Tony Nominations Announced Today

Summary

All Of It: Tony Nominations Announced Today

Host: Alison Stewart
Guest: Jackson McHenry, Theater Critic for Vulture and New York Magazine
Release Date: May 1, 2025

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Introduction

In the latest episode of All Of It, host Alison Stewart welcomes Jackson McHenry to discuss the recently announced Tony Award nominations. The conversation delves into the crowded nature of this year's Broadway season, notable nominations, surprising omissions, and standout performances. Listener interactions further enrich the discussion, offering diverse perspectives on the theatrical landscape.

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Tony Awards Overview

Alison Stewart opens the show by highlighting the excitement surrounding the Tony nominations, noting a particularly crowded season with 42 eligible shows and 14 new musicals competing. She emphasizes the significance of this bustling season by stating, "It was an exciting day" (02:21).

Quote:

“It is an exciting day.” – Jackson McHenry [02:23]

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Crowded Broadway Season

Jackson attributes the busy season to several factors, including post-pandemic cultural resurgence and increased participation from Hollywood actors seeking new ventures. He remarks, “It's been very full, which has meant also that it's been very competitive” (02:59).

Quote:

“It's been very full, which has meant also that it's been very competitive.” – Jackson McHenry [02:59]

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Notable Omissions and Surprises

The conversation turns to surprising exclusions from the nominations. Jackson points out the omission of high-profile shows like Othello—starring Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal—and discusses the potential reasons behind such oversights.

Quote:

“You can't sort of coast in in a season this busy.” – Jackson McHenry [04:25]

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Best New Musical

Alison and Jackson explore the nominees for Best New Musical, providing brief descriptions of each:

1. Buena Vista Social Club – A story about the Cuban Revolution.
2. Dead Outlaw – Based on a true story involving a corpse.
3. Death Becomes Her – A movie about a movie, exploring Faustian bargains for youth.
4. Happy Ending – A tale of two robots falling in love.
5. Operation Mincemeat – Another true story centered around a World War II plot.

Quote:

“There's a real range of inspirations and genres. There's a real sort of platter of different options here.” – Jackson McHenry 05:10

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Listener Feedback: Randy's Insights

Listener Randy shares her enthusiasm for Buena Vista Social Club, praising its music and Audra McDonald's performance in Gypsy, which she believes "gave me the chills." However, she expresses disappointment over George Clooney’s nomination for Best Actor, feeling it was undeserved despite his political stance and performance quality.

Quote:

“Audra McDonald in Gypsy gave me the chills. Her performance, like all of her performances, was absolutely out of this world.” – Randy 06:00

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Best Musical Revival

The nominees for Best Musical Revival include:

1. Floyd Collins
2. Gypsy
3. Pirates of Penzance, the Musical
4. Sunset Boulevard

Jackson discusses the strengths of each, particularly highlighting the competition between Gypsy and Sunset Boulevard, and the unique qualities they bring to the category.

Quote:

“There's a lot of enthusiasm for Sunset as a production as a whole.” – Jackson McHenry 08:29

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Audra McDonald's Role in Gypsy

A clip from Audra McDonald details her journey to playing Mama Rose in Gypsy. Encouraged by a friend, she advocated for a casting choice that brought a black woman to the iconic role, receiving support from Stephen Sondheim and director George C. Wolfe after an eight-year process.

Quote:

“You need to be a black woman, it should be you.” – Audra McDonald 09:52

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Best Actor in a Musical

The nominees for Best Actor in a Musical are:

1. Darren Criss – Maybe Happy Ending
2. Andrew Duran – Dead Outlaw
3. Tom Francis – Sunset Boulevard
4. Jonathan Groff – Just In Time
5. Jeremy Jordan – Floyd Collins
6. James Monroe Iglehart – A Wonderful World

Jackson emphasizes the technical and performance challenges actors face, such as Tom Francis’s dynamic street performances in Sunset Boulevard and Andrew Duran’s portrayal of a corpse in Dead Outlaw.

Quote:

“How much are you sweating? How much are you putting in the blood, sweat and tears for all of this?” – Jackson McHenry 17:48

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Listener Feedback: Zoe and Jennifer

Listeners Zoe and Jennifer praise Dead Outlaw and Sunset Boulevard respectively. Zoe highlights the show's humor and storytelling, while Jennifer appreciates the stripped-down, artful presentation of Sunset Boulevard, noting its multimedia and film noir elements.

Quotes:

“It’s hilarious, it’s weird. It’s pure storytelling without a lot of bells and whistles.” – Zoe 22:03
“It was so stripped down and then it was like the best thing I’d seen in forever.” – Jennifer 26:10

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Best Play in English

The nominees include:

1. Hills of California – A saga built around Laura Donnelly.
2. O Mary – Featuring Mary Todd Lincoln as a cabaret star.
3. Purpose – A narrative about a family of civil rights leaders.
4. John Proctor – A modern take on The Crucible.

Jackson praises the selection for its diversity, particularly noting Hills of California and Purpose for their compelling narratives.

Quote:

“It was a beautiful piece about mostly women in Iran learning English.” – Jackson McHenry 13:13

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Best Actress in a Musical

The nominees are:

1. Jasmine – Boop
2. Amy Rogers – Boop
3. Megan Hilty – Death Becomes Her
4. Audra McDonald – Gypsy
5. Nicole Scherzinger – Sunset Boulevard
6. Jennifer Simard – Death Becomes Her

Jackson and Randy discuss the chemistry between Megan Hilty and Jennifer Simard in Death Becomes Her, highlighting their balanced performances and comedic timing.

Quote:

“They play off each other very well. They’re doing the Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn characters.” – Randy 19:33

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Additional Listener Perspectives

Other listeners commend Operation Mincemeat for its innovative storytelling and technical execution, while Eureka Day is praised for its timely commentary on vaccination policies. The diverse feedback underscores the vibrant and multifaceted nature of this Broadway season.

Quote:

“I think it's going to become, if it's not already, a culture thing.” – Rita from Northport 25:08

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Conclusion

All Of It provides a comprehensive and engaging analysis of the Tony Award nominations, enriched by expert insights and passionate listener contributions. The discussion not only highlights standout performances and productions but also reflects the dynamic and competitive spirit of Broadway's current landscape.

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Notable Quotes

• Jackson McHenry: “It's a tough industry.” 12:46
• Randy: “You must love this Cuban, Afro Cuban music to see the show.” 06:00
• Alison Stewart: “I was blown away. It was so incredible.” 26:50
• Randy: “I adore George Clooney.” 06:00

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This episode of All Of It is a must-listen for theater enthusiasts and cultural commentators alike, offering an in-depth look at one of Broadway's most competitive seasons in recent history.

Transcript

[Alison Stewart]

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[Jackson McHenry]

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[Alison Stewart]

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[Jackson McHenry]

Prices vary based on how you buy. This is all of It. I'm Alison Stewart live from the WNYC studios in soho. Thank you for spending part of your day with us. I'm really grateful that you're here today. Just a reminder, in less than a week, we will be discussing our latest get lit with all of it book club pick the Dream Hotel. It's by Leila Lalami. And later in the show she'll give us a preview of it. It is so good. I read it in two sittings. I'm listening to it now. Such a good book. The event is happening next Tuesday, May 6, and our special musical guest will be Imal Ganawa. Get your free tickets now by going to WN. That's wnyc.org getlit I hope to see you in person on Tuesday at 6pm at the New York Public Library. On today's show, we'll talk about how to have difficult conversations with friends, how to decode wedding dress codes, and we'll talk about the Debt Gala, an event that blends fashion and protest. That's the plan. But let's get this started with the Tony Award nominations. This morning, Tony nominations were announced. It was a crowded season this year with 42 shows eligible for nominations and 14 new musicals competing. Audra McDonald became the most nominated performer in Tony history for her role in Gypsy. Colascola wore those brat curls all the way to a nomination for O Mary. And a few big name stars like Mia Farrow and George Clooney also received nods. Joining me now to discuss the nominations is Vulture and New York Magazine theater critic Jackson McHenry. Jackson is also the author of the newsletter the Stage Whisperer. Nice to see you, Jackson.

[Randy]

Thanks for having me. It's an exciting day.

[Jackson McHenry]

It is an exciting day. Hey, listeners, we want to hear from you. What's a show or a performance that really blew you away this Broadway season? Or what's a memorable experience you had at the theater either because something went really right or really wrong? Our Phone number is 2124-3396-9221-2433 wnyc. You can call in, you can join us on the air or you can text to us at that number as well. Okay. There were 42 eligible shows this year. That seems like a lot. Last year there were 37. Why do you think it was such a crowded season?

[Randy]

I think it's a combination of factors. It feels like it's a moment where things that have been sort of germinating since the pandemic have gotten to the stage. And it was also just, especially this spring, a time when a bunch of Hollywood actors were doing theater. I think it's partially related to changes in that industry. It's a good time to sort of go out and try something else. And so there was just a lot of people coming into New York doing things and the box office has been up and it's sort of been very full, which has meant also that it's been very competitive. So been exciting to see what's made it through.

[Jackson McHenry]

Were there any shows that you were surprised to see, not nominated at all, or only get a few nominations?

[Randy]

I mean, I think one of the big notable omissions is Othello, which is Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal. Speaking of very big names who were not nominated at all, the show was overlooked. The show also, having seen it, was not entirely successful, even though it's been sending selling tickets for a lot of money. And so I think there was a little bit of kind of old fashioned theatrical snobbery of you can't kind of come in and carpet bag your way to more recognition here. And also just a testament in their category, you have people like Daniel Day Kim, who came in for Yellowface last fall, who was amazing, lots of Cola Scola, George Clooney, who is, of course, George Clooney, who still got a nomination and is getting good recognition for Good Night and Good Luck. So it's just a sign that you can't sort of coast in in a season this busy.

[Jackson McHenry]

All right, let's talk about best new Musical. The nominees are Buena Vista Social Club, a story about the Cuban Revolution. Dead Outlaw, based on a true story of a corpse, Death Becomes Her, a movie about a movie that was turned into a musical about sort of a Faustian deal for youth, maybe Happy Ending, Two Robots Fall in Love. And Operation Mincemeat, another true story about a plot during World War II. Those are my elevator pitches. What do you think? That list of musicals, what do they have in common?

[Randy]

Well, Operation Mincemeat is also about an operation where they use the human corpse to sort of to fool the Nazis. So it's been a very big season for corpses and death in an odd way, but there is.

[Jackson McHenry]

And death becomes her, too.

[Randy]

Death becomes her. And Floyd Collins, which is a musical revival, is about a man who gets stuck in a cave. And so there's a lot of sort of ruminating on the afterlife. But what's exciting is it's a real range of inspirations and genres. Maybe Happy Ending was originally produced in Seoul, and it's come to New York in a new production. Buena Vista Social Club is using the music from the Cuban group. And Dead Outlaw was. It was a tiny show off Broadway last year that is sort of transferred right under the wire, so you get to see a lot of different. And Operation Mincemeat is just very British in its humor and sensibility. So there's a real sort of platter of different options here.

[Jackson McHenry]

Let's talk to Randy. Hi, Randy. She's calling in Randy. He, she. They.

[Alison Stewart]

Hi, it's Randy. It's a she. And I'm calling to say that Buena Vista Social Club was a gem. You cannot stand. Sit in your seats. The music is so incredible. Of course, it's all about the music. So you must love this Cuban, Afro Cuban music to see the show. The play was thin, well acted, however, but the show was exhilarating. I feel that Audra McDonald in Gypsy gave me the chills. Her performance, like all of her performances, was absolutely out of this world. And I was surprised that Gypsy was on TDF so early. I was surprised more people didn't see it. But if she's still in it, I highly suggest it. And my only negative, quasi negative comment. I adore George Clooney. I love everything he stands for politically. I love. I love him in every way. And I love Good Night, Good Luck. The movie, I thought it was just an absolute gem. However, I do not think he deserved a nomination for Best Actor. And that's said with love. Anyway, he was nominated because he's George Clooney. He was nominated because of the meaning of the play. But it's almost demeaning to him, I think, to nominate him for Best Actor. But anyway, that's just me. Love the theater. Thanks for taking my call, Randy.

[Jackson McHenry]

Thanks so much. You got a little bit of. A little bit of competition there as a critic, I think.

[Randy]

I know I got some real analysis going on. Thank you, Randy.

[Jackson McHenry]

I'm speaking with. Oh, go ahead. Yeah.

[Alison Stewart]

Oh.

[Randy]

I just say, as someone who has watched, for instance, Cola Scola since they were doing YouTube videos and parodies of Bernadette Peters, it's so wonderful and wild to me to see that they are in a race essentially against George Clooney. For that Tony. It's what a range of people that are in the theater. It's great.

[Jackson McHenry]

I want to talk to you about Best Musical Revival. The nominees are Floyd Collins, Gypsy, Pirates of Penzance, the Musical, and Sunset Boulevard. Conventional wisdom would say it's probably between Gypsy and Sunset Boulevard, the latter having won several Olivier Awards in London. Can you make the case why each one should win, or do you think there should be an outsider? Do you think it'd be one of the other two?

[Randy]

I think, yeah. I think it's an interesting. And it's an interesting race between Gypsy and Sunset, really. I don't necessarily think that Pirates has the heat. Pirates, it was its only nomination. Floyd Collins, potentially, but it's been a sort of more muted reception. That musical has an incredibly gorgeous score, but it is a very particular kind of niche thing. But I think with Gypsy and Sunset, it's so much mirroring the race between Audra McDonald and Nicole Scherzinger and Best Actress, which is also incredibly tight. And the sort of feeling is, I imagine there's a little bit more enthusiasm for Sunset as a production as a whole. It got a nomination for its director, Jamie Lloyd, who really reconfigured it. There's a lot of screens, and Gypsy didn't seem to have that enthusiasm in the nominations. George C. Wolfe, its director, wasn't nominated, but that could also put more of a sort of glow, specifically on Audra, as this is the emissary, she's figured out how to do her take on Mama Rose. It's such the summit of musical theater roles, but I think there'll be a lot of weighing back and forth between what she's doing and what Nicole's doing and what these productions are doing, kind of reinvestigating these pieces.

[Jackson McHenry]

Let's listen to a bit of Audra McDonald from our interview from earlier this year, where she tells the story of how she came to play Mama Rose in Gypsy.

[Alison Stewart]

Well, it first came to me, not in any official capacity, but a friend of mine, late Gavin Creel, who just passed away this fall, very dear friend of mine was over at our house for Thanksgiving about it eight years ago. And after Thanksgiving, when he walked in, he said, honey, I want to talk to you about something. And then after dinner, he dragged me into my garage and he's like, honey, okay, here's what I talked about. I think you need to play Rose and Gypsy. I think you need to do it. You just need to do it. It should be a black woman. It should be a black woman, it should be you. You need to do it. You need to do it. And he just was. He just had had a vision and was just absolutely determined, and that's what kind of got the ball rolling. And then conversations began shortly after that with the Estates to make sure that they were interested, and they were. And Stephen Sondheim was alive at the time, and he said, I think that's a brilliant idea. And then it took a while to figure out who the right person to direct it was. And I knew in my heart that it needed to be George. And the Estates agreed, and that took eight years, but here we are.

[Jackson McHenry]

That was Audra McDonald. I'm speaking with Jackson McHenry, theater critic for Vulture and New York magazines. We're talking about magazine talking about the Tony nominations which were announced this morning. Listeners, we want to hear from you. What's a show or performance that really blew you away this Broadway season? 2124-339692-21243. WNYC. We got a really interesting text. It says so many worthy shows were left in the cold, though. Swept Away and Real Women have Curves at the top of the lists. Both should have gotten more love. Real Women Got Curves was nominated for Best Original Score with Dead Outlaw, Death Becomes her, maybe Happy Ending, Operation Mincemeat and Real Women have Curves. I really enjoyed that show. I enjoyed the music in that show. I was kind of excited about that. They got it nominated for Best Original Score. How do you think the music played in that show? Why was it so appealing?

[Randy]

I think the show is so much about balancing sort of exuberance and the context of these characters, these immigrant women in LA and sort of finding the exuberance in their lives, which is sort of what that music has to accomplish. And I think it's hard for a show like that, that is opening right at the end of the season amid so many other things to sort of stake a claim and get the attention. And that can be very hard. I think similarly with that text with Swept Away. It was opened in, I believe, December, late last fall, and didn't have a great success at the box office and closed. And that is also hard to remind people of. It's tough to figure out exactly when to situate your show, when to enter into the race and hope that you get the buzz that can build into something. So it's just a tough. It's a tough industry.

[Jackson McHenry]

Let's talk about Best Play English, about English as a second language and what that means. The Hills of California. Four Daughters reunite after their mom's past. John Proctor is the villain, A modern take on the Crucible. Oh Mary, Mary Todd Lincoln wants to be a cabaret star. And Purpose, a family of civil rights leader, has lots and lots of secrets. Again, a really crowded field this year. What do you think of the final selection?

[Randy]

I think it's a pretty solid selection. I think they did their job well of highlighting a range of interesting pieces like Hills of California is sort of a classic, kind of Jez Butterworth, the playwright coming in from England doing a big saga built around Laura Donnelly. English is already closed, but it was a beautiful piece about mostly women in Iran learning English and the sort of complexities of what it does to have to learn another language and think in another world. And oh Mary, which has just been sort of a delightful continuing hit of the season as well as Purpose, which is just great to see Brandon. Jacob Jenkins, kind of his mind at work. He's such an interesting writer. I don't know if it was the most successful piece, but it is so wonderfully cool to see him working stuff out. And then John Proctor and the villain, led by Sadie Sink, which is about high school girls learning the Crucible and then their relationship. And I think it's kind of wild that it feels like John Proctor and Omari have kind of taken the lead in this race and neither would necessarily be what you think of as a contentional Tony frontrunner.

[Jackson McHenry]

Let's talk to Mike from Parsippany. Hi, Mike, thanks for calling, all of it.

[Alison Stewart]

Hi, good morning. Thanks for taking my call.

[Jackson McHenry]

Yeah, let's hear it. Let's hear your vote. What you. What do you want to say?

[Alison Stewart]

Oh, I'm sorry. Yeah. The best play this year, I believe, for my opinion and probably the last couple of years, with the exception of the KitKat Club, is operation Mincemeat. I have a bit of a bias with the accent, you can probably tell, but the play was kind of a bizarre concept. It was kind of strange to put that into a musical format. But they did an amazingly good job. The actors, superb. The songs. I'm not a musical fan for the most part, but the songs made sense to me as a more drama type person. And the story just flowed amazingly well on what was considered kind of a sparse spare set that worked again, very well. I'm amazed at how well they put the strange story together to turn it into really quality entertainment. And the ending, you're recognizing and memorializing the. The person who was behind the actual story, who was unknown until I guess, the 1990s was spot on. It was beautiful. It was great.

[Jackson McHenry]

Thank you so much. We appreciate your call. We're going to talk about best actor in a Musical. The nominees are Darren Criss, maybe Happy Ending. Andrew Duran, Dead Outlaw. Tom Francis, Sunset Boulevard. Jonathan Groff, Just In Time, Jeremy Jordan, Floyd Collins and James Monroe Englehart, A Wonderful World, the Louis Armstrong musical. I was kind of psyched to see James Englehart get nominated. I gotta say.

[Randy]

It's a good moment of the nominators doing their job and being like, that show didn't run, but he was given a good performance and we should recognize it. Though it does feel like Jonathan Groff, Just In Time is so built around Jonathan Groff's fascination with Bobby Darin, who he's playing in the bio musical, that he's got a lot of momentum from that. But he just won a Tony last year, so it's. How much do we love Jonathan Groff? A lot, apparently. And then also sort of, I think Andrew Durand carrying Dead Outlaw. Darren Criss, maybe Happy Ending. And Tom Francis, who won the Olivier in London for his role in Sunset Boulevard, all also viable contenders.

[Jackson McHenry]

Let's listen to another one of our interviews with Tom Francis from Sunset Boulevard, and this is him telling us about the big number he does, which includes him walking out in the street and the people he sees while doing it. Let's like, let's listen.

[Alison Stewart]

In London, we had quite a few bridesmaids, which was. Which was an interesting one, but they.

[Randy]

Got siphoned off sometimes.

[Alison Stewart]

Delivery drivers, they.

[Randy]

They look quite confused.

[Alison Stewart]

And Uber eats. Uber eats drivers. Yeah. But to be fair, you predominantly see. Most of you will see everything that I will see, but you normally see the reaction afterwards. So I'll see, like. I'll see the. The person being asked to move out the way, and then the audience will.

[Randy]

See the confused look as.

[Alison Stewart]

As a crazy man with a headset.

[Randy]

Is singing Sunset Boulevard, but like, through.

[Alison Stewart]

The streets of New York.

[Jackson McHenry]

And you're also. It's just you singing.

[Alison Stewart]

Yes. I mean, if you're wild. Yeah. If you're watching me, it does just.

[Randy]

Look like I've lost it.

[Alison Stewart]

And I'm walking around singing Sunset Boulevard, but I've got the orchestra in my ears. But to everyone else, it does look like I'm doing this on acapella.

[Jackson McHenry]

Does technical difficulty. Do voters consider that when they're voting for someone in one of these categories, the idea that he's got to walk across whatever, 44th Street?

[Randy]

I think so. I think definitely there's a sense and he's been doing that walk in the sleet, in the snow, in the rain. I think there's a lot of, you know, the showiness in performance becomes a big factor. And to be fair to his competition, Andrew Durand in Dead Outlaw has to pretend to be a corpse for the back half of that show. And he is still standing there, stock still, seemingly not breathing for while he's being moved around. The character becomes part of various carnival entertainments as a corpse. So I think there is a lot of okay, how much are you doing? How much are you sweating? How much are you putting in the blood, sweat and tears for all of this?

[Jackson McHenry]

Here's some more text thought Dead Outlaw and maybe Happy Ending were the most original shows I saw this season. Not the usual safe plots. Unique, unique, unique. Cola Scola O Mary was revolutionary on so many levels, especially in today's hostile environment towards queerness and blackness. Omar was both a much needed catharsis and a middle finger to fascism. This one says Sarah Snook, amazing heavy lifting. This one also says I am also very happy for John Proctor as the villain to be recognized. I took my 13 year old son to the show and I'm so pleased he's been able to see this. And suffs also Liberation was amaz amazing. I hope it transfers. Let's talk about best actress in a musical. Jasmine. Amy Rogers for Boop. Megan Hilty. Death Becomes Her, Audra McDonald, Gypsy, Nicole Scherzinger, Sunset Boulevard and Jennifer Simard for Death Becomes Her. We already talked about Audra and Nicole, but we have both women from Death Becomes Her. They're both great in the show, they're both really funny in the show. What do you think is special about their performance?

[Randy]

I think it's a remarkably balanced piece between the two of them. You get Megan Hilty, who's known for Smash, she's been in a ton of things. And Jennifer Simarge who is wonderful in Company revival and other performances. And they play off each other very well. They're doing the Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn characters. Megan is the Meryl and Jennifer is the sort of Goldie. And Jennifer has this incredible sardonic line delivery that's just so particularly her. And Meghan is perhaps a little bit more of the sort of main character. She has this sort of big breakdown. She's Madeline Ashton, the star. But it's really, it's wonderful that they're both in there. As tough as it is for the other women eligible in this category, we should say that Adina Menzel in Redwood and Sutton Foster would have both been potentially in there in a different season as well as Helen J. Shen, who is the sort of newcomer discovery and maybe happy ending. But the fact that Megan and Jen are there is kind of a sign that death becomes their cliqued with these people and their double act is working.

[Jackson McHenry]

Let's hear one of the songs that they have together. This is alive forever.

[Alison Stewart]

Matt, I forgive you.

[Jackson McHenry]

Can we forget it?

[Alison Stewart]

Cause I don't have the core strength.

[Jackson McHenry]

To hold on to grudges anymore.

[Alison Stewart]

You make me crazy. Thanks for the praise. You're a narcissistic but here's my cold heart Cold heart I've got something to say I know we're toxic but as the clocks tick I realize time goes.

[Randy]

By I'd rather be miserable with you.

[Alison Stewart]

And I won't go away I'll paint.

[Randy]

Your ass I'll help you stay alive.

[Jackson McHenry]

Forever.

[Alison Stewart]

Alive even after the world every now when you need your days redone you don't have to fear I'll be here now until forever.

[Jackson McHenry]

We're talking about the Tony Award nominations. My guest is Jackson McHenry, theater critic for Vulture and New York Magazine. Listeners, we want to hear from you. What's a show or performance that really blew you away on Broadway this season? 2124-3396-9221-2433. WNYC. Let's talk to Zoe. Hey, Zoe, thanks for making the time to call. All of it. You're on the air.

[Alison Stewart]

Oh, I love your show and I love when you do theater stuff. I work on Broadway. I build props for shows and Dead outlaw is my 59th show and I love the show. It's hilarious, it's weird. It's pure storytelling without a lot of bells and whistles. And the cast is terrific. And we couldn't be happier that it's doing so well and everybody just comes out smiling. I mean, it's all about death. But it's really funny too. And especially I want to mention Tom Sesma, who plays the LA coroner and he has kind of a Vegas number and he is just over the top. It's his 11 o'clock, you know, number. And it kind of blew the roof off the place. People just. He got a huge response to that number. It was just wonderful.

[Jackson McHenry]

Zoe, congratulations to you and the rest of the Dead Outlaw team. Let's go over a few things real quick. We talked about best actor in the play. I'll list them. We don't have to talk about it because we already have George Clooney, Cola Scola O'Merry John Michael Hill, Purpose. Harry Lennox, Purpose. Daniel Dae Kim for yellowface and Lewis McCartney, Stranger Things, the First Shadow, Best Actress in a Play Laura Donnelly, the Hills of Mia Farrow, the Roommate, latonya Richardson Jackson for Purpose. Sadie Sink for John Proctor as the villain and Sarah Snook, the Picture of Dorian Gray. She was on earlier this week to talk about that. I was like, please put your feet up, please have tea, please take care of yourself.

[Randy]

And you talk about a role that has an incredible technical difficulty. Doing all of the parts in the Picture of Dorian Gray and timing yourself against your pre recorded video and working with the crew that helped manage all of the filming in that. That is really a performance that you just watch and are exhausted by in the best way.

[Jackson McHenry]

Yeah, we got this. Texas S. Gah. I'm so sad. Not enough people saw the Hills of California. Honestly, one of the best plays I've seen in my life, which is saying a lot. Though I cannot decide between Laura Donnelly for Hills and Sarah Snook. Dorian Gray was also legendary. That seems like a tough category in my opinion.

[Randy]

Yeah, I think so. I think it feels like Sarah Snook has the edge just by dint of. She is really carrying that show. The show is still running. There is the sense of her throwing her all into it every night. But it is really full and it's wonderful to see someone like Sadie Sink who's coming off of Stranger Things, which is kind of a fun double thing happening. There's also the Stranger Things play, but she is committed to this really interesting play and this part where she's fantastic. But it's a very much an ensemble piece. She is the sort of girl returning to the school after an absence that gets explained as the plot goes further. But they're all. It's a wonderful group and it's great of her to join a show and be a part of the group.

[Jackson McHenry]

Let's talk to Rita from Northport. Hey, Rita, thanks for calling, all of it.

[Alison Stewart]

Oh, thank you for putting me on. I am so excited about Operation Mincemeat that I just had to call. I think it's going to become, if it's not already, a culture thing. I've heard of people seeing it 12 times. I've only seen it twice. It's Hamilton, it's Monty Python, It's Mel Brooks. Five people playing 50 different roles. It won an Olivier Award in London and all sorts of five star things over there and all the different ages are coming to see it. I see many young people as well. And I took my 20 year old grandson. He loved it. It's so funny and it's not like a real musical, but there are songs. They even have good voices. Terrific.

[Jackson McHenry]

Thanks so much for calling in. Have not laughed so much in a show as I did for Eureka Day. It was a blast. Let's also talk to Jennifer from Wanton, New York. Hi, Jennifer.

[Alison Stewart]

Hi. I. I'm not a Broadway person. We just go and see what happens and. And we bought tickets for Sunset Boulevard and went in cold and at first I was like, what is going on? It was so stripped down and then it was like the best thing I'd seen in forever. It was art. It was like a play. It was multimedia. They really leaned into the film noir. I was just. There were so many surprises and I don't want to spoil it for people and they'll look it up, but it was amazing to go in and not know a thing and I was blown away. It was so incredible.

[Jackson McHenry]

Jennifer, thanks for calling Jackson. Any final thoughts?

[Randy]

Oh my gosh. I mean, there's just so much to choose from. I love the caller shouting out Eureka Day. Which is. Which is a play about a sort of lefty California debating its vaccination policy, which has only become more and more relevant.

[Jackson McHenry]

So funny.

[Randy]

As time has gone on. It's so funny. Jessica Hecht, who was nominated for future actress in that is really wonderful and a kind of intense portrait of a woman who reveals herself to be a vaccine denier. And I think the revival of the play category is actually quite interesting because without Othello in there, it's a lot of wonderful productions that are getting the glow.

[Jackson McHenry]

Jackson. Ms. Henry Jackson McHenry is the theater critic for Vulture and New York Magazine. Thanks for joining us.

[Randy]

Thanks for having me.

[Alison Stewart]

The Essential Mango Coconut Freeze. It makes its appearance at the dinner party right when the night could go either way.

[Jackson McHenry]

Between nice evening and legendary.

[Alison Stewart]

Served in eight perfect stoneware bowls to the sounds of circa 1950, bossa nova seconds a good debate and an impromptu round of never have I ever follow.

[Jackson McHenry]

It's gonna be a late one.

[Alison Stewart]

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[Jackson McHenry]

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[Alison Stewart]

And Gothamist every morning, midday and evening. By sponsoring our programming, you'll reach a community of passionate listeners in an uncluttered audio experience.

[Jackson McHenry]

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