Mister Tee wrote:Eddie Izzard was overwhelmingly the funniest presenter. If he could just get a bit more famous, he'd be perfectly to host some major awards show.
I agree. My Tony-watching group happened to be comprised entirely of people who have worked with Eddie, and we were all in stitches.
He would make a terrific awards show host. Perhaps a couple more seasons on The Riches and roles in popular films like Ocean's 13 will give him enough exposure to land one of those gigs.
Magilla, I had the same "why are they calling it that?" reaction every time someone say "One-Ten in the Shade". (I guess you and I are among the few to even remember the original production; it was one of the first cast albums I bought for a new show)
Before the Tonys slip from memory, my thoughts:
Spring Awakening managed to totally dominate despite being an art-sical -- but then, since the runner-up was an equally esoteric Grey Gardens, the touring company folk didn't have anywhere to go, other than the implausible Mary Poppins. I can't say the show (Awakening) looked very good to me. I saw that girls' number on the Drama Desk as well, and my reaction is, That's what you think sells the show best? I understand the reviews were excellent, but given prices these days, I think I'll be passing. (Especially since my wife has said No way)
I'm apparently alone in liking the Grey Gardens number; it at least had character and nuance, though granted it wasn't a world-beater.
Step in Time actually looked substantially less interesting than the number in the Disney movie.
I did have one good instinct -- that Hyde-Pierece could win -- though that was easily counter-balanced by my faulty instincts about Utopia missing best play and Legally Blonde swiping choreography.
Esparza has a good voice, but I thought his physical performance was full of tics -- I'll stagger a bit here; I'll look down at the ground here -- that didn't seem to come from anything organic. It was like watching David Caruso emote. The effect may, of course, be different from 15 rows away than with the camera close up.
I liked many of the acceptance speeches -- Ebersole, Langella, Hyde-Pierce, White -- but thought Michael Mayer came off as a pompous ass.
Eddie Izzard was overwhelmingly the funniest presenter. If he could just get a bit more famous, he'd be perfectly to host some major awards show.
The award he presented, special event, was probably the one most affected by the touring company vote -- the in-theatre applause for Kiki and Herb was substantially stronger, but I'm sure alot of those voters didn't want a thing to do with a drag show, and went with the ventroliquist instead. (Kiki and Herb would be the one thing nominated this year that I've actually seen -- not the Broadway production, but more or less the same show at the Cherry Lane a few years back)
And let me say for about the fifth time: it's a disgrace the designers are bumped to off-air, just so we can have space for retread numbers from Jersey Boys and Color Purple.
I have a bone to pick with the producers of 110 in the Shade. The original title of the 1963 show was One Hundred Ten in the Shade, shortened to 110 in the Shade presumably to fit better on the marquee. The numbers are read as A Hundred Ten in the opening number and I've always heard the title pronounced as A Hundred and Ten, although One Hundred Ten is probably gramatically better.
When did One Hundred Ten become One Ten? Do people in the Southwest now say "it's going to be one ten in the shade" instead of "it's going to be a hundred ten (or a hundred and ten) in the shade"? None that I've ever met and I spent a lot of time in Arizona where it gets to a lot hotter than that.
What's next, Elizabeth One instead of Elizabeth the First as the preferred pronounciation of Elizabeth I?
In any event, I still love the show. Glorious voiced Audra McDonald is even more enchanting than Inga Swenson in the original, and that's saying quite a lot.
Having given the bulk of my 2006 musical awards to Grey Gardens (Best Musical, Actress, Featured Actress, Score and Song - Another Winter in a Summer Town) when it played off-Broadway, the bulk of my 2007 awards go to Spring Awakening by default.
Runners-up to Spring Awakening as Best Musical are Curtains and Mary Poppins, none of which I'm too crazy about. At least Spring Awakening has drive and force as it builds to its climax.
I didn't decide my Best Actor award until last night. It's Raul Esparza in the revivial of Company, again by default over Michael Cerveris in LoveMusik and David Hyde Pierce in Curtains. Cerveris won my 2006 award for the revial of Sweeney Todd. Hyde Pierce is jsut too lightweight in Curtains.
My Best Actress award goes to Audra Mcdonald in the revival of 110 in the Shade, the one unequivocal choice I've had to make this year. Runners-up are Donna Murphy in LoveMusik and Ashley Brown in Mary Poppins. This is McDonald's thrid award from me, having previously won in the featured category for Carousel (1994) and Ragtime (1998).
My Best Featured Actor award goes to Gavin Lee in Mary Poppins for his pure energy. Classified by the Tony Committe as lead, his is a borderline performance that could fall easily into either category. Runners-up are John Gallagher, Jr. in Spring Awakening and David Pittu in LoveMusik.
My Best Featured Actress award goes to Donna Monk in Curtains, another borderline performance classified as lead by the Tony Committee. Runners-up are Rebecca Luker for Mary Poppins and Charlotte d'Amboise for the revival of A Chorus Line. Luker won my award in this category for the revival of The Music Man in 2000. Her huband, Danny Burstein, won my award for featured actor in last year's The Drowsy Chaperone.
Spring Awakening easily wins my Best Score award for its freshness over Curtains and Legally Blonde. It also wins for best song, the stirring Those You've Known, over that There's No Business Like Show Business wannabe (Show People) from Curtains and Cherry Tree Lane, a song written for the stage version of Mary Poppins that fits nicely into the forty-three year-old score.
dws1982 wrote:I thought the Grey Gardens song was kind of underwhelming. I hope that's not indicative of the show as a whole. I know Damien is a huge fan, so I trust that there's something more to it.
The number works very well within the context of the showl, but doesn't stand particularly well on its own. The overall feel of this show is elegaic, and its overwhelming sense of clear-eyed melancholia would have been well-served by the achingly beautiful "Another Winter In A Summer Town."
Spring Awakening is a perfectly okay but ludicrously over-praised musical, which reminds me of Splendor In The Grass in terms of self-conscious "artiness" looking at the very minor issue of teenage hormones. A few good numbers and Bill T. Jones's extraordinary choreography notwithstanding, this is not a musical for the ages, and -- unlike Grey Gardens -- is destined for a short shelf-life.
"Y'know, that's one of the things I like about Mitt Romney. He's been consistent since he changed his mind." -- Christine O'Donnell
Well, the ceremony proved how much I know. My one prediction based on what I'd seen -- that David Hyde Pierce would NOT win -- obviously turned out wrong. The other winners seemed to go as expected, based on what I'd read. I tend to watch the Tonys the way many people watch the Oscars: I hope for an entertaining show and enjoy seeing artists I like, but have little opinion about the plays and musicals actually in competition.
The musical numbers -- typically my favorite part of the telecast -- were, on the whole, very lackluster. Spring Awakening is the rare critically certified Tony-winning Best Musical, but based on that one number it looks like something I wouldn't care to see at all. Wasn't particularly fond of the Grey Gardens number either, and Mary Poppins looked positively bizarre. I'm glad I saw Curtains before the telecast; tonight's performance of "Show People" wouldn't have had me rushing out to get tickets.
On the revival front, I found the 110 in the Shade number to be one of the night's highlights. (It helps that Audra McDonald is as talented a performer as she is -- I was shocked to learn that Sarah Brown Eyes is as talented a comedian as she is a dramatic thesp!) I enjoyed Raul Esparza's number a lot (certainly his one number was better than anything Pierce did in Curtains), but I would have liked to have seen an ensemble number that showed off the actors playing their instruments. The Chorus Line number looked like every regional theatrical production of "One" I've ever seen. And I put Fantasia's Color Purple performance in a category called Completely Unnecessary.
It's rare that a Tony telecast showcases the plays better than any of the musicals, but the productions I'm most interested in seeing after tonight are The Coast of Utopia and Frost/Nixon.
Some interesting plays, but not a particularly good year for musicals. Grey Gardens is fascinating, but none of the songs exactly roll off the tongue. The best song IMO is the 11th hour Another Winter in a Summer Town. Both actresses are fascinating, though.
Spring Awakening is this year's Rent - over-heated and over-rated, but done with exuberance and style. Not really a good representation, the show gets darker as it goes on.
Raul Esparza's performance tonight was the first time I've been impressed with him. I watched him go through the motions singing Being Alive on Live with Regis and Kelly - a late breakfast the only reason I watched it.
Curtains is a Grade B musical. Kander and Ebb reached their peak in the 60s with Cabaret, The Happy Time and Zorba and had a brief resurgence with Chicago and the title tune in New York, New York, but all their subsequent shows have ranged from OK (Kiss of the Spider Woman, Steel Pier) to poor (The Act, The Rink).
LoveMusik looks too gimmicky to last. Legally Blonde looks dreadful. Mary Poppins, we have the film.
The best of the lot IMO is 110 in the Shade. The original production got a bit lost in the 1963-1964 season that also produced Hello, Dolly!; Funny Girl and High Spirits, but has a great Roders & Hammerstein-esque score by Harvey Schmidt and Tom Jones (The Fantsticks/I Do I Do).
dws1982 wrote:I thought the Grey Gardens song was kind of underwhelming. I hope that's not indicative of the show as a whole. I know Damien is a huge fan, so I trust that there's something more to it.
I'll give a more thorough rundown once I watch the full show on DVD later. I've been flipping channels off and on during the show. I did see Frank Langella's win and though he gave a great speech.
The Grey Gardens number could have used some better staging (particularly the lighting). I got a chance to the see the show a few weeks ago--"Revolutionary Costume" is a highlight, but it didn't play well tonight. If the production has a weakness (other than thematic unevenness in act two), it's that it lacks a showstopping number.
I thought the Grey Gardens song was kind of underwhelming. I hope that's not indicative of the show as a whole. I know Damien is a huge fan, so I trust that there's something more to it.
I'll give a more thorough rundown once I watch the full show on DVD later. I've been flipping channels off and on during the show. I did see Frank Langella's win and though he gave a great speech.
