Post-Tony thoughts

I enjoyed watching the Tony Awards last Sunday on my new TV - HD is a wonderful thing.  I thought the telecast was a fairly good one; it moved with a nice pace, though I would quibble with some of the things they chose to broadcast as opposed to the things they chose to omit.  I didn't get a kick out of seeing some non-union performers on a cruise ship (especially on a night when Actors Equity got a Special Tony) when they couldn't broadcast the In Memoriam portion, and I remain annoyed that the technical awards are off-camera as well.  I love Hugh Jackman as much as the next person (and maybe more!), but putting his Special Tony on camera, when Manny Azenburg and Bernadette Peters were not, was just pandering.  I love Hugh Jackman, don't get me wrong, but if you're going to show one, show them all, not just the biggest movie star.  In my opinion, of course.

Neil Patrick Harris was again a terrific host, charming and genial, and he has just the right attitude of love for the theater and mocking of the award-show-form.  He always strikes a wonderful balance.  I thought opening with that song from Book of Mormon was cute, though I wish they had carried the 'stars opening their dressing room doors' conceit a little farther.  I also liked the 'if life were like the theater' number - seeing Patti LuPone as a next-door neighbor, pushing a lawn mower while wearing a gown, has been worth a giggle almost every day this week.  The mid-show number with the famous lines from other musicals was quite a lot of fun, as was the closing number (which I'm so glad CBS let run).  I vote for NPH to be the Host For All Time.  Unless Hugh Jackman wants to be the co-host.  I'd be ok with that.  :)

I didn't really think any of the numbers from the nominated shows came off all that well, though it appears they did sell some tickets.  When I saw Jesus Christ Superstar, the "Superstar" number played like gangbusters.  Out of context: not so much.  And "Buddy's Blues" was just an odd choice for a Follies number, though I guess I understand why it would be chosen.  But after hearing Bernadette's description of the show (which was a snoozer of an intro), that number really didn't fit.  The camera work during the Newsies number was terrible, so you couldn't see why that Tony-winning choreography was so fun; the number from Ghost made no sense to me and was poorly shot AND had poor sound, though the dead-guy-in-blue-spotlight was kinda cool; I know why they chose that piece from Evita, but to have Eva just stand around and throw money looked goofy; I guess the Porgy and Bess stuff came off well-enough; the song from Once was nice, but, out of context, seeing the lead gal just kinda wander around in circles was odd; and Matthew Broderick charmed his way through the Nice Work if You Can Get It piece, though why didn't his tux fit?  Oh, and Raul looked and sounded good during the Leap of Faith number, but I would've preferred the solo piece of his character's, if only to see the leather pants one.more.time.  :)   But none of the numbers knocked my socks off, like when Michael Jeter performed from Grand Hotel, or when the original cast of Evita did "A New Argentina."  I guess you can't have electricity like that all the time.  But when the original stars of Evita, presenting an award, were more fun and exciting than the number from the revival, something is a little off...

Winner-wise, I didn't really have a horse in any of the races.  My boyfriends didn't win anything, darn it, but I wasn't unhappy with the people who DID win.  OK, I would've preferred a different winner for best actress in a musical, but that's just a personal thing that nearly no one else in America shares and I'm learning to deal with it (but was I the only one uncomfortable with her "getting raped nightly" comment?  I can't be, right?).  I was thrilled Nina Arianda won, and appreciated that she acknowledged Christopher Plummer, and I love Christian Borle, so that win was a happy one.  I was also really glad that Clybourne Park won, and thought producer Jordan Roth gave a lovely speech.  I guess I need to see Once and Peter and the Starcatcher, since they won so many awards.  I'll have to get on that.

So, I basically had a good time watching the show, I always do, but, yet, I felt a bit dissatisfied.  I sort of feel like the Tony broadcast has lost some of its excitement for me.  To me, once it became a CBS-approved commercial for the League, as opposed to a celebration of the season's theatrical excellence, it diminished itself.  The broadcast is just never going to appeal to the masses - the people who might happen to tune in because someone from NCIS is presenting an award aren't going to increase viewership significantly, so why not keep it a classy but fun love letter to theater?  It's a happy coicidence that a fine theater actor happens to star on a CBS show, so yay for NPH, but...I don't know.  How can it be fixed?  I really don't know.  Maybe I'm just turning into an old curmudgeon who only thinks stuff was better in the "good old days."  Or maybe it's just that I didn't really LOVE any of the musicals this year that the performances didn't rock my world.  I guess there's always next year.  This is theater - hope always springs eternal.