King Liz is a Second Stage Theatre Uptown production that follows “Liz Rico” (Pittman), a sports agent who faces the obstacles women face in a male-dominated industry. She has money and an elite client roster but she must work twice as hard to stay on top. Rico takes on volatile high basketball phenom “Freddie Luna” as a client and uses the opportunity to lift her career along with his.

Pittman previously starred in Ayad Akhtar’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play Disgraced in the role of “Jory,” for which she received critical acclaim for “delivering a powerful and impassioned performance that literally takes the air out of the Lyceum Theatre. “ With a stage presence that has been described as “passionate, witty, glamorous,” Pittman has also appeared on Broadway in Good People and Passing Strange, as well as the off-Broadway production of Domesticated.

In addition to Pittman, the cast includes Jeremie Harris as “Freddie Luna,” Michael Cullen as “Mr. Candy,” Russell G. Jones as “Coach Jones,” Caroline Lagerfelt as “Barbara Flowers” and Irene Sofia Lucio as “Gabby Fuentes.” Lisa Peterson directs King Liz, with scenic design by Dane Laffrey, costumes by Jessica Pabst, lighting design by Tyler Micoleau, and sound design by Darron L West.

For more information and tickets, visit www.2ST.com or call (212) 246-4422.

Photo Credit: Carol Rosegg

The post King Liz Starring Karen Pittman Extended Through August 15 appeared first on Broadway Black.

Karen Pittman, who most recently appeared on Broadway in Disgraced, will star as the lead role, Liz Rico, in the world premiere of Fernanda Coppel’s King Liz.

King Liz follows Liz Rico, a sports agent who, despite money and an elite client roster, must work twice as hard to stay on top in an industry dominated by men.When Freddie Luna (Jeremie Harris), a high school basketball star with a troubled past enters, she seizes the opportunity to skyrocket his career as well as her own.

King Liz also stars Michael Cullen as Mr. Candy, Russell G. Jones as Coach Jones, Caroline Lagerfelt as Barbara Flowers and Irene Sofia Lucio as Gabby Fuentes.

Karen Pittman was in both the Lincoln Center production of Disgraced and the original Broadway run. Other Broadway credits include Good People and Passing Strange.  She also appeared in Bruce Norris’s Domesticated directed by Anna D Shapiro at LCT.  She has a number of TV credits including “House of Cards”, “The Americans”, “The Good Wife”, and “White Collar.” Her film credits include The Bourne Legacy, Last Night, Begin Again and The Rewrite.

The Lisa Peterson directed production will play Uptown at the McGinn/Cazale Theatre (2162 Broadway & 76th St) produced by The Second Stage Theatre beginning July 13 and run through August 8. Opening night is set for July 27.

The production will feature scenic design by Dane Laffrey, costumes by Jessica Pabst, lighting design by Tyler Micoleau and sound design by Darron L West.

Tickets are currently on sale and can be purchased here.

The post Karen Pittman To Star In King Liz Off Broadway appeared first on Broadway Black.

The post 2015 Theatre World Awards appeared first on Broadway Black.

The diversity in award nominees are very thin this year but the experience and excitement is still there for all nominees. We salute and congratulate all nominees and special award recipients for the potential to receive the highest honor in American theatre is an amazing feat.

CONGRATULATIONS TO K. TODD FREEMAN FOR HIS NOMINATION FOR BEST PERFORMANCE BY A FEATURED ACTOR IN A PLAY FOR HIS ROLE IN AIRLINE HIGHWAY!

CONGRATS TO KAREN PITTMAN AND THE ENTIRE CAST & CREW OF DISGRACED FOR THEIR NOMINATION FOR BEST PLAY!

CONGRATS TO JAMES EARL JONES AND THE ENTIRE CAST OF YOU CAN’T TAKE IT WITH YOU FOR THEIR NOMINATION FOR BEST REVIVAL OF A PLAY

CONGRATS TO JOCELYN BIOH AND THE ENTIRE CAST & CREW OF THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT TIME FOR THEIR 6 NOMINATIONS INCLUDING BEST PLAY

CONGRATS TO THE MICHAEL JAMES SCOTT AND THE ENTIRE CAST & CREW OF SOMETHING ROTTEN FOR THEIR 10 NOMINATIONS

CHECK OUT THE ENTIRE NOMINATION LIST BELOW!

Tony Award Winners Kristin Chenoweth & Alan Cumming to Host 69th Annual Tony Awards LIVE on CBS, Sunday, June 7th from Radio City Music Hall

As previously announced, the 2015 Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre will be presented to Tommy Tune and the Isabelle Stevenson Award will be presented to Stephen Schwartz.  The 2015 Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre will be presented to Scenic Artist Arnold Abramson; press agent Adrian Bryan-Brown; and theatre technician Gene O’Donovan.  This year the Tony Award Administration Committee will present a Special Tony Award to John Cameron Mitchell.

Each year, the Tony Awards Administration Committee presents a Tony Award to a regional theatre on the recommendation of the American Theatre Critics Association. The 2015 Regional Theatre Award will be presented to Cleveland Play House.

The Antoinette Perry “Tony” Awards are bestowed annually on theatre professionals for distinguished achievement. The Tony is one of the most coveted awards in the entertainment industry and the annual telecast is considered one of the most prestigious programs on television.

Nominations for the 2015 American Theatre Wing’s Tony Awards®
Presented by The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing

Best Play

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

Disgraced

Hand to God

Wolf Hall Parts One & Two

Best Musical

An American in Paris

Fun Home

Something Rotten!

The Visit

Best Revival of a Play

The Elephant Man

Skylight 

This Is Our Youth

You Can’t Take It with You

Best Revival of a Musical

The King and I

On the Town

On the Twentieth Century

Best Book of a Musical

An American in Paris

Craig Lucas

Fun Home

Lisa Kron

Something Rotten!

Karey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell

The Visit

Terrence McNally

Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre

Fun Home

Music: Jeanine Tesori
Lyrics: Lisa Kron

The Last Ship

Music & Lyrics: Sting

Something Rotten!

Music & Lyrics: Wayne Kirkpatrick and Karey Kirkpatrick

The Visit

Music: John Kander
Lyrics: Fred Ebb

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play

Steven Boyer, Hand to God
Bradley Cooper, The Elephant Man
Ben Miles, Wolf Hall Parts One & Two
Bill Nighy, Skylight
Alex Sharp, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play

Geneva Carr, Hand to God
Helen Mirren, The Audience
Elisabeth Moss, The Heidi Chronicles
Carey Mulligan, Skylight
Ruth Wilson, Constellations

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical

Michael Cerveris, Fun Home
Robert Fairchild, An American in Paris
Brian d’Arcy James, Something Rotten!
Ken Watanabe, The King and I
Tony Yazbeck, On the Town

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical

Kristin Chenoweth, On the Twentieth Century
Leanne Cope, An American in Paris
Beth Malone, Fun Home
Kelli O’Hara, The King and I
Chita Rivera, The Visit

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play

Matthew Beard, Skylight
K. Todd Freeman, Airline Highway
Richard McCabe, The Audience
Alessandro Nivola, The Elephant Man
Nathaniel Parker, Wolf Hall Parts One & Two
Micah Stock, It’s Only a Play

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play

Annaleigh Ashford, You Can’t Take It with You
Patricia Clarkson, The Elephant Man
Lydia Leonard, Wolf Hall Parts One & Two
Sarah Stiles, Hand to God
Julie White, Airline Highway

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical

Christian Borle, Something Rotten!
Andy Karl, On the Twentieth Century
Brad Oscar, Something Rotten!
Brandon Uranowitz, An American in Paris
Max von Essen, An American in Paris

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical

Victoria Clark, Gigi
Judy Kuhn, Fun Home
Sydney Lucas, Fun Home
Ruthie Ann Miles, The King and I
Emily Skeggs, Fun Home

Best Scenic Design of a Play

Bunny Christie and Finn Ross, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Bob Crowley, Skylight
Christopher Oram, Wolf Hall Parts One & Two
David Rockwell, You Can’t Take It with You

Best Scenic Design of a Musical

Bob Crowley and 59 Productions, An American in Paris
David Rockwell, On the Twentieth Century
Michael Yeargan, The King and I
David Zinn, Fun Home

Best Costume Design of a Play

Bob Crowley, The Audience
Jane Greenwood, You Can’t Take It with You
Christopher Oram, Wolf Hall Parts One & Two
David Zinn, Airline Highway

Best Costume Design of a Musical

Gregg Barnes, Something Rotten!
Bob Crowley, An American in Paris
William Ivey Long, On the Twentieth Century
Catherine Zuber, The King and I

Best Lighting Design of a Play

Paule Constable, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Paule Constable and David Plater, Wolf Hall Parts One & Two
Natasha Katz, Skylight
Japhy Weideman, Airline Highway

Best Lighting Design of a Musical

Donald Holder, The King and I
Natasha Katz, An American in Paris
Ben Stanton, Fun Home
Japhy Weideman, The Visit

Best Direction of a Play

Stephen Daldry, Skylight
Marianne Elliott, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Scott Ellis, You Can’t Take It with You
Jeremy Herrin, Wolf Hall Parts One & Two
Moritz von Stuelpnagel, Hand to God

Best Direction of a Musical

Sam Gold, Fun Home
Casey Nicholaw, Something Rotten!
John Rando, On the Town
Bartlett Sher, The King and I
Christopher Wheeldon, An American in Paris

Best Choreography

Joshua Bergasse, On the Town
Christopher Gattelli, The King and I
Scott Graham & Steven Hoggett for Frantic Assembly, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Casey Nicholaw, Something Rotten!
Christopher Wheeldon, An American in Paris

Best Orchestrations

Christopher Austin, Don Sebesky, Bill Elliott, An American in Paris
John Clancy, Fun Home
Larry Hochman, Something Rotten!
Rob Mathes, The Last Ship

* * *

Recipients of Awards and Honors in Non-competitive Categories

Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre

Tommy Tune

Special Tony Award

John Cameron Mitchell

Regional Theatre Tony Award

Cleveland Play House, Cleveland, Ohio

Isabelle Stevenson Tony Award

Stephen Schwartz

Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre

Arnold Abramson

Adrian Bryan-Brown

Gene O’Donovan

* * *

Tony Nominations by Production

An American in Paris – 12

Fun Home – 12

Something Rotten! – 10

The King and I – 9

Wolf Hall Parts One & Two – 8

Skylight – 7

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time – 6

Hand to God – 5

On the Twentieth Century – 5

The Visit – 5

You Can’t Take It with You – 5

Airline Highway – 4

The Elephant Man – 4

On the Town – 4

The Audience – 3

The Last Ship – 2

Constellations – 1

Disgraced – 1

Gigi – 1

The Heidi Chronicles – 1

It’s Only a Play – 1

This Is Our Youth – 1

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