Marea Joy Moon (left) with Chris Lee and the cast of “Hell's Kitchen.”
NEW YORK — Two Broadway shows celebrate the spark of sonic creativity — “Hell’s Kitchen,” the musical inspired by Alicia Keys’ songs, and “Stereophonic,” a play about a ’70s rock band on the cusp of stardom. Each wins 13 major Tony Awards Tuesday's nominations also marked a record number of women nominated for Best Director.
“This is completely crazy. It took me like an hour to compose myself. I couldn't even put the words together,” said Keyes, who won the show, which is loosely based on her life, for Best New Musical. He was speaking after a special morning in which he was nominated for Best Stage Design, Costumes, Lighting, Sound Design, Direction and Choreography, in addition to four acting awards. And orchestration.
“This is incredible. This is so special. All of our collaborators who were part of this process get to be recognized for their beautiful brilliance,” Keyes added. “I'm totally speechless. Please don't ask me to write a song.”
A total of 28 shows won at least a Tony Award, with the musical The Outsiders, an adaptation of the popular SE Hinton novel and Francis Ford Coppola film, receiving 12 nominations. “Cabaret,” starring Eddie Redmayne, ranks 9th in the luxury revival. And Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' searing play “Appropriate,” about a family reunion in Arkansas where everyone has conflicting motives and grievances, received an eight.
This nomination broke the Tony record for most women nominated in a single season. She holds the record for the most nominations for a female director at the 2022 Tony Awards, with a total of four nominees in two categories: musical and play. Only 10 women have ever won the director's crown.
This year, three women are nominated for Best Drama Directing: Lila Neugebauer (“Appropriate”), Ann Kaufman (“Mary Jane”), and Whitney White (“Jaja’s African Hair Braiding”). Maria was nominated in the musical category. Friedman (“Merrily We Roll Along”), Lee Silverman (“Suffus”), Jessica Stone (“Water for Elephants”) and Danya Taymor (“The Outsiders”).
“My feeling is that it's becoming less pronounced, which is great news,” Stone said after the nomination. “We're directors, not women directors. I'm starting to realize that more and more, and that's a great thing to think about. It's a great place to be.”
record breaking play
Stereophonic, the most nominated play in Tony history, earned nominations for playwright David Adjmi and music by former Arcade Fire member Will Butler. This is the story of a Fleetwood Mac-like band over a life-changing year in which personal rifts opened, closed, and reopened. Butler says this is about art's “horror and its beauty.”
An album of the rock roots music heard in the movie is scheduled to be released next month, and Butler expressed high expectations, saying, “I wanted this album to compete with Tom Petty, Rumors, and Beyoncé's new country record.'' ing. “Making it was a reward in itself.”
Rachel McAdams, who made her Broadway debut in Mary Jane, won a Best Actress in a Play nomination, and Succession star Jeremy Strong won in the revival of An Enemy of the People and Liev Schreiber. He received his first nomination. She rose to fame in “Ray Donovan'' and won Best Actress for “Doubt.'' Jessica Lange for “Mother Play'', Sarah Paulson for “Appropriate'' and Amy Ryan, who joined the “Doubt'' revival at the last minute, were also nominated for best actress in a play.
'The Big Bang Theory' star Jim Parsons wins support for 'Mother Play'; Daniel Radcliffe earns first nomination in fifth Broadway performance for revival of Stephen Sondheim's 'Merrily We Roll Along' obtained.
The crowning glory among new musicals goes to “Hell's Kitchen,'' “The Outsider,'' a dance-based, dialogue-free stage adaptation of Sufjan Stevens' 2005 album “Illinois,'' about American suffragettes. It would be a battle between the “safs”. “Elephant Water” combines early 20th century Sarah Greene's 2006 bestseller with circus elements.
The Best New Play Tony pits “Stereophonic” against “Mother Play,” Paula Vogel's play about mothers and their children from 1964 through the 21st century. “Mary Jane” is a humanistic portrait by Amy Herzog of a divorced mother of a boy with health problems. Prayer for the French Republic, a large-scale family comedy-drama directed by Joshua Harmon that deals with Zionism, religious fervor, and anti-Semitism. and Jaja's African Hair Braiding, a comedy directed by Jocelyn Baio about the lives of West African women working in salons.
“The best of Broadway”
Actor-turned-producer Lamar Richardson had plenty of reasons to smile on Tuesday. He helped produce new revivals of “The Wiz,” “Merrily We Roll Along,” and “Appropriate.”
“I truly think this is Broadway at its best,” he said. “There's really something for everyone. There's the typical big jukebox musical. There's the niche moving three-person play. I think this is really a smorgasbord of what Broadway can offer, but of course It's still a major player in the art scene, and it's here to stay.”
Ahead of the Tony Awards ceremony on June 16, producers hope to keep their films fresh in voters' minds, with a flurry of new shows released in the spring (this year, 14 in 11 days). This is not uncommon these days.
This season also featured several firsts, including Broadway's first all-Filipino cast, “Here Lies Love,” which was nominated for four awards, including Best Original Score for David Byrne and Fat Boy Slim.
Academy Award winner and Tony Award nominee Ariana DeBose, who hosted the 2023 and 2022 ceremonies, will return this year to produce and choreograph the opening number.
The three-hour episode will air on CBS and stream on Paramount+ on June 16th from 8:00pm to 11:00pm ET.
