Latest news with #BenjPasek
Yahoo
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
2025 Tony Awards highlights: The best, the worst, and the ‘Hamilton' mixtape
With a Wicked host at the helm — that would be Elphaba actress and Tony winner Cynthia Erivo — it's no surprise the 78th annual Tony Awards had its fair share of magical moments. The evening, celebrating the best and brightest of the 2024-25 Broadway season, aired live from Radio City Music Hall in New York and had no shortage of star power, thrilling performances, and a few surprises hiding in the wings. Read on for the highlights (and a few lowlights) from the 2025 Tonys telecast. More from GoldDerby Tonys 2025: Best prediction scores by Gold Derby experts, editors, and users 2025 Tony Awards first-timers club: Half of this year's acting winners triumphed for their Broadway debuts 2025 Tony Awards: 'Maybe Happy Ending' dominates with 6 wins, Nicole Scherzinger shocks with Best Actress win over Audra McDonald Some Tony Awards openers go full tilt — loads of dancers and props and shiny bells and whistles, but when you have Cynthia Erivo, what compares to that voice? After a set-up where she kindly declines advice for what she should do to open the show, and some affirmation from Oprah Winfrey herself that 'the only thing you need to do is just be yourself,' she shows us that simple can be just as powerful as spectacle. She filled the massive Radio City theater with a ballad — written by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul of Dear Evan Hansen fame, and Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, the duo behind shows like Hairspray and this season's Smash — that promises that sometimes, 'all you need is a song.' When Broadway Inspirational Voices choir came up the aisles to join her, it became an even greater pleasure. It's a gripe that many theater lovers come back to year after year: splitting the Tony honors between the Act One preshow on Pluto TV and the main CBS broadcast means the creative awards and special honors don't get the same spotlight as the bigger, buzzier categories. And it's so much nicer to see the Tony-winning choreography in a show like Buena Vista Social Club (which performed on the main telecast) after watching Patricia Delgado and Justin Peck win the award for their work. Same goes for the special Tony honors, which are always reliably heartwarming, and this year went to beloved theater community members like Harvey Fierstein, Celia Keenan-Bolger, and St. Louis institution the Muny. Tony Awards winners didn't wade directly into political discourse this year, but many touched on the importance of representation and the power of the theater community. Francis Jue, winning for his supporting role in Yellow Face, told the crowd that he was wearing a tux given to him by fellow actor Alvin Ing from the 1976 opening of Pacific Overtures, who asked that he wear it to accept his Tony Award. 'I'm only here because of the encouragement and inspiration of generations of wonderful Asian artists who came before me and never got the opportunity that I've had,' he said, adding, 'For those who don't feel seen, for those being targeted in authoritarian times, I see you.' Harvey Fierstein, accepting a lifetime achievement award, spoke about gay rights and the acceptance of the theater community, while costume designer Paul Tazewell, winning for Death Becomes Her on the heels of his Oscar for Wicked, marveled that 'the Black queer little boy in Akron, Ohio had no idea that in 2025 he would have the year that he had.' These moments were touching, and as delivered by theater kids to a room (and audience watching at home) full of them, never felt overwrought. 'They'll play you off, or I'll sing you off,' Erivo warned. 'Don't mess with me, I've been known to cast a few spells in my time.' (She meant it, too — if anyone went on too long, she started singing 'My Way.') Awards shows absolutely need to be kept on track, but with the countdown clock already going by the time the winners hit the podium, it's not nearly enough time to let people have their say. Four nominations in as many years, and now Kara Young has made history as the first Black performer to win two consecutive Tony Awards. The actress won this year for her featured role in Brandon Jacobs-Jenkins' Pulitzer-winning family drama Purpose (which also won the Tony for Best Play on Sunday), after winning the same category last year for Purlie Victorious. A visibly moved Young thanked her family, Jacobs-Jenkins, and her co-stars, but then became the first person to come up against Erivo's threat to sing people off who went over the 90-second speech rule — cutting her off, unfortunately, just as she was stressing how the theater is 'a sacred space.' ('Sorry, Cynthia,' she added as she finished up.) The Tonys happen every year, and yet it seems the broadcast team is always battling sound issues. This time it first showed up when Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter were presenting, cutting Reeves off as he announced the winner. As the night went on, other stars battled against muffled mics during awards and performances. The original cast of Hamilton reuniting for its 10th anniversary was one of the most anticipated performances heading into Tonys night, and the celebration of the musical phenomenon did not disappoint. Trading in Hamilton's Paul Tazewell-designed costumes for all-black ensembles — save for Jonathan Groff, who donned a red jacket befitting his King George III role — the cast sped through a medley of the show's most memorable hits, from Lin-Manuel Miranda rapping 'My Shot' to Renée Elise Goldsberry, Philippa Soo, and Jasmine Cephas Jones' going to 'work!' on 'The Schuyler Sisters'; Daveed Diggs' lightning-fast lyrics in 'Guns and Ships'; and Leslie Odom Jr.'s kinetic 'The Room Where It Happens.' The world may feel very different 10 years on, but this reunion proved why the show's staying power hasn't waned. Cole Escola's win was one of the earliest locks this Tonys season, but it was still exciting to see the writer-performer accept the Tony for their hilarious portrayal of drunken, aspiring cabaret star Mary Todd Lincoln. Dressed in a gown that paid homage to Bernadette Peters, Escola gave a speech thanking their co-stars, fellow nominees, friends in the audience and watching at home, a match from Grindr, and Amy Sedaris, 'who always reminds me how important she is to me.' A mix of silly and sincere, much like Oh, Mary! There's an art to choosing what song to perform on the Tonys telecast. Capturing your whole musical in a number that embodies what the show is about, satisfies those who have already seen it, and introduces it to countless others — and by proxy, encouraging them to buy tickets — while also looking good on TV? No pressure! Jonathan Groff's charm was on full display as he mounted Keanu Reeves' seat and commanded the stage while singing a medley from Just in Time. Nicole Scherzinger brought Norma Desmond's adoring public to its feet with her formidable performance of 'As If We Never Said Goodbye' from Sunset Boulevard. Dead Outlaw and Operation Mincemeat made the most of their you-can't-make-this-up premises. And there was never a question that Audra McDonald would unleash her wrenching 'Rose's Turn' from Gypsy, or that it would wreck us. But even while delivering standout performances, a few shows should have maybe gone back to their song list. 'Never Fly Away,' from Maybe Happy Ending, didn't feel as poignant outside the context of what happens in the story leading up to it, and the fireflies that make that song feel magical didn't have the same effect on camera as did on stage. Likewise, Death Becomes Her chose a Megan Hilty number, the costume and sparkles-filled, wordplay-packed 'For the Gaze,' but while loads of fun in the theater and on the telecast, the show's true heart — and most of the snippets that went viral over the last few months — comes from Hilty and fellow nominee Jennifer Simard's wickedly fun chemistry. Not letting them sing together? That. Was. Rude. That was pretty. F—ing. Rude!!! Best of GoldDerby 'Maybe Happy Ending' star Darren Criss on his Tony nomination for playing a robot: 'Getting to do this is the true win' Who Needs a Tony to Reach EGOT? Sadie Sink on her character's 'emotional rage' in 'John Proctor Is the Villain' and her reaction to 'Stranger Things: The First Shadow' Click here to read the full article.
New York Times
05-03-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
A ‘Greatest Showman' Musical Is Coming to the Stage, in Britain
'The Greatest Showman,' a hit 2017 film about the circus impresario P.T. Barnum, is being adapted for the stage by Disney Theatrical Group and will have an initial production in early 2026 in Bristol, England. The project is Disney's first stage adaptation of a 20th Century Fox film since the Walt Disney Company acquired Fox's assets in 2019. The musical has a credentialed creative team. The songs — a combination of those featured in the film and new ones written for the stage — are by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, the duo behind 'Dear Evan Hansen' who last year became EGOT winners — meaning they have won Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony awards. The director and choreographer is Casey Nicholaw, a prolific Broadway theatermaker who won Tony Awards for directing 'The Book of Mormon' and for choreographing 'Some Like It Hot.' Nicholaw has become a favorite Disney collaborator — he also directed and choreographed the long-running 'Aladdin' as well as the company's most recent show, 'Hercules,' which will have a West End production in June. The book is by Tim Federle, best known for television's 'High School Musical: The Musical: The Series.' The film had a starry cast, led by Hugh Jackman; the stage musical does not yet have a cast, and Disney said it would hold open auditions in Britain and Ireland. The show will be staged at the Bristol Hippodrome in the spring of 2026; if all goes well, Disney will then determine whether to transfer it to London, and, eventually, New York.
