NYBT TOP 50 TONY AWARDS COUNTDOWN: # 8 – THE BOOK OF MORMON

by | Sep 18, 2021 | Antoinette (Tony) Awards, Blog, Broadway, News, Shows

See the source image
See the source image
HELLO BROADWAY FANS. It’s almost here. Broadway’s Biggest night is almost here and 8 DAYS AWAY. You are once again waking up to some of the best performances from the past 74 years of the Tony Awards on our TOP 50 TONY AWARDS COUNTDOWN. What an incredible way to be celebrating the return of Broadway with the 74th Annual Tony Awards. Here comes another showstopper!!
At # 8 on our countdown is another one of Broadway’s current long running hits which this one gets people laughing. It tells the crazy adventures of 2 unlikely missionaries who team up, travel to Uganda to try to share their scriptures with the residents there. However, hell breaks loose for them!! We of course are talking about…. The Book of Mormon. With a score and book by Trey Parker, Robert Lopez, and Matt Stone, it’s inspired by an episode of South Park.
From the 2011 telecast, Tony nominee Andrew Rannells as “Elder Price” along with members of the cast perform the powerhouse anthem I BELIEVE.
THE BOOK OF MORMON was first conceived in the Summer of 2003. Trey Parker and Matt Stone were already becoming household names for their creation of the smash hit TV series South Park and were developing the marionette comedy film Team America: World Police. To get inspiration, Rudin encouraged Parker and Stone to see Avenue Q. After seeing it, Parker and Stone met Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx (the composers of Avenue Q and super South Park fans) and went out for drinks. While talking, the 2 groups all shared something in common…. They wanted to write a comedy involving the story of Joseph Smith and the first Mormons. To learn more about Smith, they decided to take a trip to Salt Lake City interviewing missionaries. The timing was accommodated with Parker and Stone’s schedule with South Park. They continued working on the show and being inspired from a previous South Park episode about missionaries. In 2006 while still working on the piece, Trey Parker and Jeff Marx got into a little disagreement that caused Marx to drop from the production. From there, the show continued to be worked on with Lopez, Parker, and Stone. With Jeff Marx directing and then later dropped out, replaced by Tony winner Casey Nicholaw (a Tony nominee this year), the show went through numerous years of readings and workshops.
The show did not have a traditional out of town tryout heading straight to Broadway opening at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre in 2011. The critics and audiences went crazy crying their eyes out for how hilarious it was. The show continues to sell out and it is still hard to get a ticket. It’s grossed over $500 million dollars since opening and has played over 3,000 performances. Under the direction and choreography by Casey Nicholaw, the cast consisted of…
Tony nominee Andrew Rannells (later Nic Rouleau, Matt Doyle, Gavin Creel, Kyle Selig, David Thomas Brown, and Kevin Clay) as “Elder Price”,
Tony nominee Josh Gad (later Jared Gertner, Cale Krise, Jon Bass, Cody Jamison Strad, Ben Platt, Christopher John O’Neill, and Brian Sears) as “Elder Cunningnam”,
Tony winner Nikki M. James (later Asmeret Ghebremichael, Nikki Renee Daniels, and Kimberly Exum) as “Nabulungi”,
Michael Potts (later Stanley Wayne Mathis, Daniel Breaker, Billy Eugene Jones, and Sterling Jarvis) as “Mafala”,
Tony nominee Rory O’Malley (later Matt Loehr, Grey Henson, and Stephen Ashfield) as “Elder McKinley”,
And more.
The show was nominated for 14 Tony Awards in 2011 winning 9 including Best Musical. It also won the Grammy for Best Musical Theater album and the Olivier Award for Best New Musical.
The show (now celebrating 10 years) was playing to packed houses all around the world. Along with NYC, it was being performed in London’s West End (where it won the Olivier for BEST NEW MUSICAL), on tour across America, in Australia, and on tour across the UK. However, they all were abruptly shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, they’re all set to return this Fall.
The Broadway company of The Book of Mormon will make audience BELIEVE that TOMORROW IS A LATTER DAY once again beginning November 5th, 2021 at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre. Other productions of the show set to reopen will also include its London company and UK/ Ireland Touring productions. More companies will be going out as well.
When the show does return, there will be some tweaks and updates to the script made. All of this has come following last year’s events of the Black Lives Matter protests. During that time, the show itself received so much backlash with its portrayal of Africans (since about 85% of the musical takes place in Uganda). Work will be made to the show’s score and book by its creators (Trey Parker, Matt Stone and Robert Lopez) to make it less offensive. These changes will go also to all future companies as well.
In addition, it returns without its main head producer Scott Rudin. Earlier this year, the producer had dropped from all his Broadway projects following recent reports of his horrific, arrogant, abusive, monstrous, ugly, and tyrannical behaviors towards people in the work place.
Doesn’t this show make you want to BELIEVE?

NYBT TOP 50 TONY AWARDS COUNTDOWN: # 9 – WAITRESS

by | Sep 17, 2021 | Antoinette (Tony) Awards, Blog, Broadway, News, Shows

See the source image
See the source image
GOOD MORNING BROADWAY FANS!! We are celebrating the best of the Great Bright Way returning to the Big Apple. Broadway’s biggest night is just 9 DAYS from now….. The 74th Annual Tony Awards. We at New York Broadway Tours are keeping you entertained each morning playing you our favorite performances on our TOP 50 TONY AWARDS COUNTDOWN.
At # 9 on our countdown, things are about to get very delicious. We make our way over to a local diner somewhere in the south where a pregnant pie maker is trying to escape her abusive husband and start her life over. This is Waitress. Based on the 2007 film of the same name by Adrienne Shelly, the show was written by Grammy nominated superstar Sara Bareilles and a book by Jessie Nelson (Shelly’s wife).
From the 2016 telecast, Tony winner Jessie Mueller, Tony nominee Keala Settle as “Becky”, Kimiko Glenn as “Dawn” and the original Broadway cast plus a special appearance by Sara Bareilles sing a medley of 2 of the beloved songs from the show….. OPENING UP and the 11:00 heartbreaking emotional anthem SHE USED TO BE MINE.
WAITRESS was first conceived around early 2012 by husband and wife Broadway producing duo Barry and Fran Weissler who secured the rights early to the 2014 film of the same name. It went through numerous years of readings and workshops before officially having its world premiere at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, MA in the Summer of 2015.
With the triumphant success of its Cambridge run, the show officially transferred to Broadway’s Brooks Atkinson Theatre where it ran for 33 previews and 1,544 regular performances. By the time it closed, the show held the record of being the Brooks Atkinson Theatre’s longest running show. Under the direction of Diane Paulus, the cast is led by….
Jessie Mueller (later Stephanie Torns, Sara Bareilles, Betsy Wolfe, Nicolette Robinson, Shoshana Bean, Allison Luff, Jordin Sparks, and Katherine McPhee) as “Jenna”,
Drew Gehling (later Chris Diamantopoulos, Jason Mraz, Erich Bergen, Joey McIntyre, Jeremy Jordan, and Mark Evans) as “Dr. Pomatter”,
Keala Settle (later Charity Angél Dawson, Maia Nkenge Wilson, and Natasha Yvette Williams) as “Becky”,
Kimiko Glenn (later Jenna Ushkowitz , Caitlin Houlahan, Katie Lowes, Lenne Klingaman, and Colleen Ballinger) as “Dawn”,
the late Tony nominee Nick Cordero (later William Popp, Will Swenson, Joe Tippett, Matt DeAngelis, and Ben Thompson) as “Earl”,
Christopher Fitzgerald (later Adam Shapiro, Alex Wyse, Eddie Jemison, Noah Galvin, and Todrick Hall) as “Ogie”,
and so much more.
WAITRESS was nominated for Tony Awards in 2016 including BEST MUSICAL but lost all the categories. The cast album was also nominated for a Grammy for BEST MUSICAL THEATRE ALBUM.
With the success of the Broadway company, Waitress went on to launch numerous tasty companies all around the world. Several productions including 2 North American National Tours (set to return with a Non-Equity company this Fall) and more.
Some of its productions including the Non-Equity North American Tour and London’s West End were abruptly shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Currently, it’s on a UK National Tour.
In addition most recently, WAITRESS has returned to Broadway as part of the community’s triumphant comeback after an 18 1/2 month long intermission. It’s currently back on the Great Bright Way for a strictly limited engagement at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre which will continue to run till January 9th, 2022. With the same creative team led by Diane Paulus, the cast is led by….
Sara Bareilles reprising her portrayal of “Jenna”,
Drew Gehling reprising his original performance of “Dr. Pomatter”,
Charity Angél Dawson reprising her portrayal as “Becky”,
Bareilles’ real life BF Joe Tippett reprising his portrayal as “Earl”,
Christopher Fitzgerald reprising his Tony nominated performance as “Ogie”,
and more.
WAITRESS is truly one of the most powerful and delicious pieces of Musical Theatre ever written.
How tasty was that?!!!

NYBT TOP 50 TONY AWARDS COUNTDOWN: # 10 – RENT

by | Sep 16, 2021 | Antoinette (Tony) Awards, Backstage with Amada, Blog, Broadway, Casting, East Village, Inspiration of Rent Tour, News, Shows

See the source image
See the source image
HOW’S IT GOING BROADWAY FANS?! The celebration of Live Theater’s return continues. We are only 10 DAYS till Broadway’s biggest Night of the year – The 74th Annual Tony Awards. This is the moment we are about to reach our TOP 10 portion of our TOP 50 TONY AWARDS COUNTDOWN. We have an incredible lineup of legendary performances from previous telecasts in this lineup.
At # 10 on our countdown, we take you downtown to New York City’s bohemian lifestyle in the Alphabet City part of the East Village filled with struggling artists, drag queens, drug dealers, and people dying from serious diseases including HIV/AIDS in the late 80’s. This is Rent. An updated version of Puccini’s opera La Boheme, the show features a score and book by the late Jonathan Larson along with Billy Aronson.
From the 1996 telecast, here is the original Broadway cast performing a medley of 2 of the show’s anthems SEASONS OF LOVE & LA VIE BOHEME.
RENT was first conceived in the 80’s when a young aspiring composer by the name of Jonathan Larson met up with writer Billy Aronson who wanted to create an updated version of Puccini’s opera LA BOHEME set in present day New York City. Originally the story was set in SoHo but Larson knew that the show should be set in the area he was living at the time… New York’s East Village in the gritty area at the time of Bohemian Alphabet City. They began working on the project with Jonathan helping him out doing most of the work. From there, Larson and Aronson made a deal that if the show becomes a massive hit, Aronson would also share some of the credit. From there, Jonathan went to work on the show for many years while still working as a waiter at the Moondance Diner in SoHO. Larson was inspired by what was happening including his friends dying from serious conditions including AIDS which no one knew about at the time. He recorded many hours of cassette tapes and sent them out to numerous Theaters. Some approved and several rejected it. However his life changed when he came across a new Off Broadway house that just moved into the village at the time…. the New York Theatre Workshop. He got more information about the place before sending his demos to Jim Nicola (the artistic director) who replied really fast and accepted the piece. Nicola decided to give this new original rock musical a try. It went through many years of readings, workshops, and revamping before officially planning to launch a full scale production in 1996. Under the direction of Michael Grief, the team went to work on making the show a reality on stage.
Unfortunately for RENT’s road to the stage was very bittersweet and Jonathan Larson never lived to see RENT in it’s worldwide success. In the wee hours of the show’s first public preview performance at the New York Theatre Workshop, he unexpectedly died of an aortic aneurysm. Due to the emotional loss of their friend, the cast and creative team came together and decided to cancel the first preview to the public and instead invited all of Jonathan’s friends and family for a special memorial edition of the show. At the end of the show, there was a moment of silence and what broke it was a person in the audience cried out THANK YOU JONATHAN LARSON before erupting into a standing ovation.
RENT originally premiered downtown in a sold out run at the New York Theatre Workshop the next day before transferring to Broadway’s Nederlander Theatre playing a total of 5,124 performances. Under the direction of Michael Grief, the original cast featured…
Tony nominee Adam Pascal as “Roger”,
Anthony Rapp as “Mark”,
Tony nominee Daphne Rubin-Vega as “Mimi”,
Taye Diggs as “Benny”,
Jesse L Martin as “Tom Collins,
Tony winner Wilson Jermaine Heredia as “Angel”,
Freddi Walker Browne as “Joanne”,
and
Tony winner Idina Menzel as “Maureen”.
The show went on to win 4 Tony Awards including Best Musical and Best Score (for Jonathan Larson received by his sister Julie Larson). It also became one of the few musicals ever to receive the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
The show also brought more younger Theatergoers into the world of Theater. It also went on to play on 6 continents and translated into every major language.
Rent was later revamped as an Off Broadway revival in 2011 playing New World Stages for only 482 performances. The original revival cast featured…
Matt Shingledecker as “Roger”,
Adam Chanler-Berat as “Mark”,
Arianda Fernandez as “Mimi”,
Ephraim M. Sykes as “Benny”,
Nicholas Christopher as “Tom Collins”,
MJ Rodriguez as “Angel”,
Corbin Reid as “Joanne”,
and
Tony winner Annaleigh Ashford as “Maureen”.
Along with its success on stage, RENT became a massive hit on screen 3 times. The original film was released in 2005 featuring members of the original Broadway cast and new newbies consisting of…
Tony nominee Adam Pascal as “Roger”,
Anthony Rapp as “Mark”,
Rosario Dawson as “Mimi”,
Taye Diggs as “Benny”,
Jesse L Martin as “Tom Collins,
Tony winner Wilson Jermaine Heredia as “Angel”,
Tracie Thoms as “Joanne”,
and Tony winner Idina Menzel as “Maureen”.
In 2008, the original production was filmed during his historical final Broadway performances. It was released for a limited engagement and later released on DVD. The filmed performance consisted of…
Will Chase as “Roger”,
Adam Kantor as “Mark”,
Tony winner Renée Elise Goldsberry as “Mimi”,
Original Ensemble member Rodney Hicks as “Benny”,
Michael McElroy as “Tom Collins,
Justin Johnston as “Angel”,
Tracie Thoms reprising her role from the film as “Joanne”,
and
Eden Espinosa as “Maureen”.
Most recently in 2019, a new generation got to experience RENT like never before as a live televised musical event for FOX. The cast featured…
Brennin Hunt as “Roger”,
Jordan Fisher as “Mark”,
Tinashe as “Mimi”,
Mario as “Benny”,
Brandon Victor Dixon as “Tom Collins”,
Valentina as “Angel”,
Kiersey Clemons as “Joanne”,
and
Vanessa Hudgens as “Maureen”.
FUN FACT: 90% of FOX’s RENT LIVE was actually pre-tapped. During the dress rehearsal, Brennin Hunt injured his foot during the end of WHAT YOU OWN. Despite his injury, the show still went on. However luckily the crew were prepared and used the archival dress rehearsal footage for most of the airing. During the actually technically live, the cast performed the 90% as a concert with Hunt in a wheelchair. The only parts where the show went live on the air was the entire final scene of the show and the encore of SEASONS OF LOVE (featuring the live TV production cast performing alongside the original Broadway cast). However, it received so much criticism from viewers and critics saying they should have used an understudy.
In addition, RENT opened the door for many of Broadway’s current acclaimed Tony Award winning and nominated writers including…
and
Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey (Next to Normal and If/Then).
Today, RENT is still performed on tour across America, in schools, community, and regional theaters everywhere.
If you want to learn more about RENT and it’s road to Broadway. Be sure to join us on our INSPIRATION OF RENT WALKING TOUR where we’ll take you to some of the key locations in the East Village where Jonathan got RENT on its feet as well as places he was inspired by that he wrote about for the show.
Doesn’t this musical make you want to celebrate life?

RENT | 1996 Tony Awards Performance – YouTube

NYBT TOP 50 TONY AWARDS COUNTDOWN: # 11 – IN THE HEIGHTS

by | Sep 15, 2021 | Antoinette (Tony) Awards, Blog, Broadway, In The Heights Walking Tour, News, Shows, Washington Heights

See the source image
See the source image
LIGHTS UP BROADWAY FANS on counting down to another day leading to The 74th Annual Tony Awards. We have more iconic performances coming your way celebrating Broadway’s return on our TOP 50 TONY AWARDS COUNTDOWN. Broadway’s biggest night is almost here!!
Our selection today at # 11 is a unique show that changed the face of Broadway. It follows 3 days in the life of residents in one of New York’s most famous upper West Side neighborhoods…. Washington Heights. It featured an incredible blend of original Hip Hop, Rap, Pop, Soulful, and Latin music. If you think about what we’re talking about, you guessed correctly….. This is In The Heights. In his breakout Broadway debut, the show features a score (in his Broadway debut) by Lin-Manuel Miranda along with a book by Quiara Alegria Hudes .
From the 2008 telecast, Lin-Manuel Miranda as “Usnavi”, Tony nominee Christopher Jackson as “Benny”, Tony nominee Robin De Jesus as “Sonny”, Tony winner (and nominee again this year) Karen Olivo as “Vanessa”, and the cast perform a medley of the show’s opening title song IN THE HEIGHTS and the showstopping 96,000.
IN THE HEIGHTS was first conceived by Lin-Manuel Miranda (way long before his now worldwide smash hit Hamilton) in 1999 during his Sophomore year of college at Wesleyan University. Following seeing the musicals RENT and THE CAPEMAN on Broadway, he wanted to create his own show that takes place in the present day mixing Latin, hip hop, and rap into one show. He was inspired by his family routes, childhood, and living in Washington Heights, Manhattan. After a year of writing, the show got accepted into Wesleyan’s student Theater company called Second Stage (not related to the Off Broadway Theater company we know today) in the Spring of 2000. This 3 night only debut got the attention of fellow Wesleyan students consisting of John Buffalo Mailer, Neil Stewart, Anthony Veneziale, and Thomas Kail (who went on to direct the production). They wanted to expand the production and make it a full scale musical. It was continued to be expanded at the Drama Book Shop along with various readings, workshops, and labs. In addition, Quiara Alegria Hudes came on board as an additional book writer. 5 rough drafts of the musical were made.
Following over 7 1/2 years of readings and workshops, the show had its world premiere Off Broadway in 2007 at 37 Arts Theatre (now Baryshnikov Arts Center) and the response from critics and the audience exploded.. From there, the show went on to Broadway at the Richard Rodgers Theatre where it ran for 1,213 performances. Under the direction of Thomas Kail and choreography by Andy Blankenbuehler, the cast consisted of….
Lin Manuel Miranda (later Javier Munoz, Corbin Bleu, and Kyle Beltran) as “Usnavi”,
Christopher Jackson (later Clifton Oliver) as “Benny”,
Robin De Jesus (later David Del Rio, Jon Rua, and Shaun Taylor-Corbett) as “Sonny”,
Tony winner Karen Olivo (later Marcy Harriell) as “Vanessa”,
Seth Stewart (later William B. Wingfield) as “Graffiti Pete”,
Mandy Gonzalez (later Janet Decal, Jordin Sparks, and Arielle Jacobs) as “Nina Rosario”,
Carlos Gomez (later Rick Negron) as “Kevin Rosario”,
Tony winner Priscilla Lopez as “Camila Rosario”,
Andréa Burns (later Bianca Marroquin) as “Daniella”,
Janet Decal (later Courtney Reed) as “Carla”,
Tony nominee Olga Merediz as “Abuela Claudia”,
&
Eliseo Roman as “The Piragua Guy”.
IN THE HEIGHTS was nominated for 13 Tony Awards in 2008 winning 4 including BEST MUSICAL and BEST SCORE. In addition, the show’s cast album also went on to win a Grammy for BEST MUSICAL THEATRE ALBUM.
From there, IN THE HEIGHTS has gone on to present productions across America, London’s West End (winning several Olivier Awards), Japan, Philippines, and around the world.
Along with the success of stage production, IN THE HEIGHTS most recently went on to become a successful movie musical. The film was shot in THE BARRIO itself of Washington Heights. After a year long delay due to COVID-19, it was released in the Summer of 2021 from Warner Bros. Pictures. Under the direction of Jon M. Chu and an updated screenplay by Quiara Alegria Hudes and Marc Klein, the film cast was led by….
Anthony Ramos as “Usnavi”,
Corey Hawkins as “Benny”,
Gregory Diaz IV as “Sonny”,
Noah Catala as “Graffiti Pete”,
Leslie Grace as “Nina Rosario”,
Jimmy Smits as “Kevin Rosario”,
Sacha Polanco as “Cuca” (formerly “Camilla Rosario”),
Daphne Rubin-Vega as “Daniella”
Stephanie Beatriz as “Carla”,
Olga Merediz reprising her performance as “Abuela Claudia”,
&
Lin Manuel Miranda as “The Piragua Guy”.
The show is also currently being performed in Schools, Community, and Regional Theaters everywhere.
Doesn’t this show make you want to get into that hip hop groove?

NYBT TOP 50 TONY AWARDS COUNTDOWN: # 12 – COME FROM AWAY

by | Sep 14, 2021 | Antoinette (Tony) Awards, Blog, Broadway, News, Shows

See the source image
See the source image
RISE & SHINE BROADWAY FANS! The days continue to get closer as we celebrate Broadway’s biggest night just 12 DAYS AWAY. We of course are talking about The 74th Annual Tony Awards. We have more iconic legendary performances coming up on our TOP 50 TONY AWARDS COUNTDOWN. Truly the ultimate celebration of welcoming back Live Theater’s return. Are you ready for more?
At # 12 on our countdown, we chose a groundbreaking powerful story inspired by what happened on the day we NEVER FORGET 20 years ago. It follows a community of people on a small Canadian Island (called Gander) as they take care of over 7,000 strangers from all points of the earth during the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks. This is Come From Away. The show features a score and a book by husband and wife duo Irene Carl Sankoff and David Hein.
From the 2017 telecast, here is the full original Broadway cast singing the show’s opening number WELCOME TO THE ROCK. .
COME FROM AWAY was first conceived by Lawyer and Theater producer Michael Rubinoff. He was inspired by the story of how the entire community of Gander, Newfoundland welcomed the stranded passengers into their homes during September 11th, 2001 for a whole week till it was safe to go back up into the air. He tried to pitch the idea to many numerous Canadian musical theatre writers to no avail. Luckily at the same time in 2009, an new original musical entitled My Mother’s Lesbian Jewish Wiccan Wedding just opened. It was getting tons of buzz from the Toronto Fringe Festival and was transferred to the Panasonic Theatre. Rubinoff got the autobiographical musical’s composer husband and wife duo Irene Sankoff and David Hein on board for the new musical. From there, the team went straight to work. In 2011, Sankoff and Hein traveled to Gander, Newfoundland on the 10th Anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks. There, they got to meet and interview many of the locals and the passengers that were stranded (who returned for the Anniversary) to share their stories and experiences on what it was like during the long week of the most difficult time in world history. The couple took many of the stories turning them directly into music while others were merged for story purposes. From there, the show went on to be developed for 3 1/2 years, Many readings and workshops for the show were done through the The The Canadian Music Theatre Project at Sheridan College, Goodspeed Musicals, and the National Alliance for Musical Theatre.
It officially had its world premiere engagements in 2015 playing Seattle, Washington at both the The 5th Avenue Theatre and the Seattle Repertory Theatre. Both runs earned critical praise and extensions. From there, the show embarked for a pre-Broadway tour in the Fall of 2016. The Pre-Broadway tour played engagements at the Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C. and the Royal Alexandra Theatre in Toronto, Ontario, The Toronto engagement sold out by the 2nd week of performances selling over $1.7 million in tickets in a single week.
The company also performed a special benefit concert version in the actual town of Gander at the Steele Community Centre as a tribute to the inspirational people there. Many of the residents and the passengers who were grounded during that crazy time were an emotional mess to hear their stories told by performers.
From there, the show officially made its way to the Great Bright Way playing the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre where it was still playing to packed houses. At the time of the COVID-19 pandemic when it shutdown, the show was initially set to celebrate its 3rd Anniversary performance that evening. It is set to relaunch its Broadway run there on September 21st, 2021.
Under the direction of Christopher Ashley, the cast was led by….
Tony nominee Chad Kimball (later Tony LePage and James Seol) as Garth”, “Kevin Tuerff”, and others,
Tony nominee Jenn Colella (later Becky Gulsvig and currently Rachel Tucker) as “Captain Beverly Bass” (the first female pilot EVER for American Airlines), Annette”, and others,
Joel Hatch as “Claude Elliott” and others,
Rodney Hicks (later and now De’Lon Grant) as “Bob” and others,
Caesar Samayoa as “Ali”, “Kevin Jung” and others,
Kendra Kassebaum (later Alex Finke, Emily Walton, and Pearl Sun) as “Janice Mosher” and others,
Petrina Bromley (later Pearl Sun) as “Bonnie Harris” and others,
Geno Carr (later and now Paul Whitty) as “Oz Fudge” and others,
Lee MacDougall (later and now Jim Walton) as “Doug”, “Nick Marson” and others,
Q. Smith (later and now Kenita R. Smith) as “Hannah O’Rourke” and others,
Sharon Donaldson-Wheatley as “Diane Gray” and others,
and
Astrid Van Wieren as “Beulah Davis” and others.
COME FROM AWAY went on to be nominated for 7 Tony Awards in 2017. It took home only 1 for BEST DIRECTION OF A MUSICAL (for Christopher Ashley).
With the success of Broadway, COME FROM AWAY continues to move audiences everywhere. It’s currently a worldwide phenomenon. Productions are currently being performed all over including….
a sit-down company in Toronto (which the producers planned immediately following the closing of the Pre-Broadway run there),
on Tour all across North America (set to relaunch also later this Fall),
in London’s West End (where it took home the Olivier for BEST NEW MUSICAL) which reopened this past Summer,
in Australia,
and more.
Along with its success on stage, COME FROM AWAY was recently released as a professionally captured proshot. It was released this past Friday on Apple TV+. Filmed on the stage of the Gerald Schonefeld Theatre in front of a private audience of Frontline Workers, it included veteran original and replacement cast members combined.
This show is truly a celebration of community even in the most difficult times.
How beautiful was that performance musical?!!