Latest news with #Yazbek
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘New York audiences like weird': ‘Dead Outlaw' cast and creatives on their ‘freight train' of a musical
'It really feels like the most personal show to me,' reveals David Yazbek about his new musical Dead Outlaw. The composer has written music and lyrics for six Broadway productions and has earned Tony Award nominations for each one, winning for The Band's Visit in 2018. Of his latest effort, Yazbek says, 'The reason why the story of Elmer McCurdy has stuck with me for decades is because it works on a lot of different levels, and the deepest level for me has to do with mortality and desire.' Yazbek and many of the cast and creatives of Dead Outlaw recently sat down with Gold Derby and other journalists at the 2025 Tony Awards Meet the Nominees press event. The darkly comic Dead Outlaw chronicles the life and truly bizarre afterlife of McCurdy, a man born in Maine who moves West and unsuccessfully tries his hand at a life of crime before getting gunned down by a sheriff's posse. McCurdy's body was never claimed at the mortuary, and subsequently traveled around the United States for 60-plus years and displayed in wax museums, sideshows, Hollywood films, and amusement park rides before finally being identified and laid to rest in Oklahoma. More from GoldDerby 'Fallout' gets early Season 3 renewal ahead of Season 2 premiere in December 'Barbershop' TV Series ordered at Prime Video with Jermaine Fowler starring 'Shrinking' acting Emmy submissions include Jason Segel, Harrison Ford, Jessica Williams, and these 4 guest stars The score's cowriter Erik Della Penna, a first-time Tony nominee this year, says that while the score encompasses many different styles of American music, the songs came 'organically.' 'I don't think there was a whole lot of searching going on. … We went pretty deep into the story and deep into the themes of the story based on who we are, where we were born, and at these advanced ages, so a lot of the themes are biologically on the horizon,' describes the musician and lyricist. SEE Julia Knitel describes tackling triple roles in 'Dead Outlaw' and performing 'a perfect musical theater song' in the 'weirdest' show Dead Outlaw reunited much of the Tony-winning creative team behind The Band's Visit, which is one of the most awarded musicals in the honor's history, taking home 10 trophies. Librettist Itamar Moses, who was named a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama this year for his off-Broadway play The Ally, notes how the process of creating this musical mirrored that earlier work because he, Yazbek, and director David Cromer 'trust one another and have similar tastes.' Even so, he describes how the two musicals could not be more different: 'They're almost exact opposites. The Band's Visit takes place over one night, and Dead Outlaw covers a hundred years. The Band's Visit's all about these quiet, dialogue, spare scenes and people sitting ... and here, we're barreling ahead like a rock concert and like a freight train through all of this time." Andrew Durand, who earned his first Tony nomination for playing the title character, loves the range of the show. 'You get these explosive moments — there are big, exciting, theatrical moments – and then you zero in on these little, intimate, almost play-like moments.' One of those explosive moments is the song 'Killed a Man in Maine,' in which Elmer drunkenly weaves a tall tale about committing a murder, though there is no evidence that the real McCurdy ever did. 'I've really come to love that number, because it used to scare the hell out of me. I would do it and I would blow out all my gas on that number and then I'd have the rest of a show to do. … I've figured out how to incorporate it into the rest of the show.' For Featured Actress nominee Julia Knitel, the Tony Awards embrace of Dead Outlaw echoes what she's finding amongst audiences every night. 'From the time of our first performance, the audiences have really been on board. New York audiences like weird. We forget that it's okay to be different. … It's refreshing to have something that you've never seen before. New York audiences are smart, and I think as soon as they walk in, they realize this is not your typical musical.' Dead Outlaw earned seven Tony Award nominations, the second-most of any musical this year behind Buena Vista Social Club, Death Becomes Her, and Maybe Happy Ending, all at 10. In Gold Derby's current odds, Dead Outlaw ranks in second place for Best Musical and second place for Best Original Score, which would mark Yazbek's second victory. Moses has a commanding lead in the Best Musical Book category, which would be his second victory out of two nominations. Director Cromer and featured actor Jeb Brown both rank third in their respective categories, while Knitel ranks fourth and Durand fifth. SIGN UP for Gold Derby's free newsletter with latest predictions Best of GoldDerby Sadie Sink on her character's 'emotional rage' in 'John Proctor Is the Villain' and her reaction to 'Stranger Things: The First Shadow' 'It should be illegal how much fun I'm having': Lea Salonga on playing Mrs. Lovett and more in 'Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends' 'Death Becomes Her' star Jennifer Simard is ready to be a leading lady: 'I don't feel pressure, I feel joy' Click here to read the full article.
Yomiuri Shimbun
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yomiuri Shimbun
‘Buena Vista Social Club,' ‘Death Becomes Her' and ‘Maybe Happy Ending' Lead Tony Award Nominations
Matthew Murphy/Polk & Co. via AP This image released by Polk & Co. shows Megan Hilty, left, and Jennifer Simard during a performance of 'Death Becomes Her' in New York. NEW YORK (AP) — Three Broadway shows — 'Buena Vista Social Club,' 'Death Becomes Her' and 'Maybe Happy Ending' — each earned a leading 10 Tony Award nominations Thursday, as nominators spread out the joy and gave nods to George Clooney,Sarah Snook and Bob Odenkirk in their debuts. Twenty-nine shows got at least one nomination across the 26 Tony categories, even long-closed shows like 'A Wonderful World: The Louis Armstrong Musical' and 'Swept Away.' James Monroe Iglehart, who played Armstrong in his musical, wasn't expecting the nomination and woke to his phone blowing up. 'I was like, 'What's going on? Is everything OK?' And then I was, 'OK! How cool is that?' he said. 'I'm just really excited to be a part of this crop of amazing performers.' 'Buena Vista Social Club,' which takes its inspiration from Wim Wenders' 1999 Oscar-nominated documentary on the making of the album 'Buena Vista Social Club,' will face off for best musical crown with 'Death Becomes Her,' based on the 1992 cult classic film of the same name about frenemeies who seek a magic eternal youth and beauty potion. The category also includes 'Maybe Happy Ending,' a rom-com musical about a pair of androids that crackles with humanity and ' Dead Outlaw,' a musical about a real life alcoholic drifter who was shot dead in 1911 and whose afterlife proved to be stranger than fiction as he was displayed at carnivals and sideshows for decades. A second show with a corpse, the British import 'Operation Mincemeat,' also made it, the improbably true story about a British deception operation designed to mislead Nazi Germany about the location of the Allied landing at Sicily. 'What I think is so cool about this year is that the shows are so widely different and I love that for Broadway,' says Christopher Gattelli, the choreographer and first-time director of 'Death Becomes Her,' who earned nods for both jobs. 'We have chamber pieces and really small intimate shows and these wildly funny black box shows, and so, I love that it's been such a great scope of a year. I love that we get to add to that mix.' 'Dead Outlaw' — conceived by David Yazbek, who wrote the music and lyrics with Erik Della Penna — reunites Yazbek with book writer Itamar Moses and the director David Cromer, who collaborated so winningly on the Tony-winning 'The Band's Visit.' Yazbek said Thursday that the team learned a lesson with that show that they applied to 'Dead Outlaw.' 'If you make the thing you want to make and make it true to itself and leave the rest of it up to the fates, then you might actually get the reception that you want. And so we sort of stuck to that approach,' he said. Best play category In the best play category, 'English,' Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Sanaz Toossi's look at four Iranian students preparing for an English language exam, made the cut. As did 'The Hills of California,' Jez Butterworth's look at a family gathering for the impending death of its matriarch set in a hotel in the summer of 1976 in England. They'll compete with 'John Proctor Is the Villain,' Kimberly Belflower's examination of girlhood, feminism, the #MeToo movement and a compelling rebuttal to 'The Crucible,' and 'Purpose,' Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' drawing-room drama about an accomplished Black family destroying itself from within. The category is completed with 'Oh, Mary!,' an irreverent, raunchy, gleefully deranged revisionist history by Cole Escola centered on Mary Todd Lincoln, portrayed as a boozy, narcissistic, potty-mouthed first lady determined to strike out of the subordinate role into which history has placed her. Jacobs-Jenkins, whose 'Appropriate,' won best play revival last year, said Thursday morning that his category was filled with plays that started regionally or off-Broadway, showing the art's strength. 'I hope people kind of see the diversity of what's happening in terms of writing for the American stages right now. It's really an amazing time,' he said. 'I think that's just the testament to how fruitful the form is.' Acting nods and some missing Audra McDonald, as expected, heard her name called for her turn as Rose in a hailed revival of 'Gypsy,' a role that led to previous Tonys for the likes of Angela Lansbury, Tyne Daly and Patti LuPone. McDonald, already a holder for the most Tonys by a performer — with six — now vies for a seventh. She will face off against Nicole Scherzinger in 'Sunset Blvd.,' Megan Hilty and Jennifer Simard in 'Death Becomes Her,' and Jasmine Amy Rogers from 'Boop! The Musical,' which follows the Depression-era cartoon character as she goes on a journey of transformation. McDonald credits the late Broadway star Gavin Creel for suggesting she lead 'Gypsy' some eight years ago during a dinner party at her house. It wasn't on her radar, and she didn't think a Black-led 'Gypsy' would fly. Creel insisted. He died the first day of 'Gypsy' rehearsals. 'We have another reason to thank him,' she said. Clooney got a nod as a leading actor in a play for his retelling the story of legendary reporter Edward R. Murrow in an adaptation of his 2005 film 'Good Night, and Good Luck.' Another hot ticket — a revival of David Mamet's 'Glengarry Glen Ross' earned Odenkirk a nod, but not for his co-stars Kieran Culkin or comedian Bill Burr. (The snub derails Culkin possibly winning an Oscar, an Emmy and a Tony in less than 18 months.) Snook, Culkin's 'Succession' co-star, earned a nomination for playing all 26 parts in 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' and 'Stranger Things' star Sadie Sink earned one for leading 'John Proctor is the Villain.' 'Stranger Things: The First Shadow,' an effects-driven prequel to her old Netflix hit show, earned five nods, including for lead actor Louis McCartney. The news was less good for Kit Connor and Rachel Zegler, both in their Broadway debuts. Neither got nominations for their 'Romeo + Juliet' pitched to Generation X and millennials. Robert Downey Jr., who also made his Broadway debut in the play 'McNeal,' also wasn't recognized. Mia Farrow earned a nomination for 'The Roommate' but her co-star, the Broadway diva Patti LuPone, did not. And, in a shock, an edgy 'Othello' with Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal that producers are charging north of $900 for orchestra seats, got not a single nomination. Idina Menzel's return to Broadway in 'Redwood,' a contemporary fable about trees, grief and the quest for healing, also got no nominations, nor did 'The Last Five Years,' with Nick Jonas and Tony-winner Adrienne Warren Thornton Wilder's 'Our Town,' starring Jim Parsons and Katie Holmes, earned a best play revival Tony nomination, but nothing for its actors. Elton John's musical about 1980s televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker and the Stephen Sondheim revue starring Tony Award-winners Bernadette Peters and Lea Salonga both came up blank. The Tony Awards will be handed out June 8 at Radio City Music Hall during a telecast hosted by 'Wicked' star and Tony winner Cynthia Erivo.
BreakingNews.ie
01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- BreakingNews.ie
Death Becomes Her and Maybe Happy Ending lead Tony Award nominations
Three Broadway shows — Buena Vista Social Club, Death Becomes Her and Maybe Happy Ending — each earned a leading 10 Tony Award nominations on Thursday, as nominators spread out the joy and gave nods to George Clooney, Sarah Snook and Bob Odenkirk in their debuts. Twenty-nine shows got at least one nomination across the 26 Tony categories, even long-closed shows like A Wonderful World: The Louis Armstrong Musical and Swept Away. Advertisement James Monroe Iglehart, who played Armstrong in his musical, wasn't expecting the nomination and woke to his phone blowing up. View this post on Instagram A post shared by A Wonderful World Broadway (@awonderfulworldbway) 'I was like, 'What's going on? Is everything OK?' And then I was, 'OK! How cool is that?' he said. 'I'm just really excited to be a part of this crop of amazing performers.' Buena Vista Social Club, which takes its inspiration from Wim Wenders's 1999 Oscar-nominated documentary on the making of the album of the same name, will face off for best musical crown with Death Becomes Her, based on the 1992 cult classic film about frenemeies who seek a magic eternal youth and beauty potion. Advertisement The category also includes Maybe Happy Ending, a rom-com musical about a pair of androids that crackle with humanity, and Dead Outlaw, a musical about a real life alcoholic drifter who was shot dead in 1911 and whose afterlife proved to be stranger than fiction as he was displayed at carnivals for decades. A second show with a corpse, the British import Operation Mincemeat, also made it, the improbably true story about a British deception operation designed to mislead Nazi Germany about the location of the Allied landing at Sicily. Buena Vista Social Club has also earned 10 nominations at this year's Tony Awards (Matthew Murphy/Polk & Co. via AP) 'What I think is so cool about this year is that the shows are so widely different and I love that for Broadway,' says Christopher Gattelli, the choreographer and first-time director of Death Becomes Her, who earned nods for both jobs. 'We have chamber pieces and really small intimate shows and these wildly funny black box shows, and so, I love that it's been such a great scope of a year. I love that we get to add to that mix.' Advertisement Dead Outlaw — conceived by David Yazbek, who wrote the music and lyrics with Erik Della Penna — reunites Yazbek with book writer Itamar Moses and the director David Cromer, who collaborated so winningly on the Tony-winning The Band's Visit. Yazbek said that the team learned a lesson with that show that they applied to Dead Outlaw. 'If you make the thing you want to make and make it true to itself and leave the rest of it up to the fates, then you might actually get the reception that you want. And so we sort of stuck to that approach,' he said. In the best play category, English, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Sanaz Toossi's look at four Iranian students preparing for an English language exam, made the cut. Advertisement Audra McDonald has received a nod for her portrayal of Rose in the Broadway musical Gypsy (Julieta Cervantes via AP) As did The Hills Of California, Jez Butterworth's look at a family gathering for the impending death of its matriarch, set in a hotel in the summer of 1976 in England. They will compete with John Proctor Is The Villain, Kimberly Belflower's examination of girlhood, feminism, the #MeToo movement and a compelling rebuttal to The Crucible, and Purpose, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins's drawing-room drama about an accomplished Black family destroying itself from within. The category is completed with Oh, Mary!, an irreverent, raunchy, gleefully deranged revisionist history by Cole Escola centred on Mary Todd Lincoln, a boozy, narcissistic, potty-mouthed first lady determined to strike out of the subordinate role into which history has placed her. Jacobs-Jenkins, whose Appropriate, won best play revival last year, said that his category was filled with plays that started regionally or off-Broadway, showing the art's strength. Advertisement 'I hope people kind of see the diversity of what's happening in terms of writing for the American stages right now. It's really an amazing time,' he said. 'I think that's just the testament to how fruitful the form is.' George Clooney received a nod for his leading role in Good Night, and Good Luck (Photo by Andy Kropa/Invision/AP, File) Audra McDonald, as expected, heard her name called for her turn as Rose in a hailed revival of Gypsy, a role that led to previous Tonys for the likes of Angela Lansbury, Tyne Daly and Patti LuPone. McDonald, already a holder of the most Tonys by a performer with six, now vies for a seventh. She will face off against Nicole Scherzinger in Sunset Blvd, Megan Hilty and Jennifer Simard in Death Becomes Her, and Jasmine Amy Rogers from Boop! The Musical. Clooney got a nod as a leading actor in a play for his retelling the story of legendary reporter Edward R Murrow in an adaptation of his 2005 film Good Night, and Good Luck. Another hot ticket — a revival of David Mamet's Glengarry Glen Ross earned Odenkirk a nod, but not for his co-stars Kieran Culkin or comedian Bill Burr. Snook, Culkin's Succession co-star, earned a nomination for playing all 26 parts in The Picture of Dorian Gray, and Stranger Things star Sadie Sink earned one for leading John Proctor Is the Villain. Stranger Things: The First Shadow, an effects-driven prequel to the Netflix hit show, earned five nods, including for lead actor Louis McCartney. Oh, Mary! earned a nod in the best play category (Emilio Madrid via AP) The news was less good for Kit Connor and Rachel Zegler, both in their Broadway debuts. Neither got nominations for their Romeo + Juliet, pitched to Generation X and millennials. Robert Downey Jr, who also made his Broadway debut in the play McNeal, also wasn't recognised. Mia Farrow earned a nomination for The Roommate, but her co-star, the Broadway diva Patti LuPone, did not. And, in a shock, an edgy Othello with Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal that producers are charging north of 900 dollars for orchestra seats, got not a single nomination. Idina Menzel's return to Broadway in Redwood, a contemporary fable about trees, grief and the quest for healing, also got no nominations. Our Town, starring Jim Parsons and Katie Holmes, earned a best play revival Tony nomination, but nothing for its actors. And the Stephen Sondheim revue starring Tony Award-winners Bernadette Peters and Lea Salonga came up blank. The Tony Awards will be handed out June 8 at Radio City Music Hall during a telecast hosted by Wicked star and Tony winner Cynthia Erivo.
The Herald Scotland
01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
Death Becomes Her and Maybe Happy Ending lead Tony Award nominations
James Monroe Iglehart, who played Armstrong in his musical, wasn't expecting the nomination and woke to his phone blowing up. 'I was like, 'What's going on? Is everything OK?' And then I was, 'OK! How cool is that?' he said. 'I'm just really excited to be a part of this crop of amazing performers.' Buena Vista Social Club, which takes its inspiration from Wim Wenders's 1999 Oscar-nominated documentary on the making of the album of the same name, will face off for best musical crown with Death Becomes Her, based on the 1992 cult classic film about frenemeies who seek a magic eternal youth and beauty potion. The category also includes Maybe Happy Ending, a rom-com musical about a pair of androids that crackle with humanity, and Dead Outlaw, a musical about a real life alcoholic drifter who was shot dead in 1911 and whose afterlife proved to be stranger than fiction as he was displayed at carnivals for decades. A second show with a corpse, the British import Operation Mincemeat, also made it, the improbably true story about a British deception operation designed to mislead Nazi Germany about the location of the Allied landing at Sicily. Buena Vista Social Club has also earned 10 nominations at this year's Tony Awards (Matthew Murphy/Polk & Co. via AP) 'What I think is so cool about this year is that the shows are so widely different and I love that for Broadway,' says Christopher Gattelli, the choreographer and first-time director of Death Becomes Her, who earned nods for both jobs. 'We have chamber pieces and really small intimate shows and these wildly funny black box shows, and so, I love that it's been such a great scope of a year. I love that we get to add to that mix.' Dead Outlaw — conceived by David Yazbek, who wrote the music and lyrics with Erik Della Penna — reunites Yazbek with book writer Itamar Moses and the director David Cromer, who collaborated so winningly on the Tony-winning The Band's Visit. Yazbek said that the team learned a lesson with that show that they applied to Dead Outlaw. 'If you make the thing you want to make and make it true to itself and leave the rest of it up to the fates, then you might actually get the reception that you want. And so we sort of stuck to that approach,' he said. In the best play category, English, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Sanaz Toossi's look at four Iranian students preparing for an English language exam, made the cut. Audra McDonald has received a nod for her portrayal of Rose in the Broadway musical Gypsy (Julieta Cervantes via AP) As did The Hills Of California, Jez Butterworth's look at a family gathering for the impending death of its matriarch, set in a hotel in the summer of 1976 in England. They will compete with John Proctor Is The Villain, Kimberly Belflower's examination of girlhood, feminism, the #MeToo movement and a compelling rebuttal to The Crucible, and Purpose, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins's drawing-room drama about an accomplished Black family destroying itself from within. The category is completed with Oh, Mary!, an irreverent, raunchy, gleefully deranged revisionist history by Cole Escola centred on Mary Todd Lincoln, a boozy, narcissistic, potty-mouthed first lady determined to strike out of the subordinate role into which history has placed her. Jacobs-Jenkins, whose Appropriate, won best play revival last year, said that his category was filled with plays that started regionally or off-Broadway, showing the art's strength. 'I hope people kind of see the diversity of what's happening in terms of writing for the American stages right now. It's really an amazing time,' he said. 'I think that's just the testament to how fruitful the form is.' George Clooney received a nod for his leading role in Good Night, and Good Luck (Photo by Andy Kropa/Invision/AP, File) Audra McDonald, as expected, heard her name called for her turn as Rose in a hailed revival of Gypsy, a role that led to previous Tonys for the likes of Angela Lansbury, Tyne Daly and Patti LuPone. McDonald, already a holder of the most Tonys by a performer with six, now vies for a seventh. She will face off against Nicole Scherzinger in Sunset Blvd, Megan Hilty and Jennifer Simard in Death Becomes Her, and Jasmine Amy Rogers from Boop! The Musical. Clooney got a nod as a leading actor in a play for his retelling the story of legendary reporter Edward R Murrow in an adaptation of his 2005 film Good Night, and Good Luck. Another hot ticket — a revival of David Mamet's Glengarry Glen Ross earned Odenkirk a nod, but not for his co-stars Kieran Culkin or comedian Bill Burr. Snook, Culkin's Succession co-star, earned a nomination for playing all 26 parts in The Picture of Dorian Gray, and Stranger Things star Sadie Sink earned one for leading John Proctor Is the Villain. Stranger Things: The First Shadow, an effects-driven prequel to the Netflix hit show, earned five nods, including for lead actor Louis McCartney. Oh, Mary! earned a nod in the best play category (Emilio Madrid via AP) The news was less good for Kit Connor and Rachel Zegler, both in their Broadway debuts. Neither got nominations for their Romeo + Juliet, pitched to Generation X and millennials. Robert Downey Jr, who also made his Broadway debut in the play McNeal, also wasn't recognised. Mia Farrow earned a nomination for The Roommate, but her co-star, the Broadway diva Patti LuPone, did not. And, in a shock, an edgy Othello with Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal that producers are charging north of 900 dollars for orchestra seats, got not a single nomination. Idina Menzel's return to Broadway in Redwood, a contemporary fable about trees, grief and the quest for healing, also got no nominations. Our Town, starring Jim Parsons and Katie Holmes, earned a best play revival Tony nomination, but nothing for its actors. And the Stephen Sondheim revue starring Tony Award-winners Bernadette Peters and Lea Salonga came up blank. The Tony Awards will be handed out June 8 at Radio City Music Hall during a telecast hosted by Wicked star and Tony winner Cynthia Erivo.
Irish Examiner
01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Examiner
Death Becomes Her and Maybe Happy Ending lead Tony Award nominations
Three Broadway shows — Buena Vista Social Club, Death Becomes Her and Maybe Happy Ending — each earned a leading 10 Tony Award nominations on Thursday, as nominators spread out the joy and gave nods to George Clooney, Sarah Snook and Bob Odenkirk in their debuts. Twenty-nine shows got at least one nomination across the 26 Tony categories, even long-closed shows like A Wonderful World: The Louis Armstrong Musical and Swept Away. James Monroe Iglehart, who played Armstrong in his musical, wasn't expecting the nomination and woke to his phone blowing up. 'I was like, 'What's going on? Is everything OK?' And then I was, 'OK! How cool is that?' he said. 'I'm just really excited to be a part of this crop of amazing performers.' Buena Vista Social Club, which takes its inspiration from Wim Wenders's 1999 Oscar-nominated documentary on the making of the album of the same name, will face off for best musical crown with Death Becomes Her, based on the 1992 cult classic film about frenemeies who seek a magic eternal youth and beauty potion. The category also includes Maybe Happy Ending, a rom-com musical about a pair of androids that crackle with humanity, and Dead Outlaw, a musical about a real life alcoholic drifter who was shot dead in 1911 and whose afterlife proved to be stranger than fiction as he was displayed at carnivals for decades. A second show with a corpse, the British import Operation Mincemeat, also made it, the improbably true story about a British deception operation designed to mislead Nazi Germany about the location of the Allied landing at Sicily. Buena Vista Social Club has also earned 10 nominations at this year's Tony Awards (Matthew Murphy/Polk & Co. via AP) 'What I think is so cool about this year is that the shows are so widely different and I love that for Broadway,' says Christopher Gattelli, the choreographer and first-time director of Death Becomes Her, who earned nods for both jobs. 'We have chamber pieces and really small intimate shows and these wildly funny black box shows, and so, I love that it's been such a great scope of a year. I love that we get to add to that mix.' Dead Outlaw — conceived by David Yazbek, who wrote the music and lyrics with Erik Della Penna — reunites Yazbek with book writer Itamar Moses and the director David Cromer, who collaborated so winningly on the Tony-winning The Band's Visit. Yazbek said that the team learned a lesson with that show that they applied to Dead Outlaw. 'If you make the thing you want to make and make it true to itself and leave the rest of it up to the fates, then you might actually get the reception that you want. And so we sort of stuck to that approach,' he said. In the best play category, English, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Sanaz Toossi's look at four Iranian students preparing for an English language exam, made the cut. Audra McDonald has received a nod for her portrayal of Rose in the Broadway musical Gypsy (Julieta Cervantes via AP) As did The Hills Of California, Jez Butterworth's look at a family gathering for the impending death of its matriarch, set in a hotel in the summer of 1976 in England. They will compete with John Proctor Is The Villain, Kimberly Belflower's examination of girlhood, feminism, the #MeToo movement and a compelling rebuttal to The Crucible, and Purpose, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins's drawing-room drama about an accomplished Black family destroying itself from within. The category is completed with Oh, Mary!, an irreverent, raunchy, gleefully deranged revisionist history by Cole Escola centred on Mary Todd Lincoln, a boozy, narcissistic, potty-mouthed first lady determined to strike out of the subordinate role into which history has placed her. Jacobs-Jenkins, whose Appropriate, won best play revival last year, said that his category was filled with plays that started regionally or off-Broadway, showing the art's strength. 'I hope people kind of see the diversity of what's happening in terms of writing for the American stages right now. It's really an amazing time,' he said. 'I think that's just the testament to how fruitful the form is.' George Clooney received a nod for his leading role in Good Night, and Good Luck (Photo by Andy Kropa/Invision/AP, File) Audra McDonald, as expected, heard her name called for her turn as Rose in a hailed revival of Gypsy, a role that led to previous Tonys for the likes of Angela Lansbury, Tyne Daly and Patti LuPone. McDonald, already a holder of the most Tonys by a performer with six, now vies for a seventh. She will face off against Nicole Scherzinger in Sunset Blvd, Megan Hilty and Jennifer Simard in Death Becomes Her, and Jasmine Amy Rogers from Boop! The Musical. Clooney got a nod as a leading actor in a play for his retelling the story of legendary reporter Edward R Murrow in an adaptation of his 2005 film Good Night, and Good Luck. Another hot ticket — a revival of David Mamet's Glengarry Glen Ross earned Odenkirk a nod, but not for his co-stars Kieran Culkin or comedian Bill Burr. Snook, Culkin's Succession co-star, earned a nomination for playing all 26 parts in The Picture of Dorian Gray, and Stranger Things star Sadie Sink earned one for leading John Proctor Is the Villain. Stranger Things: The First Shadow, an effects-driven prequel to the Netflix hit show, earned five nods, including for lead actor Louis McCartney. Oh, Mary! earned a nod in the best play category (Emilio Madrid via AP) The news was less good for Kit Connor and Rachel Zegler, both in their Broadway debuts. Neither got nominations for their Romeo + Juliet, pitched to Generation X and millennials. Robert Downey Jr, who also made his Broadway debut in the play McNeal, also wasn't recognised. Mia Farrow earned a nomination for The Roommate, but her co-star, the Broadway diva Patti LuPone, did not. And, in a shock, an edgy Othello with Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal that producers are charging north of 900 dollars for orchestra seats, got not a single nomination. Idina Menzel's return to Broadway in Redwood, a contemporary fable about trees, grief and the quest for healing, also got no nominations. Our Town, starring Jim Parsons and Katie Holmes, earned a best play revival Tony nomination, but nothing for its actors. And the Stephen Sondheim revue starring Tony Award-winners Bernadette Peters and Lea Salonga came up blank. The Tony Awards will be handed out June 8 at Radio City Music Hall during a telecast hosted by Wicked star and Tony winner Cynthia Erivo.
