Cost of Living

What is a disability? Does it define a person? What does it mean to care about someone? To care for someone? What is trust? How is it earned?

Sullivan, Williams
Photo: Joan Marcus

These are just some of the questions addressed in Martyna Majok’s flawed but fascinating and touching new play, Cost of Living, playing at the Manhattan Theater Club.

Cost of Living follows two couples. In each case, one has a visible physical disability. And, in each case, the disability remains a focus of the play yet recedes to just one facet of an emotionally complex picture.

Cost of Living utilizes an almost competitive intersectionality. Who is more powerful? John (Gregg Mozgala), a white man who cannot dress or bathe himself but went to Harvard and has money and a well-developed sense of entitlement, or Jess (Jolly Abraham), his caregiver, a physically intact woman of color who went to Princeton but is broke and scared? Both have definite strengths (not always attractive) and both have definite weaknesses (not always visible). Their jousting grows amusing, and they seem to grow close, but can they ever really understand each other?

In the other couple, Ani (Katy Sullivan) is a double amputee who has turned coarse language into an art form. Eddie (Victor Williams), from whom she is separated, is terribly lonely and wants to get back into Ani's life. He offers care, and caring, but Ani is reluctant to trust him, particularly since he is still living with another woman.

Cost of Living is so involving that its flaws don't become apparent until later. The opening monologue is too long. The fact that what follows is a flashback is unclear. A major plot point--a misunderstanding--isn't totally convincing. And there's a coincidence that's hard to buy.

But it's Majok’s character studies that make Cost of Living a must-see, along with the casting of actual disabled people, one of whom is quite good (Mozgala) and one of whom is brilliant (Sullivan). In fact, the show is well worth seeing for Sullivan's performance alone.

The recent trend toward hiring disabled people to play disabled people is fabulous and important, and I hope it's not a passing fad. But real progress will be hiring disabled people to play characters not written as disabled.

And I would gladly see Katy Sullivan in pretty much anything!

Tony Predictions, Because Why Not?

Well, it is that time of year again. The 76th Tony Awards will recognize theatrical achievements on Broadway for the 2022-23 season. Who will win? Below are Show Showdown's guesses.

Clip from New York, New York

Best Book of a Musical

Liz: Kimberly Akimbo

Wendy: Wow, one I’d finally bet on: Kimberly Akimbo, David Lindsay-Abaire.

Sandra: Ditto (I submitted my predictions last … so you might see this a few times).

Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre
Liz: Kimberly Akimbo

Wendy: Kimberly Akimbo, Music: Jeanine Tesori, Lyrics: David Lindsay-Abaire

Sandra: Ditto

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play
Liz: Wendell Pierce, Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman. Pierce was revelatory as Willy Loman and richly deserving of the award. I thought Stephen McKinley Henderson was also brilliant in Between Riverside and Crazy, and I’d be delighted if he took this, but I suspect it’ll go to Pierce.

Wendy: Tough, tough, tough category to guess. I guess this is kinda cheating, but I predict the two men from Topdog/Underdog. I just hope that Sean Hayes doesn’t win; his winning would seem just too #TonysTooWhite

Sandra: The fate of Willy Loman and his family is always wrenching, but particularly so in this version … and Wendell Pierce’s take on the iconic role ups the ante.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play
Liz: Jodie Comer, Prima Facie. I confess I’ve seen none of these, so this is a shot in the dark, but Comer apparently gives a mesmerizing, scenery-chewing, shape-shifting, mountain-moving, buckets-of-sweat-spill-your-guts-out performance, which is just total Tony bait.  

Wendy: This category should have five nominees! That being said, I think Jodie Comer, Prima Facie, has got it. Her performance is astonishing, and the role is full of the dramatic opportunities that nab trophies. If Comer wasn’t in the list, I think Jessica Chastain, A Doll's House, would have been the winner. Truly, this category sums up the weirdness of awards: four nominees instead of five for no real reason, and comparing apples, oranges, kumquats and motorcycles.

Sandra: Let’s make this lucky number seven for Audra McDonald.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical
Liz: J. Harrison Ghee, Some Like It Hot. Ghee’s performance as a trans jazz musician who discovers their true self as Daphne was by equal turns hilarious, graceful, beautiful to watch, and deeply moving.

Wendy: Everyone but Borle would be a legit winner here (I thought he was miscast and not all that interesting). I predict J. Harrison Ghee, Some Like It Hot, because their performance is lovely and something new.

Sandra: J. Harrison Ghee, Some Like It Hot. This was my favorite show of the season and part of that is because of Ghee who brings joy to this role and glorious tapping.

Some Like It Hot

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical
Liz: Victoria Clark, Kimberly Akimbo. Diamond could take this instead, but she never quite nails the southern accent; Clark makes what could have been a cliché of a character into a deeply nuanced, believable, lovable one.

Wendy: Victoria Clark, Kimberly Akimbo, is a shoo-in.

Sandra: Ditto. I have adored Victoria Clark since The Light in the Piazza and my admiration for her intensified after reading this New York Times article: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/10/theater/kimberly-akimbo-victoria-clark.html

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play
Liz: Brandon Uranowitz, Leopoldstadt. Uranowitz was memorable in a very crowded cast of characters. That said, I’d be pleased if any of the nominees ended up winning this category.

Wendy: I’m going with Jordan E. Cooper, Ain't No Mo'. Fabulous performances!

Sandra: David Zayas, Cost of Living. I just loved this show … and he was wonderful — steadfast and moving.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play
Liz: Katy Sullivan, Cost of Living. This is total wishful thinking, but in both the original production and the Broadway one, Sullivan was funny and raw in the role of a paraplegic woman struggling to adjust to her new disabilities, and a life without her ex-husband.

Wendy: Katy Sullivan, Cost of Living. Though, once again, how can anyone possibly compare these performances?

Sandra: Katy Sullivan, Cost of Living. Who didn’t gasp during that bathtub scene? What a compelling and brave moment.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical
Liz: Alex Newell, Shucked. Newell stopped the show mid-act when I saw it, and apparently continues to do so every damn time with her barn-raiser of a solo number.  

Wendy: Kevin Del Aguila, Some Like It Hot, is a total crowd pleaser.

Sandra: Gotta go with Wendy on this one. You have to love Osgood Fielding III … if only Elon Musk was so open-minded and jovial.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical
Liz: Bonnie Milligan, Kimberly Akimbo

Wendy: Bonnie Milligan, Kimberly Akimbo, is a crowd pleaser.

Sandra: I feel like Sweeney deserves some acknowledgment this season and Ruthie Ann Miles is its best shot, bringing a seething fury and sadness to the beggar woman.

Kimberly Akimbo

Best Scenic Design of a Play
Liz:  I had some other guess here, but I totally just changed it because I too think Wendy had the better guess. What she says: 

Wendy: Tim Hatley & Andrzej Goulding, Life of Pi

Sandra: I’m with Wendy. Look what they did with a boat …

Best Scenic Design of a Musical
Liz: Beowulf Boritt, New York, New York. New York, New York is not as genuinely terrible as most of the reviews imply…but then, the scenic design really did stand out as a particular strength.

Wendy: Beowulf Boritt, New York, New York

Sandra: Beowulf Boritt, New York, New York. I loved the subtle sketching of a city neighborhood that no longer exists — with its balconies overlooking everyone’s business.

Best Costume Design of a Play
Liz: Emilio Sosa, Ain't No Mo'. For Peaches’ glorious getups alone….

Wendy: Emilio Sosa, Ain't No Mo'

Sandra: Ditto

Best Costume Design of a Musical
Liz: Gregg Barnes, Some Like It Hot. I would happily wear the same pair of jeans and ratty t-shirt every day of my life if I could, and yet I coveted every damn outfit worn in this show.

Wendy: Gregg Barnes, Some Like It Hot

Sandra: Ditto

& Juliet

Best Lighting Design of a Play
Liz: Bradley King, Fat Ham

Wendy: Jon Clark, A Doll's House

Sandra: Tim Lutkin, Life of Pi

Best Lighting Design of a Musical
Liz: Natasha Katz. No idea who will win, so I’m guessing Katz because she’s nominated twice. For which show? Dunno.

Wendy: Ken Billington, New York, New York

Sandra: Natasha Katz, Some Like It Hot

Best Sound Design of a Play
Liz: Ben & Max Ringham. See "lighting design" above.

Wendy: Ben & Max Ringham, A Doll's House. Rarely has sound design had such a significant role in the ambience, meaning, and success of a play.

Sandra: Carolyn Downing, Life of Pi

Best Sound Design of a Musical
Liz: Gareth Owen, & Juliet

Wendy: Scott Lehrer & Alex Neumann, Into the Woods

Sandra: I’m with Wendy with this one.

Shucked Broadway Recording of "Corn."

Best Direction of a Play
Liz: Saheem Ali, Fat Ham

Wendy: Aargh! How to choose? I’m going with Stevie Walker-Webb, Ain't No Mo', for his breathtakingly energetic, theatrical directing.

Sandra: Patrick Marber, Leopoldstadt

Best Direction of a Musical
Liz: Lear deBessonet, Into the Woods. I was never a huge fan of this particular show, but deBessonet’s bubbly, joyous production was thoroughly delightful.

Wendy: Lear deBessonet, Into the Woods.

Sandra: Casey Nicholaw, Some Like It Hot. That chase scene alone deserves a Tony.

Best Choreography
Liz: Casey Nicholaw, Some Like It Hot. Call me a sucker for an old-fashioned tap-heavy musical, but come on, now.

Wendy: Another tough category. Casey Nicholaw, Some Like It Hot.

Sandra: Casey Nicholaw, Some Like It Hot. I haven’t seen such exciting tap since 42nd Street--and did I mention that chase scene?

Best Orchestrations
Liz: No clue, truly. May the best orchestrator win.

Wendy: Jason Howland, Shucked. Total guess!

Sandra: Bill Sherman and Dominic Fallacaro, & Juliet. Because I just want them to win something.

Best Play
Liz: Leopoldstadt. Stoppard’s legacy and the fact that this show keeps getting described as “probably his very last” will result, I think, in a symbolic win. That’ll be fine with me, but then, so would it be if any other show nominated wins for best play instead.

Wendy: I adore Stoppard, and I think he's going to win, but I'd love it to be Fat Ham.

Sandra: What Liz said.

Best Musical
Liz: Some Like It Hot. Big, splashy, sweetly subversive, lotsa tap dance.

Wendy: I predict Kimberly Akimbo.

Sandra: Some Like It Hot. Really fun, exuberant, well-staged musical.

Best Revival of a Play
Liz: The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window. I really loved this production and this play, even as I suspect I’m wrong and it won’t win.

Wendy: Topdog/Underdog, but I wouldn't bet a lot of money on it.

Sandra: The Piano Lesson

Best Revival of a Musical
Liz: Parade. I’m really not a big fan of this show, even as I recognize that the production is solid. I would be delighted if Into the Woods upset the cart, but that’s no longer running and Parade is.

Wendy: Into the Woods. I have more faith in people's memories, but, hey, I could be wrong.

Sandra: Parade. A moving production that offers context about the true story

All video clips from YouTube

Liz Wollman's Top Ten of 2017

Good golly, Miss Molly, a top-ten list is a hard list to come up with, especially during a year when I found myself escaping to the theater as often as I possibly could. So many choices! So much talent! So much horrible, soul-sucking news to run away from every damn day!

Still, I'm copying Wendy (and nearly every other writer, critic, editorial board, website, and borglike crystalline entity that generates year-end lists) by keeping my list to ten (though there is an honorable mention list. So sue me). Here they are, then, in alphabetical order, because coming up with a tippy-top of the top ten is just too hard in my tail-end-of-an-exhausting-year state of mind.

1) Bandstand. 
This short-lived musical had trouble finding an audience or selling itself in any plausible way. Who can blame it? "Hey! Come see our really dark, depressing musical about broken, shattered, completely fucked-up GIs home from World War II! There's really groovy period dancing!" I was surprised by how much I loved it, my kid loved it, and the friends we saw it with loved it. Groovy period dancing notwithstanding, this portrait of people coping with PTSD ("shell shock") by forming a band was deeply engaging. I wish very much that it had caught on.

2) Cost of Living. 
I am so grateful for the small explosion of plays by, about, and for people with disabilities that has been happening on local stages in the past few years. Martina Majok's four-character piece about disability, intersectionality, and human connections leaned a little hard at times on conventional plot turns, but the characters were real, their situations fleshed out and appropriately complicated, their lives never presented as feel-good disability porn. And gee, wow, what a concept: actors with actual disabilities were cast as the disabled characters!

3) Dear Evan Hansen. 
Is Evan a sweet, well-meaning if cripplingly neurotic teenager, or a manipulative, lying little shitbag who should burn in hell for all of eternity? Either way, whatever, the musical totally worked for me. Ben Platt was as incredible as everyone said he was, and the rest of the cast was pretty amazing, too. Also, "So Big/So Small" is possibly the best song about being a mom I've ever heard, and Rachel Bay Jones' rendition of it levels me every single time I hear it.

4) The Glass Menagerie.
A production that was hotly polarizing in local theater circles, Sam Gold's stripped-down Menagerie was hated as much as--if not (alas) more than--it was loved. But it resonated with me like little else did this year. See #2 above for at least a few of the reasons I appreciated it as much as I did. Thanks to everyone involved for taking the risks you did with this. You can't win 'em all, but for what it's worth, you won me over in a big way.

5) Jesus Hopped the A Train.
Stephen Adly Guirgis has been around for a long while now, but for whatever reason, I never got around to seeing The Motherfucker with the Hat or Between Riverside and Crazy, or any of his other many plays that are staged frequently in New York. Big ups to the wonderful Signature Theater for beginning a retrospective of his older plays this fall;  I can't wait to see more.

6) Jitney.
A gorgeous revival of one of Wilson's most accessible plays. I grew up in a very different (read: white, affluent) Pittsburgh, which remains as stubbornly segregated as it was when I was a kid (feh, name an American city that isn't.). Still, I love the complicated, endearing, real characters in this show, I love the town the characters live in, and I have always thrilled at Wilson's references to various neighborhoods and local institutions (Damn it, Turnbo, Monroeville's houses are no nicer than the ones in Penn Hills!).

7) Mary Jane. 
OK, so I maybe lied when I said above that coming up with a tippy-top favorite of the year was impossible. I loved absolutely everything about this show--every finely-wrought character, every honest if difficult depiction, every directorial choice, every nuanced performance. An added, if random bonus: Jake Gyllenhaal sat a few rows behind us in the small New York Theater Workshop, and it was fun watching other audience members devise increasingly inventive ways of casually checking him out before and after the show.

8) People, Places and Things.
An import from London, this harrowing piece about an actress trying to get and remain sober was not nearly as conventional as I feared it would be. Denise Gough's tour-de-force performance was certainly worth the price of admission, but then, the rest of the cast was pretty brilliant, too. No trite, feel-good play about beautiful, fragile addicts triumphing over adversity, People, Places and Things instead emphasizes just how incredibly hard sobriety is, how much emotional work goes into it, and how very easy it is to get sidetracked by everything the play's title suggests.

Zbigniew Bzymek

9) The Town Hall Affair.
The Wooster Group's multimedia re-enactment of Chris Hegedus and DA Pennebaker's 1971 documentary Town Bloody Hall says a lot about second-wave feminism and its discontents in the course of one fleeting hour. I recognize that we're living through an extraordinarily tumultuous, challenging and important period in American feminist history right now; this production made me appreciate the fact that even though we've clearly got miles to go, we've nevertheless come a very long way, too. To that end, the decision to have Norman Mailer played by two guys at the same time was a stroke of fucking genius.

10) The Wolves
How often do you see a play--or any kind of mass entertainment--that perfectly captures the social lives of average American teenage girls? And when you do, how often is what you see ultimately played for condescending laughs, or cheap sexualized thrills or both? Teen girls are almost never taken seriously as three-dimensional human beings, and it's only with brilliant, nuanced shows like this that one becomes fully aware of how very often their conversations, vocal inflections, slang, and cultural tastes are used for cheap comic effect: oh, those dumb little geese! How trivial they are! How shrill! How silly their music, style and social codes are! Like, ohmigoooood, squeeeee, riiiiight? Still, they're so young and perky, let's objectify them! The Wolves, an absolutely dead-on portrait of teenage girls who play together on a suburban soccer team, slides a little too close to conventional theatrical devices near the very end, but who the hell cares? It's funny, affecting, fascinating, and not even the teeniest bit nasty, condescending, or objectifying. More, please.

Honorable mention:
1984 (Broadway), 946: The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips (St. Ann's Warehouse), A Doll's House Part 2 (Broadway), Everybody (Signature), The Golden Apple (Encores), Hamlet (the Public), Hello, Dolly! (Broadway, with Donna Murphy), Meteor Shower (Broadway), Say Something Bunny (UNDO Project Space)

Sandra's Faves of 2017

Here's seven of my 2017 favorites. Why seven? Well, in many cultures seven is considered sacred, both beneficial and protective for its bearer.

Honestly? Seven is all I got. I probably saw about two dozen shows this year, but these are the ones that stayed with me.

Christine Lahti

1.Signature Theater's Fucking A by Suzan-Lori Parks takes Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and goes all The Handmaiden's Tale on it. This play was produced in tandem with Parks' In the Blood as part of The Red Letter Plays, where the playwright presented two works under a common theme. I never saw the other play; I only saw Fucking A after a friend offered me an extra ticket -- and I'm glad she did. Maybe it's the time we live in, but this piece with no real heroes, and rampant with class conflict, sexism, corruption and greed resonated with me, offering pleasure in the discomfort of it all. Yet, still humanity is evident: in the loyalty of friendships; in the unwavering love of a parent; of the surprise that in a terrible, dark world, there is goodness. A contemporary Hester Smith (Christine Lahti) seeks to buy her jailed son’s freedom — by becoming the reviled, but needed, local abortionist in a story that blends dialogue and song, directed by Obie Award-winner Jo Bonney (Father Comes Home From the Wars). The entire cast is outstanding, with Lahti making her character sympathetic despite her myopic focus on vengeance and Marc Kudisch, evoking the brutish charm from his long-ago role as Gaston and notching it a bit higher as a corrupt mayor. 

2. Hello, Dolly! provided delightful escapism wrapped in spectacular technicolor sets and costumes (Santo Loquasto). Tony Award-winner Bette Midler deserves her accolades - she makes the most of every moment on stage, whether she's eating a meal or walking regally through a calvacade of singing waiters wearing a sequined red dress. While her dancing is more like well-choreographed placement than spirited, she always is riveting, the center of attention. Another outstanding cast is here, headed by David Hyde Pierce playing the cranky Horace Vandergelder, Gavin Creel as Cornelius Hackl and Kate Baldwin as Irene Molloy. I also love Jennifer Simard as Ernestina - I've been a fangirl of hers since she played a gambling-addict nun in Disaster! Add all this to Jerry Herman's music and lyrics, with standards such as "Hello, Dolly!" and "Before the Parade Passes By," and I almost forgot how uncomfortable the upper-level seats in the Shubert Theatre were.

3. The Band's Visit -- in a world where Mean Girls and Cruel Intentions are future options, here's a movie adaption I can truly endorse. Based on a 2007 Israeli film directed by Eran Kolirin, David Yazbek and Itamar Moses’s soft-spoken story of Egyptian musicians stranded in a beleagured Israeli desert town, shows the beauty of brief, unexpected connections. The plot is slight - no one falls in love, no dilemas solved - yet, for a moment, loneliness meets kinship; the quiet is filled with music; and strangers offer kindness, food and shelter rather than disdain and hatred. Director David Cromer links in lovely moments of hope fulfilled - from a lover who waits by a pay phone for hours each night, waiting to be remembered by his girl to a shy boy learning to flirt from a foreigner who tags along on his blind date. For 24 hours, everyone is exposed to "Something Different" (beautifully sung by Katrina Lenk and Tony Shalhoub) and that becomes a lasting memory for all.

Tony Shalhoub and Katrina Lenk 

4. Arcadia -- when I saw Tom Stoppard's Arcadia in 1995 I loved it so much I bought the script during intermission. The revival by PTP/NYC at Atlantic Stage 2 this summer allowed me to revisit that moment. Their delightful production features a stripped down set by Mark Evancho that the audience can walk through parts during the intermission. It's this intimacy that makes this production so special. As the play switches between time periods, the set and props remain the same -- even as different characters inhabit the space. These details seem more noticeable in a 98-seat theater. Andrew William Smith is also terrific as Septimus Hodge.

5. A Doll's House, Part 2. The audacity Lucas Hnath showed writing a sequel to Ibsen's play impressed me. His middle-aged Nora Helmer feels authentic and feisty. The show is funny, even as it questions serious, complex topics such as the role of women in society and the institution of marriage (Does love last forever? Does marriage imprison its participants?) Tony Award winner Laurie Metcalf offers us an imperfect, sympathetic Nora: selfish, brave, risk-taker. Anne Marie, the maid, is played by Jayne Houdyshell, who provides an excellent foil for the jokes and a voice of reason when things become more complicated.

6. Cost of Living -- A flawed show with a too-pat, coincidental plot, where no one is readily likable -- my favorite Ani (Katy Sullivan), a red-headed double amputee from New Jersey, is foul-mouthed and petulant. But most grow on you. Martyna Majok's play offers a compelling look at two disabled characters and the people who care for them: Ani and her ex-husband Eddie (Victor Williams) and John (Gregg Mozgala), a rich, arrogant grad student who has cerebral palsy, and Jess (Jolly Abraham), who works several jobs and still can't make ends meet. The intimate look at what such care taking requires sometimes shocks the audience. When Ani slips in the bath after Eddie leaves her momentarily alone, audible gasps are heard. Ultimately, though, this is a play about relationships, not disabilities -- and how people fail, and support, each other.

7. The short-lived Bandstand offered a compelling view of the price the survivors of war pay, packaged in the bright days of the Bandstand era. Director Andy Blakenbuehler's choreography suggests that patina of darkness when his characters move in sudden moments of anguish, with one number, "Right This Way," showing the war's burden as individuals are dragged down even as they try to move forward. The story centers around Donny (Corey Cott), who struggles through his homecoming, finally finding some satisfaction by forming a band to compete in a "Tribute to the Troops" contest. All the members saw active service and suffer from their war memories. I can see why Bandstand had trouble finding an audience - this darkness mixed with so many upbeat scenes is discomforting. This is not the typical, linear upbeat musical. Plus, the musical has flaws - many of the band members aren't fully fleshed out nor do all the plot lines feel authentic. Still, the upbeat numbers such as "First Steps First" and "You Deserve It" are fun ... as is watching the dancers perform the period's signature shrugs and swiveling hips. Laura Osnes sings the heck out of the score, too.

2019-2020: Looking Back, Looking Forward: The Glories of Off- and Off-Off-Broadway

I was going to do a "best-of" for 2019 plus a "looking forward" for 2020, when I realized that their focus would be much the same: the treasure that is non-Broadway theatre.

I'm not denying the treasure that is on-Broadway theatre. There's something undeniably magical about those buildings, with their plush seats, ornate ceilings, and theatrical history. And there are always incredible shows running. But the prices are truly insane.

Once, when I was a kid, my parents were complaining about the price of something. I said, "But that's what it costs now." And my dad said, "Someday you'll be faced with a 'that's what it costs now' that you just refuse to pay. You just can't." I recently decided to bite the bullet and spend a small fortune to see American Utopia. But a small fortune wasn't enough. Could I have afforded the actual price? Yes, as a special treat. But I just couldn't do it. My dad was right.

Maybe it's because I'm old enough to have spent $9 on a "special treat" ticket--Debbie Reynolds in Irene, first row center. I was making $1.95/hr, minimum wage. Now minimum wage is ~$15/hr, and tickets are hundreds of dollars. Something is wrong on Broadway.

But Off-Broadway, and Off-Off-Broadway, something is right. You can see fabulous shows with brilliant casts from great seats, and it doesn't cost an arm and a leg. Not even a finger.

Here are ten of the theatre companies that I have found to provide reliably top-notch work at accessible, even cheap, prices. (All are linked to their websites; they're in alphabetical order.)

APAC. It's a pleasure to start with APAC (Astoria Performing Arts Center), which is high on my list of favorite theatre companies, mostly because the artistic director--Dev Bondarin--is one of the most reliably excellent directors in New York. In fact, when Roundabout announced their production of Caroline, or Change, my first thought was that I hoped it would be as good as APAC's!

And here's the thing: APAC's tickets for Caroline were only $25 for adults and $20 for students and senior citizens--an insane bargain. (I don't know if they will go up in the future, but even so, APAC will remain a bargain. Their Caroline was every bit as meaningful, beautiful, and heart-breaking as the original Broadway production!)

APAC has given us brilliant productions of Follies (amazing) and Merry We Roll Along (my favorite of all the productions I have seen, including the original), to mention only a couple. The rest of the 2019-2020 season includes the New York premiere of Jump by Charly Evon Simpson and a revival of Man of La Mancha. And who knows what 2020-2021 will bring?

Bedlam. I'm new to Bedlam, but after seeing their excellent revival of The Crucible (and also on the recommendation of a friend whose opinion I respect), I don't plan to miss any of their shows going forward. They don't seem to have announced their 2020 season, and I wasn't able to track down their ticket prices. (I bought my Crucible tickets on tdf.) But click here for their Facebook page, which may provide more up-to-date info than their website.

Elmwood Playhouse (Nyack, NY). I've only seen one show at the Elmwood, and to be honest I've heard some non-raves about their earlier work. But their production of The Little Foxes was solid, entertaining, and moving. Currently running is the Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, and tickets are only $27 ($24 for seniors and students). The rest of the season includes Born Yesterday, The Drowsy Chaperone, and Calendar Girls.

Flux Theatre Ensemble. I have been a huge Flux fan since 2009 when I saw the wonderful Lesser Seductions of History, a lovely and deeply humane play by Corinna Schulenburg, beautifully directed by Heather Cohn. In the intervening years, I've seen another 15 or so Flux productions, and an insanely large percentage of them have been amazing, incredible, thought-provoking, funny, and all the other things one hopes plays to be.

And talk about inexpensive! Flux doesn't even ask you to lay out money to get a ticket. They do ask you to support Flux in any way you can, but they don't want the price of a ticket to keep people from seeing their shows. (For more info, click here.) I donate to Flux every year.

Next at Flux: the world premiere of Rage Play by Nandita Shenoy, directed by Lori Elizabeth Parquet. Runs March 28 through April 11.

Mint Theater Company. The Mint's tag line is "lost plays found here." And what treasures these lost plays are! Also, the Mint has a truly astonishing batting average, providing excellent production after excellent production after excellent production. There was one show I hated, but about a dozen that I liked, liked a lot, or loved. And Mint productions are often eye-opening. Who knew that plays in the early 20th century were grappling so honestly with sexuality and class?

Currently at the Mint is Chekhov/Tolstoy: Love Stories. While I prefer it when the Mint focuses on more obscure writers, I am sure that this production will be worthwhile. After all, it's the Mint! (Ticket prices: $35.00 - $65.00.)

PTP/NYC. The PTP/NYC is yet another theatre company that provides excellent production after excellent production. Here's how they describe themselves on their website:

PTP/NYC is an Off-Broadway powerhouse of veteran and emerging talent creating socially and politically acute theatre for the 21st century. In its 27 seasons [actually, it's 33 now], the voices of PTP/NYC’s writers have addressed the necessity and difficulty of art, homelessness, censorship, pornography, AIDS, totalitarianism, apartheid and gender wars—always in passionate, deeply human terms. Playwrights whose work is often seen on the company’s stages include Howard Barker, Caryl Churchill, Harold Pinter and Neal Bell. 

I have been blown away again and again by PTP/NYC, particularly by plays directed by co-artistic director Cheryl Faraone. Faraone's productions are lucid and smart; she lets the plays tell their stories with a subtle and smooth hand.

I don't know what PTP/NYC has up their sleeve; unfortunately, their website is terrible. But I do know that, whatever they produce, I'll be there.

Red Bull Theater. The Red Bull focuses on past centuries--often far past. For example, their next (one-night) event is a January 27 reading of Women Beware Women, Thomas Middleton's 17th century social satire. (There are $47 tickets left, and the reading has a very classy cast. For more info, click here). Sometimes I wish Red Bull productions were clearer; sometimes I wish they were truer to the original plays. But I'm always grateful to have seen their productions, feeling entertained and/or educated. And sometimes I'm blown away.

Signature Theatre. The Signature has a unique role in NY theatre, focusing largely on living playwrights but often including revivals of their earlier works. Signature used to pick one playwright per season; now they combine "legacy" and "residency" playwrights. The 2019-2020 season includes plays by Anna Deavere Smith, Horton Foote, Katori Hall, and Lauren Yee. And tickets are $35. Thirty-five dollars! (And ticket packages eliminate any fees, while providing a generous exchange policy.)

Voyage Theater Company. The VTC is brand-new to me, but I'm putting them on this list based on their production of The Hope Hypothesis. There's no way to know if their future productions will be as good, but I do know I'll give them a try.

York Theatre Company. The York is devoted to musicals, old and new, with main stage productions (such as the wonderful Desperate Measures and Unexpected Joy), concert readings (the fabulous Mufti series, recently including the very entertaining The Decline and Fall of the Entire World as Seen Through the Eyes of Cole Porter), and a developmental series of over 30 readings a year. (Shows developed or partially developed at the York include Avenue Q and the brilliant, insanely funny Musical of Musicals: The Musical.) Some York shows are flat-out wonderful; minimally, the Muftis are of of historical interest; the casts are often top-notch; and the voices are unmiked. Main stage tickets are $67.50 - $72.50; Muftis are $45 - $50. Plus you can get a York membership, which reduces the ticket prices significantly, and there are various forms of rush tickets.

***

Strange to think that, for a price of a pair of tickets to a Broadway show, you could see a show or two at all ten of these theatre companies! And I hope you do.

Wendy Caster

Tony Predictions 2024

It's Tony time again. Was this an exciting year on Broadway? Yes! Was it a disappointing year on Broadway? Yes! Same as it ever was.

And here we go:

(A complete list of nominees is provided at the end of this post.)

Best New Play

Sandra: Stereophonic

Silly me, when I saw this show first advertised, its name alone made me think it would never last. Yet here we are, even in a year with so many strong plays—this one stands out the most. 

Liz: Stereophonic

I think the production itself is actually stronger than the book, which is one of the more conventional things about it. But it’s an enormously entertaining and excellent show, and it’s selling very, very well. 

Wendy: Stereophonic

It's got the buzz and the timing. Would Jaja's African Hair Braiding or Prayer for the French Republic be stronger contenders if they were still running? I suspect so.

Best New Musical

Sandra: Hell’s Kitchen
The Outsiders and Water for Elephants have a few stand-out songs (“Stay Gold” and “The Road Don’t Make You Young,” for example), but nothing compares with the powerhouse skills of 15-time Grammy Award-winner Alicia Keys. Her hits, plus three new songs, along with a compelling plot based on her coming-of-age story seal the deal.  

Liz: Suffs

Thrilled as I was to see so many shows opening on Broadway this year, I was ultimately pretty whelmed by the musicals. Suffs isn’t perfect, but it grabbed my attention and respect. It’s original, moving, gloriously feminist, and it covers a fascinating history that is, shamefully, just not taught as widely as it should be.

Wendy: Illinoise

Definitely a guess in a year with no shoo-in nominee.

Best Play Revival

Sandra: An Enemy of the People 

The fact that Ibsen’s An Enemy of the People has had ten revivals on Broadway since it debuted in 1895 says something about its strength. This version is sharp and thoughtful … and particularly resonant in today’s world.

Liz: Purlie Victorious

Still a high point for me in a year-long season with tons of strong productions. 

Wendy: Purlie Victorious

This is more of a wish than a prediction, but how nice it would be to see this amazing production acknowledged.

Best Musical Revival

Sandra: Merrily We Roll Along

The show that famously lasted 16 performances after opening on Broadway in 1981 finds its heartstrings in this version.

Liz: Merrily We Roll Along

Did you hear that Sondheim was a stone-cold genius, that Maria Friedman FINALLY fixed his most problematic and flawed play, and that Sondheim died?! No question or real competition, here.

Wendy: Merrily We Roll Along

Didn't love Friedman's direction. The best thing she did was cast those three leads. They're the ones who make it work.

Best Book of a Musical 

Sandra: Suffs

History may have provided background for Shaina Taub’s work but she infused personality into the characters. The other nominations were all based on books and their transformation to musicals seems more streamlined. 

Liz: Suffs

The show was so overstuffed and plodding at The Public; I’m so happy that it was so much more fully cooked when it transferred uptown.  

Wendy: Suffs

Love that it's original. And feminist. And good.

Best Leading Actor in a Play

Sandra: Jeremy Strong, An Enemy of the People

Pretty sure Strong will add a Tony to the Emmy and Golden Globe he won for his role in Succession.

Liz: Leslie Odom, Jr., Purlie Victorious

Odom apparently fought to revive this piece, and it’s wonderful that he did: it’s funny, still timely, and the excellent production served as a love letter to the great Ossie Davis. Odom killed in the title role; the rest of the cast was awesome, too. 

Wendy: Leslie Odom, Jr., Purlie Victorious

Strong is probably going to win, but Odom was extraordinary in a more demanding role.

Best Leading Actress in a Play

Sandra: Sarah Paulson, Appropriate 

While I loved watching Lange create a forceful, hateful but sympathetic matriarch in Mother Play, Paulson’s performance (and subsequent buzz) will make her victorious.

Liz: Sarah Paulson, Appropriate

Lange may win because she’s Lange, but I was underwhelmed by her performance. Paulson, on the other hand, made a loathsome character nuanced enough to almost convince me she wasn’t so bad after all. 

Wendy: Jessica Lange, Mother Play

Lange, Paulson, Lange, Paulson, Lange, Paulson, argh! And the other actors are not chopped liver either. But I think they'll give it to Lange.

Best Leading Actor in a Musical

Sandra: Jonathan Groff, Merrily We Roll Along

I loved Brian d’Arcy James in Days of Wine and Roses, but it’s Groff’s year with his forceful performance. The Tony Awards’ last tie was in 2009, when Billy Elliot and Next to Normal won for Best Orchestrations. Maybe it’s time for another one.

Liz: Jonathan Groff, Merrily We Roll Along

Have you heard that this famously flawed musical has been ‘fixed’ and made newly brilliant by Maria Friedman? I quibble, but Groff’s subtle character work anchors this production and makes it feel more convincing than most other revivals I’ve seen.

Wendy: Jonathan Groff, Merrily We Roll Along

Groff finds the heart in Franklin and in the show. His charm, sweetness and enthusiasm at the end/beginning, as a young man, demonstrate why the other characters would stay loyal to him for so long. And even as a grown-up sell-out, he still has the faint vibe of being a worthwhile person--at least worth spending an entire musical on. The artistic success of this show is mostly his (the financial success is mostly Daniel Radcliffe's, of course).

Best Leading Actress in a Musical 

Sandra: Kelli O’Hara, Days of Wine and Roses 

O’Hara gave an extraordinary performance, with a nuanced portrayal of how an addiction entangles and strangles lives.

Liz: Kelli O’Hara, Days of Wine and Roses

This may be wishful thinking, but I’ve just never seen O’Hara better. Her depiction of a woman’s slow slide into full-blown alcoholism was harrowing but always humane, impossibly sad but also always convincing. Plus, this is by no means an easy score, she sang most of it, and she made it sound easy. She is incredibly, totally deserving.  

Wendy: Kelli O'Hara, Days of Wine and Roses

What they said! ^^^

Best Featured Actor in a Play 

Sandra: Jim Parsons, Mother Play 

This is all about me. I adore Parsons and watch The Big Bang Theory and Young Sheldon over and over with my son. Plus, Parsons successfully transforms from the persona he crafted as Sheldon Cooper into Carl, a character that charms and moves you.

Liz: Will Brill, Stereophonic

This might be wishful thinking: I am a huge Brill fan, and even as I’ve seen Stereophonic twice, I still wish I could bottle Reg’s monologue about houseboats to listen to daily. I suspect the award will go to Eli Gelb or Corey Stoll, also both deserving--but anyway, I’m happy Brill is having his moment. 

Wendy: Corey Stoll, Appropriate

Will the Stereophonic men split the Stereophonic vote? Time will tell.

Best Featured Actor in a Musical 

Sandra: Daniel Radcliffe, Merrily We Roll Along 
When I saw Radcliffe in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying in 2011, his dancing and singing hit all the marks but you could feel him working to do so. Now, he delivers fully as evidenced in his rendition of  “Franklin Shepherd, Inc.”
Liz: Daniel Radcliffe, Merrily We Roll Along

Radcliffe’s wiry, neurotic Charley is endearing and sympathetic, and his character work, like Groff’s, makes the book more believable. 

Wendy: Daniel Radcliffe, Merrily We Roll Along

I thought he was very good, not great, but I'd be suprised if he didn't win.

Best Featured Actress in a Play

Sandra: Kara Young, Purlie Victorius

Three times will be the charm for Young, who was also nominated in this category in 2022 (Clyde’s) and 2023 (Cost of Living).

Liz: Kara Young, Purlie Victorious

I imagine the two women in Stereophonic will cancel one another out, though it’s possible one will win. I’d also be over the moon to see some Tony love finally flow to the always incredible Quincy Tyler Bernstine. But I suspect it’ll go to Young. 

Wendy: Kara Young, Purlie Victorious

I think this is a particularly tricky category to predict, but I would love to see Young win.

Best Featured Actress in a Musical 

Sandra: Lindsay Mendez, Merrily We Roll Along 

Mendez will complete the acting hat trick for Merrily.

Liz: Kecia Lewis, Hell’s Kitchen

I know Mendez is favored, but Merrily’s weakest link for me remains Mary, a very thinly drawn character. I love Mendez, but her Mary doesn't do anything new for me. Kecia Lewis has been around, and phenomenal, forever, so who knows? May the best nominee win.

Wendy: Bebe Neuwirth, Cabaret

Not sure why I think Neuwirth will win over Mendez, but I think she will. It's a strong category, and I think the voting was probably based on likeability, past work, reputation, attendance, and other factors rather than just the performance per se.

 

Best Direction of a Play

Sandra: Daniel Aukin, Stereophonic 

A strong category this year will ultimately highlight this musical-play’s success.

Liz: Daniel Aukin, Stereophonic

While Stereophonic’s book is pretty conventional, the many production choices and the superb ensemble make it work so extraordinarily well.

Wendy: Daniel Aukin, Stereophonic

I haven't seen this yet, but buzz is buzz!

Best Direction of a Musical

Sandra: Maria Friedman, Merrily We Roll Along

The success of the revival started with her … and the Tony will show that.

Liz: Maria Friedman, Merrily We Roll Along

You simply do not get credited for fixing an unfixable musical by a recently deceased master without getting a Tony for your efforts. Sorry, but those are the rules.

Wendy: Maria Friedman, Merrily We Roll Along

I saw the filmed version of her Merrily from England when it was shown in theatres, and flat-out disliked it. And I don't find what she did here astonishing or particularly impressive. But she did assemble that cast!

Best Scenic Design of a Play

Sandra: David Zinn, Jaja’s African Hair Braiding

The bright incandescence of the sets are memorable and the play deserves some Tony love.

Liz: David Zinn, Stereophonic. 

As always, I wonder if a designer who ends up competing with him/herself for an award ends up hoping they win for one show over another? Someone, quick, ask Zinn!

Wendy: David Zinn, Jaja’s African Hair Braiding

It's an opportunity to acknowledge Jaja's.

Best Scenic Design of a Musical

Sandra: Takeshi Kata, Water for Elephants

From creating a moving train to the construction of the big top, plus the moving death of a beloved horse, Kata immerses the audience into circus life.

Liz: AMP featuring Tatiana Kahvegian, The Outsiders
I confess that this show really didn’t work for me, but the set was nice.

Wendy: Takeshi Kata, Water for Elephant

I guess?

Best Costume Design of a Play

Sandra: Dede Ayite, Jaja’s African Hair Braiding

I liked this show. I want it to win in several categories, and the costumes really showcase the characters.

Liz: Enver Chakartash, Stereophonic

Such groovy ‘70s duds, man! Bring on the macrame, bell-bottoms and earth tones!

Wendy: Emilio Sosa, Purlie Victorious

If Purlie doesn't win anything else, voters might have taken this occasion to acknowledge the show.

Best Costume Design of a Musical

Sandra: Linda Cho, The Great Gatsby

So many reasons: Eva Noblezada’s rose-gold gown in the party scene; Gatsby’s white suit when he appears for the first time; the 1920s flair reinvigorated for the stage. I want her to win the Tony and then re-do my wardrobe.

Liz: Paul Tazewell, Suffs

While I agree with Sandra, I know and adore the person who made all the hats for Suffs and think the production deserves love. 

Wendy: Linda Cho, The Great Gatsby

It was the sort of costumes that tend to win awards.

Best Lighting Design of a Play

Sandra: Natasha Katz, Grey House

My true-crime-loving children dragged me to this show, and for days its creepiness permeated my life … mostly because Katz’s lighting heightened every jump scare.

Liz: Isabella Byrd, An Enemy of the People

I don’t always remember lighting, but I loved the choices this production made, and appreciated the contrasts between the first and the second parts.

Wendy: Natasha Katz, Grey House

Total guess, but I like what Sandra wrote above.

Best Lighting Design of a Musical 

Sandra: Bradley King and David Bengali, Water for Elephants

The lighting enhances the work of the puppeteers and set, elevating the staging to something magical.

Liz: Brandon Stirling Baker, Illinoise
I am really, really not a dance person. I had very low expectations. I thoroughly enjoyed Illinoise and appreciated how cozy, welcoming and warm it was. 

Wendy: Bradley King and David Bengali, Water for Elephants

Total guess, but I like what Sandra wrote above.

Best Sound Design of a Play

Sandra: Ryan Rumery, Stereophonic

It’s a play that’s also a musical. A double threat and it will earn the Tony.

Liz: Ryan Rumery, Stereophonic

A three-hour show set in a recording studio in the 1970s better have some great fucking sound design, man, or no one would dig it. 

Wendy: Ryan Rumery, Stereophonic

How could it not win?

Best Sound Design of a Musical

Sandra: Kai Harada, Merrily We Roll Along

You cannot stop this Sondheim train.

Liz: Kai Harada, Merrily We Roll Along

What Sandra says. Also, say what you want about Merrily, but the score kicks ass.

Wendy: Kai Harada, Merrily We Roll Along

Not sure that I, or most audiences members, can really compare sound design quality from show to show, but Merrily seems most likely to win.

Best Original Score

Sandra: Adam Guettel, Days of Wine and Roses

I had my doubts about this show: how can you make a compelling musical about alcoholism? Guettel created a haunting and even occasionally upbeat score I listen to all the time.

Liz: Adam Guettel, Days of Wine and Roses

I’m with Sandra. Guettel’s work is dense and challenging, and he seamlessly merges incredibly diverse styles that I’d never expect could possibly work together. This is a beautiful, difficult, meaty score, and if Stereophonic wins instead I’ll be hella annoyed. 

Wendy: Will Butler, Stereophonic

I love the score to Days of Wine and Roses and think it should win. However, accessible and popular often beat dense and challenging, however wonderful, so I'm predicting Stereophonic. I hope I'm wrong!

Best Choreography

Sandra: Justin Peck, Illinoise

It’s a well-rendered, heck-of-a-ride dance show … how could it not win?

Liz: Justin Peck, Illinoise

This not-a-dance-person was moved by the show and the dancers. It would be outrageous if it loses.

Wendy: Justin Peck, Illinoise

Duh.

Best Orchestrations

Sandra: Tom Kitt and Adam Blackstone, “Hell’s Kitchen”

It’s not an easy job adapting Keys’ music to the stage, but they did it masterfully.

Liz: Jonathan Tunick, Merrily We Roll Along

No way he doesn’t win, but I was also impressed with Timo Andres’s beautiful, creative work on Illinoise.

Wendy: Jonathan Tunick, Merrily We Roll Along

He's the man.

TONY NOMINATIONS

Best Musical
Hell’s Kitchen
Illinoise
The Outsiders
Suffs
Water for Elephants

Best Play
Jaja's African Hair Braiding
Mary Jane
Mother Play
Prayer for the French Republic
Stereophonic

Best Revival of a Play
Appropriate
An Enemy of the People
Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch

Best Revival of a Musical
Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club
Gutenberg! The Musical!
Merrily We Roll Along
The Who's Tommy

Best Book of a Musical
Kristoffer Diaz, Hell's Kitchen
Bekah Brunstetter, The Notebook
Adam Rapp and Justin Levine, The Outsiders
Shaina Taub, Suffs
Rick Elice, Water for Elephants

Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre
Adam Guettel, Days of Wine and Roses
David Byrne and Fatboy Slim, Here Lies Love
Jamestown Revival (Jonathan Clay and Zach Chance) and Justin Levine, The Outsiders
Will Butler, Stereophonic
Shaina Taub, Suffs

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play
William Jackson Harper, Uncle Vanya
Leslie Odom, Jr., Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch
Liev Schreiber, Doubt: A Parable
Jeremy Strong, An Enemy of the People
Michael Stuhlbarg, Patriots

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play
Betsy Aidem, Prayer for the French Republic
Jessica Lange, Mother Play
Rachel McAdams, Mary Jane
Sarah Paulson, Appropriate
Amy Ryan, Doubt: A Parable

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical
Brody Grant, The Outsiders
Jonathan Groff, Merrily We Roll Along
Dorian Harewood, The Notebook
Brian d'Arcy James, Days of Wine and Roses
Eddie Redmayne, Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical
Eden Espinosa, Lempicka
Maleah Joi Moon, Hell's Kitchen
Kelli O'Hara, Days of Wine and Roses
Maryann Plunkett, The Notebook
Gayle Rankin, Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play
Will Brill, Stereophonic
Eli Gelb, Stereophonic
Jim Parsons, Mother Play
Tom Pecinka, Stereophonic
Corey Stoll, Appropriate

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play
Quincy Tyler Bernstine, Doubt: A Parable
Juliana Canfield, Stereophonic
Celia Keenan-Bolger, Mother Play
Sarah Pidgeon, Stereophonic
Kara Young, Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical
Roger Bart, Back To The Future: The Musical
Joshua Boone, The Outsiders
Brandon Victor Dixon, Hell's Kitchen
Sky Lakota-Lynch, The Outsiders
Daniel Radcliffe, Merrily We Roll Along
Steven Skybell, Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical
Shoshana Bean, Hell's Kitchen
Amber Iman, Lempicka
Nikki M. James, Suffs
Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer, Monty Python's Spamalot
Kecia Lewis, Hell's Kitchen
Lindsay Mendez, Merrily We Roll Along
Bebe Neuwirth, Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club

Best Scenic Design of a Play
dots, Appropriate
dots, An Enemy of the People
Derek McLane, Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch
David Zinn, Jaja's African Hair Braiding
David Zinn, Stereophonic

Best Scenic Design of a Musical
AMP featuring Tatiana Kahvegian, The Outsiders
Robert Brill and Peter Nigrini, Hell's Kitchen
Takeshi Kata, Water for Elephants
David Korins, Here Lies Love
Riccardo Hernández and Peter Nigrini, Lempicka
Tim Hatley and Finn Ross, Back To The Future: The Musical
Tom Scutt, Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club

Best Costume Design of a Play
Dede Ayite, Appropriate
Dede Ayite, Jaja's African Hair Braiding
Enver Chakartash, Stereophonic
Emilio Sosa, Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch
David Zinn, An Enemy of the People

Best Costume Design of a Musical
Dede Ayite, Hell's Kitchen
Linda Cho, The Great Gatsby
David Israel Reynoso, Water for Elephants
Tom Scutt, Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club
Paul Tazewell, Suffs

Best Lighting Design of a Play
Isabella Byrd, An Enemy of the People
Amith Chandrashaker, Prayer for the French Republic
Jiyoun Chang, Stereophonic
Jane Cox, Appropriate
Natasha Katz, Grey House

Best Lighting Design of a Musical
Brandon Stirling Baker, Illinoise
Isabella Byrd, Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club
Natasha Katz, Hell's Kitchen
Bradley King and David Bengali, Water for Elephants
Brian MacDevitt and Hana S. Kim, The Outsiders

Best Sound Design of a Play
Justin Ellington and Stefania Bulbarella, Jaja's African Hair Braiding
Leah Gelpe, Mary Jane
Tom Gibbons, Grey House
Bray Poor and Will Pickens, Appropriate
Ryan Rumery, Stereophonic

Best Sound Design of a Musical
M.L. Dogg and Cody Spencer, Here Lies Love
Kai Harada, Merrily We Roll Along
Nick Lidster for Autograph, Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club
Gareth Owen, Hell's Kitchen
Cody Spencer, The Outsiders

Best Direction of a Play
Daniel Aukin, Stereophonic
Anne Kauffman, Mary Jane
Kenny Leon, Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch
Lila Neugebauer, Appropriate
Whitney White, Jaja's African Hair Braiding

Best Direction of a Musical
Maria Friedman, Merrily We Roll Along
Michael Greif, Hell's Kitchen
Leigh Silverman, Suffs
Jessica Stone, Water for Elephants
Danya Taymor, The Outsiders

Best Choreography
Annie-B Parson, Here Lies Love
Camille A. Brown, Hell's Kitchen
Rick Kuperman and Jeff Kuperman, The Outsiders
Justin Peck, Illinoise
Jesse Robb and Shana Carroll, Water for Elephants

Best Orchestrations
Timo Andres, Illinoise
Will Butler and Justin Craig, Stereophonic
Justin Levine, Matt Hinkley and Jamestown Revival (Jonathan Clay and Zach Chance), The Outsiders
Tom Kitt and Adam Blackstone, Hell's Kitchen
Jonathan Tunick, Merrily We Roll Along