Sunday in the Park with George*

Sunset Boulevard*

Sweeney Todd*

Teddy & Alice~

The Addams Family
The Band Wagon
The Band's Visit

The Belle of Amherst

The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas

The Boy From Oz

The Bridges of Madison County~

The Drowsy Chaperone*

The Flying Karamazov Brothers
The Front Page

The Full Monty

The Glass Menagerie

The Goodbye Girl
The Happy Time

The Illusionists

The King and I*#

The Life~

The Light in the Piazza

The Magic Show

The Most Happy Fella

The Music Man*#
The New Yorkers

The Phantom of the Opera

The Play That Goes Wrong

The Producers

The Red Shoes~

The Ritz
Road Show

The Search For Signs of Intelligent Life . . .

The Sound of Music

The Wedding Singer~

The Will Rogers Follies*

The Wiz

They’re Playing Our Song

This Was Burlesque*

Thoroughly Modern Millie*

Titanic*

Tommy Tune Tonite!
Tootsie*

Vanya and Sonia And Masha and Spike*

Victor Victoria*

Vieux Carré~
Waitress
War Paint

We Take The Town~

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?*#

Wicked

Wonderful Town

 You Can’t Take It With You

Young Frankenstein

Zorba#

Legend:
* personal fave
# seen more than once
~ flop

Broadway Lights To Dim Saturday Night

The Broadway community honors the memory of Chita Rivera, the two-time Tony Award®-winning actress, and recipient of the 2018 Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement, whose career spanned seven decades on Broadway. Ms. Rivera passed away on January 30, 2024, at the age of 91. On February 17, 2024, the Committee of Theatre Owners will dim the lights of Broadway theatres in New York for one minute at exactly 7:45pm, in her honor. 

“Chita Rivera was Broadway royalty, and we will miss her with all our hearts. For nearly seven decades she enthralled generations of audiences with her spellbinding performances and iconic roles. The triple threat actor, singer, and dancer leaves behind an incredible legacy of work for which she was honored with a Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement,” said Charlotte St. Martin, President of The Broadway League.

Ms. Rivera’s Broadway career began in 1950 performing in Guys and Dolls and by 1957 she was starring as the original “Anita” in West Side Story. Revered for the remarkable roles she created on the stage, she would star as “Rose” in Bye Bye Birdie, “Velma Kelly” in Chicago, and “Aurora” in Kiss of the Spiderwoman. 

She was nominated for 10 Tony Awards, winning two for The Rink (1984 Best Actress in a Musical) and Kiss of the Spider Woman (1993 Best Actress in a Musical), and was the recipient of the 2018 Special Award for Lifetime Achievement.

On Broadway Ms. Rivera’s credits included: The Visit (2015); The Mystery of Edwin Drood (2012 Revival); Chita Rivera: The Dancer's Life (2005); Nine (2003 Revival); Kiss of the Spider Woman (1993); Jerry's Girls (1985); The Rink (1984); Merlin (1983); Bring Back Birdie (1981); Chicago (1975); Bajour (1964); Bye Bye Birdie (1960); West Side Story (1957); Shinbone Alley (1957); Mr. Wonderful (1956); Seventh Heaven (1955); Can-Can (1953); and Guys and Dolls (1950).

On Tour Ms. Rivera’s credits included: Chita Rivera: The Dancer's Life (2006); Chicago (1997); Kiss of the Spider Woman (1994); Can-Can (1988); Chicago (1977); Zorba (1969); Sweet Charity (1967); and Call Me Madam (1952).

Ms. Rivera’s Broadway biography can be found on the Internet Broadway Database. 

2024 Tony Awards To Air On June 16

CBS presents “The 77th Annual Tony Awards,” which will broadcast live from The David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City on Sunday, June 16, 2024.

The Tony Awards eligibility cut-off date for the 2023-2024 season is Thursday, April 25, 2024 for all Broadway productions which meet all eligibility requirements. Nominations for the 2024 Tony Awards will be announced on Tuesday, April 30, 2024.

The 77th celebration will recognize all of the award categories and honor the incredible artistry of the 2023-2024 season. The Tony Awards is presented by The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing.

The Antoinette Perry “Tony” Awards, which was founded by the American Theatre Wing in 1947, are bestowed annually on theatre professionals for distinguished achievement on Broadway. The Tony is one of the most coveted awards in the entertainment industry and the annual telecast – the night America watches Broadway – is considered one of the most prestigious programs on television. The Tony Awards have aired on CBS since 1978.

The Tony Awards are produced in collaboration with Tony Award Productions, a joint venture of The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing, and White Cherry Entertainment. Ricky Kirshner and Glenn Weiss are executive producers for White Cherry Entertainment. Weiss will serve as director.

Follow @TheTonyAwards on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and Facebook.

About the Tony Awards

The American Theatre Wing’s Tony Awards are presented by The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing. At The Broadway League, Lauren Reid is Chair and Charlotte St. Martin is President. At the American Theatre Wing, Emilio Sosa is Chair and Heather A. Hitchens is President & CEO.

Sponsors for The Tony Awards include: Carnegie Mellon University - the first-ever, exclusive higher education partner; City National Bank - the official bank of The Tony Awards; Playbill; Rainbow Room - the official partner of the Tony Nominee Luncheon; Sofitel New York - the official hotel of The Tony Awards; United Airlines - the official airline of The Tony Awards for over 20 years; Zacapa Rum - the official partner of the Tony Awards; Baccarat - the official partner of the Tony Awards; and Ketel One Vodka - the official partner of the Tony Awards.

About the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts

Designed by the renowned architect Philip Johnson especially for George Balanchine and New York City Ballet, the David H. Koch Theater, originally named the New York State Theater, opened in 1964, and was the second major venue to open at Lincoln Center. Home of New York City Ballet and host to performances by artists from across the globe, the David H. Koch Theater is considered one of the world’s greatest performing arts venues.

Video: Remembering The Incomparable CHITA!

Eight Decade Career: Broadway Legend Gone!

How to begin to describe the incredible star we have just lost? Yes, she was a Broadway legend -- one of the brightest and most enduring stars of the Great White Way. But she also was a standout in the movies and on TV.

Chita Rivera was a ten-time Tony Award nominee and a three-time Tony Award recipient, including one for Lifetime Achievement. She won Tonys for The Kiss of the Spider Woman and The Rink. She originated the iconic role of Velma in Chicago.

She was a genuine trailblazer -- the first Latina and the first Latino American to receive a Kennedy Center Honor, she also received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Her autobiography, Chita: A Memoir, was just published last year. Chita Rivera has died at 91, ending a career that spanned every decade from the 1950s into the 2020s.

In 1957, a then-25-year-old dancer named Dolores Conchita Figueroa del Rivero landed her big break originating the role of Anita in West Side Story on Broadway. She then went on to recreate the role for the movies and then starred again in a supporting role in Steven Spielberg's most recent remake of West Side Story.

Her list of Broadway triumphs is nothing less than illustrious: Call Me Madam, Guys and Dolls, Can-Can, Mr. Wonderful, West Side Story, Bye Bye Birdie (where she created the role of Rosie opposite Dick Van Dyke), Jerry's Girls, Chicago, The Kiss of the Spider Woman, The Rink, The Visit, Nine, The Mystery of Edwin Drood and Chita Rivera: The Dancer's Life, among others.

She frequently appeared on numerous television variety shows, dramas and TV sitcoms and she remained active even as a nonagenarian.

Chita Rivera was simply an astonishing force of nature. She was born to perform and give joy to millions and she delighted in it with every breath she took. More than an indefatigable pro, she was a generous performer who shared the spotlight with others and mentored additional generations that followed her.

If you ever saw her perform live (and we have) you know that she had an inner glow that captured and enraptured every member of the audience!

Adiós, Chita. You will never be replaced!

On Broadway: Five We've Liked Recently

 

Time to Catch Up with some Broadway shows. Here are five that we've enjoyed recently:

Purlie Victorious. This is unquestionably one of the funniest shows on Broadway right now and Leslie Odom, Jr's performance is an absolute tour de force. 

And while the show may be billed as a comedy (subtitled "a non confederate romp through the cotton patch") it's also poignant, instructive, heartfelt and insightful. Directed by Kenny Leon, it's a revival of a 1961 Ossie Davis play about Purlie Victorious Judson, a Black self-made traveling preacher. Purlie decides to return to his segregated Georgia hometown with a mission to buy and rehab its derelict church, Big Bethel. And that's where all the action begins because this is a tall order as the church, like the town, is in the grip of racist tyrant Ol' Cap'n Cotchipee.

This is a fast-paced show superbly directed with first-rate actors whose timing alone will leave you breathless. You'll have to listen closely (until your ears become attuned to it) as Purlie is performed mostly in Black southern dialect and runs 100 minutes with no intermission. But it's all worth it as you'll be enjoying a true diamond in the rough and a rare gem of the American theater. Look for this one to cop a lot of awards at Tony time including best revival of a play.

Here We Are. This is about as different from the four others we're spotlighting as you can possibly imagine. In fact, it's not like any show on Broadway right now and, technically it's not on Broadway proper as it's being performed at The Shed at Hudson Yards. This is Stephen Sondheim's final musical inspired by the films of the noted French director Luis Bunuel.

Starring Bobby Cannvale, Steven Pasquale, Tracie Bennett, David Hyde Pierce, Jin Ha, Amber Gray and others, this is truly an ensemble effort directed by Joe Mantello with orchestrations by Sondheim vet Jonathan Tunick and music supervision by Alexander Gemignani, son of the great Sondheim conductor Paul Genignani. Clearly, this whole show is done in homage to The Master himself, the great composer/lyricist whose career spanned eight decades.

Here We Are is an existential musical. In fact, parts of it may as well have been written by the father of existentialism, the French philosopher Jean Paul Sartre because the show touches upon the very meaning of life itself, or lack thereof. But, the show is also about where one should dine on a given afternoon or evening, the pageantry of Catholicism, the wasteful indulgence of the bourgeoisie, capitalist greed, the drug culture, the seemingly ominous times we live in and the irrepressible optimism of youth. 

And since this is a Sondheim show (with a book by David Ives) it's provocative, topical, piercingly funny and often conflicted. Some of it will remind you of Company; some of it will remind you of A Little Night Music and some of it may even remind you of Merrily We Roll Along (now playing on Broadway to packed houses). But, in the end it's all new (if still somewhat unfinished) and worth seeing simply for itself.

Harmony. - If ever a musical was relevant to the here and now it's the new show Harmony, with music by the great Barry Manilow and book and lyrics by Bruce Sussman. (Video above)

And isn't it a shame that this musical reverberates today more than ever, since it's about the antisemitic persecution of the Comedian Harmonists, an ensemble of six young men in 1920s Germany. This is the true story of a group that took the world by storm with their blend of sophisticated close harmonies and uproarious stage antics. It's something that Manilow says he's been wanting to bring to the stage for decades. Standouts in the cast include the amazing Chip Zien who is bound to cop a Tony nomination as the star/narrator of the whole production and two women who become involved with the Hamonists, Julie Benko and Sierra Boggess. 

This is a Big Story to tell set against epic, historic events but the show must also focus on the real, everyday human struggles of these six guys. As you might expect, the tale is harrowing at times but it helps that the book is full of heart (coupled with regret and reflection) as the story is told in remembered flashbacks. Though the show can be boisterous and preachy in parts it is often redeemed by beautiful music and lyrics in songs such as Where You Go and Every Single Day, one of the finest ballads you'll hear on a Broadway stage right now. The singing in this show (both individual and ensemble) will blow you away!

Ain't Too Proud. - Here's another show about a singing group -- and one that also encountered discrimination. Ain't Too Proud concerns itself with the life and times of the legendary Temptations, the R&B sensations who helped put Motown on the map. In this show you'll meet not just The Temptations but also The Supremes, Smokey Robinson, Tammi Terrell and the mastermind behind the Motown Sound, Berry Gordy. 

As in Harmony, the story is narrated via reminiscences by the singing group's founder, in this case Otis Williams, portrayed by Michael Andreaus in the performance we attended. Again, the voices here are all first rate even in the touring company which is journeying throughout the country. And, oh those synchronized, carefully calibrated movements that accompanied the singing! The Temptations (and many other Motown groups) didn't so much dance as they moved in unison and always impeccably attired. It's explained that this became their calling card so that Black people could take pride in and emulate them while white folk could be reassured by their clean cut appearance and precise performance. In this manner, they shattered racial barriers and gave rise to "crossover" success on the Billboard charts and beyond.

In Ain't Too Proud you'll be treated to more than 30 tunes by The Temptations and other groups and learn the anguished story of a group that struggled but endured. In fact, from 1960 to the present day, more than 25 guys have composed the five members of The Temptations. It's an epic story that's not always easy to squeeze into two plus stage hours but it's guaranteed first-rate entertainment. (Video below)

Shucked. It isn't often these days that a show comes to Broadway with an original story and original music and lyrics -- not the musicalization of a book or a movie or a previously produced play. No, we're talking something completely original. And that's exactly what Shucked is -- a show which was in development for many years and was finally brought to Broadway where it was always meant to be.

We saw a recent performance and absolutely loved it! Featuring a book by Tony Award winner Robert Horn (Tootsie), a score by the Grammy Award-winning songwriting team of Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally, and directed by Tony Award winner Jack O’Brien (Hairspray), this corn-fed, corn-bred American musical says it's "sure to satisfy your appetite for great musical theater." And it must be doing something right because it's enjoying a successful run at the Nederlander Theater (through January 21) and will soon be touring throughout the country.

Shucked is about a small town that depends totally on its vibrant corn crop -- until the crop, mysteriously, stops producing the town's lifeblood. What happened and why? And how does Shucked get it mojo back? Well, that's what this corn huskin' tale is all about. 

Yeah, Shucked is corny. But it's also clever, surprising, timely and laugh out loud funny. You'll have to listen closely because the one-liners (even in the songs) come at you faster that a road runner. If you saw the scene from Shucked on the recently televised Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade you know what we're talking about. And Alex Newell totally brings the house down when she sings the defiant, tuneful "Independently Owned." In fact, all of the members of the young, exuberant Shucked cast are wonderful.

And here's the thing we loved most about this show -- Shucked is not overly impressed with itself. It doesn't pretend to be delving into the meaning of life. It doesn't try to be slick or sophisticated. It aims for down home authenticity, and it succeeds. But please don't get the idea that Shucked is dim witted -- far from it! The production values are first rate and this show provides a good dose of social commentary while managing to nonetheless serve it all up with a plenty of heart. 

Be sure to get tickets when it some to a city near you!

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