NewMusicalTheatre.com’s Tony Playlist
WHO WILL WIN?!
Here at NewMusicalTheatre.com, we’re all brimming with excitement over the Tony Awards this Sunday evening. We’ll be live-tweeting with the hashtag #NMTonys (join us!).
To tide you over for the next few days, we put together this video playlist of songs by #NMTWriters performed by 2014 Tony Nominees. Whether you need background music while you fill out your Tony ballot or just want to give into your Tony fever, we’ve got you covered. (Watch the whole playlist on YouTube here.)
Audra McDonald is up for her record-breaking 6th Tony Award, this time for her portrayal of Billie Holiday in Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill. Here she is performing “I’ll Be Here” by Adam Gwon:
You don’t get 5 Tonys by doing ballads only. For something very different yet equally awesome, here’s a video of Audra’s performance of “Baltimore” by Marcy Heisler and Zina Goldrich:
More reason to love Audra: these songs, as well as “Tavern” by Will Reynolds, were all featured on her most recent CD, Go Back Home.
Andy Karl is nominated for his portrayal of Rocky Balboa in Ahrens and Flaherty’s Rocky The Musical. Here he is performing “Never Added Up” by Michael Patrick Walker. His performance here is a few years old, but look at the energy! I’d totally cast him as Rocky based on this video alone.
He’s nominated against Bryce Pinkham, nominated for Best Leading Actor in a Musical for his portrayal of Monty Navarro in A Gentleman’s Guide to Love And Murder. Previously, Bryce performed in Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, with a score by Michael Friedman. Here he is on the cast album, performing “The Corrupt Bargain“:
We briefly interrupt the video portion of your listening to bring you a few amazing #NMTperformances by Sutton Foster, up for Best Leading Actress in a Musical for her performance as the title role in Violet, that aren’t on video. We encourage you to check out her recordings of “My Heart Was Set On You” by Jeff Blumenkrantz (available on Jeff’s podcast) and “Everything I Do, You Do” by Timothy Huang (available on iTunes), as well as this clip of rehearsal footage of her performance of “Close Call” by Kerrigan-Lowdermilk.
Also nominated for Best Leading Actress in a Musical is Kelli O’Hara for her portrayal of Francesca in The Bridges of Madison County. Kelli performed at NewMusicalTheatre.com’s launch concert way back in the day so she’s pretty much the best. Here’s a video of her performance of “Not A Love Story” by Kerrigan-Lowdermilk:
Told you she’s pretty much the best. More Kelli, you ask? Fine! Here she is with her husband Greg Naughton performing “Fine” by Adam Gwon. (See what I did there?)
That brings us to the Featured Actor/Actress categories. First up: Tony nominee (and 2014 Drama Desk Winner! Hooray!) Celia Keenan-Bolger, nominated for Best Featured Actress in a Play for her performance of Laura Wingfield in The Glass Menagerie. Celia is amazing at many, many things, one of which is playing children. Here she is performing “My Party Dress” by Kerrigan-Lowdermilk:
Best Featured Actor in a Musical nominee Joshua Henry, nominated for playing Flick in Violet, has also done many #NMTperformances. For one, he performs on the fantastic cast album of Miller & Tysen’s Fugitive Songs. (There are no videos of him but that’s all the more reason to make your way to iTunes.) Here’s his dreamy performance of Kerrigan-Lowdermilk’s “Run Away With Me“:
And here he is leading Kerrigan-Lowdermilk’s “Holding On.” (I dare you not to sing along.)
Last but not least, here’s a video of Best Featured Actress in a Musical nominee Lauren Worsham, recognized for her performance of Phoebe D’Ysquith in A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, and Jonathan Rayson performing the very sweet duet “Purple House” by Julia Meinwald, Shoshana Greenberg, and #NMTwriter Kirsten Guenther:
Did we miss any of your favorite #NMTperformances by a 2014 Tony nominee? Tell us in the comments or tweet it with the hashtag #NMTonys. Otherwise – see you on Sunday!
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