Sunday, June 12, 2011
MAYBE PEOPLE IN UTAH WILL WATCH THIS YEAR: Here's a comment thread for those watching the 65th Annual Tony Awards tonight on CBS. How many Tonys will Book of Mormon win? Will anyone have to be bleeped? (If so, who? Short odds on Trey Parker and Matt Stone.) Who's winning the necrology? (Arthur Laurents is the big name, but was less than beloved by all.) Will Ned Stark keep his head? (Oh, wait--that's over on another network.)
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Stupendous opening number. Oh, Brooke.
ReplyDeleteUm, guys...the Beacon Theater is not a Broadway theater. Just saying. (It's 4 blocks away from me, though!)
ReplyDeleteAww, the Beacon. Saw Tom Waits there years ago.
ReplyDeleteNPH really almost made that opening number work.<span> </span>
ReplyDeleteThe Beacon is a theatre on Broadway, but not a Broadway theatre. It's bigger than any house on Broadway, though.
ReplyDeleteRadcliffe can dance. That's surprising and heartening!
ReplyDeleteGoing between this and the game. Go Mavs!
ReplyDeleteHarry Potter is short.
The Beacon is a lot smaller than Radio City- isn't that where they usually have it?
You can tell how much smaller the Beacon's stage is than the average Broadway theatre's space--hence the reduced number of dancers.
ReplyDeleteRadcliffe holds his own with the dancing! And I imagine every other comment I make tonight could be this, so I will just say it once: NPH is one of my favorite entertainers out there today. He is so amazing.
ReplyDeleteIt would go against the whole spirit of Broadway, but watching I can't help but wonder...any lip-synching going on?
ReplyDeleteI will never understand the camerawork - you don't have a close up when you are at the theater, so why do it on tv????
ReplyDeleteYeah - Radio City had something booked.
ReplyDeleteA very pleasant surprise!
ReplyDeleteI'd heard he'd really put in the work in learning to dance. But that was impressive--he wasn't messing around.
ReplyDeleteExcept I'm not sure the How To Succeed number helped fulfill the promise of the opening number.
ReplyDeleteUnclear if "Mother(mumbling) With The Hat" is official Tony shorthand for that show. Also, interesting to see if Normal Heart sweeps on the level Mormon seems poised to.
ReplyDeleteWasn't it Cirque de Soleil?
ReplyDeleteEvery year I make a joke about being the only heterosexual male in America flipping between the Tonys and the NBA Finals.
ReplyDeleteMy wife was a dancer at one point and she was impressed.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy Leguizamo, but this is strange...
ReplyDeleteI wonder why "MotherF'er" couldn't work. Because the Mother with the Hat just sounds silly.
ReplyDeleteIt is, but it's a good strange.
ReplyDeleteWait, there seriously is a Catch Me If You Can musical? Will we be getting Terminal and 1945 musicals to complete a middling Spielberg movie adaptation trifecta?
ReplyDeleteThis "Catch Me If You Can" number is not making me want to see this show. And I am definitely the target audience.
ReplyDeleteCan'e wait for Sugarland Express:The Musical.
ReplyDeleteDid anyone watching the game see the Coors commercial with the law students??? Apologies to all lawyers here, but no law students are that attractive.
ReplyDeleteTook me a while to win me over, but I'm a sucker for a number where they dance and sing so long and hard that it's a wonder they're still upright by the end.
ReplyDeleteStill, there are a lot of shows above that one on the list this season; I'm not likely to see it.
There's nothing middling about Catch Me If You Can; it's light and enjoyable; the DiCaprio-Garner scene alone makes it worth seeing.
ReplyDeleteNow, Always: The Musical?
There is something wrong with me, but I really like Trey's outfit. It is at once fancy and just a little ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteWe already have that in Ghost, and we need to talk about the trailer for that:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/v/ech3JceLoCE" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="170" height="140
Oh no, I'm with you entirely. Plus, I love that he thanked South Park fans.
ReplyDeleteTalented people, but I wasn't quite feeling it with Scottsboro Boys.
ReplyDeleteFrom the NYTimes Tonys liveblog:
ReplyDelete<span>
<p>DI: Don Cheadle introduces a number from "The Scottsboro Boys," a show that closed in December. This show is just flying by. We're an hour in, and almost nothing has registered for me.
</p><p>CI: This is a very peppy number -- will they get through their allotted time without acknowledging that the show is not about a cheery bunch of boxcar-riding pals? Why yes they did.
DI: I just assumed it was about how everyone in America got along, regardless of race. If I'm wrong, don't correct me.</p></span>
I noticed on the TV commercial they say "Mother with the Hat" but the website is TheMFwiththeHat.com. Mixed messages.
ReplyDeleteHooray for Nikki James! Listening to the album this weekend, she was one voice I immediately looked up.
ReplyDeleteI know Book of Mormon is a front runner, but I have to admit this one surprises me. She is so excited though! I am a sucker for real tears and excitement in a speech!
ReplyDeleteHad to jump in to cheer for Andrew Rannells. And so glad they kept in the warlords.
ReplyDeleteI had to RT Glen Wheldon after that performance:
ReplyDelete@ghweldon: So if the Book o' Mormon question is: "Should I actually see the show if I've already downloaded the cast album?" YOU HAVE YOUR ANSWER.
This bit with Hugh Jackman is excellent.
ReplyDelete<span>I will watch this Jackman and NPH bit on youtube every day for the rest of the bar exam.</span>
ReplyDeleteWe need an NPH/Jackman road movie, stat.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't care a whit about Spiderman, but I have adored Jennifer Diamanti since Next to Normal. I hope she goes on to be a huge star.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to go read some Spider-Man for a while and pretend that song never happened. Seriously, one of the lyrics was:
ReplyDelete"THERE'S NO TIME FOR SORROW, IF THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS TIME"
I was prepared to be pleasantly surprised after all the derision, but no. That was terrible.
ReplyDeleteIs Robin Williams in a Yeti play?
ReplyDeleteMy wife worked with Casey Nicholaw at the Junior Theatre of San Diego when she was a kid, so he thanked her when he thanked "Everyone I've ever met in my life."
ReplyDeleteNo. He literally plays a tiger.
ReplyDeleteMy husband says 'Jumpin' Jack Flash would actually make a great musical.'
ReplyDeleteThis is starting to get a bit boring. Can we just get one more Mormon number?
ReplyDeleteMaybe because every other show (and I assume Anything Goes is still coming up) has done a big dancing production number, I was especially sad we didn't get to see Turn It Off, or something with more of the cast.
ReplyDeleteDid the War Horse upset help?
ReplyDeleteSutton Foster helps. Can we get her in a show with Hugh Jackman?
ReplyDeleteCan we get her in a revival of Kiss Me, Kate playing Bianca/Lois Lane?
ReplyDeleteHuh. OK.
ReplyDeleteSutton Foster makes anything worth watching. Little Women: The Musical was pretty damn awful, but her as Jo (especially her big number, "Astonishing") was pretty damn incredible.
ReplyDeleteAthol Fugard and Lookingglass get awards during a commercial in favor of this random clips package. That's bullshit.
ReplyDeleteI loved her in that. It was the first time I saw her live, and I reread Little Women about once a year. It was a flawed show to be sure, and I don't replay the cast album as often as other shows I have seen, but she was amazing in that. And "The Fire Within Me" made me cry a whole lot.
ReplyDeleteJon Cryer next to Patti Lupone is pretty surreal.
ReplyDeleteOK, that track is pretty damn great.
ReplyDeleteLoved it.
ReplyDeleteSome friends and I are driving an hour on Wednesday to see it, since we live in the sticks and none of our local theaters are playing it. Can't wait!
ReplyDeleteThat's not even the best number in the show (though it's the easiest to stage to feature the whole cast). That version also loses something with the smaller orchestra.
ReplyDeleteFrances McDorman wins. For the jacket, that is.
ReplyDeleteIs she still in costume? A jean jacket? Really?
ReplyDeleteThat's a supporting role, so unlikely to ever happen. She's very likely to play Kate next time the show is revived, though.
ReplyDelete"Ironically, that entire horse is held together by glue."
ReplyDeletePossibly the best line of the night. Perfect delivery. I love NPH.
She thoroughly earned that. Not a surprise win, but I am happy for it.
ReplyDeleteScottsboro Boys looks like it's going 0 for 12 (unless Gad and Rannels split), which has got to hurt.
ReplyDeleteWOW! I am shocked that he won. I saw him in Wicked and I like Butz a lot, but I didn't think he would win for this.
ReplyDeleteWhile I appreciated Book of Mormon, I think enjoyed Anything Goes more - amazing costumes, fun choreography, Sutton Foster. It was just a really enjoyable show.
ReplyDeleteThe two BOM folks probably split votes, and Butz is apparently a heck of a nice guy who knows how to work the voters. Scottsboro may not have been seen by many of the voters since it had such a short run, and the voters didn't think much of Priscilla aside from the costumes. Also, Butz got really good reviews in a show with mixed reviews. The Tony probably lets it run till the end of the year.
ReplyDeleteThat said, "Great Big Stuff" is a far better use of Norbert.
Chris Rock ending the show was a great idea. "Like taking a hooker to dinner" HA!
ReplyDeleteThere's already a Twitter account, @McDormandsJeanJacket
ReplyDeleteOk NPH was fabulous.
ReplyDeleteThanks for doing this. I know we don't have 100 people like Oscars or Spelling Bee (both of which I also enjoy) but I had fun with the 4 or 5 of us watching tonight!
Unless Lynch does an amazing job hosting the Emmys, he'd seem to be a lock for another Emmy in the hosting category.
ReplyDeleteAccording to the post-show credits, composed by FoW's Adam Schlesinger.
ReplyDeleteSad I missed it since I had to Tivo the awards to watch after dinner with the in-laws.
ReplyDeletePoker with Al Roker and our friend Lorenzo Lamas!
ReplyDeleteMe too! I love theater nerds.
ReplyDeleteYou were in good company this year! My husband fell in love with The Book of Mormon so he was flipping between the South Carolina-UConn baseball game & the Tonys! See...NPH is right! Heteros enjoy the theatre, too!
ReplyDeleteI was following the tweets and checked out most of the show, so thanks for doing this! I haven't made the effort to catch much theatre lately, but seeing what Broadway has to offer these days may have gotten me hooked.
ReplyDelete"Company" is being broadcast to cinemas this week with an encore in July (Cineplex in Canada), so I'm looking forward to that. The event broadcasts are the next best thing to being there: I saw the National Theater in London's production of "Frankenstein" with Jonny Lee Miller and Benedict Cumberbatch that way and it was a PHENOMENAL show!
Next step is to book a New York trip and see the real deal. We have a lot of theatre in Toronto, but nothing matches the sheer volume and variety of New York. Billy Elliott and The Lion King are playing now, with Memphis, Addams Family, and American Idiot in December and War Horse not playing until Feb 2012.
The opening number had lyrics by David Javerbaum (who wrote with Schlesinger the "Cry-Baby" score and the "Colbert Christmas" songs). Closing number was written by Lin-Manuel Miranda of "In The Heights."
ReplyDeletevia nytimes.com:
ReplyDeleteNeil Patrick Harris, the host of this year’s 65th annual Tony Awards, closed the ceremony with a rap composed by Lin-Manuel Miranda. In case you missed it, here is the transcript.
Tomorrow, if anyone asks you what happened at the Tonys, you can say this:
We straightened things out in the opening number, Ellen Barkin and John Benjamin Hickey took home awards for their hilarious performances in “The Normal Heart.”
Daniel Radcliffe kicked some butt, and we were so elated
Even Voldemort was sad he wasn’t nominated
Norbert Leo Butz sang and danced and tried to catch ya, comin’ atcha,
Chasing Trey and Casey ‘cause they nabbed a Tony statue
Commencing in the Chattanooga station
From the grand imagination of the Kander-Ebb collaboration
It takes a lot for a recipient to humble me
But everybody cried for gorgeous Nikki James, the bumblebee
Andrew Rannells sang “I Believe” and he landed it
So well now he’s Mitt Romney’s V.P. candidate
All across the country, from the north and to the south
They’re saying Brooke’s a hottie with a crazy potty mouth
John Larroquette brought an eloquent mood to the room
I’m still imagining him at home in his Fruit-of-the-Looms
Spider-Man and Mary-Jane gave us perspective here
They sang a ballad, we didn’t need protective gear
Patina Miller’s nun sang “Raise Your Voice” with cheer
And “Memphis” is relentless, they’re performing every year
“The Normal Heart” won, Larry Kramer made us weep
And “War Horse” dazzled us with a theatrical sweep
Sutton Foster never lost her knack
For talking smack
And tapping a full-on assault attack
I’m awesome, Hugh Jackman, take that
Go ahead and roll the credits if you need to
I’m out of control, I’m on a roll, this is my Tonys speed-through
“Anything Goes” took the best revival prize in stride
We didn’t see it, we were singing “Side By Side By Side.”
McDormand loves her job, Sutton Foster won again
Paul Shaffer sang and suddenly it started raining men
Mark Rylance runs at fences, he’s won the Tony twice
That guy can do it all, his follow-up is “Fanny Bryce.”
Norbert Butz and “Mormon” swept the floor,
Won even more awards than “War Horse”
Par for the course,
Someone get a car for the horse
And in the final analysis, what survives tonight?
Theater, because it’s what we live, we’re changing some lives tonight
And theater thrives because we live to give it, so to speak
This ain’t reality TV, this is eight shows a week
Every chorus member that you saw tonight tappin’
Had to make miracles happen
For a chance to see you clappin’
And applauding in the audience. What’s next? Who knows?
Anything goes. Now go see a ____________ Broadway show.
Thank you, good night.
But she would be a better Bianca than Kate! Maybe Kelli O'Hara as Kate and Sutton as Bianca. Give Bianca another number (heresy) and it could work.
ReplyDelete(Watched 10 Things I Hate About You with the kiddo this weekend, speaking of Kat(e) and Bianca. Had forgotten all the great people in that movie: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Allison Janney, etc.)
I also went into the Spider-Man number with an open mind. I had heard they were going to do "Rise Above" - a solo for Reeve Carney, backed up by Bono and The Edge. It was one of the few songs that got positive notices in the early reviews. Anyone know why they changed it?
ReplyDelete