The Tony Awards

[yendi]

One thing that sets our experience with the Tonys apart from other shows (like the Oscars or the Emmys) is that shadesong and I have almost no way to form a real opinion about what should win. 1992 was the last year in which I'd seen all or most of the nominated shows, with '93 being the last one I'd even seen more than one. And you can't really get a sense for how good or bad a show is merely by watching three-minute clips with canned songs on a stage that's completely new to the actors.

So I'm not quite as upset that, say The Pajama Game pulled off the Best Revival over what appears to be a truly interesting take on The Threepenny Opera* as I would be if I'd seen them both and walked away with the same opinions I had last night; the awards aren't about the ability to condense a musical into three minutes.

That said, I do think that last night made it perfectly clear that Harry Conick Junior would be doing the world (and the world of musical theatre) a great fucking favor if he would just get hit by a falling piano.

The speeches, as always, were mostly wonderful, with some genuinely touching moments on behalf of most of the actors (I particularly enjoyed the speech Richard Griffiths gave); Oscar winners could learn a thing or two from Tony winners.

Including how to act. I'm sure I'm not the only person who took some some schadenfreude-laced delight in seeing Julia Roberts come out immediately after the Best Actress category in which she was snubbed. Give her credit, though, for basically acknowledging being out of her league.

It was also nice to see something of a true split at the top -- The Drowsy Chaperone and Jersey Boys both nabbed enough major awards to take bragging rights (with the nod for Director going to Sweeney Todd -- another show that had to have been better in its full production, although why the fuck Patti Fucking Lupone still gets cast, let alone nominated, escapes me). Especially nice considering that both shows were basically huge underdogs entering the season.

Overall, a good show. It might have been better with, say, Hugh Jackman as host, but the show itself was still fun.

*The first version of The Threepenny Opera I saw was the unbelievably bad 1989 John Dexter interpretation, featuring Sting proving himself to be quite possibly the worst actor in Broadway history as Macheath. How bad was it? Here's the opening line of Frank Rich's review: After emerging from the inert gray mass that is Broadway's ''Threepenny Opera,'' the first thing you want to do - assuming you don't drink - is run home and listen to any available recording of its score. The reason is not to revisit the evening's high points - there are none - but to make sure you are still among the living. How could these scathing songs, forged in the crucible of the century's apocalypse, sound as numbing as they do from the stage?

Therefore, pretty much any other interpretation of the show looks like a work of genius to me.

Comments

[kizlj.livejournal.com]

Pajama Game was total shite, but Threepenny Opera got some of the worst reviews I have ever read, and only got nominated for the Tony because the rules say all spots have to be filled and there *were* only three eligable revivals this year.

[bethynyc.livejournal.com]

I enjoyed watching it, but it does seem to me that there really are so few ORIGINAL musicals out there. Either they are based on something else completely--movie,(The Color Purple), movie (The Wedding Singer), I don't know what (The Frankie Valli story)--or they look back on the Golden Age of Broadway (The Drowsy Chaperone).

I do love the concept of TDC, and would like to see it more than the others. And I really want to see Threepenny Opera.

But honestly, I'm more excited about straight plays than I am about musicals. Maybe because everything I was taught about filling a theatre with sound has gone out the window in favor of pop style and more miking than you can shake a stick at. I'm a sucky singer, but I did learn breath control, how to hold a note, how to project, and I think all of that isn't even used any more.

*sigh*

[kradical.livejournal.com]

The most memorable production of Threepenny Opera I ever saw was memorable for reasons having nothing to do with the show. It was in the Delacorte Theatre in Central Park on 13 July 1977, it featured Raul Julia, and it was a great performance -- right up until 8.37pm, when the city suffered a major blackout. Oops. *chuckle* The woman singing finished her song (though the orchestra stopped), and then they told us to file out of the theatre, as there was no power in the city....

[yendi]

Truly sad. Much as I understand the reason for the revival category being split into play/musical separately, there are years (like this one), when there clearly just isn't enough decent material.

Personally, I just think they should retroactively honor a great revival that lost out because it came out in a crowded year. 1992's The Most Happy Fella still deserves some love.

[yendi]

Heh. I remember both the blackout at the Delacorte very well (although I don't think I attended my first show there until a couple of years later). I can only imagine what that must have been like.

[yendi]

I love all kinds of theatre, but unfortunately, plays don't tend to have the same sense of spectacle that makes them shine at the Tonys.

[bitsyboo.livejournal.com]

I saw this most recent interpretation of Threepenny Opera. It was all right with some stellar performances (the guy who play Lucy Brown), some god-awful ones (dear LORD Cyndi Lauper was horrible) but was all-in-all rather forgettable. Which is quite a feat considering it ends with a man in a golden speedo descending from the clouds...

[beldar.livejournal.com]

Living with someone who is Broadway-obsessed, we watch the Tonys faithfully to get a glimpse at what has been playing on the NY stage, and see what to anticipate on tours and when rights are loosed to regional and community theatres.

It's plain to see that "Wedding Singer" is going to be one of those hot tours (whether the show is any good or not) and we look forward to seeing "Jersey Boys" one way or another.

[modpixie.livejournal.com]

i didn't exactly have a horse in the race. but:
1. i was disappointed with the jersey boys win for pathetic personal reasons (a friend of mine interviewed frankie valli back in the day and had to deal with his, um, "old-school charm").
2. after seeing the bits and bobs from drowsy (and don mckellar's acceptance speech), i'm psyched to see it in a few months.

[jmspencer.livejournal.com]

The problem with the current incarnation of Threepenny is pacing, which you don't get from the bit shown during the Tonys. it's not divided in the place it usually is, so the dramatic tension that you can usually cut with a knife coming back form intermission just isn't there. It's... weird. Overall, it's an interesting production, but the way it's paced makes it significantly less impactful.

[bethynyc.livejournal.com]

And sadly, I think that is part of the problem. It's all about the spectacle. That's why I'm looking forward to A Chorus Line. Black stage, line, mirrors, dancers.

The spectacle is what brings in the tourists, and I think there is a certain amount of quality that gets sacrificed for a Wicked Cool Set (pun intended!) and splashy pop-style numbers.

*sigh* Whatever happened to Chekov, Inge, Ibsen, and O'Neill? Don't answer that!