And so another Tony Awards ceremony has come and gone. Although it was not the most exciting show of all time (there were no truly MAJOR upsets), it was still genuinely entertaining. Neil Patrick Harris has cemented his place as one of my favorite people thanks to his fantastic ending song and overall air of snarky adorableness. The musical performances were very hit and miss--loved the numbers from Hair, Billy Elliot, and Next to normal--but I continue to be astounded by the shear commercialism of the Tony Awards. I know that CBS needs ratings, but did we really need yet ANOTHER performance from Mamma Mia! or Jersey Boys? This marks the 3rd ceremony that each show has presented a number...whatever happened to just showing performances from the shows up for Best Musical and Best Revival?
The real head-scratcher was the inclusion of Legally Blonde. Despite the best efforts of MTV and thousands of teenage girls, the show was a flop. It did not make back its investment and only lasted a year and a half on Broadway. While I applaud the idea of showing touring companies on the Tonys, it seems like this was a missed opportunity all around. The fact they were rushing Alice Ripley off the stage so they could show us 5 Frankie Valli's singing the same. damn. song. AGAIN was ridiculous. I miss the years when they would do scenes from the nominated plays; surely that would be a better way of filling the air time? 8 years later I still get chills thinking of Gary Sinese's performance from "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest."
I would be remiss if I didn't mention the real highlight of the evening...Brett Michaels vs. the Set. Maybe it's my healthy sense of schadenfreude, but there is something deeply hilarious about watching a washed-up reality TV star walk face first into a flat while Stockard Channing is singing "Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered" in a stunning evening gown. While I missed his faux-pas on my first viewing, the wonders of DVR ensured that my friend and I were able to rewind and watch his wipe out ad-nauseum. I'm glad to hear that apparently he was not seriously injured...I just can't help but wonder if this is the Universe's way of getting back at him for Rock of Love Bus.
Before I go any farther, let's take a look at my final tally on my pre-awards ballot. As always, it was the technical awards that messed me up. In the end, I went 23/27; the only categories I missed were Direction of a Play, Costume Design of a Play, Scenic Design of a Play, and Lighting Design of a Play. Technically I didn't guess that there would be a tie for Best Orchestrations, but I did list "Next to Normal" which ended up sharing the award with "Billy Elliot."
Aside from the fact that my parent's house got struck by lightening while my friend and I were re-watching the musical performances on DVR, it was a pretty uneventful evening. Congratulations to all the winners/nominees from last night! On behalf of the kids living in Kansas who use the Tony Awards as a way to dream of the lights of New York, thank you for sharing your craft with us for another year. I can't wait to see what the 2009-2010 season holds in store!
~Katie Doornbos
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