Josh Groban Tony Watch Q&A: How Broadway’s Great Comet Landed On ‘Sweeney Todd’

Andrew Rannells and Josh Gad are returning to Broadway together!

At this point, it should be no surprise that representation is important in television, but Samba TV is highlighting how more diverse casts can benefit studios in its State of Diversity report from Samba TV.

Josh Groban is giving an eerie performance on Broadway as the title character in Sweeney Todd and he joined the cast to perform the opening number at the 2023 Tony Awards!

Against all odds, the show went on.On Sunday night, the 76th Annual Tony Awards was performed without a script due to the ongoing writers’ strike and was staged far, far away from its usual Midtown venue of Radio City Music Hall. Instead, the ceremony honoring Broadway plays and musicals was put on at the United Palace in Washington Heights way up on 176th Street.And with no lines professionally written, there were none of the usual skits or banter that make award shows chug along. Well, almost none.At one cringeworthy point, host Ariana DeBose ripped off Ellen DeGeneres’ celebrity selfie bit from the Oscars but lost her train of thought.“I don’t know what these notes stand for,” the “West Side Story” Oscar winner said awkwardly.

Josh Groban and Annaleigh Ashford both have special guests by their side at the 2023 Tony Awards!

Gordon Cox Theater Editor As they say in “Into the Woods”: It takes two.  And not just in “Into the Woods.” The 2023 Tony nominations remind us several times over that sometimes an actor’s role is so closely tied to another that it’s difficult to imagine a performance without the organic give-and-take shared with a co-star.    From “Into the Woods,” there’s Sara Bareilles and Brian D’Arcy James, both contenders for Tony Awards as lead performers for their work in the tightly linked roles of the Baker and the Baker’s Wife. Among their fellow nominees, there’s Ben Platt and Micaela Diamond as an accused murderer and the steadfast wife who strives to exculpate him in “Parade,” plus Josh Groban and Annaleigh Ashford as the murderous barber and the baker who loves him in “Sweeney Todd.” And the two lead roles in “Topdog/Underdog” and “Some Like It Hot” are so intertwined that these co-stars find themselves competing in the same category against a castmate.  

Gordon Cox Theater Editor The 2023 Tony nominations aren’t just a portrait of theatrical excellence. They’re also a snapshot of Broadway in progress.   After the events of 2020 prompted a wave of public pledges and new initiatives aiming to expand equity and diversity across all sectors of the business, this year’s nominations give theatermakers a chance to check on the change. No nominations list can render a complete picture of an industry and no one would argue that Broadway is done with the work, but all of this year’s nominees say they’re conscious of the ways the nominations reflect a larger, industry-wide shift.  “I think this year shows we are gradually getting better,” says Bonnie Milligan, a 2023 nominee (and, for many, the frontrunner) for featured actress in a musical. The plus-sized actor finds herself in the Tony conversation for “Kimberly Akimbo” after what she describes as years of “getting typed out of so many rooms because of my size.” 

upcoming co-host Julianne Hough and “So Help Me Todd” star Skylar Astin have been tapped to host “The Tony Awards: Act One,” a live pre-show that will present the first round of Tony Awards from 6:30 p.m. – 8 p.m.

Grayson Chrisley isn't holding back when it comes to his parents' time in prison. The 17-year-old son of Todd and Julie Chrisley appeared in a new episode of sister Savannah Chrisley's podcast, where the siblings opened up about how they are coping with their new family dynamic. «To me, it's worse than them dying,» Grayson said of his parents' incarceration.

Sweeney Todd is currently one of the hottest tickets on Broadway and the shows’ Tony-nominated stars are celebrating ahead of the big day this weekend.

Taylor Swift is trying to, uh, shake this one off!

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor When costume designer Marina Toybina was tasked with building the Beast costume for ABC’s live action “Beauty and the Beast” broadcast, she looked beyond what Disney and the Broadway show had previously done. Instead, she found inspiration in puppetry. Josh Groban, who played the enchanted prince-turned-Beast, would not be relying on prosthetics and makeup for his transformation. Toybina instead built a hollowed-out puppet that stood at around 10 feet tall. Within that, she ensured there was enough mobility for Groban, and with the aid of rods, he would be able to move the arms and feet, all built via a backpack structure. Says Toybina of the contraption, “I wanted to lean into the narrative that there’s this prince trapped inside of a beast.”

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor “Yellowjackets” composers and songwriters Craig Wedren and Anna Waronker jumped at the chance to write the original music and lyrics contender “Sit Right Down” for Episode 7 of the Showtime series.“We were deep into the blood, fragmentation, descent and sanity-shattering music,” Wedren says, referring to the events that the survivors have to endure this season. The producers asked them to write an “MGM, old school standard number meets Bob Fosse.” The dream sequence happens as Simone Kessell’s Lottie asks the adult Yellowjackets to choose a therapy option treatment at her “wellness retreat.” Misty, played by Christina Ricci, finds herself in a sensory tank after picking “Guidance.” She needs it. In the teen timeline, Misty (played by Samantha Hanratty) makes a new bestie in Crystal, a fellow theater lover. Except, Misty’s openness with her BFF during a round of rapid-fire secrets comes to a sad end when Misty confesses she sabotaged the flight’s black box recorder. Mortified, Crystal asks if Misty will “poison her,” to which she replies “I’ll fucking kill you.” Moments later, Crystal has accidentally fallen off the cliff to her death. Meanwhile, adult Misty is racking up the “deaths” after kidnapping and spiking a reporter’s cigarette.

The father figures in Sydney Sweeney’s life didn’t approve of her scandalous role in the hit show "Euphoria." Sweeney portrays high-schooler Cassie Howard in the risqué drama, which often features scenes about drugs, sex and trauma as students navigate love and friendships.  "Yeah, I didn’t prepare my dad…at all" Sweeney awkwardly laughed during an appearance on "Sunday Today with Willie Geist." "I mean how do you bring up a conversation? Also, when I talk to my dad it’s usually not about work…we talk father-daughter conversations." The 25-year-old actress continued to say that her father decided to watch "Euphoria" without telling her and her grandparents shockingly joined. "My dad and my grandpa turned it off and walked out," Sweeney explained.  As for the women in her life, Sweeney’s mother and grandmother appeared to be supportive of the actress.

As summer fast approaches it's tempting to live in your flip flops, but doing so could land you in serious trouble if you're caught behind the wheel in them. Wearing flip flops while driving is quite common, with 39% of women and 27% of men admitting to having driven in the shoes.

Sydney Sweeney has experienced a series of "pinch-me" moments over the last five years. The 25-year-old actress has enjoyed huge success in recent years, starring in shows such as 'Euphoria' and 'The White Lotus', and Sydney has likened the experience to a "long dream". Speaking about her 'Euphoria' experience, Sydney told the Irish Times newspaper: "It did change my life for sure.

TMZ reported. Then, after Paul demanded the items be returned, he maintains that James gave him the cold shoulder and said the iconic props were "gifted" to him. James even sold some items at auction and kept the money, Paul alleged in the lawsuit. The actor is asking the court to force a return of the Pee-wee property.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic Nobody’s perfect, but “Some Like It Hot” was close enough for the 67th annual Drama Desk Awards, which gave the Broadway adaptation of the classic film comedy eight honors on Wednesday, including outstanding musical. The top-achieving play was “Life of Pi,” which came away with four awards. Winning three Drama Desk Awards each were “A Doll’s House” and “Sweeney Todd.” Tied with two apiece were “Shucked,” “Prima Facie,” “AIn’t No More” and “Leopoldstadt.” The number of awards these productions received was often not in direct correlation with which shows prevailed for the very top prizes, with only “Some Like It Hot” scoring wins across the board as well as for outstanding musical. While the production of Tom Stoppard’s “Leopoldstadt” came up with only a pair of prizes, one of those was for outstanding play. Meanwhile, “Life of Pi,” the top winner among plays, was not nominated for outstanding play.

Broadway box office overall held steady last week, even as the recent Tony Award nominations already seemed to lose some of their power to boost ticket sales. Some shows with nominations saw declines at the box office, from Good Night, Oscar and Some Like It Hot to Leopoldstadt and New York, New York.

Gordon Cox Theater Editor The writers of “Kimberly Akimbo” tell a story about the musical’s creation that feels as if it could be a scene in the show itself. Like the Tony-nominated production, now up for eight awards including best musical, it’s a tale that lands right in the overlap of humor and heartache. In the summer of 2017, just before composer Jeanine Tesori and bookwriter-lyricist David Lindsay-Abaire were scheduled to spend two weeks developing the first act of “Kimberly Akimbo” at the Sundance Theatre Lab, Tesori had a cerebral hemorrhage. She was in the ICU for 11 days, the Tony-winning composer (“Fun Home”) recalled. She missed the entire first week of the show’s time at Sundance.