3 GREAT performances -

[HBBrock]

Posted: 6/14/10 at 12:06am

Lea Michele
Matthew Morrison
American Idiot (at the end and in the beginning with Green Day)

A few decent ones such as Memphis. And La Cage was "good" but not as good as I hoped.

The rest of the show was one big giant lump of "eh" for the most part

I'll give it a 6 out of 10. And that's being generous.
Updated On: 6/14/10 at 12:06 AM

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 6/14/10 at 12:15am

Cheno kissing Hayes.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 6/14/10 at 12:16am

Are you kidding? Lea was off from her music for the whole start of the song. I wouldn't call that "great." She sounded okay once she got her footing, but still, the beginning was a mess.

Matt was fantastic.

Updated On: 6/14/10 at 12:16 AM

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 6/14/10 at 12:17am

Lea Michele looked like she was going to breathe fire during her performance.

I generally love her but she really went over the top. She definitely used that as her public audition for the FUNNY GIRL revival.

Instead, she might be better suited to play the dragon in the first revival of SHREK based on that performance. She just looked and sounded PISSED. Updated On: 6/14/10 at 12:17 AM

[iflip4musicals]

Posted: 6/14/10 at 12:17am

Christiane Noll. Enough said.

[grandpianoalex]

Posted: 6/14/10 at 12:18am

My Top three:
Matt Morrison
American Idiot
La Cage (I would have liked a different song choice...)

[Caroline2]

Posted: 6/14/10 at 12:21am

I was less than thrilled with Lea Michele's performance. Was it just me, or did it seem like she was trying entirely too hard? A huge gasp between each phrase? Yikes.

I know Lea has an incredible voice, but tonight's performance was not the best use of her talent. She came across all "I'm a huge star now; LOOK AT ME!!!" I know "Don't Rain on My Parade" is a diva number, but come on...

Am I the only one who feels this way?

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 6/14/10 at 12:28am

I don't think it was the best song to choose for this. I mean, I know this was at least in part lobbying for her to play Fanny Brice, but that is a tough song, and she really did not nail it. I really like her voice, but that was not the best show of it.

Updated On: 6/14/10 at 12:28 AM

[TheatreFan4]

Posted: 6/14/10 at 12:30am

I could have done without the 15 minutes of Green Day.

[yay_gerb]

Posted: 6/14/10 at 12:35am

^ lea is coming across like she's a big star but to be honest...she is. i thought she did great. it's not an easy song to perform.

my favs were..

-matt/lea
-AI/green day
-christiane noll(a beautiful memory of the highlight of the season)

(honorable mention)-the fact that they gave each play some time to show off(and great visuals to go along with it)

[jsg03jd]

Posted: 6/14/10 at 12:58am

Lea Michele's voice sounded OK on regular CBS audio but the flaws were more apparent on CBS HD. She was just fine, nothing exceptional. There were several places in DON'T RAIN ON MY PARADE where there were pitch problems, which leads me to believe she's not immune from Auto-Tuning on GLEE.

I don't like how she straight toned almost the entire song. Michele's DON'T RAIN ON MY PARADE was just slightly better than Idina Menzel's scary version sung at the Kennedy Center Tribute to Barbra Streisand.

Updated On: 6/14/10 at 12:58 AM

[philly03]

Posted: 6/14/10 at 2:50am

1. Christiane Noll - Ragtime
2. Bebe Neuwirth & Nathan Lane poking fun of their snubs
3. Matt Morrison

They should have just had Linda Eder sing "Don't Rain on My Parade." Linda sings it incredibly, has a pretty big theatre following and has also not be nominated for a Tony Award, despite all the other nominations. Thankgod Menzel didn't sing, the most recent thing I've heard her sing was "Unexpected Song" at ALW's 60th inthe Park concert...ouch, horrible. She makes no effort to sing any big notes.

[Flora19]

Posted: 6/14/10 at 3:18am

1. Christiane Noll- by far the most flawless performance of any nominated performer or show
2. Memphis- their performance made me interested to see a show that I have been avoiding
3. Everyday Rapture- Up the Ladder to the Roof was an amazing choice, if only they could have cut the lea/matthew sequence and performed another song from ER

[IdinaBellFoster]

Posted: 6/14/10 at 3:22am

1. Up the Ladder to the Roof
2. Back to Before
3. The thrilling feeling I had when Catherine Zeta-Jones beat Montego Glover, even with those missed performances.

[rjjn]

Posted: 6/14/10 at 3:32am

1. Ragtime
2. Matthew Morrison
3. Come Fly Away

[allofmylife]

Posted: 6/14/10 at 4:26am

Wow, is this a little bitch fest on Lea Michelle tonight. I have listened to that performance three times now and she was truly amazing. Sometimes, the jealousy on this site just oozes off the screen and stains my desk.

[broadwayjim42]

Posted: 6/14/10 at 8:13am

1. Christiane Noll and "Ragtime." My favorite theatrical memory of the season brought back to life, however briefly. Far and away the performance of the night.

2. Sean Hayes--I liked him so much better than NPH last year, who I thought was way full of himself. Not everything worked, but I thought he did a very solid job.

3. AI--have seen the show, knew what to expect and enjoyed the various performances. The dancing and "intensity" get to be a bit much, but the voices make up for it.

3 1/2--Next Fall...they handled the summary with grace and humor. Hopefully, it will keep it alive for a while longer.

As for the rest...not so much. The broadcast is supposed to give America a taste of what's going on and even though I get to NYC a fair amount and see at least three shows each trip, I still have absolutely no desire to see "Memphis," "Fela" or "Million Dollar Quartet" after tonight.

[KChenowethfan]

Posted: 6/14/10 at 9:04am

Christiane Noll was my favorite and brought back memories of a show that closed too fast. I did like Matt Morrison (breathing issues and all). Lea Michele, who I usually like, did a decent job with the tough song, but it was a little...forced. I thought the Promises, Promises dance number was effective but Kristin Chenoweth's performance was not the best. It worked better in the show (although, yes, despite my username, I realize she is miscast).

I was a little bit perplexed by the Green Day performance. I could have done without it. It was way too long and I couldn't understand any of the lyrics. The singing wasn't all that great either.

I'm not a Douglas Hodge fan at all (and yes, I saw the show) so I found that painful. Memphis was as bad as I remember. I am a Fela fan, but that performance would not make me want to buy a ticket if I had not seen it already. Come Fly Away did not make me want to buy a ticket and neither did Million Dollar Quartet.

I'm hoping CZJ's performance works better in context because I am seeing the show on Saturday. Likewise, I am also seeing American Idiot and well, I just hope, that the whole show is not so seizure-inducing.

At least there were no performances by the gazillionth touring company of Mamma Mia or Jersey Boys.

Updated On: 6/14/10 at 09:04 AM

[axelsrose]

Posted: 6/14/10 at 9:28am

Christiane Noll was incredible and I'm crushed that I missed Ragtime. It seemed a shame that they didn't pick something from Night Music with a bit more life.

[silversurfer2]

Posted: 6/14/10 at 9:33am

1. Seeing Joh Gallagher JR. come on stage singing "Boulevard of Broken Dreams." And feeling this kid was robbed of a nomination.
2. The AI Cast and Green Day performance. It rocked an otherwise lackluster show.
3. Christiane Noll showing why she should have won.
4. Bebe and Nathan, really, really funny.
5. Matt Morrison
And Yes Philly 03-I agree. LINDA EDER's rendition of "Don't Rain on My Parade." is flawless and second only to Streisand's.

[backwoodsbarbie]

Posted: 6/14/10 at 9:51am

1)Bebe and Nathan
2)Christiane Noll
3)Everyday Rapture in the opening number