Who is Broadway.com's Star of the Year for 2008? Vote Today!
In a year that saw plenty of big stars trying their luck on Broadway, a few special people rose above the pack as deserving candidates for the ultimate accolade: Star of the Year. After a spirited discussion, the Broadway.com editorial staff narrowed the list to six nominees including one group!, all of whom displayed a rare combination of talent, personality and stage presence in shows that would have been all the less without them. But it’s up to YOU, our readers, to decide who the ultimate winner will be.
All votes must be received by 11:59PM on Thursday, December 11, with the winner announced as part of our 2008 Year End Wrap-Up.
Click here to vote!
The nominees are:
The Stars of [title of show]: Hunter Bell, Jeff Bowen, Susan Blackwell and Heidi Blickenstaff
For making it to Broadway with their heartfelt, semi-autobiographical depiction of four buddies struggling to make a life in the theater in [title of show], the little musical that attracted a big and passionate fan base.
Brian d’Arcy James
For proving to be one of our top theater stars with a trio of challenging roles: a loyal husband coping with his wife’s mental illness in the musical Next to Normal, a disgruntled Irish working man in Port Authority and the title ogre in Shrek the Musical on Broadway.
Patti LuPone
For capping her brilliant theatrical career—and collecting every possible award—with a titanic performance as Momma Rose in Gypsy. Bonus trip down memory lane: the CD release of her 1980 club act Patti LuPone at Les Mouches.
Lin-Manuel Miranda
For making his dream come true winning a Best Score Tony Award, along with a Best Actor Tony nomination, in the process with the Broadway success of In the Heights, a musical from that heart that he began writing as a college student.
Kelli O’Hara
For becoming Broadway’s go-to ingénue by breathing glorious new life into the classic role of Ensign Nellie Forbush in the smash-hit revival of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific. Bonus: the 2008 release of her first solo CD, Wonder in the World.
Daniel Radcliffe
For risking his franchise film role Harry Potter, no less and challenging himself onstage—including an obligatory nude scene—as Alan Strang, a teenager obsessed with an equine deity in the revival of Peter Shaffer’s Equus.