Special Reports

6 Broadway Tie-Ins to This Year's Academy Awards

From Lin-Manuel Miranda to Emma Stone, it’s likely that you’ve seen several of this year’s nominees live onstage.

| Los Angeles |

February 24, 2017

The 2017 Academy Awards will be presented this Sunday, February 26. On the list of nominees this year are a host of Broadway and off-Broadway veterans, who may now be able to add the title "Oscar winner" to their monikers. Here's a compilation of what to look out for.


Lin-Manuel Miranda is nominated in the Best Original Song category alongside Justin Paul and Benj Pasek.
Lin-Manuel Miranda is nominated in the Best Original Song category alongside Justin Paul and Benj Pasek.
(© David Gordon)

1. Broadway songwriters share the Hollywood limelight
Lin-Manuel Miranda, the Hamilton and In the Heights Tony winner, could add the "O" award for his EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony) if he takes home the statue for his song "How Far I'll Go" from Disney's Moana. Miranda will also perform during the broadcast. Meanwhile, Miranda goes head to head with Dear Evan Hansen and Dogfight songwriters Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, who are nominated for two of their tunes from the acclaimed musical movie La La Land: "City of Stars" and "Audition (The Fools Who Dream)."


The late August Wilson, Kenneth Lonergan, and Tarell Alvin McCraney are Oscar nominees this year.
August Wilson, who died in 2005, is a 2017 Oscar nominee, as are playwrights Kenneth Lonergan and Tarell Alvin McCraney.
(© Joseph Marzullo/David Gordon/Tricia Baron)

2. Award-winning playwrights do, too
Veteran New York dramatists are also up for top honors this year. The late August Wilson is nominated for his screenplay for the film adaptation of his play Fences, as are Kenneth Lonergan (This Is Our Youth) for Manchester by the Sea and Tarell Alvin McCraney (Choir Boy), alongside Barry Jenkins, for Moonlight.


Denzel Washington and Viola Davis in the screen adaptation of August Wilson's Fences.
Denzel Washington and Viola Davis in the screen adaptation of August Wilson's Fences.
(© Paramount Pictures)

3. Denzel Washington and Viola Davis aim for repeat wins
In 2010, Denzel Washington and Viola Davis won Tony Awards for their performances as Troy and Rose in Kenny Leon's Broadway revival of August Wilson's Fences. The pair repeat their roles in Washington's film adaptation, and are eligible to add Oscars to their statue collections. Davis is heavily favored to win this year, albeit in the Best Supporting Actress category (her Tony for Fences was as the leading lady).


Lucas Hedges in Anna Jordan's '"Yen'' at the Lucille Lortel Theatre.
Lucas Hedges in Anna Jordan's Yen at the Lucille Lortel Theatre.
(© Joan Marcus)

4. Lucas Hedges is the only 2017 Oscar nominee who can currently be seen live onstage
When the 20-year-old Manchester by the Sea star added "Oscar nominee" to his moniker, he was in previews at the Lucille Lortel Theatre on Christopher Street making his New York stage debut in Anna Jordan's Yen. Hedges will attend the Academy Awards ceremony and Yen audiences won't even miss him. There's no performance that day.


Michelle Williams and Emma Stone are both nominated for Oscars this year, and have both played Sally Bowles in Cabaret on Broadway.
Michelle Williams and Emma Stone are both nominated for Oscars this year, and have both played Sally Bowles in Cabaret on Broadway.
(© Joan Marcus)

5. Life is a Cabaret at the Oscars
This Sunday, we could see two actresses who have played Sally Bowles walk away with golden statues for their performances on the silver screen. Tony nominee Michelle Williams, who originated the role of Sally Bowles in the 2014 revival of Cabaret, is nominated in the Supporting Actress category for her work in Kenneth Lonergan's Manchester by the Sea. Emma Stone went on to replace Williams in the role (her Broadway debut) and now is a top contender in the Leading Actress category for the musical film La La Land. Either there was something in the water at Studio 54 (very possible) or Sally is angling for a comeback.


Shahab Hosseini and Taraneh Alidoosti in Asghar Farhadi's film The Salesman.
Shahab Hosseini and Taraneh Alidoosti in Asghar Farhadi's film The Salesman.
(© Amazon Studios)

6. Death of a Salesman is a universal story…even in Tehran
Asghar Farhadi's Best Foreign Language Film-nominated The Salesman tells the story of Emad and Rana, a young couple from Tehran performing in a local theater's production of Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman. When a move to a new apartment drastically changes their relationship, the parallels between their world and Miller's universe rapidly begin to coincide. That a film from Iran, entirely in Persian, could illuminate one of the most beloved dramas of all time shows how universal it really is.

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