Random thoughts
NEW YORK—Awards season is in full swing in this merry month of May, and our show in the sandbox is a contender for a few major prizes.
So far we’ve had the Drama League and the Chita Rivera Awards. The league nominates the outstanding shows of the season in both the revival and original play and musical categories, and also compiles a list of actors who have given exemplary performances. Among them are Hailey Kilgore and Alex Newell of “Once On This Island,” Andrew Garfield of “Angels in America,” and Glenda Jackson and Laurie Metcalf of “Three Tall Women.” From all those extraordinary performances, the Distinguished Performance honor went to Glenda Jackson.
“My Fair Lady” won for Best Revival of a Musical, while “The Band’s Visit” won for Best Musical. For plays, “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Parts 1 and 2” received the Best Play award, and “Angels in America, Parts 1 and 2” won for Best Revival of a Play.
At the Chita Rivera Awards, which recognizes excellence in dance, the atmosphere was festive and light. During the presentation of awards, there was so much laughter, tears, and generous hugs exchanged (I got to fawn over one of my favorite performers, “An American in Paris” star Robert Fairchild, who won the Outstanding Male Dancer in an Off-Broadway Show award for his work in “Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein”), as well as incredible dance numbers.
For the tribute to dance legend Carmen de Lavallade, two dancers originally performed by and for her were reproduced on stage, and to give homage to director Hal Prince who was recognized for his collaboration with choreographers, three incredible performers—Harvey Fierstein, Bryonha Marie Parham and Ben Crawford—interpreted songs from a few of the musicals that Hal had originally directed.
Ariana DeBose, this year’s winner of the Outstanding Female Dancer in a Broadway Show award, sang “Hot Stuff” along with her castmates from the new musical, “Summer.”
The ensembles of shows were also given their due, something no other award-giving body does, and winning the trophy were two shows: “Mean Girls” and “Carousel.” There was plenty of whooping and hollering, and deservedly so. I mean, the two choreographers responsible for these shows, Casey Nicholaw and Justin Peck respectively, must find themselves on the physical therapy table at least twice a week.
Congratulations to all the awardees!
A Royal Wedding
Meghan Markle (right) with mom Doria Ragland
It’s been seven years since the last royal wedding took place, so I reckon we were all due for another one! On May 19, 2018, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle tied the knot in a beautiful ceremony at St. George’s Cathedral in Windsor. Tons of celebrities from the United Kingdom and the United States, dressed in their finest daytime wedding wear, flocked into the church to witness the event.
The bride was resplendent in a white gown designed by Clare Waight Keller of Givenchy. The looks that she and her groom were giving each other throughout the ceremony were the stuff of pure fairy-tale romance. The most beautiful looks though came from the bride’s mother, Doria Ragland, sitting alone as a single mother, beaming with joy.
For many reasons, this is a wedding that won’t soon be forgotten: the bride walking halfway down the aisle alone, The Kingdom Choir singing Ben E. King’s “Stand by Me,” the passionately delivered homily of Reverend Michael B. Curry, and the stirring performance of cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason. There was a lot of Hollywood, too: George and Amal Clooney, Serena Williams, “Suits” stars Gabriel Macht and Patrick J. Adams, “Timeless” star Abigail Spencer, Oprah Winfrey, David and Victoria Beckham, Elton John and James Corden.
