The 2015 Tony Awards, Part 2

03/17/19 • 52 min

We debate whether Something Rotten! is mocking or celebrating musical history, trace The Visit’s long road and short stay, and celebrate Kelli O’Hara’s sixth-time’s-the-charm win for The King and I. Plus: more dream (and nightmare) threesomes, a couple of failed attempts to find a “What?!”, and maybe a little too much joshing at Josh Groban’s expense.

Works referenced/cited:

Behind the Music of SOMETHING ROTTEN! with Karey & Wayne Kirkpatrick

Associated Press. How 3 Broadway Novices Wrote 'Something Rotten!' San Francisco Chronicle, 24 Mar. 2015.

Billington, Michael. “The Guardian Profile: Sir David Hare.” The Guardian, 13 Feb. 2004.

Brantley, Ben. “Once Scorned, Now Rich and Vengeful.” The New York Times, 7 Aug. 2014.

Brantley, Ben. “Review: Chita Rivera Stars in Kander and Ebb's 'The Visit'.” The New York Times, 24 Apr. 2015.

Brantley, Ben. “Review: 'On the Twentieth Century,' With Kristin Chenoweth, Opens on Broadway.” The New York Times, 16 Mar. 2015.

Brantley, Ben. “Review: 'Skylight,' With Carey Mulligan and Bill Nighy, Opens on Broadway.” The New York Times, 3 Apr. 2015.

Brantley, Ben. “Review: 'Something Rotten!,' an Over-the-Top Take on Shakespeare.” The New York Times, 23 Apr. 2015.

Brantley, Ben. “Review: 'The King and I,' Back on Broadway.” The New York Times, 17 Apr. 2015.

Buruma, Ian. “Thailand's Banned 'King'.” The New York Review of Books.

Canby, Vincent. “THEATER REVIEW;Once Again, The Taming Of a Despot.” The New York Times, 12 Apr. 1996.

Gans, Andrew. “What Did Critics Think of London's The King and I, Starring Kelli O'Hara and Ken Watanabe?” Playbill, 5 July 2018.

Green, Jesse. “Theater Review: A Little Engine Keeps On the Twentieth Century Moving.” Vulture, 16 Mar. 2015.

Green, Jesse. “Theater Review: Shall We Dance Once Again? The King and I Returns.” Vulture, 17 Apr. 2015.

Hetrick, Adam. “The Visit, Starring Chita Rivera, Ends at Williamstown; Creators Hopeful for Future Life - Playbill.com.” Playbill, 17 Aug. 2014.

Hofler, Robert. “'Something Rotten!' Theater Review: Or How a Musical Called 'Omelette' Begat a Play Called 'Hamlet'.” TheWrap, 23 Apr. 2015.

Isherwood, Charles. “A Musical Adaptation of 'The Visit'.” The New York Times, 31 May 2008.

Jones, Kenneth. “Angela Lansbury Withdraws From The Visit; Producers Seek Alternatives.” Playbill, 20 July 2000.

Jones, Kenneth. “Rivera Is Triple Threat in Kander & Ebb's The Visit, Opening Oct. 1.” Playbill, 1 Oct. 2001.

“Kelli O'Hara on Revisiting The King and I in London & Gearing Up for Kiss Me, Kate on Broadway.” Broadway.com.

Marks, Peter.

Works referenced/cited:

Behind the Music of SOMETHING ROTTEN! with Karey & Wayne Kirkpatrick

Associated Press. How 3 Broadway Novices Wrote 'Something Rotten!' San Francisco Chronicle, 24 Mar. 2015.

Billington, Michael. “The Guardian Profile: Sir David Hare.” The Guardian, 13 Feb. 2004.

Brantley, Ben. “Once Scorned, Now Rich and Vengeful.” The New York Times, 7 Aug. 2014.

Brantley, Ben. “Review: Chita Rivera Stars in Kander and Ebb's 'The Visit'.” The New York Times, 24 Apr. 2015.

Brantley, Ben. “Review: 'On the Twentieth Century,' With Kristin Chenoweth, Opens on Broadway.” The New York Times, 16 Mar. 2015.

Brantley, Ben. “Review: 'Skylight,' With Carey Mulligan and Bill Nighy, Opens on Broadway.” The New York Times, 3 Apr. 2015.

Brantley, Ben. “Review: 'Something Rotten!,' an Over-the-Top Take on Shakespeare.” The New York Times, 23 Apr. 2015.

Brantley, Ben. “Review: 'The King and I,' Back on Broadway.” The New York Times, 17 Apr. 2015.

Buruma, Ian. “Thailand's Banned 'King'.” The New York Review of Books.

Canby, Vincent. “THEATER REVIEW;Once Again, The Taming Of a Despot.” The New York Times, 12 Apr. 1996.

Gans, Andrew. “What Did Critics Think of London's The King and I, Starring Kelli O'Hara and Ken Watanabe?” Playbill, 5 July 2018.

Green, Jesse. “Theater Review: A Little Engine Keeps On the Twentieth Century Moving.” Vulture, 16 Mar. 2015.

Green, Jesse. “Theater Review: Shall We Dance Once Again? The King and I Returns.” Vulture, 17 Apr. 2015.

Hetrick, Adam. “The Visit, Starring Chita Rivera, Ends at Williamstown; Creators Hopeful for Future Life - Playbill.com.” Playbill, 17 Aug. 2014.

Hofler, Robert. “'Something Rotten!' Theater Review: Or How a Musical Called 'Omelette' Begat a Play Called 'Hamlet'.” TheWrap, 23 Apr. 2015.

Isherwood, Charles. “A Musical Adaptation of 'The Visit'.” The New York Times, 31 May 2008.

Jones, Kenneth. “Angela Lansbury Withdraws From The Visit; Producers Seek Alternatives.” Playbill, 20 July 2000.

Jones, Kenneth. “Rivera Is Triple Threat in Kander & Ebb's The Visit, Opening Oct. 1.” Playbill, 1 Oct. 2001.

“Kelli O'Hara on Revisiting The King and I in London & Gearing Up for Kiss Me, Kate on Broadway.” Broadway.com.

Marks, Peter.

Previous Episode

The 2015 Tony Awards, Part 1

Caption: The 2015 Tony Awards! Harvey Weinstein’s hideous, smug face forces us to reflect on how much the world has changed in the last four years. We also talk about the highs and lows of adapting stage-resistant source material with Fun Home, An American in Paris, and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time; get carried away by On the Town; and work in references to everything from Beloved to “The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia.” Follow us on Twitter and Instagram (@mylittletonys) for additional content about this season’s shows!

Works referenced/cited:

Paulson, Michael, and Patrick Healy. Tony Awards: ‘Fun Home’ Wins Best Musical and ‘Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time’ Best Play The New York Times, 8 June 2015.

Theater Talk: "Fun Home" with Lisa Kron, Jeanine Tesori & Alison Bechdel

Cast and Creators of the 2015 Best Musical: "Fun Home"

Behind the Music of FUN HOME with Lisa Kron and Jeanine Tesori

Paulson, Michael. Fun Home,' the Musical, Takes Alison Bechdel's Life to Broadway. The New York Times, 21 Dec. 2017.

Pogrebin, Robin. “Bringing 'Fun Home' to the Stage.” The New York Times, 19 Oct. 2018.

Brantley, Ben. “Family as a Hall of Mirrors.” The New York Times, 23 Oct. 2013.

Brantley, Ben. “Review: 'Fun Home' at the Circle in the Square Theater.” The New York Times, 20 Apr. 2015.

Thomas, June. “Fun Home Was the Big Winner at the 2015 Tonys. How Did a Graphic Memoir Become a Musical?” Slate Magazine, 8 June 2015.

Paulson, Michael. “'Fun Home' Recoups on Broadway.” The New York Times, 21 Dec. 2017.

Broadway Passes The Bechdel Test With 'Fun Home'

Mattila, Kalle Oskari. “How a 'Lesbian Suicide Musical' Was Branded as a Feel-Good Broadway Hit.” The Atlantic, 10 May 2016.

Schulman, Michael. “Watching Sondheim Watch ‘Fun Home.’” The New Yorker, 19 June 2017.

Thurman, Judith. “Backstage at ‘Fun Home.’” The New Yorker, 19 June 2017.

Als, Hilton. “Outsiders Take Center Stage.” The New Yorker, 19 June 2017.

Rimalower, Ben. “From Falsettos to Fun Home: Lesbian Characters Move from Sidelines to Center Stage.” Playbill, 10 Sept. 2016.

Grode, Eric. “Lisa Kron Juggles Two Shows at Public Theater.” The New York Times, 19 Oct. 2018.

“Alison Bechdel Draws a Fun Home Coda.” Vulture.

Acocella, Joan. “A New ‘American in Paris.’” The New Yorker, 19 June 2017.

Als, Hilton. “Ta-Da!” The New Yorker, 19 June 2017.

Brantley, Ben. “Carried Away by the Sights! Lights! Nights!” The New York Times, 17 Oct. 2014.

Brantley, Ben. “In 'On the Town,' Sailors on Leave Look for Love.” The New York Times, 19 Oct. 2018.

Brantley, Ben. “Plotti...

Next Episode

The 1957 Tony Awards, Part 1

MLT takes on MFL! We use the lack of ceremony for ‘57 as an excuse to go deep on My Fair Lady, with a healthy sprinkling of Candide and Long Day’s Journey Into Night. We get X-rated while discussing the S&M subtext of Henry and Eliza’s relationship (plus drop the c-bomb while quoting Rex Harrison), get to the bottom of Candide’s dozens of credited lyricists, and put a request out into the universe for a Fosse/Verdon for the Golden Age.

Works referenced/cited:

Hischak, Thomas S. The Oxford Companion to the American Musical: Theatre, Film, and Television. Oxford University Press, 2008.

Patinkin, Sheldon. "No Legs, No Jokes, No Chance": a History of the American Musical Theater. Northwestern University Press, 2008.

Bloom, Ken, and Frank Vlastnik. Broadway Musicals: the 101 Greatest Shows of All Time. Black Dog & Leventhal Pubs., 2010.

Mordden, Ethan. Coming up Roses: the Broadway Musical in the 1950s. Oxford Univ. Press, 2000.

Mandelbaum, Ken. Not since Carrie: Forty Years of Broadway Musical Flops. St. Martin's Press, 1992.

Viertel, Jack. Secret Life of the American Musical: How Broadway Shows Are Built. Sarah Crichton Books,Farrar, Straus and Grioux, 2017.

Andrews, Julie. Home: a Memoir of My Early Years. Hyperion, 2009.

Burton, Humphrey. Leonard Bernstein. Doubleday, 1994.

Lerner, Alan Jay. The Street Where I Live: the Story of My Fair Lady, Gigi, and Camelot. Hodder and Stoughton, 1978.

#100: Leonard Bernstein at 100 from The IVY Podcast.

Atkinson, Brooks. “Musical 'Candide'.” The New York Times, 9 Dec. 1956.

Atkinson, Brooks. “The Theatre: 'Candide'.” The New York Times, 3 Dec. 1956.

Atkinson, Brooks. “Theatre: 'My Fair Lady'.” The New York Times, 16 Mar. 1956.

Atkinson, Brooks. “Theatre: Tragic Journey.” The New York Times, 8 Nov. 1956.

Bach, Steven. Dazzler: the Life and Times of Moss Hart. Da Capo, 2002.

Barone, Joshua. “Capturing the Short, Glamorous Life of a Forgotten Broadway Lyricist.” The New York Times, 20 Dec. 2017.

Bernstein, Burton, and Barbara B. Haws. Leonard Bernstein: American Original: How a Modern Renaissance Man Transformed Music and the World during His New York Philharmonic Years, 1943-1976. Collins, 2008.

“Boston Welcomes Last O'Neill Play.” The New York Times, 17 Oct. 1956.

Buckley, Michael. “50 Years Ago on Broadway.” TheaterMania, 24 Sept. 2006.

“Candide.” NPR.

14212 Bernstein - Candide

Freedman, Samuel G. “ALAN JAY LERNER, THE LYRICIST AND PLAYWRIGHT, IS DEAD AT 67.” The New York Times, 15 June 1986.

Funke, Lewis. “News and Gossip of the Rialto.” The New York Times, 1 July 1956.

Garebian, Keith. The Making of My Fair Lady. ECW Press, 1993.

Gelb, Arthur, and Barbara Gelb. O'Neill: Life With Monte Cristo. The New York Times.

“Leonard Bernstein at 100.” Leonard Bernstein.

Lunden, Jeff. “'My Fair Lady'.”NPR, 15 July 2000.

“The Greatest Musical: I Can't Live With West Side Story' Not Being Among the Finalists.” NYMag.

“Pygmalion.” Modernism Lab.