JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
This morning, nominations for the 2025 Tony Awards, Broadway's highest honors, were announced. The nominees included stars from movies and television, along with Broadway legends. While Broadway box offices are approaching pre-pandemic levels, fewer shows are making money. So the showcase of the national Tony broadcast is an invaluable marketing tool, says reporter Jeff Lunden.
JEFF LUNDEN, BYLINE: The producers of "Buena Vista Social Club," "Death Becomes Her" and "Maybe Happy Ending" are rejoicing today, as their musicals picked up 10 nominations apiece and will be featured on the Tony broadcast. Rounding out the category are "Operation Mincemeat" and "Dead Outlaw," a musical which already picked up several awards when it was presented off Broadway last season.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DEAD")
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As character, singing) Your mama's dead.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As character, singing) Your daddy's dead.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As character, singing) Your brother's dead.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As character, singing) And so are you.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As character, singing) Abe Lincoln's dead.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As character, singing) Frank James is dead.
LUNDEN: Revivals of the musical "Sunset Blvd.," "Floyd Collins" and "Gypsy" will be happy, too, as they received multiple nominations. Audra McDonald, who stars in "Gypsy," picked up a record-breaking 11th nomination.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "EVERYTHING'S COMING UP ROSES")
AUDRA MCDONALD: (As character, singing) You'll be swell. You'll be great. Gonna have the whole world on a plate.
LUNDEN: This season, one of the biggest news items is the appearance of Hollywood stars on Broadway and the high ticket prices being charged. While "Othello," starring Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal was completely ignored, George Clooney, who stars in an adaptation of his own screenplay for "Good Night, And Good Luck," got a nomination. That show brought in close to $4 million last week, a Broadway record. There's a good chance that a first-time Broadway playwright picks up a Tony. "English," "John Proctor Is The Villain" and "Oh, Mary!" are up for the award, as is "Purpose" by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, who won last year. More concerning are some of the shows not nominated for the biggest award, among them - "Boop!," "Real Women Have Curves" and "SMASH," which have been struggling at the box office. The Tonys will be broadcast on June 8 and hosted by Cynthia Erivo. For NPR News, I'm Jeff Lunden in New York.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "WHERE I WANNA BE")
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #3: (As character, singing) Put your ears on and let's burn this bandstand down. As you know, I'm not from here. Local legend, like some... Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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