46 | MAY 30 • 2024
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ARTS&LIFE
BROADWAY

T

he 77th Tony Awards, to be held
Sunday, June 16, on CBS at 8 p.m.,
will air live from a new venue
this year — the David H. Koch Theatre
in Lincoln Center. Ariana DeBose will
be back for the third consecutive year
as host. Recognizing achievement in
Broadway productions for the 2023-
2024 season, everything from new
lavish musicals to classic revivals to
heartwarming dramas will be honored.
A few of the nominated shows have
already closed. Joshua Harmon’s Prayer
for the French Republic, a gripping tale
about antisemitism in France, garnered
three nominations including Best Play.
Betsy Aidem, who played the matriarch
in French Republic, is nominated for best
lead actor. Liev Schreiber is nominated
for playing Father Flynn in Doubt: A
Parable, and David Korins is recognized
for scenic design for Here Lies Love.
Lempicka, the story of Jewish Polish art

deco artist Tamara de Lempicka, closed
early after a short run, but still managed
to nab three Tony nominations. Natasha
Katz is up for lighting design for Grey
House and Adam Guettel for original
score in Days of Wine and Roses.
Jewish comedian and actor Alex
Edelman, whose solo comedy show Just
For Us ran on Broadway until recently,
will receive a special 2024 Tony Award.
In the show, Edelman talks about how
a tweet led him to infiltrate a white
supremacist meeting in Queens.
Here is a rundown of new shows on
the New York stage that have a Jewish
connection.
Appropriate, with eight nominations,
is a dark comedy drama centered around
a patriarch’s death. The Lafayette family
has returned to their Arkansas home
to deal with their late father’s estate.
Instead of a weekend of reconnecting,
the family reunion leads to buried secrets

and longtime resentments. Ultimately,
the siblings are forced to face their past.
Tony nominations include best revival of
a play, as well as Sarah Paulson for lead
actress, Corey Stoll for featured actor and
Lila Neugebauer for best direction. The
show runs through June 23.
At the Helen Hayes Theater, 240 W.
44th St., (212) 541-4516.
Cabaret At The Kit Kat Club, a
reimagined revival of the groundbreaking
musical, nabbed nine Tony nominations.
Inside the lively decadent Kit Kat Club
in 1931 Berlin, British singer Sally
Bowles keeps the club’s spirited party
going. But even with all the fun and
music, it doesn’t change that Germany
will be heading for war. The show stars
Eddie Redmayne as the emcee, who was
nominated for best leading actor in a
musical. Bebe Neuwirth, as the non-
Jewish boardinghouse owner, and Steven
Skybell, as a Jewish fruit vendor, play

Jewish connections to the awards and to current shows on Broadway

ALICE BURDICK SCHWEIGER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Tony Awards Time

MARC BRENNER