"Dreamgirls". Image via Google.

Everybody back in the time machine! I hope you had a great time discovering all the free-love, light ‘em up joys of 1972 but now we’re skipping ahead a decade and just saying no in 1982.

Oh, but say yes to the 1982 Tony Awards because it features THAT performance. Yep, this was the year that Jennifer Holliday Godzilla-stomped, took a heaving breath and set fire to a theater (and the imaginations of thousand of little show queens in training at their TV sets) when she sang “And I’m Telling You I’m Not Going” from Dreamgirls.

But before we get to that video, what else do we see on this fair night from the Reagan years? Why there’s Roger Rees, a Tony nominee in 2012 for his co-direction of Peter and the Starcatcher, winning Best Leading Actor in a Play for the similarly story-theater styled The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby. And there’s Amanda Plummer pulling a double by getting nominated for Best Leading Actress in a Play (A Taste of Honey) and winning for Best Featured Actress in a Play (Agnes of God)…all under the watchful eye of her father Christopher Plummer, nominated in ’82 for Othello.

Nine and Dreamgirls duked it out in the musical categories with Nine taking the top honor…but Dreamgirls, I’d say, having the more influential run in the popular imagination.  Which is the perfect segue to watch…

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Nick Jonas & Rob Bartlett in "How to Succeed...". Photo by Joan Marcus.

What’s that smell in the Broadway air? Dance belt and shattered dreams? Well, yes. But I’m talking about the delightfully floral scent of a theater news potpourri..

• Michael Riedel at the New York Post broke the news this week that Tom Hanks (Bosom Buddies) will make his Broadway debut in a new play by Nora Ephron. He’ll play famed tabloid columnist Mike McAlary in Lucky Guy, January 2013. Sleepless in the Newsroom?

• Movie stars are coming up like weeds, it would seem, because Hanks isn’t the only film favorite coming to the Great White Way—although he is a bit more alive than the other arrival. The New York Times reports that a bio-musical about Chaplin (as in Charlie Chaplin) will begin previews August 10.

• Lay wreathes at two more Broadway theaters this week as the season ending culling continues. The new musical Leap of Faith, with only a single Tony nomination and disappointing sales, will shutter this Sunday, and the teen friendly reboot of How to Succeed… (currently starring Nick Jonas) will cash it’s last (investment recouped) check on May 20 after 473 regular performances. Expect the death toll to increase in the coming weeks.

• 

  Reeve Carney & Rebecca Faulkenberry in "Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark". Photo by Jacob Cohl.

  Turning the proverbial lemons into lemonade (Is there a lemon flower? Have I lost the thread of my organizing theme already?), the producers of Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark have cheekily and quite delightfully decided to acknowledge their underrepresentation at the Tony Nominations by celebrating “Tonys”. People named “Tony” or variations thereof will be eligible for free tickets to see the musical at the matinee on Tony Sunday. The rules and regulations are here; there may still be time for a legal name change should you so desire.

• Feeling like a bud vase of theater instead of a whole bouquet? Scrappy Milk Can Theatre Company is offering an evening of seven ten minute plays, The Snap Shot Plays, this weekend at Shetler Studios. The twist: each play was inspired by a local photographer’s work. Sounds interesting and worth a peak.

• Isn’t one supposed to throw roses at a diva? Well, get your dozen ready to toss at your TV because Christine (and her beloved Phantom) are making their way to PBS. A filmed performance of the much-discussed sequel to The Phantom of the Opera, Love Never Dies, will be presented in June. As they say, check your local listings.

• In the world of grand laurels, I have once again received the honor of being a guest on the radio show This Show is So Gay to discuss all things Broadway. As usual, I embarrass myself at least twice. How I suffer for my art.

In the build-up to this year’s Tony Awards, let’s step into our handy time machine (I imagine it looks something like Greased Lightning crossed with the spare tire lift from Cats) and take a look at years past. Our destination today: 1972.

Taking a look at the winners and nominees, one thing is clear: the more things change, the more they stay the same. Two of this year’s best revival of a musical candidates, Follies and Jesus Christ Superstar were fighting it out in many of the musical categories (alongside Grease and surprising Best Musical winner Two Gentleman of Verona). Mike Nichols was the Best Director for Prisoner of Second Avenue (a possible repeat this year for Death of a Salesman). And Bernadette Peters, like this year, was up for…oh, wait. Sore spot for some. At least forty years ago (Was she 10? Holy Moly, how old is Bernadette Peters and where is the aging painting of her), she was nominated for featured actress in On the Town alongside my secret favorite Adrienne Barbeau (Grease) — both losing to Linda Hopkins (Inner City).

And what would you have seen performing on the stage that night? Oh, my friend, wonders. True wonders. Just look up at the stage (via YouTube clips)…

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Nina Arianda & Hugh Dancy in "Venus in Fur". Photo by Joan Marcus.

“There’s nothing in that.”

Those were the sage words of advice David Ives received from his father as the young playwright headed off to the Yale School of Drama. We should all have such nothing. With a career spanning influential comedies like All in the Timing and acclaimed translations of classics like the Moliere “rewrite” School for Lies, to his current Tony-nominated, Broadway hit Venus in Fur, Ives has proven those words wrong and made a life working in the theater.

During a recent discussion moderated by famed critic John Lahr at the 92nd Street Y Tribecca, Ives opened up about the highs and lows of his career in sparklingly articulate and, at times, raucously deadpan stories — from his tragically lost first play to his current much-anticipated collaboration with Stephen Sondheim.

On his unfortunate debut as a playwright: 

I got bitten by the theater bug quite early and I wrote my first play when I was nine. I took this three hundred page, sort of noir novel out of my parents’ library and I turned it into a ten minute play. For my cub scout troupe. I was going to play the lead, of course, and all my friends were going to play the secondary roles which were much smaller. But what I didn’t know is that everyone in the play has to get a copy of the script. And so I learned my lines, I passed the script on and he lost it. And it was probably my best work ever. I’m still looking for it.

On the thrill of discovering his love for theater:

The stinger really stuck in my flesh when I was seventeen and I went to see Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy in A Delicate Balance. It came through Chicago. I well remember the sensation that I had sitting in the front of the balcony for $3.65 and watching Cronyn & Tandy and feeling like I was in the front car of the Cyclone in Coney Island. Because I had never seen anything like this, something so extraordinarily passionate and eloquent. I might as well have just gone home that day and written my parents a note that said, “Dear Mom & Dad, I’m going to be a playwright. Nothing can stop me.”

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Sure, the Tony nominations were the big theater news this week, but there were a lot of other stories to get hot about as Broadway dropped some shows — and some clothes:

Nick Kenkel for "Broadway Bares: Happy Endings". Photo by Andrew Eccles.

• If the weather is getting warmer than you know it’s time for Broadway to bare it all. The run up to the big burlesque night of all nights, Broadway Bares, begins this Sunday at 9pm with a curtain raiser, so to speak, of Solo Strips. This one-night-only fundraiser will feature ten of the hottest men of Broadway (including Theater Buffs Nick Kenkel and Sam Cahn) shaking their money makers to make some money for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

• As sure as some producers are popping champagne on Tony nomination morning, others are dropping the axe. Without Tony love to build audience awareness both Seminar and Magic/Bird posted closing notices. While Bird never found its box office magic, Seminar completes a fairly healthy run, suffering only from a drop in sales after the loss of its original marquee star, Alan Rickman.

• That fiery gal Rebecca is actually making it to Manderlay via Broadway as the on-again, off-again musical announced an October 20 start date for previews. Unfortunately, the presumed leading lady Sierra Boggess has moved on to another Broadway production slated for the same period, Prince of Broadway.

• Two “hotties” making theater related news this week: two-time Tony nominee (and Sutton Foster main squeeze) Bobby Cannavale will return to Broadway in a revival of Clifford Odets’s The Big Knife and indie-film pin-up Joseph Gordon-Levitt is developing a movie remake of the classic Menken & Ashman musical Little Shop of Horrors. If you’ve seen this little number from 500 Days of Summer, you know that Gordon-Levitt has some dance moves in him…so this might not be a bad thing.

• The anniversary of an important milestone in the history of musicals passed this week, but no one seemed to notice. Well, no one but my good friend and amazing writer at large (yes, Jason, amazing as in awe-inspiring) Jason Cochran in this insightful article about the film version of Chicago and its “justified” musical numbers. I couldn’t agree more with his analysis and have to say that the box this has created is constraining the musical imagination, even on stage.  Will the film version of Les Miserables swing the pendulum back?

• Finally, two very interesting articles this week about Broadway reaching out to specialized audiences: one detailing special “autism friendly” performances and another reaching out to faith-based organizations.

Every first Wednesday of the month, get caught up with what’s on stage with our review round-up. And that vaguely hollow, clinking sound you hear at the end of each segment? That’s me tossing in my two cents. This month, we’ve got two shows that didn’t receive much Tony-nomination love but deserve a serious look…

The Cast of "The Lyons". Photo by Carol Rosegg.

THE LYONS

Tony-nominee Linda Lavin returns to Broadway as one mother of a mother in Nicky Silver’s hilariously acidic family comedy.

“…directed with a pulsing comic rhythm by Mark Brokaw, [the play] draws laughs with the same reliability as, say, The Odd Couple. But with The Lyons, there’s often a gasp within the chuckle.” New York Times

“When you hear them delivered by pros like Dick Latessa and Linda Lavin, it’s comedy nirvana.” New York Post

“Nicky Silver’s caustically funny and emotionally satisfying family comedy is driven by a gem of a performance from Linda Lavin.” Hollywood Reporter

“…delightfully black comedy.” Entertainment Weekly

Mizer’s Two Cents: A victim of an unusually strong season for new plays, The Lyons would be tallying multiple nominations in any other year. See it, not just for Lavin’s justifiably acclaimed comedic master class (she gets laughs from single looks because her character work is so fully realized you can hear the joke she’s thinking in her head), but because the script is a fast-paced, zinger-laced ride that manages to find a bravely humane landing place without going soft. Theatre stalwart Dick Latessa provides delightfully caustic support as a dying patriarch with the mouth of a shock comedian. And Michael Esper, coiled up emotionally and physically, rises to Lavin’s level, slowly and rightfully taking center stage as the real lead of the play. One second act detour has been divisive for audiences (I found it a necessary and illuminating widening of the world) but there’s no question that when The Lyons hits its stride, it roars.

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Jeremy Jordan & Cast of "Newsies". Photo by Deen van Meer.

[Fully updated as of 9:50am] Extra! Extra! Those Newsies have something to shout about…that they got beat! In a surprise, it’s their main competition Once that took the most 2012 Tony nominations with a pack leading 11 nods. But Newsies is still an odds-on favorite with strong support in major categories.

One of the most competitive seasons in recent memory has finally come to a close so let’s take a look (including my two cents on most of the categories):

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With the Tony nominators meeting this weekend, I’d like to make a final plea for a few performances that I fear might be overlooked come Tuesday morning’s announcement (which I’ll be posting with my comments as they happen). We all know Newsies and Once and Death of a Salesman and Follies are likely to wrack up big nods, but please, Mr. Tony, don’t forget about:

Off-Broadway Production of "Lysistrata Jones". Photo by Carol Rosegg.

• Christina Kirk’s deft balance of caricature to reveal character as a supporting actress in Clybourne Park.

• Celia Keenan Bolger’s wickedly smart and period perfect evocation of a gifted young adventuress in Peter and the Starcatcher.

• Kara Lindsay’s winningly engaging and show-centering supporting performance in Newsies.

• Judith Light’s deeply felt and revelatory turn in Other Desert Cities.

• Phillip Boykin’s menacing yet magnetic Crown in The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess.

• Patti Murin’s warm, show-carrying performance and Lindsay Nicole Chambers‘ sassy sidekick with a vulnerable side in Lysistrata Jones.

• Hugh Dancy’s strong, essential partnering work in the delicious Venus in Fur.

• Melissa Van Der Schyff’s sweet singing and tumbleweed sense of place in Bonnie and Clyde.

Now it’s your turn. Which long-shot Tony nomination are you pulling for?  Lobby the committee with a shout out in our comments section!

"Nice Work If You Can Get It". Photo by Joan Marcus.

The Outer Critics Circle, the first awards body to include Broadway shows each season, announced their nominations this morning. The “new” Gershwin musical Nice Work If You Can Get It leads the way with 9 nominations. Winners will be announced May 14 before the annual ceremony on May 24 at Sardi’s (that way, nominees can skip the event unless they want a free cocktail and a conciliatory shrug).

Comparing these nominations as a predictor of the Tony’s is complicated; Off-Broadway is included in some categories and eligibility may differ (I particularly note the lack of Peter and the Starcatcher, Venus in Fur & Other Desert Cities nods on this front). Check out the full list and a few quick observations after the jump:

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"The Lion King". Photo by Joan Marcus.

Money makes the world go round in this week’s clinking clanking round-up of theater news:

• The Lion King proved it rules the entertainment jungle as it became the highest grossing Broadway show of all-time this week with $853.8 million in tickets. Previous title holder The Phantom of the Opera stands at $853.1 million. Suddenly, I don’t feel so bad for King’s director and partaker-of-royalties Julie Taymor (Spider-Man).

• Talk about money in the bank, the casting for the Central Park Into the Woods gets better and better. Hot on the heals of Amy Adams’s addition to the cast, producers revealed that Donna Murphy (Passion) will be playing the Witch. If you’ve seen her sublime work in the animated film Tangled, you know Murphy will be one mother of an overprotective mother.

• I still can’t get the songs from Newsies out of my head and I saw it weeks ago. Just to be sure I never forget a single “bruddah,” the cast album is now available for digital download. (PS. My favorite New Yawk rhyme in the show pairs “twirl it” with a very Flushing “terlet”.)

• 

  Molly Ranson in "Carrie". Photo by Joan Marcus.

  Speaking of cast albums that will get inside your head (literally), the recent Off-Broadway production of Carrie is officially going into the studio to preserve it for all time on April 17. The CD will be released by and available for preorder from Ghostlight Records. Ghostlight and Carrie. Of course.

• In, I assume, an attempt to cash in on men who don’t want to see a musical with their wives, the guys-night-at-the-theater niche got its next entry (following the warm welcome for last year’s Lombardi) as Magic/Bird opened on Broadway Wednesday night. The reviews suggest that this tale of basketball greats is well-acted but a little lacking in big game drama.

• I don’t know if you’ve noticed but there are a LOT of shows opening on Broadway this month. That’s because they are all going for the gold, aka Tony nominations, and they’ve got to hit before the end of the month to be eligible.  Tony nominations will be announced on a live webcast at 8:30am, May 1 by Kristin Chenoweth and Jim Parsons. Join me, broadwayblogtom, on twitter that morning for some immediate reactions/analysis/grousing.

• And finally, in seriously green news, Bloomberg published an amazing article about the way profits are split on the blockbuster hit Wicked–including almost $90 million for the writers. Like my agent always says, ” In music theater, you either make nothing or millions.” And the mailman won the lottery, indeed…