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5 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Buzz Feed
Fina Strazza On 'John Proctor' Broadway Success
John Proctor Is The Villain is one of Broadway's most buzzed-about plays. In the coming-of-age story, a group of students begin studying The Crucible at the start of the #MeToo movement. As a series of events come to light, the students question their perspective on The Crucible and their own lives. Nominated for Best Featured Actress in a Play, Fina Strazza portrays Beth, the serious but sweet leader of the newly formed Feminist club. With the Tony Awards right around the corner, I hopped on Zoom with Fina to learn more about her experience in John Proctor Is The Villain, and the new Netflix film Fear Street: Prom is a spoiler-free This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Did you read The Crucible before auditioning for John Proctor Is The Villain? Fina: I never read The Crucible in high school, but I read it once I found out I would be doing John Proctor. I didn't actually ever audition. I did a workshop of it two years ago with Danya [Taymor, the director], Kimberly [Belflower, the playwright], and Sadie [Sink, who plays Shelby]. During our first week of rehearsal, Danya assigned each of us a character from The Crucible that aligned with our character in John Proctor Is the Villain, and we read it aloud. I also watched the movie with Winona Ryder and Daniel Day-Lewis, and there's something very particular about seeing a production like that. The movie is kind of able to skew your perspective just in the way it's edited, and in the way that they portray the story. It kind of lights a very harsh light on Abigail, and she does seem like this sort of 'villain' character, where John Proctor comes out looking like the hero. Reading the play out loud with my castmates is what really skewed my perspective into seeing John Proctor under a different light. Something really awesome about this show is that even though it has this very direct and very assertive title, it's not necessarily aiming to be this declaration that there is one perspective on The Crucible, and that John Proctor is this bad guy. It's more about being open to opposing perspectives and reevaluating these historical texts, allowing the possibility that some heroes may not be as heroic as we think they are. Through this whole process, I've been able to have multiple perspectives on The Crucible. I've learned that it's a really rich story, and there are a lot of different discussions to be had about it. I loved the use of music in John Proctor, like Lorde's "Green Light." What is your connection to the music used in the play? Do you sing and write music yourself? Fina: I'm not as much of a songwriter, but I do love to sing. I'm kind of a walking radio. I grew up doing musical theater. I started on Broadway in Matilda, way back when, so my heart has always been with the music. I didn't grow up listening to Taylor Swift and Lorde as much as these girls did. But I think there's something so wonderful about how deeply these teenage girls connect over music. Even though those weren't the songs that I grew up with, I also have songs I have a visceral connection to. My best friends in high school, our dance, our "Green Light," would have been "Shut Up and Dance" [by Walk The Moon]. That song was everything to us, and it forever reminds me of these girls who shaped my entire childhood. I just had dinner with them last night and talked about the song again, because it's this integral part of our upbringing. I think it's really awesome how much the show highlights the importance of music, the connection it causes, and how it becomes this core memory. You mentioned that you workshopped the play with Danya and Sadie. Were you always considered for the role of Beth, or did you ever consider other parts? Fina: I recently found this out — I believe Danya and Kimberly had seen a tape of me auditioning for another play, and then invited me to work on this workshop with them.I knew only about Beth because that was my introduction to the show. I wasn't familiar with other characters before being cast as Beth, but I don't see myself connecting with any other role in the same way. I think I feel a very deep connection to Beth. I've also had a lot of conversations with our playwright, Kimberly Belflower, about how she sees herself in Beth, and how Beth is kind of inspired by her younger self. I feel very close to Kimberly through that, and I feel very close to the show. There's this pride that I take in bringing this role to life, and I couldn't see it any other way. Everybody is where they're meant to be, and it is like this beautiful symphony that we play every night. That's what Danya always says, we are like this nine-piece orchestra, all tuned perfectly. Beth's character evolves quite a bit, especially in Act 2. How do you feel your performance has evolved over time? Fina: You'll be doing the show one night and feel like you've really gotten it, and you'll feel like, "Wow, I can't imagine learning more about this character — I'm so a part of her already!" Then the next week, you're like, "Oh my gosh, my world is opening even more!" It's a really awesome thing that happens when you're doing a show. I can only imagine that the more I do it, the more I'll feel you continue, there's just so much more to learn. There's something about Beth where she can come off as a little naive at times and have a few slip-ups throughout her arc, where she might not, in my opinion, have the right perspective on an actor, it can be hard to let your character have those mishaps and let her be seen in this negative way by the audience for a moment. The more I've done the show, the more I realize the benefit of leaning into those uglier moments. That can be really hard to do, because I'm on stage, and our audience has been super vocal. When they don't like someone, they tell us. There have been people in the front row who say, "Girl, what are you doing?" audibly, which is hilarious, but it can be hard to lean into those more difficult moments. I think I'm learning to let her have her mistakes, and then it'll have a better outcome in the end. I've always wondered what it's like to be on a Broadway stage. What is that feeling for you when you step on stage? Fina: I was on Broadway when I was younger. It was 11 years ago now, and the last time I did theater was 7 years ago. After Matilda, I did off-Broadway and some out-of-town opens. I did theater a lot as a child, and as a kid, I always thought of it as the world's best playground. To me, the audience was never really there, and I was just always having a lot of fun. I was 8 years old when I was last on Broadway; I don't think it was possible for me to realize the weight of what I was doing. In these past years, I've often wished I just understood it a little bit more, so I could have appreciated those moments on stage a little more. Now I'm making sure I'm soaking everything up in our rehearsals and through our previews and during tech. Every time I'm on stage, I want to savor every moment. I think there's a real gratitude to being on stage.I've done film and TV, and obviously, the audience isn't right there, so it's hard to see who is taking the time to watch you and absorb your work. So there's this gratitude when you're on stage, because the people who have paid to be there are sat right in front of you. They're there for the 2 hours, and they're locked in, and they're in their seats, and there's just something really special about that. I think there's this constant wheel of gratitude being an actor on who plays Lee, said there's something awesome about having the audience right there — they feel like they can change what happens, and like they have this agency where they can change the story. They kind of do. Depending on how much they're reacting, if they're an audience who laughs more, or if they're crying more, it does alter the way we play into them, and the way that we hit certain beats. It is this ebb and flow, and it becomes this cool, symbiotic relationship. Do you have any favorite memories with the cast? Fina: Danya is such a great physical director. We did a lot of work with the script to start off the process, but she did it in a very fun way, so it didn't feel like we're just sat at a table doing table one of our first days of rehearsal, she had us all come in, and she said we're gonna work on the script today — except she pointed at Sadie, and she was like, "You're gonna play Mr. Smith." Gabe, who plays Mr. Smith, was gonna play Shelby, and I ended up playing Lee. Maggie Kuntz, who plays Ivy, ended up playing Raelynn, and we were all just jumbled. It was a really awesome way to receive your character and be an audience for the words that you were going to be speaking. You had a chance to see someone else's acting choices on your role, surrendering to those choices, and maybe taking inspiration from them. You also gain respect for other people's roles, being like, "Oh, this is a hard scene to do — you're gonna have to do this every night!" I've never had a director do that before, and afterwards, it was this very jovial experience where we kind of had this understanding of one another's paths and tracks. It was a really fun day. It also led to a lot of laughter, because Sadie was playing a grown man, and I think Hagan, who plays Lee, was playing Miss Gallagher, and it was just these miscast funny times. I really enjoyed that. Huge congratulations to you, the cast, and the crew! You're the youngest Tony nominee this year; what was your reaction to hearing your nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Play? Fina: When you're waiting for news like that, there's this roller coaster you send yourself on the whole week leading up to it, feeling guilty that you even think it's a consideration. Because you're like, "Who am I to think that? I shouldn't even be worried about this!" Then you're at a high point in the day, and you're thinking, "Oh, maybe it could happen!" Then you plummet back down to, "Who do I think I am?"I'd already been on this wild ride of emotions for the week leading up to it, so on the day of, I was like, "Maybe I should just get some sleep. I won't watch the broadcast, I won't set an alarm." But I ended up naturally waking up at the time that it started. My feed was delayed, so I didn't even see my category come up on screen, and before anything was announced on my end, my phone just started blowing up. I picked up a phone call from my mom, and she was the one who told me, she was like, "You're nominated, you're nominated!" and immediately, I kinda blacked out, you know, I don't remember so much after that. I grew up in New York, and Broadway, and the Tonys have always been the biggest thing for me. I know every single word to Neil Patrick Harris's 2013 Tony opening — that is peak theater. I think I'm still not really able to comprehend what this moment means. Every event that I've gotten to go to so far for the nominees, I kind of feel like I've been given this all-access fan pass. I'm just looking at everybody around me, and I'm like, these are the people that I grew up with. These are the people that my mom would show me doing their cabaret shows on YouTube, and just none of it feels real. It's all been very surreal. I watched Fear Street: Prom Queen on Netflix last night, and it was terrifying. Tiffany is a much different character from Beth. Was it a fun experience getting to do a horror film? Fina: Yeah, it was very, very, very different. I had never played a mean girl before, so this was a very exciting challenge. I was able to just have a lot of fun on this shoot. I ended up becoming very close friends with the entire cast. We had around 15 principal cast members on set every day, and we became this really tightly knit pack. We started basically filming this movie in between our conversations with each other. I don't think that Tiffany and Beth would get along so well, but they're both fun to play in their different rights. Did you get to meet R.L. Stine? Fina: You know, he was supposed to make a cameo in the film, but he was sick, and it was on the day that we were filming in the diner. He couldn't make it, and so someone from his estate came instead, on his behalf, to say hi. John Proctor Is the Villain is an incredible play. What do you hope audiences take away from your performance? Fina: I feel like the phrase that I keep repeating throughout this whole process is just, "Whose life am I living?" That's what this whole process has felt like. There's been something very spiritual and witchy about all of it that feels like I've been granted a magical luck spell. I hope that audiences are moved by the show and by my performance.I received a letter from someone at the stage door the other day that was really meaningful and made me feel like Beth was doing something right. It said a similar instance that happens in the show happened to her in high school, and she reacted to the situation similarly to how Beth does. Through the show, and through Beth, she was able to grant her younger self some forgiveness for the way she acted, because she didn't know any better, and she was just acting on what she'd been taught. Just to know that someone was moved by the show enough to connect it back to their own selves was really awesome. It's always important to grant your younger self some forgiveness — to feel connected to your personal self and allow your younger self to take up some space and be granted some forgiveness and healing. Thank you, Fina, for sharing great insight! See John Proctor Is The Villain at the Booth Theatre until July 13th, and keep up with Fina on Instagram. If you like horror, don't miss Fear Street: Prom Queen on Netflix.
Elle
7 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Elle
Here's Who Will Probably Win at the 2025 Tony Awards
As another Broadway season comes to a close, I once again find myself stressing out over one of the hardest tasks I face year after year: Predicting the winners for the Tony Awards. In yet another highly competitive season, the divas were out, the revivals were dazzling, and the new shows brought a refreshing charm. With 14 new musicals, 14 new plays, seven musical revivals, and seven play revivals, this season, in sheer numbers, blew last year out of the water. Standing at the top of the pack for the musicals with 10 nominations each are Buena Vista Social Club , Death Becomes Her , and Maybe Happy Ending ; and leading the plays are The Hills of California and John Proctor Is the Villain . However. But it seems to be anyone's game, as other shows like Dead Outlaw , Sunset Boulevard , and Oh, Mary! have been fan favorites. Below, find my selects for the season. These are based upon my personal opinion (who should win), and who likely will win based on the odds and Broadway chatter. As always, if those choices differ, it's due to my personal taste, and the 'will win' is still wildly deserving. All of these shows have earned their rightful flowers. Jump to Best Musical Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman Helen J. Shen and Darren Criss in Maybe Happy Ending. Nominees : Buena Vista Social Club Dead Outlaw Death Becomes Her Maybe Happy Ending Operation Mincemeat Will Win: Maybe Happy Ending Should Win: Maybe Happy Ending As one of the world's biggest softies, it's unsurprising is my pick for Best Musical. With direction by Michael Arden, the bite-sized one act is a visual feast. There are drones, projections that are actually effective and not gratuitous, strong costumes, and so much more. Darren Criss and Helen J. Shen are also compelling as the two leads, vocalizing in perfect harmony and telling the story of two retired 'helperbots' who are nearing the end of their respective lives. The concept originally seems zany, however the show is everything a new Broadway musical should be. If all is right in the world, Maybe Happy Ending should take home the grand prize. Possible Upset: Dead Outlaw has been well received, has a fascinating plot, and is inventive in its storytelling. It is truly an excellent production, and it could take home this prize as well. Best Play Julieta Cervantes Sadie Sink and Amalia Yoo in John Proctor Is the Villain. Nominees : English The Hills of California John Proctor Is the Villain Oh, Mary! Purpose Will Win: Oh, Mary! Expect Oh, Mary! to say 'Oh, Tony!' on awards night. Should Win: John Proctor is the Villain Personally, John Proctor is the Villain is my favorite show of the Broadway season. From the first Lorde track that plays ('Team' for wondering minds), I was completely enamored. Set in a small, Georgia town during the #MeToo era in 2018, the play examines The Crucible from a new lens, one that does not place John Proctor as the hero he is often portrayed to be. Sadie Sink gives a career-high performance, and the show's message feels relevant, even seven years later. Possible Upset: This is a highly competitive category. The Hills of California stands as one of my early season favorites, and both Purpose and English have strong followings. Best Revival of a Musical Marc Brenner Nicole Scherzinger and Tom Francis in Sunset Boulevard. Nominees : Floyd Collins Gypsy Pirates! The Penzance Musical Sunset Boulevard Will Win: Sunset Boulevard Sunset Boulevard has been a smash this Broadway season, and the Andrew Lloyd Weber musical will likely take home this prize. With direction by Jamie Lloyd and a career-defining performance by Nicole Scherzinger, Sunset Boulevard has been pleasing crowds since the fall (even earlier if you count its West End run). That said, it wasn't my personal favorite; while the show has been the talk of the town, I left the theater feeling a little disappointed. Yes, this one will win, but perhaps it just wasn't quite for me. Should Win: Gypsy On the other hand, Gypsy was for me. With incredible performances, it's a Broadway revival at its best. Though it runs long at 2 hours and 40 minutes, Gypsy filled a big musical hole in my heart and had me in the palm of its hand from beginning to end. It's also impossible to mention the show without mentioning Audra McDonald, who is transcendent in the role of Rose. Possible Upset: This race has two horses, an upset seems unlikely. Best Revival of a Play Jeremy Daniel The company of Eureka Day. Nominees : Eureka Day Thornton Wilder's Our Town Romeo + Juliet Yellow Face Will Win: Eureka Day Should Win: Eureka Day Eureka Day has emerged as the deserving frontrunner in this quiet category. With a message about vaccinations at college universities that is unfortunately relevant right now, it has the Tony on lock. Not even Kit Connor's biceps and pull-ups in Romeo + Juliet could challenge this one. Possible Upset: Eureka Day seems to have this category stitched up. Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman Jonathan Groff in Just in Time . Nominees : Darren Criss ( Maybe Happy Ending , Oliver) Andrew Durand ( Dead Outlaw , Elmer McCurdy) Tom Francis ( Sunset Boulevard , Joe Gillis) Jonathan Groff ( Just in Time , Bobby Darin) James Monroe Iglehart ( A Wonderful World , Louis Armstrong) Jeremy Jordan ( Floyd Collins , Floyd Collins) Will Win: Darren Criss Criss will likely finally get his flowers on Tony night for his compelling performance as a retired helperbot named Oliver in Maybe Happy Ending . Tony voters will likely award one of the show's stars, especially after his co-lead Helen J. Shen was somehow snubbed from a nomination. It's looking like Blaine Anderson will get that Tony Award. Should Win: Jonathan Groff Look, was Groff (or the producers) pandering to me when he picked me, out of everyone in the audience, to dance and twirl with at the top of the show? Perhaps. Did it work? Absolutely. Groff stars as Bobby Darin in Just in Time , an excellent musical that didn't receive as many nominations as it should have. Because Groff just won the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical last year for his performance in Merrily We Roll Along , it seems unlikely he'll win a consecutive award. He is charming, looks amazing in a blue Speedo, and sings his damn heart out. If I were a Tony voter, last year aside, he would get my vote. Possible Upset: Tom Francis demands your attention in Sunset Boulevard as Joe Gillis, and if the tides start turning in that direction on Tony night, Francis could go home with the award. Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical Julieta Cervantes Audra McDonald as Rose in Gypsy . Nominees : Megan Hilty ( Death Becomes Her , Madeline Ashton) Audra McDonald ( Gypsy , Rose) Jasmine Amy Rogers ( Boop! The Musical , Betty Boop) Nicole Scherzinger ( Sunset Boulevard , Norma Desmond) Jennifer Simard ( Death Becomes Her , Helen Sharp) Will Win: Audra McDonald Should Win: Audra McDonald About a week ago, I would have said Scherzinger would be taking home his award for her performance as Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard. It seemed as if she had the momentum, however I always believed McDonald gave the more compelling performance in Gypsy . While the race is still close, it seems as if the pendulum has swung for McDonald, especially after she has been a pinnacle of grace following Possible Upset: If Scherzinger and McDonald split the votes, recent Drama Desk winner Jasmine Amy Rogers could rise to the top. Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play Emilio Madrid Cole Escola as Mary Todd Lincoln in Oh, Mary! Nominees : George Clooney ( Good Night, and Good Luck , Edward R. Murrow) Cole Escola ( Oh, Mary! , Mary Todd Lincoln) Jon Michael Hill ( Purpose , Nazareth Jasper) Daniel Dae Kim ( Yellow Face , DHH) Harry Lennix ( Purpose , Solomon Jasper) Louis McCartney ( Stranger Things: The First Shadow , Henry Creel) Will Win: Cole Escola Should Win: Cole Escola Escola is hilarious in Oh, Mary! , and if all is right in the world, they should come home with this their whole body into their portrayal of Mary Todd Lincoln , the actor delivered a kind of performance Broadway has never seen before. We should all thank Escola for making us belly-laugh for the last year. Possible Upset: I won't even entertain an upset here. My stomach couldn't handle it. Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play Marc Brenner Nominees : Laura Donnelly ( The Hills of California , Veronica/Joan) Mia Farrow ( The Roommate , Sharon) LaTanya Richardson Jackson ( Purpose , Claudine Jasper) Sadie Sink ( John Proctor Is the Villain , Shelby Holcomb) Sarah Snook ( The Picture of Dorian Gray , Dorian Gray, et al.) Will Win: Sarah Snook Should Win: Sarah Snook Snook, who comes to the Broadway stage after captivating audiences in Succession , acts with giant, pre-recorded versions of herself in this one-woman-show rendition of The Picture of Dorian Gray . It's an impressive feat, and if she is off by one beat, the whole show could fall apart. (Spoiler: She never is.) Expect Snook to come home with her first Tony Award. Possible Upset: This category seems like a lock for Snook, but I would personally be just as fine with Laura Donnelly or Sadie Sink winning. Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical Julieta Cervantes Jak Malone and Zoë Roberts in Operation Mincemeat . Nominees : Brooks Ashmanskas ( Smash , Nigel Davies) Jeb Brown ( Dead Outlaw , Bandleader/Walter Jarrett) Danny Burstein ( Gypsy , Herbie) Jak Malone ( Operation Mincemeat , Hester Leggatt and Others) Taylor Trensch ( Floyd Collins , Skeets Miller) Will Win: Jak Malone Should Win: Jak Malone Malone has a standout moment as Hester Leggatt in Operation Mincemeat with the song 'Dear Bill.' It stops the show in its tracks, bringing heart to the otherwise humorous story. I never thought I would cry in a British comedy musical about World War II, so Malone, I politely curse you for causing the waterworks. Possible Upset: Danny Burstein is great in Gypsy , and Taylor Trensch is one of the best parts of Floyd Collins . Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical Matthew Murphy Natalie Venetia Belcon in Buena Vista Social Club. Nominees : Natalie Venetia Belcon ( Buena Vista Social Club , Omara Portuondo) Julia Knitel ( Dead Outlaw , Helen McCurdy, Maggie Johnson, Millicent Esper) Gracie Lawrence ( Just in Time , Connie Francis) Justina Machado ( Real Women Have Curves , Carmen Garcia) Joy Woods ( Gypsy , Louise) Will Win: Natalie Venetia Belcon In Buena Vista Social Club , Belcon offers an excellent depiction of singer Omara Portuondo. She drives the story forward in this jukebox musical and she sings her heart out through the show. Known for originating the role of Gary Coleman in Avenue Q , Belcon is back, stronger than ever, and it seems as if she may finally get her first Tony Award. Should Win: Joy Woods At just 25 years old, Woods has already built an impressive resumé. After making her Broadway debut as Catherine Parr in Six , she went viral on TikTok last year with her rendition of ' My Days' from The Notebook , in which she played Middle Allie. She is a powerhouse, and her ability to hold her own and excel next to Broadway's most awarded actor, McDonald, makes her my personal pick for this year. Possible Upset: Julia Knitel covers a lot of ground in Dead Outlaw , and she could be awarded for being a pitch-perfect master of disguise. Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play Julieta Cervantes Gabriel Ebert and the cast of John Proctor Is the Villain. Nominees : Glenn Davis ( Purpose , Solomon 'Junior' Jasper) Gabriel Ebert ( John Proctor Is the Villain , Mr. Carter Smith) Francis Jue ( Yellow Face , HYH, et al.) Bob Odenkirk ( Glengarry Glen Ross , Shelly Levene) Conrad Ricamora ( Oh, Mary! , Mary's Husband) Will Win: Gabriel Ebert Should Win: Gabriel Ebert Fans of Ebert will remember him as originating the role of Mr. Wormwood in Matilda the Musical on Broadway, for which he won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical. Now, in John Proctor Is the Villain , Ebert shows his range as Mr. Smith, who is warm and kind, yet terrifying with a dark past. Ebert's performance is compelling, meaningful, and spot on. He is beyond deserving of this award. Possible Upset: Francis Jue could win for his role in Yellow Face , and Conrad Ricamora could snatch up an award for Oh, Mary! . Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play Jeremy Daniel Jessica Hecht stars in Eureka Day. Nominees : Tala Ashe ( English , Elham) Jessica Hecht ( Eureka Day , Suzanne) Marjan Neshat ( English , Marjan) Fina Strazza ( John Proctor Is the Villain , Beth Powell) Kara Young ( Purpose , Aziza Houston) Will Win: Jessica Hecht With Eureka Day , Hecht racks up her third Tony nomination for her turn as Suzanne, and it's looking like this time, she'll win. A much beloved actress, she will be welcomed in to the winner's circle with open arms. Should Win: Fina Strazza At just 19, Fina Strazza shines in John Proctor Is the Villain as the earnest Beth. She's utterly convincing and often brings levity to the heavy production, and with this Tony nomination, she has a bright future ahead. Possible Upset: Purpose , she could win for a second consecutive year. Best Director of a Musical Matthew Murphy Darren Criss in Maybe Happy Ending. Nominees : Saheem Ali ( Buena Vista Social Club ) Michael Arden ( Maybe Happy Ending ) David Cromer ( Dead Outlaw ) Christopher Gattelli ( Death Becomes Her ) Jamie Lloyd ( Sunset Boulevard ) Will Win: Michael Arden Should Win: Michael Arden Arden's direction in Maybe Happy Ending is beautiful. With a jaw-dropping set, excellent use of space, and incredible character development, Maybe Happy Ending 's success should be much attributed to Arden. This would be Arden's second Tony Award, after winning in 2023 for Parade . Possible Upset: Jamie Lloyd gave new life to Sunset Boulevard , and his highly inventive angle could capture the Tony voters' eyes. Best Director of a Play Emilio Madrid Cole Escola and Conrad Ricamora in Oh, Mary!. Nominees : Knud Adams ( English ) Sam Mendes ( The Hills of California ) Sam Pinkleton ( Oh, Mary! ) Danya Taymor ( John Proctor Is the Villain ) Kip Williams ( The Picture of Dorian Gray ) Will Win: Sam Pinkleton Pinkleton is the perfect director for Oh, Mary! . While he's mostly known for his work as a choreographer, the play is so unbelievably physical that the pairing just makes sense. Escola is bent almost every which way as Mary, meaning the show needed a master of movement. Pinkleton's simple staging is effective and well done, more than enough to win him a Tony Award. Should Win: Sam Mendes While I think Pinkleton's direction is excellent in Oh, Mary! , I found Mendes's work in The Hills of California to be strong. Mendes, known for directing The Lehman Trilogy , The Ferryman , and Cabaret , is a veteran to the Broadway stage, and his use of age, turntables, and staircases in The Hills of California makes a resounding case for a third Tony Award. Possible Upset: Danya Taymor won Best Director of a Musical last year, and this year, she could come home with Best Director of a play. Best Choreography Matthew Murphy The cast of Buena Vista Social Club. Nominees : Joshua Bergasse ( Smash ) Camille A. Brown ( Gypsy ) Patricia Delgado and Justin Peck ( Buena Vista Social Club ) Christopher Gattelli ( Death Becomes Her ) Jerry Mitchell ( Boop! The Musical ) Will Win: Patricia Delgado and Justin Peck Patricia Delgado and Justin Peck's choreography in Buena Vista Social Club soars so high that at my show, the company received a standing ovation following the second act's opener. Their choreography fits the music, is smart, and could win Peck his second consecutive Tony Award in this category. Should Win: Jerry Mitchell At the top of the second act of Boop! The Musical , a perfect match of choreography and costumes makes for one of the best moments in the theater I saw this year, as half the cast is dressed in black and white, and the other half is in full technicolor. Using simple movements to create meaningful visuals is the sign of a strong choreographer, and Mitchell is just that. Possible Upset: We're either Boop in' or at the Buena Vista Social Club come Tony Awards night. Best Book of a Musical Evan Zimmerman Helen J. Shen in Maybe Happy Ending. Nominees : Will Aronson and Hue Park ( Maybe Happy Ending ) David Cumming, Felix Hagan, Natasha Hodgson, and Zoë Roberts ( Operation Mincemeat ) Itamar Moses ( Dead Outlaw ) Marco Pennette ( Death Becomes Her ) Marco Ramirez ( Buena Vista Social Club ) Will Win: Will Aronson and Hue Park Should Win: Will Aronson and Hue Park With one of the most heartwarming stories Broadway has even seen, it should come as no surprise that Aronson and Park are the frontrunners for this honor. They deserve it too, as the entire audience was sobbing by the end of the tight show. Possible Upset: Itamar Moses wrote an excellent book for Dead Outlaw , telling a jaw-dropping story the outlaw Elmer McCurdy with incredible finesse. Best Original Score Written for the Theatre Matthew Murphy Andrew Durand and the company of Dead Outlaw. Nominees : Erik Della Penna and David Yazbek ( Dead Outlaw ) Noel Carey and Julia Mattison ( Death Becomes Her ) Will Aronson and Hue Park ( Maybe Happy Ending ) David Cumming, Felix Hagan, Natasha Hodgson, and Zoë Roberts ( Operation Mincemeat ) Joy Huerta and Benjamin Velez ( Real Women Have Curves ) Will Win: Will Aronson and Hue Park Expect Aronson and Park to clean up this year at the Tony Awards, and their lush score for Maybe Happy Ending will likely earn them this award as well. So rarely in the theater do I come out wishing there was a cast album, but I immediately rushed over to Spotify to check. This score immediately enters a list of musical theater staples. Should Win: Erik Della Penna and David Yazbek The music of Dead Outlaw serves as the beating heart of the show, with the band playing live onstage (and interacting with the characters). Della Penna and Yazbek wrote a score not frequently seen on Broadway with its folk and rock leanings, and for that, I believe the two should be awarded with a glittering trophy. Possible Upset: None, give one of these two the crown. The 78th Tony Awards, hosted by Cynthia Erivo, will air on CBS and Paramount+ on June 8. Related Stories
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Sadie Sink on Her First Tony Nomination, Shaking Off ‘Stranger Things' Expectations
While Sadie Sink rose to fame in Netflix's Stranger Things, her roots are in the theater. The 23-year-old actress appeared in a revival of Annie in 2013 and starred as young Queen Elizabeth in The Audience in 2015 before going on to play Max in Stranger Things, and taking on roles in films including The Whale. And now, Sink has returned to Broadway in John Proctor is the Villain, where she has received her first Tony nomination for her role as high schooler Shelby Holcomb. More from The Hollywood Reporter Darren Criss, Renée Elise Goldsberry Set to Host Tony Awards Preshow Broadway Sees Highest Grossing Season on Record Lea Michele, Aaron Tveit, Nicholas Christopher to Lead Broadway Revival of 'Chess' Sink was nervous about returning to Broadway, especially with the fandom and expectations of Stranger Things surrounding her. But she was drawn back by Kimberly Bellflower's play, in which a group of high school girls dissect The Crucible for English class, while also seeing parallels with their own lives. While the play is an ensemble piece, Sink's character comes in like a wrecking ball who takes aim at the moral authority ascribed to the character of John Proctor in The Crucible as well as the systems set up to protect men around her. The play touches on feminism, varied responses among women to bad behavior by men and the complicated friendships among teenage girls, including Sink's character who starts out at odds with her friend Raelynn over a boy. This approach to the text, as well as the play's needle drops of songs by Taylor Swift and Lorde, makes these topics accessible to younger generations grappling with the current political climate, Sink said. 'I think it's the most important thing I've ever been a part of, in that sense,' Sink said. John Proctor is the Villain is also nominated for best play, as part of seven overall Tony nominations. The best actress nominee spoke with The Hollywood Reporter about shaking off nerves and moving past her Stranger Things character for Broadway, as well as what she hopes audiences take away from the play. Had returning to Broadway been on your radar? I was thinking about coming back, but honestly, I wasn't too eager to do it until I read Kimberly's play, because the idea of doing theater again was a little bit scary. I didn't know how it would be for me as an adult, or if I even had the stamina or the chops to do it, and if things had changed from being very comfortable on a TV show for 10 years. But when I read this, I was like, 'OK it's fantastic. It's an incredible ensemble piece.' So it's not like I'd be biting off more than I could chew. You feel so supported, and everyone in this cast is so stellar. So once I read this, it was like, if it can get to Broadway…because I also didn't know. It's kind of a big swing to do a new play, even though it had kind of gained some recognition and had gotten its flowers on a regional, collegiate level, you still just don't know with a play about teenage girls if producers and theater owners are going to believe in it and that the traditional Broadway audience would want to go. What did it feel like when you first came back? I was definitely nervous about what my nerve level would be, and how I was going to handle being on stage, because it's so exposing, and you're so vulnerable. A big thing I had to get over just in the first week of previews was letting go of any expectations I had on myself, but also that the audience would place on me in any way. That was something that was eating me up a bit. It is an ensemble piece, and yeah, sure, my name's on the marquee and everything, but if you go into the show, you realize that it's really not about that. But I think it added this extra layer of pressure in the beginning of, 'Oh, are people coming in expecting more out of me? Or are they seeing Shelby, or are they seeing Max from Stranger Things? You just never know. [Director] Danya [Taymor] actually had a really good conversation with me about that to help me let that go a bit. And once I did everything felt very free. That's kind of the point of previews too. You're in front of an audience for the first time. It's trial and error and embarrassing, because you are in front of an audience every single night as you're testing out all of these new things and situating yourself. It was quite the journey. There's definitely some points where you're like, 'Oh my God, can I do this? Am I just embarrassing myself?' What advice did Danya give you that helped you let go of that pressure? I think she could see that there was this wall that went up as soon as I was in front of an audience, because I haven't had to do this since gaining recognition through Stranger Things. I haven't had to be on stage in front of the audience right there. So I think I felt like I just put this wall up that maybe wasn't there in rehearsals. And Danya told me 'That's always going to be there, that you want to protect yourself from the audience. But if you use the character, if you're just a vessel for Shelby, then any choice that you make, she is your protection, because you're not yourself up there, so you can't feel judged, or feel like there's any expectations on you, because they're not. When you're on stage, you're Shelby.' Kimberly's agent had sent it to me, and I couldn't put it down. I just like tore through it. And the initial reaction, other than the fact that it's just a brilliant story, was just how real every character is held. And I think that's so rare when, like, you know, telling a story about teenage girls, I find it's like, super hard to get it right in a way that's like, really meeting them where they're at. And I just felt like Kimberly really encapsulated the feeling of being that age. And then it was kind of just gut instinct that this is obviously fantastic, and I think we should do a reading of it or something, and we did. How did you feel about having music featured so heavily in the play with both Taylor Swift and Lorde? I loved all the pop culture references. I think if you shy away from them, then you're not honoring the experience of being a teenage girl, because pop culture is so prevalent in most of our lives now, but especially at that age, it's like your language. And I thought everything was super clever, the way that Kimberly tied it in there, and with the use of Lorde's song 'Green Light' at the end, it's just the perfect cherry on top. At first, it's funny, because, of course, they joke about being very gifted, very beautiful interpretive dancers. And of course, they're going to start dancing to a Lorde song, but then it kind of shifts and they're able to use it as this kind of weapon or armor as they reclaim their voices and their bodies and exercise some demons through it. So it becomes this anthem towards the end. And I also just love that. I feel like a lot of the projects I've done have featured a song. There's always one song you can tie into it. What are you hoping people take away from this play? A lot of people have different reactions. Someone will come up to me and be like, 'I'm so pissed off right now,' and then other people will just be sobbing and crying. There's a mix of reactions, but I think the one thing I hope people take away from it is like, to me, I think it's just a story about friendship, like Raelynn and Shelby's friendship, and how they're able to forgive each other and come together and like that final moment, it's just all about them being connected and being able to have this exorcism, give this monologue in front of their entire class, and they couldn't do it without each other. So I think it's a love letter to that bond when you're a teenage girl and you're best friends. It must feel more charged doing this play in this political climate. Yeah, and obviously, the timing of it was not planned at all. We were always set to come to the Booth Theatre in the spring, and then with the results of the election, I think, coming into rehearsals and being with an all-female creative team, and mostly female cast, young cast, and having that to go to every day and working on something that really mattered and feeling like I think we could actually really reach people, especially young people, at this time of scariness and uncertainty and all kinds of disgusting things happening. I think it's the most important thing I've ever been a part of, in that sense. But of course, we're not trying to make any comments on it. It's just not lost on us. Everything is presented the same way. But you can't ignore the fact that it's even more poignant at this time. Do you want to do more live theater after this? I would love to. I think that's the dream. I learned more about acting in these last few months than I have in a very long time. And it's such a marathon. So I think we'll take a little break after this, but I want to come back for sure, because I think doing theater is also how you maintain your passion for acting, at least for me. It's really returning to your craft, in a very special way that film and TV sometimes just can't offer you. And I started out in theater, so of course, I always will have a love for it, and definitely want to return. And you're still so close to with the Broadway show playing across from your theater. I know. Isn't that insane timing? I saw it in London awhile ago, and then I also saw it when it came here. But yeah, it's insane, right across the street. I mean, they follow me everywhere. It's crazy. What does this Tony nomination mean to you? I grew up watching the Tonys every year and studying Tony performances. To me, the ultimate honor is to get a nomination or win a Tony award. The Tonys, New York theater, Broadway, I just think it's the pinnacle of what acting is, and performing is, and you're surrounded by some of the greatest actors ever. And so to have this recognition from the community that raised me, it has mattered the most. And also I've been doing this for 15 years, basically my whole life. And something like this has never happened to me. And so, for it to be a Tony nomination, it's just so serendipitous, and it just means so much. This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity. Best of The Hollywood Reporter From 'Lady in the Lake' to 'It Ends With Us': 29 New and Upcoming Book Adaptations in 2024 Meet the Superstars Who Glam Up Hollywood's A-List Rosie O'Donnell on Ellen, Madonna, Trump and 40 Years in the Queer Spotlight
Hindustan Times
01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Tony Nominations 2025: Complete list of nominees revealed
Lights up on Broadway! The curtain has officially risen on awards season as the nominations for the Tony Awards 2025 are here. Celebrating the very best of the past year in live theatre, this year's list honours bold new works, stunning revivals, and the artists who continue to push the boundaries of storytelling on stage. From breakout performances to long-anticipated debuts, Broadway's brightest talents are taking centre stage in what promises to be an unforgettable season of recognition and celebration. The list of the Tony nominations 2025 was announced on Thursday, May 1, 2025. The following are all the nominated names and their respective categories. Buena Vista Social Club Dead Outlaw Death Becomes Her Maybe Happy Ending Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical English The Hills of California John Proctor is the Villain Oh, Mary! Purpose Darren Criss, Maybe Happy Ending Andrew Durand, Dead Outlaw Tom Francis, Sunset Boulevard Jonathan Groff, Just in Time James Monroe Iglehart, A Wonderful World: The Louis Armstrong Musical Jeremy Jordan, Floyd Collins Megan Hilty, De)ath Becomes Her Audra McDonald, Gypsy Jasmine Amy Rogers, Boop! The Musical Nicole Scherzinger, Sunset Boulevard Jennifer Simard, Death Becomes Her George Clooney, Good Night, and Good Luck Cole Escola, Oh, Mary! Jon Michael Hill, Purpose Daniel Dae Kim, Yellow Face Harry Lennix, Purpose Louis McCartney, Stranger Things: The First Shadow (This is a developing story. Keep checking this space as further names are announced.)
Chicago Tribune
15-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Review: ‘John Proctor is the Villain' on Broadway reinvents ‘The Crucible' for today
NEW YORK — Every high-school kid knows Arthur Miller's 'The Crucible,' the allegorical play seemingly about the Salem witch trials but really fighting the chill of McCarthyism. In that play sits John Proctor, a righteous American farmer who finds his earlier affair with a dangerous girl named Abigail makes him vulnerable to her lies, as used in service of those who will take him down. Miller intended Proctor as a flawed hero, maybe a man not unlike himself. But the lively, moralistic new show starring Sadie Sink ('Stranger Things') on Broadway undermines Miller's 1953 view of the world by applying contemporary, anti-patriarchal thinking. The point of the mostly melodramatic play, set in a contemporary high school classroom in a small Georgia town, is right there in the title: 'John Proctor is the Villain.' Part of the problem, of course, is that once you understand that Sink's complicated Georgia high school girl, Shelby Holcomb, is a version of Abigail and her seemingly super-cool English teacher, Carter Smith (Gabriel Ebert) has similarities with Proctor, you know where the play is going. Miller was interested in complexity and ambiguity; playwright Kimberly Belflower is on more of a single-minded quest: to recalibrate the dominant view of a play so seeded in the U.S. education curriculum and maybe even get a place alongside it in the future. This isn't the first play to go after Miller's work. Eleanor Burgess' 'Wife of a Salesman' attempted something similar with 'Death of a Salesman.' I confess some resistance to this trend, because it feels unfair to take the work of a great American writer from a previous generation, strip it of moral ambiguity and judge it by the values of today while also taking advantage of Miller's intellectual property to bring in an audience. I find myself thinking, 'Then write your own play.' But it's a free country, of course. Thanks in part to Miller. Still, there's no denying the vivacity of director Dana Taymor's highly entertaining production, a textbook example of how high-quality direction can ignite a mostly predictable script. It's a very deftly cast show and Taymor keeps the classroom stakes consistently elevated. I can't imagine this play ever getting a better production. Thus the smart, vulnerable girls in Mr. Smith's classroom, variously played by Maggie Kuntz, Morgan Scott, Amalia Yoo, and especially the superb Fina Strazza are filled with adolescent life and energy. Bellflower adds a second adult in school counselor Bailey Gallagher (Molly Griggs), a character the audience can enjoy seeing slowly awake to the villain hiding in their midst. Much effort here has been made to make all of the classroom dialogue feel real and successfully so. Sink is strikingly dynamic and aptly disruptive, which is the whole point of her Shelby. As in most such shows, the actors are considerably older than their characters, and you can tell. But within that constraint, you get a real sense of what can happen in a classroom when teenage students become fully engaged with a work of literature. As soon as you get one look at the bro-ish face of Hagan Oliveras, who plays a clueless boyfriend, you know he is going to be a problem for his girlfriend and you will not be wrong, especially since the only other young guy is a more sympathetic kid of color, played by Nihar Duvvuri. But this is a show about empowering girls, fundamentally, and it does its job for what surely is going to be its most appreciative audience. Belflower grew up in a small Georgia town herself and she knows how to put such a community truthfully on stage, even if she no longer reflects its dominant politics or social mores. She makes extraordinary efforts here to reflect how high school kids think and talk outside Hollywood backlots, something that deserves appreciation. I wish 'John Proctor' made its very fair point about girls forging their own narratives with more ambivalence and less certitude, especially in its less-than-credible last few minutes, which you could subtitle 'Abigail's revenge,' or even that it gave Miller some consideration of how things have changed over time, not just from the witch trials to the 1950s but from then to now. But then when you're all about making sure folks now see an old hero as a new villain, that does not serve your purpose.
