Death Becomes Her Writer Marco Pennette joins Behind the Awards to chat about making his Broadway Debut in this musical comedy.  From his TV work on such shows as Ugly Betty, Caroline in the City, and Kate & Allie to being Hal Prince’s intern Marco has stories for days including the touching relationship he had with Linda Lavin.  Death Becomes Her stated 8 years ago with the help of his friend Kristin Chenoweth. 

Also in this episode - Isabelle Sanford’s Emmy Win and a review of Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends starring Bernadette Peters and Lea Salonga.

Make sure to check out Eila's book, "The Tony Awards", and all her other amazing books: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://amzn.to/43WMu5Y⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

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2 time Lortel Winner Francis Jue dropped by Behind the Awards to chat about his role in Yellow Face and working with David Henry Wong.  Francis shares his 20 year journey with the piece as well as storing in the tour of M Butterfly and The King and I at The MUNY.  Catch Yellow Face on PBS May 16th 2025.

Also in this episode - Lady Gaga’s 2019 Oscar win for Best Song Shallow from A Star is Born. Review of Pirates! A Penzance Musical.

Francis Jue earned Lucille Lortel and Obie Awards for the NYC debut of Yellow Face at the Public Theater. Broadway: Pacific Overtures, Thoroughly Modern Millie, M. Butterfly. Recent theatre credits include Cambodian Rock Band (Lortel Award), Twilight: Los Angeles 1992, Once Upon a Mattress, Babbitt, Good Enemy, Soft Power (Outer Critics Circle Award), Wild Goose Dreams (Obie Award). Film/TV includes Our Son, White Noise, Joyful Noise, Madam Secretary, New Amsterdam, Law & Order: SVU, Hightown.

Make sure to check out Eila's book, "The Tony Awards", and all her other amazing books: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://amzn.to/43WMu5Y⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

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Eila & Bruce bring you the second installment of their Tony deep dive. They are joined by expert Matt Stashin and share who will win and who they want to win in the following categories: Featured Actress in a Play, Lighting Design of a Musical, Costume Design of a Play, Best Original Score and Director of a Play.

Tala Ashe, Jessica Hect, Marjan Neshat, Fina Strazza, Kara Young, Jack Knowles, Tyler Micoleau, Ben Stanton, Rudy Horne Sun, Scott Zielinski, Justin Townsend, Brenda, Abbandandolo, Marg Horwell, Rob Howell, Holly Pierson, Brigitte Reiffenstuel, Erik Della Penna, David Yazbeck, Noel Carey, Julia Mattison, Will Aronson, Hue Park, David Cumming, Natasha Hodgson, Zoe Roberts, Joy Huerta, Benjamin Valez, Knud Adams, Sam Mendes, Sam Pinkleton, Danya Taymor, Kip Williams, English, Eureka Day, John Proctor is the Villain, Purpose, Sunset Boulevard, Buena Vista Social Club, Maybe Happy Ending, Floyd Collins, Death Becomes Her, Good Night and Good Luck, The Picture of Dorian Gray, The Hills of California, Oh Mary!, Stranger Things: The First Shadow, Dead Outlaw, Operation Mincemeat, Real Women Have Curves.

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The cast of Operation Mincemeat joins Behind the Awards to do a deep dive of the musical from inception to Broadway.  David Cumming, Claire-Marie Hall, Natasha Hodgson, Jak Malone, and Zoe Roberts give us the behind the scenes secrets of the show.  Staring at The Fringe to Oliver Award winning run on the West End this show gives the audience a history lesson of World War II in the most physical comedy way possible. 

Also in this episode - Harriet Harris 2002 Tony Win for Thoroughly Modern Millie and a review of Just in Time starring Jonathan Groff.

The year is 1943 and right now we’re losing the war. Luckily, we’re about to gamble all our futures on a stolen corpse.

Singin’ in the Rain meets Strangers on a Train, Operation Mincemeat is the fast-paced, hilarious and unbelievable true story of the twisted secret mission that won us World War II.

Bursting at the seams with the kind of chaos you couldn’t invent, the question is: how did a dead body, a fake love letter, and - of all people - Ian Fleming come together to wrong-foot Hitler?

Make sure to check out Eila's book, "The Tony Awards", and all her other amazing books: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://amzn.to/43WMu5Y⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

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Natalie Venetia Belcon brings her Lortel Winning performance of Omara to the Schoenfeld Theater.  Buena Vista Social Club has the 2025 Broadway season a flurry and Behind the Awards gets the scoop for the star.  Natalie Venetia Belcon also is known for creating the role of Gary Coleman in the Tony Winning Avenue Q.

Also in this episode- Andrea Martin’s 1993 Tony win for My Favorite Year and Real Women Have Curves show stopping preview experience.

Natalie Venetia Belcon won the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Lead Performer in a Musical for portraying the legendary Omara Portuondo in the one of a kind Buena Vista Social Club and to have been nominated for a Drama Desk Award. Broadway: Matilda (Mrs. Phelps), Avenue Q (original cast as Gary Coleman), Rent (Joanne). Off-Broadway: Ahrens and Flaherty’s The Glorious Ones at Lincoln Center. National Tour: Wicked (Madame Morrible). Regional: Ahrens and Flaherty’s new musical, Knoxville (adapted by Frank Galati) at AsoloRepertory Theatre, Radio City Christmas Spectacular. Belcon has had recurring and guest starring roles on a number of TV shows and featured roles in a few films.  PBS Great Performances: Play On!

Make sure to check out Eila's book, "The Tony Awards", and all her other amazing books: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://amzn.to/43WMu5Y⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

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Tony Nominated Director/Choreographer Camille A Brown stops by Behind the Awards to discuss Gypsy, Hells Kitchen, For Colored Girls and her journey to Broadway.  

Also in this episode - Bebe Neuwirth 1997 Tony win for her portrayal of Velma Kelly in Chicago and a review of Purpose

Four Time Tony Award nominee Camille A. Brown, currently nominated for her choreography in Hells Kitchen on Broadway, is a prolific Black female choreographer who in 2022, made her Broadway directorial debut for the Broadway revival of for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf, making her the first Black woman to direct and choreograph a Broadway play since Katherine Dunham in 1955. The production received seven Tony Award nominations including Best Direction of a Play and Best Choreography for Brown. The New York Times proclaimed the production “triumphant.” The same season, at The Metropolitan Opera, Camille became the first Black artist to direct a mainstage production, co-directing alongside James Robinson on Terence Blanchard’s Fire Shut Up in My Bones (2021), which she also choreographed. Fire was triumphantly brought back to the MET again this 2024 spring season. Camille also choreographed Porgy & Bess in 2020 and Terence Blanchard’s Champion, which premiered April 2023, both at The MET Opera. Camille made her Broadway choreography debut with the critically acclaimed revival of Once on This Island, followed by Choir Boy for MTC. She continues to be the artistic director and choreographer for her own company, Camille A Brown and Dancers and this summer will premiere a new piece, the highly anticipated “I AM” at Jacobs Pillow. Most recently, Brown won the Chita Rivera Award for outstanding  choreography and earned a Drama Desk nomination and her fourth Tony Award nomination for her choreography of the Broadway hit, Hell’s Kitchen, the new Alicia Keys musical which has garnered 13 Tony Award nominations.

Make sure to check out Eila's book, "The Tony Awards", and all her other amazing books: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://amzn.to/43WMu5Y⁠⁠⁠⁠.

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Eila & Bruce bring you the first installment of their Tony deep dive. They are joined by expert Matt Stashin and share who will win and who they want to win in the following categories: Best Choreography; Best Sound Design of a Play; Best Orchestrations; Featured Actor in a Play; and Featured Actor in a Musical.

Glenn Davis, Gabriel Ebert, Francis Jue, Bob Odenkirk, Conrad Ricamore, Brooks Ashmanskas, Jeb Brown, Danny Burstein, Jak Malone, Taylor Trench, Joshua Bergasse, Camille A Brown, Patrica Delgado, Justin Peck, Christopher Gattelli, Jerry Mitchell, Will Aronson, Bruce Coughlin, David Cullen, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Marco Paguia, Andrew Resnick, Michael Thurber, Paul Arditti, Palmer Heffernan, Daniel Kluger, Nick Powell, Clemence Williams, Smash, Gypsy, Buena Vista Social Club, Death Becomes Her, Boop! The Musical, Maybe Happy Ending, Floyd Collins, Sunset Boulevard, Just in Time, Stranger Things: The First Shadow, John Proctor is the Villain, Good Night and Good Luck, The Hills of California, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Purpose, Yellow Face, Glengarry Glen Ross, Oh Mary!, Dead Outlaw, Operation Mincemeat

Make sure to check out Eila's book, "The Tony Awards", and all her other amazing books: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://amzn.to/43WMu5Y⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Connect with Eila and Bruce:

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Sunset Blvd Choreographer Fabian Aloise joins us from backstage at Drury Lane Theater where he is currently working on Much Ado About Nothing with Tom Hiddleston and Hayley Atwell to give us the low down on putting the show on its feet.  Fabian breaks down the shows viral TikTok stroll through Shubert Alley.  Fabian gives us the close up on working with Nicole Scherziger and collaboration with Director Jamie Lloyd.

Also in this episode - Julie White 2007 Tony win for The Little Dog Laughed and a review of Floyd Collins.

Fabian Aloise - Two-time Olivier nominee for Sunset Blvd. (West End) and Evita (Regents Park). Previous: In Dreams (UK and Toronto), The SpongeBob Musical (London, U.K. and Ireland tour), Cabaret (Paris Lido2), Bring It On (London, U.K. tour), Our House (U.K. tour), Madagascar (UK/global), Wicked (Hamburg). Also London: The View Upstairs, The Rink, Working. Co-director/ choreographer: Kathy & Stella Solve a Murder (West End).

Make sure to check out Eila's book, "The Tony Awards", and all her other amazing books: ⁠⁠⁠https://amzn.to/43WMu5Y⁠⁠⁠.

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Dead Outlaw star Julia Knitel gives Behind the Awards a deep dive into all things Dead Outlaw, plus her experience playing Louise in Gypsy with Beth Level and Carol King in Beautiful.

Also in this episode - Katie Finneran 2010 Tony win for Promises Promises and a review of Good Night and Good Luck

Julie Knitel - Broadway: Beautiful, Bye Bye Birdie. Tour: Beautiful (Carole King), Come From Away (Janice). Off-Broadway: Dead Outlaw (OCC nom), A Letter to Harvey Milk (Lortel nom), Panic of ‘29. Regional: Carole King in Beautiful at Asolo Rep, Cape Playhouse (Gertrude Lawrence Award), & Theatre Aspen (Henry nom). Louise in Gypsy at The Muny (St. Louis Theatre Circle nom), Martha in The Constant Wife(Denver Center), Ulla in The Producers (Casa Mañana), Nora in Brighton Beach Memoirs (Portland Stage). TV/film: “The Other Two,” Miles.

Make sure to check out Eila's book, "The Tony Awards", and all her other amazing books: ⁠⁠https://amzn.to/43WMu5Y⁠⁠.

Connect with Eila and Bruce:

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Behind the Awards welcomes back their resident awards expert Matt Stashin to play Tony Nominator before the actual nominations are announced.

Also in this episode - The World Premier of Cheap Seats from the Theatrical Experience Label-Less created by Lea & Drew Lachey and performed by Diana Hutchinson.  This single can be found anywhere you download music with the full Album available May 1st!

Make sure to check out Eila's book, "The Tony Awards", and all her other amazing books: ⁠https://amzn.to/43WMu5Y⁠.

Connect with Eila and Bruce:

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