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#51

re: Grade the 2006 Tony Award musical performances

Posted: 6/12/06 at 9:10am

I didn't really like The Wedding Singer's performance. I really like the wedding singer but it just didn't thrill me, but it was ok.

The Threepenny Opera - C
The Wedding Singer - B
The Color Purple - B+
The Pajama Game - A-
Sweeney Todd- A
Jersey Boys- B
The Drowsy Chaperone- A+ It was just a great performance by Sutton.

Updated On: 6/12/06 at 09:10 AM

#52

re: Grade the 2006 Tony Award musical performances

Posted: 6/12/06 at 9:36am

Overall, I was surprised by how much fun The Wedding Singer seemed to me. Since I didn't have very high expectations for it -- it was really the big shocker for me! I would say that it was the best performance of the night.

I didn't think Sweeney's medley worked all that well. It seemed too disjointed and the songs didn't flow well from one to another. It's a shame because it is such a great score. Maybe they should have just done "A Little Priest" and forgotten about the whole medley idea and featuring everyone.

Both Drowsy and Jersey Boys were very entertaining. The Pajama Game seemed rushed and at high speed. Also, is that how they are doing the vocals every night in the show or did they just jazz them up for the Tony's? On the recording they aren't quite that much improvised.

Threepenny was rather unexciting and slow, although I thought the vocals were good. I just didn't think that this was a good choice for the Tonys. This was pretty much how I felt about The Color Purple as well.

My grades:

Wedding Singer: A+
Jersey Boys: A
Drowsy Chaperone: B+
The Pajama Game: B-
Sweeney Todd: C+
The Color Purple: C -
Threepenny Opera: D

"You pile up enough tomorrows, and you'll find you are left with nothing but a lot of empty yesterdays. I don't know about you, but I'd like to make today worth remembering." --Harold Hill from The Music Man

#53

re: Grade the 2006 Tony Award musical performances

Posted: 6/12/06 at 9:40am

The Drowsy Chaperone: A
The Threepenny Opera: B
The Pajama Game: B
Sweeney Todd: A
Jersey Boys: B
The Color Purple: C
The Wedding Singer: D

#54

re: Grade the 2006 Tony Award musical performances

Posted: 6/12/06 at 9:41am

Here is my take:

Jersey Boys: A-
The Color Purple: B+
The Wedding Singer: A+
The Drowsy Chaperone: B+
The Threepenny Opera: D
The Pajama Game: B
Sweeney Todd: C+

I had seen 4 of these shows already. I also thought that the Sweeney performance was particualrly flat. But I'm particualrly partial to the original production which I saw several times. JB translated well to the small-screen, and would have sold tickets even without the Best Musical Tony.

TCP was much better live than the selection from last night. I thought that the Wedding Singer performance was the best though --- that song just lends itself to the format of best musical number. It's not a good show, but a fun number.

I did not see this version of 3Penny, but have seen the show many times (including the Sting and Raul Julia versions). From the looks of last night's performance, it looks like I made a wise move.

#55

re: Grade the 2006 Tony Award musical performances

Posted: 6/12/06 at 9:48am

Jersey Boys: A
The Color Purple: B-
The Wedding Singer: D
The Drowsy Chaperone: B+
The Threepenny Opera: C
The Pajama Game: B
Sweeney Todd: C+

The Wedding Singer had a lot of energy and spazzy dancing, but that song was horrible. I couldn't understand the majority of the lyrics in the Threepenny tango. The Sweeney medley left me cold.

"What can you expect from a bunch of seitan worshippers?" - Reginald Tresilian

#56

re: Grade the 2006 Tony Award musical performances

Posted: 6/12/06 at 9:51am

Jersey Boys: B- (Looked to me like a cover band concert not musical theater)

The Color Purple: B (Should have featured LaChanze more)

The Wedding Singer: C+ (Certainly was a high energy routine, but doesn't make me want to see the show at all)

The Drowsy Chaperone: A (think it was a great song that really worked)

The Threepenny Opera: D (yikes! I was hoping they were going to have a good performace. But I can just imagine the people who have tickets to the show sometime in the near future cringing at the thought of having to watch it)

The Pajama Game: B

Sweeney Todd: C+ (Ouch. I think this version is amazing, but they were completely off. I think Patti sounded dreadful.)

#57

re: Grade the 2006 Tony Award musical performances

Posted: 6/12/06 at 9:51am

How fascinating that the grades are all over the board. No wonder there were such Tony upsets.

Jersey Boys: A-
Wedding Singer: B+

These productions made me want to buy a ticket last night to see these shows asap, and I was rather biased against them going into the awards show.

Sweeney Todd: B
Threepenny Opera: B-
The Color Purple: B-

These productions made me want to go, for sure, but not necessarily today. LaChanze really sang out. Alan and Cyndi were hot, and Patti and Michael were wonderfully spooky. I wanted to try a little priest.

The Drowsy Chaperone: B--
The Pajama Game: C+

I'm a Drowsy fan and disappointed that it didn't take the main award But Sutton seemed a bit tentative, perhaps being on an unfamiliar stage. It was great to see the entire cast on stage. Much credit to Bob Martin for making it real. For PJ Game, I thought Once was a Man was a bit rushed and the tie-in to Hernando's was awkward and didn't give you a good feel for how the number works in the show.

#58

re: Grade the 2006 Tony Award musical performances

Posted: 6/12/06 at 9:55am

Just goes to show what I've said for years. Tony performances should be pre-taped during a normal performance in the theatre in which they are performed nightly. Most performances came off so poor this year because of different spacing, orchestra and nerves.

"I don't wanna see that!" -Aunt Sassy (as played by Valerie Cherish) on Room & Bored

#59

re: Grade the 2006 Tony Award musical performances

Posted: 6/12/06 at 9:59am

Jersey Boys: A+
The Color Purple: C
The Wedding Singer: A
The Drowsy Chaperone: B
The Threepenny Opera: C-
The Pajama Game: B
Sweeney Todd: B

What the puck?!

#60

re: Grade the 2006 Tony Award musical performances

Posted: 6/12/06 at 10:05am

Jersey Boys: A
The Color Purple: B
The Wedding Singer: C
The Drowsy Chaperone: B
The Threepenny Opera: B
The Pajama Game: B
Sweeney Todd: B

#61

re: Grade the 2006 Tony Award musical performances

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

Drowsy: A
Sweeney: B +
Jersey: B
Threepenny: B+
Wedding Singer: D
Color Purple: C
Pajama Game: B

#62

re: Grade the 2006 Tony Award musical performances

Posted: 6/12/06 at 10:32am

First the revivals...

PAJAMA GAME came off best (A) with a lively energetic number.

SWEENEY TODD (B) emphasized the dark side of teh shw but we needed "A Little Priest" to show off the twisted humour. Still the performance by the entire ensemble was fantastic.

THREPENNY OPERA (C) avoided the obvious choice (Mack the Knife) but the Tango Ballade is an odd piece to excerpt. Also the new translation is horrible. I much prefer the 1976 version.

As for Best Musical...

THE DROWSY CHAPERONE (A) came off best, though the Man in the Chair wasn't showcased in the number enough.

THE WEDDING SINGER (B) was lively and energetic, but the number (by design) sounds like a lot of forgettable 80's pop. (The 1980s were a really bad time for pop music: I was there workng in radio at the time and we knew then tha we would be in real trouble in 20 yeas when the 80s became retro!)

THE COLOR PURPLE (C) was a strong ensemble number but gave little sense of the show, and didn't really showcase La Chanze all that much.

JERSEY BOYS (D) should have included some of the tense dramatic scene that was shown earlier in the day on Breakfast with the Arts in their interview with Frankie Valli and John Lloyd Young. That scene gave an idea of the book for JERSEY BOYS and the fine acting by the cast. Based on the musical segments shown on the Tonys, viewers might think it just another jukebox musical.

Given that Hal Prince won his first Tony in 1954 for the original PAJAMA GAME, and one of his many directing awarsd for SWEENEY TODD, they could have tied his award into the evening much better.

Cast albums are NOT "soundtracks."
Live theatre does not use a "soundtrack." If it did, it wouldn't be live theatre!

I host a weekly one-hour radio program featuring cast album selections as well as songs by cabaret, jazz and theatre artists. The program, FRONT ROW CENTRE is heard Sundays 9 to 10 am and also Saturdays from 8 to 9 am (eastern times) on www.proudfm.com

#63

re: Grade the 2006 Tony Award musical performances

Posted: 6/12/06 at 10:36am

3PO should have used MACK THE KNIFE which is a presentational song in and of itself.

You are all forgetting that 3PO isn't the typical musical. It's Brecht. And the TANGO is performed with Brechtian methods.

But, it was not as good as it was in the show. Something was off. It was a terrible choice...People did not get what it was about. My parents asked if it was about Cyndi being pregnant.

But seeing Cyndi in all her glory was worth it.

TCP should have done a medley of sorts with "I'm Here." And what was up with that set!?

JB is just so overrated it's painful.

Drowsy was the best performance - Sutton is gold.

Wedding Singer was a lot of fun to watch as was Pajama Game - though Harry Connick Jr. isn't at his best.

Sweeney's was rather boring when you aren't in the intimate space...though I liked the transition from WORST PIES to MY FRIENDS.

#64

re: Grade the 2006 Tony Award musical performances

Posted: 6/12/06 at 10:58am

See, I loved the song choice for 3 Penny. It's one of my 3 favorites is the show. My favorites are (sorry I don't konw the new names) Tango Ballad, The Ballad of Mac the Knife, and How to Survive, so I was happy with the song choice.

"We don't value the lily less for not being made of flint and built to last. Life's bounty is in it's flow, later is too late. Where is the song when it's been sung, the dance when it's been danced? It's only we humans who want to own the future too." - Tom Stoppard, Shipwreck

#65

re: Grade the 2006 Tony Award musical performances

Posted: 6/12/06 at 11:11am

The only knock-out performance I thought was "Drowsy". Kelli O'Hara scared the crap out of me during "The Pajama Game" segment. I could barely understand what she was saying through that accent. I was dissapointed since I had loved her so much in "Light in the Piazza". "The Wedding Singer" was really fun, though a tad forgetable. "Sweeney Todd" was a bit of a let down since this was the one number I really wanted to see, having seen the show and loving it. Still great to see the cast do what they do though. After hearing all the hype with "The Color Purple" it didn't do much for me. Good performance just didn't strike a chord with me. Loved the "Jersey Boys" selection and performance, but still don't have any desire to see it. The "Threepenny" performance was interesting. I'll have to wait to see it in context but I still overall enjoyed. Needed some more energy I thought though.

#66

re: Grade the 2006 Tony Award musical performances

Posted: 6/12/06 at 11:12am

OK, so many people are commenting on Harry's stiff performance. Maybe it's just me, but I think Sid is supposed to be stiff. That's why I love the awkwardness that Harry peforms with "There Once Was a Man".

#67

re: Grade the 2006 Tony Award musical performances

Posted: 6/12/06 at 11:28am

Jersey Boys: A
The Color Purple: B-
The Wedding Singer: B+
The Drowsy Chaperone: A
The Threepenny Opera: B
The Pajama Game: B-
Sweeney Todd: A-

I thought the Drowsy performance was cute and inspired. The Color Purple was a little bit bland and I think that they could've done better. The Wedding Singer was a good, upbeat performance to lighten up the formality of the awards. Jersey Boys has a solid performance and good song choice. I found myself bored during The Pajama Game. I just don't think it was a very good performance. Threepenny was a bit boring, but was done well overall. I think that Sweeney did a good job for an abbreviated performance. The song transitions were a bit abrupt (though the transition from Worst Pies to My Friends was great), but the performance was strong and rightfully eery.

The thing with Tony performances is that sometimes the shows can be misrepresented. It's hard to recreate the magic of a performance in a theatre in such a large house.

#68

re: Grade the 2006 Tony Award musical performances

Posted: 6/12/06 at 11:32am

aspiringactress - totally agree. I was so happy to see it!

But in the overal picture of things...

(And, yes. The TANGO is one of my favorites, too. Though nothing beats the DONMAR's "The drunken doctor showed us what to do/We took the mess and put it down the loo")

#69

re: Grade the 2006 Tony Award musical performances

Posted: 6/12/06 at 11:35am

Jersey Boys: C+ (Just Another Jukebox Musical.)
The Color Purple: D (It's produced by Oprah Winfrey?!?!?!)
The Wedding Singer: C (Good Song!)
The Drowsy Chaperone: B- (Catchy Song.)
The Threepenny Opera: F (Looks To Dark.)
The Pajama Game: B+ (Amazing Cast.)
Sweeney Todd: B (Horror Classic.)

Updated On: 6/12/06 at 11:35 AM

#70

re: Grade the 2006 Tony Award musical performances

Posted: 6/12/06 at 12:31pm

Jersey Boys: B+
The Color Purple: B-
The Wedding Singer: A
The Drowsy Chaperone: A-
The Threepenny Opera: C+
The Pajama Game: B-
Sweeney Todd: B-

Jersey Boys seemed to take lots of extra time.
The Color Purple had some staging misses, but I do like that song.
The Wedding Singer had some exciting dancing!
The Drowsy Chaperone did their "old stand-by" which was good, and they worked in a bunch of characters (maybe they're always in it, I don't know)
Threepenny Opera did pretty good, I don't think either character sang very well, but they acted well, which is what a lot of theatre people prefer (not me, but others)
The Pajama Game had some microphone issues with HCJ (balance things) and probably because of his back his dancing wasn't spot on.
Sweeney Todd had some serious balance issues, my guess is due to microphones, but I think they created a good medley to feature it's nominees.

#71

re: Grade the 2006 Tony Award musical performances

Posted: 6/12/06 at 12:37pm

Only didn't see two of the shows performing, Color Purple and the Wedding Singer. After seeing the performances I still have no inclination to go. Loved all the rest, though, especially Jersey Boys! Nice to have the Four Seasons and Frankie Vali there as well.

#72

re: Grade the 2006 Tony Award musical performances

Posted: 6/12/06 at 1:34pm

Jersey Boys: B-
The Color Purple: B+
The Wedding Singer: B
The Drowsy Chaperone: A-
The Threepenny Opera: D-
The Pajama Game: B
Sweeney Todd: B

Overall the production numbers came off looking VERY VERY nice I thought and helped the ceremony a great deal (too bad the openning number couldnt be as good as most of the Production Numbers.)

Wedding Singer came off looking really fun...although, its the only decent number from the whole show. Drowsy was fun and Sutton sold herself VERY VERY Well. Jersey Boys was nice. The Color Purple's Main Theme was WONDERFUL but Felica P Fields certainly sang HELL NO better other times Ive seen her.

Sweeny was great as always, and deserved a bit more Tony love. Pajama Game's transition between the two songs was a bit weird. And 3Penny was DOWNRIGHT DREADFUL! WHO THE HELL PICKED THAT NUMBER? Ugh! I fell asleep in my seat it was so comfortable and nap inducing. Blah!

#73

re: Grade the 2006 Tony Award musical performances

Posted: 6/12/06 at 3:23pm

Jersey Boys: B+ (I didn't want to see JB and now I do)

The Color Purple: B+ (Really liked the show and the Tony performance, the chorus work was flawless)

The Wedding Singer: B ("It's Your Wedding Day" is the highlight of a mediocre show and the producers were smart to show the one number)

The Drowsy Chaperone: A (Sutton Foster tore it up)

The Threepenny Opera: C- (It looked like rewarmed Cabaret)

The Pajama Game: A (Harry & Kelly are both adorable, original, and energetic. The close up of the chorus costumes in HDTV showed incredible detail)

Sweeney Todd: C (My favorite revival on Bway presented an unsuccessful muddled Tony performance much like the Into the Woods revival Tony performance)

timmmmmmmmmy

#74

re: Grade the 2006 Tony Award musical performances

Posted: 6/12/06 at 3:40pm

Jersey Boys: C+ (I'm bias, what can you say?)
The Color Purple: D
The Wedding Singer: C+
The Drowsy Chaperone: A
The Threepenny Opera: C (Kinda weird for national TV, but hey, it was original at least)
The Pajama Game: A (There Once Was a Man was electrfying!)
Sweeney Todd: A

#75

re: Grade the 2006 Tony Award musical performances

Posted: 6/12/06 at 4:11pm

Sweeney- B+. Very INTERESTING... couldn't understand patti. She was garbled. Manoel rocks.
Pajama Game - A. There once was a man was spectacular, yet harry looked bored. Still, I loved the whole jumping, and the sitting each other down, and the fact that they looked like they could have made out at any second of their performance and it would have looked ok. Hernandos was cute, loved his piano, but it looked a bit weird.
Weddding Singer. D-. Sorry, the choreography was terrible. I was laughing so much at the idiocy I was on the floor. Sorry.
Color Purple- B. LET LACHANZE SING! The performance was good, not enough talent was shown off.
Speaking of shown off, Show Off gets an A. My god, Sutton is so talented. I just love her.
3penny- C. Atrocious. I just did not get into the characters at all. I didn't feel like they ahd a connection, ro believed their relationship.
Sorry.

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Updated On: 6/12/06 at 04:11 PM

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