At the 76th Tony Awards in New York, held on Sunday, June 11, two of the top four awards went to a Jewish-themed production—“Leopoldstadt” (Best Play), and “Parade” (Best Revival of a Musical). Both were nominated for six Tonys.
“Leopoldstadt” takes place over the course of the first half of the 20th century in a Jewish neighborhood in Vienna. It’s an autobiographical story of multiple generations of the Austrian family of playwright Tom Stoppard as they faced religious persecution in Europe.
Starring in Leopoldstat is Kansas City Jewish community member Drew Squire. Squire, 14, is currently performing as Pauli, one of the younger family members. He is the son of Jamie and Mindi Squire and celebrated his bar mitzvah at The Temple, Congregation B'nai Jehudah this past March.
“Parade” is a musical about the real-life trial of Leopold Frank, a Jewish businessman accused of the rape and murder of a teenage girl in 1913 in Atlanta. With themes of antisemitism, racism and corruption, “Parade” originally premiered on Broadway in 1998. Jewish actor Ben Platt received a Tony nomination for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical for his role as Frank.
Platt has Kansas connections through his mother. Julie Platt is a Wichita native and has several close friends in the Kansas City Jewish community. She is currently serving as the board chair of Jewish Federations of North America and recently spoke at an event hosted by Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City.
Also contributing to the success of “Parade” is Jewish producer Evan McGill, who splits his time between Kansas City and New York City. McGill has been involved in various Broadway productions including "Mr. Saturday Night" and "Kimberly Akimbo."
In total, “Leopoldstadt” took home four Tonys, including Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play (Brandon Uranowitz), Best Direction of a Play (Patrick Marber) and Best Costume Design of a Play (Brigitte Reiffenstuel). “Parade” won two Tonys, including Best Direction of a Musical (Michael Arden).
Jewish actor Joel Grey, 91, won a Lifetime Achievement Award, presented by his daughter, Jennifer Grey. John Kander, 96, the Jewish “Cabaret” and “Chicago” composer, also won a lifetime achievement award.
Kander was born in Kansas City, Missouri, and attended Westport High School before transferring to Pembroke Hill (then known as Pembroke Country-Day School). Kander's grand-nephew is Jewish community member Jason Kander, the former Missouri Secretary of State.
The Kansas City Chronicle staff contributed to this story.