Brandon Flynn Photo by Carol Rosegg
At first glance, the musical, Kid Victory (book and lyrics by Greg Pierce; music by John Kander), is not a story that begs to be made into a musical. Nothing of the plot screams, write a song about this. And maybe that’s why it packs the punch that it does. It is by no means perfect, and there are difficulties of flow throughout but it certainly is a captivating story. A teenage boy is abducted by an older male predator and held captive in his basement. Once he is able to get out, he than has to deal with his return to a world left behind. Much like the film, Room, the return is not the salvation one assumes. As skillfully directed by Liesl Tommy (Eclipsed), safety is filled with difficulties of the sort we can’t imagine. It turns out that the young man before the abduction wanted an escape from his safe but oppressive home life and suffocating social circle, something I would fathom that any teenager who doesn’t connect to their parents’ world and religion can understand. So the main question asked is which is the greater prison for our young man, the basement of his captor, or the restrictive religiosity of his home life? In a broader sense,the choice between embracing your sexuality or your family’s religiosity especially if they don’t line up, may be what Kid Victory is really about.
Karen Ziemba and cast Photo by Carol Rosegg
Luke, played with a deep understanding of the conflict that resides within by the immensely talented Brandon Flynn, is the teenage boy at the center of this nervy musical. Fascinatingly, he doesn’t sing one song or even one note throughout, although the musical does revolve around his tortured soul. It’s through his actions that we get a sense of his inner turmoil. Usually songs are the window into a character’s inner struggle in a musical. Through the unconventional act of singing do we get a glimpse into someone’s emotionality where as Luke is silent in that regard. He just wants to disappear. The set also reflects his conflicted soul, as all the scenes take place within the same small space. Forever are the chains and bare mattress of the jail cell basement in the center of the drama that circulates around Luke. This sometimes cluttered and clumsy arrangement, make for a disturbing window inside Luke’s jumbled brain. All we need to see is the light begin to steam in through the cold basement window and the furnace fire glow red, and we are automatically shoved brutally back into that locked basement room (scenic design: Clint Ramos; costumes: Jacob A. Climer; lighting: David Welner). Having seen the show previously in a much wider and larger space at Signature Theatre in DC, this design is affects one quite differently. Piling the spaces all on top of each other, rather than separating them creates a powerful environment that even when it feels too cramped, you feel trapped in that basement with Luke.
Brandon Flynn, Laura Darrell Photo by Carol Rosegg
The show begins on the night that Luke’s mother, Eileen, the layered and pitch perfect Karen Ziemba (Contact at the Lincoln Center, which garnered her the Tony Award, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle award), has invited over her prayer circle to welcome home the son that had disappeared. It’s oppressive and forced upon an unwilling Luke, but his mother doesn’t want to hear any complaints from him. She wants him to bath in their faith and Christian love. It’s a very complex and difficult first glimpse into their home. His father, the quietly more thoughtful Joseph (Daniel Jenkins), tries valiantly to hear, but it comes down to the ever complex role of a parent; to whom does one side with, the wife/partner or the child. From that point onward, Luke attempts to readjust to his new/old circumstance while reliving through flash backs what lead up to the abduction and the confinement there after. We are privy to his time locked in the basement of his captor, Michael (intensely and expertly played by Jeffry Denman in the most difficult part balancing the ‘aggressive villain’ with the ‘tortured man-child’). Their relationship during and their courtship before is intensely revealing and unnerving, much like most of this raw difficult musical. Denman does a wonderful job of being both appealing and aggressively dreadful, while giving us just enough of his internal conflict, motivation, and pain that we can’t view him as solely ‘evil’.
Brandon Flynn and cast Photo by Carol Rosegg
On the more compassionate side, we have the bohemian and caring Emily, delicately played by the incredible Dee Roscioli, who has been given the difficult task of being both the lightness and playful compadre, while also maintaining a realness and connection to the difficult world that isn’t so easily navigated, even for an adult. She has to sell us on her quirky numbers, “Lawn” and “I’ll Marry The Man” that give us joy but don’t feel altogether wrong in a musical about such darkness. That balance works most of the time, although not all of the time. These songs are a fascinating difficult balance to the horrific Christian-centered pseudo-psychotherapeutic number “You Are The Marble” (speaking as a LCSW psychotherapist myself, I cringed) sung with deliberation by Gail (Ann Arvia), an overly helpful member of the family’s prayer circle. The best example of the tight rope act done here by Kandor and Pierce is the incredibly engaging and fun number, “What’s the Point?” There is such a sense of innocence, nervousness, and exploration all wrapped up in this song and tap dance number (yes, a tap dance number, deftly executed and sung by Blake Solfo and choreographed by Christopher Windom), that has such an uncomfortable realness to it, and then have it end on such a slap. It knocked the wind out of my sails.
Daniel Jenkins, Brandon Flynn Photo by Carol Rosegg
Many of the other numbers vary in their successful integration with the story but all sound magnificent in structure and performance (sound design: Peter Hylenskl; music coordinator: John Monaco; music director: Jesse Kissel; orchestrations: Michael Starobin; music supervisor: David Loud). Some are awkward in tone and placement while most stay stuck in your head days after. The church-like hymns (“Lord, Carry Me Home” and “There Was a Boy”) carry the weigh and suppression of the Christianity that the parents and their church hold close while being perfectly entwined within their context and delivery. Those songs, and Suze’s (a lovely Laura Darrell) song, “Wait” are layered with pressure and guilt giving light to his family and inner circle really not listening nor open to seeing a different version of Luke other than the one they want to see. They are beautiful of sound but not of acceptance. This show has so many elements that parallel a coming-out story, although it is a lot more disturbing in Kid Victory than the regular complex world that a teen must face after coming out. In this story, the other side of coming-out isn’t liberating, it is being chained in a basement. It’s either the prison of family or a locked basement that has Luke freaking out. Kid Victory certainly rings true on a deeper level of the outsider suppressed, the desire to disappear, and the task of shaking off the world that suppresses.
Brandon Flynn, Karen Ziemba by Carol Rosegg
It feels like a tale about the internal prisons we create out of necessity or fear, and the deep shame and trauma that comes from hiding one’s true self. And also about the battle to escape and survive. Which is the greater burden? To hide your true sexuality from your family because it goes against their religious beliefs and the structure of the very home that you grew up in? Or live with the resulting suffocation of your family trying to save you from your own sexuality? I was told a story once by a gay man who grew up in a very ultra-religious community in Texas, who felt so trapped within his family’s home that he ran away in the middle of the night, crawling out his bedroom window as the family slept, and escaped to San Francisco so he could finally live as his authentic self. This is a true story, and this feels to me the dilemma that Kid Victory is trying to tackle.
Now granted, I might be taking this a bit far, because the sexuality that I am referring to is very different from the situation represented in Kid Victory. In the show, it is a highly upsetting abduction and imprisonment, but it is also something that the teenage boy starts to see as the place he truly can be who he really is. There is a complex sense of freedom in that basement It is the one place where he feels his true self is being seen and understood. His home life with his parents feels like the true prison, one he is not so sure he can exist within either. Roscioli’s Emily, the free spirited alternative mother attempts to make him feel heard and understood, especially with her song of inclusion, “People Like Us”. But it’s really in the final song, sung by Luke’s father (Jenkins) that tries to bring some closure and acceptance to the boy’s sexuality from within the family unit. His true mother can’t accept him, whereas in the a moment when his father says that all is ok between them, regardless of what has happened and his sexuality, that a true sense of self and acceptance can begin. It’s a very real ending to a ‘coming-out’ story, when the young man finds out he doesn’t have to disappear entirely. That his father can see him clearly, or at least a bit more clear, and not turn away. It doesn’t entirely wrap things up and put a pretty bow on the top, but this show doesn’t ask for such neat and tidy conclusions. It gives you a messy and complex emotional resolution, which, in the Kid Victory world, is the true ending to the start of a young man’s acceptance of self.
So for more, go to frontmezzjunkies.com
The 72nd Annual Awards honoring achievements in the 2022-2023 Broadway and Off-Broadway season were presented on Thursday, May 25, 2023, at the Bruno Walter Auditorium, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. Executive Producer Lauren Yager, did a marvelous job and the event was enjoyed by all.
Here are highlights from the show.
President of the Outer Critics Circle David Gordon and Vice President Richard Ridge welcomed everyone.
Presenter Lea Solonga presented Outstanding Director of a Musical to Michael Arden – Parade
Outstanding Lead Performer in a Broadway Play Sean Hayes – Good Night, Oscar was hysterical and the highlight of the afternoon.
Outstanding Solo Performance Jodie Comer – Prima Facie
T2C had a chance to talk to Lea beforehand
John Gassner Award for New American Play (Preferably by a New Playwright): Fat Ham by James Ijames
Outstanding Book of a Musical: Robert Horn – Shucked
We talked to Robert prior to his speech.
Outstanding Featured Performer in an Off-Broadway Play: K. Todd Freeman – Downstate
Outstanding Featured Performer in an Off-Broadway Musical:Lindsay Mendez – Merrily We Roll Along
Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical: The Harder They Come and Outstanding Revival of a Play (Broadway or Off-Broadway):Topdog/Underdog Suzan Lori Parks
More tomorrow.
Off Broadway
New York Classical Theatre All-Female, Gender-Fluid, and Disability-Forward Shakespeare’s Richard III
New York Classical Theatre (Stephen Burdman, Founding Artistic Director, Matthieu Chapman, Literary Director) is thrilled to announce the all-female, gender-fluid, and disability-forward cast for Shakespeare’s Richard III. The production, directed by Burdman, will play in Central Park from June 13 to June 25; in Brooklyn Commons at Metrotech from June 27 to July 2; and in Carl Schurz Park from July 4 to July 9. All performances are free and open to the public.
The production stars Delaney Feener (Single (SXSW), Oregon Shakespeare Festival)–a performer with a limb difference–as Richard, Kristen Calgaro(NYCT’s The Importance of Being Earnest, The Rivals, HBO’s “Exeunt”) as Queen Elizabeth/Richmond, Connie Castanzo (NYCT’s The Importance of Being Earnest, Romeo & Juliet) as Lady Anne/Prince Edward/Rivers/Tyrell, Briana Gibson Reeves (Off-Broadway’s Made By God, American Shakespeare Center) as King Edward/Catesby/Archbishop, Lucy Lavely (Off-Broadway’s Arthur & Esther, Self-Help In the Anthropocene, Knots) as Buckingham/Clarence, Rami Margron (La Jolla Playhouse’s As You Like It, Hulu’s “Wedding Season,” HBO’s “That Damn Michael Che”) as Hastings/Ratcliffe, and Pamela Sabaugh (Off-Broadway’s Molly Sweeney, The Healing) as Duchess of York/Stanley.
Richard III may be Shakespeare’s most evil character. See an ensemble of seven women and gender-fluid performers tackle his rise to power in a story filled with familial manipulation, egregious murder, and political deceit.
Richard III features production design by Sabrinna Fabi (NYCT’s Cymbeline, King Lear; Broadway’s Moulin Rouge!), voice and speech coaching by Nora Leonhardt (NYCT’s King Lear, “Star Trek: The Next Generation”), fight direction by Sean Michael Chin (NYCT’s Cymbeline, King Lear, Romeo & Juliet, Greek National Opera’s Medea), production stage management by Madison Lane (NYCT’s King Lear), assistant stage management by Miriam Hyfler (NYCT’s Henry V), production supervision by Yetti Steinman (New York Classical Theatre), wardrobe supervision by Zola Gray, and casting by Stephanie Klapper.
All performances run from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM. New York Classical Theatre requests that all planning to attend make a free reservation for access to the Digital Playbill and for inclement weather updates. Walk-up participants are welcome on a first-come, first-serve basis on the day of the performance based on the size of the park lawn. Free reservations, performance details, and weather updates can be found at nyclassical.org/richardiii.
Kristen Calgaro (Queen Elizabeth/Richmond)(she/her)New York Classical Theatre: Cymbeline, It Can’t Happen Here (reading), Three Sisters (reading), The Importance of Being Earnest (Two Ways), The Rivals, Malvolio’s Revenge (workshop), Playing Moliere, Much Ado About Nothing. New York: Mourning Becomes Electra (Target Margin Theater), Brigadoon (Broadway workshop). National Tour: Dr. Doolittle with Tommy Tune. Selected Regional: Dancing at Lughnasa (Barnstormers), Boeing-Boeing (Totem Pole Playhouse), The Understudy (Cape May Stage), And The Curtain Rises (Signature Theatre), Broadway: 3 Generations (The Kennedy Center), The Glass Menagerie (Bay Theatre). Film: Kumare (SXSW Audience Award), Exeunt (HBO’s NYFF). Directing: AMiOS, New York Theater Fesitval, The Tank. BA Religious Studies/Spanish, University of Virginia. Kristencalgaro.com. 
Connie Costanzo (Lady Anne/Prince Edward/Rivers/Tyrell)(she/her)New York Classical Theatre: King Lear (2021, 2020 Zoom workshop), Three Sisters (reading), The Importance of Being Earnest (Two Ways), Romeo & Juliet, The Rivals, As You Like It. NYC: Gigi (Storm Theatre); Diaspora (Gym at Judson); Time Stands Still (Theatre of the New City); City Girls & Desperadoes (The Secret Theatre). Regional: The Wolves (BCT); Lost Boy Found in Wholefoods (Pittsburgh REP); Miss Bennett: Christmas at Pemberley (Capital REP). Winner of “Best Actress in a Play” in BroadwayWorld 2019 Regional Awards. Connie was born and raised in Scranton, PA and she received her BFA in Acting from Point Park Conservatory of Performing Arts. Connie is also an animation voice over artist and postpartum doula. New York Classical has always been another home for her–she is so proud & honored to represent as an Artistic Associate.
Delaney Feener (Richard)(she/her)New York Classical Theatre debut. Regional: Bring Down the House, Midsummer (Oregon Shakespeare Festival); Othello, Twelfth Night (Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival). TV/Film: Single (SXSW), Come as Your Are. BFA from the Theatre School at DePaul University. Current acting company member at The Mercury Store. @delaneyfeener
Briana Gibson Reeves (King Edward/Catesby/Archbishop)(she/her)New York Classical Theatre debut. Off-Broadway: Made By God (Irish Repertory Theatre). National Tours: Amazing Grace (Troika Productions). Selected Regional Theatre: Flyin’ West (Everyman Theatre); Stick Fly(Meadow Brook Theatre); As You Like It, Richard III, Emma, Man of La Mode (American Shakespeare Center); Midsummer, Coriolanus (Shakespeare Center); Don Juan (Taffety Punk); Amen Corner, Fabulation (On Q Productions); Funnyhouse (JCSU Light Factory).
Lucy Lavely (Clarence/Buckingham)(she/her)New York Classical Theatre debut. Off-Broadway: Arthur & Esther, Self-Help In the Anthropocene (New Light Theatre Project); Knots (Players Theatre). Regional: Macbeth (Orlando Shakes); Macbeth (Theater at Monmouth); Grapes of Wrath (Asolo Rep); One Man Two Guvnors (Pioneer Theatre Co.); The White Snake (Baltimore Center Stage); The Last Match (Florida Studio Theatre). BA from University of Notre Dame, MFA from FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training. Proud Member of SAG/AFTRA/AEA. Thanks to mom and dad, Vern, Stephen, cast, crew and YOU for joining us tonight!
Rami Margron (Hastings/Ratcliffe)(they/them)New York Classical Theatre debut. Off-Broadway: Angry Young Man. Selected Regional Theatre: Hurricane Diane (Old Globe Theatre); Pride and Prejudice (Long Wharf); Angels in America (Actors Theatre of Louisville); Three Sisters (Two River Theatre); A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Twelfth Night, Much Ado (Cal Shakes); Macbeth, Pericles (Berkeley Rep); Moll Flanders, The Clean House (Pac Rep); Antigonick, Dog Act, Precious Little (Shotgun Players); The Lily’s Revenge (Magic Theatre); Around the World in 80 Days (Marin Theatre Co.); The Listener (Crowded Fire). TV/Film: Alberto and the Concrete Jungle, Burn Country, Messina High, Love AnyWay, “Wedding Season” (Hulu), “New Amsterdam” (NBC), “The Damn Michael Che” (HBO), “Law & Order” (NBC), “Manifest” (Netflix). 
Pamela Sabaugh (Duchess of York/Stanley)(she/her)New York Classical Theatre debut. Pamela has worked extensively on stage from Regional to Off-Broadway, including at The Attic Theatre (Detroit), The Court Theatre of Chicago, The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, and Amaryllis Theater. She is a long time company member of the critically acclaimed Theater Breaking Through Barriers (TBTB), and has performed with them in numerous Off-Broadway productions–most recently as Portia in Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice at Theater Row on 42nd Street. Pamela has had recurring feature roles on the daytime dramas “One Life To Live” and “Guiding Light.” Pamela is a co-founder of WoodwardAvenue Productions which produced her first play, Woman In The Animal Kingdom, in the 2000 New York International Fringe Festival-for which she received the award for Outstanding Performance. Her solo cabaret, Immaculate Degeneration was first workshopped at the 6th International Blind In Theatre (BIT) Festival in Zagreb, Croatia. She returned to Zagreb in October 2011 to perform an expanded version. And in August 2012 WoodwardAvenue Productions premiered Immaculate Degeneration at the New York International Fringe Festival. Stephen Burdman (Director/Artistic Director). New York Classical Theatre: The Rewards of Being Frank (also at Cincinnati Shakespeare Company), Cymbeline, King Lear (2021, 2020 Zoom workshop, 2009); The Importance of Being Earnest (Two Ways), 2019 Best Show TheatreScene.net), Romeo & Juliet, Macbeth (2017, 2008, 2001), The Rivals, The Winter’s Tale (2016, 2004), Measure for Measure, As You Like It (2014, 2005), The Seagull, Malvolio’s Revenge (workshop), A {15-Min!} Christmas Carol, Twelfth Night (2012, 2002), Playing Moliere, Henry V (New York Times Critic’s Pick), The School for Husbands, Much Ado About Nothing (2010, 2003), Hamlet, Misalliance, Love’s Labour’s Lost, The Comedy of Errors, Mary Stuart, Scapin, The Feigned Courtesans, The Triumph of Love, The Taming of the Shrew, King Ubu, A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Producer: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Taming of the Shrew, The Tempest, The Rover, Richard III, Cymbeline, The Recruiting Officer, All’s Well That Ends Well. Selected productions: Cymbeline (NYU), The Tempest, Much Ado About Nothing, As You Like It, Waiting for Godot, Hamlet (Outstanding Production 1994 Season, Los Angeles Times), Three Sisters. MFA from the University of California, Irvine and graduate of the National Theater Institute. Member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society since 1994. Recipient of 2022 Sidney Berger award from the Shakespeare Theatre Association for outstanding talent and commitment to the works of William Shakespeare. All my love to Adena (my wife) and son, Zeke, who are the guiding stars of my life.
Broadway
Roundabout Theatre Company, Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment Create The Theatrical Workforce Development Program
Roundabout Theatre Company (Todd Haimes, President/CEO, in memoriam; Scott Ellis, Acting Artistic Director) and Education at Roundabout (Jennifer DiBella, Director of Education) are proud to announce a Mayoral Citation honoring the Theatrical Workforce Development Program (TWDP), the theatre industry’s first workforce development program to train and place young adults in professional technical theatre careers.
Following a recent “Final Share Out,” showcasing what TWDP’s fifth cohort has learned during training this past year, Mayor Eric Adams praised the program: “I applaud everyone associated with TWDP for their efforts to connect young New Yorkers to long term careers, build a more diverse talent pipeline, and strengthen the technical workforce that powers our theater community. I look forward to the many ways Roundabout and TWDP will continue to make a positive difference as we take bold steps to #GetStuffDone, revitalize our cultural and economic vibrancy, and forge a brighter, fairer, more prosperous future for all.”
“Culture is the heart of New York City, and we know that nothing happens in New York City without art and culture. As the Commissioner of Cultural Affairs, I know that our cultural institutions have the experience and deep community relationships to continue to create a workforce that is more reflective of the City of New York. I really want to celebrate Roundabout, and I want to thank all of the TWDP fellows. You persevered and now you are here today making it all happen backstage,” added NYC Cultural Affairs Commissioner Laurie Cumbo.
“As a founding partner of the Theatrical Workforce Development Program, the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment is proud to join the Roundabout Theatre Company in celebrating the success of the program,” said Commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment, Anne del Castillo. “The ‘Made in NY’ Stagecraft Bootcamp is one of our signature training initiatives which works to diversify NYC’s theatre workforce and develop a strong local talent pipeline to support the industry’s present and future.”
As we celebrate the 100% retention rate of Cohort 5, with all 20 fellows advancing from training onto summer internships across the City, we also acknowledge the six TWDP alumni that have successfully joined the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) union and the 60 more maintaining their careers backstage on and off Broadway.
NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS
Founded in 2016, the Theatrical Workforce Development Program aims to break down the barriers that prevent young adults from joining the industry and empower a diverse new generation of theatre professionals. Roundabout’s Theatrical Workforce Development Program is the first collaboration between a theatrical employer and the union that represents backstage workers to train and place young adults in professional careers as Stagehands, Electricians, Sound Engineers, Carpenters, and Wardrobe Workers.
Recruitment is now open for the next group of participants, Cohort 6, who will begin their training in September 2023. Application is contingent on attending either of the remaining information sessions at The Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center (111 West 46th Street) on Friday, May 26 or Thursday, June 8. Additional information is available at roundabouttheatre.org/twdp.
TWDP includes three years of training, job placement, and one-on-one mentorship with top industry professionals to ensure a smooth and successful transition to professional theatre work. Each year, the program will provide a group of up to 20 fellows with hourly wages, relevant skills and industry knowledge, work experience, access to world-class venues, and resources and support services to navigate this environment.
Roundabout employs more than 400 technical theatre professionals annually and its education programs reach more than 30,000 people each year. For more than twenty years, Roundabout has trained teachers, teaching artists, and high school students in technical theatre skills. In addition to lead partners The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), The Door, and National Black Theatre, additional partners include: Atlantic Theatre Company, New Victory Theater, New 42 Studios, The Public Theater, Dixon Place, Abrons Arts Center, Irish Arts Center, Idaho Shakespeare Festival, Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival, City Lyric Opera, Signature Theatre, Gala Productions, Peterborough Players, and Emursive Productions.
Recruitment
The Theatrical Workforce Development Program accepts applications from young adults from New York City who have a high school diploma or HSE. This includes alumni from the existing Roundabout partner schools and on-site after school programs.
Training
In the first year, fellows kick off their training at Roundabout Theatre Company with an intensive six-week “Made in NY” Stagecraft Bootcamp, presented by the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment and the NYC Dept. of Small Business Services. For the following six months, fellows are engaging in progressive, hands-on skills and theory training for 29 hours a week in Roundabout’s education spaces and theatre venues, in addition to observing theatre professionals on the job at Roundabout and National Black Theatre, all in preparation for full-time internship placements at a participating theatre or studio in the late spring and summer. Throughout the training program, fellows will receive a living wage, reimbursed travel, one-on-one mentorship with an IATSE professional, access to additional IATSE industry professionals and retention support services.
The second year includes placement in an entry-level job at a not-for-profit theatre, production, or shop in their chosen trade. Fellows will continue to receive one-on-one mentorship with IATSE professionals, Roundabout-led wrap-around career programming, and retention support services from The Door. At the end of this phase, in the third year of the program, fellows will continue to be supported while they pursue contract work from their new professional networks and our cultivated network of theatres and performance, sports, cruise line, and conference venues.
Roundabout’s Theatrical Workforce Development Program (TWDP) is made possible through the generosity of Denise Littlefield Sobel, the Mellon Foundation, The Pinkerton Foundation, the Solon E. Summerfield Foundation, the Altman Foundation, the Kaplen Foundation, Capitol One, and the Herbert M. Citrin Foundation.
Major funding to establish the “Made in NY” Stagecraft Bootcamp is provided by the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment and NYC Department of Small Business Services.
This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, NYC’s Human Resources Administration and Center for Economic Opportunity’s joint support through the Work Progress Program, the New York State Council on the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
TWDP is made possible by the Champions for Inclusive Theatre and Roundabout’s Forward Fund. We acknowledge the generous friends who support our many efforts to increase representation and inclusion in all aspects of theatre: Elizabeth Armstrong, Bank of America, Eugene and Joann Bissell and the Lillian Lincoln Foundation, Kevin Brown, Barbara and Peter Bye, Ginger McKnight Chavers, Ford Foundation, Jill and Barry Lafer, Gina Maria Leonetti, Iva Mills, Beryl Snyder, and Denise Littlefield Sobel.
Education at Roundabout, including TWDP, is made possible by the leadership and generosity of Roundabout’s Board Education Committee, helmed by Co-Chairs Gess LeBlanc and Jennie Thomas.
Established in 1996, Education at Roundabout annually serves over 30,000 people throughout New York City’s five boroughs and beyond. Roundabout offers nationally recognized programs that use the power of theatre to inspire, engage, and promote social equity through three core areas: Career Training, Community Partnerships, and Teaching and Learning. The deep impact and breadth of our work is a result of programs and curricula curated specifically to build lasting relationships with students, teachers, early-career professionals, audiences, and our local communities. roundabouttheatre.org/education
Roundabout Theatre Company has been working to prioritize and actively incorporate anti-racism, equity, diversity, inclusion and accountability throughout the institution. Read more about the company’s social justice progress and timeline at roundabouttheatre.org/socialjustic
Roundabout Theatre Company celebrates the power of theatre by spotlighting classics from the past, cultivating new works of the present, and educating minds for the future. A not-for-profit company, Roundabout fulfills that mission by producing familiar and lesser-known plays and musicals; discovering and supporting talented playwrights; reducing the barriers that can inhibit theatergoing; collaborating with a diverse team of artists; building educational experiences; and archiving over five decades of production history.
Roundabout Theatre Company presents a variety of plays and musicals on its five stages: Broadway’s American Airlines Theatre, Studio 54 and Stephen Sondheim Theatre, and Off-Broadway’s Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre, which houses the Laura Pels Theatre and Black Box Theatre.
American Airlines is the official airline of Roundabout Theatre Company. Roundabout productions are supported, in part, with public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Hochul and the New York State Legislature.
Roundabout’s current and upcoming productions include: Primary Trust by Eboni Booth, directed by Knud Adams; The Refuge Plays by Nathan Alan Davis, directed by Patricia McGregor; Covenant by York Walker, directed by Tiffany Nichole Greene; I Need That by Theresa Rebeck, directed by Moritz von Stuelpnagel; Home by Samm-Art Williams, directed by Kenny Leon; and Jonah by Rachel Bonds.
Follow Roundabout Theatre Company on Twitter, Instagram and on Facebook.
The 2023 Chita Rivera Awards were presented at the NYU Skirball Center for the Performing Arts.
The winners were announced and in keeping with the mission of the Chita Rivera Awards, nominators considered outstanding choreography, featured dancers, and ensembles in shows on Broadway and Off Broadway, as well as outstanding choreography in film that opened during the 2022-2023 season.
The mission of the Chita Rivera Awards is to celebrate dance and choreographic excellence, preserve notable dance history, recognize past, present and future talents, while promoting high standards in dance education and investing in the next generation.
To see the winners and the interviews click here.
John Kander, Chita Rivera, Brian Stokes Mitchell
John Kander, Chita Rivera
Derek Hough, Jared Grimes
Derek Hough, Jared Grimes
Joe Lanteri, Riki Kane Larimer
Riki Kane Larimer
Joe Lanteri, Bonnie Comley, Stewart F. Lane
Tony Yazbeck
Tony Yazbeck
Bebe Neuwirth
Bebe Neuwirth
Clyde Alves, Robyn Hurder
Rob Ashford
Kolton Krouse
Kolton Krouse
Kolton Krouse
Peter John Chursin
Cast members of NEW YORK, NEW YORK
The cast of “New York, New York”
Cast of Bob Fosse’s Dancin
Alyssa Sarnoff, Charlotte d’Amboise
Mattie Love
Joe Lanteri, Andy Blankenbuehler
Andy Blankenbuehler
Jerry Mitchell
Cast of “Gimme Love”
Jeffrey L. Page
Cast members of SOME LIKE IT HOT
J. Harrison Ghee
J. Harrison Ghee
Jordan Roth
Lee Roy Reams
Jennifer Weber
Leo Moctezuma
Davide Torchio, Desmond Richardson
Jacob Guzman
Cast members of A BEAUTIFUL NOISE
Chloe Arnold
The winners for the 2023 Chita Rivera Awards were announced this evening. In keeping with the mission of the Chita Rivera Awards, nominators considered outstanding choreography, featured dancers, and ensembles in shows on Broadway and Off Broadway, as well as outstanding choreography in film that opened during the 2022-2023 season.
Presented at NYU Skirball Center for the Performing Arts (566 LaGuardia Place off Washington Square Park), the Chita Rivera Awards are produced by Joe Lanteri, Founder and Executive Director of the New York City Dance Alliance Foundation Inc., in conjunction with Patricia Watt. The Awards were fabulously hosted by Funny Girl’s Jared Grimes.
The mission of the Chita Rivera Awards is to celebrate dance and choreographic excellence, preserve notable dance history, recognize past, present, and future talents, while promoting high standards in dance education and investing in the next generation.
At this year’s Chita Rivera Awards, John Kander received the Lifetime Achievement Award, BroadwayHD, founded by Bonnie Comley and Stewart F. Lane, received the Ambassadors For The Arts Award, and Jeffrey L. Page received the Douglas and Ethel Watt Critics’ Choice Award.
For the first time, the Outstanding Dancer in a Broadway Show category is gender-free. This category has twice as many nominees as the former gendered categories.
The NYC Dance Alliance Foundation College Scholarship Program was the beneficiary of the event. Since the inception of the NYC Dance Alliance Foundation, 4 million dollars have been awarded to over 400 dancers represented in 42 of the most prestigious college dance programs in the country.
And the winners are:
OUTSTANDING CHOREOGRAPHY IN A BROADWAY SHOW: Steven Hoggett, A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical
This was completely odd considering this was not nominated for the Tony’s, OCC’s or the Drama Desk. Maybe Hoggett was nominated and won for his combined choreography for Sweeney Todd.
OUTSTANDING DANCER IN A BROADWAY SHOW: Robyn Hurder, A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical, Jess LeProtto, A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical and Mattie Love, Bob Fosse’s Dancin’
One seriously wonders what went wrong in this category when Kolton Krouse, of Bob Fosse’s Dancin’ gave one of the best dance performances of the season.
OUTSTANDING ENSEMBLE IN A BROADWAY SHOW: Bob Fosse’s Dancin’ and New York, New York
OFF BROADWAY SPECIAL RECOGNITIONS
The Awarding Committee of the 2023 Chita Rivera Awards will celebrate excellence in Off-Broadway musical theater by presenting these special awards.
Outstanding Dancers in an Off-Broadway Show: Gaby Diaz, Only Gold and Ryan Steele, Only Gold
Outstanding Choreography in an Off-Broadway Show: Andy Blankenbuehler, Only Gold
CHOREOGRAPHY IN FILM: 13: The Musical, Choreographer: Jamal Sims
OUTSTANDING DIRECTION OF A DOCUMENTARY RELEASE: Everybody Dance, Director: Dan Watt
Moonage Daydream, Director: Brett Morgen
2023 CHITA RIVERA AWARDS NOMINATING COMMITTEES
Awarding Committee: Chair: Sylviane Gold, Gary Chryst, Robert LaFosse, Donna McKechnie, Wendy Perron, and Lee Roy Reams
Broadway Nominating Committee: Chair: Wendy Federman, Melinda Atwood, Caitlin Carter, Gary Chryst, Don Correia, Jamie deRoy, Sandy Duncan, Peter Filichia, Dr. Louis Galli, Sylviane Gold, Jonathan Herzog, Jim Kierstead, Robert La Fosse, Joe Lanteri, Donna McKechnie, Michael Milton, Mary Beth O’Connor, Wendy Perron, Lee Roy Reams, Andy Sandberg, and Randy Skinner
Film Nominating Committee: Chair: Jonathan C. Herzog, Steven Caras, Wilhelmina Frankfurt, Mary Beth O’Connor, and Andy Sandberg
A theatrical icon and one of Broadway’s greatest triple-threat talents, Chita Rivera is one of the most nominated performers in Tony Award history having earned 10 nominations, won twice and received the 2018 Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre. A versatile actress/singer/dancer, her most recent starring roles include The Visit, the final John Kander/Fred Ebb/Terrence McNally musical directed by John Doyle and choreographed by Graciela Daniele on Broadway; the Broadway revival of The Mystery of Edwin Drood; the Broadway and touring productions of The Dancer’s Life, a dazzling musical celebrating her spectacular career, written by Terrence McNally and directed by Graciela Daniele and the revival of the Broadway musical Nine with Antonio Banderas. She trained as a ballerina (from age nine) before receiving a scholarship to the School of American Ballet from the legendary choreographer George Balanchine. Chita’s first appearance (age 19) was as a principal dancer in Call Me Madam. Her electric performance as Anita in the original Broadway premiere of West Side Story brought her stardom, which she repeated in London. Her career is highlighted by starring roles in Bye, Bye Birdie, The Rink (Tony Award), Chicago, Jerry’s Girls, Kiss of the Spider Woman (Tony Award), and the original Broadway casts of Guys and Dolls, Can-Can, Seventh Heaven and Mr. Wonderful. On tour: Born Yesterday, The Rose Tattoo, Call Me Madam, Threepenny Opera, Sweet Charity, Kiss Me Kate, Zorba, Can-Can with The Rockettes. Chita was awarded The Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama in 2009 and received the coveted Kennedy Center Honor in 2002. In 2019, Chita performed her solo concert at London’s Cadogan Hall; in 2018 she was honored as a Living Landmark by the New York Landmarks Conservancy; in 2016 she headlined at Carnegie Hall and in 2015, Great Performances aired their special Chita Rivera: A Lot of Livin’ To Do, a retrospective of her extraordinary life and career nationally on PBS. Her current solo CD is entitled “And Now I Swing.” Her long-awaited book CHITA: A MEMOIR was published by HarperOne in April, 2023. Her most treasured production is her daughter, singer/dancer/choreographer Lisa Mordente.
The NYC Dance Alliance Foundation, Inc. (NYCDAF), founded in 2010 by Executive Director Joe Lanteri, is committed to broadening performing arts awareness while advocating education and high standards of excellence in dance. The Foundation invests in the next generation of professional performers by offering scholarships for secondary and college education. To date, over 400 talented teenagers have shared in nearly $4 million awarded directly through NYCDAF. Those recipients are represented in 42 of the most prestigious university arts programs in the country. Many have since graduated and are now represented on Broadway, as well as concert dance companies based in NYC and around the world. www.NYCDAFoundation.net
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