"wow, as if pulling off anything LIVE is such an amazing thing to see on a THEATER actor. Do you listen to yourself? He does that eight times a week same as everyone else who performs on the Tony's (give or take a few perfs.)I think your references are extremely limited for you to think that Hunter was "exceptional". He was good, but he pales in comparison to his sister, who performed that same night with a cast just as energetic."
I think it IS amazing to pull off his performance live on the Tony's, especially based on other Tony performances where the actors disappoint. For example, I don't think Faith Prince was nearly as electric in I'm Going Back (from Bells Are Ringing) on the '01 broadcast, as she was in many performances of the show. And hey- that's why it's fun to see LIVE theatre. And let's not forget Lot's Wife in '04 and how disappointed many were with Tonya Pinkins' performance, especially those used to her rendition of that song on the Caroline or Change cast recording. She was burnt out and vocally hoarse and unable to perform the song at the vocal level she previously had. This is why I think Hunter's performance is exceptional- he had been performing Bobby Strong for nearly a year, and yet I still felt his energy radiating off the screen. His performance was specific and dynamic and translated well to a broadcast. Hitting that last note without any chance of a re- take is admirable. I think his performance and the Urinetown cast's as a whole is amazing, and it is my prerogative to hold that opinion.
And while Sutton Foster and the cast of Millie did an incredible job that year as well, I don't believe it to be superior in any way. In fact, at the Tony party I was at that year, MANY people (who had not seen either show yet) could not believe that the "Forget About the Boy" show won over the "Run Freedom Run" show. Based on those performances, they thought for sure Urinetown was the winner. That says something to me.
I think for you to assume that actors give the same performance 8 times a week is also very limited. I can think of at least 10 times where I saw an actor give a shockingly different performance than one I had previously seen them give in the same role. For example, a few months after Adam had been in Aida, he was going for lower notes at a lot of points. Which is just fine! But of course it's a different level of vocal performance. And back in the day, plenty of actors got away with skipping entire songs they had previously done in the run! (Wasn't there just something about this in Louis Botto's recent playbill article?)
A Tony performance is special, not an exact carbon copy of what the actor did on stage every night during their run. To be able to give a performance at the precipice of one's talents in the role... that's incredible. That way, the performance that represents your show for years to come puts it in the best possible light.
Another Tony performance I love is the women from Baby singing "I Want It All". The 1984 broadcast seems amazing, all around. I remember hearing a story about how they found out they'd be closing shortly before they performed. Liz Callaway, Beth Fowler, and Catherine Cox are all so phenomenal. (Off topic, but I saw Cox and Martin Vidnovic sing "With You" at Broadway Originals this past weekend and they were incredible. I envy anyone who got to see the OBC of this show.)
[title of show] on Broadway. it's time. believe.
