While you were still crying your face off at Audra McDonald's Tony speech, here's what was happening this week In the Wings.
Andrew Rannells will replace Neil Patrick Harris in “Hedwig and the Angry Inch.” The “Girls” and “New Normal” star, last seen on Broadway in his Tony-nominated role in “The Book of Mormon,” will begin performances for a limited eight-week engagement beginning Aug. 20. “Hedwig," which was originally slated to end its limited run upon Harris’ Aug. 17 exit, took home four Tonys, including Best Revival of a Musical and a lead actor in a musical trophy for Harris. An original cast recording is out now. [More info]
New York City Center has set their 2015 Encores! season. The series is dedicated to performing full scores of musicals that are rarely heard in New York City. The 2015 season will kick off on Feb. 4, 2015 with George and Ira Gershwin’s “Lady, Be Good.” The season will continue with Lerner and Loewe’s “Paint Your Wagon” (March 18-22, 2015) followed by John Kander and Fred Ebb’s “Zorba!” (May 6-10, 2015). [More info]
“Buyer & Cellar” will play its final performance at the Barrow Street Theatre on July 27. The long-running, critically-acclaimed one-man show, currently starring Barrett Foa, will have played 458 performances during its Barrow Street engagement. The national tour, starring Michael Urie, who originated the role here in New York, will continue. A London production will open in Spring 2015. [More info]
“Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill” has extended its limited engagement through Aug. 31. The play stars Audra McDonald as jazz legend Billie Holiday, giving a concert performance a few months before her death. McDonald won a record-breaking sixth Tony Award for the role. [More info]
“Mothers and Sons” will play its final performance at the John Golden Theatre on June 22. Terrence McNally’s play, a 2014 Tony nominee for Best Play, will have had 104 regular performances by the time of its closing. The drama stars Tyne Daly, a 2014 Tony nominee for leading actress in a play, as a mother struggling to move on from the death of her son 20 years ago. A national tour is in the works. [More info]
The Tony Awards Administration Committee has decided to eliminate future awards for best sound design of a play and of a musical. No word on the official reasons, but The New York Times has reported that the decision was largely driven by Tony voters who didn’t know how to assess sound design and didn’t vote. There are also some who feel that sound design is more of a technical craft than a theatrical art form. An online petition with over 25,000 signatures so far had been created to bring the awards back.
Broadway
This isn’t the only controversy The Tony Awards found themselves in this year. Backlash has ensued because the show did not broadcast its In Memoriam segment this year. Organizers have, however, put the segment online, which you can watch below:
