BWW Tonys Special: South African Theatre Pros on the 2016 Tony Awards

All eyes are on New York as the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League prepare to present the Tony Awards at the seventieth ceremony of its kind. Taking place today at the Beacon Theatre, the ceremony will be hosted by James Corden. With neither the state broadcaster nor any free-to-air television station broadcasting the awards in South Africa, local actors and theatre-makers are scrambling to work out which satellite channel might programme the show or which international streaming platforms will be accessible here, all the while refreshing the official Tony Awards YouTube channel for news and, eventually, clips from the ceremony. On the morning of the awards, BroadwayWorld South Africa asked six local theatre professionals what the Tony Awards means to them and who they were hoping would bring home the bacon.

Music Director Rowan Bakker says, "The Tony Awards allow me to keep up to date with the American theatre scene, particularly if I haven't had a chance to see the shows of the season." Bakker recently won the 2015 Naledi Award as Best Musical Director for SISTER ACT, is currently working on KickstArt's production of SHREK at Gold Reef City, and will soon be working on the South African State Theatre's South African premiere production of THE COLOR PURPLE, the current Broadway production of which is nominated for four Tony Awards tonight. He hopes that the show, which features a score by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray, with the book written by MarSha Norman, is recognised for its achievements: "I am hoping that Cynthia Erivo wins Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical and that THE COLOR PURPLE takes home the accolade for Best Revival of a Musical. I am also obviously holding thumbs that HAMILTON sweeps the awards. It's groundbreaking writing and has ushered in a new era of musical theatre."

Also rooting for HAMILTON is Roland Perold, who owns ROLSKA Productions, a company that mounts cutting-edge chamber musicals and cabaret shows that specialise in repertoire from the golden age of musical theatre. His latest offering, A GREAT AMERICAN SONGBOOK, features hits from Tony Award-winning Best Musicals like AIN'T MISBEHAVIN' and CRAZY FOR YOU. "I avoidEd Hamilton for as long as possible," he says, "until eventually the Amazon order became inevitable The cast recording has been on loop in my car since it arrived on our shores; it's astounding." Of the Tony Awards ceremony itself, he comments, "Oftentimes us folk in faraway countries feel removed from these big award shows like the Tonys, but the coverage that gets better every year and the archive footage that keeps surfacing in all sorts of places gives a timeless quality to the award whereby you can almost access them from anywhere at any time - and that, personally, has brought inspiration to me on numerous occasions."

Someone else who finds the Tony Awards inspirational is freelance designer Niall Griffin: "To witness the theatre industry celebrated and revered to such an extent makes my soul take flight. My life is theatre. I chose it, or it chose me; either way, it is my passion, my career and my love. As a producer and designer for theatre in South Africa, it is vitally important to keep my finger on the pulse of what's happening internationally. On a more superficial note: they're sparkly!" Who wins what awards has a personal connection for Griffin this year, at least when it comes to the Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical category. "I am beyond lucky enough to personally know one of the nominees this year. Cynthia Erivo is up for her performance in THE COLOR PURPLE and, having been reduced to a blubbering mess when I saw her in the original production in London, I can assure you there is nobody more deserving," he says. "That skill, that performance and those pipes are untouchable! The critics love her, the audiences love her and here's hoping the voters love her!"

Griffin is one half of VRG Theatrical, which will stage I LOVE YOU, YOU'RE PERFECT, NOW CHANGE - written by Tony Award winner Joe DiPietro and Jimmy Roberts - in South Africa this year. His partner in crime is actor-producer Jaco van Rensburg, who comments, "The Tony Award is arguably the biggest award anyone working in the theatre can win. I mean, it puts the T in EGOT! In my opinion, the Tony Awards sets the bar for outstanding theatre. The annual ceremony is a huge international advertisement for the theatre. What impact does it have on our industry? Probably not a lot. But it is an event that inspires. And once a show wins one, we might just see it in South Africa - maybe!" And who is he holding thumbs for come tonight? "Not that HAMILTON needs any luck to win all the awards it was nominated for, including Best Musical, but I wish them well! It is a groundbreaking, experimental piece that will change the evolution of the musical. I am also rooting for SPRING AWAKENING for Best Revival of a Musical and THE CRUCIBLE for Best Revival of a Play."

Candice van Litsenborgh co-owns Canned Rice Productions and will perform in South Africa's revival of 1977's big Tony Award winner, ANNIE. She considers the impact of social media on watching the Tony Awards: "It probably doesn't mean as much to me now as it once did. Before the days of YouTube, getting to see the Tony Awards on TV was momentous as a young aspiring actor - the only way I got to see any part of a Broadway or West End show. Now I can check out all the musical sequences online the next day. It's not quite the same as when we all used to plan the night months in advance and gather at a friend's house to watch the show." Van Litsenborgh also comments on the difficulties of observing the Tony Awards from another country, where it is impossible to see the productions themselves: "With the film and TV awards shows, I've seen most of the work. With the Tony Awards, I have to go through this process of knowing the show from the script or cast recording, from previous productions I've seen and from the actors' other work."

She continues, "I can read reviews and watch YouTube clips, but eventually, I can only envision the full show based on a mosaic of my own assimilated experiences. I think it's a feeling all musical theatre performers know." So without having had the opportunity to see the work, how does she pick her favourites? "Sentiment," she says. "I'd be very happy to see Jessica Lange win for A LONG DAY'S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT, but of course, I'm basing that on her body of work. There's no chance, but Andrea Martin as Dotty in NOISES OFF - mainly because I love the role. THE COLOUR PURPLE's Cynthia Erivo for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical. And we all know HAMILTON is just going to sweep the majority of the musical awards."

Duane Alexander, the choreographer behind South African editions of the Tony Award-nominated JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT (currently on stage in Johannesburg and soon to be in Cape Town) and ANNIE (which will hit South African stages later this year) says that the reason he keeps an eye on the Tony Awards is the fact that he lives for musical theatre: "It's my profession, my passion, and my pastime. As a result, I keep my eye and ear on what's happening around the world and the musical theatre highlight of the year has to be the Tony Awards. It recognises all the hard work, brilliance and creativity that Broadway offers which has a direct impact on the global theatre scene." As for who should win, Alexander is firmly in the Hamilton Camp, saying, "I have been an avid fan of Lin-Manuel Miranda since he created IN THE HEIGHTS and his latest offering, HAMILTON, is pure genius from every angle. I'm ridiculously obsessed with the show and it's the only cast recording I've listened to for the last four or five months. I'm in no way surprised to see that it received a record-breaking 16 Tony Award nominations and I'll be even less surprised when HAMILTON walks off with the majority of the awards on the night. It will be deserved!"

With just hours to go before the 70th Tony Awards, it's clear that the impact of HAMILTON is felt an ocean away in South Africa, as is the much-lauded performance of Cynthia Erivo in THE COLOR PURPLE. For everything you need to know about the Tony Awards, follow BroadwayWorld's live coverage of the event starting from Tony Awards rehearsals through the red carpet and at the ceremony itself on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, Vine and Snapchat (bwayworld).