"Journey On" to The Tony Awards
Hop aboard as we set sail for the 79th Tony Awards! The annual celebration of Broadway promises to be full of glamour and entertainment, as always. Hosted by pop star P!nk at Radio City Music Hall, this year's awards show will air at 8 PM ET on CBS and stream live on Paramount+. Prior to the main ceremony, "The Tony Awards: Act One" will stream live on Pluto TV at 6:35 PM ET and will be hosted by Laura Benanti and Titus Burgess.
While everyone deserves applause, we are especially rooting for our MTI authors and titles among this year's nominees. "Shall we go for it?" Let's take a look!
(Now updated post-Tony Awards)
Ragtime
The acclaimed and accoladed revival of Ragtime took home four Tony Awards, including Best Revival of a Musical. This production has wowed the Broadway community with both its timeliness and riveting performances, including those by Joshua Henry and Caissie Levy, who both won for their respective portrayals of Coalhouse Walker Jr. and Mother. Kai Harada won for Best Sound Design of a Musical. Among Ragtime's 11 Tony nominations, Brandon Uranowitz, Nichelle Lewis and Ben Levi Ross were nominated for their performances.
The original 1998 Broadway production of Ragtime took home four Tony Awards, including Best Original Score for Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty and Best Book of a Musical for Terrence McNally.
At the dawn of a new century, everything is changing... and anything is possible. Set in the volatile melting pot of turn-of-the-century New York, three distinctly American tales are woven together – that of a stifled upper-class wife, a determined Jewish immigrant and a daring young Harlem musician – united by their courage, compassion and belief in the promise of the future. Together, they confront history's timeless contradictions of wealth and poverty, freedom and prejudice, hope and despair... and what it means to live in America.
Titanique
"What do you say to taking chances?" Authors Tye Blue, Marla Mindelle and Constantine Rousouli know all about that after Titanique's journey from LA to a basement theatre Off-Broadway to Tony nominees! Nominated for four Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Best Book of a Musical, this satirical jukbebox musical retelling of the iconic film Titanic has audiences rolling with laughter and singing along.
Want to find out what really happened to Jack and Rose on that fateful night? Our story begins when Céline Dion hijacks a Titanic Museum tour and enchants the audience with her totally wild take, recharting the course of Titanic’s beloved moments and characters with her iconic song catalog. Titanique is a one-of-a-kind musical voyage bursting with nostalgia and heart.
Let's Hear it for Our Authors!
We are also honored to have three MTI authors nominated for excellence in their crafts this year. Doug Besterman (The Big One-Oh!, Breathe) won Best Orchestrations for Schmigadoon! with co-orchestrator Mike Morris. Besterman has previously won three Tony Awards for his orchestrations in Fosse, The Producers, and Thoroughly Modern Millie. Brian Usifer's (The Heart of Rock and Roll, May We All) orchestrations for Chess were also nominated - his first Tony nomination! Tony and Pulitzer winner David Lindsay-Abaire's (Kimberly Akimbo, Shrek The Musical) The Balusters was nominated for five Tony Awards, including Best Play.
Tony and Pulitzer winner James Lapine received the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement. What Lapine has given to musical theatre cannot be adequately summarized through accolades alone. Through Into the Woods, Passion, Sunday in the Park with George, and so much more, Lapine has challenged our imaginations and enriched the art form we love. It's an immense privilege to call him an MTI author.
Let's give a round of applause to our authors for their contributions to the Broadway community and live theatre as a whole. Bravo to all the nominees and winners!
