OscarGuy wrote:This is also a good comparison for the Oscars in that critically-supported musical didn't take the top award but lost to a less well respected, more potential for wide popularity show...
From reviews I read, critics seemed to like Jersey Boys and The Drowsy Chaperone equally. If The Wedding Singer or The Color Purple had won, it might be similar to what happened at the Oscars, but I don't see it with Jersey Boys winning.
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Random thoughts about the show:
Overall I thought it was a solid show. I liked it better than last year's.
Domhnall Gleeson looks nothing at all like his dad. And in the same category, Pablo Schreiber looks nothing like his brother. But he's a good actor though (based on seeing him on HBO's The Wire).
With The History Boys winning lights and sets (and I'd read some bad things about the sets), you've got to imagine that Ian McDiarmid only squeaked past Samuel Barnett in Featured Actor.
Based on performances, I can't imagine wanting to see the productions of The Threepenny Opera and The Color Purple, even with a free ticket. The Wedding Singer looked fun enough, but not like something I'd pay Broadway prices for; I'd see it with a free ticket. Same thing with The Drowsy Chaperone, which doesn't look like my thing.
The Sweeney Todd revivial they seemed to respect a lot more than they liked. They couldn't really deny it Orchestrations and Direction since it had been reimagined, but they sure didn't show any extra love.
Oprah Winfrey, in one introduction, still managed to absolutely drip with self-importance. Joining Oprah, not on the self-importance list, but on the Please-Go-Away list: The nerd and his puppet from Avenue Q. He did give Christine Ebersole occasion for the best line of the night, but every time there's a Broadway event (whether the Tonys, or some other event covered by Broadway.com or Wireimage), he's always there with his puppet, mugging for the camera. I get the feeling he knows Avenue Q will be his only claim to fame ever, and he's trying to ride it as long as he can.
Best speeches were Christian Hoff and John Lloyd Young.
Penelope wrote:Would LOVE to see The History Boys; I will be visiting my sister in Delaware the first week of August and I'm seriously considering a day trip into NYC to see The History Boys and either Chaperone or Jersey Boys...anybody want to join me?
E-maul me, Pen, when your plans are more firmed up. I already have tickets for History in late August but would love to see either Jersey or Chaperone with you.
"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
I guess the big problem would be (having not listened to the new Sweeney Todd) is that Angela Lansbury was fantastic with her diction. "Worst Pies in London" requires intense control over words because it's quick and tongue-twisting at times. I think the lack of orchestration is what's keeping me away from the new Sweeney Todd. Part of that show's finesse was the fantastic accompanying score along with the great lyrics. I don't know if I could sit through limited accompaniment.
BTW: History Boys does now become the top Play winner at the Tonys. Here are the others and what they won for. You decide if it's unfair for it to hold that honor:
A Man for All Seasons (1962)
Actor (Dramatic): Paul Scofield
Director (Dramatic): Noel Willman
Play
Producer (Dramatic): Robert Whitehead, Roger L. Stevens
Can't find a fifth despite tonyawards.com's claim it was a 5-award winner.
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1963)
Actor (Dramatic): Arthur Hill
Actress (Dramatic): Uta Hagen
Director (Dramatic): Alan Schneider
Play
Producer (Dramatic): Richard Barr, Clingon Wilder
Child's Play (1971)
Actor (Dramatic): Fritz Weaver
Actor, Supporting or Featured (Dramatic): Ken Howard
Director (Dramatic): Joseph Hardy
Lighting Designer: Jo Mielziner
Scenie Designer: Jo Mielziner
Amadeus (1981)
Actor (Play): Ian McKellen (Interesting parallel, I assume that McKellen played Saliari while co-nominee and loser Tim Curry played Mozart himself...that's a one-for-one comparison to Oscar for ya)
Director (Play): Peter Hall
Lighting Designer: John Bury
Play
Scenic Designer: John Bury
The Real Thing (1984)
Actor (Play): Jeremy Irons
Actress (Featured - Play): Christine Baranski
Actress (Play): Glenn Close
Director (Play): Mike Nichols
Play
The History Boys
Play
Actor (Play): Richard Griffiths (actor one from Harry Potter to receive an award on Tony Night)
Actress (Featured - Play): Frances De La Tour (actor two from Harry Potter to receive an award on Tony Night)
Director (Play): Nicholas Hytner
Scenic Design (Play): Bob Crowley
Lighting Design (Play): Mark Henderson
So, if you look at what we have, then the only play that could honestly feel slighted by History Boys' new status is The Real Thing (the only show without scenic/lighting victories or victories in categories that no longer exist).
Wesley Lovell
"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both." - Benjamin Franklin
The ratings for the 2006 Tony Awards, broadcast live from Radio City Music Hall on CBS from 8 PM to 11 PM, were only slightly below those of last year.
CBS scored as second place in the night's ratings (ABC, showing the second game of the NBA finals, took the top spot). The Tony Awards, which to celebrate their 60th year were hosted by 60 presenters, averaged a 5.1 rating/9 share. One ratings point equals roughly a million households, while a share tells the percentage of TVs that are being watched at the time. In comparison, the 2005 Tony Awards scored a 9 share, but a 5.2 rating.
The Tonys had, in fact, started out with the highest rating for their first hour, when it averaged a 5.5 rating/9 share. However, ABC's airing of the finals game and NBC's "Law and Order" caused ratings to drop behind those channels during the second hour.
NBC and Fox placed as the networks with the third and fourth highest nightly ratings, respectively.
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This was only the second year in a row that I watched the Tonys all the way through (I thought I would drop into a Nat'l Geo doc about Napoleon at 9pm, but it was more of the talking heads stuff, and, besides, I know all about Napoleon--at this point, I'd rather see something about Napoleon III...but I digress) and my mom watched along, too.
She was not impressed by either Sweeney Todd or The Threepenny Opera, and I can't say Sweeney did much for me, either (the best part was Joanna Gleason's shock at the "half-mad" comment, scripted, probably, but delivered with perfect comic timing).
Was it just me or was Harry Connick really, really off last night? He seemed to be sleep-walking through his performance.
The only shows (musical) that attracted us were The Drowsy Chaperone and Jersey Boys, both of which look like a great deal of fun; that John Lloyd Young seems like a real talent, and he's adorable into the bargain.
Would LOVE to see The History Boys; I will be visiting my sister in Delaware the first week of August and I'm seriously considering a day trip into NYC to see The History Boys and either Chaperone or Jersey Boys...anybody want to join me?
"...it is the weak who are cruel, and...gentleness is only to be expected from the strong." - Leo Reston
"Cruelty might be very human, and it might be cultural, but it's not acceptable." - Jodie Foster
Okri wrote:I loved the Sweeney Todd performance (and I really enjoy Lupone on the "Anything Goes" cast recording) and really enjoyed the performance by the Threepenny gang. My favourite show is the 03-04 one, though I quite like the 99-00 one as well (that was my first).
My love for Patti LuPone goes back to the 1976 flop The Baker's Wife, which closed out-of-town in Washington, D.C. yet produced a wonderful cast recording. Stephen Schwartz's score for that show is far and away his best and it is beautifully sung by just four performers, Paul Sorvino, LuPone, Kurt Peterson and Teri Ralston. Musically it was a far better show than that seasons's only two new successes, Annie and I Love My Wife. Stay away from the 1990 British cast recording which stretches the soufle of a score to two discs with mostly filler.
LuPone on Anything Goes takes a little getting used to. As Mister Tee points out, her diction is not the best, you need to go elsewhere to "get" all the lyrics to the title tune, but she does belt out Blow, Gabriel, Blow like nobody's buisness.
I don't know why they keep re-translating The Threepenny Opera. Every time they try it just gets worse. The 1954 cast recording with Scott Merrill, Lotte Lenya, Gerald Price, Beatrice Arthur and Charlotte Rae captures the score as best as we're ever likely to get. The flop 1977 "new" translation with Raul Julia and Ellen Greene was a chore to listen to and if the rest of the current show is as uninspriing as the bit they showed on the Tony show, the quicker it closes the better.
Mister Tee wrote:It was a somewhat weird, recent-Oscars-like set of awards -- with Sweeney powerful enough to win directing and orchestrations over the big boppers, but falling to the lightweight Pajama Game for revival; Drowsy Chaperone winning more prizes than Jersey, but losing the top honor. (Actually, I came out of the show thinking Jersey looked more interesting -- if that Show Off number is supposed to be the highlight of Chaperone, I doubt it's my cup of tea)
Yes, Jersey Boys is more interesting. That's the opening number from Chaperone they performed, which highlights the show's star, Sutton Foster. The best number is As We Stumble Along, a doozy of an old-fashioned style showstopper, sung by Beth Level and later reprised by Bob Martin in the finale.
The choice of song perfromed by The Color Purple cast was even more puzzling. It neither showcased the show's star, LaChanze, nor was it the best number from the show - that distinction belongs to Elisabeth Withers-Mendez's belting of Push Da Button - but it does showcase the character of Sophia played by producer Oprah in the film version, which I suppose was the point even if it does nothing to sell the show to a prosepctive new audience.
I haven't looked it up, but I'm guessing History Boys is now the all-time champ among non-musicals, winning six awards (topping, I believe, Child's Play and The Real Thing at 5). However, it comes with a big, Maris-like asterisk: the distinction was achieved by winning sets and lighting for a play, categories only added last year
That depends on how you look at it. The original production of Death of a Salesman also won six, but it won "Best Play," "Best Author" and "Best Production" among those six, which (frankly) seem like the same award three times.
Along with those two you mention, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf (original production) and Amadeus also won five. Interestingly, Child's Paly won five without winning best play, losing to Borstal Boy.
I loved the Sweeney Todd performance (and I really enjoy Lupone on the "Anything Goes" cast recording) and really enjoyed the performance by the Threepenny gang. My favourite show is the 03-04 one, though I quite like the 99-00 one as well (that was my first).
I'm not all that often right in my Tony instrincts, but I told you they didn't like Patti Lupone...
Actually, watching her sing that brief snatch of Worst Pies reminded me instantly of why I didn't care for her in Anything Goes -- the combination of the way she holds her mouth and her poor diction makes her seem like a lazy singer (in Anything Goes, had I not known the famous songs so well, I wouldn't have known what she was singing). She does have the diva rep, but maybe others, like me, just don't think she's all that talented.
I agree Harry Connick was underwhelming -- his style may work for his own concerts, but ill-suited an interacting musical comedy. Worse, it seemed Hernando's Hideaway -- a seemingly foolproof show-stopper -- was rearranged to suit his rhythms, and landed flat.
I didn't realize Paige was quite that old; she does truly look amazing for the age. Let's salute Patricia Neal, too, who had a devastating stroke 40 years ago and has endured beautifully.
It was a somewhat weird, recent-Oscars-like set of awards -- with Sweeney powerful enough to win directing and orchestrations over the big boppers, but falling to the lightweight Pajama Game for revival; Drowsy Chaperone winning more prizes than Jersey, but losing the top honor. (Actually, I came out of the show thinking Jersey looked more interesting -- if that Show Off number is supposed to be the highlight of Chaperone, I doubt it's my cup of tea)
I haven't looked it up, but I'm guessing History Boys is now the all-time champ among non-musicals, winning six awards (topping, I believe, Child's Play and The Real Thing at 5). However, it comes with a big, Maris-like asterisk: the distinction was achieved by winning sets and lighting for a play, categories only added last year.
Oh, and did everyone check out the Dreamgirls ad? I thought it looked visually attractive, but didn't think the number was all that exciting. I trust Condon's talent (and, anyway, that's hardly the show's top number), but I can't say I was wowed.
The biggest surprises were The Pajama Game for best revival of a musical over Sweeney Todd and Christian Hoff as best featured actor for Jersey Boys.
The best speeches were those by the Jersey Boys winners - both John Lloyd Young and Hoff and the show's producer. Most annoying were all those speeches by The Drowsy Chaperone winners even if they did deserve the awards they won. Jersey Boys, as I said in another thread, is the better show - at least on record, and the deserved winner for Best Musical.
I knew LaChanze would win. They weren't about to be compared with the Oscars by sending The Color Purple home empty-handed. As for Patti LuPone, I love to to listen to her sing, but can't stand to look at her when she makes those scunched up faces and applauds heartily at the mention of her own name. She may not be teh biggest diva on Broadway, but she sure gives off that impression.
I agree Harry Connick, Jr. has no stage presence and his singing ain't all that great, either. I also hated the jazzed up version of Hernando's Hideaway minus Fosse's great original choreography. Kelli O'Hara looked great though, and so did the original Babe, Janis Paige. I don't know too many 83 year old women who can stand up straight, step lively and project that much enthusiasm without stumbling over their lines all at the same time. Someboy give her a part in a movie or TV show while she still has it.
I guess the Broadway crowd doesn't do standing ovations. They wouldn't even get up for Patricia Neal.
No real memorable moments other than Hoff's and Young's tributes to their dads one week before Father's Day. The best Tony Awards Show ever is still the 1971 or 25th Anniversary Show when they had performers from all the winning musicals up to that time perform a song from their shows.
Well, no Oscar-Tony cross-reference but I notice that it appears to be true. They don't love Patti LuPone...or apparently much of the Sweeney Todd revival. This is also a good comparison for the Oscars in that critically-supported musical didn't take the top award but lost to a less well respected, more potential for wide popularity show...
Wesley Lovell
"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both." - Benjamin Franklin
