As Broadway rebounds, Some Like It Hot gets 13 Tony Award nominations

NEW YORK – As Broadway’s rebound from the pandemic shutdown picks up pace, Tony Award nominators showered much-sought attention on a wide variety of shows, from razzle-dazzle spectacles to quirky adventurous fare.

Some Like It Hot, a musical based on the classic 1959 Billy Wilder film about two musicians who witness a gangland slaying and dress as women to escape the mob, scored the most nominations with 13.

But it faces stiff competition in the race for best new musical. Ticket buyers have not made any of the contenders a slam-dunk hit, and there does not appear to be a consensus among the industry insiders who make up the Tony voting pool.

Three other musicals picked up nine nominations apiece: & Juliet, which combines pop songs with an alternative narrative arc for Shakespeare’s star-crossed lovers; New York, New York, a dance-driven show about a pair of young musicians seeking success and love in a postwar city; and Shucked, a pun-laden country comedy about a rural community facing a corn crisis.

Kimberly Akimbo, a critical favourite about a high-school student with a life-altering genetic condition and a criminally dysfunctional family, picked up eight nominations.

The Tony nominations also feature plenty of boldfaced names.

Among the stars from the worlds of pop music, film and television who earned nods are Sara Bareilles, Jessica Chastain, Jodie Comer, Josh Groban, Sean Hayes, Samuel L. Jackson, Wendell Pierce and Ben Platt.

Another went to one of Broadway’s most-admired stars – Audra McDonald, who, with nine previous nominations and six wins, has won the most competitive Tony Awards of any performer in history. She is up for best actress in a play for Ohio State Murders.

This year’s Tony Awards come at the end of the first full-length season since the coronavirus pandemic forced theatres to close for about 1½ years.

Given that tourism remains below pre-pandemic levels, many workers have not returned to mid-town offices and inflation has made producing far more expensive, the season has been surprisingly robust, with a wide range of offerings.

“Entertainment is like food. Sometimes you’re in the mood for an organic small plate and sometimes for a burger and fries, and the best thing about New York is we’ve got the variety,” said Victoria Clark, the Tony-nominated star of Kimberly Akimbo.

Broadway shows this season had grossed US$1.48 billion (S$1.97 billion) as at April 30, according to figures released on Tuesday by the Broadway League. That is nearly double the grosses at the same point last season – US$751 million – but lower than the US$1.72 billion at the same point in 2019, during the last full pre-pandemic season.

Other key metrics are better too. About 11.5 million seats have been filled on Broadway this season, compared with six million at the same point last season, but still down from the 13.8 million that had been filled by this point in 2019.

The Tony nominations, which were chosen by a panel of 40 theatre industry experts who saw all 38 eligible shows and have no financial interest in any of them, are particularly important to shows that are still running, which try to use the vote of confidence to woo potential ticket buyers.

“It’s all about what’s going to make a show run longer and create more jobs for more people,” said Casey Nicholaw, director and choreographer of Some Like It Hot. “Hopefully, we’ll sell more tickets, and the show will be more of a success.”

The 769 Tony voters now have until early June to catch up on shows they have not yet seen before they cast their electronic ballots.

The awards ceremony will be held on June 11 at the United Palace in Upper Manhattan in a ceremony hosted by American actress Ariana DeBose, who won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role as Anita in Steven Spielberg’s musical film West Side Story (2021). NYTIMES