by Mike Haber | Sep 25, 2021 | Antoinette (Tony) Awards, Blog, Broadway, News, Shows
GOOD MORNING BROADWAY FANS!! Well, this is it. The wait is almost over. Broadway’s Biggest Night is TOMORROW. We are talking about The 74th Annual
Tony Awards. These past 50 days has been so much fun getting to entertain you with many of our favorite legendary Broadway performances from previous telecasts on our TOP 50 TONY AWARDS COUNTDOWN. This is truly been a moment of being reminded of what New York City is all about as we celebrate Broadway and Live Theater’s triumphant comeback after a rough 18 1/2 months. Without further or do, we are so happy to share with you the # 1 performance on our countdown. This one truly sets the mood for tomorrow night.
At # 1 on our countdown, we are about to take you back in time to the gritty era of France in the early 1800’s. This legendary REVOLUTIONARY musical mainly centers on a man that breaks free from his parole after 19 years . Along the way with starting over, the man’s pursued by a ruthless police officer. In addition, he also meets a lost-spirited dying woman who he promises to help care for her daughter. This is of course the classic….
Les Miserables. Based upon Victor Hugo’s long best-selling novel, the show features an iconic original score by Claude-Michel Schönberg, Alain Boubil, Trevor Nunn, and John Caird.
From the 1987 telecast, the legendary
Colm Wilkinson as “Jean Vailjean”, David Bryant as “Eponine”,
Judy Kuhn as “Cosette”,
Frances Ruffelle as “Eponine”, Michael Maguire as “Enjolras”,
Terrence Mann as “Javert”, Leo Burmester as “Thernadier”, Jennifer Butt as “Madame Thernadier”, and the full original Broadway cast perform a medley of 2 of the most beloved songs from the show…. AT THE END OF THE DAY and the powerful ACT 1 finale anthem (that also sets the mood for the Tonys tomorrow as well) ONE DAY MORE.
Les Misérables was initially first conceived as a concept album turned stage production that initially premiered in Paris (and sung entirely in French) in 1980 for 3 months, A few months later, director Peter Fargo gave Sir Cameron Mackintosh (following the success of the West End debut of
Cats) a copy of that concept album and encouraged him that he should translate the musical entirely into English. Along with the
Royal Shakespeare Company, Mackintosh brought a full cast together and it premiered at the
Barbican Theatre in 1985. However, the initial opening night was not well received by critics. During the 3 month run at the Barbican, the company kept revamping the show plus released a best selling original London cast album that made the critics change their minds.
It then later made its way officially into the West End at London’s Palace Theatre before later transferring to its current London home at the Queen’s Theatre where it ran for over 34 years. The Queen’s itself was renamed the Sondheim Theatre and went under a full renovation back in 2019.
Since last year following the renovation, the London production of LES MIZ was changed and now performed as the NEW revival production created over 10 years ago (for the show’s 25th Anniversary). Ironically, today actually marks the return of LES MIZ in the West End with its usual traditional staging (and once again being performed as THE NEW PRODCUTION).
With its legacy in London, the musical finally reached the US in 1986 with a sold out run in Washington DC before heading straight to Broadway that very next year. It originally opened at the Broadway Theatre before transferring to the Imperial Theatre running for an incredible 6,680 performances on Broadway. It became the 2nd Longest Running Musical in Broadway history at the time surpassing the original A Chorus Line. The original cast included…
Colm Wilkinson (who also starred in the original London cast ) as “Jean Vailjean”,
Randy Graff as “Fantine”,
David Bryant as “Marius”,
Tony nominee Judy Kuhn as “Cosette”,
Tony winner Frances Ruffelle (who also starred in the original London cast) as “Eponine”,
Tony winner Michael Maguire as “Enjolras”,
Tony nominee Terrence Mann as “Inspector Javert”,
Leo Burmester as “Thernadier”,
Jennifer Butt as “Madame Thernadier”.
During its 16 year run, the show had numerous cast replacements.
The original Broadway production of LES MISERABLES was nominated for 12 Tony Awards in 1987 winning 8 including BEST MUSICAL.
From there, LES MISERABLES went on to become a worldwide smash hit musical being performed in almost every major language.
The show later went on to be revived twice on the Great White Way. The first revival happened in 2006 at the Broadhurst Theatre running for 480 performances. It featured the same original staging. This revival featured an all star Broadway cast including…
Tony nominee Adam Jacobs as “Marius”,
Aaron Lazar as “Enjolras”,
Tony winner Gary Beach as “Thernadier”,
the musical’s acclaimed long running West End cast member Jenny Galloway as “Madame Thenardier”.
It also featured numerous cast replacements. This revival did not receive any Tony Awards in 2007 due to it still having the same original staging..
The most recent Broadway revival happened in 2014 with Sir Cameron Mackintosh presenting an all new production that initially toured the UK and the US for the show’s 25th Anniversary. It returned to where most of the original run stayed at the Imperial Theatre running for 1,026 performances. Under the direction of Laurence Clayton, this revival was led by…
Caissie Levy as “Fantine”,
Andy Minetus as “Marius”,
Samantha Hill as “Cosette”,
Tony nominee Will Swenson as “Inspector Javert”,
Cliff Saunders as “Thernadier”,
and
It also featured numerous cast replacements.
The revival was nominated for 3 Tony Awards in 2014 including BEST REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL. However, the show lost all the categories. A new touring production of this recent revival is currently on a National Tour.
LES MISERABLES was also well captured on film 4 times. The first time was the acclaimed 10th Anniversary concert in 1995 filmed at London’s
Royal Albert Hall featuring the cast singing through the score live in costume standing at classical looking microphones. It aired on
PBS and is still available to own on DVD. The cast featured..
Colm Wilkinson reprising his acclaimed performance of “Jean Vailjean”,
acclaimed West End star
Michael Ball reprising the role of “Marius” which he originated in London,
Judy Kuhn reprising her Broadway performance of “Cosette”,
Tony and Olivier Award winner
Lea Salonga as “Eponine”,
Michael Maguire reprising the role of “Enjolras”,
3 time Olivier Award winner Phillip Quast as “Inspector Javert”,
Alun Armstrong reprising the role of “Thernadier” which he originated in London,
Jenny Galloway as “Madame Thernadier”.
The ending also featured a spectacular finale featuring International artists who have played the role of “Jean Vailjean” singing in their native language.
The second time the musical was captured on film was for the spectacular acclaimed 25th Anniversary concert production at The O2 Arena London. It had a spectacular built set and a phenomenal cast all singing the score through classical looking microphones. The cast starred…
Alfie Boe who became a worldwide star from this performance as “Jean Vailjean”,
Lea Salonga (who previously played “Eponine” in the 10th Anniversary concert) graduating to the role of “Fantine”,
Pop sensation
Nick Jonas (who played the role of “Gavorche” in the original Broadway production’s closing cast) graduating to the role of “Marius”,
Ramin Karimloo (who graduated a few years later to the role of “Jean Vailjean) as “Enjolras”,
Norm Lewis reprising his acclaimed performance from the 2006 Broadway revival as “Inspector Javert”,
once again Jenny Galloway as “Madame Thernadier”.
In addition during the finale, Boe joined original star Colm Wilkinson along with
John Owen-Jones (who was appearing in the world premiere of the new 25th Anniversary touring production at the time), and Simon Bowman (who was appearing in the West End production at the time) performing a quarter version of Vailjean haunted showstopper BRING HIME HOME. Plus, members of the original London cast returned to join the 300 cast members on stage for a spectacular rendition of ONE DAY MORE as well as numerous kids that appeared in School productions of the show around the world.
The 3rd time turned out to be the full length motion picture adaptation of the musical. The film was released from Universal Pictures in 2012. Under the direction of Oscar winner Tom Hooper, this cast was led by….
Samantha Barks (who was discovered following the success of the acclaimed 25th Anniversary concert) as “Eponine”,
Tony nominee this year Aaron Tviet as “Enjolras”,
Russell Crowe as “Inspector Javert”,
Sasha Baron Cohen as “Thernadier”,
Helena Bonham Carter as “Madame Thernadier”.
The film also featured a new additional song written especially for the film called SUDDENLY sung by the character of “Jean Vailjean” expressing the feeling of caring for “Cosette” after her mother “Fantine” disappears.
The film went on to become a worldwide box office hit winning the
Golden Globes for BEST PICTURE. It also won 3 Oscars including BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS (for Anne Hathaway).
Most recently in 2019, LES MISERABLES was captured on film for the 4th time and for the 1st time in London’s West End. During the interim following the original production’s closure and the NEW production debuting on the stage of the Sondheim Theatre (while it was being renovated), the show moved next door to the Gielgud Theatre with a sold-out and acclaimed staged concert production. The staging was done very similar in style to both its 10th and 25th Anniversary celebration concerts featuring the casts performing in front of classical microphones center stage. The concert was filmed during its final week of its limited run and is available as both a DVD and a new LIVE album. Under the direction of James Powell, this staging featured a full cast and orchestra of over 65 performers led by…
Alfie Boe reprising the role of “Jean Vailjean”,
Michael Ball now taking on the role of “Inspector Javert”,
Matt Lucas reprising the role of “Thernadier”,
Katy Secombe as “Madame Thenardier”,
Lily Kerhoas as “Cosette”,
Bradley Jean as “Enjolras”,
and
Most recently, LES MISERABLES returned to the West End for a strictly limited engagement presentation of the STAGED CONCERT. Originally began in December of last year, it was abruptly cut short when Live Theater returned due to more COVID cases rising. However, it returned later in the Spring playing a full limited Summer engagement at the Sondheim Theatre in London. Now tonight, the show returns with its usual traditional staging there. Break legs Les Miz London!!
Today, LES MISERABLES continues to have audiences an emotional mess with its productions around the world along with school, community, and regional productions everywhere. It’s been seen everywhere on 6 continents and over 80 millions being translated into every major language.
Well, that’s it!!! We hope you enjoyed our 2021 edition of our TOP 50 TONY AWARDS COUNTDOWN. Tomorrow is going to be the ultimate party celebrating the unforgettable triumphant return of Live Theater in the Big Apple. The 74th Annual Tony Awards will be coming to you live from Broadway’s legendary Winter Garden Theatre. It all starts at 7pm EST with
Audra McDonald hosting actual ceremony of Awards via
Paramount+. Immediately at 9pm EST, transfer to the
CBS telecast as Leslie Odom Jr. hosts the 2nd half entitled BROADWAY’S BACK which will be a full concert event. That will include performances from….
Afterwards, the 3 major Awards will be given out for BEST REVIVAL OF A PLAY, BEST PLAY, and of course BEST MUSICAL.
How emotional was that performance?!!
by Mike Haber | Sep 24, 2021 | Antoinette (Tony) Awards, Blog, Broadway, News, Shows
Cannot believe The
Tony Awards are finally here this weekend. This has been a full 18 1/2 month intermission but this moment is definitely worth the wait. We at New York Broadway Tours had so much fun getting to entertain you all with many of our favorite iconic Broadway performances on our TOP 50 TONY AWARDS COUNTDOWN. Here’s a little recap of all our choices we got so far…
– I GOT THE SUN IN THE MORNING / OLD FASHION WEDDING
#48 – Ain’t Misbehavin’
– LADIES WHO SING WITH THE BAND and OFF-TIME
#44 – Hello, Dolly (The 2017 Revival)
– PENNY IN MY POCKET
#43 – THE WILL ROGERS FOLLIES
– WILL-A-MANIA / FAVORITE SON
#41 – Blood Brothers
– TELL ME IT’S NOT TRUE / SUNDAY AFTERNOON / MY BEST FRIEND
#40 – Contact
– SIMPLY IRRESISTIBLE
# 39 – Gypsy (The 2008 Revival)
– EVERYTHING’S COMING UP ROSES
#37 – Big River
– MUDDY IN THE WATER / RIVER IN THE RAIN
#36 – Kiss Me, Kate (The 2019 Revival)
– TOO DARN HOT
#35 – Good News! (The 1974 revival)
– YOU’RE THE CREAM IN MY COFFEE
#31 –
Annie (The 2012 Revival)
– HARD KNOCK LIFE / LITTLE GIRLS
– ONCE AND FOR ALL / SEIZE THE DAY
# 29 – The Music Man
– YA GOT TROUBLE
– DUST & ASHES / BALAGA, / THE ABDUCTION
– MAMA WHO BORE ME / THE BITCH OF LIVING
#25 – West Side Story (The 2009 Revival)
– DANCE AT THE GYM
– YOU CAN’T STOP THE BEAT
– I CAIN’T SAY NO / OKLAHOMA
– IT’S ALL OVER / AND I AM TELLING YOU I’M NOT GOING
– CAN’T TAKE MY EYES OFF OF YOU / WHO LOVES YOU
– IN THE HEIGHTS / 96,000
– SEASONS OF LOVE / LA VIE BOHEME
– OPENING UP / SHE USED TO BE MINE
#8 – The Book of Mormon
– I BELIEVE
– WAVING THROUGH A WINDOW
– THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA / THE MUSIC OF THE NIGHT
– YORKTOWN (THE WORLD TURNS UPSIDE DOWN)
– ROAD TO HELL / WAIT FOR ME
Stay tuned tomorrow for the # 1 selection.
We want to thank everyone who shared, liked, and commented on our posts each day showing your love and appreciation for all things Broadway. We are so happy to have Theater back and celebrate this homecoming all Fall long.
Be ready as well because we at New York Broadway Tours are starting to prepare to relaunch our Walking Tours this Fall as well. Get ready to start booking those trips.
Who loves our countdowns?!!
by Mike Haber | Sep 24, 2021 | Antoinette (Tony) Awards, Blog, Broadway, News, Shows
ALMOST THERE BROADWAY FANS!!! The wait is almost over for Broadway’s Biggest Night of the year The 74th Annual
Tony Awards. We are just 2 DAYS AWAY. Right now we are getting into our last 2 selections of our favorite Broadway showstoppers on our TOP 50 TONY AWARDS COUNTDOWN. Are you ready to continue to celebrate Broadway’s return?!!!
At # 2 on our countdown, we take you on an ultimate underground adventure under the watchful eye of a wicked ruler. Joining us on the ride is a musician & poet trying to rescue his true love (& bring her back to life from the dead). We are about to enter…. way down……
Hadestown. Inspired by Greek Mythology, the show features a score & book by
Anais Mitchell.
From the 2019 telecast, here’s Tony Award winner
André De Shields as “Hermes”, Tony nominees
Eva Noblezada as “Eurydice” Patrick Page as “Hades”, Amber Gray as “Persephone”, along with
Reeve Carney as “Orpheus”, and the original cast performing a medley of the reprise rendition of ROAD TO TELL and its powerful Act 1 finale WAIT FOR ME.
HADESTOWN was originally conceived as an independent Theater project by Country folk singer-songwriter Anais Mitchell. It began its journey in 2006 as a Community Theater touring production which traveled around Vermont and Massachusetts. With the success of the tour, a fundraising campaign was made to create a compilation concept album of the independent show. It featured acclaimed recording artists Justin Vernon,
Ani DiFranco, Greg Brown, and
The Haden Triplets playing the main characters. The concept album was released in 2010 debuting at # 9 on the Billboard US AMERICANA / FOLK ALBUMS charts. It also went on to be nominated for a 2011
Grammy for BEST RECORDING PACKAGE.
Years later, Mitchell continued to expand and grow on the project. In 2012, she attended a performance of the original World Premiere run of Natasha, Pierre, and
The Great Comet of 1812 at
Ars Nova. So fascinated with the production, Mitchell reached out and hired the show’s director Rachel Chavkin. Together, they expanded on the show including hiring a full extended creative team before immediately going through various readings and workshop labs.
The newly updated HADESTOWN had its World Premiere Off Broadway in the Summer of 2016 at the
New York Theatre Workshop. It was well received by critics, the production was extended for another month. Under the direction of Rachel Chavkin, the Off Broadway cast was led by…
Tony nominee (and the ultimate Villian King himself) Patrick Page as “Hades”,
Chris Sullivan as “Hermes”,
Amber Gray as “Persephone”,
The World Premiere Off Broadway run was nominated for several Awards including
The Lucille Lortel and the
Drama Desk Awards (both for OUTSTANDING MUSICAL). However, it lost its categories. The show did however win glory at the American Academy of Arts and Letters as the recipient for the RICHARD RODGERS AWARD FOR MUSICAL THEATER.
With getting their feet wet after the Off Broadway run, the creative team continued expanding the story & the production. Their ultimate target was bringing the back HADESTOWN production that can expand and create….directly to being performed ON Broadway. However before they even can get there, work was still needed to be done.
The next major production of HADESTOWN would officially debut a year later in 2017 in Edmonton, Alberta in Canada playing the
Citadel Theatre. Once again with Rachel Chavkin’s direction, the Edmonton cast was led by….
Reeve Carney as “Orepheus
T.V. Caprio as “Eurydice”
Patrick Page reprising his Off Broadway performance as “Hades”,
Kingsley Leggs as “Hermes”,
Amber Gray reprising her Off Broadway performance as “Persephone”,
The Canadian premiere was also well received by Critics and Theatergoers. It went on to be nominated for 8
Elizabeth Sterling Haynes Awards (the Canadian version of the Tonys) including OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION OF A MUSICAL. However, it took home only 2 for OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE (for Amber Gray) and OUTSTANDING LIGHTING DESIGN (for Bradley King).
With another year of development on the show, HADESTOWN was just about ready to head for the Great Bright Way. However, the team decided to do one final Pre-Broadway tryout experiment. The show made its way WAY DOWN OVERSEAS to the UK. It had its UK debut (as the version we all know today) at London’s
National Theatre for a 3 ½ month run for the holiday season in 2018. With Rachel Chavkin as direction, the cast featured….
Reeve Carney reprising his Edmonton performance as “Orepheus”,
Tony and Olivier nominee Eva Noblezada as “Eurydice”,
Patrick Page reprising his Off Broadway & Edmonton performance as “Hades”,
The legendary Andre De Sheields as “Hermes”,
Amber Gray reprising her Off Broadway & Edmonton performance as “Persephone”,
With the overwhelming response of London, HADESTOWN officially made its way back home to the USA and this time, they officially arrived in the Big Apple. It officially debuted on Broadway at the Walter Kerr Theatre in the Spring of 2019 becoming one of the hottest tickets on the Great Bright Way. With Chavkin’s direction, the cast starred the main London principals (Carney, Noblezada, Page, De Shields, & Gray) reprising their roles.
The Broadway production continued to play packed sold out houses every night (yup, STANDING ROOM ONLY) until this horrific COVID-19 pandemic occurred. However, it recently became the first Broadway Musical to reopen since the shutdown.
The Broadway company of HADESTOWN was nominated for 14 Tony Awards in 2019 winning 8 including BEST MUSICAL, BEST ORIGINAL SCORE (for Anais Mitchell), BEST DIRECTION OF A MUSICAL (for Rachel Chavkin), & more.
In addition, the show’s Original Broadway Cast Recording also went on to top the US Billboards Charts at # 1 and it took home glory at the GRAMMYs earlier this year in 2020 for BEST MUSICAL THEATRE ALBUM.
Along with HADESTOWN resuming its life on Broadway, a US National Tour is expecting to head WAY DOWN to a city near you this Fall. It will begin a preview week long run in Greenville, SC starting October 5th, 2021. It will have its official Opening launch on October 13th, 2021 for a 4 week run in our nation’s Capitol in Washington D.C.. From there, it will be coming to the following cities across North America…..
Boston, MA,
Columbus, OH,
Detroit, MI,
Appleton, WI,
New Orleans, LA,
Houston, TX,
Dallas, TX,
Memphis, TN,
Philadelphia, PA,
Minneapolis, MN,
Tucson, AZ,
Los Angeles, CA
San Diego, CA,
San Francisco, CA,
Salt Lake City, UT,
Miami, FL,
Orlando, FL,
Hartford, CT,
and
so much more.
WE RAISE OUR CUPS to this groundbreaking show back better than ever!!!
Didn’t that performance make you FEEL IT?!!!
by Mike Haber | Sep 23, 2021 | Antoinette (Tony) Awards, Blog, Broadway, News, Shows
GOOD MORNING BROADWAY FANS!! We are only 3 DAYS AWAY till Broadway’s biggest night of the year…. The 74th Annual
Tony Awards. We at New York Broadway Tours are already at the final 3 shows of our TOP 50 TONY AWARDS COUNTDOWN. This has been the way for us to pay tribute to the best of our Theater community as we celebrate its triumphant comeback after a rough 18 1/2 months. Here comes another legendary performance.
At # 3 on our countdown is another one of Broadway’s most beloved hot tickets. We’re gonna take a little trip OVER THE RAINBOW to a magical land. If you think you know the story of The Wizard Of Oz so well, think again. Get ready to experience the story from the perspective of 2 girls…. one blonde and the other one with beautiful green skin. This is all long before a little farmgirl (and her LITTLE DOG TOO) crashed into the scene. You guessed it, this is
WICKED. Based on Gregory Maguire’s novel of the same name, the show features a now iconic score by
Stephen Schwartz and a book by Winnie Holzman.
From the 2004 telecast, here is the girls who started it all… Tony winners
Kristin Chenoweth as the POPULAR “Glinda The Good Witch”,
Idina Menzel as “Elphaba The not-so Wicked Witch of the West”, and members of the original Broadway cast performing the musical’s legendary and spectacular Act 1 finale anthem DEFYING GRAVITY.
WICKED was first conceived by top Hollywood producer Marc Platt who was adapting Gregory Maguire’s acclaimed novel WICKED: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF THE WICKED WITCH OF THE WEST as a film for Universal Pictures. At the time, composer Stephen Schwartz was reading the novel and knew that the story would be a unique musical. However after finding out the rights were given already, Schwartz thought of an “impassioned plea” to Marc Platt to collaborate together on the production. Fell in love with it being a stage musical adaptation instead, Platt signed on as joint producer of the project with
Universal Studios and David Stone. In addition, Schwartz collaborated with book writer Emmy winner Winnie Holzman expanding the flow of the story about the political, social and ethical commentary on the nature of good and evil in the Land of Oz. They took inspiration from both the L. Frank Baum books and the beloved 1939 film version of
The Wizard of Oz. With director Joe Mantello and Choreographer Wayne Cilento on board, the show went into many stages of readings and workshops.
The show originally had its world premiere in San Francisco at the Curran Theatre in the Spring of 2003 earning initial mixed reviews (due to technical problems and several moments that confused the audiences). Following the world premiere out of town tryout as the company headed back to New York City, they spent 8 weeks updating the scripts with scenes being cut, new dialogue and songs written, and 4 parts being recast including the role of “The Wizard of Oz” himself.
WICKED officially opened on Broadway in the Fall of 2003 (opening the day before Halloween) at the Gershwin Theatre earning rave reviews and it broke its box office records. The Broadway production continues to run at the Gershwin and has continued to sell out every single night until COVID hit. It’s made over $1 billion ever since. The show will be celebrating its 18th BEWITCHING Year on Broadway and currently holds the record as THE 5TH LONGEST RUNNING SHOW IN BROADWAY HISTORY.
The Broadway production most recently reopened at the Gershwin Theatre on September 14th, 2021 where once it again its playing to sold out crowds.
Under the direction of Joe Mantello and choreography by Wayne Cileno, the original cast consisted of…
Tony winner Idina Menzel as “Elphaba”,
Tony and Emmy winner Kristin Chenoweth as “Glinda”,
Tony and Oscar winner Joel Grey as “The Wizard of Oz”,
The late Carole Shelley as “Madame Morrible”,
Tony nominee Christopher Fitzgerald as “Boq”,
Michelle Federer as “Nessarose”,
and
William Youmans as “Dr. Dillamond”.
With the Broadway production still open, there have been a huge lineup of numerous replacements on Broadway.
WICKED was nominated for 10 Tony Awards in 2004 winning 3 including BEST LEADING ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL (for Idina Menzel). It went to receive many more Awards as well. Most notable, the show’s iconic original cast album went on to top the charts and win a
Grammy Award for BEST MUSICAL THEATRE ALBUM.
In addition to its Broadway success,
Wicked went on to become a worldwide Blockbuster hit with productions everywhere from Chicago, 2 National Tours, London’s West End, Los Angeles, a return engagement to San Francisco, Japan, Germany, Holland, Mexico City, Korea and much more.
Along with Broadway, the show recently reopened its ongoing National Tour and London companies. There is also a sit-down production in Korea..
Truly one of the most powerful shows that celebrates female empowerment, friendship, and learning to never judge a book by its cover.
Isn’t this show so THRILLIFYING?
How iconic was that performance?!!
by Mike Haber | Sep 22, 2021 | Antoinette (Tony) Awards, Blog, Broadway, Gilbert and Sullivan to Hamilton Tour (Downtown), News, Shows
RISE UP BROADWAY FANS! It’s getting closer by the days and the hours. The 74th Annual
Tony Awards is in 4 MORE DAYS!!! To continue celebrating Broadway’s biggest night and Live Theater’s triumphant return after this rough 18 1/2 month intermission, our TOP 50 TONY AWARDS COUNTDOWN continues. More of your favorite legendary performances coming your way.
At # 4 on countdown, we take you back in time to New York City in the year 1776-1800 to meet one of our most famous founding fathers who traveled from the Caribbean to America. Thanks to this musical, we know him today as our first ever Secretary of the Treasury. You love him or you hate him. We know him as the dude on the 10 DOLLAR BILL. This is of course…
Hamilton. Inspired from
Ron Chernow‘s biography, the show features a book and score by
Lin-Manuel Miranda.
From the 2016 telecast, Tony winners
Lin-Manuel Miranda in the title role,
Leslie Odom Jr. as “Aaron Burr”, Daveed D. Diggs as “Marquis de Lafayette”, and members of the original cast perform the high energy number about the Battle of YORKTOWN (THE WORLD TURNS UPSIDE DOWN).
FUN FACT: For this particular performance, the cast did not use their prop guns to have their moment honoring the victims of the Orlando nightclub shooting (that happened that very same day).
HAMILTON was first conceived by Lin Manuel Miranda while he was on vacation from his first big Broadway hit
In The Heights. For something to read during his trip laying on the beach, he picked up Ron Chernow’s 818 page book about Alexander Hamilton at the airport. He was so inspired and moved about this man, he thought the story of our founding father would fit really well with Hip-Hop music. Miranda initially wrote the musical as a mixtape concept album entitled THE HAMILTON MIXTAPE. In 2009 while writing the score, Miranda got a call from President
Barack Obama and his wife
Michelle Obama to perform at the White House Poetry Jam. He originally was going to perform a song from IN THE HEIGHTS but decided to try his new material in front of an audience. In his opening speech, Miranda talked about the new Alexander Hamilton musical he was writing which the audience laughed. However, as soon as he opened his mouth to rap out the opening number of the show, the crowd fell in love. In addition, the performance went viral. Following that performance, Miranda continued to work on the new show with numerous readings and a workshop at the
Vassar College Reading Festival in 2013 (which was mostly majority of the first act and only 3 songs from the second act).
Following a set of rewrites and a new name, HAMILTON officially had it’s world premiere run Off Broadway at
The Public Theater in January 2015. The response during it’s opening week was insane, it was extended twice. With everyone wanting to see the show, the producers of the show and Miranda announced that the show was transferring to the Great Bright Way a few months later.
HAMILTON officially arrived on Broadway at the Richard Rodgers Theatre (where Miranda previously had his Broadway debut with IN THE HEIGHTS) becoming a groundbreaking phenomenon… it was the hottest show in New York City (and even today) you still couldn’t get a ticket. Today, the show continues to sell out and play to packed houses 8 times a week…. that was until March 12th, 2020 when Broadway was shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Most recently, the Broadway production reopened on September 14th, 2021 and back playing once again to sold out crowds. Under the direction of Thomas Kail and choreography by Andy Blankenbuehler, the cast featured…
Lin-Manuel Miranda (later Javier Muñoz, Michael Luwoye, Austin Scott, and Miguel Cervantes) as “Alexander Hamilton”,
Daveed Diggs (later Seth Stewart and
James Monroe Iglehart) as “Marquis De Lafayette” / “Thomas Jefferson”,
Jasmine Cephas Jones (later Alysha Deslorieux, Joanna A Jones, and Aubin Wise) as “Peggy Schuyler” / “Maria Reynolds”,
Christopher Jackson (later Nicholas Christopher, Bryan Terrell Clark, Carvens Lissaint, and Tamar Greene) as “General George Washington”,
Okieriete Onaodowan (later Quinton J. Johnson, Wallace Smith, and Fergie L. Phillipe) as “Hercules Mulligan” / “James Madison”,
Anthony Ramos (later Anthony Lee Medina and Daniel Yearwood) as “John Laurens” / “Philip Hamilton”,
The show made history for a record breaking 16 Tony Awards nominations in 2016 winning 11 including BEST MUSICAL, BEST LEADING ACTOR IN A MUSICAL (for Leslie Odom Jr.), BEST FEATURED ACTOR IN A MUSICAL (for Daveed Diggs), BEST FEATURED ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL (for Renee Elise Goldsberry), BEST BOOK OF A MUSICAL, BEST SCORE (both for Lin Manuel Miranda), and more.
During his speech for BEST SCORE, Miranda did not rap his speeches like he did for IN THE HEIGHTS but instead paid tribute to the victims of the Orlando Nightclub shooting with his now well famous sonnet featuring the quote “Love is love is love is love is love is love is love is love; Cannot be killed or swept aside.”
Along with the Tonys, HAMILTON also made history for being one of the few Musicals ever to win the
Pulitzer Prize for Drama. It also went on to win glory at the
Grammy Awards winning for BEST MUSICAL THEATRE ALBUM for it’s acclaimed cast album which also made history as the first cast album ever to make it to # 1 on the Billboard Rap Charts.
Also, before HAMILTON officially opened on the Great Bright Way, the show had a multimillion-dollar advance in ticket sales, reportedly taking in $30 million before its official opening. It also got huge attention for its popular
#Ham4Ham Lottery Rush for $10 in the front row. The Live Lottery itself was so popular, 46th Street would be jam packed. It caused a huge fire hazard, they were forced to change to becoming the first Broadway show to create a Digital Lottery.
HAMILTON has already gone on to become a huge global phenomenon with productions all around the world. Along with our Broadway backyard in New York, other companies included….
a 4 year sit-down Chicago company which ran for 1,341 performances in the Windy City’s CIBC Theatre,
it’s current 3 US National Touring productions (the ANGELICA, PHILLIP, and AND PEGGY companies) which have been still playing across North America which are now back as well,
West End (where it took home glory at the Olivier Awards winning 8 including BEST NEW MUSICAL) and recently returned to playing to packed houses at London’s Victoria Palace Theatre,
Australia (being one of the first productions to open since the shutdown),
Upcoming productions will include the first Non-English speaking production of the show debuting in Hamburg, Germany – With the entire score translated in German.
In addition to its success on stage, HAMILTON has already been so popular during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the Summer of last year,
Disney+ released the filmed performance of the Broadway production starring the original cast. Filmed from the stage of the Richard Rodgers Theatre, it was originally recorded in 2016 during the final weeks before Lin Manuel Miranda, Leslie Odom Jr., and Phillipa Soo departed.
The filmed adaptation recently also won a Primetime Emmy Award for OUTSTANDING VARIETY SPECIAL (PRE-RECORDED).
Also if you enjoyed HAMILTON, be sure to join us on our Gilbert and Sullivan to Hamilton Walking Tour. We will take you on a fun adventures to some of key noted places mentioned and where the real Alexander Hamilton walked on the face of this earth.
How groundbreaking is this show?!
