The 5th Avenue Celebrates Tony Award Love For “A Christmas Story” and Carolee Carmello

“A Christmas Story” kicks its way into Tony voter’s hearts, earning 3 nominations today.

The nominees for the 2013 Tony Awards honoring excellence in Broadway theater were announced today and Seattle’s 5th Avenue Theatre earned some love for shows the theater helped create. The crowd pleasing adaptation of the beloved holiday film “A Christmas Story” picked up three nominations for its limited engagement turn on The Great White Way, including a nod for Best Musical. It also earned noms for Best Score  and Best Book of a Musical.  (Read my original, largely positive review over here…)

A less successful musical, both in its Seattle run when it was titled “Saving Aimee”  and its quickly ended Broadway run as “Scandalous: The Life and Times of Aimee Semple McPherson” did pick up one nomination for star Carolee Carmello who received rave reviews both here and in New York for her bravura Leading Actress performance as the title character, the 1920s/30s evangelist known as “Sister Aimee”. (Read my rage filled review on the original Seattle production, over here…you can gather by the title: “Saving Aimee Needs To Be Euthanized” that it was not an overly positive review of the work…though I did admire the work of Ms Carmello, who was outstanding.)

Here’s the press release from the 5th Avenue crowing about their success…which they deserve. Though not every new work they produce is terrific, it’s still a great thing that they are working to create new musical theater. I just wish that so many of them weren’t based on movies…)

The announcement of Tony Award nominations raised a round of cheers this morning in the Emerald City as The 5th Avenue Theatre’s Broadway hit A Christmas Story, The Musical received three nods from the American Theatre Wing, including Best Musical. Additionally, Carolee Carmello received a Tony Award nomination for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical for her performance in Scandalous: The Life and Trials of Aimee Semple McPherson, which premiered at The 5th in 2011 as Saving Aimee.

“The development of new musicals is an integral part of The 5th Avenue Theatre’s mission,” said 5th Avenue Executive Producer and Artistic Director David Armstrong. “It is an incredible honor to see works developed right here in Seattle, on our stage, receive the American Theatre Wing’s highest recognition for artistic excellence and for outstanding performances.”

Since 2002, The 5th Avenue Theatre has sent seven new musicals to Broadway (Hairspray, The Wedding Singer, Shrek: The Musical, Memphis, Catch Me If You Can, A Christmas Story, The Musical, and Scandalous: The Life and Trials of Aimee Semple McPherson).  These seven musicals have garnered a total of 14 Tony Awards.  Hairspray and Memphis each captured top honors: the Tony Award for Best Musical.  

A Christmas Story, The Musical earned nominations for Best Musical, Best Book of Musical, and Best Original Score.  The musical was a runaway hit when it played at The 5th Avenue Theatre in December of 2010.  In 2011, the show launched a five-city holiday tour before landing on Broadway in 2012 where it became an absolute holiday sensation.  Time Magazinecalled it “one of the top ten plays and musicals of 2012,” while the Associated Press named the show “A Christmas Miracle!”  The New York Times raved “You’d have to have a Grinch-size heart not to feel a smile spreading across your face.”  

Carolee Carmello, who received a nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Musical, was universally recognized for her powerhouse performance as the superstar evangelist Sister Aimee in Scandalous: The Life and Trials of Aimee Semple McPherson, directed by The 5th’s Executive Producer and Artistic Director David Armstrong.  Her remarkable voice belted through the rafters at The 5th Avenue pre-Broadway engagement (called Saving Aimee) in September of 2011, with the Seattle Times proclaiming “Broadway actress Carolee Carmello is a helluva performer.”  And Broadway agrees!  The New York Times applauded her performance, saying “The gloriously gifted Carolee Carmello thrills us with the purity and power of her voice.”  USA TODAY simply called her “irresistible.”

The 5th Avenue is looking forward to the coming season on Broadway, with two new Broadway premieres on the way. Starting this July, the Longacre Theatre will host the Broadway run of First Date, directed by The 5th Avenue’s Producing Director Bill Berry.  The 5th gave First Date its world premiere in 2011, presenting it in collaboration with ACT – A Contemporary Theatre.  Then spring of 2014 will see the opening of Disney’s Aladdin, the theatrical sensation that captivated Seattle audiences in the summer of 2011.  These two musicals will mark the eighth and ninth Broadway premieres of The 5th Avenue’s repertoire of new musicals.

A Christmas Story received an additional six Drama Desk Award nominations, including a nomination for Outstanding Musical.  The holiday hit also earned two nominations from the Outer Critics Circle, including Outstanding New Broadway Musical.  Scandalous earned a Drama Desk Award nod for Outstanding Actress in a Musical for Carolee Carmello’s knock-out performance.

The big winners, nomination-wise today at the Tony Award announcements, were the musicals “Kinky Boots” based on the British film about a shoe factory that starts making sexy shoes for fetishists and drag queens, and “Matilda” based on the beloved children’s book by Roald Dahl. “Kinky Boots” earned 13 nods including recognition for composer Cyndi Lauper, Book author Harvey Fierstein, and lead actors Billy Porter and Stark Sands. Noted gay playwright Christopher Durang’s “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike” received several nominations including Best Play and a Best Actor in a Play nomination for out actor David Hyde-Pierce who will be competing against another out actor, Nathan Lane for his work in “The Nance”.

Another former Seattleite earned Tony love today…the former artistic director for the Intiman, Bartlett Sher picked up a nomination for directing the revival of “Golden Boy”.

For a full list of nominees, go here. The Tony Awards will be announced on CBS on June 9, 2013.