Three Newbies!

Up for a Best Musical Tony

come June 9th is

Ain't Too Proud: The Life And Times Of The Temptations.

It stars James Harkness, Ephraim Sykes, Jeremy Pope,

Derrick Baskins and and Jawan M. Jackson.

Derrick, Ephraim and Jeremy are also nominated for their performances

(and Jeremy is nominated for his work in Choir Boy, as well!).

Although Ain't is a juke-box musical,

it supposedly avoids the pitfalls of other similar productions,

with a book by Dominique Morisseau,

fabulous choreography by Sergio Trujillo, 

and direction by that New Jersey Boys champ,  Des McAnuff.

Above the "Supremes": Candice Marie Woods,

Nasia Thomas, and Taylor Simone Jackson. 

Hot dresses and slick suits for days...

Launched in London in 2017,

then produced at the Public Theatre in NY,

Girl From The North Country is set in Minnesota (Dylan's birthplace)

during the Depression.

Above the West End poster, featuring Shirley Henderson who starred.

In the NY production, Mare Winingham (below) took the part. 

Because the Public is an off Broadway theatre,

this musical could not be nominated for Tony Awards,

tho Jesse Green of the Times wishes it could have been. 

Below, Jeanette Bayardelle, from the NY cast. 

The creators of the piece:

Above, Conor McPherson, director and author of this complex drama.

Below, Bob Dylan, whose songs are supposedly well 

integrated into the plot.

As the Times speaketh:

 "If you’re a hard-core Dylan fan, you’ve heard these songs before. 

But, for me at least, they’ve never sounded quite so heartbreakingly personal and universal at the same time."

I second the emotion.

Dylan's songs have never floated my boat...til now. :) 

Be More Chill,

with music by Joe Iconis,
opened in March, 2019, and as
Ben Brantley of the NYTimes put it...
"it joined the crowded field of shows about hormonally-overcharged outsiders longing for acceptance."

It stars Will Roland (center above) as nerd/geek Jeremy Heere,

George Salazar (below) as Michael (in the bathroom) Mell...

...and as the Squip (above),

the Matrix-slick technology that you swallow to "be more chill"

is Jason Tam.

Ben Brantley went on to say, "It has the goofy karaoke quality 

of kids performing boisterously for other kids. 

It doesn’t try to dazzle its audience with glossy professionalism."

Evidently not.

It's received a Tony nom for Best Score, but that's it!