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With two ethnic musicals reaching the theatrical heights, Broadway is finally singing to a colorful new tune. Our critic tackles 10 topics and trends from New York City, home of tonight’s Tony Awards.

1. The ‘Spring Awakening’ Effect

The two innovative musicals going toe-to-toe for tonight’s best-musical Tony Award both feature all-minority ensembles led by beat-poet narrators — the all-black “Passing Strange,” and the all-Latino “In the Heights.”

While both have been in the works for years, neither gets green-lit for Broadway if not for the emergence of last year’s “Spring Awakening,” which infused a century-old story of sexual repression with contemporary rock music played by an on-stage band.

For once, Broadway’s scramble to find “the next big thing that’s kinda like the last big thing” has paid off for audiences in ways that, if we’re lucky, change Broadway forever.

“Passing Strange” is the far more groundbreaking and substantive of the two. It opens as a concert with a rousing funk band led by writer and showman Stew, who asks us, “What do you do when you wake up, and your whole life has been based on the decision of a teenager — a stoned teenager?”

As actors come and go in uncannily “Spring Awakening”-like Brechtian fashion, we go back to the tumultuous 1970s and retrace young Stew’s epic journey from the suburban comforts of Los Angeles to Amsterdam and Berlin in search of “something more real than real.”

But this is no nostalgia trip. It’s a difficult and meaningful odyssey about cultural identity and family that culmin ates as young Stew comes face-to-face with present-day Stew — and to terms with the unalterable cost his youthful narcissism has exacted from those he left behind.

This is catchy and cathartic performance art unlike anything Broadway has seen before.

“In the Heights” is Lin-Manuel Miranda’s exuberant and lovable but frustratingly surface homage to his Washington Heights neighborhood in Upper Manhattan. While everything about it looks new, sounds fresh and moves to a new, pop-salsa groove, it’s a traditional and simplistic story about gentrification.

The good news is that there’s something new to talk about at all. After decades of lavish Cameron Mackintosh spectaculars, the Village Voice is calling this the spring thaw for the American musical: “Rivers of imagination are flowing again.”

2. Faces you’ll recognize

It’s not like anyone can afford a hotel room in New York City these days, but theater is all about make-believe, so let’s pretend you have a getaway planned this summer. Some stars you may know:

Laura Linney, “Les Liaisons Dangereuses”

Morgan Freeman, “The Country Girl”

Laurence Fishburne, “Thurgood”

James Earl Jones, Terrence Howard and Phylicia Rashad, “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof”

Martha Plimpton (right) and Marisa Tomei, “Top Girls”

Nathan Lane and Laurie Metcalf, “November”

Christine Baranski (far right), Bradley Whitford and Gina Gershon, “Boeing-Boeing”

3. The revival of the revival

OK, so revivals have been Broadway’s lifeblood for decades, and there are three exceptional ones to choose from. “Gypsy” brings Patti Lupone back to Broadway, and “Sunday in the Park with George” (right) is a miraculous re-examination of Stephen Sondheim’s most brooding and problematic musical. But “South Pacific” has all the buzz.

The “Sunday” staging uses jawdropping multimedia techniques that enhance the telling of this droopy tale based on a Georges Seurat painting. But that’s gadgetry. What’s not is how director Sam Bentrock not only makes sense of the tacked-on contemporary second act, but also he actually makes it seem integral. Most lovely, star Daniel Evans does this one, slight thing as the lights go down that somehow manages to infuse this mopey musical with hope — and a happy ending.

“South Pacific” hasn’t seen a Broadway stage in 53 years — meaning almost none of us has ever seen it the way it was meant to be performed. Here it is, all its spectacle — and racism — intact.

4. The play’s the thing again

There were just as many new plays (nine) this season as new musicals — and experts can’t recall whether that’s happened anytime in the past 50 years.

5. The case against “August: Osage County”

First off, yes, it’s all that: Tracy Letts’ savage black comedy about bickering Oklahomans is “the next great American play,” and its poisonously funny matriarch, Violet, already can take her place among among the greatest female characters ever written. Violet pops out furious epithets — most aimed at her own daughters — as quickly as she pops in her pills.

When her husband disappears and three generations of Westons gather, you understand why he might have committed suicide.

But it’s nearly 3 1/2 hours, and though audiences aren’t complaining, it’s a better play if it loses 20 minutes. And while “August” is an insightful portrait of a flawed American family, it offers little as to what we are supposed to make of it all. I’m guessing when audiences saw Willy Loman drive into the tree on opening night of “Death of a Salesman” in 1949, they understood immediately what Arthur Miller was trying to say about the rest of us.

6. Proof Buntport Theater belongs on Broadway

The biggest breath of fresh air on the Rialto is the clever British import “The 39 Steps,” right, a playful homage to Alfred Hitchcock’s 1935 classic spy film. This is much more than a quick-change comedy, though its cast of four does play 124 roles. They employ playful staging techniques that are wowing Broadway audiences, but we’ve been seeing them at Buntport for years.

7. I don’t hate Mamet?

I’ve often bashed David Mamet and his copycats for all the bile they’ve put out into the world. But my vote for best comedy in years goes to “November,” starring Nathan Lane as the most ineffective president ever. Which is not to say dumb — he even quotes from “Henry VIII.”

When Lane’s Charles Smith asks his right hand, “What is it about me people don’t like?” Colorado Shakespeare Fest alum Dylan Baker dryly deadpans: “That you’re still here.”

Who knew Mamet could be so funny?

Sure, it’s cheap-shot, easy-pickings stuff, but judging by the current polls and the boisterous response, a lot of people in Mamet’s audience must figure they’ve earned it over the past seven years.

8. What’s happening Off-Broadway?

The buzz is all about “Adding Machine,” right, a stylized musical adaptation of Elmer Rice’s 1923 play about an accountant named Mister Zero. He’s an everyman drone who, when made expendable by the invention of the adding machine, kills his boss and finds happiness in an otherworldly purgatory called the Elysian Fields.

9. What’s to look forward to?

The Public Theatre’s “Hair,” starring “Spring Awakening’s” Jonathan Groff, left, in Central Park starting July 22; and Harry Potter himself, Daniel Radcliffe, far left, bowing Sept. 25 in “Equus,” the sexually explosive tale of a British lad who blinds six horses.

10. The ‘Mermaid’ effect

The Tony Awards suits are finally getting smart. In a break from tradition, tonight’s telecast also will include performances by non-nominated musicals such as “The Little Mermaid” and “Young Frankenstein,” as well as warhorses “The Lion King” and “Rent.”

No one in the heartland knows “Passing Strange,” yet, but they all know “The Little Mermaid,” which despite its snub is playing to 95 percent capacity and grossing $1 million a week on Broadway.

With the most commercial musicals (rightfully) being snubbed for major awards, this is a blatant ratings grab — otherwise known as “giving the people what they want.” Nothing wrong with that.

John Moore: 303-954-1056 or jmoore@denverpost.com

John Moore’s Tony Award predictions

Best new musical

Nominees: “Cry-Baby,” “In the Heights,” “Passing Strange,” “Xanadu”

The winner: “Passing Strange” is far superior, but “In the Heights” wins based on its inherent “edginess” (it’s all-Latino!) combined with a paper-thin story that recalls 1950s pabulum — the kind Broadway audiences love. But the music’s hot, the dancing top-notch.

Best musical revival

The nominees: “Grease,” “Gypsy,” “South Pacific,” “Sunday in the Park with George”

The winner: “Gypsy” is somewhat deserving and “George” is more, but “South Pacific,” (right) is the most.

Best new play

Nominees: “August: Osage County,” “Rock ‘n’ Roll,” “The Seafarer,” “The 39 Steps”

The winner: “August: Osage County.” A slam dunk. Or, in this case, a head-slam.

Best play revival

Nominees: “Boeing-Boeing,” “The Homecoming,” “Les Liaisons Dangereuses,” “Macbeth”

The winner: “Boeing-Boeing” is the favorite, but here’s hoping Patrick Stewart’s creepy “Macbeth” comes out on top.

Best actor, play

Patrick Stewart, “Macbeth”

Best actress, play

Deanna Dunagan, (right) “August: Osage County”

Best actor, musical

Paulo Szot, “South Pacific”

Best actress, musical

Patti Lupone, “Gypsy”

Telecast details

7 p.m. tonight, CBS Channel 4

Host: Whoopi Goldberg

Presenters include: Alec Baldwin, Gabriel Byrne, Glenn Close, Laurence Fishburne, Laura Linney, Liza Minnelli, Daniel Radcliffe, Brooke Shields, Lily Tomlin, John Waters.

Performances include: Highlights from 11 new musicals, as well as “The Little Mermaid,” “Young Frankenstein” “The Lion King” and “Rent.”

Look for: Denver native Sierra Boggess (right) performing “Part of Your World” from “The Little Mermaid.”

This week’s theater openings

“The Melting Bridge” Denver native Thaddeus Phillips presents the fast-paced final installment of his visually transformative and inventive trilogy, “Americas.” Our protagonist travels through indigenous cultures in Alaska, Brazil and more in search of his missing archaeologist father. Through July 5. Presented by Lucidity Suitcase Intercontinental at Buntport Theater, 717 Lipan St., 720-946-1388 or

“The Glider” Katherine Snodgrass’ new play about three very different sisters, one boathouse and a lifetime of secrets. They have come together for their mothers funeral. Decisions made that will alter their lives, but will it break the bond of the love they have for one another? Through July
10. And Toto Too Productions at the Victorian Playhouse, 4201 Hooker St., 720-280- 7058 or (script sample posted at ).

“Quilters” This musical about a pioneer woman and her six daughters captures the beauty, terror, joy, challenges and rewards of frontier life. This musical, which blends a series of interrelated scenes into a rich mosaic, was born at the Denver Center Theatre Company (and where it will return to next season). The story covers girlhood, marriage, childbirth, spinsterhood, twisters, fire, illness and death. But there is also love, warmth, humor and the spectacle of simple human dignity and steadfastness in the face of adversity. Through July 25. Little Theatre of the Rockies at the University of Northern Colorado, 10th Avenue and 18th Street, Greeley, 970-351-2200 or

“Honus and Me” Colorado native Steven Dietz’s adaptation of Dan Gutman’s novel about a Little League baseball player who finds the most valuable baseball card in the world (former Pittsburgh Pirates great Honus Wagner) while cleaning out his neighbor’s attic. Through July 20. Aurora Fox, 9900 E. Colfax Ave., Aurora, 303-739-1970 or

“Lend Me a Tenor”

Southern Colorado Repertory Theatre opens its summer season with Ken Ludwig’s popular farce about the silly antics surrounding the biggest night in Cleveland Grand Opera history. The world-renowned star is incapacitated because of an accidental overdose of sleeping pills. What to do? Eventually an imposter goes on stage, but is soon followed by the real thing. Soon two singers are running around in costume, and two women are running around chasing them — each thinking they are with the star of the show.Through Aug. 9. Massari Performing Arts Center at Trinidad State Junior College, Trinidad, 719-846-4765 or

“Matt & Ben” This irreverent comedy depicts Hollywood golden-boy buddies Matt Damon and Ben Affleck before J-Lo, before Gwyneth, before they won an Oscar for writing “Good Will Hunting.” When that script drops to them mysteriously from the heavens, the boys realize they’re being tested by a higher power. And oh, yeah, Matt Damon and Ben are played by women (Laura Norman and Missy Moore). This play is written by Brenda Withers, also an actress who recently appeared in the Denver Center Theatre Company’s “Pride and Prejudice.” Through July 20. Miners Alley Playhouse, 1224 Washington St., Golden, 303-935-3044 or

“Wonder of the World” In this quirky David Lindsay-Abaire comedy, a wife discovers her husband’s dirty little secret and flees in a frantic search for the life she thinks she missed out on. She winds up at the honeymoon capital of the world, going over Niagara Falls in a barrel. It’s a journey of self-discovery that has her crossing paths with a blithely suicidal alcoholic, a lonely tour-boat captain, a pair of bickering private detectives and a strange caper involving a gargantuan jar of peanut butter, all of which pushes her perilously close to the water’s edge. Through June 29. E-Project, 9797 W. Colfax Ave., Lakewood, 303-232-0363 or

“Letters to Home” Back for a second year, this popular reader’s-theater presentation is made up of the historic war letters written by soldiers to their families. Their stories transcend politics and reveal in their own words the hearts and minds of those who have served our country. Presented with the Colorado Historical Society. Through July 5. Hunger Artists at the Byers-Evans House, 1310 Bannock St., 303-893-5438 or

“Murder at the Howard Johnson’s” In this farcical romp, a love triangle goes awry, leading to mischief. The script, written by Ron Clark and Sam Bobick, playfully skewers marriage, infidelity and mid-life crises.Through Aug. 24. Grand Theatre, 78415 Park Place, Winter Park, 970-726-5048 or

“Sweeney Todd” National touring production of Stephen Sondheim’s operatic slasher. Opens Tuesday, through June 29. Buell Theatre, Denver Performing Arts Complex, 303-893-4100, King Soopers or

“Oklahoma!” Grand Lake’s venerable summer repertory company returns with Rodgers and Hammerstein’s classic celebration of the American frontier — a heartwarming romance, jubilant comedy and showcase for some of the most beautiful songs written for the stage, including “People Will Say We’re in Love,” “Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’ ” and the title song. Through Aug. 15. Rocky Mountain Repertory Theatre, 1025 Grand Ave., 970-627-3421 or

Compiled by John Moore

Complete theater listings

Go to our complete list of every currently running production in Colorado, including summaries, run dates, addresses, phones and links to every company’s home page. .

This week’s podcast

Running Lines with . . . John Carroll Lynch. Denver Post theater critic John Moore catches up with the Denver native and high-school chum whose 60-plus films include “Fargo” and “Zodiac”). Run time: 15 minutes. Listen by