First, the good news:
“The Book of Mormon” will celebrate its 15th anniversary on the Tony Awards June 7th on CBS.
A live performance will feature Tony Award nominees Josh Gad, Andrew Rannells and Rory O’Malley and Tony Award winner Nikki M. James. They will be introduced by Tony Award winners Trey Parker, Matt Stone and Robert Lopez.
“Book of Mormon” has a lot to celebrate after a fire on the roof of the theater shut them down for weeks.
The Tonys are hosted by singer Pink. Last night I ran into one of my favorite people, two time host Ariana DeBose (and Oscar and Tony winner), who told me, “Pink is going to be fantastic!” I agree.
The show will also feature performances from The Lost Boys, Schmigadoon!, TitanÃque, Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York), CATS: The Jellicle Ball, Ragtime and Richard O’Brien’s (as opposed to someone else’s) “The Rocky Horror Show.”
Some good news for “The Lost Boys”: they’re doing so well, the run is being extended.
On the other hand, more closures.
The revival of “Chess” is wrapping up in mid June, three months early. The reason is that Lea Michelle is leaving then. The show was going to replace her and soldier on til September, but she was the draw.
“Chess” had mixed reviews and has been playing at 73% capacity. Danny Strong wrote a new book but in the end, the show was never very good. The whole thing hinges on one song, “One Night in Bangkok.” Lea Michelle, Aaron Tveit, and Tony nominee Nicholas Christopher gave it their all, but they couldn’t overcome the show’s deficiencies.
Also going soon: “Moulin Rouge.” And “Beaches” was closed due to sharks in the audience.
Broadway’s biggest night
