{"id":36891,"date":"2017-06-09T15:49:31","date_gmt":"2017-06-09T21:49:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/?p=36891"},"modified":"2017-06-09T15:51:29","modified_gmt":"2017-06-09T21:51:29","slug":"tonys-2017-the-7-jewish-shows-to-watch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/tonys-2017-the-7-jewish-shows-to-watch\/","title":{"rendered":"Tonys 2017: The 7 Jewish shows to watch"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>(JTA) \u2014 This Sunday is the biggest night of the year for theater lovers: It\u2019s the Tony Awards.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_36893\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/oslo.png\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-36893\" class=\"wp-image-36893 size-medium lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/oslo-300x198.png\" alt=\"oslo\" width=\"300\" height=\"198\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/oslo-300x198.png 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/oslo.png 880w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 300px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 300\/198;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-36893\" class=\"wp-image-36893 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/oslo-300x198.png\" alt=\"oslo\" width=\"300\" height=\"198\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/oslo-300x198.png 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/oslo.png 880w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-36893\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A scene from \u201cOslo.\u201d (Screenshot from YouTube)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Unfortunately, our crystal ball is at the shop for repairs \u2014 so we can\u2019t say with certainty who the\u00a0winners will be. But there\u2019s one thing that\u2019s for sure: The past year has been a standout one for Jewish actors, characters and writers who are plying their talents\u00a0on the Great White Way.<\/p>\n<p>From a play about Israeli-Palestinian peace talks to a Broadway legend playing a Jewish cosmetics doyenne, here\u00a0are seven shows with Jewish connections and themes that we expect to win big at the 2017 Tony Awards, which air Sunday evening on CBS.<\/p>\n<p><strong>1. \u201cOslo\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cOslo,\u201d J.T. Rogers\u2019 play about the 1993 Oslo Accords, is widely <a href=\"http:\/\/observer.com\/2017\/06\/tony-award-predictions-dear-evan-hansen-hello-dolly-oslo-jitney\/\">considered the frontrunner<\/a> for Best Play. It\u2019s won nearly every theater award \u00a0\u2014 the Drama Desk, the Lucille Lortel Award, the Outer Critics Circle, the Drama League, the New York Drama Critics\u2019 Circle and the Obie.<\/p>\n<p>The play, in which Israelis and Palestinian negotiators \u00a0\u2014\u00a0 including\u00a0Uri Savir, played by Michael Aronov, who is nominated for Best Featured Actor in a Play \u2014 struggle to hammer out a peace deal, received rave reviews for turning a complicated history into a fast, entertaining three hours. What\u2019s particularly impressive is how riveting \u201cOslo\u201d is \u2014 even though it\u2019s common knowledge how the peace talks ended.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOslo\u201d has five more nominations: Best Direction of a Play (Bartlett Sher), Best Lighting Design (Donald Holder), Best Scenic Design (Michael Yeargan), as well as Best Leading Actor and Actress for Jefferson Mays and Jennifer Ehle, who play Mona Juul and Terje R\u00f8d-Larsen, the\u00a0Norwegian couple overseeing the negotiations.<\/p>\n<p><strong>2. \u201cIndecent\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Another Best Play nominee, Paula Vogel\u2019s \u201cIndecent,\u201d may lack the momentum of \u201cOslo\u201d \u2014 but also tells a very Jewish story. The play recounts the bumpy journey to Broadway of Shalom Asch\u2019s controversial Yiddish play \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.jta.org\/2017\/03\/22\/life-religion\/these-two-non-jews-are-stars-of-yiddish-theater\">God of Vengeance<\/a>.\u201d Seemingly ahead of its time, the 1906 play featured a love story between two women \u2014 one a prostitute and the other the teenage daughter of a religious man \u2014 and while it found success in Europe, the cast was arrested in New York for obscenity when the production moved uptown.<b> <\/b><\/p>\n<p>The play is also nominated for Best Direction of a Play (Rebecca Taichman) and Best Lighting Design (Christopher Akerlind).<\/p>\n<p>Despite the nods, the play has been struggling to sell tickets: Vogel recently tweeted, \u201cPlease buy a ticket soon to \u2018Indecent,\u2019 asking your support. This show is the best I got in me. Want to share while we can.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>3. \u201cFalsettos\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cFalsettos\u201d may have closed in January, but this musical about neurotic Jews came away with five nominations, including Best Revival of a Musical.<\/p>\n<p>The musical revolves around a\u00a0selfish but likable man, Marvin, who tries to navigate relationships with his ex-wife, his boyfriend, his psychiatrist and his son, Jason. The second act takes place two years after the first, and centers around both AIDS and a\u00a0bar mitzvah, which, in the play\u2019s moving conclusion, Jason holds in a hospital room.<\/p>\n<p>Brandon Uranowitz \u2014 <a href=\"http:\/\/jewcy.com\/jewish-arts-and-culture\/falsettos-important-bar-mitzvah\">the only \u201cFalsettos\u201d\u00a0cast member who is Jewish<\/a>\u00a0 \u2014 is up for Best Featured Actor in a Musical, alongside one of his costars, Andrew Rannells, who may be best known as Elijah from Lena Dunham\u2019s \u201cGirls.\u201d (The other nominees are Christian Borle for Best Lead Actor and Stephanie J. Block for Best Featured Actress.)<\/p>\n<p>If we\u2019re lucky, maybe they\u2019ll open this year\u2019s award ceremony \u2014 hosted by Kevin Spacey \u2014 with a rendition of the musical\u2019s opening number, \u201cFour Jews in a Room Bitching.\u201d That\u2019s a fitting description of Tony night at my house.<\/p>\n<p><strong>4. \u201cHello, Dolly!\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_36894\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/bette-midler.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-36894\" class=\"wp-image-36894 size-medium lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/bette-midler-300x198.jpg\" alt=\"NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 01:  Actress, singer and founder of NYRP Bette Midler attends the 2016 New York Restoration Project's Spring Picnic at Morris-Jumel Mansion on June 1, 2016 in New York City.  (Photo by Monica Schipper\/WireImage)\" width=\"300\" height=\"198\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/bette-midler-300x198.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/bette-midler.jpg 880w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 300px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 300\/198;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-36894\" class=\"wp-image-36894 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/bette-midler-300x198.jpg\" alt=\"NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 01:  Actress, singer and founder of NYRP Bette Midler attends the 2016 New York Restoration Project's Spring Picnic at Morris-Jumel Mansion on June 1, 2016 in New York City.  (Photo by Monica Schipper\/WireImage)\" width=\"300\" height=\"198\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/bette-midler-300x198.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/bette-midler.jpg 880w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-36894\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Bette Midler at the New York Restoration Project\u2019s spring picnic at Morris-Jumel Mansion in New York, June 1, 2016. (Monica Schipper\/WireImage)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>It\u2019s so nice to have our favorite Jewish diva, Bette Midler, back on Broadway where she belongs \u2014 and almost everyone agrees.<\/p>\n<p>As Dolly Gallagher Levi in \u201cHello, Dolly,\u201d Midler has received <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/hello-dolly-review-disaster-despite-a-diva-1492719077\">nearly<\/a> unanimous raves and is receiving multiple standing ovations a night, both during and after the show, and now she\u2019s nominated for Best Lead Actress in a Musical. And while\u00a0competition in this category is heavy on theater royalty \u2014\u00a0see: Christine Ebersole and Patti LuPone \u2014 it\u2019s unlikely that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.timeout.com\/newyork\/blog\/complete-2017-tony-award-predictions-in-every-category-060617\">anyone will beat <\/a>the Divine Miss M, who plays a matchmaking meddler enlisted to find a wife for wealthy Horace Vandergelder (played David Hyde Pierce, also nominated), fully intending to marry him herself.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHello, Dolly\u201d is nominated for 10 Tony Awards, including Best Revival of a Musical. With only two competitors in that field \u2014\u201dFalsettos\u201d and \u201cMiss Saigon\u201d \u2014 this widely-loved production is expected to win.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re hoping to catch Midler singing a tune from the show, you\u2019ll likely have to score a ticket \u2014 for which box-office prices top out at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/06\/08\/business\/broadway-theater-ticket-prices.html\">$748<\/a>: Midler was deemed \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/05\/29\/theater\/hello-dolly-bette-midler-seems-unlikely-to-sing-at-tony-awards.html\">unlikely<\/a>\u201d to sing at the Tonys this year.<\/p>\n<p><strong>5. \u201cDear Evan Hansen\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_36892\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/GettyImages-680152514.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-36892\" class=\"wp-image-36892 size-medium lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/GettyImages-680152514-300x198.jpg\" alt=\"NEW YORK, NY - MAY 07: Benj Passic, Justin Paul, Steven Levinson and Ben Platt of Dear Evan Hansen attend 32nd Annual Lucille Lortel Awards at NYU Skirball Center on May 7, 2017 in New York City.  (Photo by Monica Schipper\/Getty Images for Lucille Lortel Awards)\" width=\"300\" height=\"198\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/GettyImages-680152514-300x198.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/GettyImages-680152514.jpg 880w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 300px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 300\/198;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-36892\" class=\"wp-image-36892 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/GettyImages-680152514-300x198.jpg\" alt=\"NEW YORK, NY - MAY 07: Benj Passic, Justin Paul, Steven Levinson and Ben Platt of Dear Evan Hansen attend 32nd Annual Lucille Lortel Awards at NYU Skirball Center on May 7, 2017 in New York City.  (Photo by Monica Schipper\/Getty Images for Lucille Lortel Awards)\" width=\"300\" height=\"198\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/GettyImages-680152514-300x198.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/GettyImages-680152514.jpg 880w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-36892\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Some of the talent behind \u201cDear Evan Hansen,\u201d from left: Lyricists Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, writer Steven Levinson and lead actor Ben Platt at the NYU Skirball Center, May 7, 2017. (Monica Schipper\/Getty Images for Lucille Lortel Awards)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Speaking of shoo-ins, Ben Platt, another Jewish actor, is probably the closest thing there is to one. I\u2019m not a betting kind of woman,\u00a0but I would put money on him taking home a Tony for Best Lead Actor in a Musical for his portrayal of anxiety-ridden outsider Evan Hansen, the title character in this dark musical about a boy who gets caught up in a lie after the death of a classmate.<\/p>\n<p>Ben Platt grew up performing at a Jewish summer camp \u2014 watch him talk about his Jewish childhood on \u201cLate Night with Seth Meyers\u201d <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nbc.com\/late-night-with-seth-meyers\/video\/ben-platt-has-been-prepping-for-broadway-his-entire-life\/3430121\">here, <\/a>where he also sings a rendition of \u201cLuck Be a Lady\u201d in Hebrew.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDear Evan Hansen\u201d is nominated for nine Tony Awards, including Best Featured Actor in a Musical (Mike Faist), Best Featured Actress (Rachel Bay Jones), Best Original Score, in which <a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2017\/04\/20\/arts-entertainment\/from-a-la-la-land-lyricist-and-other-broadway-talent-a-political-passover-musical\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?hl=en&amp;q=http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2017\/04\/20\/arts-entertainment\/from-a-la-la-land-lyricist-and-other-broadway-talent-a-political-passover-musical&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1497105860251000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGKb668O_sy3YKCDdCwCFoP6TEVXQ\">Benj Pasek<\/a>, also Jewish, is nominated alongside Justin Paul. If the songwriters look familiar it\u2019s because they already won an\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2017\/02\/23\/arts-entertainment\/oscars-2017-7-unexpected-jewish-facts\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?hl=en&amp;q=http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2017\/02\/23\/arts-entertainment\/oscars-2017-7-unexpected-jewish-facts&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1497105860251000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEqfubU7mefxA1ULVYiAKhlvYzKLA\">Oscar<\/a>\u00a0this year for \u201cLa La Land.\u201d<b><br \/>\n<\/b><\/p>\n<p><strong>6. \u201cCome From Away\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Though \u201cDear Evan Hansen\u201d is favored\u00a0to win Tony\u2019s final award of the evening \u2014 Best Musical \u2014 don\u2019t rule out \u201cCome From Away,\u201d a\u00a0touching, based-on-a-true-story musical about a small Newfoundland town. After the September 11 terrorist attacks, the population of Gander temporarily doubled when 38 airplanes were rerouted there.<\/p>\n<p>The musical is about how people come together and help each other through the darkest times. The Jewish connection? Aside from the show\u2019s writers, married couple Irene Sankoff and David Hein (their previous show was called \u201cMy Mother\u2019s Lesbian Jewish Wiccan Wedding\u201d), one of the characters of \u201cCome From Away\u201d is a rabbi and, in a very moving scene, he sings \u201cOseh Shalom\u201d as characters pray in many languages.<\/p>\n<p>Sankoff and Hein are also nominated\u00a0Best Book for a Musical and Best Original Score. Other nominees include Best Featured Actress (Jenn Colella) and Best Direction (Christopher Ashley).<\/p>\n<p><strong>7. \u201cWar Paint\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Patti LuPone may not be Jewish, but <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jta.org\/2017\/01\/17\/arts-entertainment\/5-jewish-moments-from-fridays-epic-crazy-ex-girlfriend-episode]\">she\u2019s played a rabbi on TV<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>And now, she\u2019s nominated for Best Lead Actress in a Musical in \u201cWar Paint,\u201d which chronicles the rivalry between cosmetics magnates Helena Rubinstein (played by LuPone) and Elizabeth Arden (played by Christine Ebersole, also nominated in the same category).\u00a0The musical, which is up for four Tony Awards, doesn\u2019t shy away from the anti-Semitism that Rubinstein, a Polish immigrant, faced \u2014 she was denied an apartment at 625 Park Avenue, for example, but got her revenge when she <a href=\"http:\/\/nypost.com\/2014\/10\/29\/the-beauty-dynamo-who-begged-picasso-to-sketch-her\/\">bought the entire building<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWar Paint\u201d isn\u2019t nominated for Best Musical \u2014 but it has been announced there will be a performance from the cast during the awards ceremony.<\/p>\n<div style=\"padding-bottom:20px; padding-top:10px;\" class=\"hupso-share-buttons\"><!-- Hupso Share Buttons - https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/ --><a class=\"hupso_toolbar\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-medium.png\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top: 5px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"lazyload\" \/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-medium.png\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top: 5px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\"\/><\/noscript><\/a><script type=\"text\/javascript\">var hupso_services_t=new Array(\"Twitter\",\"Facebook\",\"Google Plus\",\"Pinterest\",\"Linkedin\",\"Tumblr\",\"Email\");var hupso_background_t=\"#EAF4FF\";var hupso_border_t=\"#66CCFF\";var hupso_toolbar_size_t=\"medium\";var hupso_image_folder_url = \"\";var hupso_url_t=\"\";var hupso_title_t=\"Tonys%202017%3A%20The%207%20Jewish%20shows%20to%20watch\";<\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/js\/share_toolbar.js\"><\/script><!-- Hupso Share Buttons --><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7122],"tags":[8790,8795,8788,7899],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36891"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36891"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36891\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36896,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36891\/revisions\/36896"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36891"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36891"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36891"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}