DIVERSITY LOOPS BIG IN TONYS

Looks like the Tony Awards are back in the ballgame, with an uptick in the overnight Nielsen numbers (3.8 million viewers, according to Variety, up 39 per cent from last year). It’s a stunning comeback from those pandemic years, and a healthy comeback for Broadway.

Last night’s diversity of winners – including newbies – means a breath of fresh air. Artistry prevailed over box office grosses, and the bottom line is quite obvious: a new breed of splendid talent will bring a burst of invigorating new headliners in the Great White Way community.

Hosted by former “Hamilton” performer Ariana DeBose, a first-time Oscar winner from this year’s “West Side Story,” the Broadway community welcomed fresh faces and a vigorous new wedge of diversity, particularly these new names among the expanding elite Tony crowd:

1– Joaquina Kalukango, “Paradise Square, ” victorious as the Best Performance by an Actress in a  Leading Role in a Musical. Her performance was hypnotic, deeply emotional, and a show-stopper.

Joaquina Kalukango, from “Paradise Square.”

2— Myles Frost, “MJ”– Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical. He recreated the smooth moves of Michael Jackson, from moon-walking to crotch-grabbing, displaying a style  with his own imprint.

3 –Another MJ, Michael A. Jackson, became a new hero in the Broadway milieu, winning his first Tony for “A Strange Loop,” the Best Book of a Musical winner. The Pulitzer Prize-winning musical,  the tale of  of a Broadway usher, whose named is Usher, who is trying to write a musical about a Broadway usher trying to write a musical, has been widely applauded for its unique tale and score. Redundancy paid off, with a schematic involving six performers, who are guises of Usher’s innermost sentiments.

These wins might be loosely termed “upsets,” because the unknown Frost, enacting Michael Jackson, beat universally popular Hugh Jackman as con man Harold Hill, in the evergreen Meredith Willson musical, “Music Man,”

Jaquel Spivey, as the Usher in “A Strange Loop,” Best Musical winner.

the show that has been earning more than $3 million-plus a week, beating the usual “take” of $2 million-plus of “Hamilton,” which has been box office gold since Lin-Manuel Miranda first played Alexander Hamilton well before Covid halted all productions.

The exposure from the Tonys, televised by CBS to mark the 75th anniversary of the award, will be a clear milestone that will be long remembered. Change is happening. Slowly, but assuredly.

For a while, it looked like the old guard was going to make a clean sweep of the Tonys.

Patti Lupone, in “Company,” deserved her laurels; ditto, Phylicia Rashjad, in “Skeleton Crew.” Even the late Stephen Sondheim picked up a trophy, in memoriam, for Best Revival of a Musical,” for the beloved “Company.”

Stephen Sondheim, peers from a photo screen, with Bernadette Peters singing, below.

Jennifer Hudson quietly became an EGOT winner, as a co-producer of “A Strange Loop,” which galvanized her as a bonafide GOAT. Greatest of All Time, though her artistic clock’s still ticking. (Surely, you know that EGOT stands for Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony, the various show biz competitions, and if you win all, you’re an EGOT).

Scroll down the winner’s list, below, and yes, some traditonalists continue to score (think Sam Mendes  for Best Director of a Play, “The Lehman Trilogy”), gender equality is still relevant (think Marianne Elliott, Best Director of a Musical,” for “Company”), and a sweet, blossomimg dance to  fame is reflected in other triumphs in other categories.

Here’s the complete list of Tony nominees and winners (designated in boldface) :

Best Play
“Clyde’s”
“Hangmen”
WINNER: “The Lehman Trilogy”
“The Minutes”
“Skeleton Crew”

Best Musical
“Girl From The North Country”
“MJ”
“Mr. Saturday Night”
“Paradise Square”
“Six: The Musical”
WINNER: “A Strange Loop”

Best Revival of a Play
“American Buffalo”
“for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf”
“How I Learned to Drive”
WINNER: “Take Me Out”
“Trouble in Mind”

Best Revival of a Musical
“Caroline, or Change”
WINNER: “Company”
“The Music Man”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play
WINNER: Simon Russell Beale, “The Lehman Trilogy”
Adam Godley, “The Lehman Trilogy”
Adrian Lester, “The Lehman Trilogy”
David Morse, “How I Learned to Drive”
Sam Rockwell, “American Buffalo”
Ruben Santiago-Hudson, “Lackawanna Blues”
David Threlfall, “Hangmen”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play
Gabby Beans, “The Skin of Our Teeth”
LaChanze, “Trouble in Mind”
Ruth Negga, “Macbeth”
WINNER: Deirdre O’Connell, “Dana H.”
Mary-Louise Parker, “How I Learned to Drive”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical
Billy Crystal, “Mr. Saturday Night”
WINNER: Myles Frost, “MJ”
Hugh Jackman, “The Music Man”
Rob McClure, “Mrs. Doubtfire”
Jaquel Spivey, “A Strange Loop”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical
Sharon D Clarke, “Caroline, or Change”
Carmen Cusack, “Flying Over Sunset”
Sutton Foster, “The Music Man”
WINNER: Joaquina Kalukango, “Paradise Square”
Mare Winningham, “Girl From The North Country”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play
Alfie Allen, “Hangmen”
Chuck Cooper, “Trouble in Mind”
WINNER: Jesse Tyler Ferguson, “Take Me Out”
Ron Cephas Jones, “Clyde’s”
Michael Oberholtzer, “Take Me Out”
Jesse Williams, “Take Me Out”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play
Uzo Aduba, “Clyde’s”
Rachel Dratch, “POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive”
Kenita R. Miller, “for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf”
WINNER: Phylicia Rashad, “Skeleton Crew”
Julie White, “POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive”
Kara Young, “Clyde’s”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical
WINNER: Matt Doyle, “Company”
Sidney DuPont, “Paradise Square”
Jared Grimes, “Funny Girl”
John-Andrew Morrison, “A Strange Loop”
A.J. Shively, “Paradise Square”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical
Jeannette Bayardelle, “Girl From The North Country”
Shoshana Bean, “Mr. Saturday Night”
Jayne Houdyshell, “The Music Man”
L Morgan Lee, “A Strange Loop”
WINNER: Patti LuPone, “Company”
Jennifer Simard, “Company”

Best Direction of a Play
Lileana Blain-Cruz, “The Skin of Our Teeth”
Camille A. Brown, “for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf”
WINNER: Sam Mendes, “The Lehman Trilogy”
Neil Pepe, “American Buffalo”
Les Waters, “Dana H.”

Best Direction of a Musical
Stephen Brackett, “A Strange Loop”
WINNER: Marianne Elliott, “Company”
Conor McPherson, “Girl From The North Country”
Lucy Moss & Jamie Armitage, “Six: The Musical”
Christopher Wheeldon, “MJ”

Best Scenic Design of a Play
Beowulf Boritt, “POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive”
Michael Carnahan and Nicholas Hussong, “Skeleton Crew”
WINNER: Es Devlin, “The Lehman Trilogy”
Anna Fleischle, “Hangmen”
Scott Pask, “American Buffalo”
Adam Rigg, “The Skin of Our Teeth”

Best Scenic Design of a Musical
Beowulf Boritt and 59 Productions, “Flying Over Sunset”
WINNER: Bunny Christie, “Company”
Arnulfo Maldonado, “A Strange Loop”
Derek McLane and Peter Nigrini, “MJ”
Allen Moyer, “Paradise Square”

Best Book of a Musical
“Girl From The North Country”
Conor McPherson “MJ”
Lynn Nottage
“Mr. Saturday Night”
Billy Crystal, Lowell Ganz & Babaloo Mandel
“Paradise Square”
Christina Anderson, Craig Lucas & Larry Kirwan
WINNER: “A Strange Loop”
Michael R. Jackson

Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics)
“Flying Over Sunset”
Music: Tom Kitt Lyrics: Michael Korie
“Mr. Saturday Night”
Music: Jason Robert Brown Lyrics: Amanda Green
“Paradise Square”
Music: Jason Howland
Lyrics: Nathan Tysen & Masi Asare
WINNER: “Six: The Musical”
Music and Lyrics: Toby Marlow & Lucy Moss
“A Strange Loop”
Music & Lyrics: Michael R. Jackson

Best Costume Design of a Play
WINNER: Montana Levi Blanco, “The Skin of Our Teeth”
Sarafina Bush, “for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf”
Emilio Sosa, “Trouble in Mind”
Jane Greenwood, “Neil Simon’s Plaza Suite”
Jennifer Moeller, “Clyde’s”

Best Costume Design of a Musical

Fly Davis, “Caroline, or Change”

Toni-Leslie James, “Paradise Square”

William Ivey Long, Diana, The Musical

Santo Loquasto, “The Music Man”

WINNER: Gabriella Slade, “SIX: The Musical”

Paul Tazewell, “MJ”

Best Lighting Design of a Play
WINNER: Jon Clark, The Lehman Trilogy
Jane Cox, “Macbeth”
Yi Zhao, “The Skin of Our Teeth”
Joshua Carr, “Hangmen”
Jiyoun Chang, “for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf”

Best Lighting Design of a Musical
Neil Austin, “Company”
Tim Deiling, “Six: The Musical”
Donald Holder, “Paradise Square”
WINNER:Natasha Katz, “MJ”
Bradley King, Flying Over Sunset Jen Schriever, “A Strange Loop”

Best Sound Design of a Play
Justin Ellington, “for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf”
WINNER: Mikhail Fiksel, “Dana H.”
Palmer Hefferan, “The Skin of Our Teeth”
Nick Powell and Dominic Bilkey, “The Lehman Trilogy”
Mikaal Sulaiman, “Macbeth”

Best Sound Design of a Musical
Simon Baker, “Girl From The North Country”
Paul Gatehouse, “Six: The Musical”
Ian Dickinson for Autograph, “Company”
Drew Levy, “A Strange Loop”
WINNER: Gareth Owen, “MJ”

Best Choreography
Camille A. Brown, “for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf”
Warren Carlyle, “The Music Man”
Carrie-Anne Ingrouille, “Six: The Musical”
Bill T. Jones, “Paradise Square”
WINNER: Christopher Wheeldon, “MJ”

Best Orchestrations
David Cullen, “Company”
Tom Curran, “Six: The Musical”
WINNER: Simon Hale, “Girl From The North Country”
Jason Michael Webb and David Holcenberg, “MJ”
Charlie Rosen, “A Strange Loop”

And that’s Show Biz. …

POHALA’S A LIFETIME ACHIEVER

While watching Angie Harmon’s “Buried in Barstow” on Lifetime the other eve, I recognized the actor in a supporting role, Kristopher Polaha. Harmon, formerly of “Rizzoli and Isles,” plays Hazel King, the owner of a diner café, where Pohala’s character, Elliot, chows, and he’s an unemployed patron who becomes a hired hand washing dishes to pay for his meals.

Anyway, if  his name sounds Hawaiian, and many folks assumed he’s local — but he’s not. He’s Czech by birth.

Kristoffer Polaha

I remember Polaha when he starred in 2004’s primetime soap opera dubbed “North Shore.” Yep, he’s spent time here in the midst of the fictional Grand Waimea Hotel and Resort, now the Turtle Bay Resort, and one of his three sons was born in Hawaii.

A second season for “Buried” is likely. 

Polaha earlier appeared in “Wonder Woman” and did a “Hawaii Five-0” segment while living here.

He’s seen as Wyatt Huntley in this weekend’s dinosaur thriller, “Jurassic World: Dominion,” which opened Friday (June 10).

Finally, Hallmark regulars might remember Pohala, too, since he’s frequently in the stream of glam girls and studly guys – seven films and counting. …

Chef Hazama on Food Network show

Colin Hazama

Did you catch chef Colin Hazama, formerly of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, on the Food Network’s “Alex Vs. World” last week? Hazama lost his job in the kitchen of the Pink Palace, due to the pandemic, but his impressive appearance didn’t make the cut, so there won’t be another Hawaii chef during the run of the show, which is fueled by competing chefs from each of the 50 states. He’s back at his pop-up C4 operations, where he’s offering comfort food embracing local ingredients representing his island roots. …

Broadway grosses, week ending June 5

“The Music Man” continues to top the weekly Broadway gross charts, a testament to the powerful box office attraction to Hugh Jackman, in the titular role.

The rundown, courtesy The Broadway League:

Show NameGrossGrossTotalAttn Capacity%Capacity
A STRANGE LOOP$685,772.136,5207,29689.36%
ALADDIN$1,188,639.1713,20713,81695.59%
AMERICAN BUFFALO$433,548.804,4136,00873.45%
BEETLEJUICE$1,019,501.508,89412,81669.40%
CHICAGO$763,452.497,7988,64090.25%
COME FROM AWAY$461,759.505,3268,36863.65%
COMPANY$582,979.155,4868,36865.56%
DEAR EVAN HANSEN$508,454.955,4737,87269.52%
FOR COLORED GIRLS WHO HAVE CONSIDERED SUICIDE / WHEN THE RAINBOW IS ENUF$300,666.344,3546,18470.41%
FUNNY GIRL$1,178,026.758,5549,75287.72%
GIRL FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY$308,134.243,5446,38455.51%
HADESTOWN$846,938.857,1467,34497.30%
HAMILTON$2,191,718.0010,59110,59299.99%
HANGMEN$257,198.562,7966,41643.58%
HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD$1,331,192.3011,38212,97687.72%
HOW I LEARNED TO DRIVE$160,548.003,3484,45975.08%
MACBETH$995,270.206,6708,40879.33%
MJ THE MUSICAL$1,402,897.4010,50911,09694.71%
MOULIN ROUGE! THE MUSICAL$1,196,718.809,58310,40092.14%
PARADISE SQUARE$229,336.704,5997,85658.54%
PLAZA SUITE$1,576,899.557,6877,80098.55%
POTUS: OR, BEHIND EVERY GREAT DUMBASS ARE SEVEN WOMEN TRYING TO KEEP HIM ALIVE$430,900.005,58411,60848.10%
SIX$1,167,198.007,6748,24893.04%
TAKE ME OUT$658,210.154,5864,64898.67%
THE BOOK OF MORMON$947,843.907,7588,52890.97%
THE LION KING$1,864,584.0013,05013,56896.18%
THE MINUTES$272,498.003,1185,33658.43%
THE MUSIC MAN$3,274,285.6412,19112,20099.93%
THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA$880,654.849,23212,84071.90%
TINA – THE TINA TURNER MUSICAL$747,930.506,34511,82453.66%
WICKED$1,691,594.0013,47614,45693.22%

And that’s Show Biz. …

WHO’S WHO ON SUNDAY’S TONYS

The Tony Awards, when Broadway honors its best, will be held this Sunday, in a two-part programming sked, the first on the Paramount network at 1 p.m. Hawaii time, the second in prime time at 2 p.m. via CBS and originating from Radio City Music Hall.

Unlike the Oscars, when audiences and voters can watch movies live or streamed, the Tonys are a notable New York tradition. You can’t see a new or revived musical or play, unless you see ‘em in a Broadway theater. And since the pandemic has altered the going-out-to-be-entertained element, one wonders how many voters actually attended a show to cast their votes.

For non-theatergoers, the Broadway A-list may not be familiar. So stars as presenters or luminaries as performers may not be familiar to the stay-at-homers. Heck, I’ve not been to Broadway since the summer of 2019, and haven’t been able to give my regards to Broadway, to coin the familiar phase. Hope to go soon, but it likely will be later.

The galaxy this year will include the known, the unknown, and the on-the-way-uppers.

The Tony Award

Glimpse at this rundown of bold face names, and see if you recognize the talents. Some are movie stars or recording acts, so your memory bell might jingle. One island star, who has earned a Tony, will be aboard, as a presenter; see if you can pick her out. A former Islander who now is a producer, has a nominated production, but an actor, not the musical , is a contender. Know who the local dude is and which production is his?

The lineup of “names” this year, in alphabetical order: Utkarsh Ambudkar, Skylar Astin, Zach Braff, Danielle Brooks, Danny Burstein, Len Cariou, RuPaul Charles, Jessica Chastain, Lilli Cooper, Bryan Cranston, Wilson Cruz.

Also, Colman Domingo, Anthony Edwards, Cynthia Erivo, Raúl Esparza, Laurence Fishburne, Andrew Garfield, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Tony Goldwyn, David Alan Grier, Vanessa Hudgens, Jennifer Hudson, Paris Jackson, Prince Jackson, LaTanya Richardson Jackson, Samuel L Jackson, Nathan Lane, Telly Leung, Judith Light, Josh Lucas.


Further, Gaten Matarazzo, Ruthie Ann Miles, Patina Miller, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Bebe Neuwirth, Kelli O’Hara, Sarah Paulson, Bernadette Peters, Jeremy Pope, Billy Porter, Chita Rivera, Tony Shalhoub, Phillipa Soo, Sarah Silverman, George Takei, Aaron Tveit, Adrienne Warren, Patrick Wilson, and Bowen Yang.

The first show, hosted by Darren Criss and Julianne Hough, starts at 1 p.m., with coverage streamed on Paramount Plus, sister station of CBS.

The parade of musical and drama actors, both in leading and featured roles from nominated shows such as “Music Man,” “Plaza Suite,” “Take Me Out,” “A Strange Loop,” “How I Learned to Drive,” “Funny Girl,” “MJ: The Musical,” “Company,” “Six” and “POTUS,” will be highlights in a three-hour presentation starting at 2 p.m. on CBS. Ariana DeBose, an Oscar winning actress from “West Side Story,” will host the main spectacle.

Ruthie Ann Miles

The Hawaii presence.: The previous Hawaii Tony winner is Ruthie Ann Miles, who earned her statuette as a featured musical actress in “The King and I” in 2015; she is a presenter. The producer whose “Mrs. Doubtfire” is a nominee this year, is Kevin McCollum, who also is a previous multi-Tony winner for such shows as “Rent” and “Avenue Q.” …

And the nominees are…

The complete list of the 2022 Tony nominees might be helpful, if you’re tuning in the show:

Best New Musical

“Girl From the North Country”

“MJ”

“Mr. Saturday Night”

“Paradise Square”

“Six: The Musical”

“A Strange Loop”

Best Musical Revival

“Caroline, or Change”

“Company”

“The Music Man”

Best New Play

“Clyde’s”

“Hangmen”

“The Lehman Trilogy”

“The Minutes”

“Skeleton Crew”

Best Play Revival

“American Buffalo”

“For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/ When the Rainbow Is Enuf”

“How I Learned to Drive”

“Take Me Out”

“Trouble in Mind”

Best Book of a Musical

Christina Anderson, Craig Lucas and Larry Kirwan, “Paradise Square”

Billy Crystal, Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel, “Mr. Saturday Night”

Michael R. Jackson, “A Strange Loop”

Conor McPherson, “Girl From the North Country”

Lynn Nottage, “MJ”

Best Original Score

“Flying Over Sunset,” music by Tom Kitt; lyrics by Michael Korie

“Mr. Saturday Night,” music by Jason Robert Brown; lyrics by Amanda Green

“Paradise Square,” music by Jason Howland and Larry Kirwan; lyrics by Nathan Tysen and Masi Asare

“Six: The Musical,” music and lyrics: Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss

“A Strange Loop,” music and lyrics: Michael R. Jackson

Best Direction of a Play

Lileana Blain-Cruz, “The Skin of Our Teeth”

Camille A. Brown, “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/ When the Rainbow Is Enuf”

Sam Mendes, “The Lehman Trilogy”

Neil Pepe, “American Buffalo”

Les Waters, “Dana H.”

Best Direction of a Musical

Stephen Brackett, “A Strange Loop”

Marianne Elliott, “Company”

Conor McPherson, “Girl From the North Country”

Lucy Moss and Jamie Armitage, “Six: The Musical”

Christopher Wheeldon, “MJ”

Best Leading Actor in a Play

Simon Russell Beale, “The Lehman Trilogy”

Adam Godley, “The Lehman Trilogy”

Adrian Lester, “The Lehman Trilogy”

David Morse, “How I Learned to Drive”

Sam Rockwell, “American Buffalo”

Ruben Santiago-Hudson, “Lackawanna Blues”

David Threlfall, “Hangmen”

Best Leading Actress in a Play

Gabby Beans, “The Skin of Our Teeth”

LaChanze, “Trouble in Mind”

Ruth Negga, “Macbeth”

Deirdre O’Connell, “Dana. H”

Mary-Louise Parker, “How I Learned to Drive”

Best Leading Actor in a Musical

Billy Crystal, “Mr. Saturday Night”

Myles Frost, “MJ”

Hugh Jackman, “The Music Man”

Rob McClure, “Mrs. Doubtfire”

Jaquel Spivey, “A Strange Loop”

Best Leading Actress in a Musical

Sharon D Clarke, “Caroline, or Change”

Carmen Cusack, “Flying Over Sunset”

Sutton Foster, “The Music Man”

Joaquina Kalukango, “Paradise Square”

Mare Winningham, “Girl From the North Country”

Best Featured Actor in a Play

Alfie Allen, “Hangmen”

Chuck Cooper, “Trouble in Mind”

Jesse Tyler Ferguson, “Take Me Out”

Ron Cephas Jones, “Clyde’s”

Michael Oberholtzer, “Take Me Out”

Jesse Williams, “Take Me Out”

Best Featured Actress in a Play

Uzo Aduba, “Clyde’s”

Rachel Dratch, “POTUS”

Kenita R. Miller, “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/ When the Rainbow Is Enuf”

Phylicia Rashad, “Skeleton Crew”

Julie White, “POTUS”

Kara Young, “Clyde’s”

Best Featured Actor in a Musical

Matt Doyle, “Company”

Sidney DuPont, “Paradise Square”

Jared Grimes, “Funny Girl”

John-Andrew Morrison, “A Strange Loop”

A.J. Shively, “Paradise Square”

Best Featured Actress in a Musical

Jeannette Bayardelle, “Girl From the North Country”

Shoshana Bean, “Mr. Saturday Night”

Jayne Houdyshell, “The Music Man”

L Morgan Lee, “A Strange Loop”

Patti LuPone, “Company”

Jennifer Simard, “Company”

Best Scenic Design of a Play

Beowulf Boritt, “POTUS”

Es Devlin, “The Lehman Trilogy”

\Anna Fleischle, “Hangmen”

Michael Carnahan and Nicholas Hussong, “Skeleton Crew”

Adam Rigg, “The Skin of Our Teeth”

Best Scenic Design of a Musical

Beowulf Boritt and 59 Productions, “Flying Over Sunset”

Bunny Christie, “Company”

Arnulfo Maldonado, “A Strange Loop”

Derek McLane and Peter Nigrini, “MJ”

Allen Moyer, “Paradise Square”

Best Costume Design of a Play

Montana Levi Blanco, “The Skin of Our Teeth”

Sarafina Bush, “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/ When the Rainbow Is Enuf”

Jane Greenwood, “Plaza Suite”

Jennifer Moeller, “Clyde’s”

Emilio Sosa, “Skeleton Crew”

Best Costume Design of a Musical

Fly Davis, “Caroline, or Change”

Toni-Leslie James, “Paradise Square”

William Ivey Long, “Diana, the Musical”

Santo Loquasto, “The Music Man”

Gabriella Slade, “Six: The Musical”

Paul Tazewell, “MJ”

Best Lighting Design of a Play

Joshua Carr, “Hangmen”

Jiyoun Chang, “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/ When the Rainbow Is Enuf”

Jon Clark, “The Lehman Trilogy”

Jane Cox, “Macbeth”

Yi Zhao, “The Skin of Our Teeth”

Best Lighting Design of a Musical

Neil Austin, “Company”

Tim Deiling, “Six: The Musical”

Donald Holder, “Paradise Square”

Natasha Katz, “MJ”

Bradley King, “Flying Over Sunset”

Jen Schriever, “A Strange Loop”

Best Sound Design of a Play

Nick Powell and Dominic Bilkey, “The Lehman Trilogy”

Justin Ellington, “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/ When the Rainbow Is Enuf”

Mikhail Fiksel, “Dana H.”

Palmer Hefferan, “The Skin of Our Teeth”

Mikaal Sulaiman, “Macbeth”

Best Sound Design of a Musical

Simon Baker, “Girl From the North Country”

Ian Dickinson for Autograph, “Company”

Paul Gatehouse, “Six: The Musical”

Drew Levy, “A Strange Loop”

Gareth Owen, “MJ”

Best Choreography

Camille A. Brown, “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/ When the Rainbow Is Enuf”

Warren Carlyle, “The Music Man”

Carrie-Anne Ingrouille, “Six: The Musical”

Bill T. Jones, “Paradise Square”

Christopher Wheeldon, “MJ”

Best Orchestrations

David Cullen, “Company”

Tom Curran, “Six: The Musical”

Simon Hale, “Girl From the North Country”

Jason Michael Webb and David Holcenberg, “MJ”

Charlie Rosen, “A Strange Loop”

And that’s Show Biz…

DID YOU MONOPOLIZE AS A CHILD?

Just asking…

What was the prevailing board game while you were growing up?

The one I  mostly played was Monopoly…have had several board sets over the years, including the Hawaiian edition.

If you played Monopoly, you needed family and friends to make the competish fun.

What was your favorite token, or charm, or kini, as locals called ‘em. I liked the thimble and the top hat, for no particular reason.

What’s your take on your fave game board?

‘DKMD’ SIGNS MEAN DOOGIE’S BACK

If you spot a temporary yellow street sign which says “DKMD,” with arrows pointing left or right, it’s the first clue that Season 2 filming has begun for Disney+’s Hawaii-based “Doogie Kamealoha, M.D.” series, starring Peyton Elizabeth Lee, as the minor who has a major youth presence as a licensed doctor at a hospital.

Peyton Elizabeth Lee

About the tell-tale directional sign: DK stands for Doogie Kamealoha, MD is for medical doctor. The code name, thus, is DKMD, and if you spot it somewhere in your community, that’s an indication that shooting is under way nearby. Follow the arrows.

The first evidence of the sign appearance was in May in Waimanalo, where the TV home of Lahela “Doogie” Kamealoha lives, the teen who leads two lives: as a teen with peer needs, as an MD who can perform surgery. It’s a wholly Disneyesque project, for sure, with meaningful and plenty ‘ohana rituals. ‘Ohana, of course, means family, which was the core of Stitch, in Disney’s earlier Hawaii-set “Lilo and Stitch” animated series and films.

Like the sophomore first season, “Doogie” will film 10 episodes with production expected to continue till mid-August, or thereabout. Season 2 episodes will launch in the fall.

The series, created by Kourtney Kang (who also is an executive producer), is a reboot of Neil Patrick Harris’ “Doogie Houser, M.D.” The island version has a credible cast, including Jason Scott Lee, Kathleen Rose Perkins, Matthew Sato, Wes Tian,Emma Meisel, Mapuana Makie, Jeffrey. Bowyer Chapman, Ronnie Chieng, and Alex Aiono. Expect a few additions this year….

Around town…

Lacey Chabert

Lacey Chabert, who played Little Cossette in “Les Miserables” on Broadway, before becoming part of the cast of “Party of Five” on Fox, has become a hugely popular Hallmark star with nearly 30 projects thus far. She’s been in town filming “Groundswell,” under the Crown MediaFamily Network banner (the company produces the Hallmark projects, too).

And local singer Anuhea plays herself – as a “celebrity host,” — in a segment involving a cooking competition. …

Then there’s Blake Vanamserfoorth formerly from Hawaii but now a Venice Beach resident who launched his own clothing brand — will be seen in “Vanjie: 24 Hours of Love,” airing beginning June 9 via WOW Presents Plus, a streaming service. The reality dating show, reeling back the curtain on gay romance quests, is produced by the makers of “RuPaul’s Drag Race.”

Vanamserfoorth is a contestant on the series, which will feature conversations about sex positivity and other topics within the gay dating community.

In his pre-airing notes, Vanamserfoorth indicates his intent is to find a date who makes him laugh and isn’t afraid to voice his opinion, a companion who loves to dress up and go to parties. Game on! …

And that’s Show Biz. …