The Weird, Wide-Eyed, Weepy, and Wild Voices on Broadway

The latest in pop-culture news, recaps, and reviews, plus close reads, profiles, interviews, and more from Vulture.com. [Brand Logo]( it’s theater season [The Voices of the Season]( This season there are more types of voices on display than we’ve heard in a long time. Photo-Illustration: Vulture; Photos: Liz Lauren, Matthew Murphy, Mason Poole At some point since 1970, Broadway lost its voice, literally. Era-defining actors with unmistakable voices, often ones riddled with imperfections, like Elaine Stritch, Ethel Merman, and Kelly Bishop, were once Tony winners who performed alongside the soaring sopranos, and their originality was treated not as a liability but as a vehicle for storytelling. These days, it seems like everyone is a belter with a healthy mix à la Casey Likes or Taylor Louderman — talented, of course, but lacking personality — thanks to an increase in movie-based musicals, jukebox musicals, extended runs that require replacement actors to seamlessly slot in, and pop-influenced songwriting. Now, casts can happily consist of highly trained musical-theater robots designed to view Broadway as a place for technical ability without vocal storytelling, and audiences who seek technical virtuosity rather than individualized star-power are all the happier for it. [read more]( Devour pop culture with us. [Subscribe now]( to save over 40% on unlimited access to Vulture and everything New York. The Latest TV Recaps • Saturday Night Live: [Shane Gillis Got Away With It]( • The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live: [Type A]( • The Real Housewives of Potomac: [Healing and Thriving]( [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( Stories We Think You’ll Like [Do Nielsen Ratings Really Reflect What People Want from Streamers? How many people are actually streaming Suits and Young Sheldon?]( By Josef Adalian [Everything We Know About the 2024 Academy Awards The first slate of presenters was revealed, and officially you can expect Zendaya to turn a look on the carpet.]( By Jason P. Frank [21 Essential ‘Be Gay, Do Crime’ Movies Drive-Away Dolls joins a fabulous canon of films about queers causing trouble.]( By Barry Levitt [Drake Is Practically Begging Hotties to Drag Him to Filth Calling for Tory Lanez’s freedom on Instagram.]( By Zoe Guy [A Beat-by-Beat Explanation of What Happens in Tenet Turns out the plot of Christopher Nolan’s movie is also a mystery to people who have seen it.]( By Nate Jones [The Producers Guild Awards (Guess What?) Loved Oppenheimer Also The Bear, Beef, and Succession. You’re shocked.]( By Jason P. Frank [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( [Today’s Crossword]( 12-Across, Six Letters: Careened across, like in a “Mario” ice level Photo-Illustration: Vulture; Photos: Getty A newsletter about the perpetual Hollywood awards race, for subscribers only. [Sign up]( to get it every week. [Get the Newsletter]( [logo]( [facebook logo]( [instagram logo]( [twitter logo]( [unsubscribe]( | [privacy notice]( | [update preferences]( This email was sent to {EMAIL}. Was this email forwarded to you? [Sign up now]( to get this newsletter in your inbox. [View this email in your browser.]( You received this email because you have a subscription to New York. Reach the right online audience with us For advertising information on email newsletters, please contact AdOps@nymag.com Vox Media, LLC 1201 Connecticut Ave. NW, 12th Floor Washington, DC 20036 Copyright © 2024, All rights reserved