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9th Tony Awards
The 9th Annual Tony Awards, presented by the American Theatre Wing, took place at the Plaza Hotel Grand Ballroom on March 27, 1955.Gelb, Arthur. " 'The Desperate Hours' Receives Perry Award: Hayes Drama Chosen Best Play--Musical Prize to 'Pajama'", ''The New York Times'', March 28, 1955, p.24 It was broadcast on radio by the National Broadcasting Company. The presenter was Helen Hayes and music was composed and presented by Meyer Davis and his Orchestra. Award winners Sources: ''Infoplease'' ''BroadwayWorld'' broadwayworld.com, accessed May 28, 2016 Production Performance Craft Special award *Proscenium Productions, an Off-Broadway company at the |
Plaza Hotel
The Plaza Hotel (also known as The Plaza) is a luxury hotel and condominium apartment building in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is located on the western side of Grand Army Plaza, after which it is named, just west of Fifth Avenue, and is between 58th Street and Central Park South ( 59th Street), at the southeastern corner of Central Park. Its primary address is 768 Fifth Avenue, though the residential entrance is One Central Park South. The 21-story, French Renaissance-inspired château style building was designed by Henry Janeway Hardenbergh. The facade is made of marble at the base, with white brick covering the upper stories, and is topped by a mansard roof. The ground floor contains the two primary lobbies, as well as a corridor connecting the large ground-floor restaurant spaces, including the Oak Room, the Oak Bar, the Edwardian Room, the Palm Court, and the Terrace Room. The upper stories contain the ballroom and a variety of residential condominiums, c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richard Adler
Richard Adler (August 3, 1921 – June 21, 2012) was an American lyricist, writer, composer and producer of several Broadway shows. Life and career Adler was born in New York City, the son of Elsa Adrienne (née Richard) and Clarence Adler. His mother was a debutante from Mobile, Alabama. Adler had a musical upbringing, his father being a renowned Jewish concert pianist, as well as teacher of such composers as Aaron Copland. He graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1943 and served in the U.S. Naval Reserve during World War II. After his Navy service he began his career as a lyricist, teaming up with Jerry Ross in 1950. As a duo they worked in tandem, both taking credit for lyrics and music. Adler and Ross Years (1950–1955) After establishing their partnership, Adler and Ross quickly became protégés of composer, lyricist and publisher Frank Loesser. Their first notable composition was the song "Rags to Riches", which was recorded by Tony Benne ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mary Martin
Mary Virginia Martin (December 1, 1913 – November 3, 1990) was an American actress and singer. A muse of Rodgers and Hammerstein, she originated many leading roles on stage over her career, including Nellie Forbush in '' South Pacific'' (1949), the title character in ''Peter Pan'' (1954), and Maria von Trapp in ''The Sound of Music'' (1959). She was named a Kennedy Center Honoree in 1989. She was the mother of actor Larry Hagman. Early life Martin was born in Weatherford, Texas. Her autobiography described her childhood as secure and happy. She had close relationships with both of her parents as well as her siblings. As a young actress Martin had an instinctive ear for recreating musical sounds. Martin's father, Preston Martin, was a lawyer, and her mother, Juanita Presley, was a violin teacher. Although the doctors told Juanita that she would risk her life if she attempted to have another baby, she was determined to have a boy. Instead, she had Mary, who later obliged b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tony Award For Best Actress In A Musical
The Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical is awarded to the best actress in a musical, whether a new production or a revival. The award has been given since 1948, but the nominees who did not win have only been publicly announced since 1956. History The award was not presented in 1947 or 1985. Ken Mandelbaum wrote about the 1985 season: "Things get bad enough musically to require the elimination of the Best Musical Actor and Actress categories, as well as the choreography prize." There have been three ties in this category, in 1958, 1962 and 1968. tonyawards.com, accessed June 13, 2014 In 1965, Liza Minelli, age 19, became the youngest actress to win the award, a record she st ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fanny (musical)
''Fanny'' is a musical with a book by S. N. Behrman and Joshua Logan and music and lyrics by Harold Rome. A tale of love, secrets, and passion set in and around the old French port of Marseille, it is based on Marcel Pagnol's trilogy of works titled '' Marius'' (1929), '' Fanny'' (1931), and '' César'' (1936). The musical premiered on Broadway in 1954 and ran for 888 performances, and later was staged in the West End. Plot Fanny is a young woman whose childhood love, Marius, leaves her to go to sea as a sailor for five years. His father Cesar, a tavern owner, disowns him. After his departure, Fanny discovers she is pregnant. Under pressure from her mother, she marries Panisse, an older man whose delight at having an heir prompts him to keep the boy's illegitimacy a secret. Marius returns on his son's first birthday to claim both him and Fanny, but he is turned away by Cesar, who is Panisse's best friend. As the years pass the boy, now 13, longs to go to sea like his father, an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Walter Slezak
Walter Slezak (; 3 May 1902 – 21 April 1983) was an Austrian-born film and stage actor active between 1922 and 1976. He mainly appeared in German films before migrating to the United States in 1930 and performing in numerous Hollywood productions. Slezak typically portrayed wily and loquacious characters, often philosophical, and often with a taste for food, drink, and fine living. He played a crafty villain as a U-boat captain in Alfred Hitchcock's film '' Lifeboat'' (1944), a charming, two-timing major domo to a tycoon in '' Come September'' (1961), and a wandering gypsy in '' The Inspector General'' (1949). He stood out as shrewd, unscrupulous private investigators in film noir, as in '' Cornered'' (1945) and ''Born to Kill'' (1947). Early life Slezak was born in Vienna, the son of opera tenor Leo Slezak and Elisabeth "Elsa" Wertheim. He studied medicine for a time and later worked as a bank teller. His older sister Margarete Slezak was also an actress. Career Slezak ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tony Award For Best Actor In A Musical
The Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical is awarded to the actor who was voted as the best actor in a musical play, whether a new production or a revival. The award has been given since 1948, but the nominees who did not win have only been publicly announced since 1956. Winners and nominees 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s Award records Multiple wins ; 2 Wins * Norbert Leo Butz * John Cullum * Richard Kiley * Nathan Lane * Zero Mostel * James Naughton * Robert Preston * George Rose * Phil Silvers Multiple nominations ; 4 Nominations * John Cullum * Raul Julia ; 3 Nominations * Len Cariou * Michael Cerveris * Alfred Drake * Joel Grey * George Hearn * Gregory Hines * Richard Kiley * Nathan Lane * Brian Stokes Mitchell * Robert Morse * Robert Preston * George Rose * Phil Silvers ; 2 Nominations * Herschel Bernardi * Ray Bolger * Barry Bostwick * Alex Brightman * Matthew Broderick * Danny Burste ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Bad Seed (play)
''The Bad Seed'' is a 1954 play by American playwright Maxwell Anderson, adapted from the 1954 novel of the same name by American writer William March. Characters * Rhoda Penmark is the seemingly perfect daughter of Christine and Kenneth Penmark. She is an excellent student, talented, and polite to all adults in her life. However, it is later revealed that she is truly very sinister and will do whatever she needs to achieve greatness. In the end of the play, Christine attempts to kill both herself and Rhoda to make sure the secret of Rhoda's actions don't get publicized. However, Monica Breedlove, their landlady, hears the gunshot and saves Rhoda. * Christine Penmark is Rhoda's mother and Kenneth's wife. She is in close spirits with her adoptive father, Richard Bravo, and learns in the second act that her biological mother was an infamous serial killer named "Bessie Denker." She is also close friends with Monica Breedlove, her brother Emory Breedlove, and Reginald Tasker. In t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nancy Kelly
Nancy Kelly (March 25, 1921 – January 2, 1995) was an American actress in film, theater and television. A child actress and model, she was a repertory cast member of CBS Radio's ''The March of Time'' and appeared in several films in the late 1920s. She became a leading lady upon returning to the screen in the late 1930s, while still in her teens, and made two dozen movies between 1938 and 1946, including portraying Tyrone Power's love interest in the classic ''Jesse James'' (1939), which also featured Henry Fonda, and playing opposite Spencer Tracy in ''Stanley and Livingstone'' later that same year. After turning to the stage in the late 1940s, she had her greatest success in a character role, the distraught mother in '' The Bad Seed'', receiving a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for the 1955 stage production and an Academy Award nomination as Best Actress for the 1956 film adaptation, her last film role. Kelly then worked regularly in television until 1963, then took ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tony Award For Best Actress In A Play
The Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play is an honor presented at the Tony Awards, a ceremony established in 1947 as the Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre. The award is given to actresses for quality leading roles in a Broadway play. Despite the award first being presented in 1947, there were no nominees announced until 1956. There have been two ties in this category, and one three-way tie. Winners and nominees 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s Multiple wins ; 5 Wins * Julie Harris ; 3 Wins * Zoe Caldwell * Jessica Tandy ; 2 Wins * Shirley Booth * Glenn Close * Uta Hagen * Helen Hayes * Cherry Jones * Margaret Leighton * Mary-Louise Parker * Irene Worth Multiple nominations ; 9 Nominations * Julie Harris ; 8 Nominations * Rosemary Harris ; 7 Nominations * Colleen Dewhurst ; 6 Nominations * Jane Alexander ; 5 Nominations * Stockard Channing * Cherry Jones ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Quadrille (play)
''Quadrille'' is a play by Noël Coward. It is a romantic comedy set in the mid-Victorian era, and depicts the romantic permutations when an English aristocrat elopes with the wife of an American businessman and the American falls in love with the aristocrat's deserted wife. The play premiered in London in 1952, starring Lynn Fontanne and Alfred Lunt. It played on Broadway in 1955, with the same two players in the lead roles. History After a provincial tour beginning at the Manchester Opera House on 15 July 1952, the play opened at the Phoenix Theatre in London on 12 September 1952 and ran until 27 June 1953. The play starred Coward's friends Lynn Fontanne and Alfred Lunt, with Griffith Jones, Marian Spencer and Sylvia Coleridge. The costumes and scenery were by Cecil Beaton and the play was directed by the author. It was fairly successful, running for 329 performances, but failed to match the outstanding popularity of his biggest pre-war hits. ''The Manchester Guardian' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alfred Lunt
Alfred David Lunt (August 12, 1892 – August 3, 1977) was an American actor and director, best known for his long stage partnership with his wife, Lynn Fontanne, from the 1920s to 1960, co-starring in Broadway and West End productions. After their marriage, they nearly always appeared together. They became known as "the Lunts" and were celebrated on both sides of the Atlantic. Although they appeared in classics including ''The Taming of the Shrew'', ''The Seagull'' and '' Pygmalion'', and dark comedy by Friedrich Dürrenmatt, The Lunts were best known for their stylish performances in light comedies by Noël Coward, S. N. Behrman, Terence Rattigan and others, and romantic plays by writers such as Robert E. Sherwood. Lunt directed some of the couple's productions, and staged plays for other managements. Though they rarely acted for the camera, The Lunts each received an Emmy Award and were nominated for an Academy Award. The Lunts retired from the stage in 1960, and lived at th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
