Laura Linney (1964)
"LAURA LINNEY (Diana) Broadway credits include My Name is Lucy Barton (Tony nom. dir. Richard Eyre): The Little Foxes (Tony nom.) Time Stands Still (Tony nom.) and Sight Unseen (Tony nom.) all directed by Daniel Sullivan at MTC. Other credits include Les Liaisons Dangereauses, The Crucible (Tony nom.), Uncle Vanya, Hedda Gabler, Honour, Holiday, The Seagull, Beggars in the House of Plenty, Six Degrees of Separation. Television credits: "Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City," "Ozark" (SAG, Emmy nom), "The Big C" (Emmy, Golden Globe Awards), "John Adams" (SAG, Golden Globe, Emmy Awards), "Frasier" (Emmy Award), "Wild Iris" (Emmy Award), "The Laramie Project," "Tales of the City" trilogy. Film: Falling, The Dinner, Nocturnal Animals, Sully, Sympathy for Delicious, Morning, The Details, The Savages (Oscar nom), Kinsey (Oscar nom), You Can Count on Me (Oscar nom), The Other Man, City of Your Final Destination, The Squid and the Whale, Jindabyne, Love Actually, Mystic River, The Nanny Diaries, Breach, Man of the Year, The Hottest State, Driving Lessons, The Exorcism of Emily Rose, P.S., The Life of David Gale, The Mothman Prophecies, Maze, The House of Mirth, The Truman Show, Absolute Power, Primal Fear, Congo, Lorenzo's Oil, Dave. Training: The Julliard School, Brown University. Member: AEA, SAG." - Playbill bio from Summer, 1976, June 2023.
Audra McDonald (1970)
"AUDRA MCDONALD (Suzanne Alexander) is honored to take part in Adrienne Kennedy's historic and long overdue Broadway debut. A board member of Covenant House International and co-founder of Black Theatre United, McDonald is a singer, actor, and activist who lives in New York with her amazing husband and children." - Playbill bio from Ohio State Murders, December 2022.
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"Do you ever think Laura Linney reads her playbill bio and cries? Does she dream of the day when she too will hold a Tony Award aloft in triumph, or has she resigned herself to being one of four actresses with the biggest fail rate and will one day hold the record outright? (Given that Estelle Parsons is in her nineties, Dana Ivey is in her eighties, and Jan Maxwell, my beloved, is dead?) Anyway, the point of this isn't to rub salt in the wound. Love you, Laura Linney."
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"It's too mean to title this poll Biggest Tony Winner vs. Biggest Tony Loser but it's pretty damn accurate, and given the overwhelming whiteness of award shows overall, it's damn satisfying that the Black woman is the one with a record-breaking Tonys on her shelf and the white blonde woman is not (no matter how talented she is). Audra McDonald, my beloved, you're going to sweep this entire tournament."
Arthur standing on the staircase looking at Dorothy admiringly is honestly the only appropriate thing to do when you're in the presence of Audra McDonald.
At long last, someone has uploaded the full Stephen Sondheim 80th Birthday Concert in 1080p so that we can worship properly. You too can watch it at the link above.
Sondheim celebrated his 80th birthday at Lincoln Center with a truly jaw-dropping cast of Broadway legends on March 15 and 16 in 2010. Though he would go on to celebrate many more birthdays, no other event would ever be more sublime than this.
Directed by Lonny Price, conducted by Paul Gemingnani, and hosted by David Hyde Pierce, the event featured Karen Olivo, Alexander Gemignani, Jason Danieley, Victoria Clark, Nathan Gunn, John McMartin, Chip Zien, Joanna Gleason, Jim Walton, Mandy Patinkin, George Hearn, Michael Cerveris, Laura Benanti, all accompanied by the New York Philharmonic.
And as a grand finale, the Ladies in Red: Patti LuPone, Audra McDonald, Bernadette Peters, Elaine Stritch, Donna Murphy, and Marin Mazzie, all Sondheim leading ladies who gave one iconic performance after another.
Victoria Clark ("Don't Laugh")
Marin Mazzie & Jason Danieley ("We're Gonna Be All Right")
Joanna Gleason & Chip Zien ("It Takes Two")
Bernadette Peters & Mandy Patinkin ("Move On")
Patti LuPone, George Hearn, Michael Cerveris ("A Little Priest")
Patti LuPone ("The Ladies Who Lunch")
Marin Mazzie ("Losing My Mind")
Audra McDonald ("The Glamorous Life")
Donna Murphy ("Could I Leave You?")
Bernadette Peters ("Not a Day Goes By")
Bonus: Elaine Stritch ("I'm Still Here")