I'm breaking a two month silence (I could mention again my good intentions to blog more, but you know what they say about the pavement on the road to hell....) to rave about Neil Patrick Harris, Patti LuPone, and the cast of Company!
You may recall that about three months back I bemoaned the fact that I hadn't been able to see the three night only concert performance of Company starring Neil Patrick Harris, one of my favorite men on the planet, and Patti LuPone, of whom I've become a huge fan over the last few years.
At the time, the most I dared to hope for was a cast recording (which I'd still love!). I never thought that I'd actually be able to see the show. Then, during last week's Tony Awards, the cast did a number from Company and it was mentioned that a filmed version of the show would be playing in select theaters.
Which brings us to today, when I was able to see one of my favorite Sondheim shows up on the big screen. When I arrived, I was honestly expecting to find only a handful of other people there. After all, it's hardly a mainstream film and it's not like there was any press (that I saw, anyway) about it playing. I was pleasantly surprised, then, to find that the theater was about two thirds full. I do have to say, though, that I seemed to be one of the youngest people there by a decade or two at least!
The experience, though, was a great one. Most of the audience applauded at the end of each number, as if we were actually seeing the show on stage. Now, I don't go to the movies all that often these days, but I really can't remember the last time I was in a crowd that laughed and applauded and just enjoyed themselves so much!
Neil Patrick Harris was phenomenal in the role of Bobby. Yes, I'm predisposed to love him, it's true, but I can honestly say that it felt like he was born to play this role. He was funny, he nailed the many moments where he had to mix serious subtext into his performance, and of course it goes without saying that he sang beautifully. On a shallow note, he also looked incredibly hot.
What can I even say about Patti LuPone? She brought the house down with her version of 'The Ladies Who Lunch', both in real time on the stage and today in the movie theater I was seeing the show in. I mentioned that most of the people I was watching with applauded at the end of all the songs, but it was especially loud after that show stopper!
Which, I confess, was a bit of a relief to me. I bought the DVD of the concert for Stephen Sondheim's 80th birthday last year and I was less than thrilled with her version of the song then. I love Patti, but it just felt like it was lacking something, especially compared with Elaine Stritch's iconic performance of the song in the original Broadway cast. I did, though, absolutely love her Sweeney Todd number with her two Sweeney's, George Hearn and Michael Cerveris!
Anyway, Patti's two performances of 'Ladies' were like night and day. Obviously during the Sondheim birthday concert Ms. LuPone was just singing the song (and she of course sounded great doing so!). Here, she was acting, and that made all the difference in the world! Joanne came alive in her hands and she did the song brilliantly. I want to see it again, just for that one performance alone! I really hope they put out a DVD.
The rest of the cast was pretty fantastic, too. I thought Stephen Colbert was hilarious, though his performance of 'Sorry-Grateful' was the weakest vocal moment of the show. Still, watching him and Martha Plimpton as Harry and Sarah during the hilarious Karate scene more than made up for that! I also really liked Katie Finneran as Amy, especially during her very funny performance of 'Getting Married Today'.
There wasn't anyone onstage that I didn't like, though. All of the roles were perfectly cast. I loved the show and I'm so glad I got to see it, even if it wasn't live and in person!
The atmosphere in the movie theater today was so appreciative that I was very surprised to find myself walking out behind two middle aged women who seemed less than impressed. It turned out, as I shamelessly listened to them talk, that they were Stephen Colbert fans who'd heard he was great in this, but were disappointed that his role more or less comes to an end early on and then there are "so many songs" afterward!
Since I'm on the topic of Broadway, I wanted to mention that I thought Neil Patrick Harris was once again fantastic as the host of this year's Tony Awards. Can we just make him host for life of any and all major award shows? I especially enjoyed his number with Hugh Jackman.
As for the performances on this year's Tonys, I was surprised by how much I liked the number from The Book of Mormon. I really didn't expect to, somehow, but I think I'd like to see the show if it ever comes my way.
The number from Anything Goes was also very good, but then how could you mess up Cole Porter? I enjoyed the performance from Catch Me If You Can, though I wasn't really impressed by the song itself. The number from How To Succeed in Business was all right. Daniel Radcliffe is incredibly likable and seems like such a great guy in real life, but I'm not sure singing is really his forte.
The Spider Man and Priscilla, Queen of the Desert numbers both left me completely cold. The Spider Man performance was just kind of boring and bland, while Priscilla is a 'jukebox musical' made up exclusively of pre-existing songs, which just seems like a cop out to me, somehow. Maybe the show, when you sit and watch the whole thing, is really good, but for me it was the weakest moment of the Tonys, performance wise.
Showing posts with label tony awards. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tony awards. Show all posts
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Thoughts on the Tony Awards
I just finished watching my favorite of all award shows, the Tony Awards, and I thought I'd share some thoughts about the show.
I like Sean Hayes and he had a couple of amusing moments tonight while he was hosting the show, but I honestly wasn't very impressed overall by the job he did, especially during his opening monologue. In fairness to Sean, though, I have to say that Neil Patrick Harris, who hosted the Tonys brilliantly last year, is a very tough act to follow.
I had to wonder why they hadn't asked his Promises, Promises co-star, Kristin Chenoweth, to host the show, or at the very least to co-host with Sean. Her bit tonight about not having been nominated was great, as was her appearance at the beginning to make out with Sean and demonstrate that they had plenty of on stage chemistry.
The show opened with a medley of performances from this year's new musicals, which I liked, but there were sound problems which really disappointed me, especially since the same thing happened last year, too, and you'd think that they would have learned from that!
The highlight of the medley for me was Kristen Chenoweth's song from Promises, Promises and the song from American Idiot, followed by a performance from Green Day.
I wasn't really rooting for anyone in particular tonight, so I don't have a lot to say about who won or didn't win, except in one instance: after watching all the performances from the nominated shows, I found myself hoping that American Idiot would win for Best Musical. Then again, I was probably already a bit biased since I've always loved the source material for that show.
Still, of everything I sampled tonight that is probably the show I'd be most likely to see if I had to pick just one.
In addition to loving the performance from American Idiot (and what a trio of hotties the leads are, by the way!) I liked what I saw from the casts of Million Dollar Quartet, La Cage Aux Folles, and Memphis (though there were some sound problems in that last one) and I thought Catherine Zeta Jones' rendition of 'Send in the Clowns' from A Little Night Music was incredibly beautiful.
My education in all things Musical Theater, which began early last year, has continued steadily ever since.While I still have a lot to learn and to experience, I have familiarized myself with most things Sondheim. I really love the original cast album of A Little Night Music and I've been wanting to check out the revival's cast album, with Zeta Jones and the incomparable Angela Lansbury, and tonight just gave me even more reason to do so.
I was just reading yesterday that Bernadette Peters and Elaine Stritch are taking over for Zeta Jones and Lansbury in the show this summer and I'd love to be able to hear their version, too! I haven't really experienced any of Bernadette's work yet, but Company is one of my favorite cast albums thus far and Elaine's 'The Ladies Who Lunch' is my favorite song from that show.
But back to tonight. The performances from Ragtime and Fela were the only two that I just couldn't get that into. That's not to say I thought they were bad, of course. I just didn't really connect with either of them.
What I did connect with were the special performances by Matthew Morrison and Lea Michele. I was a bit disappointed in one sense, I admit: I thought they'd be singing together, when in actuality they gave back to back solo performances.
That's a minor quibble, though, because they were both incredible. Matthew did 'All I Need is the Girl' from Gypsy and not only did he sound amazing, but he was as hot as I've ever seen him, and that's really saying something!
I felt a tiny bit let down when the music for Lea's number began and it was 'Don't Rain on My Parade'. I absolutely loved her rendition of the song on Glee, but my first thought tonight was that she should have sung something we all hadn't heard her do so recently.
That went right out the window, though, when she started singing. Hearing her do the song live, with so much more intensity than she brought to it as her character on Glee, was a totally different experience. She was phenomenal, there is no other word to describe it. What a voice, what a star!
I also loved when she sat on Jonathan Groff's armrest on the way up the aisle! The two of them, best friends in real life, are so adorable together! I was hoping that Jonathan, whom I kept catching glimpses of in the audience, would at least get to present an award, but no such luck.
By the way, Jonathan (whom if you hadn't already guessed is someone I've been crushing on in a major way since his time on Glee) is going to be starring in the revival of the play Deathtrap in London starting in August. It's bad enough that I'm forever longing to go to New York to see all of these shows, but now I'm wishing I could afford a trip to London, too!
Speaking of plays, I really want to see Next Fall! The little bit we got to see from it in the play montage looked pretty good, but it was the banter of the stars, Patrick Heusinger and Patrick Breen, as they described their nominated show that really caught my attention. Honestly, though, I thought all of the plays sounded very good.
I know the award show is already long, of course, but I do wish we could see more from the nominated plays, too. I guess seeing a full scene acted out from each one would be too much to ask for, but it really feels like they get the short end of the stick.
Last year, I really enjoyed Neil Patrick Harris' closing number at the end of the show, so I was hoping for something similar tonight. Instead, they had the cast of Memphis, who'd just won Best Musical, perform again. It just felt like it was all thrown together at the last minute and not really a great way to end the night. Maybe Neil Patrick Harris was just so good last year that he ruined all future Tony Awards for me?
All in all, though, I loved getting my annual taste of Broadway.
I like Sean Hayes and he had a couple of amusing moments tonight while he was hosting the show, but I honestly wasn't very impressed overall by the job he did, especially during his opening monologue. In fairness to Sean, though, I have to say that Neil Patrick Harris, who hosted the Tonys brilliantly last year, is a very tough act to follow.
I had to wonder why they hadn't asked his Promises, Promises co-star, Kristin Chenoweth, to host the show, or at the very least to co-host with Sean. Her bit tonight about not having been nominated was great, as was her appearance at the beginning to make out with Sean and demonstrate that they had plenty of on stage chemistry.
The show opened with a medley of performances from this year's new musicals, which I liked, but there were sound problems which really disappointed me, especially since the same thing happened last year, too, and you'd think that they would have learned from that!
The highlight of the medley for me was Kristen Chenoweth's song from Promises, Promises and the song from American Idiot, followed by a performance from Green Day.
I wasn't really rooting for anyone in particular tonight, so I don't have a lot to say about who won or didn't win, except in one instance: after watching all the performances from the nominated shows, I found myself hoping that American Idiot would win for Best Musical. Then again, I was probably already a bit biased since I've always loved the source material for that show.
Still, of everything I sampled tonight that is probably the show I'd be most likely to see if I had to pick just one.
In addition to loving the performance from American Idiot (and what a trio of hotties the leads are, by the way!) I liked what I saw from the casts of Million Dollar Quartet, La Cage Aux Folles, and Memphis (though there were some sound problems in that last one) and I thought Catherine Zeta Jones' rendition of 'Send in the Clowns' from A Little Night Music was incredibly beautiful.
My education in all things Musical Theater, which began early last year, has continued steadily ever since.While I still have a lot to learn and to experience, I have familiarized myself with most things Sondheim. I really love the original cast album of A Little Night Music and I've been wanting to check out the revival's cast album, with Zeta Jones and the incomparable Angela Lansbury, and tonight just gave me even more reason to do so.
I was just reading yesterday that Bernadette Peters and Elaine Stritch are taking over for Zeta Jones and Lansbury in the show this summer and I'd love to be able to hear their version, too! I haven't really experienced any of Bernadette's work yet, but Company is one of my favorite cast albums thus far and Elaine's 'The Ladies Who Lunch' is my favorite song from that show.
But back to tonight. The performances from Ragtime and Fela were the only two that I just couldn't get that into. That's not to say I thought they were bad, of course. I just didn't really connect with either of them.
What I did connect with were the special performances by Matthew Morrison and Lea Michele. I was a bit disappointed in one sense, I admit: I thought they'd be singing together, when in actuality they gave back to back solo performances.
That's a minor quibble, though, because they were both incredible. Matthew did 'All I Need is the Girl' from Gypsy and not only did he sound amazing, but he was as hot as I've ever seen him, and that's really saying something!
I felt a tiny bit let down when the music for Lea's number began and it was 'Don't Rain on My Parade'. I absolutely loved her rendition of the song on Glee, but my first thought tonight was that she should have sung something we all hadn't heard her do so recently.
That went right out the window, though, when she started singing. Hearing her do the song live, with so much more intensity than she brought to it as her character on Glee, was a totally different experience. She was phenomenal, there is no other word to describe it. What a voice, what a star!
I also loved when she sat on Jonathan Groff's armrest on the way up the aisle! The two of them, best friends in real life, are so adorable together! I was hoping that Jonathan, whom I kept catching glimpses of in the audience, would at least get to present an award, but no such luck.
By the way, Jonathan (whom if you hadn't already guessed is someone I've been crushing on in a major way since his time on Glee) is going to be starring in the revival of the play Deathtrap in London starting in August. It's bad enough that I'm forever longing to go to New York to see all of these shows, but now I'm wishing I could afford a trip to London, too!
Speaking of plays, I really want to see Next Fall! The little bit we got to see from it in the play montage looked pretty good, but it was the banter of the stars, Patrick Heusinger and Patrick Breen, as they described their nominated show that really caught my attention. Honestly, though, I thought all of the plays sounded very good.
I know the award show is already long, of course, but I do wish we could see more from the nominated plays, too. I guess seeing a full scene acted out from each one would be too much to ask for, but it really feels like they get the short end of the stick.
Last year, I really enjoyed Neil Patrick Harris' closing number at the end of the show, so I was hoping for something similar tonight. Instead, they had the cast of Memphis, who'd just won Best Musical, perform again. It just felt like it was all thrown together at the last minute and not really a great way to end the night. Maybe Neil Patrick Harris was just so good last year that he ruined all future Tony Awards for me?
All in all, though, I loved getting my annual taste of Broadway.
Wednesday, May 05, 2010
Tony Nominations and a Bit of Homophobia
The nominees for the 64th Annual Tony Awards were announced yesterday. Over the past few years, I've really come to love watching this particular award show and getting a taste of what's going on in the theater world. Seeing songs performed from the musicals and scenes acted out from the plays during the Tonys is as close as I've managed to come to Broadway.
It can be a bit hard to get all that excited about the nominees in advance when you haven't seen any of the shows, of course, but there are usually one or two people on the list that I'm already a fan of.
I was hoping to see Kristin Chenoweth's name among the nominees this year, but it was not to be. Her co-stars Sean Hayes and Katie Finneran were both nominated, but she was not. The reviews of Promises, Promises haven't been all that great, sadly, but I was still keeping my fingers crossed for her. I have to admit that when I first heard she was doing the show I got the cast album for the original production and it honestly seemed like an odd fit for her. The original seemed to be Jerry Orbach's show, first and foremost.
Speaking of those bad reviews, one I should mention is the rather homophobic review by Newsweek's Ramin Setoodeh, who just couldn't get past the fact that an openly gay man was playing a straight role. In fact, he incorporated the review into a larger piece posing the question: "Heterosexual actors play gay all the time. Why doesn't it work in reverse?" Are you kidding me?! It's been working in reverse for centuries, pal.
Here's what he said about Sean Hayes:
It can be a bit hard to get all that excited about the nominees in advance when you haven't seen any of the shows, of course, but there are usually one or two people on the list that I'm already a fan of.
I was hoping to see Kristin Chenoweth's name among the nominees this year, but it was not to be. Her co-stars Sean Hayes and Katie Finneran were both nominated, but she was not. The reviews of Promises, Promises haven't been all that great, sadly, but I was still keeping my fingers crossed for her. I have to admit that when I first heard she was doing the show I got the cast album for the original production and it honestly seemed like an odd fit for her. The original seemed to be Jerry Orbach's show, first and foremost.
Speaking of those bad reviews, one I should mention is the rather homophobic review by Newsweek's Ramin Setoodeh, who just couldn't get past the fact that an openly gay man was playing a straight role. In fact, he incorporated the review into a larger piece posing the question: "Heterosexual actors play gay all the time. Why doesn't it work in reverse?" Are you kidding me?! It's been working in reverse for centuries, pal.
Here's what he said about Sean Hayes:
'The reviews for the Broadway revival of Promises, Promises were negative enough, even though most of the critics ignored the real problem—the big pink elephant in the room. The leading man of this musical-romantic comedy is supposed to be a single advertising peon named Chuck who is madly in love with a co-worker (Kristin Chenoweth). When the play opened on Broadway in 1968, Jerry Orbach, an actor with enough macho swagger to later fuel years and years of Law and Order, was the star. The revival hands the lead over to Sean Hayes, best known as the queeny Jack on Will & Grace. Hayes is among Hollywood's best verbal slapstickers, but his sexual orientation is part of who he is, and also part of his charm. (The fact that he only came out of the closet just before Promises was another one of those Ricky Martin-duh moments.) But frankly, it's weird seeing Hayes play straight. He comes off as wooden and insincere, like he's trying to hide something, which of course he is. Even the play's most hilarious scene, when Chuck tries to pick up a drunk woman at a bar, devolves into unintentional camp. Is it funny because of all the '60s-era one-liners, or because the woman is so drunk (and clueless) that she agrees to go home with a guy we all know is gay?'
Setoodah also goes on to critique Jonathan Groff's performance on Glee in much the same fashion. I think the real problem lies with Setoodah and those like him who just can't seem to focus on anything else beyond an out performer's real life sexuality.
It's called acting, people. Would they get hung up on the fact that a married actor was playing a single ladies man, for instance? No. They wouldn't let the his personal life affect the believability of the performance in the least. But if an actor is openly gay and playing straight, it's all these guys can think about!
With Setoodah freely admitting that straight actors can successfully play gay, the issue seems to come down with his own perceptions of masculinity and what it means to be straight. In other words, manly heteros can play act at being gay just fine, but queers can't possibly fool anyone into thinking they're 'real' men. Give me a break!
At any rate, here are this year's Tony nominations for performances:
It's called acting, people. Would they get hung up on the fact that a married actor was playing a single ladies man, for instance? No. They wouldn't let the his personal life affect the believability of the performance in the least. But if an actor is openly gay and playing straight, it's all these guys can think about!
With Setoodah freely admitting that straight actors can successfully play gay, the issue seems to come down with his own perceptions of masculinity and what it means to be straight. In other words, manly heteros can play act at being gay just fine, but queers can't possibly fool anyone into thinking they're 'real' men. Give me a break!
At any rate, here are this year's Tony nominations for performances:
Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play
Jude Law, Hamlet
Alfred Molina, Red
Liev Schreiber, A View from the Bridge
Christopher Walken, A Behanding in Spokane
Denzel Washington, Fences
Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play
Viola Davis, Fences
Valerie Harper, Looped
Linda Lavin, Collected Stories
Laura Linney, Time Stands Still
Jan Maxwell, The Royal Family
Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical
Kelsey Grammer, La Cage aux Folles
Sean Hayes, Promises, Promises
Douglas Hodge, La Cage aux Folles
Chad Kimball, Memphis
Sahr Ngaujah, Fela!
Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical
Kate Baldwin, Finian's Rainbow
Montego Glover, Memphis
Christiane Noll, Ragtime
Sherie Rene Scott, Everyday Rapture
Catherine Zeta-Jones, A Little Night Music
Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play
David Alan Grier, Race
Stephen McKinley Henderson, Fences
Jon Michael Hill, Superior Donuts
Stephen Kunken, Enron
Eddie Redmayne, Red
Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play
Maria Dizzia, In the Next Room or the Vibrator Play
Rosemary Harris, The Royal Family
Jessica Hecht, A View from the Bridge
Scarlett Johansson, A View from the Bridge
Jan Maxwell, Lend Me a Tenor
Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical
Kevin Chamberlin, The Addams Family
Robin De Jesús, La Cage aux Folles
Christopher Fitzgerald, Finian's Rainbow
Levi Kreis, Million Dollar Quartet
Bobby Steggert, Ragtime
Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical
Barbara Cook, Sondheim on Sondheim
Katie Finneran, Promises, Promises
Angela Lansbury, A Little Night Music
Karine Plantadit, Come Fly Away
Lillias White, Fela!
Jude Law, Hamlet
Alfred Molina, Red
Liev Schreiber, A View from the Bridge
Christopher Walken, A Behanding in Spokane
Denzel Washington, Fences
Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play
Viola Davis, Fences
Valerie Harper, Looped
Linda Lavin, Collected Stories
Laura Linney, Time Stands Still
Jan Maxwell, The Royal Family
Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical
Kelsey Grammer, La Cage aux Folles
Sean Hayes, Promises, Promises
Douglas Hodge, La Cage aux Folles
Chad Kimball, Memphis
Sahr Ngaujah, Fela!
Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical
Kate Baldwin, Finian's Rainbow
Montego Glover, Memphis
Christiane Noll, Ragtime
Sherie Rene Scott, Everyday Rapture
Catherine Zeta-Jones, A Little Night Music
Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play
David Alan Grier, Race
Stephen McKinley Henderson, Fences
Jon Michael Hill, Superior Donuts
Stephen Kunken, Enron
Eddie Redmayne, Red
Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play
Maria Dizzia, In the Next Room or the Vibrator Play
Rosemary Harris, The Royal Family
Jessica Hecht, A View from the Bridge
Scarlett Johansson, A View from the Bridge
Jan Maxwell, Lend Me a Tenor
Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical
Kevin Chamberlin, The Addams Family
Robin De Jesús, La Cage aux Folles
Christopher Fitzgerald, Finian's Rainbow
Levi Kreis, Million Dollar Quartet
Bobby Steggert, Ragtime
Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical
Barbara Cook, Sondheim on Sondheim
Katie Finneran, Promises, Promises
Angela Lansbury, A Little Night Music
Karine Plantadit, Come Fly Away
Lillias White, Fela!
I love Laura Linney and Angela Lansbury (who won a Tony last year), and of course Jude Law is always incredibly sexy, so I'm glad to see their names on the list.
Here are the show nominations:
Here are the show nominations:
Best Play
In the Next Room or the Vibrator Play
Next Fall
Red
Time Stands Still
Best Musical
American Idiot
Fela!
Memphis
Million Dollar Quartet
Best Revival of a Play
Fences
Lend Me a Tenor
The Royal Family
A View from the Bridge
Best Revival of a Musical
Finian's Rainbow
La Cage aux Folles
A Little Night Music
Ragtime
Of all of these, I think La Cage aux Folles and American Idiot intrigue me the most. I've seen the original French film of La Cage aux Folles (I won't even mention seeing The Birdcage!), but never the musical. I'm not a big Kelsey Grammer fan, though.
As for American Idiot, a musical based on my favorite Green Day album just sounds like the definition of awesome!
In the Next Room or the Vibrator Play
Next Fall
Red
Time Stands Still
Best Musical
American Idiot
Fela!
Memphis
Million Dollar Quartet
Best Revival of a Play
Fences
Lend Me a Tenor
The Royal Family
A View from the Bridge
Best Revival of a Musical
Finian's Rainbow
La Cage aux Folles
A Little Night Music
Ragtime
Of all of these, I think La Cage aux Folles and American Idiot intrigue me the most. I've seen the original French film of La Cage aux Folles (I won't even mention seeing The Birdcage!), but never the musical. I'm not a big Kelsey Grammer fan, though.
As for American Idiot, a musical based on my favorite Green Day album just sounds like the definition of awesome!
Sunday, June 07, 2009
Thoughts on the Tonys
I just finished watching the Tony Awards and thought I'd share some quick thoughts before heading to bed.
I liked the opening number, a medley of several songs from various shows, and I completely loved Neil Patrick Harris' closing number! It was very funny and what was most impressive is that they had to have come up with all of the lyrics during the show itself.
Seriously, I think Neil must be the world's most perfect man. He's funny, he sings beautifully, he's incredibly talented as an actor, and he's so handsome. He was a great host and when it was all winding down I was only sorry he hadn't done a musical number- and then he did!
As for all the songs performed from the nominated shows, I have to say that I enjoyed the performance from Hair the most. Where has Gavin Creel been all my life?! Okay, I'd heard of him, I knew he was openly gay and I'd seen his picture and thought him attractive, but having finally seen him perform- wow. I think I love him!
I also have to reiterate my love for Anne Hathaway! I loved her reaction when Gavin Creel was dancing with/at her during the number. With her amazing performance in Rachel Getting Married, her song at the Oscars, and now this, I really just adore her.
The performances from Guys and Dolls, Rock of Ages, and Billy Elliot were all enjoyable. I didn't find myself particularly impressed by the West Side Story performance or the number from Shrek, though, I have to say.
Alice Ripley completely blew me away with her performance from Next to Normal. She was so amazing. I really would like to see to her live. I was very glad when she ended up winning her Tony tonight, as much as I love both Stockard Channing and Allison Janney and was sorry to see them lose.
I was disappointed that Jane Fonda's name wasn't called for Leading Actress in a play. The little clip they showed (I wish there had been time to see more from the nominated plays than just a few seconds!) of her onstage made me long to have seen the play. I caught her on Letterman a week or two ago, though, and she said there is a chance she may tour with 33 Variations at some point, so maybe I'll be able to see it then.
I was also really glad to see Angela Lansbury win her first Tony in 30 years and her fifth overall. She's pretty much amazing.
One thing that kept driving me crazy was that they'd show this really good looking guy sitting in the audience. He was sitting next to nominee Jennifer Damiano and was clearly her date for the night. I knew I'd seen him in something very recently and it was driving me mad trying to place him.
It finally hit me, though: Beefy Guy from Nick & Nora's Infinite Playlist! I'd just watched that again last weekend, too. He's probably better known as actor Jonathan B. Wright, who was in Spring Awakening a few years ago. I would love to hear him sing.
All right, I have to be up early tomorrow, so I'm off to bed, hopefully to dream of Gavin or Neil Patrick, or, if I'm really lucky, both.
I liked the opening number, a medley of several songs from various shows, and I completely loved Neil Patrick Harris' closing number! It was very funny and what was most impressive is that they had to have come up with all of the lyrics during the show itself.
Seriously, I think Neil must be the world's most perfect man. He's funny, he sings beautifully, he's incredibly talented as an actor, and he's so handsome. He was a great host and when it was all winding down I was only sorry he hadn't done a musical number- and then he did!
As for all the songs performed from the nominated shows, I have to say that I enjoyed the performance from Hair the most. Where has Gavin Creel been all my life?! Okay, I'd heard of him, I knew he was openly gay and I'd seen his picture and thought him attractive, but having finally seen him perform- wow. I think I love him!
I also have to reiterate my love for Anne Hathaway! I loved her reaction when Gavin Creel was dancing with/at her during the number. With her amazing performance in Rachel Getting Married, her song at the Oscars, and now this, I really just adore her.
The performances from Guys and Dolls, Rock of Ages, and Billy Elliot were all enjoyable. I didn't find myself particularly impressed by the West Side Story performance or the number from Shrek, though, I have to say.
Alice Ripley completely blew me away with her performance from Next to Normal. She was so amazing. I really would like to see to her live. I was very glad when she ended up winning her Tony tonight, as much as I love both Stockard Channing and Allison Janney and was sorry to see them lose.
I was disappointed that Jane Fonda's name wasn't called for Leading Actress in a play. The little clip they showed (I wish there had been time to see more from the nominated plays than just a few seconds!) of her onstage made me long to have seen the play. I caught her on Letterman a week or two ago, though, and she said there is a chance she may tour with 33 Variations at some point, so maybe I'll be able to see it then.
I was also really glad to see Angela Lansbury win her first Tony in 30 years and her fifth overall. She's pretty much amazing.
One thing that kept driving me crazy was that they'd show this really good looking guy sitting in the audience. He was sitting next to nominee Jennifer Damiano and was clearly her date for the night. I knew I'd seen him in something very recently and it was driving me mad trying to place him.
It finally hit me, though: Beefy Guy from Nick & Nora's Infinite Playlist! I'd just watched that again last weekend, too. He's probably better known as actor Jonathan B. Wright, who was in Spring Awakening a few years ago. I would love to hear him sing.
All right, I have to be up early tomorrow, so I'm off to bed, hopefully to dream of Gavin or Neil Patrick, or, if I'm really lucky, both.
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
Tony Nominations
Until a few years ago, the Tonys were the one major televised award show that I paid no attention to, probably because it felt like there was no way to really root for any of the nominees when I hadn't seen the work. As my love of musicals has slowly been developing over the past couple of years, though, I've started tuning in and this year I'm especially looking forward to doing so because several of my favorite people are nominated.
Jane Fonda received a nomination for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play, while Allison Janney and Stockard Channing are nominated against each other for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical. Angela Lansbury is nominated for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play and Dolly Parton is nominated for Best Original Score for writing the music to the musical 9 to 5. Those are five women I really admire, so I'm excited for them all.
Here's the list of the major nominations:
BEST PLAY:
"Dividing the Estate"
"God of Carnage"
"reasons to be pretty"
"33 Variations"
BEST MUSICAL:
"Billy Elliot, The Musical"
"Next to Normal"
"Rock of Ages"
"Shrek The Musical"
BEST BOOK OF A MUSICAL:
"Billy Elliot, The Musical"
"Next to Normal"
"Shrek The Musical"
"(Title of Show)"
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE (MUSIC AND/OR LYRICS) WRITTEN FOR THE THEATRE:
"Billy Elliot, The Musical"
"Next to Normal"
"9 to 5: The Musical"
"Shrek The Musical"
BEST REVIVAL OF A PLAY:
"Joe Turner's Come and Gone"
"Mary Stuart"
"The Norman Conquests"
"Waiting for Godot"
BEST REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL:
"Guys and Dolls"
"Hair"
"Pal Joey"
"West Side Story"
BEST SPECIAL THEATRICAL EVENT:
"Liza's at The Palace"
"Slava's Snowshow"
"Soul of Shaolin"
"You're Welcome America. A Final Night With George W. Bush"
BEST PERFORMANCE BY A LEADING ACTOR IN A PLAY:
Jeff Daniels,"God of Carnage"
Raul Esparza, "Speed-the-Plow"
James Gandolfini, "God of Carnage"
Geoffrey Rush, "Exit the King"
Thomas Sadoski, "Reasons to Be Pretty"
BEST PERFORMANCE BY A LEADING ACTRESS IN A PLAY:
Hope Davis, "God of Carnage"
Jane Fonda, "33 Variations"
Marcia Gay Harden, "God of Carnage"
Janet McTeer, "Mary Stuart"
Harriet Walter, "Mary Stuart"
BEST PERFORMANCE BY A LEADING ACTOR IN A MUSICAL:
David Alvarez, Trent Kowalik, and Kiril Kulish, "Billy Elliot, The Musical"
Gavin Creel, "Hair"
Brian d'Arcy James, "Shrek The Musical"
Constantine Maroulis, "Rock of Ages"
J. Robert Spencer, "Next to Normal"
BEST PERFORMANCE BY A LEADING ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL:
Stockard Channing, "Pal Joey"
Sutton Foster, "Shrek The Musical";
Allison Janney, "9 to 5: The Musical"
Alice Ripley, "Next to Normal"
Josefina Scaglione, "West Side Story"
BEST PERFORMANCE BY A FEATURED ACTOR IN A PLAY:
John Glover, "Waiting for Godot"
Zach Grenier, "33 Variations"
Stephen Mangan, "The Norman Conquests"
Paul Ritter, "The Norman Conquests"
Roger Robinson, "Joe Turner's Come and Gone"
BEST PERFORMANCE BY A FEATURED ACTRESS IN A PLAY:
Hallie Foote, "Dividing the Estate"
Jessica Hynes, "The Norman Conquests"
Marin Ireland, "reasons to be pretty"
Angela Lansbury, "Blithe Spirit"
Amanda Root, "The Norman Conquests"
BEST PERFORMANCE BY A FEATURED ACTOR IN A MUSICAL:
David Bologna, "Billy Elliot, The Musical"
Gregory Jbara, "Billy Elliot, The Musical"
Marc Kudisch, "9 to 5: The Musical"
Christopher Sieber, "Shrek The Musical"
Will Swenson, "Hair"
BEST PERFORMANCE BY A FEATURED ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL:
Jennifer Damiano, "Next to Normal"
Haydn Gwynne, "Billy Elliot, The Musical"
Karen Olivo, "West Side Story"
Martha Plimpton, "Pal Joey"
Carole Shelley, "Billy Elliot, The Musical"
Jane Fonda received a nomination for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play, while Allison Janney and Stockard Channing are nominated against each other for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical. Angela Lansbury is nominated for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play and Dolly Parton is nominated for Best Original Score for writing the music to the musical 9 to 5. Those are five women I really admire, so I'm excited for them all.
Here's the list of the major nominations:
BEST PLAY:
"Dividing the Estate"
"God of Carnage"
"reasons to be pretty"
"33 Variations"
BEST MUSICAL:
"Billy Elliot, The Musical"
"Next to Normal"
"Rock of Ages"
"Shrek The Musical"
BEST BOOK OF A MUSICAL:
"Billy Elliot, The Musical"
"Next to Normal"
"Shrek The Musical"
"(Title of Show)"
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE (MUSIC AND/OR LYRICS) WRITTEN FOR THE THEATRE:
"Billy Elliot, The Musical"
"Next to Normal"
"9 to 5: The Musical"
"Shrek The Musical"
BEST REVIVAL OF A PLAY:
"Joe Turner's Come and Gone"
"Mary Stuart"
"The Norman Conquests"
"Waiting for Godot"
BEST REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL:
"Guys and Dolls"
"Hair"
"Pal Joey"
"West Side Story"
BEST SPECIAL THEATRICAL EVENT:
"Liza's at The Palace"
"Slava's Snowshow"
"Soul of Shaolin"
"You're Welcome America. A Final Night With George W. Bush"
BEST PERFORMANCE BY A LEADING ACTOR IN A PLAY:
Jeff Daniels,"God of Carnage"
Raul Esparza, "Speed-the-Plow"
James Gandolfini, "God of Carnage"
Geoffrey Rush, "Exit the King"
Thomas Sadoski, "Reasons to Be Pretty"
BEST PERFORMANCE BY A LEADING ACTRESS IN A PLAY:
Hope Davis, "God of Carnage"
Jane Fonda, "33 Variations"
Marcia Gay Harden, "God of Carnage"
Janet McTeer, "Mary Stuart"
Harriet Walter, "Mary Stuart"
BEST PERFORMANCE BY A LEADING ACTOR IN A MUSICAL:
David Alvarez, Trent Kowalik, and Kiril Kulish, "Billy Elliot, The Musical"
Gavin Creel, "Hair"
Brian d'Arcy James, "Shrek The Musical"
Constantine Maroulis, "Rock of Ages"
J. Robert Spencer, "Next to Normal"
BEST PERFORMANCE BY A LEADING ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL:
Stockard Channing, "Pal Joey"
Sutton Foster, "Shrek The Musical";
Allison Janney, "9 to 5: The Musical"
Alice Ripley, "Next to Normal"
Josefina Scaglione, "West Side Story"
BEST PERFORMANCE BY A FEATURED ACTOR IN A PLAY:
John Glover, "Waiting for Godot"
Zach Grenier, "33 Variations"
Stephen Mangan, "The Norman Conquests"
Paul Ritter, "The Norman Conquests"
Roger Robinson, "Joe Turner's Come and Gone"
BEST PERFORMANCE BY A FEATURED ACTRESS IN A PLAY:
Hallie Foote, "Dividing the Estate"
Jessica Hynes, "The Norman Conquests"
Marin Ireland, "reasons to be pretty"
Angela Lansbury, "Blithe Spirit"
Amanda Root, "The Norman Conquests"
BEST PERFORMANCE BY A FEATURED ACTOR IN A MUSICAL:
David Bologna, "Billy Elliot, The Musical"
Gregory Jbara, "Billy Elliot, The Musical"
Marc Kudisch, "9 to 5: The Musical"
Christopher Sieber, "Shrek The Musical"
Will Swenson, "Hair"
BEST PERFORMANCE BY A FEATURED ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL:
Jennifer Damiano, "Next to Normal"
Haydn Gwynne, "Billy Elliot, The Musical"
Karen Olivo, "West Side Story"
Martha Plimpton, "Pal Joey"
Carole Shelley, "Billy Elliot, The Musical"
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