An American Institution,
The Broadway Musical reminds
That hope and optimism
Are alive in daunting times
The Tonys are just days away
But trophies set aside
Here’s a celebration
Of this year’s magic ride
All tagged Amelie
2017 Tony Award Season Album Review
Broadway Records has done it again. They have given us a treat of album, this time one that celebrates the 2016-2017 Broadway Season. What a terrific idea to create a compilation of the best-of-the-best, one song from almost every musical that opened on Broadway leading up to this year’s Tony Awards. It’s an archive of a year’s worth of Broadway excitement for fans to look back at a period of musical theatre. It makes one wonder why someone hasn’t done this sooner. Make no mistake, the 2017 Tony Award Season album will be a welcome addition to your musical theatre library.
Processing the Tony Nominations (And the Oversights)
It was a crowded spring, jam-packed in fact. The Tony nominations were sure to overlook some of our favorites, simply for the sheer abundance of new plays and musicals that opened on Broadway this season. It was simply a brutal game of “Survival of the Fittest”, with musicals that would have found buoyancy (and some nominations) in a typical season, being pulled under with so many innovatively new productions and starry revivals riding the current. Have I thoroughly exhausted the “Sink or Swim” metaphors yet?
Broadway Musical Overload: What Survives a Crowded Season?
The 2015-2016 Broadway was an exciting one, musicals were plentiful, and many of them compelling. Not every musical, however, survives in such a crowded field because people gravitate toward what they want, critical response can be persuasive (or dissuasive), and even a poor or confusing title make or break a show. Of course, then there is the brutal culling that is the Tony nomination process, an assured kiss of death for those who aren’t baptized with an honor. Finally, there is the actual Tony ceremony itself, a live-telecast where either you represent your nominated show effectively with a scene that appeals to the masses, or you bring home enough trophies to prove that your show is amazing despite how your live-scene plays. Preferably, you achieve both. Remember, at this time last-year, we had high hopes for Bright Star, Tuck Everlasting, American Psycho, Disaster!, and Shuffle Along. The survivors of the season were Hamilton, Waitress, On Your Feet! and The Color Purple.