The Tony Awards Thread

I realized we didn't have a thread for these, so I decided to create one, since there definitely is a lot to talk about. So, what did everyone think of the Tonys this year?

NPH was awesome and funny.

Daniel Radcliffe was okay.

Spider-man song sucked.

They should've done a group number for Mormon instead of "I believe."

I think "I Believe" was the best choice. It sums up the show very concisely. I didn't think the "Spider-Man" song really sucked, though I forgot it really quickly, but the lyrics were bad. I keep saying that those two don't understand how theatre lyrics work.

"The Scottsboro Boys" has me interested. That was some catchy music. Also, the one white guy in the cast is a baritone, so that piques my interest.

While Daniel Radcliffe is an okay actor, he definitely is... an okay singer and dancer (we can't entirely judge based on that one performance) who was in character. But for the future I do wish him a great career in stage acting where he discovered that this is the theatre world where you must play a character 8 nights a week. I think he might mature as an actor if he stays on the stage.

I believe (no pun intended) that it would have been nice to showcase the cast of the Book of Mormon which is an issue with other Tony Presentations in the past (Ragtime, A Little Nights Music). But "I Believe" was a near-perfect presentation. Andrew Rannells clearly is very resourceful in movement in his ballad and captures the character's glowing determination. It's a sweet ballad itself that gives a silly salute to Mormons.

The Spiderman duet... oh, that was boring. They are very talented singers working with terrible material. Spiderman jokes were expected. My favorite: Julie Taymor knew it was over when she woke up and found the head of War Horse on her hed. You want innovation that challenges theatre-goes, ditch spiderman and go see War Horse. The designs are very stylistic and still challenge the audience and the puppeteers into executing Suspension of Disbelief.

One memorable thought popped up in my head when Neil Patrick Harris annoucned that the horses of War Horses were made out of... glue. So I thought "Oooooo, horses were ironically literally and metaphorically harmed in the making."

While a split vote between Joshua Gad and Andrew Rannells may have explained Norbert Leo Butz won, I had no hostility. Norbert clearly pulled off an energizing performance. He was dancing through life. And I was there on June 14, the first performance after Norbert's win. I got to hear his speech (you can find the bootleg somewhere on Youtube which I did not record). To confirm how much he deserved it, I say that he did not win for dancing alone. He won because he was the agent who initially saw black and white and then warmed up to the redeeming value toward the criminal he was after.

The presentation of the Scottsboro Boys intigued me. It's a shame it closed down early. From what I'm seeing, I'm seeing a musical that incorporates a shock-factor to an advantage. The minstrel style exposes a sad truth and cynicism to what the Scottsboro Trial probably was to the racist population. I wished people who accused the musical of presenting full-blown racist sentiment actually familiarize themselves with the context and musical.

Congrats to all winners and nominees alike. But Trey Parker, Matt Stone, Joseph Smith are superior. Hah! Hah! Just kidding, congrats to all.

I toured to the National Theatre in London this summer (where War Horse premiered) and we got to see one of the puppets up close. Those are truly, truly amazing.

edited 2nd Jul '11 9:24:12 PM by cheeseypoofs

Ba-bump!

The nominees for best musical this year are:

Leap of Faith

Newsies

Once

Nice Work If You Can Get It

Favorites? I'm thinking Newsies.

I'm guessing either Newsies or Leap of Faith; personally I prefer Newsies though I think they're both great. I'm not a fan of Once and I haven't been able to see or listen to Nice Work If You Can Get It.

I'm hoping Once pulls some kind of surprise, but I think it'll be Newsies. Ouch that two of the nominations for Original Score are for plays- NWIYCGI is ineligible for jukebox status, and Once for being proportionately mostly songs from the movie (Newsies has enough new stuff to score a nom).

I think the most interesting race this season is Best Actor in a Play- four powerhouse American veterans and James Cordon for One Man Two Guvnors. It'll come down to Cordon vs Hoffman and I don't know which way it will go.

Figure this needs a bump, since these were on last night, with NPH hosting once again and the most elaborate opening number yet.