This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:00] Robert W. Schneider: Dear friends, we are so sorry about the ads. They are a nightmare in every way, but with your donations, we can get rid of ads someday.

[0:09] Kevin David Thomas: Beautiful Kevin.

[0:10] Robert W. Schneider: Thanks, Rob. Bach and Harnick are smiling as soon as we're going to be able to do our heart right now. Friends, yes, we are back with a new plea. Much like those adorable puppets from Avenue Q, we are asking for you to give us your money. For those of you who have headed over to Patreon to throw a little money our way, we thank you so much from the bottom of our hearts. Your contributions are the only budget we have for this show, and it provided us a new soundboard and better studio space. So a thank you.

[0:36] Kevin David Thomas: Thank you.

[0:36] Robert W. Schneider: And as you know, nothing is more fulfilling than talking to the legends of Broadway and hearing them share their thoughts, wisdom, and talents with all of us. However, it does cost money. And if you want to help us keep the show going, please head over to Patreon.com. That's P-A-T-R-E-O-N.com. Search for Behind the Curtain, and you can give as little as a dollar a month. And trust me, that dollar will help us more than you will ever know. Plus, for certain monetary donations, you will get to pick your favorite thing and have advanced knowledge of our future guests so you can ask the legends your own questions.

[1:09] Kevin David Thomas: Ooh.

[1:10] Robert W. Schneider: Or you can simply leave canned goods and an original cast recording of How Now Dow Jones outside our doors if you don't want to contribute on Patreon.com. Truth. So once again, please head over to Patreon.com. That's P-A-T-R-E-O-N dot com to help us out. Thanks.

[1:24] Kevin David Thomas: Thank you.

[1:26] Robert W. Schneider: Hi, I'm Robert W. Schneider.

[1:27] Kevin David Thomas: And I'm Kevin David Thomas.

[1:29] Robert W. Schneider: And this is Behind the Curtain Broadway's Living Legends.

[1:32] Kevin David Thomas: Oh, I was gonna do the Spiel.

[1:33] Robert W. Schneider: Oh, the whole Instagram and the I'm sure they know by now.

[1:36] Kevin David Thomas: You think so?

[1:36] Robert W. Schneider: I think so. This is the first time Kevin and we're tripping without our script, so we were very excited. We're on Instagram, we're on Twitter.

[1:42] Kevin David Thomas: Yeah, what's up? Talk to us. What's our Instagram handle?

[1:45] Robert W. Schneider: Um, insta they're different.

[1:46] Kevin David Thomas: I know that.

[1:47] Robert W. Schneider: It's Broadway Curtain Podcast. That's our Instagram. And Twitter is Broadway Curtain. So there you go, friends. And we love it when you reach out to us. Um, it's really fun. So say hi to us.

[1:54] Kevin David Thomas: Say it again, because I'm gonna play like some nice like inspirational violin music under there.

[2:00] Robert W. Schneider: We love it when you reach out to us. You should say hi to us on the Instagram or the Twitter.

[2:05] Kevin David Thomas: You sound like such a can you do your NPR voice?

[2:07] Robert W. Schneider: Oh, I thought I was sort of it when you reach out to us. Please say hi to us on the Twitter and the Instagram.

[2:16] Kevin David Thomas: That's beautiful. That speaks them up. Now that we've lost everybody.

[2:19] Robert W. Schneider: Yeah, that's okay. Hey everyone, it's the special Tony Awards podcast. And we have for the third year in a row folks, we've been doing this for three years.

[2:24] Kevin David Thomas: Three years.

[2:30] Robert W. Schneider: And he's been with us since day one of the years. Love it. He is our Tony Awards historian. Aficionado, if you will, of the Tony Awards. Um, he is the one and only Bryan Hobgood.

[2:39] Bryan Hobgood: Hi guys. Welcome to us.

[2:41] Robert W. Schneider: Thanks for having me back. Three years. Can you believe it?

[2:44] Bryan Hobgood: No, it's crazy. I'm so old.

[2:46] Robert W. Schneider: No, you look fabulous.

[2:47] Kevin David Thomas: You look absolutely fabulous. So how have you been since the last year we've seen you?

[2:51] Bryan Hobgood: This year has been fantastic, actually. I've had a really great year. Um, I've been I quit my job.

[2:58] Robert W. Schneider: Congratulations.

[3:00] Bryan Hobgood: Yeah, so I was there for ten years.

[3:03] Kevin David Thomas: Life changer.

[3:03] Bryan Hobgood: I know. What'd you know? Let's say what? Why'd you quit?

[3:06] Bryan Hobgood: Why did I quit? Because it was terrible. No, because um, no, it's time for a change, you know. Time for a change. And uh, my schedule was a little crazy, so I figured take some time off, travel, worry about mental health.

[3:18] Robert W. Schneider: Where did you go? Did you go anywhere fun?

[3:20] Bryan Hobgood: I went to a bunch of places. I went to uh Caribbean, Barcelona, uh Amsterdam, UK, all over the US.

[3:28] Kevin David Thomas: Amazing.

[3:28] Bryan Hobgood: Yeah, a lot of places. It was great.

[3:30] Robert W. Schneider: Congratulations. You also deserve a vacation. Um, Bryan, every year sees almost every was in the past few years, it feels like almost everything. Usually everything or almost everything. This year, not so much. I think you can ag you would agree with us that the season really hasn't inspired all of us to grab tickets for anything.

[3:47] Bryan Hobgood: I really thought it was going to be better. I really did. I don't know why I did. Do you remember last year at the end of the podcast, we were like, we're looking forward to next season and all these things coming amazing.

[3:57] Robert W. Schneider: So wrong.

[3:58] Bryan Hobgood: We were all a little disappointed. So I know for you, the fall was sluggish.

[4:03] Robert W. Schneider: It was like you picked up Steam in the Spring.

[4:05] Bryan Hobgood: I did pick up Steam in the Spring, and you also where were you? You were better in the fall than you were this spring.

[4:09] Robert W. Schneider: I was much better than the fall. The past two months I've not been. I've been it's been tough.

[4:13] Bryan Hobgood: Yeah. And we'll talk about that a little bit later on on maybe why that is, but this is our play episode. So we're gonna talk about all the plays that have come in on Broadway this year, which is a very exciting moment. Nothing really as exciting as last year, really, until Harry Potter came in at the last second, which you've seen.

[4:30] Robert W. Schneider: I did see it.

[4:31] Bryan Hobgood: Did you do a marathon day?

[4:32] Robert W. Schneider: I did the marathon two nights in a row. So I did a Thursday and a Friday night.

[4:35] Bryan Hobgood: Oh, amazing.

[4:35] Robert W. Schneider: And I or sorry, a Tuesday and a Wednesday night. And because I have not seen it as I have not sold my firstborn to get a ticket yet, because the tickets are so pricey. I managed to be in that first group of people who was selected by the random ticket master, like lottery thing.

[4:50] Bryan Hobgood: Yeah.

[4:51] Robert W. Schneider: It was very strange. And I hear that the show is amazing, and you don't have to be a Harry Potter fan to still follow what's going on and be amazed by it. Is that correct?

[4:58] Bryan Hobgood: Not even remotely. And we're gonna talk a lot about this today, but it's funny because I feel like this uh the play categories this year are gonna be dominated by revivals, with the exception of Harry Potter.

[5:10] Robert W. Schneider: Indeed, which is so good in every respect. So I'm excited to talk about that a little bit. And so, in terms of numbers, we had 21 plays this year, which was eligible for uh a Tony nomination, 10 revivals and 11 original plays.

[5:24] Bryan Hobgood: Is the number that I came up with. The interesting thing about that though, those in uh original plays, so many of them were one man shows.

[5:32] Robert W. Schneider: Yeah, we had Michael Moore, we had John Lithgow, John Lithgow, John Legend.

[5:37] Bryan Hobgood: Yeah, yeah, yeah. So it's time for the one-man show to make an appearance again on Broadway.

[5:41] Robert W. Schneider: Yeah. Um and Bruce Springsteen counts as a what?

[5:44] Bryan Hobgood: It wasn't eligible for Tony's, but it's just there. You know, he gets a special one. But it's interesting because some people articles I've read, I of course I've not seen it because again, uh, the hot tickets this year really are there's like no middle ground. I mean, it's like the hot ticket, and it's like, yeah. But it's some articles I've read said it's like a theater piece. I mean, it's like it's a it's sort of like uh where we are in America right now, and it's this sort of like older rocker who's pared it all down, and it's a really personal piece, I guess. And I think that's intriguing. I don't know. And now that he's extended again until like what is it, October or something crazy like that. I'm hoping to grab a ticket at some point.

[6:18] Robert W. Schneider: Right. But yeah, he doesn't want to leave. Um let's review the plays that were eligible this year. The first play of our season was 1984, which was a very visceral experience.

[6:27] Bryan Hobgood: Certainly.

[6:28] Robert W. Schneider: People were passing out during the show and getting sick and getting nauseous and having champagne in their seats.

[6:33] Bryan Hobgood: What?

[6:33] Robert W. Schneider: Oh, yeah, the new theater. My friends, the Hudson Theater, uh, while this serious ass play is going on, all of a sudden you hear like a bucket and like people literally a bucket with champagne in it, and drinking that at your seat in that theater.

[6:47] Bryan Hobgood: That is normal in that theater.

[6:48] Robert W. Schneider: Well, so because it's Sonya Friedman, I think owns the theater, is that right?

[6:51] Bryan Hobgood: Yeah, one of the UK producers owns it, and um, they do that. Like you can order the stuff through your through the app while you're in your seat, and then at intermission.

[6:59] Robert W. Schneider: Absurd.

[6:59] Bryan Hobgood: It's crazy. So people are like, Well, drunk. I mean, like it was just I had that experience seeing Sunday in the Park with George there.

[7:05] Robert W. Schneider: Oh, they did the same thing, really?

[7:07] Bryan Hobgood: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Get yourself a little big old thing of champagne and just sit down there and have a good time and watch that like you're at a baseball game or something.

[7:13] Robert W. Schneider: I mean I'm okay with that if it's a comedy, but 1984 people are just a little bit more.

[7:18] Bryan Hobgood: No, it was weird. And I know this is not about the concessions at the Hudson Theater, but what I remember is the visceral how visceral that play was and the champagne.

[7:27] Robert W. Schneider: Yeah.

[7:27] Bryan Hobgood: Yeah. Okay, great. Tom Sturge was great. And I heard Rick Bee and he was also fantastic in it as well. So we had 1984. Then the intimate play Marvin's Room was put in the cavernous American Airlines Theater.

[7:40] Robert W. Schneider: This was a revival.

[7:41] Bryan Hobgood: Oh, revival.

[7:42] Robert W. Schneider: Yes. Sorry, but it's a play. It does count as a play.

[7:45] Bryan Hobgood: No, we're gonna do we're gonna go through the whole season. Love it from the beginning. So we had Marvin's Room starring Janine Garofalo.

[7:51] Robert W. Schneider: I missed this one.

[7:53] Bryan Hobgood: Same.

[7:53] Robert W. Schneider: Same.

[7:54] Bryan Hobgood: As did most of New York City.

[7:55] Robert W. Schneider: So great.

[7:56] Bryan Hobgood: As did all of the Tony nominators because it didn't get one nomination.

[7:59] Robert W. Schneider: It was part of their season, though, wasn't it?

[8:01] Bryan Hobgood: It was part of the roundabout scene.

[8:03] Robert W. Schneider: So it was a limited run. You know, it was one of those situations which I've sometimes have a hard time seeing them just because they are there for a finite amount of time. But if you know Marvin's Room, it's this very intimate story, and the roundabout uh American Airlines is huge.

[8:15] Bryan Hobgood: No, no, it's it's a small theater.

[8:16] Robert W. Schneider: That's a small theater.

[8:18] Bryan Hobgood: Which one? Wait, are we talking about the Airlines is the one on the teeny one on 42nd Street where Travis is playing now?

[8:22] Robert W. Schneider: It's it's one of the smallest like five theaters on the street. I saw Boys from Syracuse and Big River there.

[8:27] Bryan Hobgood: It feels so cavernous.

[8:29] Robert W. Schneider: It depends on where you are. I feel like the orchestra is definitely feels more intimate.

[8:33] Bryan Hobgood: Yes.

[8:33] Robert W. Schneider: But that balcony does go up pretty far.

[8:35] Bryan Hobgood: But interestingly, the balcony's only like six rows.

[8:38] Robert W. Schneider: But it's just so stacked.

[8:39] Bryan Hobgood: Yeah. Okay. All right. Um, either way, lots of empty seats for lots of people. They have subscribers.

[8:44] Robert W. Schneider: Um, one man's show, Michael Moore was was next up on our list.

[8:49] Bryan Hobgood: Saw that.

[8:50] Robert W. Schneider: You saw that? Did you see it?

[8:51] Bryan Hobgood: I missed it.

[8:52] Robert W. Schneider: Yeah. This is all the the fall stuff, chances are that I missed it. Um, but you saw Michael Moore, which was his actually kind of inspiring.

[9:00] Bryan Hobgood: I think I was you were inspired.

[9:02] Robert W. Schneider: I was like, yeah, it's it was it was it did what it was supposed to do. I mean, it's like it's what you're doing.

[9:10] Bryan Hobgood: Right, which I have no problem with, right? But he was the whole play was really a call for everyone getting involved in their government and the other. There were some interesting moments. Yeah, like at the end, but you know what happened. When they had like the people that were the two equity actors that were hired just to come out for that one moment. This was a very bizarre ending. Out of nowhere, two muscle men came out half naked and just danced with Michael Moore at the end, um, which was a little concerning for everybody.

[9:33] Robert W. Schneider: But not but you, you were you were distracted by it.

[9:35] Bryan Hobgood: No, I was just like, why is this here? Is that what you want to tell me? Did he seem to enjoy it?

[9:39] Robert W. Schneider: Michael Moore?

[9:41] Bryan Hobgood: Yeah. No, he had a hot dog, he was fine.

[9:43] Robert W. Schneider: Okay, well, euthanasia.

[9:45] Bryan Hobgood: Well, a little bit of both.

[9:46] Robert W. Schneider: Okay. A little bit of both. Then we had the revival of Time in the Conways, which I was convinced was Tim Conway coming to Broadway.

[9:47] Bryan Hobgood: Tim Conway.

[9:55] Robert W. Schneider: I'm like, he's gonna do his dwarf show on Broadway with Elizabeth McGovern. This is gonna be great. Did anyone see Time in the Conways?

[10:02] Bryan Hobgood: This is another one that was part of the season, wasn't it?

[10:04] Robert W. Schneider: At the roundabout?

[10:05] Bryan Hobgood: Yeah, yeah. I I did not see this. Um, I'm sorry. So if you saw Time in the Conways and you loved it, forgive me. Um, very exciting. The court theater had M. Butterfly.

[10:13] Robert W. Schneider: I was so excited for this.

[10:15] Bryan Hobgood: Um, because I love the play. I think it's one of the best plays of the 80s.

[10:19] Robert W. Schneider: Agreed.

[10:19] Bryan Hobgood: Uh, I think it's a fascinating story, and especially with so much gender identity and fluidity happening now. I thought this would be such a wonderful piece to bring back.

[10:28] Robert W. Schneider: It seemed like it.

[10:29] Bryan Hobgood: And it was not, apparently. He kind of rewrote a little bit of it. Uh he wrote, it was Clive Owen and being directed by Julie Tamore.

[10:36] Robert W. Schneider: Right.

[10:37] Bryan Hobgood: Um, anyone see it?

[10:38] Robert W. Schneider: I just heard this was the first production of the season that I was excited to see.

[10:42] Bryan Hobgood: Yes.

[10:43] Robert W. Schneider: And I ended up not seeing it because I had friends who saw it early and said, just don't even bother.

[10:49] Bryan Hobgood: Because it apparently it was rough.

[10:51] Robert W. Schneider: Okay.

[10:52] Bryan Hobgood: From everyone I spoke to, which is sad because it's a great play, as you point out. And Julie Tamore usually at least has some kind of redeeming qualities to her productions.

[11:01] Robert W. Schneider: And this was not one of them. After M. Butterfly came junk at Lincoln Center.

[11:07] Bryan Hobgood: Oh yes.

[11:07] Robert W. Schneider: A play which I feel lives up to its title.

[11:09] Bryan Hobgood: Ooh.

[11:11] Robert W. Schneider: Sorry. Sorry, sorry. It was about junk bomb kings in the 1980s. And they they tried to there was a lot of buzz before it. I remember I felt like there was.

[11:18] Bryan Hobgood: There was a lot of like a lot of people.

[11:25] Robert W. Schneider: Right. And yeah, and it just sort of did not tell us anything we didn't already know.

[11:29] Bryan Hobgood: Right. So there you go. Then uh at Studio 54, we had John Linguizamo in Latin History for Morons.

[11:36] Robert W. Schneider: Which while it was at 54 below, I mean Studio 54, it was not a roundabout show. Not a roundabout show. In fact, none of the shows, it's uh Children of Aristotle, yeah.

[11:45] Robert W. Schneider: They've been renting it out.

[11:46] Bryan Hobgood: Oh, get that rent.

[11:47] Robert W. Schneider: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[11:48] Bryan Hobgood: Very subletting.

[11:49] Robert W. Schneider: Yeah, there's subletter. It's interesting because they're also renting out the Sondheim to Beautiful still.

[11:54] Kevin David Thomas: So they only have one theater right now, one Broadway theater.

[11:57] Robert W. Schneider: Wow. And the choices that they're making of what to put in there has been sort of fascinating.

[12:02] Bryan Hobgood: Yes.

[12:03] Robert W. Schneider: John Lisko. As we spoke about Time in the Conways already and Tim Marvin's Room.

[12:07] Bryan Hobgood: Tim Conway, too.

[12:08] Robert W. Schneider: Please, thank you. Yes, I'm sorry. Um and then we had this big uh exciting event happening, which was a new Steve Martin play.

[12:14] Bryan Hobgood: Exactly. Meteor Shower starring television's very own Amy Schumer in her Broadway debut.

[12:19] Robert W. Schneider: Yeah. And she was pretty hot this year.

[12:21] Bryan Hobgood: Yeah, and Laura Bonanti was in it, and uh Key. Uh what's uh Keegan Michael Key and Michael Key? Jeremy Sheamus.

[12:27] Robert W. Schneider: Yeah, yeah. And so I did not see this play. Um you guys did.

[12:32] Kevin David Thomas: Yeah, this was the first thing of the season that I ended up seeing.

[12:34] Robert W. Schneider: Oh, what drew what drew you to it?

[12:36] Kevin David Thomas: The play.

[12:36] Robert W. Schneider: Well, I mean, I wanted to see how Amy Schumer would do on Broadway.

[12:41] Kevin David Thomas: Right. And I also loved Laura Benante, obviously. And Steve Martin, I was a big fan of the writing of Bright Star that he did a few years ago.

[12:48] Robert W. Schneider: Um loved Bright Star. So I was curious to see what this play would be like.

[12:53] Kevin David Thomas: It's an interesting play. It's a weird play, but I thought Amy Schumer was actually quite good.

[12:58] Robert W. Schneider: Okay. And Laura Bonanti, too. The two men were fine, but the two of them were really the stars.

[13:02] Bryan Hobgood: So you feel that her we'll talk about this in a second that her Tony nomination is a deserved Tony nomination, or is it in a sense, well it's a weird category this year.

[13:09] Kevin David Thomas: So when we talk about that category, I'll get more into detail about it. But yes, I think she's deserving.

[13:13] Robert W. Schneider: After Meteor Shower came Uma Thurman and the Parisian Woman at Hudson, where I did order a glass of champagne during the show.

[13:19] Bryan Hobgood: Oh, I bet you did.

[13:22] Robert W. Schneider: My boss has produced the Parisian Woman.

[13:25] Bryan Hobgood: Oh, they're the ones from 54 Below.

[13:27] Robert W. Schneider: So yeah, so I'm I'm gonna uh choose yourself from Commentarous that's gonna do Rob.

[13:34] Bryan Hobgood: Is that how that's gonna work?

[13:35] Robert W. Schneider: Well I would hate for it to be favoritism.

[13:37] Bryan Hobgood: Okay, yeah. All right, well, that's nice. But it was written by the same gentleman who does House of Cards.

[13:42] Robert W. Schneider: Bo Willeman. So it and I I heard that it felt very much like an episode from House of Cards.

[13:46] Bryan Hobgood: It does feel like an episode of House of Cards.

[13:49] Robert W. Schneider: Bo Willeman uh actually used to teach uh used to work for the company that I quit my my job of 10 years.

[13:55] Bryan Hobgood: So you probably can't talk about it.

[13:56] Robert W. Schneider: A long time ago. So uh I've I've been a fan of his writing for quite a while.

[13:59] Bryan Hobgood: Oh wow, okay, great. I great. I love the house. I love House of Cards.

[14:02] Robert W. Schneider: I think it's fantastic. But this just felt like I I'm wondering if you didn't know House of Cards, how you would react to the case.

[14:07] Kevin David Thomas: Well, I don't watch House of Cards.

[14:08] Robert W. Schneider: Oh, okay. Um but I do love his other plays. I he wrote Farragut North.

[14:12] Kevin David Thomas: Yes, which is great a while back. And then that was adapted into the movie The Ides of March with uh George Clooney and Ryan Gosling.

[14:20] Robert W. Schneider: Um he's a great writer.

[14:21] Kevin David Thomas: He's a great writer, but I did hear that this was a little um I don't know, a little predictable, maybe a little uh forced based on the the time period that we're in.

[14:31] Robert W. Schneider: I guess he d they were doing rewrites up until right up until opening.

[14:35] Bryan Hobgood: Oh, okay, that okay. Um that's what I had heard anyway.

[14:37] Robert W. Schneider: Yeah. But I didn't see it, so I can't comment on that.

[14:39] Bryan Hobgood: So we can't comment on it.

[14:40] Robert W. Schneider: Uh next we had The Children, which was a transfer from the UK.

[14:44] Bryan Hobgood: That's right. Much talked about.

[14:46] Robert W. Schneider: Uh which I'm not sure. Dystopian world.

[14:49] Bryan Hobgood: Dystopian world. Very well written. Uh I d uh I but I I too did not see it.

[14:54] Robert W. Schneider: Okay, great. God, shame on us.

[14:55] Bryan Hobgood: I know I was planning to, and then it closed and I Well, you know, it was a lackluster season.

[15:00] Robert W. Schneider: I don't know what else to say in terms of this. I mean the fewest number of shows that open in like ten years or something like that.

[15:06] Bryan Hobgood: Now but you saw our next play, which was Farinelli and the King with Mark Rylance.

[15:10] Robert W. Schneider: I did.

[15:11] Bryan Hobgood: You did see that.

[15:11] Robert W. Schneider: And I I really enjoyed myself. I'm also an opera lover, and so I really wanted there's a one of the most famous counter tenors in the world was in it.

[15:19] Bryan Hobgood: Eustine Davis, and so it was really fun to not only see one of the greatest actors in the world, uh, but see w one of the greatest singers.

[15:27] Robert W. Schneider: Um was it the most well written play in the world? No. But uh to see Mark Rylance um on stage is always an honor.

[15:35] Bryan Hobgood: And so it was I I I really had a great night in the theater.

[15:38] Robert W. Schneider: And this transferred from London as well.

[15:40] Bryan Hobgood: Yeah, from what I understand, yeah.

[15:41] Robert W. Schneider: His wife wrote it, I believe, right?

[15:43] Bryan Hobgood: Oh, that's so cool. Claire of Claire's right, and 'cause she wrote some of the music and she's written music before and she does many, many things. I think it was one of her I think it's her first play.

[15:50] Robert W. Schneider: Yeah, that's um the the impression that I got. It wasn't necessarily the the play, the words, it was the whole production that was captivating.

[15:57] Bryan Hobgood: Yeah, or at least interesting. Uh then John Lithgow came back to us with Stories by Heart.

[16:03] Robert W. Schneider: Yeah, sure.

[16:04] Bryan Hobgood: Okay. Um and then uh this heralded production from the National Theater of Angels in America.

[16:10] Robert W. Schneider: It's the first revival of Angels in America to hit New York City.

[16:14] Bryan Hobgood: Well to hit Broadway.

[16:15] Robert W. Schneider: Or to hit Broadway, sorry, yes, because we had that one off Broadway a while back. Uh but this was our first big revival directed by the wonderful Marianne Elliott who gave us War Horse.

[16:24] Bryan Hobgood: That's right. Curious Incident, starring Andrew Garfield, Nathan Lane. Um did you see it?

[16:30] Robert W. Schneider: I did see it. I did the marathon.

[16:31] Bryan Hobgood: Me too.

[16:31] Robert W. Schneider: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I did a marathon day.

[16:33] Kevin David Thomas: I really enjoyed it.

[16:34] Robert W. Schneider: Yeah. Really enjoyed it. There are things about it that I had problems with, but overall, I really enjoyed it.

[16:35] Kevin David Thomas: I really enjoyed it, but I don't know if I enjoyed it because I was sitting next to Roma Torre from New York One.

[16:44] Robert W. Schneider: Roma Torre, New York One.

[16:46] Kevin David Thomas: And in front of me was Sarah Paulson.

[16:48] Robert W. Schneider: Oh.

[16:48] Kevin David Thomas: And oh my god, Holly Taylor.

[16:50] Robert W. Schneider: I was gonna say it was Alan Taylor with her.

[16:51] Kevin David Thomas: Oh, there you go. It was very exciting. Uh my favorite lesbian couple. I was I was a little starstruck. Uh, but you know, we'll talk about that.

[16:58] Robert W. Schneider: And then uh Second Stage opened up its new space at it's no longer the Helen Hayes, it's just the Hayes.

[17:04] Bryan Hobgood: Oh, just the Hayes.

[17:06] Robert W. Schneider: Like, why can't we still call it the Helen Hayes?

[17:08] Kevin David Thomas: I'm going to.

[17:09] Robert W. Schneider: I'm going to too. Yeah. Uh anyway, and that was uh Lobby Hero, this play from the early two thousands.

[17:15] Bryan Hobgood: Uh which is the first time.

[17:16] Robert W. Schneider: It started off Broadway.

[17:18] Bryan Hobgood: Yeah, only been off Broadway. And this was the first Broadway production of it.

[17:22] Robert W. Schneider: Right, right. Um I did not see it yet, but I really want to see the theater as well.

[17:25] Kevin David Thomas: I want to see what they did to the show.

[17:26] Robert W. Schneider: They renovated it, yeah. It's it's it's nice.

[17:28] Kevin David Thomas: I literally just saw this play yesterday.

[17:29] Robert W. Schneider: Okay.

[17:31] Kevin David Thomas: I caught the mad night, and it's closing this week, which is sort of a shame because I really enjoyed it.

[17:35] Robert W. Schneider: Yeah, I heard it's fantastic. I really, really enjoyed it.

[17:38] Bryan Hobgood: Well, Trip Coleman, who directed it is a brilliant director, I think. And the cast is Michael Sarah and Chris Evans, uh, Chris Evans, right?

[17:44] Robert W. Schneider: Chris Evans, yeah.

[17:45] Bryan Hobgood: Yeah, oh yeah. Um it's a good group.

[17:46] Robert W. Schneider: It's a good group. Then, after 30 years away from the theater, on Broadway, Glenda Jackson came back to us and did Three Tall Women with Lori Metcalf.

[17:56] Bryan Hobgood: Yeah.

[17:56] Robert W. Schneider: And Alison Pill.

[17:57] Bryan Hobgood: Yeah.

[17:58] Robert W. Schneider: Yeah. This is exciting. And that I saw yesterday as well.

[18:01] Kevin David Thomas: I saw that last night in Lobby Hero of the Madden.

[18:03] Robert W. Schneider: You had a Pissy theater.

[18:04] Kevin David Thomas: I did, and I'll tell you, I'm glad that I ended with those two because they were both so good.

[18:10] Robert W. Schneider: They're both so good. Lobby Hero closes this week, but uh Three Tall Women open for a few more weeks.

[18:15] Bryan Hobgood: So if people haven't seen it yet, try to get tickets.

[18:17] Robert W. Schneider: Great. Um and it's always great to see an Edward Albee play on Broadway.

[18:21] Bryan Hobgood: Yes.

[18:22] Robert W. Schneider: Right? And to see Glenda Jackson come back after where was she?

[18:26] Bryan Hobgood: Oh, she was just in Parliament.

[18:27] Robert W. Schneider: Oh, you know, no biggie. 20 years in Parliament. Just like, wow.

[18:32] Bryan Hobgood: What a life.

[18:33] Robert W. Schneider: What a career. God bless. I love her as an actress. I love her as an actress.

[18:37] Bryan Hobgood: Um, then we had the revival of Children of a Lesser God, the first Broadway revival of this of the 1980 Tony Award winner for best play.

[18:45] Robert W. Schneider: It's Children of the Book. I didn't realize that.

[18:46] Bryan Hobgood: It won the Tony Award in 1980, and then in 1986 it was a movie, and that's how Marlee Matlin came to fame.

[18:52] Robert W. Schneider: And she won an Oscar.

[18:54] Bryan Hobgood: Yeah.

[18:54] Robert W. Schneider: Um, and this was from Honey.

[18:58] Bryan Hobgood: No, uh uh, where is this from?

[19:00] Robert W. Schneider: It's it's it's a regional production.

[19:03] Bryan Hobgood: Oh, the transfer?

[19:04] Robert W. Schneider: It was from What's the what? Not not Williamstown.

[19:08] Bryan Hobgood: It might be Williamstown.

[19:09] Robert W. Schneider: I feel like Jesse Green. I remembering Jesse Green's review, and I think it's we're very prepared.

[19:14] Bryan Hobgood: I'm so sorry. But it's uh it's a transfer in starring Joshua Jackson.

[19:18] Robert W. Schneider: Joshua Jackson Dawson's Creek?

[19:20] Bryan Hobgood: Yeah.

[19:21] Robert W. Schneider: Yes. Yes.

[19:22] Bryan Hobgood: Pacey?

[19:23] Robert W. Schneider: No, he wasn't Pacey.

[19:23] Bryan Hobgood: Yeah, he was Pacey.

[19:24] Robert W. Schneider: Was he really?

[19:25] Bryan Hobgood: Yeah. You of course you know that's a good thing. I love that you're pretending not to know that.

[19:28] Robert W. Schneider: No, don't be embarrassed. Why don't you care?

[19:30] Kevin David Thomas: Can I ask you a really stupid question? Was James Van Der Beek Dawson?

[19:33] Bryan Hobgood: Dawson.

[19:33] Robert W. Schneider: Yes, that's of the Creek.

[19:35] Kevin David Thomas: So why was it his Creek?

[19:37] Robert W. Schneider: I never watched the show.

[19:40] Bryan Hobgood: Oh I didn't I never watched.

[19:42] Robert W. Schneider: Sure. There's a porn called Dawson's Crack.

[19:45] Bryan Hobgood: Don't watch that.

[19:46] Robert W. Schneider: Ah but also starring James Van Der Beek.

[19:51] Bryan Hobgood: Oh my god, stop it.

[19:52] Robert W. Schneider: Which I think is lovely. Um and then uh that production of Children of a Lesser God is is um yeah.

[20:00] Bryan Hobgood: Um wish which for so much more.

[20:02] Robert W. Schneider: Yes we did. I think we all did. Did you anyone else see it besides me?

[20:06] Kevin David Thomas: No, I'm I'm aiming to see it next week.

[20:07] Robert W. Schneider: Oh good for free.

[20:08] Bryan Hobgood: So it's comped out of beyond belief.

[20:11] Robert W. Schneider: Great. Okay. Um and then coming in from London, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, parts one and two.

[20:19] Bryan Hobgood: Yeah, yeah, which you saw.

[20:20] Robert W. Schneider: This was the highlight of the season for me.

[20:22] Kevin David Thomas: Really?

[20:22] Robert W. Schneider: Uh plays and musicals.

[20:23] Bryan Hobgood: Really?

[20:24] Robert W. Schneider: Uh it is everything.

[20:26] Bryan Hobgood: Hardest hardest ticket to get.

[20:28] Robert W. Schneider: Oh yeah, hardest ticket to get it. Were you a Harry Potter fan beforehand?

[20:31] Kevin David Thomas: I call myself a casual fan. I've read the books, I've seen the movies, yeah, but I'm not an obsessed fan by any stretch of the imagination.

[20:37] Robert W. Schneider: But it is breathtaking.

[20:39] Bryan Hobgood: And I I had read the the piece when she wrote it a few years back as a as a like manuscript, but and it was published before they turned it into a stage play.

[20:50] Robert W. Schneider: Um and a lot of people criticized it then for being sort of off brand, Harry Potter.

[20:56] Bryan Hobgood: Um on stage, it is a whole different thing.

[21:01] Robert W. Schneider: It is incredible.

[21:02] Kevin David Thomas: Great. Incredible.

[21:03] Robert W. Schneider: Yeah. A very stupid question. Is it adding to the Harry Potter story that we don't know already, or is it an adaptation of parts of the book?

[21:11] Bryan Hobgood: It is an add-on. It's sort of like what happens next.

[21:14] Robert W. Schneider: So the last book of the Harry Potter series ends with flash forwarding flashing forward, I guess, 17 years to when Harry is sending off his middle child to Hogwarts for the first time.

[21:25] Bryan Hobgood: And that's where this play picks up that same scene.

[21:29] Robert W. Schneider: And so it's his child going to Hogwarts.

[21:31] Bryan Hobgood: Oh, how interesting.

[21:32] Robert W. Schneider: Okay, great. But it flashes back and forward throughout through the timeline.

[21:37] Bryan Hobgood: And even if you've never read a Harry Potter book or seen a movie, you'll know what's going on at some point.

[21:41] Robert W. Schneider: Absolutely. And the details that are harder to follow, they have program notes in the playbill.

[21:46] Bryan Hobgood: Oh, that's fantastic.

[21:46] Robert W. Schneider: And now we finally have a something in that theater that's actually going to stay in that theater for a while, which is what they probably wanted forever.

[21:52] Kevin David Thomas: What do we call that theater now? Is it called the Lyric?

[21:54] Robert W. Schneider: Yeah.

[21:54] Bryan Hobgood: Yeah. Boy, that's a hard space.

[21:57] Robert W. Schneider: Yeah, but this is gonna run for a long time.

[22:00] Kevin David Thomas: Good, incredible. They deserve it.

[22:01] Robert W. Schneider: Um, and then a revival of Travesties, uh, also which one I think best play in 1975.

[22:08] Bryan Hobgood: Um I think it's the first revival of this play.

[22:12] Robert W. Schneider: I I think that's right. A Broadway revival of this, um, which is I've read nothing but great things, and every scene.

[22:18] Kevin David Thomas: You loved it.

[22:18] Robert W. Schneider: I loved it. And even though it's Tom Stoppard, you were able to follow it, which is the first act is a little harder.

[22:19] Bryan Hobgood: First act is a little hard. I always feel stupid. I always feel so dumb, and Tom I had to leave Arcadia because I was like, what the hell?

[22:30] Robert W. Schneider: That's not Tom Stoppard. Um we saw we've talked about that before on a previous podcast.

[22:36] Bryan Hobgood: Um we have a mutual friend, Rob and I have a mutual friend who saw it with me, and he had never read the play. I had read the play previously, and he had trouble following act one a little bit.

[22:45] Robert W. Schneider: Act two was a lot clearer. Stoppard in general, easier to read than to see on stage.

[22:50] Kevin David Thomas: Yes, I agree.

[22:51] Robert W. Schneider: Yeah. Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. Because you can actually go back and reread it. You can't can't ask the actors, do the scene one more time.

[22:57] Bryan Hobgood: Right, right.

[22:57] Robert W. Schneider: What was that? Can you circle back?

[22:59] Bryan Hobgood: Yeah.

[23:00] Robert W. Schneider: And then our last two plays of the season, Saint Joan over at Manhattan Theater Club.

[23:06] Kevin David Thomas: Yes, of course.

[23:07] Robert W. Schneider: Which I saw.

[23:09] Bryan Hobgood: I'm gonna leave it at that.

[23:10] Robert W. Schneider: What did you see?

[23:11] Kevin David Thomas: What?

[23:11] Robert W. Schneider: He goes, How did I forget?

[23:13] Bryan Hobgood: How could I forget?

[23:14] Robert W. Schneider: I know how you could forget.

[23:15] Bryan Hobgood: Yeah, it was uh there was at one point where I was like, I'll I'll volunteer.

[23:19] Robert W. Schneider: You're like, Me! Just me! Just like set me on fire. Let's just move on with our lives.

[23:23] Bryan Hobgood: Um I have so many thoughts about that play.

[23:27] Bryan Hobgood: But it would have every scene was like 15 minutes too long.

[23:30] Robert W. Schneider: Did you see it?

[23:31] Bryan Hobgood: I haven't seen it yet.

[23:31] Robert W. Schneider: Did you see it?

[23:32] Bryan Hobgood: Nobody, it's the pace was really like, uh, and I love Daniel Sullivan as a director. I really do.

[23:37] Kevin David Thomas: Me too.

[23:39] Bryan Hobgood: Because I think he just does, it's his work, I think is so fantastic. And this was just one where I'm like, 15 minutes, like every scene. Like, God, let's move on with it. Like, I have matches, like, we'll just go. Um, just douse me. Terrible.

[23:56] Robert W. Schneider: And then you're terrible, Muriel. And then the last play of the season that opened was also a revival, and that is The Iceman Cometh with Denzel Washington.

[24:05] Kevin David Thomas: Yeah, I haven't gotten around to it yet. I'm trying to see that next week.

[24:08] Bryan Hobgood: I loved it.

[24:09] Robert W. Schneider: What?

[24:10] Bryan Hobgood: I loved it.

[24:10] Kevin David Thomas: Yeah.

[24:11] Bryan Hobgood: I've heard people who love it and people who are kind of ambivalent.

[24:14] Robert W. Schneider: It's, I mean, it's four hours long. It's an epic, epic play. It was my first time seeing Denzel Washington on stage.

[24:19] Bryan Hobgood: Oh, yeah.

[24:20] Robert W. Schneider: I had no idea. I miss Fences. Um, he is so magnetic and so charismatic, and it has nothing at all to do with him being a movie star. There was just something about him that you cannot take your eyes off the stage.

[24:30] Bryan Hobgood: And he started out on stage. We forget that.

[24:32] Robert W. Schneider: I mean, yeah. And we'll talk about this when we get to nominations, but I actually think there's somebody on stage who's the star of the show.

[24:38] Bryan Hobgood: I yeah.

[24:39] Robert W. Schneider: Um, and I'm obsessed with him. Is his name right when rhyme with Schmabid Schmorse.

[24:44] Bryan Hobgood: David Morse, yes.

[24:46] Robert W. Schneider: That's the one. Whose performance in this, I think is so damn good. I've always loved him as an actor. Everyone's been talking about good performance. And he should win the Tony Award. I don't think he will, but he should. And that's going to be a crime.

[24:57] Bryan Hobgood: He's legit the reason I'm aiming to try to see it next week because I want to see him. I've been told that there's a chance of him winning.

[25:05] Robert W. Schneider: I hope so, because his performance is magnificent. So, gentlemen and ladies, that is the end of our play season.

[25:14] Kevin David Thomas: Well, define healthy.

[25:17] Robert W. Schneider: Well, it's interesting that there were so many more plays than musicals.

[25:21] Bryan Hobgood: Yeah.

[25:22] Kevin David Thomas: Yeah, that's true.

[25:23] Robert W. Schneider: So let's go through our nominations here for our plays, and let's see what we got here. Um, the first thing we'll talk about is best direction of a play.

[25:30] Bryan Hobgood: Okay.

[25:30] Robert W. Schneider: Best direction of a play. So our nominees are, and I promise I will not do what Catherine Heigel and Leslie Odom Jr. did. I'll try to Catherine McVee. Who'd I say, Catherine Eigel? Which is smoking out back. So I was like, Katherine Heigel. What are you going to do? Catherine McPhee. Who I love Catherine Eighted. Oh my god, it was embarrassingly bad.

[25:52] Kevin David Thomas: You know what my feeling is? I'm like, it's 8 a.m. They're a little tired, so I'll forgive him a little bit.

[25:57] Robert W. Schneider: She messed up almost every name.

[25:59] Bryan Hobgood: Yeah.

[26:00] Robert W. Schneider: Including her own at one point.

[26:01] Kevin David Thomas: Right.

[26:02] Robert W. Schneider: And then she kept calling them the tone-wise. Stop it. We don't know why she was saying that. Um, best direction of a play. We've got mostly revivals here. Yeah, it's Marianne Elliott for Angels in America, Joe Mantello for The Three Tall Women, Patrick Marber for Travesties, John Tiffany for Harry Potter, and George C. Wolfe for The Iceman Cometh.

[26:24] Bryan Hobgood: Um, I'm surprised. I mean, we'll talk about it egregiously overlooked on another episode, but where's Trip Coleman?

[26:30] Robert W. Schneider: So actually, hero. I think I had predicted Trip Coleman in the fifth spot. Because, oh yeah, we should tell our listeners, and I think some of our listeners are aware of this that Brian, before the nominations come out, posts what he thinks is going to be even nominated. Not even what's going to win, but who's going to be nominated.

[26:46] Bryan Hobgood: And your track record is pretty damn good.

[26:48] Robert W. Schneider: Yeah, and this year I was impressed with myself because I, since I missed so much in the fall, I thought I was going to be way off, but I actually was better this year than I was last year.

[26:56] Kevin David Thomas: Yeah.

[26:56] Robert W. Schneider: So it's great. So we don't have Trip Coleman. Um, this is so it's mostly revivals, except for Harry Potter. So who do we think is going to take home the best director of a play Tony?

[27:07] Bryan Hobgood: Yeah, I mean, well, first of all, I'll say about Trip Coleman. Having seen Lobby Hero yesterday, I made my predictions before I saw the show. I haven't seen Iceman Cometh yet, but from what I've heard from you and other people, it's not surprising that George Seawolf got in. And of the other four, Trip Coleman being left out isn't surprising to me because Marion Elliott, Joe Mantello, Patrick Marber, and John Tiffany all do amazing work.

[27:30] Robert W. Schneider: This is probably the strongest category.

[27:32] Bryan Hobgood: You're right. And these are all legendary directors in your own right. You know, Trip Coleman's this is what his second time on Broadway, I believe. The first one was his no, he's been on for a while because he did Six Degrees of Separation. He did Significant Other, which I'm still pissed got robbed from the first time. That's one of the one I'm thinking. I thought that was his first time.

[27:48] Robert W. Schneider: You know how I hated that.

[27:50] Bryan Hobgood: I know, but it seems like it's gonna be John Tiffany, though. Because Harry Potter is such a hit.

[27:55] Robert W. Schneider: It is. I mean, it's really a two-horse race between John Tiffany and Marion Elliott.

[27:59] Bryan Hobgood: Yeah, but um, it's gonna be John Tiffany.

[28:01] Kevin David Thomas: Okay, yeah, I think we're all pretty agreed that Harry Potter's gonna take that. Uh, we're gonna go to some design stuff. This is best sound design of a play. Congrats. Sound design, you're back, is back as a good job, you guys.

[28:11] Robert W. Schneider: We did it, guys. We did it. And the nominees are Adam Cork for Travesties, Ian Dickinson for Angels in America, Gareth Fry, Harry Potter, Tom Gibbons, 1984, and Dan Moses Schreier for The Iceman Cometh.

[28:25] Bryan Hobgood: Um, so are we just going to assume that Harry Potter's gonna sweep all these design awards?

[28:30] Kevin David Thomas: It seems like it seems like that's what happens, right? When there's the design awards, sometimes, I mean, there might be one or two exceptions, but I have, I I'm gonna sound like a broken record. I loved it so, so, so, so much. I would be very disappointed if it didn't win all these awards.

[28:43] Robert W. Schneider: That being said, I did not see 1984, and I hear that the sound was very present and effective. And but yet it's that whole thing where it's like how do they how do you quantify best sound design? And if the show's not running anymore, but it feels like but you people that's what I remember is the sound design from that show.

[29:02] Bryan Hobgood: But let's remember that this year, and I mentioned this on the podcast last year. Now that sound design is back in play, they are changing the voting rules so that it's only a subset of the voters are voting on the sound design category.

[29:12] Robert W. Schneider: Oh, so that it's only the people who specialize in that field are voting.

[29:17] Bryan Hobgood: Interesting.

[29:17] Robert W. Schneider: So that's good. That actually I think makes the range of it. Hey, Tom Gibbons, you know, well it's you you've got to be able to do that. Right.

[29:22] Kevin David Thomas: So Tom Gibbons, I think has a shot. That being said, I think it's gonna be Earth, right? I still my heart is still with Tom Gibbons, and I I'm hoping he'll do a surprise and win. Uh best lighting design of a wait, actually, hold on to go back for a second.

[29:33] Bryan Hobgood: So if it's this if it's a special subset, do they do that for scenic design or costume design?

[29:38] Robert W. Schneider: I don't think so. I remember that they had mentioned it specifically about sound design.

[29:42] Bryan Hobgood: I do remember that too.

[29:44] Robert W. Schneider: And maybe orchestrations too.

[29:47] Bryan Hobgood: Yes, I do recall that. Yes. Um, I think the idea is that anyone can appreciate things visually, but like if you're not a trained ear, maybe you can't. I don't know.

[29:54] Kevin David Thomas: That's so fascinating.

[29:55] Robert W. Schneider: Oh, yeah, I know it is. Okay, cool. Uh best lighting design of a play. Uh Neil Austin, Harry Potter, uh, Paul Constable for Angels in America, Jules Fisher, Peggy Eisenhower, The Iceman Cometh, Paul Russell for Farinelli and the King, and Ben Stanton for Junk.

[30:10] Bryan Hobgood: Um, so I my money's on Harry Potter.

[30:14] Kevin David Thomas: Yeah.

[30:14] Robert W. Schneider: I must say, uh, Farinelli was really interesting because the whole thing was lit with candles. Um, it was very, very minimal lighting design, and it was all like real candles on stage. Really, that was made up much of the lighting design, and it was very effective for this period piece.

[30:29] Bryan Hobgood: I don't think that it was gonna, I don't think that Paul Russell will win for it, but it was one of the biggest things about that show with lighting.

[30:35] Robert W. Schneider: Did Farinelli and the King start that new theater by the Globe where it's entirely lit by candlelight?

[30:41] Bryan Hobgood: I don't know if it started it, but I mean, didn't it come from the same company that he did, Twelfth Night and King Henry the King Richard the Third?

[30:47] Robert W. Schneider: Yeah, uh, Richard the Third, rather not King Richards. Um, because Twelfth Night was basically lit only by candles as well.

[30:52] Bryan Hobgood: Uh, the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, then to the Duke of York's theater.

[30:55] Robert W. Schneider: Oh, the set no the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse is the new addition to the Globe.

[30:59] Bryan Hobgood: Yes, it is, yes. Yeah, built making use of the 17th century plans for an indoor theater, yeah.

[31:03] Robert W. Schneider: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Which I think I've never been to that theater and I always wanted to go.

[31:07] Bryan Hobgood: Um, of the design categories, this is the one that Harry Potter deserves to win the most.

[31:10] Robert W. Schneider: Okay, great.

[31:11] Bryan Hobgood: The lighting is ridiculous.

[31:14] Robert W. Schneider: This is if I had to pick one award this season to give to anyone or anything, it would be lighting for Harry Potter.

[31:19] Bryan Hobgood: Oh, though.

[31:20] Robert W. Schneider: That's how I feel that's strong. Good.

[31:21] Bryan Hobgood: So that's Neil Austin.

[31:22] Robert W. Schneider: Yeah, and the pictures that are coming out stunning.

[31:25] Bryan Hobgood: Uh best costume design of a play, Jonathan Fensom for Farinelli and the King, Nikki Gillibrand for Angels in America, Katrina Lindsay, Harry Potter, Anne Roth, Three Tall Women, Anne Roth, The Iceman Cometh.

[31:38] Robert W. Schneider: And was busy. This is a good thing. Congrats to Anne.

[31:40] Bryan Hobgood: Wow.

[31:41] Robert W. Schneider: She'll she got a nomination for musical too, and the other side of the case. Oh, Carousel. She's got three nominations.

[31:48] Bryan Hobgood: She was a busy lady. Good job, Ann.

[31:50] Robert W. Schneider: Good, Ann. We gotta talk to her.

[31:53] Bryan Hobgood: This would be the one category where I think maybe Harry Potter could not win.

[31:57] Robert W. Schneider: I think it's going to. I think it's gonna sweep, and Katrina Lindsay will win. A three-character play with three costumes.

[32:03] Bryan Hobgood: Yeah.

[32:03] Robert W. Schneider: Iceman has a full ensemble, but we also know that the voters love to award a period piece in this category because of the ornateness of the costume. So I wouldn't be surprised if Farinelli and the King or Three Tall Women won this. Um, but I think it's gonna be Harry Potter.

[32:16] Bryan Hobgood: Okay, great.

[32:17] Robert W. Schneider: Yeah. Um, I was gonna go with Farinelli and the King just because, like you said, period. They love period.

[32:22] Bryan Hobgood: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[32:23] Robert W. Schneider: Um, okay, so then let's take a look at best scenic design of a play. Uh, and boy, what nominees we have here. We have, uh, Miriam Buther for Three Tall Women, Jonathan Fensom again for Farinelli and the King, Christine Jones for Harry Potter, Santo La Cuesto for The Iceman Cometh, uh, and Ian McNeil and Edward Pierce for Angels in America.

[32:44] Bryan Hobgood: Yeah, yeah.

[32:45] Robert W. Schneider: Um, I'm go go ahead.

[32:47] Bryan Hobgood: No, I I I have, uh, I I how what was the set for Harry Potter like?

[32:52] Robert W. Schneider: Oh, there it is. So it's not a redo the whole theater, so it's the whole theater, basically. It is incredible. So the thing about the set is it's actually surprisingly small scale.

[33:03] Bryan Hobgood: Okay.

[33:03] Robert W. Schneider: And they do a lot of theatrical magic with it. They don't use a lot of projections, it's all brick and mortar set pieces, but they're small. But what they do with the lighting in conjunction with the set is really, really incredible.

[33:17] Bryan Hobgood: Um, and how it functions is incredible. I think it will win best scenic design, but that being said, I saw Three Tall Women last night, and that set is gorgeous.

[33:27] Robert W. Schneider: And the scene two, have you seen it? I forget.

[33:29] Bryan Hobgood: No, I haven't seen it yet.

[33:30] Robert W. Schneider: The after the the like brief break between acts one and two, they don't do an intermission, they just go straight in. There's like a gasp-worthy moment leading into scene two or act two, however you want to quantify qualify it. Um, that's gorgeous, and I love that set, but I do think that Christine Johns will win for Harry Potter, most likely.

[33:49] Bryan Hobgood: Okay.

[33:50] Robert W. Schneider: All right, very cool.

[33:51] Bryan Hobgood: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Um, best performance. Now we're getting into performances, folks.

[33:55] Robert W. Schneider: Best performance by an actress in a featured role in a play. It's a long one. Susan Brown for Angels in America.

[34:03] Bryan Hobgood: She plays the mama.

[34:05] Robert W. Schneider: Um, oh boy, Noma Dum is Wayney?

[34:09] Bryan Hobgood: I think it's Demeswine, but I I that was good when you said it.

[34:17] Robert W. Schneider: Deborah Finley for The Children, Denise Goo, Gal?

[34:20] Bryan Hobgood: Denise Gal.

[34:21] Robert W. Schneider: Or go.

[34:22] Bryan Hobgood: Go, Goff.

[34:23] Robert W. Schneider: Denise Goff?

[34:24] Bryan Hobgood: Denise, who's gonna probably win the Tony America.

[34:27] Robert W. Schneider: Um, and then Lori Metcalf for Three Tall Women. We love Lori Metcalf.

[34:30] Bryan Hobgood: And we um, but I think you're right. It's gonna be good.

[34:35] Robert W. Schneider: She's real good.

[34:36] Bryan Hobgood: Yeah, with her Harper.

[34:37] Robert W. Schneider: Yeah. That's one of the hardest roles in the show. I mean, I know all the roles are challenging, but her especially. It's it's relentless.

[34:44] Bryan Hobgood: It's her role is relentless and the emotional journey that she goes on.

[34:48] Robert W. Schneider: Oh, yeah.

[34:48] Bryan Hobgood: Um, it's it's incredible, and she hits every single note, I think, pretty brilliantly.

[34:53] Robert W. Schneider: Yeah, I loved her. I loved Susan Brown and Angels in America too. I thought she was incredible in all her roles because she does multiple roles.

[35:01] Bryan Hobgood: Um, I thought Hannah Pitt was her weakest role. I thought as the rabbi, and I thought as um the Bolshevik at the top of part two.

[35:08] Robert W. Schneider: Yeah, when she wasn't the mom, I thought she was fantastic.

[35:11] Kevin David Thomas: And as uh um oh god, what why can't I think of it's like my favorite character in the show too?

[35:16] Robert W. Schneider: I can't think the ghost of Ethel Rosenberg.

[35:19] Bryan Hobgood: Oh, yeah, right.

[35:19] Robert W. Schneider: Um, I thought she was great as that too. Hannah was fine, but I thought her other performances were actually better.

[35:24] Bryan Hobgood: Um I'm a little sad Allison Pill wasn't nominated in this category.

[35:28] Robert W. Schneider: Yeah, I'm sorry, Alison.

[35:29] Bryan Hobgood: So we'll be back.

[35:31] Robert W. Schneider: She'll be back.

[35:31] Bryan Hobgood: She'll be back.

[35:32] Robert W. Schneider: Best performance by an actor in a featured role in a play.

[35:36] Bryan Hobgood: Anthony Boyle, Harry Potter, Michael Serra, Lobby Hero, Brian Therese Henry, Lobby Hero, Nathan Lane, Angels in America, and David Morse, The Iceman Cometh.

[35:49] Robert W. Schneider: You're I need a cigarette.

[35:53] Kevin David Thomas: No, geez, Rob.

[35:54] Robert W. Schneider: His performance is so good.

[35:57] Kevin David Thomas: Yeah.

[35:57] Robert W. Schneider: I have nothing else to say. His performance is so good.

[36:00] Kevin David Thomas: Yeah.

[36:00] Robert W. Schneider: I've heard that from everybody. I'm hopefully I'll get tickets next week to see him.

[36:04] Bryan Hobgood: But this is a pretty strong category, guys.

[36:07] Robert W. Schneider: I have a lot of thoughts about this category.

[36:09] Kevin David Thomas: Yeah.

[36:09] Robert W. Schneider: If you'll indulge me for a second. First of all, Michael Serra, I thought was great.

[36:16] Bryan Hobgood: That's what I've heard.

[36:17] Robert W. Schneider: He's really good. But he should not be in this category.

[36:20] Bryan Hobgood: He is the lead of this play.

[36:22] Robert W. Schneider: He should be in the, he should be eligible in the leading category and be nominated as such, because he deserves to be.

[36:37] Bryan Hobgood: I thought he was fantastic, and he's definitely the definition of a featured.

[36:41] Robert W. Schneider: Okay.

[36:43] Bryan Hobgood: But other than that, and also, I loved Lee Pace in Angels in America too. I would have nominated him.

[36:47] Robert W. Schneider: Played Joe.

[36:49] Bryan Hobgood: I really, really loved his performance. I thought Seth Numric and Travis Deuce was really great. There were a bunch of people who didn't get nominations in this category who I think deserved them.

[36:59] Robert W. Schneider: I have a feeling Nathan Lane's gonna win.

[37:01] Bryan Hobgood: Same.

[37:01] Robert W. Schneider: Which sort of makes me sad because as much as I liked him, he is doing the same thing he always does.

[37:08] Bryan Hobgood: And but he was the driving force behind this play, it getting done.

[37:12] Robert W. Schneider: He you know helped bring it here. I think the producers will know that the voters know that he's right, you know.

[37:19] Bryan Hobgood: For me, of the performances that I saw, I haven't seen David Morse yet. Of the ones that I saw, Anthony Boyle deserves this, hands down.

[37:26] Kevin David Thomas: Oh wow.

[37:27] Robert W. Schneider: Um he Who does he play in Harry Potter?

[37:29] Bryan Hobgood: Uh Scorpius Malfoy, which is Draco Malfoy's son and best friend of Harry Potter's son.

[37:36] Robert W. Schneider: Um and he's sort of the driving kind of catalyst of the play.

[37:41] Bryan Hobgood: He's phenomenal. Big breakout role for him. The young kid.

[37:44] Robert W. Schneider: He's incredible.

[37:46] Bryan Hobgood: Um I for me it's a a will-win should win situation.

[37:51] Robert W. Schneider: And I think Nathan Lane will win.

[37:52] Kevin David Thomas: I agree.

[37:53] Robert W. Schneider: Yeah.

[37:53] Bryan Hobgood: Although, as brilliant as he is, I'm not, I'm like, I see this every time he's on stage.

[37:57] Robert W. Schneider: Right.

[37:58] Bryan Hobgood: He's he's great at what he does. I'm not seeing anything incredible.

[38:01] Robert W. Schneider: Right.

[38:01] Bryan Hobgood: With David Morse, you see something really incredible.

[38:04] Robert W. Schneider: I can't wait to see that.

[38:04] Bryan Hobgood: Um not to rob any of these guys of the brilliant performances they're giving in.

[38:08] Robert W. Schneider: And I hope that David Morse comes back because you sit there and you go, I can think of 90 other roles I want to see you tackle in this moment.

[38:15] Kevin David Thomas: Yeah, he's so good.

[38:16] Robert W. Schneider: Yeah.

[38:16] Bryan Hobgood: Uh I'm done.

[38:18] Robert W. Schneider: Uh, best performance by an actress in a leading role in a play.

[38:21] Bryan Hobgood: We have Glenda Jackson for Our Three Tall Women, Condola Rashad for St. Joan, Lauren Ridloff for Children of a Lesser God, and Amy Schumer for Meteor Shower.

[38:32] Robert W. Schneider: This is an interesting category.

[38:34] Bryan Hobgood: So, fun fact about this they could have nominated five women in the category.

[38:39] Robert W. Schneider: There were enough eligible nominees where they could have nominated five.

[38:43] Kevin David Thomas: Who would have been the fifth?

[38:44] Bryan Hobgood: Well, I had Elizabeth McGovern because I thought they were going to snub Uma Thurman.

[38:48] Robert W. Schneider: Instead, they just didn't nominate either of them.

[38:51] Bryan Hobgood: I forget what the rule is uh for uh the number of nominees in the thing.

[38:55] Kevin David Thomas: If you have uh seven or more, then it's usually an automatic five.

[39:01] Bryan Hobgood: Gotcha.

[39:02] Kevin David Thomas: Um if they tie, then that's when they add the six.

[39:04] Bryan Hobgood: Exactly.

[39:05] Kevin David Thomas: Gotcha.

[39:05] Robert W. Schneider: Which is what happened for the musical side, which is crazy to me.

[39:07] Bryan Hobgood: Nuts.

[39:08] Robert W. Schneider: Um they only nominated four.

[39:11] Bryan Hobgood: That's crazy.

[39:11] Robert W. Schneider: You know, uh that tells you something.

[39:13] Bryan Hobgood: And of those four, the fact that Amy Schumer's on that list, in another year, I don't think she would have been nominated.

[39:19] Robert W. Schneider: But I do think she was one of the four strongest of the eligible women in this category.

[39:24] Kevin David Thomas: There's the old rewarding the Hollywood actor, we were talking about that.

[39:28] Bryan Hobgood: Yeah, which is please come back to us.

[39:29] Robert W. Schneider: Yeah, but she was surprisingly good.

[39:31] Bryan Hobgood: That's what I heard.

[39:31] Robert W. Schneider: I I didn't see Uma Thurman, but from what I've been told, it was not a good performance.

[39:36] Bryan Hobgood: And so she, you know, Amy was good.

[39:38] Robert W. Schneider: Amy made me laugh the entire time.

[39:40] Bryan Hobgood: Good.

[39:40] Robert W. Schneider: Okay, yeah. Will she win?

[39:41] Bryan Hobgood: No, God no.

[39:42] Robert W. Schneider: Glenda Jackson.

[39:45] Bryan Hobgood: This is maybe the easiest category to predict.

[39:47] Robert W. Schneider: You're welcome, Glenn Cook.

[39:48] Bryan Hobgood: Um, best performance by an actor in a leading role in a play.

[39:51] Robert W. Schneider: Uh, Andrew Garfield, Angels in America, Tom Hollander, Travesties, Jamie Parker, Harry Potter, Mark Rylance, Farinelli and the King, and then Denzel Washington in The Iceman Cometh.

[40:03] Bryan Hobgood: A lot of good actors in that category.

[40:04] Robert W. Schneider: Good group.

[40:05] Bryan Hobgood: I mean, actor actors.

[40:06] Robert W. Schneider: Real actors.

[40:07] Bryan Hobgood: Yes, some of them are movie people, but they are great actors.

[40:10] Robert W. Schneider: Um, this is another will win, should win situation for me.

[40:13] Bryan Hobgood: I mean, I think it's a pretty universally expected that Andrew Garfield's gonna win, which is to me, unfortunate.

[40:19] Robert W. Schneider: He was one of the issues that I had with this revival.

[40:21] Bryan Hobgood: Oh.

[40:22] Robert W. Schneider: Um, I liked him, but I didn't love him.

[40:23] Bryan Hobgood: And I saw Michael Urey do that role back in the off-Broadway revival a few years back.

[40:28] Robert W. Schneider: It's still in my mind, and that performance was incredible.

[40:30] Bryan Hobgood: And Justin Kirk in the movie was genius as well.

[40:34] Robert W. Schneider: That's a hard one to get out of your mind.

[40:35] Bryan Hobgood: Okay.

[40:36] Robert W. Schneider: Um the winner should be Tom Hollander for Travesties, who is incredible.

[40:41] Bryan Hobgood: It is such a good performance, but because it's such a small revival, I it's not getting the traction that a commercial deserves.

[40:48] Robert W. Schneider: Um his performance is crazy good.

[40:51] Bryan Hobgood: Um but it's gonna be Andrew Garfield, I think.

[40:53] Robert W. Schneider: Okay, great.

[40:54] Bryan Hobgood: I would agree with that.

[40:55] Robert W. Schneider: Um Best Revival of a Play, Angels in America, Three Tall Women, The Iceman Cometh, Lobby Hero, and Travesties.

[41:03] Bryan Hobgood: Yeah, it was a year of revivals for these categories.

[41:06] Robert W. Schneider: Listen, these categories are stuffed full of revivals.

[41:08] Bryan Hobgood: And the nice thing is is all of these revivals got fantastic reviews.

[41:11] Robert W. Schneider: Yes, these ones, yeah.

[41:13] Bryan Hobgood: Because usually usually usually there's a couple that they pad in there.

[41:16] Robert W. Schneider: Right, which like honestly in our best play category to be honest with you.

[41:21] Bryan Hobgood: Um I mean, I would be surprised if Angels in America did not walk away with the best revival of a play.

[41:26] Robert W. Schneider: Um, and based on this list, I think deservedly so.

[41:29] Bryan Hobgood: Yeah, I mean, I would having seen all of these except Iceman Cometh, I would be happy with any of them winning.

[41:35] Robert W. Schneider: Except I mean, I don't know about that one, but I loved all of them for different reasons.

[41:39] Bryan Hobgood: Um and then finally, our last category, um, where I'm really the weakest, because I've seen the least, so forgive me.

[41:45] Robert W. Schneider: Same.

[41:45] Bryan Hobgood: Uh Best Play, The Children by Lucy Kirkwood, uh Farinelli and the King by Claire Van Kampen, uh Harry Potter and the Cursed Child parts one and two by Jack Thorne, junk by uh Ayad Akhtar, isn't it right?

[41:58] Robert W. Schneider: Yeah.

[41:58] Bryan Hobgood: And Latin History for Morons by John Leguizamo.

[42:01] Robert W. Schneider: That was a surprise.

[42:02] Bryan Hobgood: Oh, that was the surprise, right?

[42:03] Robert W. Schneider: It was a little bit more.

[42:03] Bryan Hobgood: But John Leguizamo.

[42:04] Robert W. Schneider: Yeah.

[42:05] Bryan Hobgood: If there was a great, but it was, yeah.

[42:07] Robert W. Schneider: The fact that it was a weak year for plays and they didn't need to nominate five plays and they chose to.

[42:11] Bryan Hobgood: Yes.

[42:12] Robert W. Schneider: I would have taken junk off this list, honestly, before I took off Latin History for Morons.

[42:17] Bryan Hobgood: Fair.

[42:18] Robert W. Schneider: Honestly, if we were going to go to four.

[42:19] Bryan Hobgood: I'm just surprised that if there were five, that Meteor Shower was.

[42:22] Robert W. Schneider: I was just gonna say that.

[42:23] Bryan Hobgood: Or 1984.

[42:24] Robert W. Schneider: I'm it's a little surprising that.

[42:26] Bryan Hobgood: Yeah, I'm a little it was a little surprising what got in.

[42:29] Robert W. Schneider: But it's hard because the shows that open right at the fall, you don't really remember nomination time.

[42:34] Bryan Hobgood: 84 was like summer.

[42:36] Robert W. Schneider: I mean, that was literally summer.

[42:37] Bryan Hobgood: And like last um Boys in the Band.

[42:40] Robert W. Schneider: Yep.

[42:41] Bryan Hobgood: Which I just saw a couple of nights ago.

[42:43] Robert W. Schneider: I think it's honestly so fabulous.

[42:45] Bryan Hobgood: I hear it's so good.

[42:46] Robert W. Schneider: It's just I'm hoping people remember it a year from now because the production really is, I think, stellar.

[42:53] Bryan Hobgood: Um but I think we can all agree this is Harry.

[42:56] Robert W. Schneider: General.

[42:56] Bryan Hobgood: In 1984, I'll remind you that 1984 was deemed ineligible um for for for the Tony Awards.

[43:03] Robert W. Schneider: Why was it deemed early?

[43:04] Bryan Hobgood: And then in April 2018, they decided they reversed the decision, which it's like that doesn't look very good for 1984.

[43:10] Robert W. Schneider: I mean, like not and then to say yes, and I mean uh what happened on that that story was that uh the producers of the show didn't offer a free ticket to one of the members of the Tony Awards committee, the administration committee, so because they didn't do that, it was deemed ineligible.

[43:26] Bryan Hobgood: Why would they not give it to I think well that's a story for another day?

[43:30] Robert W. Schneider: There was a little political situation going on.

[43:32] Bryan Hobgood: Uh but then he recused that that member recused himself from voting.

[43:36] Robert W. Schneider: What was the issue?

[43:37] Bryan Hobgood: You don't have to mention names, but what was the Oh, apparently it was uh a bad review out of a prior show.

[43:43] Robert W. Schneider: Oh, and so it was a situation.

[43:44] Bryan Hobgood: Oh, it was sassy sassy sassy mix assertions.

[43:47] Robert W. Schneider: Wow, but then that voter recused himself from voting in that category.

[43:50] Bryan Hobgood: So the because that person didn't have to see the show any longer, the joke the show was.

[43:55] Robert W. Schneider: And they don't think politics is a good thing.

[43:57] Bryan Hobgood: I know.

[43:59] Robert W. Schneider: Yeah, but Harry Potter's gonna win.

[44:00] Bryan Hobgood: And meanwhile, in addition to Harry Potter just being so superior to all of these things anyway, it's also the only one that's open.

[44:07] Robert W. Schneider: Every other new play this season closed before February.

[44:11] Kevin David Thomas: Good calls.

[44:14] Robert W. Schneider: You're exactly right.

[44:16] Kevin David Thomas: Okay.

[44:16] Robert W. Schneider: Well, this is what we were guessing for best play, the nominees.

[44:21] Bryan Hobgood: We'll we'll see what uh we're correct with, we'll see what we're incorrect with.

[44:25] Robert W. Schneider: Um, and in the meantime, listeners, reach out to us, tweet us.

[44:29] Kevin David Thomas: What do you think?

[44:29] Robert W. Schneider: Instagram us, Facebook us.

[44:31] Kevin David Thomas: What are your picks?

[44:32] Robert W. Schneider: Call Kevin personally on his phone number, which I posted on Twitter.

[44:35] Kevin David Thomas: That's great.

[44:35] Robert W. Schneider: He likes calls at two in the morning usually to discuss St. Joan, one of his favorite plays.

[44:42] Kevin David Thomas: That's right.

[44:42] Robert W. Schneider: All right.

[44:44] Bryan Hobgood: Uh and a big thanks to our wonderful Bryan Hobgood for joining us for a third year.

[44:48] Bryan Hobgood: Thanks for having me.

[44:49] Robert W. Schneider: Till next time.

[44:50] Kevin David Thomas: Bye everybody.

[44:54] Robert W. Schneider: Good day, Mr. Thomas.

[44:56] Bryan Hobgood: Good day, Mr. Schneider.

[44:58] Robert W. Schneider: Well, it has happened.

[44:59] Bryan Hobgood: We finally hit over 100 iTunes reviews, and would like to thank each and every person who took the time to do so.

[45:06] Robert W. Schneider: Huzzah.

[45:07] Bryan Hobgood: Now we want to climb those charts even faster.

[45:11] Robert W. Schneider: And that is where you lovely folks who have not yet rated us come in.

[45:14] Bryan Hobgood: The process is very simple.

[45:16] Robert W. Schneider: On your podcast app, tap the search tab, enter our name Behind the Curtain, Broadway's Living Legends, tap the search key, tap our beautiful logo, tap the reviews, tap write a review, then tap your way into our hearts.

[45:30] Bryan Hobgood: Tap your troubles away.

[45:32] Robert W. Schneider: It's nice, Rob.

[45:33] Bryan Hobgood: Once you are there, you can rate us from one star to five stars.

[45:36] Robert W. Schneider: Think of one star as Hervey V Rob, how do you say this name?

[45:40] Bryan Hobgood: Herve Villerschel.

[45:41] Robert W. Schneider: Oh, dear God.

[45:42] Bryan Hobgood: I walked right into that one.

[45:44] Robert W. Schneider: Think of one star as Herve Viaz.

[45:47] Bryan Hobgood: And Ima Sumac in Sideshow and five stars as front row seats to the opening night of Gypsy.

[45:52] Robert W. Schneider: But they keep me.

[45:54] Bryan Hobgood: Yeah, they keep me for the first time.

[45:56] Robert W. Schneider: I thought that was pretty good.

[46:01] Bryan Hobgood: Excuse me, but trying to liven up our commercial ads a little bit.

[46:06] Robert W. Schneider: Eight-minute long commercial.

[46:08] Bryan Hobgood: It's an infomercial at this point.

[46:11] Robert W. Schneider: I'm gonna be like that lady that sells you the copper pots.

[46:13] Bryan Hobgood: Look at this. You can put 400 pounds of manure in it, and it slides right out.

[46:19] Robert W. Schneider: Then you can make an island.

[46:21] Bryan Hobgood: You got another lawn, Kevin?

[46:22] Robert W. Schneider: I'm waiting for you to say plus you can leave your comment and let us know if you like and what guests were like.

[46:22] Bryan Hobgood: Plus, you can leave a comment, let us know what you are liking, what you're not liking at this point, or what guests you'd like to hear next.

[46:33] Robert W. Schneider: So head on over to iTunes and let us know what you think of our little show.

[46:37] Bryan Hobgood: Speaking of little, I'll tell you a story about Charles Lawton later.

[46:40] Robert W. Schneider: Thanks, guys.