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ToB: Monday, May 5, 2025 | Daniel Yearwood on ‘Old Friends’
00:22:16
‘Redwood’ Announces Closing, Drama Desk Nominations, Grace Chats With ‘Old Friends” Daniel Yearwood Since 2016, “Today on Broadway” has been the first and only daily podcast recapping the top theatre headlines every Monday through Friday.
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- [00:01]
Dutch Representative
Time is precious and so are our pets. So time with our pets is extra precious. That's why we started Dutch. Dutch provides 24. 7 access to licensed vets with unlimited virtual visits and follow ups for up to five pets. You can message a vet at any time and schedule a video visit the same day. Our vets can even prescribe medication for many ailments and shipping is always free. With Dutch, you'll get more time with your pets and year round peace of mind when it comes to their vet care.
- [00:32]
Matt Tamnini
Welcome to Today on Broadway for Monday, May 5th Cinco de Mayo 2025. I'm Broadway Radio's Matt Tamnini. I'm coming to you on my own today because we have just a little bit of news that we have to wrap up from the end of last week and over the weekend from post Tony Awards nominations. And then I want to point you in the direction of what's happening tonight at the Nighthawk Theater in Brooklyn where Grace is doing the second of her three for now screen to stage Q and A screenings where she's going to have a Q and then screen the film version of Goodnight and good luck. I don't know if there's going to be cast members. I know that that was the original plan, so I'm not exactly sure what all is on the docket, but I'm going to be there. So if you want to check this out and see what Grace has been working on, head over to the show notes and I'll have a link there. But also Grace has an announcement coming up on Monday so maybe keep an eye out for that both on her socials and here on Today on Broadway for tomorrow. But after we run through the real quick news, Grace recently did an interview with Daniel Yearwood who was in the company of Stephen Sondheim's old friends. So we will wrap the episode with that. But the first bit of news that we want to get into is the fact that post Tony Award nominations we got our first show to announce closing and that is the new musical starring Idina Menzel Redwood. It is announced that it will close on May 18, which is coming up just this weekend. It had previously planned to run through August 17th at the earliest, but with no nominations it is going to wrap up its run at the Nederlander Theater. As of the time of closing it will have played 17 previews and 127 post open opening performances. So if you want to check out Adina going shoeless and rappelling up and down a tree in front of a Windows 97 looking scenic design. You can do that for one more week. Now, because of the Tonys, we didn't really do a very good job of talking about the drama desk nominations. We talked about them in passing, but because they happened on Wednesday, we waited for the Tony nominations for Thursday's episode and then we discussed them again on Friday's episode. So I do want to run through the major categories for the drama desks because these are still super important. Awards Awards the winners will be announced at the ceremony on June 1st at the NYU Skirball center hosted by Debra Messing and Titus Burgess. The nominees for best play Blood of the Lamb by Arlene Hutton, Deep Blue Sound by Abe Coogler, Grangeville by Samuel D. Hunter John Proctor is the Villain by Kimberly Bellflower, Liberation by Bess Wohl and Purpose by Brandon Jacobs Jenkins. Outstanding musical went to Boop Death Becomes Her Just in Time, maybe Happy Ending and Music City, which was an off Broadway show from the Bedlam Theatre Company. Outstanding revival of a play. The nominees are Eureka Day, Garside's Career Home, Wine in the Wilderness and Yellowface. Outstanding revival of a musical. The nominees are Cat's the Jellicle Ball, Floyd Collins, Gypsy, Once Upon a Mattress, See what I Wanna See and Sunset Boulevard. See what I Wanna See was in all AAPI Off Broadway revival from out of the Box theatrics you might remember. Outstanding lead performance in a play. These are non gendered categories for performance for the Drama desks. So the nominees are Betsy Adam for the Ask Laura Donnelly for the Hills of California, Patsy Ferran for A Streetcar Named Desire Danny J. Gomez for all of Me, Doug Harris for Redeemed Patrick Kelleher for Fatherland, Louis McCartney for Stranger Things, the First Shadow, Lily Rabe from Ghosts Jo Sanders for Henry IV at Theater for a New Audience, Sarah Snook for the Picture of Dorian Gray, Paul Sparks for Grangeville and Olivia Washington for Wine in the Wilderness. Outstanding lead performance in a musical. Again, genderless categories. The nominees are Tatiana Cordoba for Real Women have Curves, Darren Criss from maybe Happy Ending, Sutton Foster for Once Upon a Mattress, Tom Francis for Sunset Boulevard, jonathan Groff for Just in Time, Gray Henson for Elf Jeremy Jordan for Floyd Collins, Audra McDonald for Gypsy Jasmine, Amy Rogers for Boop Nicole Scherzinger for Sunset Boulevard, helen J. Shin for maybe Happy Ending and Jennifer Simard for Death Becomes her outstanding feature performance in a Play, Greg Keller for Pre Existing Condition, Julia Lester for All Nighter, Adrienne C. Moore for the blood Quilt, Deirdre O'Connell for glass kill what if, if Only Imp, Maria Christina Oliveris for Cymbeline, marianne Plunkett for Deep Blue Sound, Michael Rish for Table 17, Jude Thibodeau for Bad Creole, Anjana Vasan for A Streetcar Named Desire, Frank Wood for Hold on to Me Darling, Amalia Yu for John Proctor as the villain and Carrie Young for Purpose. Outstanding Feature Performance in a Musical Brooks Ashmanskis for Smash, Nicholas Barish for Pirates the Penzance Musical, Andre de Shields for Cats, the Jellicle Ball, John L. Jore for We Live in Cairo, Jason Gotay for Floyd Collins, Gracie Lawrence for Just In Time, Jack Malone for Operation Mincemeat, Leslie Margarita for Gypsy, Zachary Noah Paisa for See what I Want to See, Jenny Lee Stern for Forbidden Broadway, Merrily We Stole a Song, Michael Urie for Once Upon a Mattress and Natalie Walker for the Big Gay Jamboree. Outstanding Solo Performance nominees are David Greenspan for I'm assuming you know David Greenspan, Ryan J. Haddad for Hold Me in the Water, Sam Kisajukian for 300 paintings, Mark Povinelli for the Return of Benjamin Lay and Andrew Scott for Vanya. Of course we will have all of the information about every category in the show. Notes if you want to check those out. But just to wrap up, Boop led all nominations with 11. Just in Time and maybe Happy Ending were second with nine. Then we had Cats, the Jellicoe Ball, Gypsy and Sunset Boulevard at 7. Alright, some other real quick news. Despite the fact that it did not receive a single Tony nomination, last week it was announced that the Broadway revival of Othello has recouped its Broadway investment, which is very, very fast. Obviously at $900 a ticket they are doing fairly well and it does make me think that, it does make me wonder if Denzel and Jake are not taking a normal star's salary and if perhaps they are going to get some bump after the fact that it is now recouped. Because that is a very quick recoupment even at the prices that that show is charging. Alright, Heading from New York down to Washington D.C. 's signature theater. On Friday the cast was announced for the D.C. area premiere of the Untitled Unauthorized Hunter S. Thompson musical from Joe Iconis. That show is scheduled to begin performances on June 3rd and to run through July 13th. It is being directed by Christopher Ashley and choreographed John Rua. The cast, many of these folks have appeared in previous versions of this show, will be led by Eric William Morris as Hunter S. Thompson and he will be joined by George Abood, Darlesia Searcy George Salazar, Tatiana Weschler, Jason Sweet Tooth Williams and more. If you want to check out that complete casting, you can head over to the show Notes and then one of the shows that I saw so far on my trip to New York on Saturday, actually, the first show I saw was Real Women have Curves. They have released a number of videos of songs from the show. So since it did not get a Tony nomination for best musical, I figured I'd throw the. The article that Playbill put together of all of those videos in there so you can get a little bit of a look as to what that show looks and sounds like. All right, that is all that I have for you. I'm going to send it now over to Grace Aki, who is talking with Daniel Yearwood, who is one of the company members. And what an absolutely delightful love letter to musical theater and of course, to Stephen Sondheim, Old Friends that is currently playing at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre from the Manhattan Theatre Club. Thanks for listening to Today on Broadway. You can follow us on social media. Odwayradio and we'll be back to talk to you tomorrow.
- [07:52]
Grace Aki
So excited to have you on Broadway radio. Daniel, like, I have truly just adored you since I got to see you in Sweeney Todd, which obviously we will talk about. But our dear friend Nina Ward, everybody, like, just like, we waved at you from the street, famously, for that little moment when we were outside. I think it was for, like, the. The. When Tina Turner passed away, they flipped the lights, they dim the lights. But I remember standing out there in the street and everybody was kind of like holding each other. And then we looked up and waved at you in the window.
- [08:21]
Daniel Yearwood
So you guys were about the. The Marriott.
- [08:23]
Grace Aki
Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly. Which now is Stranger Things. So it's lovely to have you. I'm so excited to talk about this show because it's such an experience. It's what so many people have been talking about in terms of, like, loving Sondheim. And obviously you are a lover of Sondheim. You would not be doing the shows that you're doing if you weren't. I'm curious, like, you know, it's nice to see you back on Broadway. But, like, how has this been for you? Like, what's the experience been, like?
- [08:50]
Daniel Yearwood
Surreal. Absolutely surreal. I would say that to revisit this material, you know. No, I'm not singing any Antony material. However, the music, it is so rich. I've said to multiple friends, family members who have seen the show, this show, it's a hug. It is a Big, big hug and a celebration of who Sondheim was and his work that will live forever. I think that no matter where you find yourself, there's a connectedness throughout his material in each one of his shows. I mean, he is the Shakespeare of musical theater. That there is a profoundness or profundity to his work and his understanding of the human condition and the complexities of who we are that makes every piece of his work relatable. I think now more than ever, we won't get too deep into it, but considering the world that we're living in, specifically in the United States, this moment where we get to take two and a half hours, step into four walls of a theater, and just share for that time the revelatory aspect of we are more connected than we are different. We are all amazing, beautiful, complex humans. Flawed. But there's grace. There's such a brilliance to his work. And to witness Bernadette Peters, you know, his longtime collaborator, be so grounded and deeply moving throughout the entire show. I mean, she's 77. I don't know if that's something I should put out there in terms of her age. Wikipedia does exist.
- [10:36]
Grace Aki
You can Google it. Yeah. I mean, not like it's. It's a total secret, but it is kind of unbelievable.
- [10:41]
Daniel Yearwood
It's unbelievable. And at her age, to know that she's so deeply rooted in these characters. I mean, like, personally, I can't watch Send in the Clowns in the order of the show. Sweeney happens right after. And so we do the prologue. And I remember there was one time where backstage I just. I watched all of Send in the Clouds, and I walked on stage and just tears flowing from my eyes. Not quite. I guess I could justify it. Murder, bloody murder. Sweeney's killing people. But the power of stillness, what it is to own material and to personalize it in such a way that, you know, I don't. I haven't had the pleasure of necessarily getting specific insight from her as an actress on, like, what she's using. But whatever she is, it is captivating. Leia is fantastic. Her Everything's Coming up roses. Her. Mrs. Lovett, I am backstage beaming. And it was kind of interesting. You know, we opened about a week and a half, almost two weeks ago, and we found ourselves, you know, down a cast member. And the way that the coverage works, so many swings and we have internal coverage, but so many members of the company stepping up and being able to hear certain songs from different points of view, from different perspectives and different takes, it's a testament to how brilliant Sondheim's material is because you can learn something or receive something new, depending on how you're experiencing it. And I'm incredibly proud of this entire company. You know, the company was originated in London with the West End Company and we have, I think six or seven members of that cast. And the rest of us are from the U.S. we did an LA out of town tryout which was at the Ahmanson Theater, which is a massive house, a very, very big theater. And so part of our preview process and part of our, you know, moving into opening and beyond was trying to facilitate this space and creating a space that for a more intimate house. How can we live in these characters and embody these characters? I mean, we're not necessarily trying to do like the shows as shows. It is more of a celebration, a review of sorts. If I would. Act one really gives you like chunks of different shows and then Act 2 is more like, here are some one offs hits that you'll know and love. But overall, just getting to learn from and witness brilliant, brilliant choices by some of the Broadway vets who I adore and then look up to. It's been a very valuable experience and something that I will cherish for the rest of my life.
- [13:59]
Grace Aki
Yeah, it's. Did you ever get to see Bernadette do a little Night music on Broadway? It was my 18th birthday present from my parents was to see her which I'm like, how did they not know gay? Like how did they. You know what I mean? Like, like it was actually out there. But they were like, oh yeah, my 18 year old daughter wants to see a little Night music starring Bernadette Peters on Broadway. For sure, she's normal, but I.
- [14:24]
Daniel Yearwood
She's regal, honey. She's regal.
- [14:26]
Grace Aki
No, she's regal. And it's, it's so special that also as like you're not 77 but. Or what have you, but like you are a seasoned vet and at the same time, when you are in a space with collaborative artists like that, there's no way that it's not fulfilling for you. Also like it, you know what I mean? Like it makes you feel like you're in a masterclass in high school or college. But at the same time you're like, but I've been here, like I've been out here, I'm doing it and I'm getting to have this moment that also feels like you get to study a little bit. Like. And I, and I mean that complimentary. I don't mean that in like a.
- [15:00]
Daniel Yearwood
You've got something.
- [15:01]
Grace Aki
You know what I'm saying?
- [15:02]
Daniel Yearwood
Like, I think there's a. There's a communal reverence for the material. And I think that no matter, you know, what our resumes say in terms of how we've all come to be a part of this process, there is this understanding of, like, it's rare you get material as good as this. You have the blessing to, or the privilege to perform these kinds of songs. And, you know, his story arc structure. I mean, we can talk on a plethora of levels about musical theater as an art form. I think I'm kind of on a. An artistic. I won't say soapbox, but, you know, I just came off of seeing Sinners last night, the movie, and to, you know, perceive what that piece of art was and the statements that it makes. You know, American art, musical theater is an American art form. You know, there's something different about doing a classical play. You know, storytelling, though at its core, it is a human experience. You know, whether you go back to cavemen, the Greeks, Romans, like, that is at the core we share for catharsis to be able to empathize and understand one another on a plethora of levels. But musical theater, it's an American art form. And so when we look at what it's grounded in historically, I don't know if we have time for that today to know that Sondheim shows, for the most part, you can put any person in any role and it will work. I think the way that the material is written is such that it is not targeted at a specific demographic. You can explore the humanity of each one of these characters, no matter who's in the role. And because of that, we have a gender bent song in Act 2 where Gavin Lee sings Could I leave you? And it's genius. And I adore him. I think he's one of the most incredible comedic, physical actors I've ever met. And to see this other side of him, yes, there's a nuance of comedy to it, but it was really wonderful to watch him explore and create this version of this song. And I think it lands really well. Yeah, I can't sing enough praises about the rest of the cast. They are fantastic. If you haven't, please come see old friends. We're running through June 19th and holy cow, you're in for a treat. It's fantastic and it really is a wonderful, wonderful time.
- [17:47]
Grace Aki
I love that. I appreciate you so much. And I think that like anybody who has ever liked even a singular Sondheim piece, I think that they will derive some level of joy because there's so many different shows that are mentioned. There's so many. And I love how you started this with the fact that, like, when I correlate, like, the title Old Friends, I didn't know what to make of it immediately, right? Because it was like Sondheim's old friends. I was like, oh, is this one a new show? Two, is it, like, getting the band back together, like the old. You know what I mean? Like, what. What is this? And then what you just said of, like, it's a hug, like, from. From some Sondheim's work, like, his arsenal. I think that that's really beautiful, and it's very exciting, and I think that that's just something that every single theater lover, frankly, wants. They want that to feel like a hug.
- [18:36]
Daniel Yearwood
Not to be, like, a musical theater nerd, but. But, like, Merrily is my favorite show. And we start at the end of their journey, and we work our way towards the beginning of where they. They started. And we've had this beautiful celebration of Sondheim over the last five or so years. Pre Pandemic, I think Company had just opened, and then they continued their run. When we came back, we had Company into the Woods, Sweeney Todd, Merrily We Roll Along. You know, this cascade of Sondheim kind of leading up to this Old Friends, I think it is very apropos in terms of the title, but also, like, I don't know, some people. We will have Sondheim on repeat. It's in our playlist. It's in our library. And then there are others where, you know, Sondheim is. I'm gonna dive deep when I dive deep, and if not, I'm going other places. And to come back to his material like an old friend, you know, someone who you may not have been able to connect to or sit with for a long time to revisit and be able to say, wow, look at this material. Look at who this man was and the legacy that he left and remember all of the brilliance along the way. Do I wish there was a little bit more Merrily throughout the show? Yes. But, my gosh, there is an entr'acte that gives you everything you need, and it's phenomenal. We are conducted by Anne Britt de Chateau. She is a fantastic, fantastic conductor. We are in very good hands, and she is phenomenal. Getting us together in music rehearsals and going through this process, navigating. There are so many technical aspects to theater. Not every house acoustically is the same you know, how do we on stage affect our voices with the sound team and how to make everything land the way we want to? She is a fearless, fearless leader and very grateful that we've been led by her.
- [20:51]
Grace Aki
No, I'm seriously so excited to see it. Everybody that has talked about it has sung its praises and honestly just been grateful. Like, that doesn't happen often in the theater where they're like, I'm just grateful for it. Like, I'm really grateful that it's here right now. I'm grateful as a lover of musical theater in Sondheim and just like wanting that hug, frankly. So if you want and you should want to see Daniel Yearwood in Sondheim's Old Friends, you only have until June 15th. Like you said, it's a limited window, baby. We are living in that time. So you better buy your tickets now at mtc. I'm so, so glad that you joined us on the show today, Daniel. It's been a pleasure. I want you to enjoy the rest of your hopefully off day Monday and please take care. But thank you so much. I cannot wait.
- [21:36]
Daniel Yearwood
Appreciate you, Grace. Thank you so much for having me and sending you all of the love.
- [21:47]
Dutch Representative
Time is precious and so are our pets. So time with our pets is extra precious. That's why we started Dutch. Dutch provides 24,7 access to licensed vets with unlimited virtual visits and follow ups for up to five pets. You can message a vet at any time and schedule a video visit the same day. Our vets can even prescribe medication for many ailments and shipping is always free. With Dutch, you'll get more time with your pets and year round peace of mind when it comes to their vet care.