From ‘Illinoise’ to ‘Stereophonic,’, Broadway Is Celebrating Artists and the Creative Process
variety.comGordon Cox Theater Editor “Sunday in the Park With George,” “Nine,” “Red”: Stories about artists and the process of making art have long fascinated theater audiences.
This season’s Tony nominations add new tales of creativity and collaboration to the canon — and conversations with the creators of these shows offer insights into the universal appeal of the subject, even for those who might not consider themselves artistic.
Take “Hell’s Kitchen,” the new musical nominated for 13 Tony Awards, including best musical. Creator Alicia Keys says she chose the setting — the real-life Manhattan Plaza, an artist housing complex near Times Square — as a way of honoring the “diverse community of opera singers, composers, actors, writers and percussion players,” where she grew up.
The show’s main character is a 17-year-old girl discovering the piano and beginning her journey to becoming a musician. “Creativity is surely an undercurrent to the story, but it’s really about the everydayness of this life that is so difficult to manage and maneuver and the relationship between a mother and daughter,” Keys says. “That family element and that sense of individual discovery is what I think is really the story, and I think that’s what everybody can relate to.” Daniel Radcliffe, nominated for his featured role in “Merrily We Roll Along” (seven noms) finds universality in aspiration. “Having a career as an artist is one of the most hopeful, optimistic, idealistic things one can set out to do,” he says.
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