#Dede M. Ayite

[tenaciouspostfun]





Main navigation

Home

Top Stories

Latest Stories

"Home"

Makes Its Broadway Return.



By Robert M Massimi. ( Broadway Bob).Published less than a minute ago • 3 min read

CommentLike

Share



"Home" at the Todd Haimes Theatre was originally brought to Broadway in 1980 after a stint at the Negro Ensemble Company the year prior. Written by Samm-Art Williams (who died just before previews begun), follows the life of Cephus Miles (Tory Kittles) as he moves back and forth in his life from the late 1950's to the present. As people move away from Cross Roads, North Carolina, a farm area, workers are difficult to find, family members have passed, but he loves the land;" loves the black sod beneath his feet". Even though he works in a mill during the winter months, he lives for the days that he is able to work the land. From tobacco, corn and other crops, this is what gives Cephus the most pleasure.

Not overly religious, he becomes so when he meets and falls in love with Pattie Mae Wells (Brittany Inge). As both parents agree to them being married, he must first be Baptized if he is to wed Ms. Wells. The other stipulation is that she must get an education at a teaching college in Virginia. As there lives splinter over the course of time, Cephus will never love another woman.

"Home" has a few fundamental problems to it: the first is the speed of the speaking in Tory Kittles, the second issue is that the two woman, who perform their roles with brilliant aplomb are sometimes confusing in how they portray their characters. This falls squarely on the direction of Kenny Leon. Like many of Leon's shows that he directed of recent, the actors tend to fall out of cadence, sometimes he "overkill's" a scene. The last problem is that the show slows to a snails pace at two points in the show. The first is when Cephus goes to jail, the second big lull is shortly after his prison release. We never get a full understanding as to why he is incarcerated, other than he is a draft dodger and that he doesn't believe in killing.

As the three actors move about time and back, Both Stori Ayers as woman two and Inge do an admirable job playing different roles. Ayers is brilliant in the role of a toothless bus driver taking Cephus from the big city to back home to the farm which was just purchased for him by someone he doesn't at first recognize (at least not the name).

The set design by Arnulfo Maldonado, the costumes by Dede Ayite and the lighting by Allen Lee Hughes are not remarkable, however, the sound by Justin Ellington is first rate. The subtitles during performance were brilliant in that it hit the subconscious, giving great mood effect.

The play and its writing did give us some good material, what was always in his heart is where he was most happy, at home. The ending, even though it was predictable, was heartfelt. Cephus had a tough life on the whole, he never complained about the cards he was dealt at times, he just moved forward, only to return to his happy place.

Roundabout Theatre Company, Todd Haimes Theatre, Kenny Leon, Samm- Art Williams, Tory Kittles, Brittany Inge, Stori Ayers, Cross Roads, North Carolina, Upcoming Broadway Shows, Tony Awards, Mary Jane, The Mother Play, The Who's Tommy, Theater 555, off Broadway, Aladdin, Harry Potter, The Play That Goes Wrong, Back To The Future, The Great Gatsby, Merrily We Roll, MJ The Musical, Heart of Rock and Roll, The Book of Mormon, Chicago, A Beautiful Noise, The Tony Awards and Drama Desk Awards, Playbill, Hollywood, Robert Downey Jr, George Clooney, The Roommate, Hamlet, Once upon A Mattress.

ART

CommentLike

Share

About the Creator



Robert M Massimi. ( Broadway Bob).

I have been writing on theater since 1982. A graduate from Manhattan College B.S. A member of Alpha Sigma Lambda, which recognizes excellence in both English and Science. I have produced 14 shows on and off Broadway. I've seen over700 shows

Enjoyed the story? 

Support the Creator.

Subscribe for free to receive all their stories in your feed. You could also pledge your support or give them a one-off tip, letting them know you appreciate their work.

Subscribe For Free

Reader insights

Insights submitted by your readers will appear here.

How does it work?

Comments

Allow comments on this story

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.



SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS…(OPTIONAL)

Comment

Keep reading

More stories from Robert M Massimi. ( Broadway Bob). and writers in Critique and other communities.



The World According To Micki Grant

I always love finding a hidden gem off off Broadway. The New Federal Theater in its new digs (or temporary, not sure) produced "The Life According To Micki Grant". Directed by Nora Cole, (I wasn't given a program), this musical focuses on the life of Minie Perkins, she became Micki by nickname and Grant after her first husband. "He was a good man so I kept his name," she tells us.

RMM(BB

ByRobert M Massimi. ( Broadway Bob).10 days ago in Critique



The Wyrm King

'The Wyrm King' the third and final volume of Beyond the Spiderwick Chronicles by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black. In this volume the fantastical characters are really showing themselves and their various talents. Nick and Laurie and family and still learning and making compromises as well as promises trying to be kept in helping the Nixie's and the other people and entities. Nick along with all the others learn how to help each other past and present. Once again Holly Black's artwork would make great coloring pages. All of these books thanks to Tony and Holly were great show and tell books for all ages.

MG

ByMark Graham6 days ago in Critique



Are "Healthy" Actually Good For You?

Imagine a world where your drink can do more than just quench your thirst! That's the idea behind healthy drinks, also called functional drinks. These drinks claim to be good for you, giving you an extra health boost on top of just hydration.

AM

ByAliyu Mustapha5 days ago in Critique



C'EST LA VIE

I was scared. There was no time to be scared. They say I am a hero. Served in a company of heros. The scars haven't healed yet.

BI

ByBabs Iverson5 days ago in Poets

Written by Robert M Massimi. ( Broadway Bob).

CommentLike

Share

Find us on social media

Miscellaneous links

Explore

Contact

Privacy Policy

Terms of Use

Support

© 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

[birdzflycom]

Tony Awards Nominations 2023: The Complete List

Img Source: https://static01.nyt.com/images/2023/05/02/multimedia/02tony-noms-list2-pvkl/02tony-noms-list2-pvkl-jumbo.jpg The nominations for the 76th Tony Awards were announced on Tuesday, May 2, 2023. Lea Michele, the current star of “Funny Girl” on Broadway, and Myles Frost, who won a 2022 Tony Award for his portrayal of Michael Jackson in the Broadway musical “MJ,” announced the nominations. Some categories were read live on CBS at 8:30 a.m. Eastern, and others were unveiled through a livestream on the Tony Awards YouTube page. A total of 38 shows were vying for Tonys this year. To be eligible, a Broadway show must have opened between April 29, 2022, and April 27, 2023. This year’s awards ceremony is slated for Sunday, June 11. “Some Like It Hot,” a Broadway musical version of the Billy Wilder film, picked up the most nominations of any show, with 13 in all. The musicals “& Juliet,” “New York, New York,” and “Shucked” each followed with nine nominations. Here is the complete list of nominees for the 2023 Tony Awards:

Best New Play

- “Ain’t No Mo’” - “Between Riverside and Crazy” - “Cost of Living” - “Fat Ham” - “Leopoldstadt”

Best New Musical

- “& Juliet” - “Kimberly Akimbo” - “New York, New York” - “Shucked” - “Some Like It Hot”

Best Play Revival

- “The Piano Lesson” - “A Doll’s House” - “The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window” - “Topdog/Underdog”

Best Musical Revival

- “Into the Woods” - “Camelot” - “Parade” - “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”

Best Leading Actor in a Play

- Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, “Topdog/Underdog” - Corey Hawkins, “Topdog/Underdog” - Sean Hayes, “Good Night, Oscar” - Stephen McKinley Henderson, “Between Riverside and Crazy” - Wendell Pierce, “Death of a Salesman”

Best Leading Actress in a Play

- Jessica Chastain, “A Doll’s House” - Jodie Comer, “Prima Facie” - Jessica Hecht, “Summer, 1976” - Audra McDonald, “Ohio State Murders”

Best Leading Actress in a Musical

- Annaleigh Ashford, “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” - Sara Bareilles, “Into the Woods” - Victoria Clark, “Kimberly Akimbo” - Lorna Courtney, “& Juliet” - Micaela Diamond, “Parade”

Best Leading Actor in a Musical

- Christian Borle, “Some Like It Hot” - J. Harrison Ghee, “Some Like It Hot” - Josh Groban, “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” - Brian D’Arcy James, “Into the Woods” - Ben Platt, “Parade” - Colton Ryan, “New York, New York”

Best Featured Actor in a Play

- Jordan E. Cooper, “Ain’t No Mo’” - Samuel L. Jackson, “The Piano Lesson” - Arian Moayed, “A Doll’s House” - Brandon Uranowitz, “Leopold

Best Choreography Steven

- Hoggett, “New York, New York” - Molly Smith, “Camelot” - Sergio Trujillo, “& Juliet” - Casey Nicholaw, “Some Like It Hot” - Rob Ashford, “Shucked”

Best Direction of a Play Kenny Leon, “Ain’t No Mo’”

Christopher Ashley, “Leopoldstadt” Daniel Fish, “Death of a Salesman” Gregory Mosher, “Topdog/Underdog” Best Direction of a Musical Diane Paulus, “& Juliet” Michael Mayer, “New York, New York” Jerry Zaks, “Some Like It Hot” Scott Ellis, “Kimberly Akimbo” Marc Bruni, “Shucked”

Best Scenic Design of a Play Tony Cisek, “The Lifespan of a Fact”

Miriam Buether, “Leopoldstadt” Andrew Lieberman, “Between Riverside and Crazy” Mimi Lien, “Ain’t No Mo’”

Best Scenic Design of a Musical David Rockwell, “Some Like It Hot”

David Korins, “& Juliet” Derek McLane, “Shucked” David Gallo, “Kimberly Akimbo”

Best Costume Design of a Play

Linda Cho, “The Lifespan of a Fact” Catherine Zuber, “Leopoldstadt” Toni-Leslie James, “Between Riverside and Crazy” Dede M. Ayite, “Ain’t No Mo’”

Best Costume Design of a Musical

Gregg Barnes, “Some Like It Hot” Emily Rebholz, “& Juliet” William Ivey Long, “New York, New York” Paloma Young, “Shucked” Best Lighting Design of a Play Jane Cox, “Leopoldstadt” Alan C. Edwards, “Ain’t No Mo’” Japhy Weideman, “The Lifespan of a Fact” Jennifer Schriever, “Topdog/Underdog”

Best Lighting Design of a Musical

Howell Binkley, “Some Like It Hot” Natasha Katz, “& Juliet” Bradley King, “Kimberly Akimbo” Jules Fisher and Peggy Eisenhauer, “New York, New York”

Best Sound Design of a Play

Dan Moses Schreier, “Leopoldstadt” Steve Canyon Kennedy, “Between Riverside and Crazy” Jane Shaw, “Ain’t No Mo’” Fitz Patton, “The Lifespan of a Fact”

Best Sound Design of a Musical

Peter Hylenski, “Some Like It Hot” Jonathan Deans, “& Juliet” Dan Moses Schreier, “Shucked” Kai Harada, “Kimberly Akimbo”

Best Orchestrations

Larry Blank, “Some Like It Hot” Bill Elliott and Greg Anthony Rassen, “Kimberly Akimbo” Tom Kitt, “& Juliet” Duncan Sheik, “New York, New York” Those are the complete nominations for the 2023 Tony Awards. Fans of theater will have to wait until June 11 to find out who wins in each category. The awards ceremony is always a memorable event, celebrating the best of the best in Broadway theater.

Conclusion

The 76th Tony Awards nominations have been announced, and it's a great year for theater fans. Some Like It Hot leads the pack with 13 nominations, while & Juliet, New York, New York, and Shucked are close behind with nine each. The awards ceremony is set for June 11, so there's plenty Read the full article

[eternalslingshot]

Lauren Ridloff attended the 33rd Annual Lucille Lortel Awards in New York City, New York on May 6, 2018 with Joshua Jackson and Dede M. Ayite.

[larryland]

HARTFORD, CT — January 22, 2019 — Hartford Stage announced today the cast and creative team for Dominique Morisseau’s Detroit ’67. The powerful drama, produced in association with the McCarter Theatre Center, will perform at Hartford Stage Thursday, February 14, through Sunday, March 10.

Jade King Carroll, who previously helmed Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters’ First 100 Years and August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson at Hartford Stage, will direct. The cast from the McCarter Detroit ’67production will reprise their roles at Hartford Stage.

Detroit ’67 unfolds during an explosive moment in United States history — the civil and racial unrest that tore the city of Detroit apart. The play centers around Chelle and her brother, Lank, who make ends meet by turning their basement into an after-hours party. When a mysterious woman makes her way into the siblings’ lives, they clash over much more than the family business.

“Acclaimed director Jade King Carroll is returning to Hartford Stage for the third time to stage this great play by a contemporary master, Dominique Morisseau,” said Darko Tresnjak, Hartford Stage Artistic Director. “It is also wonderful to collaborate again with the McCarter Theatre Center, a company led for the past three decades by the incomparable Emily Mann.”

Dominique Morisseau is among 25 individuals nationwide to be named as a MacArthur Foundation 2018 MacArthur Fellow (also known as the “Genius Grant”).  This prestigious fellowship is awarded to creative individuals – including writers, scientists, artists, social scientists, humanists, teachers, and entrepreneurs – who exhibit extraordinary originality and dedication in their careers. Morisseau was selected as a MacArthur Fellow for her reputation as “a powerful storyteller whose examination of character and circumstance is a call for audiences to consider the actions and responsibilities of society more broadly. With a background as an actor and spoken-word poet, she uses lyrical dialogue to construct emotionally complex characters who exhibit humor, vulnerability, and fortitude as they cope with sometimes desperate circumstances.”

Detroit ’67 is part of Morisseau’s “Detroit Project” trilogy, which includes Paradise Blue and Skeleton Crew – plays focusing upon the complicated yet hopeful history of her hometown. The Huffington Post called Morisseau “a direct heir to Hansberry, Williams, and Wilson. You feel the pulse and vibrations of her characters.” Philadelphia Magazine raved of the McCarter Theatre Center production, “Detroit ’67 has heart and soul. The subject matter places it in the grand tradition of realistic American drama.” US 1 called the production “extraordinary – an impressive and involving production.”

Morisseau’s body of work includes Pipeline, Sunset Baby, Detroit ‘67, Paradise Blue, and Skeleton Crew. She will make her Broadway debut this spring as book writer for Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations. Morisseau has had work commissioned by the Steppenwolf Theatre, the Hip Hop Theater Festival, the South Coast Repertory, and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Her plays have been staged at The Public Theater, the Williamstown Theatre Festival, and the Atlantic Theater Company, among others.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

In addition to directing Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters’ First 100 Years and August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson at Hartford Stage, Jade King Carroll’s directorial credits include Trouble in Mind at Two River Theater and PlayMakers Repertory Company; The Whipping Man and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom at Portland Stage; Hello, From the Children of Planet Earth at The Playwrights Realm; Dominique Morisseau’s Sunset Baby at City Theatre Company; Seven Guitars, The Persians and Splittin’ the Raft at People’s Light and Theatre; and Mr. Chickee’s Funny Money at Atlantic Theatre Company.

The cast of Detroit ’67 includes Nyahale Allie (Seven Guitars, People’s Light and Theatre; Unspeakable, Apollo Theater) as Bunny; Will Cobbs (Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Broadway; Autumn’s Harvest, The Public Theater) as Sly; Ginna Le Vine (Picnic, Transport Group Theatre Company; The New World , Bucks County Playhouse) as Caroline; Johnny Ramey (The Whipping Man, Baltimore Center Stage; The Liquid Plain, Signature Theatre) as Lank; and Myxolydia Tyler (The Mountaintop, Baltimore Center Stage and Vermont Rep; A Raisin in the Sun, Arkansas Repertory Theatre) as Chelle.

The creative team for Detroit ’67 includes Set Designer Riccardo Hernandez (Indecent, Broadway; Seascape, Hartford Stage) Costume Designer Dede M. Ayite (American Son and Fireflies, Broadway); Lighting Designer Nicole Pearce (Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters’ First 100 Years, Hartford Stage and Long Wharf Theatre; Hello, From The Children of Planet Earth, The Playwrights Realm); Sound Designer Karin Graybash (Having Our Say: The Delany Sister’s First 100 Years, Hartford Stage and Long Wharf Theatre; Intimate Apparel, McCarter Theatre Center); and Hair and Makeup Designer Leah J. Loukas (Sweat and Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812, Broadway).

Heather Klein (She Has a Name, Off-Broadway; Well Intentioned White People, Barrington Stage Company) will serve as Production Stage Manager, with Nicole Wiegert (Henry V and A Lesson from Aloes, Hartford Stage) as Assistant Stage Manager.

Sponsors

The Executive Sponsor for Detroit ’67 is Travelers.

The Lead Sponsor is Robinson+Cole.

Individual Producers are Rick & Beth Costello.

The Assisting Production Sponsor is Eversource Energy.

The 2018-19 Season is also sponsored by the Greater Hartford Arts Council and the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development.

Special Dates

Previews begin at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, February 14

Opening Night: 8 p.m., Friday, February 22

Closes: 2 p.m., Sunday, March 10

Tickets & Performances

Tue, Wed, Thu, Sun at 7:30 p.m.—Fri, Sat at 8 p.m.—Sat, Sun at 2 p.m.

Wed matinee at 2 p.m. on March 6 only.

Weekly schedules vary. For details, visit www.hartfordstage.org.

Tickets for all shows start at $25. Student tickets: $18.

For group discounts (10 or more), email groupsales@hartfordstage.org or call 860-527-5151.

For all other tickets, please call the Hartford Stage box office at 860-527-5151 or visit www.hartfordstage.org.

Special Events

HPL @ Hartford Stage. Hartford Public Library and Hartford Stage invite you to dig deeper into the world of the plays onstage. Check out a book today! Select books available at the theatre and at each Hartford branch library.

Sunday Afternoon Discussion, February 24. Enjoy a discussion with artists and scholars connected with the production immediately following the 2 p.m. matinee. Free

AfterWords Discussion—Tuesday, February 26 and Tuesday, March 5, and Wednesday, March 6. Join members of the cast and our Artistic staff for a free discussion, immediately following select 7:30 p.m. performances on Tuesday or the 2 p.m. Wednesday matinee

Open Captioned Performances—Sunday, March 3, 2 p.m. & 7:30 p.m. For patrons who are deaf or have hearing loss — free service with admission.

Audio Described Performance—Saturday, March 9, 2 p.m. For patrons who are blind or have low vision — free service with admission.

About Hartford Stage

Now in our 55th season, Hartford Stage is currently under the leadership of Artistic Director Darko Tresnjak. In January 2019, Melia Bensussen was named the sixth Artistic Director of Hartford Stage and will assume the role in June. One of the nation’s leading resident theatres, Hartford Stage is known for producing innovative revivals of classics and provocative new plays and musicals, including 73 world and American premieres, as well as offering a distinguished education program, which reaches close to 21,000 students annually.

Since Tresnjak’s appointment in 2011 the theatre has presented the world premieres of A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder on Broadway, winner of four 2014 Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Best Direction of a Musical by Tresnjak; Rear Window with Kevin Bacon; the new musical Anastasia by Terrence McNally, Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens; Quiara Alegría Hudes’ Water by the Spoonful, winner of the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Drama; Breath & Imagination by Daniel Beaty; Big Dance Theatre’s Man in a Case with Mikhail Baryshnikov; and Reverberation by Matthew Lopez.

Hartford Stage has earned many of the nation’s most prestigious awards, including the 1989 Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre. Other national honors include Outer Critics Circle, Drama Desk, OBIE, and New York Critics Circle awards. Hartford Stage has produced nationally renowned titles, including the New York transfers of Enchanted April; The Orphans’ Home Cycle; Resurrection(later retitled Through the Night); The Carpetbagger’s Children; and Tea at Five.

The leading provider of theatre education programs in Connecticut, Hartford Stage’s offerings include student matinees, in-school theatre residencies, teen performance opportunities, theatre classes for students (ages 3-18) and adults, afterschool programs and professional development courses.

Hartford Stage Announces Cast and Creative Team for Dominique Morisseau’s “Detroit ’67” HARTFORD, CT — January 22, 2019 — Hartford Stage announced today the cast and creative team for Dominique Morisseau’s Detroit ’67.

[shakespearenews]

What the %#@& does:

 “since the actors spoke in the rhythm of everyday American English and did not use iambic pentameter, the time length could be shorter. “

mean?!

 In (poor) context below.  

--- 

“The fast-moving production did not cut the text. However, since the actors spoke in the rhythm of everyday American English and did not use iambic pentameter, the time length could be shorter. Chris Butler’s speech differed since English is not the character’s native tongue. It runs for three hours and fifteen minutes. There is also a fifteen-minute intermission.“

“Christopher Acebo’s set is multi-purpose. At the opening, the audience sees a wide black scrim upstage with a door center stage and a high window to its left. Down front, there is a ramp that comes from the stage to the auditorium. Once the play moves to Cyprus there is a golden brown stone wall upstage. Embedded in the wall is a row of television sets that are sometimes turned on as for example when the set is supposed to represent a gym. At other times they show the sea. When Othello is about to smother Desdemona, a large bed rises from the floor.”

“Dede M. Ayite’s costumes are suitable. The colors black, white, brown, and red are widely used. Desdemona’s clothing is pretty and becoming. André J. Pluess’ music is powerful. “

[betterinthedarkblog]

My Theatrical Favorites of 2013

LOOK UPON OUR LOWLINESS, a spoken word elegy for a chorus of male voices

written by Harrison David Rivers directed by David Mendizàbal presented by The Movement Theater Company

scenic design by Paul Tate dePoo III costume design by Dede M. Ayite lighting + projection by David Bengali sound by Mark Van Hare ​​​ photos by Christine Jean Chambers

[newyorktheater]

My ten favorite individual performances in New York stage shows that opened in 2019 are listed alphabetically, with explanations for my choices largely excerpted from my reviews.

Ian Barford‘s role as Wheeler, a recently divorced middle aged man  in “Linda Vista,” was remarkably demanding: Tracy Letts’ play lasted nearly three hours, and Barford never left the stage, often delivering long complicated monologues. He was also required to be cruel, to be rejected, to beg abjectly and to engage in simulated sex in the nude. But above all, the actor had to accept that may the audience would hate him.

Always a wonderful actress, Quincy Tyler Bernstine portrayed both the pioneering real-life 19th century nurse at the center of Jackie Sibblies Drury’s “Mary Seacoles,” and several 21st century caretakers, with shades of differences but always keeping a core for all of them that lets us know not just how complicated and heroic Mary Seacole was, but how much she shares with every Mary who has followed.

As Beatrice in the Public Theater’s all-black production of “Much Ado About Nothing,” Danielle Brooks proved herself a Shakespearean actress of a high order – and at the same time redefined what it means to be one. Best known for portraying Taystee in the Netflix series “Orange is the New Black” and for her 2016 Tony-nominated Broadway debut as Sofia in a revival of “The Color Purple,” Brooks is a Juilliard-trained actress. She took complete command of Shakespeare’s language, especially in the feisty character’s “merry war” and “skirmish of wit” with Benedick. But Brooks also created her own language – a body language, whose every expression and gesture brings us clarity and joy….and takes us to the state of Georgia in the year 2020.

Andre De Shields commands the stage of “Hadestown” from the get-go. The show begins in complete silence as the rest of the cast watches Hermes, in his elegant, grey silk suit, slide across the stage, pause, and open a button to show a loud and splendid vest, before trombone player Briane Drye lets out a blast from jazz heaven and De Shields launches into the get-down “Road to Hell.”

Raûl Esparza either had a day job  that we didn’t know about, or he spent a lot of time training with a real chef for his role as the hilariously persnickety chef in Theresa Rebeck’s culinary comedy “Seared.”. It is a surprisingly mesmerizing experience to witness the long wordless scene in which Esparza meticulously prepares and cooks a wild salmon dish.

 Santino Fontana is a charmer and a great talent – and in “Tootsie” he acted! he danced! he sang in different octaves! After an initial bumpy ride, Fontana seems clearly on his way to major stardom.

Samuel H. Levine makes a breathtaking Broadway debut in Matthew Lopez’s “The Inheritance” as both Adam, the naive adopted son of a rich family, and Leo,  a teenage hustler who’s had a hard life. The two characters actually have a scene together!

I normally hate child actors, just on principle, but I cannot deny the extraordinary performance by 12-year-old Aran Murphy in the title role of  Hamnet, a play that conjures up William Shakespeare only son, who died at the age of 11. Murphy seemed unfazed by all the elaborate avant-garde theatrics (video experimenting and the like), maintaining a professional self-assurance without being bratty or losing the sense of natural innocence.

Lois Smith as Margaret and Samuel H. Levine as Leo

Every single line Lois Smith utters in “The Inheritance” is more than persuasive; it’s an astonishment. You’re likely to cry just remembering her performance as a mother who rejected her son because he was gay, and has been making up for it since his premature death.  The 20 minutes Lois Smith is on stage would be rewarding even for people who didn’t care for the remaining six plus hours of the show. This is an actress who made her Broadway debut 67 years ago!

“Tina” belongs to the show’s Tina Turner, a star-making performance of extraordinary stamina. At the end, dressed in trademark tight red leather mini-dress, highest of heels and tallest of wigs, ascending a staircase of flashing lights backed by a raucous band each in his own Hollywood Square, Adrienne Warner delivers Tina Turner’s greatest hits –and we all rise as one, ecstatic, and swoon..

Amber Gray as Persephone and cast in Hadestown

Paul Hilton, who portrays both E.M . Forster and Walter

Joaquina Kalukango and Paul Alexander Nolan (

Toni Stone TONI STONE CAST Stretch Eric Berryman Alberga Harvy Blanks King Tut Phillip James Brannon Spec Daniel J. Bryant Elzie Jonathan Burke Jimmy Toney Goins Millie Kenn E. Head Woody Ezra Knight Toni Stone April Matthis u/s Alberga, Millie Melvin Abston u/s Toni Stone Jennean Farmer u/s Elzie, Jimmy, Spec Alex Joseph Grayson u/s Woody, Stretch, King Tut Damian Thompson TONI STONE CREATIVE Playwright Lydia R. Diamond Set Design Riccardo Hernandez Costume Design Dede Ayite Lighting Design Allen Lee Hughes Original Music & Sound Design Broken Chord Hair & Wig Design Cookie Jordan Choreography Camille A. Brown Fight Director Tom Schall Production Stage Manager Charles M. Turner III Director Pam MacKinnon Author of Original Book Martha Ackmann

Lauren Patten (center) as Jo, with the company of “Jagged Little Pill,” performing “You Oughta Know.”

Sarah Stiles as Sandy

Ephraim Sykes as David Ruffin

Michael Benjamin Washington

It’s impossible to cap an appreciation of New York stage performances in 2019 at only ten. There were enough good ones for another top ten, and here they are: Amber Gray in Hadestown, Joshua Henry in The Wrong Man, Paul Hilton in “The Inheritance,” Marin Ireland in Blue Ridge,  Joaquina Kalukango in “Slave Play,”April Mathis in “Toni Stone,” Lauren Patten in “Jagged Little Rock,” Sarah Stiles in “Tootsie,” Ephraim Sykes in “Ain’t Too Proud”, Michael Benjamin Washington in “Fires in the Mirror.”

Patrice Johnson Chevannes (Wanda Wheels), Elizabeth Canavan (Rockaway Rosie), Benja Kay Thomas (Queen Sugar), Pernell Walker (Munchies), Victor Almanzar (Joey Fresco), Liza Colón-Zayas (Sarge), Andrea Syglowski (Bella), Neil Tyrone Pritchard (Mr. Mobo), Wilemina Olivia-Garcia (Happy Meal Sonia), Sean Carvajal (Mateo), Kara Young (Lil Melba Diaz), Viviana Valeria (Taina) and Esteban Andres Cruz (Venus Ramirez). Photograph by Monique Carboni

Also:  the entire casts of Generation NYZ, Halfway Bitches Go Straight To Heaven, and Octet.

Favorite New York Stage Performances in 2019 My ten favorite individual performances in New York stage shows that opened in 2019 are listed alphabetically, with explanations for my choices largely excerpted from my reviews.

[frontmezzjunkies]

Belle: An American Tall Tale - One Long Ride Along Three Different Routes

#frontmezzjunkies reviews: #BellePH @phnyc @AshleyDKelley @KirChildsWriter

Bella: An American Tall Tale: FEATURING Marinda Anderson, Yurel Echezarreta, Brandon Gill, Olli Haaskivi, Ashley D. Kelley, Kevin Massey, Jo’Nathan Michael, Kenita R. Miller, Paolo Montalban, Gabrielle Reyes, Britton Smith, NaTasha Yvette Williams. Photo: Joan Marcus.

Belle: An American Tall Tale – One Long Ride Along Three Different Routes

By Ross

There is a big old fashioned style musical being…

[newyorktheater]

Michael Benjamin Washington

It would be hard to overstate the city-wide trauma that occurred in Crown Heights, Brooklyn in August, 1991, nor the power of “Fires in the Mirror,” the groundbreaking documentary play about it nine months later at the Public, which introduced New York theatergoers to the astonishing theater artist Anna Deavere Smith. That trauma and that power come roaring back in a revival at Signature that, for the first time, features an actor other than Smith. On August 19, 1991, Gavin Cato, the seven-year-old son of immigrants from Guyana, was fixing his bicycle on the sidewalk in front of his home on President St., when the driver of a car in the motorcade of Rabbi Menachem Schneerson, the rebbe of the Lubavitcher Hasidic Dynasty, lost control of his vehicle and plowed into Gavin, killing him. The tension between black and Jewish residents of the neighborhood ignited into riot, and a day later, Yankel Rosenbaum, a 29-year-old Australian studying in New York for his PhD. , was walking in the neighborhood when he was surrounded by young black men, and stabbed and beaten to death. “When things are upside down,” Anna Deavere Smith explained at the time, “there is an opening for a person like me” – by which she meant for an artist.

Smith recorded interviews with more than 100 people about the events in Crown Heights, and about the myriad complex issues that they raised, such as the meaning of identity and community and race. She presented more than two dozen of the people as characters on stage, portrayals that reproduced verbatim not just their words, but their verbal tics and gestures. Her performance was extraordinary. A film adaptation of it directed by George C. Wolfe, is available on YouTube

How much of the show’s power was a result of her unique talents as an actor? That was my question before attending the revival of “Fires in the Mirror.” Michael Benjamin Washington answers that question, giving a fine performance and at the same time demonstrating the intrinsic strength and artistry of Smith’s work.

“Fires in the Mirror” offers, without judgment and with implicit compassion, a breadth of personalities — rabbis and reverends, activists and everyday residents — with views that conflict, contradict, supplement or concur. But how they present themselves and what they say also often resonate way beyond what happened in Crown Heights. Indeed, the playwright waits until almost halfway through the nearly two hour running time to bring up the events at all.  The first to speak is playwright Ntozake Shange (who died last year) who discusses what identity means, followed soon thereafter with another playwright George C. Wolfe (then artistic director of the Public Theater)  on what it means to be black, keeping intact their mix of eloquence and incoherence, and even slips of the tongue: Wolfe says: “I mean I grew up on a black – a one-block street – that was black.” In-between the two playwrights is an anonymous Lubavitcher woman who tells a long, hilarious story of enlisting a non-Jewish boy from the neighborhood to turn off her radio during the Sabbath.  There are many subtle juxtapositions that explore both similarities and differences, and suggest a bit of hopefulness among all the tragic disagreements and misunderstandings .  When we first meet the activist Al Sharpton, he talks only about why his hair is the way it is — he made a promise to his mentor and friend the singer James Brown to keep it that way for the rest of his life.  Sharpton is followed immediately by Rivkah Siegal, a graphic designer and Lubavitcher who talks about the five wigs she wears, and the religious reasons for doing so, and how she’s ambivalent about it all.

These portraits, none lasting more than a few minutes, offer a context for the events when we hear about them, devastating monologues from such devastated figures as Gavin Cato’s father and Yankel Rosenbaum’s brother.

It is easy to feel that “Fires in the Mirror” transcends the particulars of its immediate subject, and see the Crown Heights conflict as a lesson from the past bracingly relevant to more urgent matters today.  But we’re fooling ourselves if we think what happened in Crown Heights is safely in the past. At a talkback I attended after the play, two proud residents of the neighborhood (one black, one Jewish) told how irksome it is that every article about  Crown Heights, no matter what the subject, seems to mention the riot in the first paragraph. On the other hand, as recently as 2011 I attended an art exhibition called “Crown Heights Gold” at the Skylight Gallery of the Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation, in which 23 Brooklyn artists tried to make sense of the riot on its twentieth anniversary. Photographer Jamal Shabazz exhibited two photographs of happy families: one Hasidic in a park, another Afro-Caribbean on a stoop. Both were entitled “What If?” — meaning, what if Gavin Cato and Yankel Rosenbaum had lived? What would they and their families look like?

Like it or not, the Crown Heights riot continues to affect us in ways direct, and indirect, and strange. Many blame the riot for the defeat of Mayor David Dinkins, the first black mayor of New York, by a former federal prosecutor, Rudy Giuliani; that first election is arguably what set off the sequence of events that has him currently all over the news.

Those three dozen works of arts at that Crown Heights exhibition were asking the same questions that “Fires in the Mirror” continues to ask, among them: How do you turn death into art? Can that art heal?

Fires in the Mirror Signature By Anna Deavere Smith. Directed by Saheem Ali. Scenic design by Arnulfo Maldonado, costume design by Dede M. Ayite, lighting design by Alan C. Edwards, sound design by Mikaal Sulaiman, projection design by Hannah Wasileski, dialect coach Dawn Elin-Fraser. Cast: Michael Benjamin Washington Running time: One hour and 50 minutes, with no intermission. Tickets: $40-$80 Fires in the Mirror is on stage through December 15, 2019

Fires in the Mirror. Revisiting the Crown Heights Riots and the birth of Anna Deavere Smith’s new theatrical genre It would be hard to overstate the city-wide trauma that occurred in Crown Heights, Brooklyn in August, 1991, nor the power of “Fires in the Mirror,” the groundbreaking documentary play about it nine months later at the Public, which introduced New York theatergoers to the astonishing theater artist Anna Deavere Smith.

[newyorktheater]

The nominations for 34th Annual Lucille Lortel Awards are:

Outstanding Play

Mlima’s Tale Produced by The Public Theater Written by Lynn Nottage

Pass Over Produced by Lincoln Center Theater/LCT3 Written by Antoinette Nwandu

Slave Play Produced by New York Theatre Workshop Written by Jeremy O. Harris

Sugar In Our Wounds Produced by Manhattan Theatre Club Written by Donja R. Love

What The Constitution Means To Me Produced by New York Theatre Workshop Written by Heidi Schreck

Outstanding Musical

Be More Chill Produced by Gerald Goehring, Michael F. Mitri, Jennifer Ashley Tepper, Marc David Levine, Marlene and Gary Cohen, 42nd.club, The Baruch Frankel Viertel Group, Alisa and Charlie Thorne, Jenny Niederhoffer, Chris Blasting/Simpson & Longthorne, Brad Blume/Gemini Theatrical, Jonathan Demar/Kim Vasquez, Ben Holtzman and Sammy Lopez, Koenigsberg/Federman/Adler, Ashlee Latimer and Jenna Ushkowitz, Jenn Maley and Cori Stolbun, Robert and Joan Rechnitz, Fred and Randi Sternfeld, YesBroadway Productions, in association with Two River Theater Music and Lyrics by Joe Iconis, Book by Joe Tracz

Girl from the North Country Produced by The Public Theater Book by Conor McPherson, Music and Lyrics by Bob Dylan

Midnight at The Never Get Produced by The York Theatre Company by arrangement with Visceral Entertainment and Mark Cortale Productions, Nathaniel Granor, Jeff G. Peters, Daryl Roth, Megan Savage Book, Music, and Lyrics by Mark Sonnenblick, Co-Conceived by Sam Bolen

Miss You Like Hell Produced by The Public Theater Book and Lyrics by Quiara Alegría Hudes, Music and Lyrics by Erin McKeown

Rags Parkland Sings The Songs Of The Future Produced by Ars Nova Written by Andrew R. Butler

  Outstanding Revival

Carmen Jones Produced by Classic Stage Company, Alan D. and Barbara Marks, Eric Falkenstein, and Covent Garden Productions Book and Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, with Music by Georges Bizet

Fabulation, or The Re-Education of Undine Produced by Signature Theatre Written by Lynn Nottage

Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish Produced by National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene, Paul & Rodica Burg, UJA-Federation of New York, Stanley & Marion Bergman Family Charitable Fund, The David Berg Foundation, Paul & Peggy Bernstein, Mark & Audrey Mlotek, Mark E. Seitelman Law Offices, in association with Esti & Barry Brahver and Sheila Nevins Book by Joseph Stein, Music by Jerry Bock, Lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, Translation by Shraga Friedman

Happy Birthday, Wanda June Produced by Wheelhouse Theater Company Written by Kurt Vonnegut

The Shadow of a Gunman Produced by Irish Repertory Theatre Written by Sean O’Casey

Outstanding Solo Show

Feeding the Dragon Produced by Primary Stages in association with Jamie deRoy and Hartford Stage Written and Performed by Sharon Washington

Fleabag Produced by Annapurna Theatre, Megan Ellison, Sue Naegle, Skye Optican, Kevin Emrick, David Luff & Patrick Myles, Barbara Broccoli, Patrick Catullo, Diana DiMenna, Daryl Roth, Eric Schnall, Jayne Baron Sherman, DryWrite, Soho Theatre Written and Performed by Phoebe Waller-Bridge

Girls & Boys Produced by Audible and The Royal Court Theatre Written by Dennis Kelly Performed by Carey Mulligan

Mike Birbiglia’s The New One Produced by Joseph Birbiglia, Mike Lavoie, and Rebecca Crigler Written and Performed by Mike Birbiglia, Additional Writing by Jennifer Hope Stein

My Life On a Diet Produced by Julian Schlossberg, Morris S. Levy, Rodger Hess, Harold Newman, Jim Fantaci, Andrew Tobias, and Ronald Glazer/Sabrina Hutt Written by Renée Taylor and Joseph Bologna Performed by Renée Taylor

Outstanding Director

Lileana Blain-Cruz, Marys Seacole Jo Bonney, Mlima’s Tale John Doyle, Carmen Jones Lee Sunday Evans, Dance Nation Joel Grey, Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish

Outstanding Choreographer

Lee Sunday Evans, Dance Nation Raja Feather Kelly, If Pretty Hurts Ugly Must Be a Muhfucka Rick and Jeff Kuperman, Alice By Heart Lorin Latarro, Merrily We Roll Along Susan Stroman, The Beast in the Jungle

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Play

Juan Castano, Transfers Russell Harvard, I Was Most Alive with You Jon Michael Hill, Pass Over Sahr Ngaujah, Mlima’s Tale Tom Sturridge, Sea Wall/A Life

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Play

Ako, God Said This Quincy Tyler Bernstine, Marys Seacole Marin Ireland, Blue Ridge Zainab Jah, Boesman and Lena Charlayne Woodard, “Daddy”

Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play

Ato Blankson-Wood, Slave Play Marchánt Davis, Ain’t No Mo’ Gabriel Ebert, Pass Over John Procaccino, Downstairs Matt Walker, The Play That Goes Wrong

Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play

Quincy Tyler Bernstine, Our Lady of 121st Street Stephanie Berry, Sugar In Our Wounds Blair Brown, Mary Page Marlowe Crystal Lucas-Perry, Ain’t No Mo’ Danielle Skraastad, Hurricane Diane

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Musical

Sam Bolen, Midnight at The Never Get Andrew R. Butler, Rags Parkland Sings The Songs Of The Future Jeremy Cohen, Midnight at The Never Get Clifton Duncan, Carmen Jones Steven Skybell, Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Musical

Kate Baldwin, Superhero Gizel Jiménez, Miss You Like Hell Anika Noni Rose, Carmen Jones Stacey Sargeant, Rags Parkland Sings The Songs Of The Future Mare Winningham, Girl from the North Country

Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical

John Edwards, Smokey Joe’s Cafe: The Songs of Leiber & Stoller Sydney James Harcourt, Girl from the North Country Bryce Pinkham, Superhero George Salazar, Be More Chill Heath Saunders, Alice By Heart

Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical

Jackie Hoffman, Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish Stephanie Hsu, Be More Chill Luba Mason, Girl from the North Country Soara-Joye Ross, Carmen Jones Alysha Umphress, Smokey Joe’s Cafe: The Songs of Leiber & Stoller

Outstanding Scenic Design

Wilson Chin, Pass Over Charlie Corcoran, The Shadow of a Gunman Nigel Hook, The Play That Goes Wrong Laura Jellinek, Rags Parkland Sings The Songs Of The Future Arnulfo Maldonado, Sugar In Our Wounds

Outstanding Costume Design

Dede Ayite, By the Way, Meet Vera Stark Montana Levi Blanco, The House That Will Not Stand Jennifer Moeller, Mlima’s Tale Kaye Voyce, Marys Seacole Paloma Young, Alice By Heart

Outstanding Lighting Design

Amith Chandrashaker, Boesman and Lena Lap Chi Chu, Mlima’s Tale Bradley King, Apologia Barbara Samuels, Rags Parkland Sings The Songs Of The Future Yi Zhao, The House That Will Not Stand

Outstanding Sound Design

Matt Hubbs, Boesman and Lena Dan Moses Schreier, Carmen Jones Jane Shaw, I Was Most Alive with You Mikaal Sulaiman, Rags Parkland Sings The Songs Of The Future Isobel Waller-Bridge, Fleabag

Outstanding Projection Design

Katherine Freer, By the Way, Meet Vera Stark Luke Halls, Girls & Boys Alex Basco Koch, Be More Chill Alex Basco Koch, Fireflies Tal Yarden, Superhero

SPECIAL AWARD Outstanding Alternative Theatrical Experience On Beckett Produced by Irish Repertory Theatre Exploring the Works of Samuel Beckett, Conceived by Bill Irwin

HONORARY AWARDS Outstanding Body of Work Telsey + Company

Playwrights’ Sidewalk Inductee María Irene Fornés

Edith Oliver Service to Off-Broadway Award Terry Byrne

  The awards will be held May 5th at NYU Skirball Center for Performing Arts

Shows That Received More Than One Nomination

Carmen Jones 6 Rags Parkland Sings The Songs Of The Future 6 Mlima’s Tale 5 Be More Chill 4 FIDDLER ON THE ROOF IN YIDDISH 4 Girl from the North Country 4 Pass Over 4 Alice By Heart 3 Boesman and Lena 3 Marys Seacole 3 Midnight at The Never Get 3 Sugar In Our Wounds 3 Superhero 3 Ain’t No Mo’ 2 By the Way, Meet Vera Stark 2 Dance Nation 2 FLEABAG 2 G irls & Boys 2 I Was Most Alive with You 2 M iss You Like Hell 2 Shadow of a Gunman 2 Slave Play 2 Smokey Joe’s Cafe: The Songs of Leiber & Stoller 2 The House That Will Not Stand 2 THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG 2

Lucille Lortel Award Nominations 2019 Off-Broadway: Carmen Jones, Rags Parkland, Mlima’s Tale Lead The nominations for 34th Annual Lucille Lortel Awards are: Outstanding Play Mlima's Tale Produced by The Public Theater…

[newyorktheater]

Complete list of winners below,  in red with an * (Click on titles to get more information about the show.)

Those nominees with a heart mark (♥) are ones I voted for. (I’m a voting member of the Drama Desk.)

The complete list is below:

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

Sean Carvajal in Jesus Hopped the A Train

Edi Gathegi

Abena Mensah-Bonsu, Mirirai Sithole and PaigeGilbert in School Girls

Juan Castano in Oedipus El Reye

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.

  2018 Drama Desk Winners Complete list of winners below,  in red with an * (Click on titles to get more information about the show.)

[newyorktheater]

MaameYaa Boafo as mean girl and beauty pageant wannabe and Zainab Jah as Miss Ghana 1966

Paulina is the most popular, the most ambitious and by far the meanest girl in the Aburi Girls Boarding School at the outset of Jocelyn Bioh’s often unsubtle but ultimately stimulating new play. Paulina is confident that she will be crowned Miss Ghana of 1986, until Ericka enrolls in the school. Ericka effortlessly wins over the beauty pageant recruiter because of an advantage with which Paulina can never compete – lighter skin. “School Girls, or The African Mean Girls Play,” whose title is almost longer than its running time, was inspired by a true story. Pageant officials in Ghana maneuvered for an American-born Ghanian beauty queen of mixed race to represent the West African country in the Miss Universe pageant of 2011, reasoning that her lighter complexion would give her a better chance in the contest. Bioh, a New York actress and playwright who is a first generation Ghanian-American, grafted onto that story the experiences of her mother at Aburi, an elite boarding in Ghana where (as Bioh tells us in a note in the script), her mother was “a (proud) mean girl.” Initially, however, the playwright exhibits no apparent sympathy for Paulina (Maameyaa Boafo), who is not only unremittingly mean-spirited – bullying and belittling her supposed friends; instantly hostile to newcomer Ericka (Nabiyah Be) – but she is also lavishly self-centered and transparently a phony. She boasts of her “Auntie” in America working at a “high class restaurant” — White Castle. At such moments, the play itself seems as obvious and mean-spirited as Paulina. But, then, about 45 minutes into the 70-minute play, it takes a turn. The pageant recruiter Eloise (Zainab Jah), who was Miss Ghana of 1966, holds auditions, and each of the six girls takes a turn singing verses from one of Whitney Houston’s signature songs, “Greatest Love of All.” Paulina easily bests her classmates singing: I believe the children are our future…Show them all the beauty they possess inside But then Ericka channels Whitney, belting out: If I fail, If I succeed at least I’ll live as I believe. No matter what they take from me. They can’t take away my dignity.

Shortly afterward, the situation explodes — Paulina attacks, Ericka counter-attacks, the headmistress scolds, the recruiter retreats, chaos reigns, somebody bleeds, truths out, ironies emerge, the two luckiest girls in the school turn out not to be so lucky. And what becomes clear is how deliberate Bioh’s crafting of her play and how intriguing her insights. Whitney notwithstanding, the culture is not interested in showing children the beauty they possess inside; the push to conform to outward standards of beauty can easily take away a young woman’s dignity. And, the world standard of beauty happens to be, to put it bluntly (as Bioh does), white. I don’t think it’s a complete stretch to see the title, which at first seemed off-putting, as reinforcing the (excuse the phrase) hegemony of Western white culture. The playwright also deftly draws character dynamics. The relationship between Paulina and her supposed best friend Ama (Nike Kadri), for example – each both resenting and admiring one another — mirrors that between the headmistress (Myra Lucretia Taylor) and the recruiter; they were themselves classmates at Aburi. Director Rebecca Taichman exhibits none of the ingenuity in stagecraft that won her the Tony for “Indecent,” nor, at the Lucille Lortel Off-Broadway, is there room (in space and surely in the budget) for the sort of flourishes in design in her follow-up Broadway production, “Time and the Conways.” What the production has going for it above all is its eight-member cast — all wonderful, all women, an ensemble whose girlish enthusiasm feels so real that we revel in it. Born in Pakistan, Brazil, Zimbabwe, London, Texas, Detroit, New Jersey and Fort Motte, South Carolina, they are all persuasively residents of the cloistered boarding school in the Aburi Mountains of Central Ghana – or, in the case of Eloise, ex-residents. It’s worth noting that Zainab Jah, who made an impressive Broadway debut as a sex slave turned soldier in Eclipsed, then portrayed an exploited 19th century African woman in Venus, is in “School Girls,” the embodiment of Miss Ghana 1966, all grace, beauty and elegance – until Eloise opens her mouth. Then the racist self-hatred bubbles up, albeit elegantly, in euphemism. The pageant, she explains to the headmistress, is looking for contestants with “a more universal and commercial look.” When the headmistress doesn’t understand, Eloise spells it out more bluntly: “We are just looking for girls that fall on the other end of the African skin spectrum.”

Abena Mensah-Bonsu, Mirirai Sithole and PaigeGilbert

MaameYaa Boafo as Paulina

Mirirai Sithole, Abena Mensah-Bonsu and PaigeGilbert

Nike Kadri, Nabiyah Be, Paige Gilbert, Mirirai Sithole

Myra Lucretia-Taylor

Nabiya Be and Myra Lucretia Taylor

School Girls Or The African Mean Girls Play MCC at Lucille Lortel Written by Jocelyn Bioh Directed by Rebecca Taichman Scnic design by Arnulfo Maldonado, costume design by Dede M. Ayite, lighting design by Jen Schriever, sound design by Palmer Hefferan, dialect coach Deobrah Hect Cast: Nabiyah Be as Ericka Boafo, Maameyaa Boafo as Paulina Sarpong, Paige Gilbert as Gifty, Zainab Jah as Eloise Amponsah, Abena Mensah-Bonsu as Nana, Mirirai Sithole as Mercy, Myra Lucretia Taylor as Headmistress Francis Running time: 70 minutes Tickets: $49 to $99 “School Girls or The African Mean Girls Play” is on stage at Lucille Lortel Theatre through December 17, 2017

School Girls Or The African Mean Girls Play Review: Beauty As Deep as White Skin Paulina is the most popular, the most ambitious and by far the meanest girl in the Aburi Girls Boarding School at the outset of Jocelyn Bioh’s often unsubtle but ultimately stimulating new play.