Tony Awards... - A low-key season?

[Big Magilla]

Funny, but I have less interest in seeing Billy Elliot now than I had before. I would like to see the revival of Hair, though.

This absurdity of adding the appendage to the titles of Broadway musicals, "The Musical" has reached absurd heights now - "Billy Elliot The Musical" - "9 to 5 The Musical" - "Shrek The Musical" as if anyone thought they were paying obscene amounts to see the movie projecterd on a large stage. Why not "Hair The Revival" - "West Side Story The Second Revival", "Guys and Dolls The Third Revival" or "Pal Joey The Umpteenth Revival" while we're at it?

And while I'm being grumpy, what's with the changing of the pronunciation of "Godot" from "Ga-doe" to "God-oh"? It's even more ridiculous than the changing of the pronunciation of "110 in the Shade" from "a hundred and ten" to"one hundred ten"

[Sonic Youth]

I mostly agree with Sonic's analysis but I thought the choice of material from Billy Elliot was pretty bad. That might work in the show but it's unlikely to do much to draw in the crowds.

It's all moot, because Elton John, the 10 Tony Awards and the three kids who stole the Tony telecast upon winning their awards will be a powerful enough draw.

But I don't understand this argument, it won't draw in the crowds. Crowds of whom? The lowest common denominator? I had no interest in seeing Billy Elliot before last night. Now, were I given a chance, I'd consider seeing it (not that I'll get to New York, and not that tickets will be available, and not that I'd want to spend an absurd amount of money anyway). And I'm sure there are others who think like me. Maybe crowds of them.



Edited By Sonic Youth on 1244444133

[Big Magilla]

I'm working on a three hour delay on the West Coast where the show just ended.

I mostly agree with Sonic's analysis but I thought the choice of material from Billy Elliot was pretty bad. That might work in the show but it's unlikely to do much to draw in the crowds.

Jane Fonda is old, but she looked good. Angela Lansbury's tribute to Jerry Herman was one of the evening's highlights, along with Neil Patrick Harris' closing number and the exuberant performance of the Hair cast.

But the rest? Liza is just so needy isn't she? And she looks ancient, but not as ancient as Carrie Fisher who looks downright matronly at 52.

Not only should they retire Jersey Boys, but the tacky Mamma Mia! and brainless Legally Blonde as well. If we want to see touring companies we can see them in our own nearest big cities, we don't need to see them at the Tonys.

[Sonic Youth]

did no one else catch the collision of the scenic backdrop and Bret Michael's skull?

Youtube works fast.

(It's really not funny.)

(What am I saying? It's hilarious!)

[Sonic Youth]

All those stars! Liza Minelli, Jane Fonda, Elton John, Jessica Lange, Stockard Channing! They're so... so... old.

Elton looked like Roger Ebert, Liza was a walking full-body inflammation. And standing apart from them all is Lansbury. I have no idea if she deserved her award, but wow, this 83 year old just glows with the life spirit. And then there was her polar opposite, Frank Langella, who spent five minutes moping about how he wasn't nominated. Oh, wait. That was supposed to be dry, self-effacing shtick. Of course! The first ten seconds was funny. but I can't stand that passive-agressive shit, even in jest.

And someone must've had a talk with everyone and asked them to tone down any explicit gay content. During the "Hair" number, the camera kept cutting away whenever the male singers got a little touchy-feely. And Neil Patrick Harris - who didn't do very much except tilt his head - had a pretty funny song during the closing credits, and I imagine it was originally meant for the beginning but some stuffed shirt freaked at the gay content and vetoed it all the way to the end. And in this day and age of Obama, only the producer for "Hair" was bold enough to speak out for gay marriage.

Most of the musical numbers were unlistenable, or at least unwatchable. Much of the opening number was shit. The "Guys and Dolls" number was shit. The "Shrek" number (starring Kingfish as the Donkey) was a shit that would never end. I was astonished at how horribly sung the "Mamma Mia" number was. This is light music that needs a light, airy voice to bring it across, but those singers left a boeing-size carbon footprint. And when the performances WERE good, the telecasting let it down. Nobody had any idea where to shoot and when to cut to another camera. It happened during the gymnasium dance from "West Side Story" and it was clearly too much for the producers to handle. It seemed they wanted to cut away - repeatedly - to Maria and Tony during the main dance portion, but they were never exactly in the shot because by the time they cut to them, they moved away. And nobody wants to look at Tony and Maria at this point anyway!

And I really hate that they wasted time with touring productions singing songs from shows that just happen to be the most crowd-pleasing and insubstantial, while the play nominees are treated like the tech noms at AMPAS. I mean, I know "33 Variations" has no musical numbers, but that's Jane Fonda on the screen there! You wouldn't like to see more than 10 seconds of Jane Fonda?

I suspect there's gonna be a generational split of opinion on this, but I found the "Next to Normal" musical number gripping (although I don't think the instruments were mixed very well), and the composers understand that the secret ingredient that gives rock music its power and momentum are repeated phrases, verbal and musical. It was really uncomfortable, painfully intimate stuff to watch, and very gripping. But then Alice Ripley gave her acceptance speech, and I'm thinking "Maybe she wasn't acting?"

Very much to my surprise, I thought the "Billy Elliot" number was tremendous. Musically, it was sort of Yngwie Malmsteen-obnoxious, but what I saw really caught me unawares, a potent mashup of the political and nakedly emotional. It was like modern performance art, dance as primal scream expression with a backdrop of class warfare. This is Elton John? This is Stephen Daldry? Never knew they had it in them. I'm wagering there's nothing else like it in the show - there's probably nothing as good - but this thing all by its lonesome was brilliant.

I would never pay to see "Rock of Ages" - not Broadway ticket prices, or any price for that matter - but I thought it was a hoot. (I'm talking about the full-blown production number, not the horrible number in the opening medley, although did no one else catch the collision of the scenic backdrop and Bret Michael's skull?) Hair-metal and MTV was prevalent during my formative years. It wasn't my thing, but it was inescapable, and now that it's twenty-five years later we can see it for the hysterical camp that apparently a lot teenage guys didn't realise it was. I think I recognised all the musicians they tried to emulate, and as ridiculous as it was, it got by through sheer joie de vivre, complete with a flamboyant master of ceremonies who I suppose was meant to be Freddy Mercury as channelled by Tim Curry in "Rocky Horror".

Okay, g'night.



Edited By Sonic Youth on 1244442607

[flipp525]

I would definitely see Next to Normal if I were up in New York

The number they did for that show was really good. And the guy who played the son was totally hot!

[dws1982]

I realize it's doing well financially, and doesn't need to rely on the Tonys performance for advertising purposes, but I'm surprised that the Billy Elliot people decided to use that number to present the show to the TV audience. The Rock of Ages number was dreadful--who would be nostalgic for 80's hairband music?--but it was a good way of "selling" the show to casual viewers who might be planning to see a show in New York. I would definitely see Next to Normal if I were up in New York, and Hair looked like it would be enjoyable enough.

The three Billys were endearingly awkward onstage. The big exception was Elton John, who took the mention of his name as an opening to interrupt the other guy and hog the microphone.

Please, please, Tony awards producers: No more Jersey Boys performances. Enough is enough. We've seen these guys perform the same songs too many times now.

[flipp525]

What is the hell is Rock of Ages? Or, why the hell is Rock of Ages? Constantine?

[Sonic Youth]

This is my first Tony's in many, many years.

Yes, the miking blunders are beyond heinous, but even worse is the camerwork and editing during the musical numbers.

And judging by some of these musical numbers, Broadway now makes Vegas look like the Neighborhood Playhouse.

[Mister Tee]

I'll have extended comments on the show tomorrow, but on one I can't hold back -- whoever did the sound design/miking for the musical numbers should never work in television again.

[flipp525]

A couple scattered thoughts before the show tonight:

I just downloaded the revival album of Hair. The original Broadway recording got me through a lot of tough times in college (alongside the Rent soundtrack, of course) and I've listened to it easily hundreds of times. I LOVE the revival. It is energetic and fresh, yet never fails to pay homage to the original in its faithfulness. And honestly, a lot of the singing is just better; much cleaner. The raw quality of the original, of course, is part of what makes it such a success, but it's nice to hear classically trained versions of some of these standards.

Gavin Creel has such a youthful voice, but it is also one he invigorates with pathos and truth. "Flesh Failures/Eyes Look Your Last/Let the Sun Shine" is an incredible feat, very powerful and very relevant. The gospel solo takes front and center at the end of the song in a way it does not in the original recording and it truly makes for an astounding audio moment. I will be rooting for him to win tonight.

Interestingly, I feel very similar to it as I do towards the revival recording of A Chorus Line. The original is untouchable for so many reasons beyond the fact that it is the original, but I love a lot about the revival recording, especially the contributions of Charlotte d'Amboise and Natalie Cortez.

Moving over to the Best Actress in a Play category, I haven't seen any of the nominees. I have to say though, that I have been thoroughly impressed by Hope Davis' performance as Mia, the accomplished lawyer who desperately feels like her life went off the skids when her therapist (played by Gabriel Byrne), in her eyes, "abandoned" her in the second season of HBO's In Treatment. It's an incredibly well-rounded and captivating portrayal, so I'm happy to see her recognized for her work in God of Carnage. I hope to see the play in two weeks when I visit my sister in Manhattan.



Edited By flipp525 on 1244405055

[Big Magilla]

A subset of that : there's the barest -- though highly unlikely -- possibility folks will decide enough is enough for Lansbury and go with Hallie Foote.

I caught Lansbury recently on The View, a show I generally can't stand but sometimes watch during a late breakfast.

Lansbury, who is usually a very subtle actress can be hammy and from the demonstration she gave on the show of her shimmy dance I fear the latter is the case with her Madame Arcati. Evidently her recent hip replacements have served her well.

[Mister Tee]

Like Magilla, I'm having difficulty working up much interest in this years's show. Haven't seen anything, what's there doesn't intrigue me all that much, and many of the races seem cut and dried.

I'll mostly ditto paperboy's picks, but offer a few caveats:

It's possible sentiment for Horton Foote will enable Dividing the Estate to top God of Carnage -- a first for a beloved playwright rather than a second for a less-personally-popular one.

A subset of that : there's the barest -- though highly unlikely -- possibility folks will decide enough is enough for Lansbury and go with Hallie Foote.

Harden appears to be the best actress favorite, but one of the Mary Stuart ladies might sneak in, or, if support is split among the two double-nominated shows, Jane Fonda could suprprise.

The voters surveyed by the Times say Olivo is the clear fave for supporting actress in a musical, and that one of the Billy Eillott supporting guys wil win.

Finally, Special Theatrical Event is probably the acid test for the hometown/touring company split. Last night the gang on Theater Talk seemed to feel the gay contingent in NY will go with Liza monolithically. But the out of towners might want to reward the TV celebrity for coming to Broadway, the way they did Billy Crystal a while back, and go for Will Ferrell.

[cam]

Paperboy, I like your predictions. I wish that [title of show] was up for more.

[Big Magilla]

I have the Original British Cast recording of Billy Elliot, which is good but not great.

The score is the worst thing about it; I came out humming the choreography.

That's quite a feat.