Arts & Entertainment
Tony Award nominations 2019 announced
‘Hadestown, ‘Ain’t Too Proud to Beg’ lead the pack
The 2019 Tony Award nominations were unveiled by Brandon Victor Dixon, Bebe Neuwirth and Gayle King on Tuesday.
“Hadestown,” the folk-opera that sets the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice during the Great Depression era, earned the most nominations with 14. “Ain’t Too Proud,” a musical based on the story of The Temptations, came in second with 12 nominations.
“The Prom,” the musical about a teenage girl whose high school refuses to let her take her girlfriend to prom, received seven nominations including Best Musical. Caitlin Kinnunen, who recently came out that she is dating a woman, was nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical for her role in “The Prom.”
Harvey Fierstein’s “Torch Song” and “The Boys in the Band” by Matt Crowley were both nominated for Best Revival of a Play.
Out playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney, who penned the play “In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue” which he also adapted into the Academy Award-winning “Moonlight,” also scored a nomination for Best Play for his play “Choir Boy.”
Actress Judith Light will also be honored with the 2019 Isabelle Stevenson Award for her LGBTQ rights activism and advocacy in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
The 73rd annual Tony Awards, hosted by James Corden, will air from Radio City Music Hall in New York City on June 9 on CBS.
Best Musical
“Ain’t Too Proud—The Life and Times of The Temptations”
“Beetlejuice”
“Hadestown”
“The Prom”
“Tootsie”
Best Play
“Choir Boy” by Tarell Alvin McCraney
“The Ferryman” by Jez Butterworth
“Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus” by Taylor Mac
“Ink” by James Graham
“What the Constitution Means to Me” by Heidi Schreck
Best Revival of a Musical
“Kiss Me, Kate”
Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Oklahoma!”
Best Revival of a Play
Arthur Miller’s “All My Sons”
“The Boys in the Band” by Mart Crowley
“Burn This”
“Torch Song” by Harvey Fierstein
“The Waverly Gallery” by Kenneth Lonergan
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical
Brooks Ashmanskas- “The Prom”
Derrick Baskin- “Ain’t Too Proud”
Alex Brightman- “Beetlejuice”
Damon Daunno- “Oklahoma!”
Santino Fontana- “Tootsie”
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical
Stephanie J. Block- “The Cher Show”
Caitlin Kinnunen- “The Prom”
Beth Leavel- “The Prom”
Eva Noblezada- “Hadestown”
Kelli O’Hara- “Kiss Me, Kate”
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play
Paddy Considine- “The Ferryman”
Bryan Cranston- “Network”
Jeff Daniels- “To Kill a Mockingbird”
Adam Driver- “Burn This”
Jeremy Pope- “Choir Boy”
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play
Annette Bening- Arthur Miller’s “All My Sons”
Laura Donnelly- “The Ferryman”
Elaine May- “The Waverly Gallery”
Janet McTeer- “Bernhardt/Hamlet”
Laurie Metcalf- “Hillary and Clinton”
Heidi Schreck -“What the Constitution Means to Me”
Best Book of a Musical
“Ain’t Too Proud”- Dominique Morisseau
“Beetlejuice”- Scott Brown and Anthony King
“Hadestown”- Anaïs Mitchell
“The Prom” – Bob Martin and Chad Beguelin
“Tootsie” -Robert Horn
Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theater
“Be More Chill” -Joe Iconis
“Beetlejuice” – Eddie Perfect
“Hadestown”- Anaïs Mitchell
“The Prom”- Matthew Sklar and Chad Beguelin
“To Kill a Mockingbird”- Adam Guettel
“Tootsie” -David Yazbek
Best Direction of a Musical
Rachel Chavkin- “Hadestown”
Scott Ellis- “Tootsie”
Daniel Fish- “Oklahoma!”
Des McAnuff- “Ain’t Too Proud”
Casey Nicholaw- “The Prom”
Best Direction of a Play
Rupert Goold- “Ink”
Sam Mendes- “The Ferryman”
Bartlett Sher- “To Kill a Mockingbird”
Ivo van Hove- “Network”
George C. Wolfe- “Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus”
Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical
Andre De Shields- “Hadestown”
Andy Grotelueschen- “Tootsie”
Patrick Page- “Hadestown”
Jeremy Pope- “Ain’t Too Proud”
Ephraim Sykes- “Ain’t Too Proud”
Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical
Lilli Cooper- “Tootsie”
Amber Gray- “Hadestown”
Sarah Stiles- “Tootsie”
Ali Stroker- “Oklahoma!”
Mary Testa- “Oklahoma!”
Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play
Bertie Carvel- “Ink”
Robin De Jesús- “The Boys in the Band”
Gideon Glick- “To Kill a Mockingbird”
Brandon Uranowitz- “Burn This”
Benjamin Walker- Arthur Miller’s “All My Sons”
Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play
Fionnula Flanagan- “The Ferryman”
Celia Keenan-Bolger- “To Kill a Mockingbird”
Kristine Nielsen- “Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus”
Julie White- “Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus”
Ruth Wilson- “King Lear”
Best Choreography
Camille A. Brown- “Choir Boy”
Warren Carlyle- “Kiss Me, Kate”
Denis Jones- “Tootsie”
David Neumann- “Hadestown”
Sergio Trujillo- “Ain’t Too Proud”
Best Orchestrations
Michael Chorney and Todd Sickafoose- “Hadestown”
Larry Hochman- “Kiss Me, Kate”
Daniel Kluger- “Oklahoma!”
Simon Hale- “Tootsie”
Harold Wheeler- “Ain’t Too Proud”
Best Scenic Design of a Musical
Robert Brill and Peter Nigrini- “Ain’t Too Proud”
Peter England- “King Kong”
Rachel Hauck- “Hadestown”
Laura Jellinek- “Oklahoma!”
David Korins- “Beetlejuice”
Best Scenic Design of a Play
Miriam Buether- “To Kill a Mockingbird”
Bunny Christie- “Ink”
Rob Howell- “The Ferryman”
Santo Loquasto- “Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus”
Jan Versweyveld- “Network”
Best Costume Design of a Musical
Michael Krass- “Hadestown”
William Ivey Long- “Beetlejuice”
William Ivey Long- “Tootsie”
Bob Mackie- “The Cher Show”
Paul Tazewell- “Ain’t Too Proud”
Best Costume Design of a Play
Rob Howell- “The Ferryman”
Toni-Leslie James- “Bernhardt/Hamlet”
Clint Ramos- “Torch Song”
Ann Roth- “Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus”
Ann Roth- “To Kill a Mockingbird”
Best Sound Design of a Musical
Peter Hylenski- “Beetlejuice”
Peter Hylenski- “King Kong”
Steve Canyon Kennedy- “Ain’t Too Proud”
Drew Levy- “Oklahoma!”
Nevin Steinberg and Jessica Paz- “Hadestown”
Best Sound Design of a Play
Adam Cork- “Ink”
Scott Lehrer- “To Kill a Mockingbird”
Fitz Patton- “Choir Boy”
Nick Powell- “The Ferryman”
Eric Sleichim- “Network”
Best Lighting Design of a Musical
Kevin Adams- “The Cher Show”
Howell Binkley- “Ain’t Too Proud”
Bradley King- “Hadestown”
Peter Mumford- “King Kong”
Kenneth Posner and Peter Nigrini- “Beetlejuice”
Best Lighting Design of a Play
Neil Austin- “Ink”
Jules Fisher and Peggy Eisenhauer- “Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus”
Peter Mumford- “The Ferryman”
Jennifer Tipton- “To Kill a Mockingbird”
Jan Versweyveld and Tal Yarden- “Network”
Italy
Olympics Pride House ‘really important for the community’
Italy lags behind other European countries in terms of LGBTQ rights
The four Italian advocacy groups behind the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics’ Pride House hope to use the games to highlight the lack of LGBTQ rights in their country.
Arcigay, CIG Arcigay Milano, Milano Pride, and Pride Sport Milano organized the Pride House that is located in Milan’s MEET Digital Culture Center. The Washington Blade on Feb. 5 interviewed Pride House Project Manager Joseph Naklé.
Naklé in 2020 founded Peacox Basket Milano, Italy’s only LGBTQ basketball team. He also carried the Olympic torch through Milan shortly before he spoke with the Blade. (“Heated Rivalry” stars Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie last month participated in the torch relay in Feltre, a town in Italy’s Veneto region.)
Naklé said the promotion of LGBTQ rights in Italy is “actually our main objective.”
ILGA-Europe in its Rainbow Map 2025 notes same-sex couples lack full marriage rights in Italy, and the country’s hate crimes law does not include sexual orientation or gender identity. Italy does ban discrimination based on sexual orientation in employment, but the country’s nondiscrimination laws do not include gender identity.
ILGA-Europe has made the following recommendations “in order to improve the legal and policy situation of LGBTI people in Italy.”
• Marriage equality for same-sex couples
• Depathologization of trans identities
• Automatic co-parent recognition available for all couples
“We are not really known to be the most openly LGBT-friendly country,” Naklé told the Blade. “That’s why it (Pride House) was really important for the community.”
“We want to use the Olympic games — because there is a big media attention — and we want to use this media attention to raise the voice,” he added.
Naklé noted Pride House will host “talks and roundtables every night” during the games that will focus on a variety of topics that include transgender and nonbinary people in sports and AI. Another will focus on what Naklé described to the Blade as “the importance of political movements now to fight for our rights, especially in places such as Italy or the U.S. where we are going backwards, and not forwards.”
Seven LGBTQ Olympians — Italian swimmer Alex Di Giorgio, Canadian ice dancers Paul Poirier and Kaitlyn Weaver, Canadian figure skater Eric Radford, Spanish figure skater Javier Raya, Scottish ice dancer Lewis Gibson, and Irish field hockey and cricket player Nikki Symmons — are scheduled to participate in Pride House’s Out and Proud event on Feb. 14.
Pride House Los Angeles – West Hollywood representatives are expected to speak at Pride House on Feb. 21.
The event will include a screening of Mariano Furlani’s documentary about Pride House and LGBTQ inclusion in sports. The MiX International LGBTQ+ Film and Queer Culture Festival will screen later this year in Milan. Pride House Los Angeles – West Hollywood is also planning to show the film during the 2028 Summer Olympics.
Naklé also noted Pride House has launched an initiative that allows LGBTQ sports teams to partner with teams whose members are either migrants from African and Islamic countries or people with disabilities.
“The objective is to show that sports is the bridge between these communities,” he said.
Bisexual US skier wins gold
Naklé spoke with the Blade a day before the games opened. The Milan Cortina Winter Olympics will close on Feb. 22.
More than 40 openly LGBTQ athletes are competing in the games.
Breezy Johnson, an American alpine skier who identifies as bisexual, on Sunday won a gold medal in the women’s downhill. Amber Glenn, who identifies as bisexual and pansexual, on the same day helped the U.S. win a gold medal in team figure skating.
Glenn said she received threats on social media after she told reporters during a pre-Olympics press conference that LGBTQ Americans are having a “hard time” with the Trump-Vance administration in the White House. The Associated Press notes Glenn wore a Pride pin on her jacket during Sunday’s medal ceremony.
“I was disappointed because I’ve never had so many people wish me harm before, just for being me and speaking about being decent — human rights and decency,” said Glenn, according to the AP. “So that was really disappointing, and I do think it kind of lowered that excitement for this.”
Puerto Rico
Bad Bunny shares Super Bowl stage with Ricky Martin, Lady Gaga
Puerto Rican activist celebrates half time show
Bad Bunny on Sunday shared the stage with Ricky Martin and Lady Gaga at the Super Bowl halftime show in Santa Clara, Calif.
Martin came out as gay in 2010. Gaga, who headlined the 2017 Super Bowl halftime show, is bisexual. Bad Bunny has championed LGBTQ rights in his native Puerto Rico and elsewhere.
“Not only was a sophisticated political statement, but it was a celebration of who we are as Puerto Ricans,” Pedro Julio Serrano, president of the LGBTQ+ Federation of Puerto Rico, told the Washington Blade on Monday. “That includes us as LGBTQ+ people by including a ground-breaking superstar and legend, Ricky Martin singing an anti-colonial anthem and showcasing Young Miko, an up-and-coming star at La Casita. And, of course, having queer icon Lady Gaga sing salsa was the cherry on the top.”
La Casita is a house that Bad Bunny included in his residency in San Juan, the Puerto Rican capital, last year. He recreated it during the halftime show.
“His performance brought us together as Puerto Ricans, as Latin Americans, as Americans (from the Americas) and as human beings,” said Serrano. “He embraced his own words by showcasing, through his performance, that the ‘only thing more powerful than hate is love.’”
Drag artists perform for crowds in towns across Virginia. The photographer follows Gerryatrick, Shenandoah, Climaxx, Emerald Envy among others over eight months as they perform at venues in the Virginia towns of Staunton, Harrisonburg and Fredericksburg.
(Washington Blade photos by Landon Shackelford)
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