2018 Drama Desk Nominations Announced!

Broadway's awards season has begun.
Here are the 2018 Drama Desk Award nominees:

Outstanding Play
Admissions, by Joshua Harmon, Lincoln Center Theater
Mary Jane, by Amy Herzog, New York Theatre Workshop
Miles for Mary, by The Mad Ones, Playwrights Horizons
People, Places & Things, by Duncan Macmillan, National Theatre/St. Ann’s Warehouse/Bryan Singer Productions/Headlong
School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play, by Jocelyn Bioh, MCC Theater

Outstanding Musical
Desperate Measures, The York Theatre Company
KPOP, Ars Nova/Ma-Yi Theatre Company/Woodshed Collective
Mean Girls
Old Stock: A Refugee Love Story, 2b Theatre Company/59E59
SpongeBob SquarePants

Outstanding Revival of a Play
Angels in America
Hindle Wakes, Mint Theater Company
In the Blood, Signature Theatre Company
Three Tall Women
Travesties, Menier Chocolate Factory/Roundabout Theatre Company

Outstanding Revival of a Musical
Amerike-The Golden Land, National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene
Carousel
My Fair Lady, Lincoln Center Theater
Once on This Island
Pacific Overtures, Classic Stage Company

Outstanding Actor in a Play
Johnny Flynn, Hangmen, Royal Court Theatre/Atlantic Theater Company
Andrew Garfield, Angels in America
Tom Hollander, Travesties, Menier Chocolate Factory/Roundabout Theatre Company
James McArdle, Angels in America
Paul Sparks, At Home at the Zoo, Signature Theatre Company

Outstanding Actress in a Play
Carrie Coon, Mary Jane, New York Theatre Workshop
Denise Gough, People, Places & Things, National Theatre/St. Ann’s Warehouse/Bryan Singer Productions/Headlong
Glenda Jackson, Three Tall Women
Laurie Metcalf, Three Tall Women
Billie Piper, Yerma, Young Vic/Park Avenue Armory

Outstanding Actor in a Musical
Jelani Alladin, Frozen
Harry Hadden-Paton, My Fair Lady
Joshua Henry, Carousel
Evan Ruggiero, Bastard Jones, the cell
Ethan Slater, SpongeBob SquarePants

Outstanding Actress in a Musical
Gizel Jiménez, Miss You Like Hell, The Public Theater
LaChanze, Summer
Jessie Mueller, Carousel
Ashley Park, KPOP, Ars Nova/Ma-Yi Theater Company/Woodshed Collective
Daphne Rubin-Vega, Miss You Like Hell, The Public Theater

Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play
Anthony Boyle, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
Ben Edelman, Admissions, Lincoln Center Theater
Brian Tyree Henry, Lobby Hero, Second Stage
Nathan Lane, Angels in America
David Morse, The Iceman Cometh
Gregg Mozgala, Cost of Living, Manhattan Theatre Club

Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play
Jocelyn Bioh, In the Blood, Signature Theatre
Jamie Brewer, Amy and the Orphans, Roundabout Underground
Barbara Marten, People, Places & Things, National Theatre/St. Ann’s Warehouse/Bryan Singer Productions/Headlong
Deirdre O’Connell, Fulfillment Center, Manhattan Theatre Club
Constance Shulman, Bobbie Clearly, Roundabout Underground

Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical
Damon Daunno, The Lucky Ones, Ars Nova
Alexander Gemignani, Carousel
Grey Henson, Mean Girls
Gavin Lee, SpongeBob SquarePants
Tony Yazbeck, Prince of Broadway, Manhattan Theatre Club

Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical
Lindsay Mendez, Carousel
Kenita R. Miller, Once on This Island
Ashley Park, Mean Girls
Diana Rigg, My Fair Lady
Kate Rockwell, Mean Girls

Outstanding Director of a Play
Marianne Elliott, Angels in America
Jeremy Herrin, People, Places & Things, National Theatre/St. Ann’s Warehouse/Bryan Singer Productions/Headlong
Joe Mantello, Three Tall Women
Lila Neugebauer, Miles for Mary, Playwrights Horizons
Simon Stone, Yerma, Young Vic/Park Avenue Armory
John Tiffany, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

Outstanding Director of a Musical
Christian Barry, Old Stock: A Refugee Love Story, 2b Theatre Company/59E59
Teddy Bergman, KPOP, Ars Nova/Ma-Yi Theater Company/Woodshed Collective
Jack O’Brien, Carousel
Tina Landau, SpongeBob SquarePants
Bartlett Sher, My Fair Lady

The LaDuca Award for Outstanding Choreography
Camille A. Brown, Once on This Island
Christopher Gattelli, SpongeBob SquarePants
Casey Nicholaw, Mean Girls
Justin Peck, Carousel
Nejla Yatkin, The Boy Who Danced on Air, Abingdon Theatre Company

Outstanding Music
The Bengsons, The Lucky Ones, Ars Nova/Piece by Piece Productions/Z Space
Ben Caplan, Christian Barry, Old Stock: A Refugee Love Story, 2b Theatre Company/59E59
David Friedman, Desperate Measures, The York Theatre Company
Erin McKeown, Miss You Like Hell, The Public Theater
Helen Park, Max Vernon, KPOP, Ars Nova/Ma-Yi Theater Company/Woodshed Collective

Outstanding Lyrics
Nell Benjamin, Mean Girls
Quiara Alegría Hudes/Erin McKeown, Miss You Like Hell, Public Theatre
Peter Kellogg, Desperate Measures, The York Theatre Company
Helen Park, Max Vernon, KPOP, Ars Nova/Ma-Yi Theater Company/Woodshed Collective

Outstanding Book of a Musical
Tina Fey, Mean Girls
Kyle Jarrow, SpongeBob Squarepants
Peter Kellogg, Desperate Measures, York Theatre Company
Hannah Moscovitch, Old Stock: A Refugee Love Story, 2B Theatre/59E59

Outstanding Orchestrations
Tom Kitt, SpongeBob SquarePants
Annmarie Milazzo and Michael Starobin (John Bertles and Bash the Trash, found instrument design) Once on This Island
Charlie Rosen, Erin McKeown, Miss You Like Hell, Public Theater
Jonathan Tunick, Pacific Overtures, Classic Stage Company
Jonathan Tunick, Carousel

Outstanding Music in a Play
Imogen Heap, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
Justin Hicks, Mlima’s Tale, Public Theatre
Amatus Karim-Ali, The Homecoming Queen, Atlantic Theater Company
Justin Levine, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Public Theater
Adrian Sutton, Angels in America

The Hudson Scenic Studio Award for Outstanding Set Design of a Play
Miriam Buether, Three Tall Women
Bunny Christie, People, Places & Things, St. Ann’s Warehouse/National Theatre/Bryan Singer Productions/Headlong
Lizzie Clachan, Yerma, Young Vic/Park Avenue Armory
Maruti Evans, Kill Move Paradise, National Black Theatre
Louisa Thompson, In the Blood, Signature Theatre

Outstanding Set Design for a Musical
Louisa Adamson, Christian Barry, Old Stock: A Refugee Love Story, 2b Theatre Company/59E59
Beowulf Boritt, Prince of Broadway, Manhattan Theatre Club
Dane Laffrey, Once on This Island
Santo Loquasto, Carousel
David Zinn, SpongeBob SquarePants

Outstanding Costume Design for a Play
Dede M. Ayite, School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play, MCC Theater
Jonathan Fensom, Farinelli and the King
Katrina Lindsay, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
Ann Roth, Three Tall Women
Emilio Sosa, Venus, Signature Theatre

Outstanding Costume Design for a Musical
Gregg Barnes, Mean Girls
Clint Ramos, Once on This Island
David Zinn, SpongeBob SquarePants
Catherine Zuber, My Fair Lady, Lincoln Center Theater
Dede M. Ayite, Bella: An American Tall Tale, Playwrights Horizons

Outstanding Lighting Design for a Play
Neil Austin, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
Natasha Chivers, 1984
Alan C. Edwards, Kill Move Paradise, National Black Theatre
Paul Gallo, Three Tall Women
Paul Russell, Farinelli and the King

Outstanding Lighting Design for a Musical
Louisa Adamson, Christian Barry, Old Stock: A Refugee Love Story, 2B Theatre Company/59E59
Amith Chandrashaker, The Lucky Ones
Jules Fisher, Peggy Eisenhauer, Once on This Island
Brian MacDevitt, Carousel
Jeanette Oi-Suk Yew, KPOP, Ars Nova, Ma-Yi Theater Company, Woodshed Collective

Outstanding Projection Design
David Bengali, Van Gogh’s Ear, Ensemble for the Romantic Century
Andrezj Goulding, People, Places & Things, National Theatre/St. Ann’s Warehouse/Bryan Singer Productions/Headlong
Peter Nigrini, SpongeBob SquarePants
Finn Ross and Adam Young, Mean Girls
Finn Ross and Ash J. Woodward, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

Outstanding Sound Design in a Play
Brendan Aanes, Balls, One Year Lease Theater Company/Stages Repertory Theatre/59E59
Gareth Fry, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
Tom Gibbons, 1984
Tom Gibbons, People, Places & Things, National Theatre/St. Ann’s Warehouse/Bryan Singer Productions/Headlong
Stefan Gregory, Yerma, Young Vic/Park Avenue Armory
Palmer Hefferan, Today is My Birthday, Page 73 Productions

Outstanding Sound Design in a Musical
Kai Harada, The Band’s Visit
Scott Lehrer, Carousel
Will Pickens, KPOP, Ars Nova, Ma-Yi Theatre Company, Woodshed Collective
Dan Moses Schreier, Pacific Overtures, Classic Stage Company

Outstanding Wig and Hair
Carole Hancock, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
Campbell Young Associates, Farinelli and the King
Cookie Jordan, School Girls;, or The African Mean Girls Play, MCC Theater
Charles G. LaPointe, SpongeBob SquarePants
Josh Marquette, Mean Girls

Outstanding Solo Performance
Billy Crudup, Harry Clarke, Vineyard Theatre
David Greenspan, Strange Interlude, Transport Group
Jon Levin, A Hunger Artist, The Tank/Flint & Tinder
Lesli Margherita, Who’s Holiday!
Sophie Melville, Iphigenia in Splott, Sherman Theatre, Cardiff/59E59

The Chase Award for Unique Theatrical Experience
Derren Brown: Secret, Atlantic Theater Company
Master, Foundry Theatre
Say Something Bunny!

Outstanding Fight Choreography
J. David Brimmer, Is God Is, Soho Rep
Steve Rankin, Carousel
Unkle Dave’s Fight House, Oedipus El Rey, The Public Theater/The Sol Project

Outstanding Puppet Design
Finn Caldwell, Nick Barnes, Angels in America
Michael Curry, Frozen
Charlie Kanev, Sarah Nolan, and Jonathan Levin, A Hunger Artist, The Tank/Flint & Tinder
Vandy Wood, The Artificial Jungle, Theatre Breaking Through Barriers

SPECIAL AWARDS
To Sean Carvajal and Edi Gathegi of Jesus Hopped the A Train whose last-minute entrances into the Signature production of this powerful play ensured it had a happy real-life ending

Ensemble Award: To Nabiyah Be, MaameYaa Boafo, Paige Gilbert, Zainab Jah, Nike Kadri, Abena Mensah-Bonsu, Mirirai Sithole, and Myra Lucretia Taylor of School Girls; Or, the African Mean Girls Play, whose characters learn the facts of life but whose portrayers taught us all a thing or two about the way things are.

Sam Norkin Award: To Juan Castano, whose varied performances this season in Oedipus El Rey, A Parallelogram, and Transfers not only make a complex statement about American life but also indicate great things to come for this talented performer.

Are THESE Broadway's Most Romantic Love Songs?

Broadway is rich in romance -- and rich in lushly romantic love songs.
The very best of this genre invoke powerful images, cast a strong spell of seduction, create feelings of longing, arouse our senses, unmask desires and haunt us long after the show has ended.
So many of these songs become classics precisely for the reasons we've just listed. But inexplicably, others remain in the background and, if they're lucky, reach the status of cult favorites.
While this is hardly meant to be a definitive list (and is largely representational) here are, in no particularly order, 25 that come to mind:

Some Enchanted Evening, Rodgers & Hammerstein for South Pacific
Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber considers this possibly the most beautiful and near-perfect song ever written. It creates an unforgettable allure. It's pure magic!

So In Love, Cole Porter for Kiss Me, Kate
The top pick of Lin-Manuel Miranda, it casts a classic spell and proves that Porter, who was a master of patter songs and comedic ditties, could also write a great love song.

If Ever I Should Leave You, Lerner & Loewe for Camelot
The song teases about bidding adieu to a one and only love but it's message is nonetheless clear in a mostly sad musical about a fatal love triangle.

My Heart Is So Full Of You, Frank Loesser for The Most Happy Fella
Majestic and just-this-side of operatic, this soaring duet is overwhelming in its power and its sense of fully realized love.

I Got Love, Peter Udell for Purlie
Exuberant beyond belief, it joyously evokes first love. It's an absolute winner from its subtle beginning to its rousing conclusion.

The Music Of The Night, Andrew Lloyd Webber for The Phantom Of The Opera
One of the most seductive songs ever written, it's full of imagery and unabashedly proclaims its intent to release untapped desires. A sizzler!

Make Believe, Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein for Show Boat
Yes, they're just playing at love -- thinking about what it might be like. With this trick, Kern and Hammerstein  draw you in. And by the end of the song (which is delivered early in the show) the granddaddy of all musicals has already won your heart.

I Love My Wife, Cy Coleman and Michael Stewart for I Love My Wife
Sure, it's a big, hokey and some may consider it outdated. But, it's beautiful, heartfelt and honest in its own way. And Sinatra, of all people, had a hit with it. The song works,

Joanna, Stephen Sondheim for Sweeney Todd
A young man's heart aches with desire. The song weaves a web of longing tinged with pathos. Here, Sondheim turns melodic. Overwhelming!

Fifty Percent, Billy Goldenberg, Alan and Marilyn Bergman for Ballroom
Late-in-life love. She's the other woman. She doesn't possess or know all of him -- nor does she want to, apparently. Fifty percent is enough -- and also enough to call it "love".

One Hand, One Heart, Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim for West Side Story
Star-crossed young lovers, fused and about to face their destiny. Need we say more?

They Say It's Wonderful, Irving Berlin for Annie Get Your Gun
Imagined love in all its many hues comes to life during the course of this sweet, evocative duet. One of Berlin's very best!

It Only Takes A Moment, Jerry Herman for Hello, Dolly!
Perhaps the ultimate in romanticized love songs, it unabashedly declares the instantaneousness and illogic of love. Egged on by Dolly herself, it blossoms into an irresistible love duet.

Miracle Of Miracles, Joseph Stein and Sheldon Harnick for Fiddler On The Roof
A short paean to the miracle of love, it remains vibrant, whimsical and thoroughly delightful! The song itself is a little miracle.

The Music That Makes Me Dance, Bob Merrill and June Stein for Funny Girl
It borders on love as obsession. Of course it became a staple of Streisand's repertoire -- and how could it not with lyrics like: In every way, everyday I need less of myself. I need more him.

If I Loved You and People Will Say We're In Love by Rodgers and Hammerstein for Carousel and Oklahoma, respectively.
In the same league as Make Believe, the lovers are visualizing what might be when it's clear to everyone that what might be really is. For R&H, this proved to be a surefire romantic device.

Till There Was You, Meredith Willson for The Music Man
The song celebrates the transformative power of love and shows us how love changes the look, the sound and the feeling of everything around us.

Helpless, Lin-Manuel Miranda for Hamilton
A catchy rap declaration of love at first sight where the gal takes one look at the guy and declares: "This one is mine!" And here it is in the musical that reinvented musicals -- again!

Love And Love Alone, Kander and Ebb for The Visit
While it seems to disavow love, it's actually a love song to love itself -- love, with all its disappointments, all its pain, all its shortcomings. What's left after all that? Love, and love alone.

Once Upon A Time, Lee Adams and Charles Strouse for All American
Young love remembered, and maybe (just maybe) awakened in this haunting ballad for two stars (Ray Bolger and Eileen Herlie) who pulled it off with the smoothness and vibrancy of a fine wine. Of course it became a standard.

Only Us, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul for Dear Evan Hansen
The updated love duet. A chatty, busy love song that captures the longing and the moment, millennial style. It brings Broadway right into the digital age with admirable tenderness and aplomb.

Hopelessly Devoted To You, Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey for Grease
Teenage crush love with all its capriciousness and heartache.  My head is saying, 'Fool, forget him' my heart is saying, 'Don't let go. Hold on till the end.' and that's what I intend to do. 

Whoever You Are, Burt Bacharach and Hal David for Promises, Promises
A deeply moving and enchanting plea for more than just a hookup kind of love, it captures a time and place and yet remains timeless in the inimitable Bacharach/David style.

Love Has Come Of Age, Leslie Bricusse and Frank Wildhorn for Jekyll & Hyde
It could just as easily have been titled Until Tonight because it celebrates the night and the moment when love blossoms in this chilling tale that showcases the struggle between good and evil. Neil Patrick Harris says this is Broadway's most romantic love song.

But one more now, just for good measure. Since we began with Rodgers & Hammerstein, let's end with them and Broadway's most lushly romantic moment ever -- Shall We Dance, from The King and I.

A True Broadway Milestone Moment!

You owe it to yourself to experience this!

Lin-Manuel Miranda & Ben Platt Found/Tonight 

Words and Music by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul 

Published by 5000 Broadway Music (ASCAP) administered by WB Music Corp. / Pick in a Pinch Music (ASCAP) and breathelike music (ASCAP) 

All rights admin. by Kobalt Songs Music Publishing 

Produced, Arranged, and Orchestrated by Alex Lacamoire Associate Producer: Thomas Kail Recorded and Mixed by Derik Lee at Atlantic Studios, NYC Assistant Engineers: Ebonie Smith, Joseph Pomarico 

Mastered by Randy Merrill at Sterling Sound, NYC 

Piano: Alex Lacamoire 

Violin: Justin Smith 

Viola: Todd Low 

Cello: Adele Stein 

Video Credits: DP: Steven Salgado 

Edited by: Katia Spivakova 

Second Cam: Angie Bambii 

Produced by: Derec Dunn 

Follow Lin-Manuel: https://twitter.com/Lin_Manuel

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Among This Master's Works, Which Would YOU Pick?

If Leonard Bernstein had been your dad, which Broadway composition of his might be your favorite?
We asked that question of Bernstein's daughter, Nina Bernstein Simmons and she answered, quite diplomatically: "Usually the last one I heard." 
Well, think about it. How could you possibly pick among all the beautiful music the great composer and conductor created during his lifetime?
Still, of all the things he accomplished, his daughter told us that Bernstein took pride in one achievement above most others -- his series of Young People's Concerts and the work he did to introduce new generations to music and culture.
"He was very passionate about that," Nina said at the preview of Leonard Bernstein, The Power of Music at the National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia. 

 The interactive exhibition marks the 100th anniversary of Bernstein's birth and is part of a year long celebration that his family has been planning for "about five years" according to Nina and her brother, Alexander. The show opens on Friday and continues through September 2 before traveling to other cities.
Here are some of the other things we learned from Nina and Alexander during their visit to Philadelphia:
--Leonard Bernstein was a devoted and attentive father who would periodically leave his three children love notes which were slipped under their bedroom doors at night.
--Bernstein's iconic musical, West Side Story was originally called EAST Side Story because it began as a story of Jewish and Catholic gangs fighting on New York's lower east side. But Bernstein and his collaborators decided that such a story too closely reflected their own experiences and the experiences of their parents so the tale was updated to a story of white and Puerto Rican gangs clashing on the west side of Manhattan.
--The family felt one of the most hurtful slaps at Bernstein and his commitment to liberal causes came in the 1970 essay by Tom Wolfe which proclaimed the maestro and other left-leaning elites part of "radical chic" movement. Though the phrase stuck, it never sat well with the Bernsteins.
--Bernstein did not like being pegged as a composer of Broadway music or classical music or any particular brand of music, for that matter. He loved all music. "He wanted to do it all and he wanted to do it all well, and that's exactly what he did," Nina Bernstein Simmons commented.
--Leonard Bernstein might not be entirely comfortable with today's technology. In fact, according to Alexander Bernstein, his father was not particularly tech-savvy and didn't really get along with technology. Might he be making music today on an iPad or similar instrument? "Not likely," Alexander said.
--All three of Leonard Bernstein's children took music lessons and all three attended Harvard, their father's alma mater. Of the three, only Jamie Anne Marie Bernstein pursued a career involving music.
--More than 2,000 events are planned all over the world to commemorate Leonard Bernstein's centennial year.

Photos (from top) 

Alexander Bernstein and Nina Bernstein Simmons at the opening in Philadelphia

One of Bernstein's first pianos, a Steinway 

Bernstein's traveling cases which held his musical compositions

The maestro's custom-tailored white tie and tails

Bernstein's reading glasses and one of his Grammy awards. 

All on display at the National Museum of American Jewish History.

Leonard Bernstein: The Power of Music is the first large-scale museum exhibition to illustrate Leonard Bernstein’s life, Jewish identity, and social activism. Audiences may be familiar with many of Bernstein’s works, notably West Side Story, but not necessarily with how he responded to the political and social crises of his day. Visitors will find an individual who expressed the restlessness, anxiety, fear, and hope of an American Jew living through World War II and the Holocaust, Vietnam, and turbulent social change—what Bernstein referred to as his “search for a solution to the 20th‐century crisis of faith.”
The exhibition explores his Jewish identity and social activism in the context of his position as an American conductor and his works as a composer. It features interactive media and sound installations along approximately 100 historic artifacts, including Bernstein’s piano, marked-up scores, conducting suit, annotated copy of Romeo and Juliet used for the development of West Side Story, personal family Judaica, composing easel, and a number of objects from his studio.

United Now, And Back Where They Belong!

Here they are, together at last -- the two greatest Dollys of all time.
What a joy it was to see each of them perform one of the greatest roles in musical theater history!

Broadway's Oldest AND Newest Theatre: Sneak Peek!

A behind the scenes tour of and a look at the history behind Broadway's oldest theatre, the newly renovated Hudson Theatre. This story is way cooler than it sounds.

We saw Sunday in the Park With George starring Jake Gyllenhaul at the Hudson and it was wonderful. We loved the show and the theatre -- very comfortable seats, stunning interior, remarkably intimate.  This is a great Broadway addition!

First Look At Tune From Long-Awaited Blockbuster!

Enjoy this first listen to "Monster"– a new song written for FROZEN on Broadway. Performed by Caissie Levy and the Broadway Company.