Detroit 1-8-7 makes ABC's fall lineup

It's official! Newly minted Theatre World and Outer Critics Circle award winner and Tony nominee Jon Michael Hill will be on television this fall. Set the DVR for Tuesdays at 10 p.m.

The police drama Detroit 1-8-7, featuring Michael Imperioli of The Sopranos and Hill of Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Company, has been picked up by ABC.

While I'm not a big fan of police shows, I was a big fan of The Sopranos and I thought Hill was terrific in his Broadway debut last fall in Superior Donuts. I'm excited about seeing the two of them together in very different roles.

Here's ABC's description:

"What does it take to be a detective on America's most dangerous streets? Get ready to be part of the action when a documentary crew rolls with some of Detroit's finest."

As I wrote last month, Imperioli plays Detective Louis Fitch, a hot-tempered veteran with an impeccable record for closing cases. And Hill is his new partner, Detective Damon Washington who, in addition to the pressure of his first day working in homicide, is also about to become a father for the first time.

Here's a clip:

Why I like Kristin Chenoweth's reply

I'm glad Kristin Chenoweth is getting lots of praise for her reply to a Newsweek story that questioned whether gay actors can play straight roles.

(The author cited Chenoweth's Promises, Promises costar, Sean Hayes, and Jonathan Groff, currently appearing on Glee.)

It's an eloquent and forceful answer to a ridiculous, offensive premise. There's one sentence I especially appreciated: “This article offends me because I am a human being, a woman and a Christian."

Thank-you, Ms. Chenoweth. It's nice to see someone use their religious beliefs not as an excuse to justify bigotry but as a mandate to speak out against prejudice.

Too often it's the most intolerant, reactionary elements who are the loudest and draw the most attention. It's easy to forget that there are many people of faith who are opposed to homophobia and are accepting, caring, committed to equality.

And really, this comment from Kieran on EW.com pretty much sums it up:

"I was actually shocked when I learned that Dustin Hoffman doesn’t really have autism, Helen Mirren never actually served as the Queen of England, Michael Douglas never worked on Wall Street, and Julia Roberts wasn’t really a hooker. My life is a complete ball of confusion. What next? Is Chewbacca really just a regular guy wearing a furry suit?"

American Idiot and Godwin's Law

Something about American Idiot's appearance last week on The Late Show with David Letterman has been bothering me.

Granted, since I haven't seen the Broadway musical I was watching it out of context. But because the performance was designed to entice potential ticket-buyers I think writing about my reaction is valid.

Just to let you know where I'm coming from, I bought American Idiot when it was released in 2004. I'm not a Green Day fan but it was getting a lot of attention and I was curious. I'm not sure I ever listened to the CD all the way through.

On The Late Show, the cast sang "Holiday" and it was performed in such an energetic way that I was really getting into it, even though I had no idea who these characters were and I couldn't make out all of the lyrics.

Then I heard someone shout some words I did understand, and it stopped me cold: "Sieg heil to the president gasman." And a few verses later, something about broken glass and "kill all the [insert antigay slur here].

Now, I understand that it's punk and it's supposed to be about disaffected kids and rebellion and anti-establishment. Maybe it fits the character. As I said, I was hearing it totally out of context, as I imagine many viewers were.

All I know is, it was shocking to hear a Nazi salute in the middle of a rock 'n' roll song performed by an energetic cast of twentysomething Broadway actors on national television. Maybe because I'm Jewish and probably older than the average American Idiot fan, it made me uncomfortable.

And honestly, it would make me uncomfortable in a Broadway theatre. How should I react? One minute I'm caught up in the music and the next minute I'm stopped cold. Should I clap and cheer? What about the people around me clapping and cheering? Would they understand my unease or would they just be oblivious to the words and their meaning?

To me, it just seemed like Godwin's Law in action. Once you start throwing around Nazi comparisons, you've lost the argument. You're simply doing it for shock value.

And I wonder if a song that used a racial slur would have gotten past the CBS censors as easily as one with an anti-gay slur. To me, they're equally offensive. It's a horrible, hurtful word that's thrown around far too easily.

Green Day says "Holiday" is an antiwar song. I guess the "president gasman" is supposed to be George W. Bush. Call me old-fashioned but I'm one of those people who believes that only the Nazis should be called Nazis. Otherwise, you're demeaning their victims and trivializing what they went through.

It'll be interesting to see whether this is the song that the Best Musical nominee performs on the Tony Awards.

2010 Tony nominations

Okay, a few thoughts on the 2009-2010 Tony nominations, which were announced today.

Since I only saw shows that opened in the first half of the Broadway season, I only have half as much to say as I normally would. But I am excited that some of my favorites were included.

Obviously, it's much more fun to watch the Tony Awards if you've seen some of the nominees.

Performers I thought were terrific in shows that have closed weren't forgotten: Jon Michael Hill in Superior Donuts, Jan Maxwell and Rosemary Harris in The Royal Family, Kate Baldwin and Christopher Fitzgerald in Finian's Rainbow and Bobby Steggert and Christiane Noll in Ragtime.

And I'm happy for two musicals I managed to see, and enjoyed, that are still running: Memphis and A Little Night Music.

In one category, Best Performance by an Actress in a Musical, I saw four out of the five nominees, everyone except Sheri Rene Scott in Everyday Rapture. I loved all four and they're such different roles that it really points to the difficulty in choosing a winner.

A couple of omissions: Reg Rogers was hilarious in The Royal Family. And I thought James Schuette's set design for Superior Donuts was amazing in its detail, right down to the wads of gum stuck underneath the tables.

I'm still sad that the revival of Brighton Beach Memoirs closed before it became eligible for the Tonys. I think Noah Robbins, Laurie Metcalf and director David Cromer certainly would have been contenders.

And finally, I feel so sorry for Kevin Mambo, who shares the role of Fela Kuti in Fela! with Sahr Ngaujah. He does half the work yet he wasn't even deemed eligible for a nomination. I imagine he'll have very mixed feelings on Tony night.

Here are the nominees. They're a great reminder of all the wonderful times I spent in Broadway theatres last fall. Congratulations to everyone! The Tony Awards will air at 8 p.m. June 13 on CBS.

Best Play

In the Next Room or the Vibrator Play, Sarah Ruhl
Next Fall, Geoffrey Nauffts
Red, John Logan
Time Stands Still, Donald Margulies

Best Musical

American Idiot
Fela!
Memphis
Million Dollar Quartet

Best Book of a Musical

Everyday Rapture
Dick Scanlan and Sherie Rene Scott
Fela!
Jim Lewis and Bill T. Jones
Memphis
Joe DiPetro
Million Dollar Quartet
Colin Escott and Floyd Mutrux

Best Original Score

The Addams Family
Music & Lyrics: Andrew Lippa
Enron
Music: Adam Cork
Lyrics: Lucy Prebble
Fences
Music: Branford Marsalis
Memphis
Music: David Bryan
Lyrics: David Bryan & Joe DiPetro

Best Revival of a Play

A View from the Bridge
Fences
Lend Me a Tenor
The Royal Family

Best Revival of a Musical

A Little Night Music
Finian's Rainbow
La Cage Aux Folles
Ragtime

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play

Jude Law, Hamlet
Alfred Molina, Red
Liev Schreiber, A View from the Bridge
Christopher Walken, A Behanding in Spokane
Denzel Washington, Fences

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play

Viola Davis, Fences
Valerie Harper, Looped
Linda Lavin, Collected Stories
Laura Linney, Time Stands Still
Jan Maxwell, The Royal Family

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical

Kelsey Grammer, La Cage aux Folles
Sean Hayes, Promises, Promises
Douglas Hodge, La Cage aux Folles
Sahr Ngaujah, Fela!

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical

Kate Baldwin, Finian's Rainbow
Montego Glover, Memphis
Christiane Noll, Ragtime
Sherie Rene Scott, Everyday Rapture
Catherine Zeta-Jones, A Little Night Music

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play

David Alan Grier, Race
Stephen McKinley Henderson, Fences
Jon Michael Hill, Superior Donuts
Stephen Kunken, Enron
Eddie Redmayne, Red

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play

Maria Dizzia, In the Next Room or the Vibrator Play
Rosemary Harris, The Royal Family
Jessica Hecht, A View from the Bridge
Scarlett Johansson, A View from the Bridge
Jan Maxwell, Lend Me a Tenor

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical

Kevin Chamberlin, The Addams Family
Robin De Jesus, La Cage aux Folles
Christopher Fitzgerald, Finian's Rainbow
Bobby Steggert, Ragtime

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical

Barbara Cook, Sondheim on Sondheim
Katie Finneran, Promises, Promises
Angela Lansbury, A Little Night Music
Karine Plantadit, Come Fly Away
Lillias White, Fela!

Best Scenic Design of a Play

John Lee Beatty, The Royal Family
Alexander Dodge, Present Laughter
Santo Loquasto, Fences
Christopher Oram, Red

Best Scenic Design of a Musical

Marina Draghici, Fela!
Christine Jones, American Idiot
Derek McLane, Ragtime
Tim Shortall, La Cage aux Folles

Best Costume Design of a Play

Martin Pakledinaz, Lend Me a Tenor
Constanza Romero, Fences
David Zinn, In the Next Room or the Vibrator Play
Catherine Zuber, The Royal Family

Best Costume Design of a Musical

Marina Draghici, Fela!
Santo Loquasto, Ragtime
Paul Tazewell, Memphis
Matthew Wright, La Cage aux Folles

Best Lighting Design of a Play

Neil Austin, Hamlet
Neil Austin, Red
Mark Henderson, Enron
Brian MacDevitt, Fences

Best Lighting Design of a Musical

Kevin Adams, American Idiot
Donald Holder, Ragtime
Nick Richings, La Cage aux Folles
Robert Wierzel, Fela!

Best Sound Design of a Play

Acme Sound Partners, Fences
Adam Cork, Enron
Adam Cork, Red
Scott Lehrer A View from the Bridge

Best Sound Design of a Musical

Jonathan Deans, La Cage aux Folles
Robert Kaplowitz, Fela!
Dan Moses Schreier and Gareth Owen, A Little Night Music
Dan Moses Schreier, Sondheim on Sondheim

Best Direction of a Play

Michael Grandage, Red
Sheryl Kaller, Next Fall
Kenny Leon, Fences
Gregory Mosher, A View from the Bridge

Best Direction of a Musical

Christopher Ashley, Memphis
Marcia Milgrom Dodge, Ragtime
Terry Johnson, La Cage aux Folles
Bill T. Jones, Ragtime

Best Choreography

Rob Ashford, Promises, Promises
Bill T. Jones, Fela!
Lynne Page, La Cage aux Folles
Twyla Tharp, Come Fly Away

Best Orchestrations

Jason Carr, La Cage aux Folles
Aaron Johnson, Fela!
Jonathan Tunick, Promises, Promises
Daryl Waters & David Bryan, Memphis

Bomb scare in Times Square

When I lived in Tel Aviv from 1997 to 1998 I rode the city buses all the time. One ride in particular I'll always remember.

A woman motioned to a small rectangular box on the floor and asked whether it belonged to anyone. When no one claimed it, she yelled to the driver, who stopped the bus, and we all got off while he called for the bomb squad.

Thankfully, there was no bomb. What struck me was, I didn't even notice the box and if I had, it wouldn't have occurred to me to say anything. As an American, it wasn't anything I'd ever had to think about.

I got on another bus in Tel Aviv that day and I continued to ride them. After all, you can't stop living your life. I always felt very safe in Israel. I guess that's the difference between living in a country and watching the news reports from afar.

Israelis, sadly, are accustomed to being hyper vigilant. Yesterday's bomb scare in Times Square is another reminder that Americans now have to be vigilant, too. But like Israelis, we can't live our lives in fear.

Kudos to the two sidewalk vendors who alerted the police to the suspicious SUV and to the quick response from the New York Police Department, the New York Fire Department and the bomb squad. Bustling Times Square can't be an easy place to evacuate at any time.

I've been to New York City about a dozen times over the past three years and as a theatre fan, I love the convenience of staying in Times Square. I feel completely safe walking back alone from a Broadway show to my hotel at midnight.

In fact, I've felt safe everywhere I've gone in the city. It's one of my favorite places to visit. Yesterday's incident doesn't change that. The next time I get to New York I will definitely stay in Times Square, without hesitation.

Am I vigilant? Of course. Wherever I am, I'm always aware of my surroundings. That's just common sense.

Broadway Across America: Boston 2010-11

Broadway Across America has announced its Boston lineup for 2010-2011:

Wicked Sept. 1 to Oct. 17, Opera House

Rock of Ages Oct. 6-17, Colonial Theater

Jersey Boys Dec. 16 - Jan. 30, 2011, Colonial Theater

Mary Poppins Feb. 17 - March 20, Opera House

Hair March 22 - April 10, Colonial Theater

West Side Story June 19 - July 9, Colonial Theater

Okay, a few thoughts:

I think Hair is an especially great choice for Boston. I saw the Tony-winning revival on Broadway last year and loved it. Under the direction of Diane Paulus, the musical evokes the spirit of the 1960s without glossing over the decade's tumultuous events.

I really enjoyed Mary Poppins on Broadway, too, although parents should know that with an intermission, it runs nearly three hours. But I thought it was a magical show and I loved Matthew Bourne's choreography.

I was also a fan of the West Side Story revival. The score by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim is gorgeous and Jerome Robbins' choreography is thrilling. It's also nice to have a summer show on the schedule. People go to the movies year-round, why not the theatre?

I am a little surprised that Wicked and Jersey Boys are coming back so soon. Both have played in Boston within the past few years. (Providence has them this season, so perhaps there's some rule that they alternate between the two cities every year, along with The Lion King.)

I noticed a few comments about the new season on Facebook:

Someone asked about Billy Elliot. As much as I love Wicked, it certainly would have been nice to have a new show in the lineup. But the producers seem to be concentrating the tour on other parts of the country. I guess New England will have to wait for the 2011-2012 season.

And a few people were hoping for Next to Normal. Don't be disappointed. While the musical won't be coming to Boston, it will be an hour away at the Providence Performing Arts Center March 22-27, 2011. Here's the rest of the PPAC lineup for 2010-2011.

Finally, someone asked whether there would be any plays in the lineup. Sadly, I don't think so. There simply aren't a lot of plays mounting national tours, nothing on the scale of this season's August: Osage County.

The producers of the Tony-winning God of Carnage had hoped to tour but according to The New York Times, couldn't find enough theaters in major cities that were available for booking.

Broadway Week with Regis and Kelly

Heads-up musical theatre fans, Monday is the beginning of Broadway Week on Live with Regis and Kelly, so check your local listings and set the DVR.

Even though clips from shows are everywhere on the Web, it's still great to see a nationally aired TV program put Broadway in the spotlight for a week.

Here's the 2010 lineup:

Monday: American Idiot (Also appearing on Letterman on Thursday.)

Tuesday: Hair

Wednesday: Kristin Chenoweth, from Promises, Promises

Thursday: La Cage Aux Folles

Friday: Come Fly Away

Also, you can watch a performance by Vanessa Williams from Sondheim on Sondheim online and catch up with some of the segments from previous Broadway Weeks.

I look forward to this every year, but especially this year since other than Hair, I haven't seen any of the featured musicals. Although as much as I love the Tony-winning revival, I wish they'd given the spotlight to a new show.

Oh well, I'll take what I can get!