Toasting Broadway’s best, via Southern California

As a celebration of Broadway’s best, the Tony Awards broadcast (airing Sunday at 9 p.m. on CBS, with Kathleen Turner hosting) traditionally gives viewers the opportunity to catch snippets of shows they’d like to see on a visit to New York or to preview what national touring companies someday will bring to town.

But that’s not the case anymore for Southern California theatergoers. They can watch the Tonys to see how plays they saw here fare in the Big Apple.

Performed in the Southland before traveling to New York were three of the four nominees this year for best play: “The Piano Lesson,” “The Grapes of Wrath” and “Prelude to a Kiss.” (“Lettice & Lovage” is the fourth nominee.)

In addition, the revival of “Gypsy,” starring best-actress nominee Tyne Daly, played both the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion of the Music Center and the Orange County Performing Arts Center.

In the cases of the three plays, the productions actually were shaped during their Southern California incarnations.

The play: “The Piano Lesson.”

Tony nominations: Five, including best play, best actor (Charles S. Dutton) and best director (Lloyd Richards).

The background: August Wilson’s “The Piano Lesson” began as a staged reading at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center in Waterford, Conn., in 1986. Its world premiere in New Haven, Conn., in November, 1987, was produced jointly by the Yale Repertory Theatre and Boston’s Huntington Theatre and was followed by an engagement in Boston. The play was remounted in 1989 at the Goodman Theater in Chicago and reassembled that fall at the Kennedy Center in Washington.

The Southern California production: Before the Kennedy Center run, “Piano Lesson” was seen at the Old Globe Theater in San Diego. In January, the Ahmanson Theatre presented the play at the James A. Doolittle Theatre in Hollywood for a 10-week engagement.

On Broadway: It opened in New York to rave reviews in early April. Six of the cast members had appeared in two or more of the productions. The play about the conflict between a brother and sister won Wilson the 1990 Pulitzer Prize for drama.

The Southern California players: Gordon Davidson, producing director of the Ahmanson Theatre at the Doolittle and artistic director of the Mark Taper Forum, and Stephen J. Albert, managing director of the CTG/Mark Taper Forum.

“I can’t take any of the credit in shaping the play except in the final phase,” Davidson said. “I provided a substantial run here in Los Angeles in the final stages of the work and helped it move to New York with a very different financial structure--rather than the money (earned) from the production going into someone’s pocket, it goes back into the production.”

The Mark Taper Forum originally wanted to stage “The Piano Lesson” two years ago but scheduling didn’t allow it. “ ‘The Piano Lesson’ needs a proscenium space,” Albert explained. “When Gordon Davidson was putting together his first season at the Ahmanson, ‘The Piano Lesson’ was very much in his mind. We were able to create a scenario that ensured that the run in L.A. would prepare the show to go to New York.”

The play: “Prelude to a Kiss.”

Tony nominations: Two, best play and best actress (Mary Louise Parker).

The Southern California production: Craig Lucas’ romantic fantasy began its life at South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa. The play had its world premiere Jan. 15, 1988, and starred Mark Arnott, Roberta Farkas and Frank Hamilton.

Other productions: “Prelude to a Kiss” was performed at the Berkeley Repertory Theater and opened Off-Broadway earlier this year at the Circle Repertory Theater with Alec Baldwin, Parker and Barnard Hughes.

On Broadway: It moved to Broadway in April with Timothy Hutton replacing Baldwin and received generally positive notices.

The Southern California players: Martin Benson, SCR artistic director, and David Emmes, SCR producing artistic director.

SCR previously had mounted productions of Lucas’ “Reckless,” “Blue Window” and “Three Postcards.” Benson and Emmes commissioned Lucas to write a new play for the theater company. That play became “Prelude to a Kiss.”

“We really loved Craig’s stuff,” Benson said. “We developed a good relationship with Craig and director Norman Rene (Lucas’ longtime collaborator). We established a rapport with them, which is what we try to do with all of the writers.”

Benson quickly pointed out that SCR’s production of “Prelude” was not a Broadway tryout. The Costa Mesa theater doesn’t look down the road with its productions. “Neil Simon’s ‘Rumors’ at the Old Globe was essentially a Broadway tryout,” he said. “It’s something we don’t feel we want to do with our theater. If it’s successful here, we serve our particular audience.”

He admitted that SCR’s and subsequent productions of “Prelude” allowed Lucas and Rene the opportunity to “get out the jewelry and polish it up. But when it was here, it was a play we were doing-- period. “

The play: “The Grapes of Wrath.”

Tony nominations: Eight, including best play, best director (Frank Galati), best featured actor (Terry Kinney, Gary Sinise) and best featured actress (Lois Smith).

Background: Galati was commissioned by Chicago’s renowned Steppenwolf Theater Company to do his own adaptation of John Steinbeck’s classic Depression story. It opened in September, 1988.

The Southern California production: The play came to the La Jolla Playhouse in May, 1989, for a five-week engagement.

Other productions: The La Jolla production opened in late June at the National Theatre in London for a limited run.

On Broadway: The play opened in March to rave reviews.

The Southern California player: Des McAnuff, artistic director of the La Jolla Playhouse.

McAnuff has been acquainted with Steppenwolf for numerous years. “They called me after the Chicago production about doing it at La Jolla,” he said. “We put about a half a million dollars into it. The original Chicago version was not the version we did. There were a number of cast changes and changes in adaptation.”

The current Broadway production has a new set and a few minor cast changes, though the three actors nominated for best featured performer in a drama have appeared in all four productions.