AND THE WINNER IS…
By Jeannie Lieberman and Julia Polinsky
After a whirlwind of late entries to meet the Tony nominations deadline, the official end of the 2022-2023 theater season is finally here. It was not all smooth sailing; with the omnipresent threat of Covid, shutterings and rescheduling were still common.

Tedra
Millan and Seth Numrich in Leopoldstadt (Photo: Joan Marcus)
Oddly the season commenced with a play, Tom Stoppard’s Leopoldstadt, and ended with a play, Lorraine Hansberry’s The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window. In between were sandwiched a mélange of musicals, both revivals and new work, including a much-anticipated battle royal between Some Like It Hot and New York New York (which turned into a surprisingly lopsided match).

The company of Some Like It Hot (Photo: Matthew Murphy)

The company of New York, New York (Photo by Paul Kolnik)
The musical revivals would make a musical lover’s heart cry with joy; Camelot, Dancin’, Into the Woods, Sweeney Todd, and Parade were all given Broadway outings this season. Outstanding new musicals include Some Like It Hot, Kimberly Akimbo, & Juliet, A Beautiful Noise, New York, New York and the surprising Shucked.

The
company of Shucked (Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman)
Move over, Julie Taymore: a new band of puppets are here. Life of Pi’s amazing puppetry brought a zoo’s worth of animals to amazing onstage life.

Hiran Abeysekera in Life of Pi (Photo: Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman)
This season, Broadway presented 9 new musicals and 7 revivals, and 14 new plays and 6 revivals. In short, there’s something for everyone and every taste, and I am proud to say that Theaterscene has covered them all so as you play along with the voters, relive the season through our reviews and pick your own winners!
The 76th Annual Tony Awards, Sunday, June 11, 2023, 8pm Eastern. CBS and Paramount+ will broadcast the show live with host Ariana DeBose.
Nominations for the Tonys, 2023: (Theaterscene’s picks are starred)
Best Musical
& Juliet
Kimberly Akimbo
New York, New York
Shucked
Some Like It Hot
*
Best
Play
Ain't No Mo
Between Riverside and Crazy
Cost of Living *
Fat Ham
Leopoldstadt
Best
Musical (Revival)
Into the Woods *
Lerner & Loewe's Camelot
Parade
Sweeney Todd: The Demon
Barber of Fleet Street
Best
Play (Revival)
A Doll's House
August Wilson's The Piano
Lesson
The Sign in Sidney
Brustein's Window
Suzan-Lori Parks'
Topdog/Underdog *
Best
Book of a Musical
& Juliet —
David West Read
Kimberly Akimbo
— David Linsay-Abaire
New York, New York
— David Thompson & Sharon Washington
Shucked
—
Robert Horn
Some Like It Hot — Matthew
López & Amber Ruffin *
Best
Original Score
Almost
Famous
— Music by Tom Kitt, Lyrics by Cameron Crowe & Tom Kitt
Kimberly Akimbo
— Music by Jeanine Tesori, Lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire
KPop — Music
& Lyrics by Helen Park & Max Vernon
Shucked — Music
and Lyrics by Brandi Clark & Shane McAnally
Some Like It Hot
— Music by Marc Shaiman, Lyrics by Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman *
Best
Actor (Musical)
Christian
Borle (Some Like It Hot)
J. Harrison Ghee (Some Like
It Hot) *
Josh Groban (Sweeney Todd:
The Demon Barber of Fleet Street)
Brian D'Arcy James (Into the
Woods)
Ben Platt (Parade)
Colton Ryan (New York, New
York)
Best
Actress (Musical)
Annaleigh
Ashford (Sweeney Todd: The
Demon Barber of Fleet Street) *
Sara Bareilles (Into the
Woods)
Victoria Clark (Kimberly
Akimbo)
Lorna Courtney (& Juliet)
Michaela Diamond (Parade)
Best
Actor (Play)
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (Suzan-Lori
Parks' Topdog/Underdog)
Corey Hawkins (Suzan-Lori
Parks' Topdog/Underdog)
Sean Hayes (Good Night,
Oscar)
Stephen McKinley Henderson (Between
Riverside and Crazy) *
Wendell Pierce (Death of a
Salesman)
Best
Actress (Play)
Jessica
Chastain (A Doll's House)
Jodi Comer (Prima Facie)
*
Jessica Hecht (Summer, 1976)
Audra McDonald (Ohio State
Murders)
Best
Choreography
Steven Hoggett (Sweeney
Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street)
Casey Nicholas (Some Like It
Hot)
Susan Stroman (New York, New
York) *
Jennifer Weber (& Juliet)
Jennifer Weber (KPop)
Best
Orchestrations
Bill Sherman and Dominic Fallacaro (Shucked)
John Clancy (Kimberly Akimbo)
Jason Howland (Shucked)
Charlie Rosen & Bryan Carter (Some
Like It Hot)
Daryl Waters & Sam Davis (New
York, New York) *
Best
Scenic Design (Play)
Miriam
Buether (Prima Facie)
Tim Hatley and Andrej Goulding (Life
of Pi) *
Rachel Hauck (Good Night,
Oscar)
Richard Hudson (Leopoldstadt)
Dane Laffrey and Lucy Mackinnon (A
Christmas Carol)
Best
Scenic Design (Musical)
Beowulf Boritt (New York,
New York) *
Mimi Lien (Sweeney Todd: The
Demon Barber of Fleet Street)
Michael Yeargan and 59 Productions (Lerner
& Lowe's Camelot)
Scott Pask (Shucked)
Scott Pask (Some Like It Hot)
Best
Costume Design (Play)
Tim Hatley, Nick Barnes and Finn Caldwell (Life
of Pi) *
Dominique Fawn Hill (Fat Ham)
Brigitte Reiffenstuel (Leopoldstadt)
Emilio Sosa (Ain't No Mo')
Emilio Sosa (Good Night,
Oscar)
Best
Costume Design (Musical)
Gregg
Barnes (Some Like It Hot)
*
Susan Hilferty (Parade)
Jennifer Moeller (Lerner
& Lowe's Camelot)
Paloma Young (& Juliet)
Donna Zakowska (New York, New York)
Sound
Design (Play)
Jonathan
Deans and Taylor Williams (Ain't
No Mo')
Carolyn Downing (Life of Pi)
*
Joshua D. Reid (A Christmas
Carol)
Ben and Max Ringham (A
Doll's House)
Ben and Max Ringham (Prima
Facie)
Sound
Design (Musical)
Kai
Harada (New York, New York)
*
John Shivers (Shucked)
Scott Lehrer and Alex Heumann (Into
the Woods)
Gareth Owen (& Juliet)
Nevin Steinberg (Sweeney
Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street)
Best
Lighting Design of a Play
Neil
Austin (Leopoldstadt)
Best
Lighting Design of a Play
Neil
Austin, Leopoldstadt
Natasha
Chivers, Prima Facie
Jon
Clark, A Doll’s House Bradley
King, Fat Ham
Tim
Lutkin, Life of Pi
Jen
Schriever, Arthur Miller’s
Death of a Salesman
Ben
Stanton, A Christmas Carol
Best
Lighting Design of a Musical
Ken
Billington, New York, New
York
Lap
Chi Chu, Lerner &
Loewe’s Camelot
Heather
Gilbert, Parade
Howard
Hudson, & Juliet
Natasha
Katz, Some Like It Hot
Natasha
Katz, Sweeney Todd: The
Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Playwright
and Theater Journalist Mario Fratti Dead at 95
By
Jeannie Lieberman
Italian
playwright Mario Fratti has died at the age of 95. Fratti wrote more than 100
works, seventy of which are plays. His best known work is the work he did for Nine.
In its original run, Nine won several notable awards, among which
are Outer Critics Circle, Drama Desk, and Tony Awards. The 2003 revival won yet
more Outer Critics and Tony awards.
His work has
been translated into 21 languages, with performances in more than two-dozen
countries. Born in Italy, he moved to New York City in 1963 and, like so many,
stayed here for the rest of his life.
An educator
as well as a playwright, Fratti taught Italian literature at Hunter College. He
also wrote theater reviews for nine European newspapers, and was on the board
of the Outer Critics Circle.
As a
fellow Outer Critics Circle member, Mario and I often crossed paths at Manhattan
theater evenings and ATCA conferences. He was always cheerful and his
pronounced Italian accent lent to his charm. Mario’s energy was contagious no matter
what; his passion lent gravitas to each issue. Overall, Mario was a shameless
flirt, and so I never left a conversation with him without feeling a little bit
flattered.
Few can replace him. I miss him.

Todd
Haines, Roundabout Theatre’s Dynamic Leader, Dead at 66
By
Jeannie Lieberman
I am grieved
and sorry to report the death of Todd Haimes, one of the great forces in New
York theater. Over nearly 40 years, Haimes transformed the nearly-bankrupt
Roundabout Theatre into a not-for-profit theatrical powerhouse, with 3 theaters
on Broadway alone. Under his guidance, Roundabout won multiple Tony, Drama
Desk, Outer Critics, Obie, and Lucille Lortel awards.
He was only 26
when he became managing director of Roundabout, and immediately put his all
into the job – saving the company from shuttering, expanding offerings to
different demographics, even lending his own money. He shepherded the company
through impressive development over time, eventually moving from a tiny
off-Broadway house to the giant American Airlines theater on 42nd
Street, among other venues in the theater district.
Some
of the Roundabout’s triumphs, under Haimes‘ guidance: revivals of Cabaret
and A Soldier’s Play, Nine, and Assassins; new work like Fat
Ham and Pictures From Home, both currently running. In the true
spirit of a non-profit theater, under Haimes’s management, Roundabout reached out to the community and created
such outreach as Education at Roundabout, a program that fosters backstage
careers for underserved kids.
Of all the people I interviewed as a theatre
journalist for the New York Law Journal and later has editor of Theaterscene.com,
Todd was the most appreciative and respectful, no matter how busy he was
guiding his little company to the gargantuan status that it now enjoys. It’s
hard to believe that he did all this when he was relatively young. Despite serious
health issues, he never failed to be courteous and a true gentleman, and never
lost that spark of recognition, so rare in these days.
Another
word comes to mind whenever I think of him: he was a true “Mensch.” He will
be hard to replace. I miss him.
RIP you dear, dear man.