All Aboard...

Since I'm a bit of a craft nut, I decided to start a little experiment for the 12-13 Broadway Season at TPAC. You ask...what could it be? Well, I crochet..a lot of bizarre stuff mostly for kids and small animals. (My english bulldog, Frank, is getting quite a collection.) Plus, I'm a bit of a yarn addict - crafters know this as "fiber" and I love all the different types and textures. I guess this will give me another excuse to go to my yarn store...wink, wink. (btw...shout out to the ladies at Bliss Yarns in Brentwood!) 

So, my new project will be to create something themed for every broadway show. First up, Anything Goes! Could I do anything other than a sailor hat?? Nope, certainly not...hats are my thing. Check back soon for a progress update!

* The pattern is by Jennifer Cirka Jaybird Designs and photo credit to Jenifer Lauren Photography.

 Get crafty with TPAC on Pinterest! Click here to go to our boards!

Anchors away,

Jacquie

“Once” wins big at last night’s Tony Awards

 

The biggest stars on Broadway came together last night to celebrate this season’s winners (and losers) at the 66^th annual Tony Awards. As usual, Neil Patrick Harris was absolutely brilliant as the evening’s master of ceremonies. This was his third stint as host and I have to say that his performances were just as entertaining as any of the night’s cast performances. And how about that hilariously topical closing number (Props to the songwriting team of David Javerbaum and Adam Schlesinger)? NPH is great on “How I Met Your Mother,” but I would much rather see him onstage belting out showtunes. But I digress…

In a season chocked full of big budget musicals, “Once,” the touching story of two musicians falling in love amidst the backdrop of Dublin, Ireland, surprised many by running away with eight Tony Awards, including best musical and best actor (Steve Kazee). And the cast performance from that show was definitely one of the highlights of the night, so good in fact that I actually ordered the cast recording on Amazon during the commercial break that followed. Other great performances of the night included the cast of “Newsies” (I was exhausted just watching those guys jumping around onstage!) and Ricky Martin with the cast of “Evita” (nice lip broom, Ricky. “Peter and The Starcatcher’s” Black Stache would be very proud). I was really happy to see “Porgy & Bess” win for best revival of a musical, and even more overjoyed when Audra McDonald won for best actress (Tony number five for her. Look out Angela Landsbury!). “Peter & The Starcatcher” was the big winner for straight plays, snatching up a total of five awards, including best supporting actor (Christian Borle), though “Clybourne Park” took the trophy for best play (make sure you check out Tennessee Rep’s production of “Clybourne Park,” September 8-22).

Other big winners in the category of plays included James Cordon (best lead actor) for his Chris Farleyesque performance in “One Man, Two Guvnors,” Judith Light (best featured actress) for “Other Desert Cities,” Nina Arianda (best actress) for her sultry turn in “Venus in Fur” and the legendary Mike Nichols for his direction of “Death of a Salesman.”

For a full recap of the winners and video of last night’s performances, visit tonyawards.com.

Did you take the Tony to Sardi's?

For me, the annual Tony Awards are synonymous with the Seinfeld episode where Kramer – as a seat-filler – accidentally gets whisked onstage to accept an award. But I digress.

 

What’s the significance of the Tony Awards to people in Nashville?  Put it this way, it’s the Broadway equivalent of watching the NCAA basketball tournament to see who the top NBA draft picks will be. It’s a glimpse of what the future holds because the shows nominated and performing at the Tony Awards are often the ones that will soon be on stages across the country.

So with that in mind, watch the Tony’s on Sunday, June 10^th at 7 on CBS…and give us your scouting report.

Plus, you can enter our Tony Winner Guessing Contest to possibly win tickets to see The Nutty Professor this summer at TPAC.  Or you can visit the Tony’s site to check out plenty of the fun Tony Awards content.  Join us in celebrating the Tony Awards!

- Steve

Local girl makes great, Lindsey Bliven – Part 1

One of our favorite things is when a Broadway production comes to Nashville featuring homegrown talent. So when Mary Poppins rolled into town last March, we jumped at a chance to chat with local Lindsey Bliven to get her take on how an exposure to the performing arts (and performances at TPAC) when she was younger inspired her career and to hear what it’s like to return home as part of a Broadway blockbuster.

Below is Part 1 (of 3) of our conversation with Lindsey.

-Tony

Broadway (conference) and Back: the reviews are in

Some of the staff went to a Broadway conference recently.  We talked about what’s coming, what’s going, what’s selling or not, and tried to sort out the why’s and how’s.  Oh, and we got to see some celebrities and shows.  We know, it’s a tough gig.

To keep our reviews brief, we enforced an 145 character Twitter rule.  So here are a few thoughts.

ONCE - Successfully reliant on the talent of the performers & the strength of the script. So amazing I HAD to leave with the CD...and I never do that.    - Christi

ANYTHING GOES is just plain fun! My favorite was “You’re the Top”…hysterical.  It's just a good-time, goofy show...and the dancing/tap at the end of Act I is AMAZING!    - Jacquie

WAR HORSE – These are not puppets, these horses live, breathe & flick their tails!  A marvel to behold, and a touching reminder of the overlooked WWI.   The buzz is justified.    - Steve

TRACES – I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I got artistry, athleticism, and sheer guts.  Think Cirqué w/o pomp & circumstance.  An edgy show that keeps theater fresh & exciting.   - Akil

THE LION KING - 30 seconds into the show’s opening, I realized why so many love this engaging and (still) unique production… and why so many friends were shocked I hadn’t seen it. A must see. - Tony 

Catch us over a drink and we'll tell you about the other shows we saw: Ghost the Musical; Sister Act; Newsies; Peter and the Starcatcher; One Man, Two Guvnors; Jersey Boys and more.