Will Butler, Rachel McAdams Nominated for 2024 Tony Awards
It's a good year for Canadians at the theatre awards, which also nominated collaborators of Les Cowboys Fringants. Musicians David Byrne, Fatboy Slim and Alicia Keys are also amongst the nominees.
Will Butler (middle) with his band Sister Squares
Canadian artists — and artists who built careers in Canada — are getting recognized on Broadway.
Will Butler, formerly of Canadian band Arcade Fire, picked up two Tony nominations today, for best original score and best orchestrations, celebrating his work on the new play Stereophonic. (Butler left the band before the accusations of sexual assault against his brother, lead singer Win Butler came out in 2022). The play, which recently opened on Broadway, tells a story that loosely borrows from the biography of Fleetwood Mac: Stereophonic chronicles a band on the verge of making it big, experiencing creative and personal clashes in the studio in 1976.
Though the setting might sound familiar, the play has received universal acclaim, and now boasts 13 Tony Award nominations, the most ever for a play. It's tied with the musical Hell's Kitchen — created by and featuring the music of Alicia Keys — for the most nominations at this year's awards.
Canadian actress Rachel McAdams also received a nomination, for best performance by a leading actress in a play. McAdams stars in Amy Herzog's Mary Jane, which follows a single mother as she cares for a child with chronic illness. The actor, nominated for an Academy Award for her performance in Spotlight, makes her Broadway debut in the play.
The choreography category also features several Canadian nominees: Toronto-born brother duo Rick and Jeff Kuperman are nominated for their work on the musical adaptation of The Outsiders, while choreographers Jesse Robb and Shana Carroll are nominated for helping the circus come to life in Water for Elephants. Carroll left California for Montreal in 1991 to train at the École nationale de cirque. She has since founded the contemporary circus company Les 7 Doigts, which contributed to Water for Elephants and created the touring production Pub Royal, featuring the music of Les Cowboys Fringants.
It's a good year in general for musicians crossing over into theatre. David Byrne, Fatboy Slim and Illinoise, the musical featuring music by Sufjan Stevens, all received nominations.
The 2024 Tony Awards ceremony will take place Sunday, June 16. Check out the full list of nominees here.
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