Tag Archives: The Public Theater

Hannah Cruz Starring in the Broadway Production of the Stage Musical “Suffs”

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Hannah Cruz is headed back to Broadway…

The part-Latina actress/singer gas joined the Broadway production of Suffs, a stage musical based on suffragists and their American women’s suffrage movement with a book, music and lyrics by Shaina Taub,

Hannah CruzSuffs originally premiered Off Broadway at The Public Theater in April 2022.

Most of the Broadway cast is making the move from Off Broadway, though Cruz, who played Ruza Wenclawska at The Public Theater, takes over from Phillipa Soo as Inez Milholland.

Taub will lead the Broadway cast of her musical Suffs, reprising the role she played in the original, sold-out production.

The casting makes Taub only the second woman in Broadway history to write the book, music, lyrics and star in her own musical, following the late Micki Grant, who made Broadway history in 1972 with Don’t Bother Me, I Can’t Cope.

Taub will play Alice Paul, the young suffragist at the forefront in the battle for women’s rights in the early 20th Century.

Joining Taub and Cruz in the Broadway production – which begins previews at the Music Box Theatre on March 26 ahead of an April 18 opening night – will be Nikki M. James as Ida B. Wells; Jenn Colella as Carrie Chapman Catt; Grace McLean as President Woodrow Wilson; Kim Blanck as Ruza Wenclawska; Anastacia McCleskey as Mary Church Terrell; Ally Bonino as Lucy Burns; Tsilala Brock as Dudley Malone; Nadia Dandashi as Doris Stevens; and Emily Skinner, who is taking over for Aisha de Haas in the Alva Belmont/Phoebe Burn roles.

Rounding out the company are Hawley Gould as the alternate for Alice Paul, Jaygee Macapugay as Mollie Hay and Laila Drew making her Broadway debut as Phyllis Terrell/Robin.

The cast and ensemble will also include Dana Costello, Jenna Bainbridge, Monica Tulia Ramirez, Ada Westfall, Christine Heesun Hwang, Kirsten Scott, Housso Semon and D’Kaylah Unique Whitley.

Suffs, directed by Leigh Silverman, features choreography by Mayte Natalio, music supervision and music direction by Andrea Grody, scenic design by Riccardo Hernández, costume design by Paul Tazewell, lighting design by Lap Chi Chu, sound design by Jason Crystal and orchestrations by Michael Starobin.

Jill Furman and Rachel Sussman will serve as lead producers, with Hillary Rodham Clinton and Malala Yousafzai serving as co-producers.

The official synopsis: It’s 1913 and the women’s movement is heating up in America, anchored by the suffragists — “Suffs,” as they call themselves — and their relentless pursuit of the right to vote. Reaching across and against generational, racial, and class divides, these brilliant, flawed women entertain and inspire us with the story of their hard-won victory in an ongoing fight. So much has changed since the passing of the Nineteenth Amendment over a century ago, and yet we’re reminded sometimes we need to look back, in order to march fearlessly into the future.

Cruz’s previous credits include the Off Broadway productions of The Connector and Only Gold and the national tour of Hamilton.

Lin-Manuel Miranda to Reprise Lead Role in His Hit Musical “Hamilton” During Puerto Rico Run

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Lin-Manuel Miranda is heading back to the stage…

The 37-year-old Puerto Rican composer, lyricist, playwright, and actor will return to play Alexander Hamilton in his smash musical Hamilton when it plays in San Juan, Puerto Rico in January.

Javier Muñoz in Hamilton

Miranda and producer Jeffrey Seller broke the news on the stage of the Teatro UPR theater in San Juan. The University of Puerto Rico venue was damaged during Hurricane Maria in September but will be restored and repaired in time for the musical’s open.

It will mark the first time Miranda, the creator-star of the Tony Award– and Pulitzer Prize-winning show, will perform the title role since he stepped down in July 2016. The three weeks of performances will run January 8-27.

“Bringing [Hamilton] to Puerto Rico is a dream that I’ve had since we first opened at The Public Theater in 2015,” Miranda in a statement, as reported by Playbill. “When I last visited the island, a few weeks before Hurricane Maria, I had made a commitment to not only bring the show to Puerto Rico, but also return again to the title role. In the aftermath of Maria we decided to expedite the announcement of the project to send a bold message that Puerto Rico will recover and be back in business, stronger than ever.”

Miranda is in Puerto Rico to aid recovery efforts. On Monday, he joined forces with the Hispanic Federation to announce the launch of a $2.5 million recovery fund and the first seven recipients to help seed projects encompassing micro-enterprise, housing, arts and culture, and conservation efforts, among others.

Hamilton, which won 11 Tony Awards, is on Broadway at the Richard Rodgers and is amidst a Los Angeles run that ends December 30.

Leguizamo Receives Lucille Lortel Award Nomination for His “Latin History for Morons” Play

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John Leguizamo is reaping the critical acclaim for his return to the theater…

The 52-year-old Colombian American actor, stand-up comedian and playwright – who has earned Drama Desk Awards for his plays Ghetto Klown and Freak, along with other theater prizes – has earned a nomination at this year’s Lucille Lortel Awards, which salute commercial and nonprofit off-Broadway productions.

John Leguizamo

Leguizamo, who earned a Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Lead Actor back in 1993 for his one-man play Spic-O-Rama, is nominated in the Outstanding Solo Show category for his Latin History for Morons, which he wrote and stars in. It was produced by The Public Theater in a co-production with Berkeley Repertory Theatre.

Joel Perez earned a nomination in the Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical category for his performance in Sweet Charity, the New Group revival starring Sutton Foster.

The Latino actor’s theater work includes Fun Home (Broadway and The Public Theater), as well as national and international tours of In the Heights and Fame.

María Irene Fornés, a multiple Obie Award winner, has received a nomination in the Outstanding Revival category.

The 86-year-old Cuban-American avant garde playwright and director is nominated for penning Drowning, one of the three plays that make up the Signature Theatre-produced Signature Plays: Edward Albee’s The Sandbox, María Irene Fornés’ Drowning, and Adrienne Kennedy’s Funnyhouse of a Negro.

Montana Blanco picked up a nod in the Outstanding Costume Design category for his work on The Death of the Last Black Man in the Whole Entire World AKA the Negro Book of the Dead.

The awards will be presented on May 7 at an event hosted by ex-SNL company member Taran Killam to benefit The Actors Fund.

The complete list of nominations follows:

Outstanding Play
Indecent
Produced by Vineyard Theatre in association with La Jolla Playhouse and Yale Repertory Theatre
Written by Paula Vogel, Created by Paula Vogel & Rebecca Taichman

Oslo
Produced by Lincoln Center Theater
Written by J.T. Rogers

Underground Railroad Game
Produced by Ars Nova
Written by Jennifer Kidwell and Scott R. Sheppard

Vietgone
Produced by Manhattan Theatre Club in association with South Coast Repertory
Written by Qui Nguyen

The Wolves
Produced by The Playwrights Realm in association with New York Stage and Film and Vassar’s Powerhouse Theatre Season
Written by Sarah DeLappe

Outstanding Musical
The Band’s Visit
Produced by Atlantic Theater Company
Music and Lyrics by David Yazbek, Book by Itamar Moses, Based on the screenplay by Eran Kolirin

Dear Evan Hansen
Produced by Second Stage Theatre in association with Stacey Mindich Productions
Book by Steven Levenson, Music and Lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul

Hadestown
Produced by New York Theatre Workshop
Written by Anaïs Mitchell

Ride the Cyclone
Produced by MCC Theater
Book, Music, and Lyrics by Brooke Maxwell and Jacob Richmond

The Total Bent
Produced by The Public Theater
Text by Stew, Music by Stew and Heidi Rodewald

Outstanding Revival
The Death of the Last Black Man in the Whole Entire World AKA the Negro Book of the Dead
Produced by Signature Theatre
Written by Suzan-Lori Parks

Othello
Produced by New York Theatre Workshop
Written by William Shakespeare

Signature Plays: Edward Albee’s The Sandbox, María Irene Fornés’ Drowning, and Adrienne Kennedy’s Funnyhouse of a Negro
Produced by Signature Theatre
Written by Edward Albee, María Irene Fornés, and Adrienne Kennedy

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Produced by Rachel Edwards, Jenny Gersten, Seaview Productions, Nate Koch, Fiona Rudin, Barrow Street Theatre, Jean Doumanian, Rebecca Gold, and Tooting Arts Club
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, Book by Hugh Wheeler, Adaptation by Christopher Bond

Sweet Charity
Produced by The New Group in association with Kevin McCollum
Book by Neil Simon, Music by Cy Coleman, Lyrics by Dorothy Fields

Outstanding Solo Show
Chris Gethard: Career Suicide
Produced by Judd Apatow, Mike Berkowitz, Brian Stern, Mike Lavoie, and Carlee Briglia
Written and Performed by Chris Gethard

Latin History for Morons
Produced by The Public Theater in a co-production with Berkeley Repertory Theatre
Written and Performed by John Leguizamo

Notes From The Field
Produced by Second Stage Theatre and American Repertory Theater
Created, Written, and Performed by Anna Deavere Smith

The Outer Space
Produced by The Public Theater
Book and Lyrics by Ethan Lipton, Music by Ethan Lipton, Vito Dieterle, Eben Levy, and Ian M. Riggs
Performed by Ethan Lipton

Sell/Buy/Date
Produced by Manhattan Theatre Club
Written and Performed by Sarah Jones

Outstanding Director
Will Davis, Men On Boats
Anne Kauffman, A Life
Lila Neugebauer, The Wolves
Bartlett Sher, Oslo
Rebecca Taichman, Indecent

Outstanding Choreographer
Joshua Bergasse, Sweet Charity
David Dorfman, Indecent
Georgina Lamb, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
David Neumann, Hadestown
David Neumann, The Total Bent 

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Play
Reed Birney, Man From Nebraska
Michael Emerson, Wakey, Wakey
Lucas Hedges, YEN
Joe Morton, Turn Me Loose
David Hyde Pierce, A Life

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Play
Johanna Day, Sweat
Jennifer Ehle, Oslo
Jennifer Kidwell, Underground Railroad Game
Kecia Lewis, Marie and Rosetta
Maryann Plunkett, Women of a Certain Age

Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play
Michael Aronov, Oslo
Charlie Cox, Incognito
Matthew Maher, Othello
Justice Smith, YEN
Paco Tolson, Vietgone

Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play
Jocelyn Bioh, Everybody
Hannah Cabell, The Moors
Randy Graff, The Babylon Line
Ari Graynor, YEN
Nana Mensah, Man From Nebraska

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Musical
Ato Blankson-Wood, The Total Bent
Shuler Hensley, Sweet Charity
Patrick Page, Hadestown
Ben Platt, Dear Evan Hansen
Jeremy Secomb, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Musical
Sutton Foster, Sweet Charity
Amber Gray, Hadestown
Jo Lampert, Joan of Arc: Into the Fire
Katrina Lenk, The Band’s Visit
Siobhan McCarthy, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical
Nathan Lee Graham, The View UpStairs
Gus Halper, Ride the Cyclone
Joel Perez, Sweet Charity
Ari’el Stachel, The Band’s Visit
Chris Sullivan, Hadestown

Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical
Asmeret Ghebremichael, Sweet Charity
Rachel Bay Jones, Dear Evan Hansen
Betsy Morgan, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Emily Rohm, Ride the Cyclone
Karen Ziemba, Kid Victory

Outstanding Scenic Design
Scott Davis, Ride the Cyclone
Rachel Hauck, Hadestown
Laura Jellinek, A Life
Mimi Lien, Signature Plays: Edward Albee’s The Sandbox, María Irene Fornés’ Drowning, and Adrienne Kennedy’s Funnyhouse of a Negro
Jason Sherwood, The View UpStairs

Outstanding Costume Design
Montana Blanco, The Death of the Last Black Man in the Whole Entire World AKA the Negro Book of the Dead
Tilly Grimes, Underground Railroad Game
Susan Hilferty, Love, Love, Love
Sarah Laux, The Band’s Visit
Emily Rebholz, Indecent

Outstanding Lighting Design
Mark Barton, Signature Plays: Edward Albee’s The Sandbox, María Irene Fornés’ Drowning, and Adrienne Kennedy’s Funnyhouse of a Negro
Jane Cox, Othello
Greg Hofmann, Ride the Cyclone
Amy Mae, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Ben Stanton, YEN

Outstanding Sound Design
Mikhail Fiksel, A Life
Robert Kaplowitz, Hadestown
Stowe Nelson, Small Mouth Sounds
Nevin Steinberg, Wakey, Wakey
Matt Stine, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street 

Outstanding Projection Design
Elaine McCarthy, Notes From The Field
Duncan McLean, Privacy
Jared Mezzochi, Vietgone
Peter Nigrini, Dear Evan Hansen
Peter Nigrini, Wakey, Wakey

HONORARY AWARDS
Lifetime Achievement Award
William Ivey Long

Playwrights’ Sidewalk Inductee
Lynn Nottage

Edith Oliver Service to Off-Broadway Award
Harold Wolpert