arts&life

The Band’s Visit

Tony
Time!

Keep this list of Tony-nominated Jews by
your side as you watch the big event — plus
what’s new and hot on and off Broadway.

Mean Girls

34

June 7 • 2018

jn

ALICE BURDICK SCHWEIGER SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

T

he Tony Awards air June
10 on CBS at 8 p.m.,
hosted by Sara Bareilles
and Josh Groban and broadcast
live from the Radio City Music
Hall. SpongeBob SquarePants
and Mean Girls lead the pack
with 12 nominations each,
with The Band’s Visit — a stage
adaptation of an Israeli hit film
— following right behind with
11 Tony nods.
Here are some of the new
Broadway and Off-Broadway
shows with a Jewish connection:

BROADWAY

Angels in America stars
Nathan Lane and Andrew
Garfield, who were both nomi-
nated for a Tony. Written by
Tony Kushner, this Pulitzer
Prize-winning epic revival, set
in 1980s New York City, tack-
les Reaganism, McCarthyism,
immigration, religion, climate
change and AIDS. The play is
performed in two parts and is
both heartbreaking and hilari-
ous. The show closes July 15. At
the Neil Simon Theatre. (877)
250-2929.
The Band’s Visit tells the
delightful story of an Egyptian
band that arrives in Israel to
perform in a concert at the
Arab Cultural Center. After a
mix-up at the border they find
themselves in the wrong town
with no bus out until the next
day. They are taken in by local
Israelis and their lives become
poignantly intertwined. The

show stars Tony Shalhoub.
The Band’s Visit, with 11 Tony
nominations, was a movie
in 2007. Music and lyrics by
David Yazbek, directed by
David Cromer and book by
Itamar Moses — all three are
Tony-nominated. At the Ethel
Barrymore Theatre. (212) 239-
6200.
Carousel, set in a small New
England town, is a revival
with music and lyrics by
Richard Rodgers and Oscar
Hammerstein. Carnival barker
Billy Bigelow becomes roman-
tically involved with a young
woman who gives up every-
thing for him. Cast includes
Joshua Henry, Jessie Mueller
and Renee Fleming. The show
has 11 nominations. At the
Imperial Theatre. (212) 239-
6200.
Children of a Lesser God,
written by Mark Medoff, stars
Joshua Jackson (The Affair) and
Lauren Ridloff. This revival of
a 1980s play is about a speech
therapist who works at a school
for the deaf. While trying to
teach the school’s deaf cleaning
woman to speak and read lips,
they fall in love. At Studio 54.
(212) 239-6200.
Escape to Margaritaville
is a feel-good jukebox musical
featuring the music of singer
songwriter Jimmy Buffett.
Vacationers come and go at
a run-down Caribbean hotel,
but one Ohio tourist, a scien-
tist traveling with her engaged

BFF, captures the attention
of Tully, a beach bum / hotel
guitar-playing singer. After a
week together on the island,
can this unlikely couple wind
up together? Gary Adler, a
University of Michigan grad, did
the dance music arrangements.
At the Marquis Theater. (877)
250-2929.
Frozen, a stage adaptation
of the hit animated Disney
film voiced by Kristen Bell
and Idina Menzel, is based on
the Hans Christian Andersen
story of a princess who freezes
everything she touches. The
song “Let It Go” won an Oscar.
The cast includes Caissie Levy
and Robert Creighton. Music
and lyrics by Kristen Anderson-
Lopez and Robert Lopez. The
show has three Tony nomina-
tions, including Best Book by
Jennifer Lee. At the St. James
Theatre. (866) 870-2717.
Getting’ The Band Back
Together tells the story of
Mitch, who has always dreamed
about being a rock star but left
his dream behind for a secure
high-paying job. His company
fires him on his 40th birthday
so he moves back home with
his mom in New Jersey. When
their house is about to be fore-
closed, he gathers his old band
buddies together and they enter
the Battle of the Bands contest.
Starring Marilu Henner, Mitchell
Jarvis, Garth Kravits and Jay
Klaitz. Previews begin July 19
and the show opens Aug. 13. At

PHOTO BY MATTHEW MURPHY

theater