
Drama Desk Winners Announced, Tony Performances Revealed, Lincoln Center Unveils Loaded Off-Broadway Season Since 2016, “Today on Broadway” has been the first and only daily podcast recapping the top theatre headlines every Monday through Friday.
Loading summary
Zoe Saldana
Hi, Zoe Saldana. Welcome to T Mobile. Here's your new iPhone 16 Pro on us.
Customer
Thanks. And here's my old phone to trade in.
Zoe Saldana
You don't need to trade in. When you switch to T Mobile, we'll give you a new iPhone 16 Pro. Plus we'll help you pay off your old Phone up to 800 bucks and you still get to keep it.
Customer
There's always a trade in.
Zoe Saldana
Not right now. At T Mobile.
Customer
I feel like I have to give you something in return for karma.
Zoe Saldana
That's okay.
Customer
I don't really have much in my purse. Oh, let's see. Hand sanitizer. It's lavender.
Zoe Saldana
I'm good. Seriously.
Customer
Let me check this pocket. Oh, mints.
Zoe Saldana
Really, I'm fine.
Customer
Oh, I have raisins. I'm a mom. Wait, wait one sec. I've got cupcakes in the car.
T Mobile Representative
It's our best iPhone offer ever. Switch to T Mobile. Get a new iPhone 16 Pro with Apple intelligence on us. No trade in needed. We'll even pay off your phone up.
T Mobile Advertisement Voice
To 800 bucks with 24 monthly bill credits. New line $100 plus a month on experience beyond finance agreement $999.99 and qualifying ported for well qualified plus tax and $10 connection charge pay off via virtual prepaid card. Allow 15 days credits end in balance due if you pay off early or cancel mobile.com welcome to Today on Broadway.
Matt Tamanini
For Tuesday, June 3, 2025. I'm Broadway Radio's Matt Tamanini and I'm.
Grace Aki
Tell Me on a Sunday podcast, Grace Aki.
Matt Tamanini
Grace. As people hear this, I have already dropped a special Patreon episode that looked at the predictions for the 2025 Tony Awards.
Ashley Hufford
I reassembled the group chat with everybody's.
Matt Tamanini
Favorite theater influencer Ashley Hufford and Tony nominated producer Kaitlin Berg. We went through every single category, made predictions which we reserve the right to change up until each category is announced. So you can hear that in the Patreon feeds over at patreon.com broadwayradio broadwayradio.com patreon and also on Patreon. By the time this is out in the regular feed, Grace, you will have.
Ashley Hufford
Some reviews starting through the Tonys.
Matt Tamanini
There will be one per day up until the Tonys.
Ashley Hufford
Not all of the shows are Broadway.
Matt Tamanini
But they are shows that have been.
Ashley Hufford
Huge awards winners throughout the season and should contend for things on Sunday as.
Matt Tamanini
Well in the Broadway cases.
Ashley Hufford
So lots of stuff happening there.
Matt Tamanini
Oliver Roth and I are going to do our annual predictions episode where he not only makes his predictions, but also looks at the statistical model for predictions. And then I will have a wish, want and will episode where I run through the things that I wish had happened in every category, or at least the major categories, what I want to happen in every category and what I think will happen and every category. So if you need all of the Tony content you can possibly ever sink your ears into, I suppose head over to Patreon. But Grace, we did get the final little bit of like data to plug.
Ashley Hufford
Into our own individual Tony predictions models on Sunday night because we did get the 2025 Drama Desk Award winners. And as always, the Drama Desks are.
Matt Tamanini
A little different and sometimes they are outside of what you expect to happen.
Ashley Hufford
There are structural differences which we'll get to here in a second from the.
Matt Tamanini
Tony Awards beside the fact that they also include off Broadway stuff, but in a way that is different from in a lot of previous years. This is a very Broadway heavy Drama.
Ashley Hufford
Desk slate in terms of the winners, which is not always the case. But let's run through these.
Matt Tamanini
And Grace, what I figured we'll do.
Ashley Hufford
Is we'll break them up by the.
Matt Tamanini
Major category sections and then we can kind of talk about those.
Ashley Hufford
If you have any thoughts, let's start with the productions. The outstanding play went to Brandon Jacobs Jenkins for purpose. Outstanding musical went to maybe Happy Ending. Outstanding revival of a play. Was Eureka Day an outstanding revival of a musical. This is the shocker. It went to Gypsy.
Matt Tamanini
Obviously Sunset Boulevard was in that category, but I just assumed that it would be Cat's Jellicle Ball in this category. But it actually did go to Gypsy. Of those production categories, Grace, is that.
Ashley Hufford
The one that stands out to you the most?
Grace Aki
I believe so. Again, like I, you know, with Drama Desk specifically, so many of the shows that are on Broadway currently were already eligible, you know, a lot of them. And so I think that that's just worth noting. Although in the past it's been said and we have said it on the show that like Drama Desk is a, is an often massive precursor to the Tony Awards and how those votes will shift. I don't know if that's 100% accurate this time because, or more accurate right now because of the fact that there are so many last year eligible shows that are currently running that are in those contending categories that I'm unsure. But I do think they are more right than they are wrong. And I think that this is very exciting. I think a lot of the choices that were made, even all of the, you know, the triple, you know, ties and the ties and all the things. I think it's smart.
Matt Tamanini
Also keep in mind that there the drama desks are a very different voting body from the Tony Awards where the Tony Awards are all industry professionals in.
Ashley Hufford
One way or another. The drama desks are primarily media members. So there is a little bit of.
Matt Tamanini
A different perspective when voting on these things. Let's go into the performance categories and.
Ashley Hufford
The structural difference between the drama desks and the Tonys that I mentioned earlier is the fact that they do not do gendered categories.
Matt Tamanini
So you are going to have two winners in every category unless there is.
Ashley Hufford
A tie, as you mentioned, Grace. So let's start with outstanding lead performance and a play. The two winners were Laura Donnelly for the Hills of California and Sarah Snook for the Picture of Dorian Gray. Giving us absolutely no help because those.
Matt Tamanini
Are the two people that everybody is split upon. For the Tonys, then Outstanding lead performance in a musical, the winners were Audra McDonald for Gypsy and a little bit of a surprise here, Jasmine Amy Rogers for Boop.
Ashley Hufford
In those lead performance categories, Grace, other.
Matt Tamanini
Than the fact that those are all four women, what stood out to you?
Grace Aki
I think often when people talk about degendering the categories, the first thing that comes up is like will the women will be. Will women be recognized? And I think that here we're seeing that it did happen, which I think is very exciting because it kind of proves a little bit of that hesitancy in the back, you know, about the Tony Awards and the gendered categories. Again, I know that there's a lot more nuance here. There is, you know, a lot that is factor. I know that nothing is ever cut and dry and simple like we are making it out to be. But I do think that this is a great indicator of recognition of some of those great leading performances and supporting performances. They vary and I think every year it would vary. But this is a closer step and I'm more grateful for the opportunity that this presents itself versus the very difficult, unnecessary gendering of other categories where the other creative categories are not. I just wonder if we're getting closer and I think that this is a great indicator for that type of reasoning.
Matt Tamanini
Let's go to the featured performances.
Ashley Hufford
Outstanding featured Performance in a Play.
Matt Tamanini
The two winners were Amalia Yu for John Proctor is the Villain and Kara Young for purpose.
Ashley Hufford
Outstanding Feature Performance in a Musical.
Matt Tamanini
This is where we got that three way tie you mentioned.
Ashley Hufford
The three winners are Brooks Ashmanskas for Smash, Jack Malone for Operation Mincemeat and Michael Urie. For Once Upon a Mattress.
Matt Tamanini
Michael kind of being the surprise out of that category. Although Amalia Yu winning a Drama Desk.
Ashley Hufford
But not being nominated at all for.
Matt Tamanini
A Tony also throws some, you know, some interesting hiccups into the fact that her co star Finestrasa is the one from the show who is nominated in.
Ashley Hufford
This category for the Tonys.
Matt Tamanini
But some interesting wins. People who we expect to be in.
Ashley Hufford
The Tony race, at least for the.
Matt Tamanini
Ones that are eligible. And, you know, no real complaints. Although I do think Michael Urie's inclusion.
Ashley Hufford
Was a little bit of a surprise.
Matt Tamanini
When compared to Jack and Brooks. The outstanding solo performance went to Andrew Scott for Vanya.
Ashley Hufford
Outstanding direction of a play. The winner was Danya Taymor for John.
Matt Tamanini
Proctor is the Villain, which is not a huge surprise.
Ashley Hufford
Keep in mind that Omari was not eligible.
Matt Tamanini
Nothing for Omari was eligible because it.
Ashley Hufford
Was in last year's awards.
Matt Tamanini
So it doesn't give us a huge indication as to how Danya will match up in that category for the Tonys. But it is something to note. Outstanding direction of a musical did go.
Ashley Hufford
To Michael Arden for a maybe Happy.
Matt Tamanini
Ending over Jamie Lloyd for Sunset Boulevard.
Ashley Hufford
Outstanding choreography went to Jerry Mitchell for Boop.
Matt Tamanini
And then all three of the writing categories for musicals, book, music and lyrics all went to Will Aronson and Hugh park for maybe Happy Ending. I'll let you all read through all of the technical and design awards in the show notes if you would like. But Grace, we don't always know if this is going to have a huge impact, so who knows what it does for the Tony Awards. But I think that the fact that some of these winners were considered kind.
Ashley Hufford
Of upsets and underdogs in those categories.
Matt Tamanini
I think it's awesome that they had those, those moments of recognition and celebration.
Ashley Hufford
That they got on Sunday night and.
Matt Tamanini
They'Re able to carry that through the rest of this week and then forward.
Ashley Hufford
Regardless of what happens on Sunday night.
Matt Tamanini
Over at the Tony Awards.
Ashley Hufford
Speaking of the Drama Desks, though, this.
Matt Tamanini
Is a pretty interesting announcement that we got on Monday after the Drama Desk happened. On Sunday, the organization announced that their.
Ashley Hufford
70Th annual Drama Desks will be held.
Matt Tamanini
On May 17, 2026, a little earlier than normal.
Ashley Hufford
But more importantly, the 71st annual Drama Desk Awards will happen on May 23 of 2027.
Matt Tamanini
What's interesting about this is that they.
Ashley Hufford
Are expanding the Drama Desks.
Matt Tamanini
They currently recognize Broadway and Off Broadway.
Ashley Hufford
Now they're going to honor theater across the country.
Matt Tamanini
Scene Partners, which is a group founded by Matt Britton, who is Also the founder of the Broadway Briefing and a number of other theatrically related companies.
Ashley Hufford
He has formed Drama Desk Awards Productions.
Matt Tamanini
Which will go on to produce the annual ceremony from the Drama Desks, which hasn't really had much of a product since theater mania used to do it.
Ashley Hufford
And then broadcast it online a number of years ago. And they're going to handle all of.
Matt Tamanini
The production, so hopefully we'll be able to stream that in the future. But they're also going to start looking outside of New York City to honor.
Ashley Hufford
Theater in other parts of the country.
Matt Tamanini
We don't exactly know what that means, but the co presidents of the Drama.
Ashley Hufford
Desk, Charles Wright and David Barber, said.
Matt Tamanini
Quote, the Drama Desk Board is pleased.
Ashley Hufford
To announce this plan to solidify the future of the annual presentation of the.
Matt Tamanini
Drama Desk Awards and expansion of the awards franchise. Matt Britton said, quote, theater is a.
Ashley Hufford
Vital art form, one that deserves to be recognized with a ceremony as extraordinary.
Matt Tamanini
As the work it honors. Now, Grace, you know as well as I do a lot of different markets around the country have their own, you know, awards for local and regional theater. What do you think about this expansion of Drama Desks to include those? Do you think that they're going to end up having like, I don't know, kind of like the Jimmy Awards, the best regional productions in the country at little individual market based ceremonies feed up.
Ashley Hufford
Into the Drama Desks at New York?
Matt Tamanini
How do you think that something like.
Ashley Hufford
This could potentially work?
Grace Aki
You're saying that there's like a potential for the Drama Desks to have their own like regional bodies but not in conjunction with New York, Right?
Matt Tamanini
I think so. I don't.
Ashley Hufford
The press release didn't really explain it.
Matt Tamanini
It just says that the 2027 Drama Desk will expand to honor theater across the country. So I'm not sure how that will work.
Ashley Hufford
Will it be like the Jimmies?
Matt Tamanini
I don't know.
Grace Aki
I don't know. It sounds more so that they would say like best Southwest regional production or like best Northwest. Do you know what I'm saying? It might be in pockets, which actually makes a lot of sense to me. While we are watching the infrastructure of regional theaters plummet. I think that this is an opportunity for the big brain, big bodied New York theater scene to uplift, honor and celebrate and hopefully gain notoriety for smaller regional productions. I think that this is really smart, inclusive and insightful and not like crappy. Like I actually think this is like a very thoughtful. Feel free to tell me I'm wrong, but I think this is no one of the best ways that I've seen some of the larger voting bodies and business of business Capital B, New York, Broadway, look to uplift and support those regional productions that I think are incredibly vital to the lifeblood of the larger theatrical community that is not just New York City DNA.
Matt Tamanini
Yeah, it'll be interesting. I have no idea what this is like. I will very much look forward to hearing what this will all entail over the next two years and I'm excited to see what that means for the.
Ashley Hufford
Drama desks moving forward. All right, those are not the only.
Matt Tamanini
Awards, obviously, that we want to talk about this week. The Tonys yesterday announced all of the.
Ashley Hufford
Shows that will be performing on the.
Matt Tamanini
Telecast and casts of every musical and musical revival that is currently on Broadway and nominated in their respective categories will perform. That means Buena Vista Social Club, Dead.
Ashley Hufford
Outlaw Death Becomes Her, Floyd Collins, Gypsy maybe Happy Ending, Operation Mincemeat, Pirates Dependzance Musical and Sunset Boulevard will perform. But in kind of breaking with tradition.
Matt Tamanini
From recent years, we will also have.
Ashley Hufford
Performances from Just in Time and Real Women have Curves.
Matt Tamanini
They were not nominated for Best musical, but you know, their stars were Jonathan Groff and Justina Machado, I guess were nominated. And those are big names, so maybe they want to get them in there. And Broadway inspirational voices who won a Tony honor in 2019, they will also perform. I wonder if that is related to like the In Memoriam segment or something. I've said this here. It might have been on an episode when you were out Grace doing To Free a Mockingbird, but I was really hopeful that they would just kind of let all of the musicals that are currently running on Broadway perform, which would obviously include Just In Time Ru Women have Curves. And then also I thought Boop and Smash could be involved as well. I don't know if it's a time thing where they couldn't let those other.
Ashley Hufford
Two or a money thing where they.
Matt Tamanini
Didn'T want to have to pay for.
Ashley Hufford
All of the production costs and the rehearsal costs. I don't know.
Grace Aki
But I mean, well, the production pays for the performance. Do you know what I'm saying?
Matt Tamanini
I'm saying, like I didn't know. That's what I mean. As I don't know if maybe, maybe Smash and Boop didn't want to pay for that. I don't know. But as disappointed I am that they're not going to be involved. I am excited that Just In Time and Real Women have Curves are from.
Grace Aki
From my very tangential understanding of it, the opportunity is first granted to Best Musical nominees And then any other slots are kind of in a different up for grabs kind of area. I think with the Hamilton performance this year, with whatever, you know, might be, you know, and here, here I am always the person that's like, remember when we used to have play performances, like snippets of the play that were like from the theater, not performed on the Tonys but they would take a B roll that was allowed to be aired. I love those, those. I think about them all the time. I still go to YouTube for them. I wish we could still have those. I know that time is limited. There's, you know, sponsorship costs, there's airtime, all of those. But until like Broadway HD owns the Tony Awards, I think that you know what you're looking for. Yeah, I think it's, I think it's, it's very much a, it's all pay to play. Right. But like I think that that's, that's the most sense and, and the fact that Jonathan as a best actor nominee is going to get to perform with Just in Time is, is fantastic. I love that real Women have Curves is getting to perform. I'm hopeful that they do a medley because I'd like to see as many of the people on stage that carry that show as possible. But yeah, so there are like a million factors but I know that there's only so many, especially minutes that are precious and the fact that they are going to get to have that 10 year anniversary Lemonwell Hamilton, that is not small. That is a big fricking deal. And by the way, a big reason that people even watch the Tony Awards are for seeing their familiar faces and stuff. They have to lean into those things and it's just part of it.
Matt Tamanini
So yeah, the one thing I will.
Ashley Hufford
Also throw in there is you've got.
Matt Tamanini
This pre show on Pluto. And yes, it is not nearly as.
Ashley Hufford
Well viewed as the Tonys itself. It's on a streaming service that maybe.
Matt Tamanini
People don't even really know exists. But I believe, and please correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe they.
Ashley Hufford
Cut down the time of that for this year. It's going to start at 6:40pm Which.
Matt Tamanini
I feel like it started at 6 in years past. It's like if you've got a couple extra shows that want to perform and want to pay the production costs to.
Ashley Hufford
Get the sets over, get the costumes over, pay for the rehearsals that they.
Matt Tamanini
Have to do, you've got extra time on Pluto. I kind of wish they would do that. So I don't know. But nonetheless we can complain about Boop and Smash and whoever else not getting to perform, but I do think that real women have curves in just in time. Having the opportunity is a net positive.
Ashley Hufford
For this whole operation.
Matt Tamanini
All right, Speaking about positives, Grace, I.
Ashley Hufford
Think I'm in love with the Lincoln.
Matt Tamanini
Center theater season that is going to be coming to both Broadway and Off Broadway. We already know that in the fall we're going to have the Broadway revival of Ragtime at the Vivian Beaumont Theater. We do not yet know what the spring show will be there, but that is a limited run at Lincoln center unless they change their minds. So let's go through the other two houses very quickly at Lincoln center, starting at the larger audience Off Broadway Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater in beginning performances in October will be the new play by Joe Murphy and Joe Robertson, who you might remember a number of years ago had a show called the Jungle that played multiple runs at St. Anne's Warehouse, which was fantastic.
Ashley Hufford
Their new show called Kyoto will run.
Matt Tamanini
I know people who have in London and said it was one of their favorite things.
Ashley Hufford
It centers on the 1997 Kyoto conference.
Matt Tamanini
In which nations were talking about climate change and how it would impact the world. That one will begin performances on October 8th.
Ashley Hufford
Then on December 16th, just running through January 4th, there is a holiday opera called Amal and the Night Visitors by.
Matt Tamanini
Joyce Didonado and directed by Kenny Leon. So that should be interesting.
Ashley Hufford
And then in the spring, Grace, the.
Matt Tamanini
Thing that I figured might be your most exciting based off this list we will have the Whoopi Monologues which will.
Ashley Hufford
Begin performances on July 7th of 2026.
Matt Tamanini
This is a reimagining of the iconic.
Ashley Hufford
One woman show that Whoopi Goldberg originally did on Broadway in 1984 and then.
Matt Tamanini
Revived 20 Years later in 2004 on Broadway. It is no longer going to be a one woman show. It will have five performers.
Ashley Hufford
Two of them have already been announced. Kerry Washington and Kara Young. Whitney White is going to direct.
Matt Tamanini
The other three performers will be announced.
Ashley Hufford
But they call them remarkable in the press release.
Matt Tamanini
I am already so floored with this. I cannot wait to see Carrie and Cara doing Whoopi's work.
Grace Aki
When I tell you this is like one of my favorite things, I legitimately could not believe this. I felt like I was talking about the show the other day. Whoopi famously had this incredible one person show on Broadway and I think I was talking to James Monroe Iglehart about it. We were talking about solo performances and that's one that stood out to both of us? Well, no, it was at the opening night of Dorian Gray and Shout out to the press room. And it was just so startling. I said, you know, I haven't thought about that show in a long time. But it's one of the things besides like, Billy Crystal and some other people that, like, legitimately changed my brain on solo theater. And the fact that you're getting Kara Young on, like, just base level, like, that's it for me. I'm. I'm cooked. You know what I mean? I'm thrilled. So, yeah, it's fantastic. I'm very excited about everything that's happening with this season.
Matt Tamanini
And then let's go upstairs to the Clairtown Theater, which is the LCT3 off Broadway space.
Ashley Hufford
Real quickly. The first thing that'll be beginning in October of 2025 will be called the Comedy Series.
Matt Tamanini
This is being done in conjunction with Seaview, and it will feature three different comics who will be working out material in front of an audience and changing it throughout the run.
Ashley Hufford
We only know one of the performers so far, and it is Jenny Slate.
Matt Tamanini
So, like, they're not messing around in terms of the star power for this season. So Jenny Slate is the first.
Ashley Hufford
We'll find out who the other two are later.
Matt Tamanini
Then beginning performances on Valentine's Day of 2026 will be a new musical by the Lazores, directed by TO Evie Mager and inspired by Susan Sontag's insight that illness is the night side of life. We will get night side songs and then we will have in the spring.
Ashley Hufford
Beginning on May 6th 16th, a new.
Matt Tamanini
Play called A Woman Among Women. This was written by Julia Mae Jonas and is a counterpoint to Arthur Miller's All My Sons.
Ashley Hufford
And then there will also be a.
Matt Tamanini
Reading series with dates to be announced throughout the year that'll be curated by such playwrights as Ayad Akhtar, Brandon Jacobs.
Ashley Hufford
Jenkins, Lynn Nottage, Sarah Rule, Marco Ramirez and J.T. rogers.
Matt Tamanini
So great work there from Lincoln Center Theater. And they're also going to be doing, I should note, a silent disco on July 30 outside in the Josie Robertson Plaza of the concept album for Lin.
Ashley Hufford
Momo Miranda and Issa Davis, Warriors.
Matt Tamanini
So lots of really great stuff and many, many things to be excited about from Lincoln center this season. And then real quick, before we wrap up, there are two pretty exciting workshops.
Ashley Hufford
That will be happening here over the next few weeks.
Matt Tamanini
Coming up later this month on June.
Ashley Hufford
25Th and 26th will be a private industry reading of a new musical called what's New Pussycat?
Matt Tamanini
It is being produced by floaty S.W. suarez and features a book by Joe DiPietro and focuses on the pop hits.
Ashley Hufford
From the great Sir Tom Jones. Luke Shepard is directing.
Matt Tamanini
What's interesting about this, you hear what's New Pussycat. It's a jukebox musical with Tom Jones songs. It is about Tom Jones, but not that Tom Jones. It is actually based on Henry Fielding's.
Ashley Hufford
18Th century novel the History of Tom A Foundling. So they are taking the Tom Jones from that story, using the Tom Jones.
Matt Tamanini
From mid century pop music and putting it all together. The cast will include Taylor, Leslie Rodriguez.
Ashley Hufford
Kritzer John Andrew Morrison, Vann Cox, Eric Bergen and more.
Matt Tamanini
That should be very fun.
Ashley Hufford
And then the other one that will.
Matt Tamanini
Be happening actually next Sunday at the.
Ashley Hufford
Westport County Playhouse in Connecticut is a new show called Talk of the Town.
Matt Tamanini
That is being directed by Mark Shanahan and the cast will be led by Adam Kanter, Samantha Messell and John Rapson. And the score is by Joseph Stock with a book by Andrew Bentley and Eve Potts.
Ashley Hufford
It is inspired by the love story between Harold Ross and Jane Grant.
Matt Tamanini
All right, everybody, that's all that we have for today. Thanks for listening to Today on Broadway. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram rodwayradio Grace, where can people find you?
Grace Aki
You can find me at. It's Graceaki.
Matt Tamanini
All right, everybody, have a wonderful Tuesday and we'll be back to talk to you tomorrow.
Chris Gethard
Hi, I'm Chris Gethard and I'm very excited to tell you about Beautiful Anonymous, a podcast where I talk to random people on the phone. I tweet out a phone number. Thousands of people try to call. Talk to one of them. They stay anonymous. I can't hang up. That's all the rules. I never know what's gonna happen. We get serious ones. I've talked with meth dealers on their way to prison. I've talked to people who survived mass shootings, crazy funny ones. I talked to a guy with a goose slap, somebody who dresses up as a pirate on the weekends. I never know what's gonna happen. It's a great show. Subscribe. Today, Beautiful Anonymous.
BroadwayRadio Podcast Summary
Episode: Today on Broadway: Tuesday, June 3, 2025
Host: Matt Tamanini & Grace Aki
Release Date: June 3, 2025
The episode kicks off with hosts Matt Tamanini and Grace Aki diving straight into the heart of Broadway news, bypassing the typical advertisements and introductory segments. They focus on the latest developments in the Broadway scene, particularly revolving around award predictions and upcoming productions.
Special Patreon Episode:
Matt Tamanini announces a special Patreon-exclusive episode where he collaborates with theater influencers Ashley Hufford and Tony-nominated producer Kaitlin Berg to predict the 2025 Tony Awards outcomes. They meticulously analyzed each category to forecast potential winners, emphasizing that these predictions remain tentative until official announcements are made.
Quote:
Matt Tamanini states, “We went through every single category, made predictions which we reserve the right to change up until each category is announced” (01:09).
Additional Content:
Listeners are encouraged to subscribe to the Patreon for daily reviews and detailed analyses leading up to the Tony Awards weekend.
2025 Drama Desk Award Winners:
The hosts discuss the recent Drama Desk Awards, highlighting key winners and their potential impact on the upcoming Tony Awards. Notable victories include:
Quote:
Ashley Hufford remarks, “The outstanding revival of a musical went to Gypsy,” indicating surprise over its win (03:18).
Impact on Tonys:
Matt and Ashley deliberate on how the Drama Desk results, often seen as precursors to the Tonys, might influence the latter's outcomes, though they note the distinct differences in voting bodies—Drama Desk comprises primarily media members, whereas the Tonys involve industry professionals.
Expansion Announcement:
A significant development is the Drama Desk’s decision to expand its awards to honor theater across the United States, not just Broadway and Off-Broadway. This initiative, led by co-presidents Charles Wright and David Barber, aims to recognize regional theaters, thereby elevating the national theatrical landscape.
Quote:
Grace Aki expresses optimism about the expansion, stating, “I think this is a very thoughtful... way to uplift and support those regional productions” (11:15).
Performing Shows:
The Tony Awards telecast will feature performances from nominated shows, including:
Breaking Traditions:
In a departure from recent years, the telecast will also include performances from productions not nominated for Best Musical, such as:
Additionally, Tony honorees from 2019 will perform, adding a nostalgic element to the ceremony.
Quote:
Matt Tamanini shares his excitement, “But Grace, we did get the final little bit of like data to plug” before delving into performances (01:03).
Hosted Performances:
There is speculation about the exclusion of certain shows like Boop and Smash, possibly due to production costs or rehearsal constraints. However, hosts express optimism over the inclusion of beloved productions like Real Women Have Curves and Just in Time.
Pre-Show on Pluto:
A pre-show segment will air on the streaming service Pluto, though it's noted that its viewership is limited and the timing has been adjusted to start at 6:40 PM, slightly later than previous years.
Broadway Season:
Lincoln Center Theater is set to revive Ragtime at the Vivian Beaumont Theater in the fall, with plans for a limited run in the spring.
Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater Programs:
Clifton Theater (LCT3) Off-Broadway Space:
Quote:
Grace Aki enthusiastically shares, “I was talking to James Monroe Iglehart about solo performances... It’s one of the things that legitimately changed my brain on solo theater” (19:26).
Private Industry Reading:
Westport Country Playhouse Event:
Quote:
Matt Tamanini expresses excitement, “I cannot wait to see Carrie and Cara doing Whoopi's work” regarding The Whoopi Monologues (19:26).
The episode wraps up with the hosts encouraging listeners to follow BroadwayRadio on social media and expressing anticipation for the following day’s broadcast. The focus remains firmly on celebrating and analyzing the vibrant and evolving Broadway scene, ensuring that enthusiasts are well-informed and engaged with the latest happenings.
Notable Quotes with Timestamps:
Timestamps Reference:
This comprehensive summary encapsulates the key discussions, insights, and announcements from the Today on Broadway episode, providing a clear and engaging overview for listeners and Broadway enthusiasts alike.