DEAR EVAN HANSEN Wins Big at Lackluster Tony Awards

After last year's Hamilton-a-palooza, I suppose any Tony Awards ceremony would've been a let-down. But this year... Yeah, it was really a let-down. Most of that stemmed from host Kevin Spacey, who seemed more interested in showcasing himself than the various winners and nominees. One more impression and I was going to throw something. Do the people who are in love with Dear Evan Hansen even know who Johnny Carson is?

Don't get me wrong. There were a couple of fun performances -- Bandstand and Natasha, Pierre et al. looked like fun and had a lot of energy -- and some more-than-worthy wins, like the marvelous Gavin Creel for the revival of Hello, Dolly! and Illinois' own Laurie Metcalf for A Doll's House Part 2. I was also happy to see Kevin Kline win his third Tony, with this one 36 years after his last. In case you're wondering, he last won as the lead actor in a musical for The Pirates of Penance back in 1981 and before that, as a featured actor in a musical for On the Twentieth Century in 1978. All he needs is featured actor in a play, and he will have the acting categories covered.

I also loved that the authors of nominated plays got the spotlight to introduce their own plays instead of dragging out some unrelated hockey player or Hollywood star. Playwrights Lynn Nottage and Paula Vogel should've been on Broadway well before this, so let's applaud the fact that we got to see them on the Tony stage if only to introduce their plays. More of that, please!

On the downside, it's a travesty that James Earl Jones received his Special Tony for Lifetime Achievement during a commercial, along with sound designers Gareth Fry and Pete Malkin, who received a special Tony for their work on The Encounter, the folks from Regional Tony winner Dallas Theater Center, and Isabelle Stevenson humanitarian award winner Baayork Lee. I'd rather see any and all of them ten times over than Kevin Spacey's impressions or the Rockettes.

Here are your nominees, with winners in bold and listed first:

BEST MUSICAL
Dear Evan Hansen
Come From Away
Groundhog Day
Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812

BEST PLAY
Oslo by J.T. Rogers
A Doll’s House, Part 2 by Lucas Hnath
Indecent by Paula Vogel
Sweat by Lynn Nottage

BEST REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL
Hello, Dolly!
Falsettos 
Miss Saigon 

BEST REVIVAL OF A PLAY
Jitney by August Wilson  
The Little Foxes by Lillian Hellman
Present Laughter by Noel Coward
Six Degrees of Separation by John Guare

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE IN A MUSICAL
Ben Platt, Dear Evan Hansen
Christian Borle, Falsettos
Josh Groban, Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812
David Hyde Pierce, Hello, Dolly! 
Andy Karl, Groundhog Day

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE IN A MUSICAL
Bette Midler, Hello, Dolly! 
Denée Benton, Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 
Christine Ebersole, War Paint 
Patti LuPone, War Paint
Eva Noblezada, Miss Saigon 

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A FEATURED ROLE IN A MUSICAL
Gavin Creel, Hello, Dolly!
Mike Faist, Dear Evan Hansen 
Andrew Rannells, Falsettos
Lucas Steele, Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 
Brandon Uranowitz, Falsettos 

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A FEATURED ROLE IN A MUSICAL
Rachel Bay Jones, Dear Evan Hansen 
Kate Baldwin, Hello, Dolly! 
Stephanie J. Block, Falsettos 
Jenn Colella, Come From Away 
Mary Beth Peil, Anastasia

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE IN A PLAY
Kevin Kline, Present Laughter 
Denis Arndt, Heisenberg
Chris Cooper, A Doll’s House, Part 2 
Corey Hawkins, Six Degrees of Separation
Jefferson Mays, Oslo

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE IN A PLAY
Laurie Metcalf, A Doll’s House, Part 2 
Cate Blanchett, The Present
Jennifer Ehle, Oslo
Sally Field, The Glass Menagerie
Laura Linney, The Little Foxes

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A FEATURED ROLE IN A PLAY
Michael Aronov, Oslo 
Danny DeVito, The Price 
Nathan Lane, The Front Page
Richard Thomas, The Little Foxes
John Douglas Thompson, Jitney 

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A FEATURED ROLE IN A PLAY
Cynthia Nixon, The Little Foxes 
Johanna Day, Sweat 
Jayne Houdyshell, A Doll's House, Part 2
Condola Rashad, A Doll's House, Part 2
Michelle Wilson, Sweat

BEST DIRECTION OF A MUSICAL
Christopher Ashley, Come From Away 
Rachel Chavkin, Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 
Michael Greif, Dear Evan Hansen 
Matthew Warchus, Groundhog Day 
Jerry Zaks, Hello, Dolly! 

BEST DIRECTION OF A PLAY
Rebecca Taichman, Indecent 
Sam Gold, A Doll's House, Part 2 
Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Jitney
Bartlett Sher, Oslo
Daniel Sullivan, The Little Foxes

BEST COSTUME DESIGN OF A MUSICAL
Santo Loquasto, Hello, Dolly! 
Linda Cho, Anastasia
Paloma Young, Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812
Catherine Zuber, War Paint 

BEST COSTUME DESIGN OF A PLAY
Jane Greenwood, The Little Foxes
Susan Hilferty, Present Laughter
Toni-Leslie James, Jitney
David Zinn, A Doll's House, Part 2

BEST SCENIC DESIGN OF A MUSICAL
Mimi Lien, Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812
Rob Howell, Groundhog Day
David Korins, War Paint
Santo Loquasto, Hello, Dolly!

BEST SCENIC DESIGN OF A PLAY
Nigel Hook, The Play That Goes Wrong
David Gallo, Jitney
Douglas W. Schmidt, The Front Page
Michael Yeargan, Oslo

BEST LIGHTING DESIGN OF A MUSICAL
Bradley King, Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812
Howell Binkley, Come From Away
Natasha Katz, Hello, Dolly!
Japhy Weideman, Dear Evan Hansen

BEST LIGHTING DESIGN OF A PLAY
Christopher Akerlind, Indecent
Jane Cox, Jitney
Donald Holder, Oslo
Jennifer Tipton, A Doll's House, Part 2

BEST SCORE
Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, Dear Evan Hansen
David Hein and Irene Sankoff, Come From Away
Dave Malloy, Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812
Tim Minchin, Groundhog Day 

BEST BOOK OF A MUSICAL
Steven Levenson, Dear Evan Hansen  
David Hein and Irene Sankoff, Come From Away
Dave Malloy, Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812
Danny Rubin, Groundhog Day 

BEST CHOREOGRAPHY
Andy Blankenbuehler, Bandstand 
Peter Darling and Ellen Kane, Groundhog Day 
Kelly Devine, Come From Away
Denis Jones, Holiday Inn
Sam Pinkleton, Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 

BEST ORCHESTRATIONS
Alex Lacamoire, Dear Evan Hansen 
Bill Elliott and Greg Anthony Rassen, Bandstand 
Larry Hochman, Hello, Dolly!
Dave Malloy, Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812

And that's all she wrote for the Tony Awards of 2017. Let's hope that's also all she wrote for Kevin Spacey as a Tony host.

Emmy Nominations!

Emmy nominations were announced today, with the usual assortment of good, bad and indifferent choices.

Who's celebrating tonight? Actress Laurie Metcalf, who is nominated for three different shows, Game of Thrones, leading the pack with the most overall nominations, anybody and everybody on The People v. O.J. Simpson, which cleaned up, and the folks at black-ish, which scored nominations for stars Tracee Ellis Ross and Anthony Anderson and the show itself. Fargo also did well, with nominations for Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemons, Jean Smart and Bokeem Woodbine, all of whom more than deserve their nominations, and voters showed they are not tired of Veep, which scored for Julia Louis-Dreyfus as well as Anna Chlumsky, Tony Hale, Matt Walsh and guest stars Peter MacNicol and Martin Mull. Chlumsky has been great since the get-go without really getting the recognition she deserves, while Mull was fantastic in his guest role. It was also good news for Mr. Robot and its star Rami Malek, even if Mr. Robot himself, Christian Slater, was overlooked. And finally Tatiana Maslany of Orphan Black got her due, along with some love for The Americans, an excellent show Emmy voters have skipped over in the past

Among the disappointments: Orange Is the New Black came up empty, as did Golden Globes winner Rachel Bloom, who stars in Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, and former winner Juliana Margulies, in her final season with The Good Wife.

And among the biggest "What are they smoking?" moments are the nominations for Modern Family (Really? Still?), nominating Tina Fey and Amy Poehler together as if they're one person, and completely overlooking The Leftovers, the best thing on television last year.

Here are the nominees in some of the major categories. For the complete list, you can visit the Emmy website or check out the New York Times coverage.

OUTSTANDING COMEDY
black-ish
Master of None
Modern Family
Silicon Valley
Transparent
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Veep

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep
Amy Schumer, Inside Amy Schumer
Ellie Kemper, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Tracee Ellis Ross, black-ish
Lily Tomlin, Grace and Frankie
Laurie Metcalf, Getting On

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Anthony Anderson, black-ish
Aziz Ansari, Master of None
Will Forte, Last Man on Earth
William H. Macy, Shameless
Thomas Middleditch, Silicon Valley
Jeffrey Tambor, Transparent 

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY 
Anna Chlumsky, Veep
Gaby Hoffmann, Transparent
Allison Janney, Mom
Judith Light, Transparent
Kate McKinnon, Saturday Night Live
Niecy Nash, Getting On

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Louie Anderson, Baskets
Andre Braugher, Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Ty Burrell, Modern Family
Tituss Burgess, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Tony Hale, Veep
Keegan-Michael Key, Key & Peele
Matt Walsh, Veep

OUTSTANDING GUEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
Christine Baranski, The Big Bang Theory
Tina Fey & Amy Poehler, Saturday Night Live
Melora Hardin, Transparent
Melissa McCarthy, Saturday Night Live
Laurie Metcalf, The Big Bang Theory
Amy Schumer, Saturday Night Live

OUTSTANDING GUEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Larry David, Saturday Night Live
Peter MacNicol, Veep
Tracy Morgan, Saturday Night Live
Martin Mull, Veep
Bob Newhart, The Big Bang Theory
Bradley Whitford, Transparent  

OUTSTANDING DRAMA
The Americans
Better Call Saul
Downton Abbey
Game of Thrones
Homeland
House of Cards
Mr. Robot

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A DRAMA
Kyle Chandler, Bloodline
Rami Malek, Mr. Robot
Bob Odenkirk, Better Call Saul
Matthew Rhys, The Americans
Liev Schreiber, Ray Donovan
Kevin Spacey, House of Cards

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A DRAMA
Claire Danes, Homeland
Viola Davis, How to Get Away With Murder
Taraji P. Henson, Empire
Tatiana Maslany, Orphan Black
Keri Russell, The Americans
Robin Wright, House of Cards 

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA
Jonathan Banks, Better Call Saul
Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones
Kit Harington, Game of Thrones
Michael Kelly, House of Cards
Ben Mendelsohn, Bloodline
Jon Voight, Ray Donovan

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA
Emilia Clarke, Game of Thrones
Lena Headey, Game of Thrones
Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey
Maura Tierney, The Affair
Maisie Williams, Game of Thrones
Constance Zimmer, UnREAL

OUTSTANDING GUEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA
Mahershala Ali, House Of Cards
Hank Azaria, Ray Donovan
Reg E. Cathey, House Of Cards
Michael J. Fox, The Good Wife
Paul Sparks, House Of Cards
Max von Sydow, Game Of Thrones

OUTSTANDING GUEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Ellen Burstyn, House Of Cards
Allison Janney, Masters Of Sex
Margo Martindale, The Americans
Laurie Metcalf, Horace And Pete
Molly Parker, House Of Cards
Carrie Preston, The Good Wife

OUTSTANDING TV MOVIE
All the Way
Confirmation
Luther
A Very Murray Christmas
Sherlock: The Abominable Bride

OUTSTANDING LIMITED SERIES
American Crime
Fargo
The Night Manager
The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story
Roots

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR TV MOVIE
Kirsten Dunst, Fargo
Felicity Huffman, American Crime
Audra McDonald, Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill
Sarah Paulson, The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story
Lili Taylor, American Crime
Kerry Washington, Confirmation

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR TV MOVIE
Bryan Cranston, All The Way
Benedict Cumberbatch, Sherlock: The Abominable Bride
Idris Elba, Luther
Cuba Gooding, The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story
Tom Hiddleston, The Night Manager
Courtney B. Vance, The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR TV MOVIE
Kathy Bates, American Horror Story: Hotel
Olivia Colman, The Night Manager
Regina King, American Crime
Melissa Leo, All The Way
Sarah Paulson, American Horror Story: Hotel
Jean Smart, Fargo 

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR TV MOVIE
Sterling K. Brown, The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story 
Hugh Laurie, The Night Manager 
Jesse Plemons, Fargo
David Schwimmer, The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story
John Travolta, The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story
Bokeem Woodbine, Fargo

OUTSTANDING HOST OF A REALITY PROGRAM
Tom Bergeron, “Dancing With The Stars”
Steve Harvey, “Little Big Shots starring Steve Harvey”
Heidi Klum, Tim Gunn, “Project Runway”
Jane Lynch, “Hollywood Game Night”
RuPaul, “RuPaul's Drag Race”
Ryan Seacrest, “American Idol” 

OUTSTANDING CHOREOGRAPHY
America's Best Dance Crew (Runaway Baby/Take U There/Summer Thing)
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (Routines: I'm So Good at Yoga/A Boy Band Made Up of Four Joshes/Settle For Me)
Dancing With The Stars (Footprints In The Sand/Grace Kelly/Cry Little Sister)
So You Think You Can Dance (Dibidy Dop)
So You Think You Can Dance (Beautiful Friends/November/Gimme All Your Lov)

OUTSTANDING DIRECTION OF A COMEDY SERIES
Chris Addison, Veep
Aziz Ansari, Master Of None
Alec Berg, Silicon Valley
Mike Judge, Silicon Valley
Dave Mandel, Veep
Jill Soloway, Transparent
Dale Stern, Veep

OUTSTANDING DIRECTION OF A DRAMA SERIES
Jack Bender, Game Of Thrones 
Michael Engler, Downton Abbey
Lesli Linka Glatter, Homeland 
David Hollander, Ray Donovan
Miguel Sapochnik, Game Of Thrones
Steven Soderbergh, The Knick 

OUTSTANDING DIRECTION OF A LIMITED SERIES, MOVIE OR DRAMATIC SPECIAL
Susanne Bier, The Night Manager
Noah Hawley, Fargo
Anthony Hemingway, The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story
Ryan Murphy, The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story 
Jay Roach, All The Way
John Singleton, The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story

OUTSTANDING DIRECTION OF A VARIETY SERIES
Dave Diomedi, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
Don Roy King, Saturday Night Live
Tim Mancinelli, The Late Late Show With James Corden
Ryan McFaul, Inside Amy Schumer
Paul Pennolino, Last Week Tonight With John Oliver

OUTSTANDING DIRECTION OF A VARIETY SPECIAL
Louis J. Horvitz, 58th Grammy Awards
Kahlil Joseph and Beyoncé Knowles Carter, Lemonade
Thomas Kail and, Alex Rudzinski, Grease: Live
Beth McCarthy-Miller, Adele Live In New York City
Chris Rock, Amy Schumer: Live At The Apollo
Glenn Weiss, The Kennedy Center Honors

OUTSTANDING DIRECTION OF A NONFICTION PROGRAM
Liz Garbus, What Happened, Miss Simone?
David Gelb, Chef's Table
Davis Guggenheim, He Named Me Malala
Matthew Heineman, Cartel Land
Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos, Making A Murderer

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL MUSIC & LYRICS
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, "Settle For Me"
Empire, "Good People"
Galavant, "A New Season"
Garfunkel and Oates: Trying To Be Special, "Frozen Lullaby"
The Hunting Ground, "'Til It Happens To You"

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL MAIN TITLE THEME MUSIC
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
Marvel's Jessica Jones
Narcos
The Night Manager
Sense8
The Whispers

OUTSTANDING VARIETY TALK SERIES
Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee
Jimmy Kimmel Live
Last Week Tonight With John Oliver
The Late Late Show With James Corden
Real Time With Bill Maher
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon

OUTSTANDING VARIETY SKETCH SERIES
Documentary Now!
Drunk History
Inside Amy Schumer
Key & Peele
Portlandia
Saturday Night Live

OUTSTANDING VARIETY SPECIAL
Adele Live In New York City
Amy Schumer: Live At The Apollo
The Kennedy Center Honors
The Late Late Show Carpool Karaoke Prime Time Special
Lemonade

OUTSTANDING SPECIAL CLASS PROGRAM
69th Annual Tony Awards
The 73rd Annual Golden Globe Awards
Grease: Live
The Oscars
Super Bowl 50 Halftime Show

OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A COMEDY SERIES
Aziz Ansari and Alan Yang, Master Of None
Alec Berg, Silicon Valley
 Rob Delaney and Sharon Horgan, Catastrophe

Alex Gregory and Peter Huyck, VeepDan O'Keefe, Silicon Valley
David Mandel, Veep

OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A DRAMA SERIES
David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, Game Of Thrones
Sam Esmail, Mr. Robot
Julian Fellowes, Downton Abbey
Joel Fields and Joe Weisberg, The Americans
Michelle and Robert King, The Good Wife
Marti Noxon and Sarah Gertrude Shapiro, UnREAL

OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A LIMITED SERIES, MOVIE OR DRAMATIC SPECIAL
Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story
Joe Robert Cole, The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story
Bob DeLaurentis, Fargo
D.V. DeVincentis, The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story
David Farr, The Night Manager
Noah Hawley, Fargo

OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A VARIETY SERIES
Full Frontal With Samantha Bee
Inside Amy Schumer
Key & Peele
Last Week Tonight With John Oliver
Portlandia
Saturday Night Live

OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A VARIETY SPECIAL
Amy Schumer: Live At The Apollo
John Mulaney: The Comeback Kid
Patton Oswalt: Talking For Clapping
Tig Notaro: Boyish Girl Interrupted
Triumph's Election Special 2016

OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A NONFICTION PROGRAM
Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown
Everything Is Copy -- Nora Ephron: Scripted & Unscripted
Jackie Robinson
Making A Murderer
Walt Disney (American Experience)

OUTSTANDING REALITY COMPETITION PROGRAM
The Amazing Race
American Ninja Warrior
Dancing With The Stars
Project Runway
Top Chef
The Voice

OUTSTANDING STRUCTURED REALITY PROGRAM
Antiques Roadshow
Lip Sync Battle
MythBusters
Shark Tank
Undercover Boss

OUTSTANDING UNSTRUCTURED REALITY PROGRAM
Born This Way
Deadliest Catch
Gaycation With Ellen Page
Intervention
Project Greenlight
United Shades Of America

OUTSTANDING DOCUMENTARY OR NONFICTION SERIES
American Masters
Chef's Table
Making A Murderer
The Seventies
Woman With Gloria Steinem

OUTSTANDING DOCUMENTARY OR NONFICTION SPECIAL
Becoming Mike Nichols
Everything Is Copy
Listen To Me Marlon
Mapplethorpe: Look At The Pictures
What Happened, Miss Simone? 

OUTSTANDING INFORMATIONAL SERIES OR SPECIAL
Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown
Inside The Actors Studio
Star Talk With Neil deGrasse Tyson
The Story Of God With Morgan Freeman
Vice

Steppenwolf Theatre Company Announces 2016-17 Season

Steppenwolf Theatre Company has announced its 2016-17 season, the first under new artistic director Anna D. Shapiro. As the 2016-17 season launches, Steppenwolf will offer some changes, with several subscription and flex card options combining shows in the Downstairs and Upstairs Theatres, as well as the launch of a new 80-seat black box theater at 1700 North Halsted. This new space, called 1700 Theatre, is intended to be "casual, intimate and flexible," and it is "dedicated to showcasing the work of the Steppenwolf ensemble and emerging local theater companies."

It will also be home to a performance series they've dubbed Lookout, which will cover a variety of genres and shows, "from dance to live music to spoken word and beyond." The Lookout concept will bow May 31, 2016, with a one-act comedy called Voice Lessons, starring ensemble member (and Illinois State University alum) Laurie Metcalf. Voice Lessons, a comedy by Justin Tanner, concerns a woman who thinks she can sing, played by Metcalf, who looks to a vocal coach, played by French Stewart of Third Rock from the Sun fame, to give her what she needs to get ahead in community theater. Metcalf, Stewart and co-star Maile Flanagan were all with the show when it was in Los Angeles six years ago. Voice Lessons will run till June 12 in the 1700 Theatre.

After Voice Lessons, a production of Byhalia, Mississippi, a play by Evan Linder originally mounted by Linder's New Colony and director Tyrone Phillips' Definition Theatre Company, will move into 1700 Theatre, with performances from July 22 to August 21, 2016. Phillips is graduate of the University of Illinois, making his Steppenwolf debut with Byhalia.

And in the fall, here's what's up in the subscription season:

The world premiere of Visiting Edna by David Rabe, the Tony winning playwright known for Streamers and Hurlyburly, comes to the Downstairs Theatre from September 15 to November 6. Anna D. Shapiro directs Ian Barford, K. Todd Freeman and Sally Murphy in this story about a woman not surprisingly named Edna. "Edna has suffered a number of losses as she has aged, and now faces the stealthy advance of cancer embodied by an intimate figure that she could do without. Home for a visit, Edna’s son Andrew is trying to bridge the gulf between the childhood love they shared and the aggressively polite but baffling relationship they now live with. Mother and son stumble toward honesty as they wrestle with the distractions – both mundane and profound – that keep us from real connection."

That's followed by another world premiere, Erika Sheffer's The Fundamentals, directed by Yasen Peyankov, running in the Upstairs Theatre from November 10 to December 23. Alana Arenas and Alan Wilder will be featured in this "funny and scathing look at America's corporate culture" shown through what happens to Millie, "a smart, resourceful young mother who works as a housekeeper in one of New York’s premiere luxury hotels. When an opportunity to move into management gives her the chance to leave behind her blue collar life, Millie must decide how much, and who, she’s willing to sacrifice to secure her family’s future." 

The winter holidays bring Lucas Hnath's The Christians, part of the 2014 Humana Festival of New American Plays at Actors Theatre of Louisville. After its Kentucky premiere, the play moved to Playwrights Horizons with much the same cast last year, but for Steppenwolf, K. Todd Freeman will be at the helm. The Christians will play in the Downstairs Theatre from December 1, 2016 to January 29, 2017. What's it all about? "Pastor Paul has spent 20 years successfully growing his church from a small storefront to a gleaming megachurch, but now he fears that there may be a crack in the theological foundation. As he shares his new belief in the nature of salvation, the message is met with surprise and then growing trepidation from his closest confidantes in the congregation, threatening to create a schism within the church. Hnath’s fascinating new play looks with great complexity and compassion at the relationship between belief and behavior – and its evenhanded, unbiased take on faith in modern America can be appreciated no matter what you believe." The Christians will represent Hnath's Steppenwolf debut.

Young Jean Lee will direct the Chicago premiere of her play Straight White Men, featuring Tim Hopper and Alan Wilder, scheduled for the Upstairs Theatre from February 2 to March 19, 2017. This "outside look at the traditional father/son narrative" that sheds "new and often hilarious light on a story we think we know all too well" focuses on a widower named Ed as Christmas approaches and his three adult sons come home for the holiday. "Games are played, Chinese food is ordered, and brotherly pranks and trashtalk distract them from the ongoing issue that threatens to ruin the festivities: when personal identity is essential and privilege is a problem, what is a straight white man to do?"

Tracy Letts is back at Steppenwolf after meteoric success with plays like August: Osage County and Superior Donuts. His new play Mary Page Marlowe premieres there in March, but the world premiere of another one – Linda Vista – will bring Letts' work back in March 2017, too. Ian Barford and Tim Hopper will appear in Linda Vista from March 30 to May 21, 2017 in the Downstairs Theatre.  This one is not about anyone named Linda as far as I can tell, but it certainly does sound Lettsian. "Wheeler is 50. His marriage is over, his job is mundane, and the best years of his life appear to be behind him. A move from the cot in his ex-wife’s garage to his own apartment opens up new possibilities for love and sex – complicated, painful and hilarious. Full of opinions, yet short on self-examination, Wheeler is a modern misanthrope who must reconcile the man he has become with the man he wants to be."

The sixth play in the season will be the Chicago premiere of Taylor Mac's Hir, which finished up its run at Playwrights Horizons in January. The Chicago version will feature Francis Guinan and Amy Morton in the Downstairs Theatre from June 29 to August 20, 2017. "The classic dysfunctional family drama has just crashed through into a wholly original place. Meet Paige, a wife and mother liberated from an oppressive and abusive marriage; Max, her newly out transgender son; and Isaac, Max’s PTSD-addled older brother, who discovers a brand new war zone when he comes home from Afghanistan. Hir's crusade to shake up the patriarchy is disarmingly funny, absurd and surprising as it looks at an American family forced to build a new world out of the pieces of the old."

Pass Over, by Antoinette Nwandu, will serve as an additional summer option, with tickets available to "Black Card" subscribers before the public. Featuring University of Illinois grad Jon Michael Hill, Pass Over is described as a "bold, incendiary riff on Waiting for Godot." In Nwandu's take, "two young black men stand around on the corner – talking shit, killing time and hoping that maybe today will be different. When a white man wanders into their space , an escalating crisis threatens to prevent their escape from the block. In Pass Over, pop culture, historical and religious references collide to create a hilarious and disturbing meditation on manhood, race, and the cycle of violence that prevents too many from realizing their full potential." Pass Over will be presented in the Upstairs Theatre from May 25 to July 2, 2017.

For all the information on shows, season subscriptions  and other options, click here or here.

"The New Normal" Needs to Be in Normal

News broke at Deadline a few weeks ago that NBC has picked up a pilot called "The New Normal" from producer/director/writer Ryan Murphy, the man behind "Glee" and "American Horror Story." Murphy will be directing and co-writing this half-hour sitcom with Allison Adler, someone he also works with on "Glee."

Andrew Rannells, fresh off major Broadway success in "The Book of Mormon," is slated to star, along with Ellen Barkin, who most recently did "The Normal Heart" on Broadway. Murphy will also direct a film version of "The Normal Heart" later this year. Whole lot of Normal going on there, right?

"The Normal Heart" is a searing 1985 play by Larry Kramer about the rise of AIDS and subsequent activism in the New York gay community in the early 80s; it was performed by ISU as part of their 2005-06 season. And, no, it has nothing to do with Normal, Illinois.

Murphy's proposed sitcom, "The New Normal," is about a gay couple and the surrogate they hire to help them have a baby. Rannells will play one half of the couple, with Barkin as the surrogate's mother. No word yet on casting for the other man or the surrogate. I also haven't seen any word on where this show will be set. Just want to note that Normal, Illinois, would be perfect for it. What says "The New Normal" more than Normal? What would be a better place for the gay couple to settle in and nurture their family?


Normal has already starred in a TV commercial focusing on its "New Normal" status to much acclaim. There's plenty of talent around, with the theater departments at ISU and IWU and local theater companies chock full of terrific actors, and lots of locals with credibility and appeal, like 92-year-old Ruth Steele and Normal Mayor Chris Koos, both of whom appear in the Mitsubishi ad. Or if, like "Roseanne" or "Ferris Bueller," producers want to make the show appear to be set in Illinois even while it's mostly filmed in Hollywood, former Normal residents like Sean Hayes and Laurie Metcalf might add some verisimilitude.

So, you know, Ryan Murphy. We're here, we're Normal, and we're available.

The map that appears at the top of this post comes from TownMapsUSA.com