Tony Tuesday: CITY OF ANGELS

Welcome to another Tony Tuesday, Besties! This week we’re travelling all the way back to 1940s Hollywood, with a visit to City of Angels, the 1989 Broadway comedy musical set in Los Angeles.

The original Broadway cast performed a medley at the 1990 Tony Awards Ceremony, singing ‘What You Don’t Know About Women’, ‘You're Nothing Without Me’ and ‘I'm Nothing Without You’.

City of Angels is an original musical with music by Cy Coleman, lyrics by David Zippel, and a book by Larry Gelbart. It tells two stories simultaneously: the story of a writer, Stine, trying to adapt his novel into a screenplay in Hollywood, and the detective drama unfolding in the movie being written, starring the character of Stone.

Apart from Stine and Stone, the other cast members double as real-world characters and fictional versions of themselves. The scenes set in Hollywood are performed in full colour whereas the movie scenes are done with monochrome sets, costumes and lighting so they appear to be black-and-white.

The show opened on Broadway on 11 December 1989. It was directed by Michael Blakemore and starred James Naughton as Gregg Edelman. The production featured sets designed by Robin Wagner, costumes by Florence Klotz and lighting by Paul Gallo. 

It received strong reviews and was nominated for 11 Tony Awards and won six. It also won a further eight Drama Desk Awards. The Broadway production closed on 19 January 1992 but the US Tour continued until the end of 1992.

In March 1993, City of Angels reached the West End in a production at the Prince of Wales Theatre that was also directed by Blakemore. It starred Roger Allam as Stone and Martin Smith as Stine. It received excellent reviews and won the Olivier Award for Best New Musical, but closed after only four months. 

A London revival opened at the Donmar Warehouse on 16 December 2014 and ran until February 2015. It was directed by Josie Rourke and starred Hadley Fraser and Tam Mutu, earning another five Olivier nominations, with two wins.

In March 2020, Rourke brought City of Angels to London’s Garrick Theatre. Previews started on 5 March, but were unfortunately cut short by the pandemic. The team are still hoping to bring the show back in the future and we hope they succeed!

There was also an announcement in 2009 that a film adaptation was planned, with Barry Levinson attached to direct, so let’s keep our fingers crossed that we’ll get to see it on the big screen.

Meanwhile, the original Broadway cast recording is available to buy or on streaming services, and the poppy, jazzy tunes are definitely worth checking out!

FACTS:

Music: Cy Coleman

Lyrics: David Zippel

Book: Larry Gelbart

Theatre: Virginia Theatre

Run: 11 December 1989 - 19 January 1992 (879 performances and 24 previews)

TONYS:

(NOMINATED) Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical - Gregg Edelman, Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical - René Auberjonois, Best Direction of a Musical - Michael Blakemore, Best Costume Design - Florence Klotz, Best Lighting Design - Paul Gallo

(WON) Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical - Larry Gelbart, Best Original Score - Cy Coleman and David Zippel, Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical - James Naughton, Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical - Randy Graff, Best Scenic Design - Robin Wagner

OLIVIERS:

1994 Original London production:

(NOMINATED) Best Actor in a Musical - Roger Allam, Best Actress in a Musical - Haydn Gwynne, Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical - Henry Goodman, Best Director of a Musical - Michael Blakemore

(WON) Best New Musical

2015 London revival:

(NOMINATED) Best Director - Josie Rourke, Best Set Design - Robert Jones, Best Costume Design - Robert Jones

(WON) Best Musical Revival, Best Lighting Design - Howard Harrison