Book of Mormon to do "I Believe" on The Tony Awards.- Page 2

[bjh2114]

Posted: 5/25/11 at 9:44am

Ugh, I totally called the NPH medley to open the show, but I am so mad that it is actually happening. HE IS NOT A GOOD SINGER. I love him as an actor and as a person, but for God's sake please stop having him perform on these award shows.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 5/25/11 at 9:51am

I just feel awful for Josh Gad. It's not going to showcase him at all which I find very odd. It would be like having only Matthew Broderick perform for THE PRODUCERS.

[americanboy99]

Posted: 5/25/11 at 9:54am

I adore "I Believe" but the show has four nominated actors. Showcasing only one (especially when Gad has been so heavily predicted to win) just seems odd.

With these nominees, I honestly wouldn't be against a really well executed medley. But I'm sure whatever they end up with will be spectacular. I have faith in this team.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 5/25/11 at 9:58am

Snooze. A boon for Rannells, but it's just not a good idea. Hello and Two by Two would have been a far superior choice. And Hello was practically tailor made to open the broadcast. How disappointing.

[americanboy99]

Posted: 5/25/11 at 10:01am

But isn't opening the telecast with a song from MORMON a tad overboard (ala backtracking the Best Picture nominees with audio from KING'S SPEECH at the Oscars)? Perhaps I'm missing what they were actually going for, but I can understand them not wanting to put this one show on such an obvious pedestal from the start (that'll OBVIOUSLY happen no matter what).

[egghumor]

Posted: 5/25/11 at 10:03am

I agree. How can we possibly move on with our lives after such wrenching news?

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 5/25/11 at 10:07am

Good question. I guess this case is closed.

[egghumor]

Posted: 5/25/11 at 10:21am

Hey, Jordan, I just spoke with Trey Parker and he's fine with this arrangement. Can we all get back to our knitting now?

[Broadway61004]

Posted: 5/25/11 at 10:27am

CBS and the Tonys are both so smart. In their desperate effort to boost their ratings this year, instead of opening the show with a brand new song from the creators of "South Park", they open it with a medley of showtunes sung by a man most non-Broadway folk"How I Met Your Mother" fanatics have never even heard of. That sounds like fantastic marketing strategy to me!

[rougeduck]

Posted: 5/25/11 at 10:34am

Why do tonys have to suck sooo much!?

[egghumor]

Posted: 5/25/11 at 10:44am

Probably because those in charge are relying far too heavily on advice from MisterMatt, Jordan, PhyllisRogersStone, and dramamama. Matt just admitted in another thread of being responsible (with Jordan, natch) for Spider-man.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 5/25/11 at 10:46am

No, that was Sondheims fault.

[bwayfan7000]

Posted: 5/25/11 at 11:02am

Apparently, "Two By Two" was also considered. I think they should've gone with that. Here's the Riedel article from a few weeks ago where this was discussed, if anyone hasn't seen it yet.
Riedel Article

[Mark_E]

Posted: 5/25/11 at 11:22am

I'm quite shocked at this. So many better songs they could have done (Two by Two, Turn it Off etc). Even You and Me (But Mostly Me) would have showcased Gad aswell.

[egghumor]

Posted: 5/25/11 at 11:30am

This devastating news is simply on a par with the tornados in Joplin, MO.

[best12bars]

Posted: 5/25/11 at 12:12pm

"Bland" is the name of the game with network TV ... which is exactly why they are in trouble, losing audience shares more and more each day.

Way to kill a good idea, guys! Big thumbs up!

[julesboogie]

Posted: 5/25/11 at 12:39pm

"Ugh, I totally called the NPH medley to open the show, but I am so mad that it is actually happening. HE IS NOT A GOOD SINGER. I love him as an actor and as a person, but for God's sake please stop having him perform on these award shows."

The stars have aligned, and hell hath frozen over. WE AGREE!

Now i do like NPH and i dont mind him as a host. But just being able to stay relatively on pitch does not a good singer make. Im kinda over him doing the crossover thing.

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 5/25/11 at 1:18pm

I could see Matt and Trey deciding to do "I Believe" as a response to the Tony producers not letting them open with "Hello." They may be trying to stir things up.

[Kad]

Posted: 5/25/11 at 1:32pm

How is doing "I Believe" going to stir things up? It's not at all controversial (though I'm sure all those pissed-off Mormons who rant and rave on the iTunes listing for the show about how offensive and inaccurate and mean it is will be annoyed).

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 5/25/11 at 1:44pm

Well, yeah, I meant the Mormons. I could be wrong, it's just I'm trying to figure out why they'd choose this song over a number that showcases more people.

[Kad]

Posted: 5/25/11 at 1:52pm

Well, the other songs don't have the lyric, "I believe that in 1978 God changed his mind about black people".

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 5/25/11 at 1:59pm

Yeah, they're probably trying to showcase the song that most non-Broadway people will find the funniest.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 5/25/11 at 2:09pm

Agreed!

Consider this: http://www.mormondialogue.org/topic/54017-why-i-won%E2%80%99t-be-seeing-the-book-of-mormon-musical/

and this: http://exmormon.org/phorum/read.php?2,191144

[Kad]

Posted: 5/25/11 at 2:15pm

On that first link, someone wrote: "Im not terribly concerned with the play. Nor do I expect it to do terribly well. "

Ha!

[bwayfan7000]

Posted: 5/25/11 at 3:43pm

Ridel isn't always 100% correct. Perhaps "I Believe" is part of it, but I'm sure there's more. The performances can sometimes be a surprise. I remember the year Billy Elliot performed, there were reports from that day's dress that they were doing "Solidarity", but they were actually doing "Angry Dance", which included a small sample of "Solidarity" that people heard and mistook it for the other number.

Also, slightly tangent here, but I just checked, and it appears that this show is sold out until mid-August. Crazy.