The Theatre Enthusiast

photo taken as a screen shot from The Tony Awards Facebook page This morning I awoke with the same energy as Princess Anna on Coronation Day. Today was the equivalent of Christmas Day for Broadway fans across the globe. At 8:30am, the 2019 Tony Award nominations were announced! I had the livestream ready to go as soon as the announcement began, and waited with bated breath as I waited for my favorite shows and stars of the season to receive their nominations. This year's nominations had a lot of surprises, snubs, and excitement. As the Broadway awards season is set, it's time to dish on who was nominated and who was not. NO SURPRISES HERE! Many decisions made by the Tony committee were not surprises to me. On the musical side of the nominations, the Tony buzz around both Stephanie J. Block and Santino Fontana (for their performances in The Cher Show  and Tootsie, respectively) has been deafening for many weeks. I was happy to see their nominations for Outstandi...

photo by Sara Krulwich "All Rise" is the motif for the Broadway world premiere stage adaptation of Harper Lee's iconic novel. Just as our narrator Scout analyzed within the first few minutes of the show, "All Rise" means much more than standing up for a judge when s/he enters the courtroom. "All Rise" reaches outside of 1930s Maycomb, Alabama and shakes 2019 audiences out of a haze. All rise. Stand up against hatred. Don't let history repeat itself. I first read the 1960  To Kill a Mockingbird  novel when it was assigned in 8th grade. I hadn't touched it again until I checked it back out of the library to read prior to seeing the stage adaptation. Overall, I would say the play stays quite true to the novel, though with several omissions of supporting characters and sub-plots that aren't as relevant to the main trial. The biggest change, which sparked some controversy with Harper Lee's estate, was the alteration of Calpurnia...

Over the years and through the dozens upon dozens of shows I've been lucky enough to see, I've seen some wonderful actors give fantastic and memorable performances. For my next Top 10 installment,  I've decided to rank my favorite Broadway performances I've seen. To make this feat a little less overwhelming, I am splitting up these rankings and making two lists: one for plays and one for musicals. It was still difficult to narrow down so many excellent performances, but without further ado, here we go! Nathan Lane in It's Only a Play photo by Sarah Krulwich From his iconic voice to his impeccable comedic timing, Nathan Lane is one of Broadway and Hollywood's best. Seeing him in It's Only a Play  in 2014 was unforgettable. From the minute he uttered his first line, there was a special buzz that rippled through the audience. It was as if we knew we were about to witness greatness. Mr. Lane exceeded every high expectation I could have possibly imagin...

me with Shoshana in New York City February 2019 I have the pleasure of sharing my interview with a fellow Theatre Enthusiast, my friend Shoshana! Shoshana and I met in college and we immediately bonded over our mutual love of theatre and Harry Potter. Shoshana lives in New York City and recently launched a vlog called bwaySHO! She's already made some pretty awesome videos, so I decided it was a good idea to share her experiences with my readers and promote her hard work and dedication. THEATRE ENTHUSIAST: Thank you so much for agreeing to interview with me, Shoshana! How about you start off by telling us a little bit about yourself! What’s your background, and how did that lead you to want to launch BwaySHO? bwaySHO: Hi Hillary! It’s my pleasure! I’m a proud New Yorker and graduated from the University of Maryland (Go Terps)! I’ve always loved the theatre. Some of my fondest memories consist of running from box office to box office with my friends, trying to find studen...