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The actors from the current revival of Stephen Sondheim and George Furth’s “Merrily We Roll Along” have skyrocketed in Gold Derby’s combined odds for the 2024 Tony Awards nominations. The prediction center displays commanding leads for Jonathan Groff, Lindsay Mendez and Daniel Radcliffe to win their respective categories. This is an understandable result considering this revival is the hottest ticket in town and this trio of performers has been ever-present in the media. But how often does a trio of actors from the same production pull off three separate acting victories at the Tony Awards?

It’s quite common for a musical to grab two acting trophies, but three awards is much rarer. To date, only 15 musical productions have earned three acting wins. The first time this feat occurred was at the 1956 ceremony, which was ironically the first time the Tony Awards ever announced a slate of nominees (previously...

Betta St. John, who portrayed the lovely island girl Liat in the original Broadway production of South Pacific and starred as a princess alongside Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr in the MGM romantic comedy Dream Wife, has died. She was 93.

St. John died June 23 of natural causes at an assisted living facility in Brighton, England, her son, TV producer Roger Grant, told The Hollywood Reporter.

The California native played one of the survivors of an airline crash, who is chased by a crocodile in Tarzan and the Lost Safari (1957) — the first Tarzan film in 15 years and the first one in color — and then returned for Tarzan the Magnificent (1960). Both films starred Gordon Scott as the King of the Jungle.

St. John also starred with Stewart Granger, Ann Blyth and Robert Taylor in All the Brothers Were Valiant (1953); with Victor Mature, Piper Laurie and Vincent Price in the 3-D adventure Dangerous...

Broadway performances all over the New York theater district are starting back up again after a year and a half of Covid-19 pandemic closures. There are currently six musical productions set to open this fall. Could we see any of them contend at next year’s Tony Awards? Let’s take a look at the plot of each musical as well as some of the awards history of their creators, actors, and creative teams, plus the opening and closing dates (where applicable).

SEETony Awards history: Black winners from pioneer Juanita Hall to record-breaker Audra McDonald

“Six” (previews begin September 17; opens October 3)

This original musical by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss tells the stories of the six wives of King Henry VIII presented as a pop concert. Each ex-wife gets to sing and tell her story to determine who suffered the most from marrying Henry and should therefore become the group’s lead singer.

With the long-delayed 74th Tony Awards set for Sept. 26 at the Winter Garden and streaming on Paramount + and a CBS special, let’s take a deep dive into Tony Awards history and look back at the first decade. Broadway was bristling with excitement post World War II. Young playwrights such as Tennessee Williams, Arthur Miller and William Inge breathed new life into the Great White Way. And new talents electrifying audiences included Marlon Brando, Julie Harris and Gwen Verdon. It was the perfect time for the creation of the Tony Awards in 1947. The Antoinette Perry Awards or Theatre Excellence were named after the legendary theater actress who was co-founder of the American Theatre Wing; she had died in 1946.

The first annual Tony Awards took place on April 6, 1947 at the Waldorf Astoria and was broadcast on radio on Wor and Mutual Network radio. There was no categories for best play or musical,...

By Susan King

Audra McDonald is the most lauded Broadway performer winning a whopping six Tony Awards in both musical and dramatic categories. And she may be receiving her seventh for the revival of “Frankie and Johnny in the Clair du Lune” when the 74th annual Tonys take place Sept. 26th at the venerable Winter Garden Theatre.

Despite that record, it took a long time for Black artists to be acknowledged by the Tonys, which were first handed out in 1947. It wasn’t until 2004 that a Black actress won for a lead performance in a play: Phylicia Rashad broke this barrier with her win for a revival of Lorraine Hansberry’s “A Raisin in the Sun.” Hansberry was the first Black artist to be nominated for Best Play in 1960 for the original production of “A Raisin in the Sun” as were its director Lloyd Richards and stars, Sidney Poitier and Claudia McNeil.

Ron Moody as Fagin in 'Oliver!' based on Charles Dickens' 'Oliver Twist.' Ron Moody as Fagin in Dickens musical 'Oliver!': Box office and critical hit (See previous post: "Ron Moody: 'Oliver!' Actor, Academy Award Nominee Dead at 91.") Although British made, Oliver! turned out to be an elephantine release along the lines of – exclamation point or no – Gypsy, Star!, Hello Dolly!, and other Hollywood mega-musicals from the mid'-50s to the early '70s.[1] But however bloated and conventional the final result, and a cast whose best-known name was that of director Carol Reed's nephew, Oliver Reed, Oliver! found countless fans.[2] The mostly British production became a huge financial and critical success in the U.S. at a time when star-studded mega-musicals had become perilous – at times downright disastrous – ventures.[3] Upon the American release of Oliver! in Dec. 1968, frequently acerbic The...

Chicago – In the latest HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film with our unique social giveaway technology, we have 25 pairs of classic movie passes up for grabs to see 1958’s “South Pacific” with Mitzi Gaynor in person! For one night only, Mitzi Gaynor will be joined by film historian and author Leonard Maltin.

“South Pacific” comes to Chicago for one night only as part of Turner Classic Movies’ “Road to Hollywood” tour. The film also stars Rossano Brazzi, John Kerr, Ray Walston, Juanita Hall, France Nuyen, Russ Brown, Jack Mullaney, Ken Clark, Floyd Simmons, Candace Lee and Warren Hsieh from director Joshua Logan and writers Paul Osborn and Richard Rodgers.

To win your free “South Pacific” passes courtesy of HollywoodChicago.com, just get interactive with our unique Hookup technology below. That’s it! This special showing is on Tuesday, March 19, 2013 at 7:30 p.m. at the historic Music Box Theatre in Chicago. The more social actions you complete,...

Joshua Logan‘s South Pacific: John Kerr, Mitzi Gaynor, Rossano Brazzi (top); John Kerr, France Nuyen (bottom) Tonight at 7:30 p.m., a recently restored 70mm print of the Joshua Logan-directed film version of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II’s musical South Pacific will be screened at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. South Pacific stars Rossano Brazzi, Mitzi Gaynor, John Kerr, Ray Walston, Juanita Hall, and France Nuyen. The Academy screening is presented in association with Center Theater Group, currently hosting the touring version of the South Pacific Broadway revival. Following the screening, Center Theatre Group’s artistic director Michael Ritchie will lead an onstage discussion featuring veteran Mitzi Gaynor (above), a superb dancer who starred (or was featured in) several 1950s musicals, including There’s No Business Like Show Business, Anything Goes, and Les Girls. Based on James Michener’s novel,...

Blu-Ray Rating: 5.0/5.0 Chicago – Twentieth Century Fox has pulled out all the stops for the 50th anniversary of one of the most beloved movie musicals of all time, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s classic “South Pacific”. With an entire supplemental disc of not just special features but an extended version of the film and one of the most pristine video transfers that Fox has yet produced, “South Pacific” is one of the best musical HD releases to date.

Having been a theatre student and lover of movie musicals from a young age, I’ve seen “South Pacific” several times, even if it’s never been what I would consider the cream of the crop when it comes to Rodgers & Hammerstein’s work. And yet, and this is the sign of a truly great Blu-Ray release, the film felt knew to me in HD. And despite the film’s overall flaws, the Blu-Ray release of it is absolutely flawless.