Grade the 2014 Tony performances — Page 2

After Midnight - B
Aladdin - A-
If/Then - A+++ (highlight of the night for me)
Wicked - B-
Hedwig - B+
Gentleman's Guide - A
Violet - C
Cabaret - C+
Bullets - B-
The Last Ship - F-----------------
Finding Neverland - D+
The Music Man Rap - A-
Les Mis - C
Rocky - D-

AFTER MIDNIGHT: A-
It seemed to me everyone was trying too hard, both performance wise and in trying to cram too much into the allotted time. This is pretty much how I felt about the whole broadcast, starting with Hugh Jackman.

ALADDIN: B
Another case of trying-too-hard-itis. The number started off okay but the overload made me lose interest. I think my brain did that in self defense.

BEAUTIFUL: A-
I loved the show when I saw it earlier this year. This number started out fine and was very touching. Jessie seemed a bit nervous, though. I thought some of her phrasing was a bit odd in the second part, when she was at the piano, but overall I enjoyed it. Seeing Carole was wonderful.

IF/THEN: C
I didn't care for the show at all, and this number didn't win me over. It just seemed devoid of subtlety and not memorable either.

WICKED: B
I have never seen Wicked, and I'm hoping the other songs in the show are better.

HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH: A-
I thought NPH was trying too hard to sell the song. He sounded good, but I would have chosen another song. I guess this one gave him the opportunity to interact with the audience, and that was fun.

A GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE: A
I thought this was a brilliant way to get Mays involved in the song and show off some of the stage magic involved in the transformations. I enjoyed the song a lot, having seen it on other TV shows (and live too, twice). I think Lisa O'Hare deserved a nomination too.

VIOLET: A-
The part with the gospel choir was too dominant. Sutton is the star, and she was kind of shunted aside. It's a subtle show that takes time to build, and I guess the gospel choir was used to raise the roof a bit.

CABARET: A-
I think the number served the show well.

BULLETS OVER BROADWAY: A
I really enjoyed this show and this number. I love a good tap dance anyway. Cordero carried it beautifully.

THE LAST SHIP (Sting): C
Dreary, not exciting, and not theatrical. I think The Last Ship is going to have a hard time finding an audience, especially when people realize Sting isn't in it.

FINDING NEVERLAND (Jennifer Hudson): D
Oof! This was bad. In her silver, scaly gown, which looked like it came off a mutant fish in Lake Michigan, Hudson didn't seem to fit in at all the with kids. To top it off, the song was bad, and her style of belting didn't serve it all all.

THE MUSIC MAN rap: B
I was a bit embarrassed for everyone involved, even the audience, who had to inexplicably stand through it.

LES MISERABLES: C
Another number that seemed like too much, too desperate, too many elements thrown in there. And Nikki is miscast. I couldn't believe it.

ROCKY: C
No singing, so really not a musical number. Basically, a live ad. And even though the ending is the best part of the show, here it seemed too truncated to have any emotional heft.

Updated On: 6/9/14 at 04:46 PM

after midnight b Aladdin b beautiful a if/then a- wicked a Hedwig f a gentleman's c
violet b cabaret d bullet over broadway a the last ship c finding neverland d the music man rap f les miserables a rocky d

B - AFTER MIDNIGHT
B - ALADDIN
B - BEAUTIFUL
A - IF/THEN
C - WICKED
A - HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH
A - A GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE...
B - VIOLET
C - CABARET
C - BULLETS OVER BROADWAY
D - THE LAST SHIP (Sting)
B - FINDING NEVERLAND (Jennifer Hudson)
B - THE MUSIC MAN rap
C - LES MISERABLES
D - ROCKY

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AFTER MIDNIGHT
B: ALADDIN
B+:BEAUTIFUL
A: IF/THEN Idina nailed it and it should help ticket sales.
C: WICKED
B+: HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH
A: A GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE
C: VIOLET
F: CABARET
F: BULLETS OVER BROADWAY
C: THE LAST SHIP (Sting)
C: FINDING NEVERLAND (Jennifer Hudson)
F: THE MUSIC MAN rap
B: LES MISERABLES
F: ROCKY

Updated On: 6/9/14 at 08:28 PM

I really was pretty much disappoint in everything but Hedwig and Idina. Had lots to say on some things and nothing at all on others.

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B AFTER MIDNIGHT: Great dancing but I felt it was in a really odd spot where their performance basically had to double as the opening dance number since Hugh just hopped then added himself onto the end of their time. No lead in just START DANCING and ending with NOW BACK TO HUGH'S OPENING

C+ ALADDIN: WHY pick the number that looses ALL its magic without all their staging tricks?! I would have rather seeing Arabian Nights again.

B+ BEAUTIFUL: Jesse sounded great but the show still doesn't interest me in the least.

A IF/THEN: Thank god SOMEONE remembered to bring acting to the stage!

C WICKED: Was this really needed? They were fine and all but did we REALLY need it?

A+ HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH: After all the bland of the night before it, this was a breath of fresh air and fun. Harris wasn't hosting this year and still had the most impressive, energetic, and entertaining performance of the night.

B+ A GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE...: Nothing wrong with it in fact one of my favorite numbers but didn't wow me. Mays introduction costume changes were the best part.

C- VIOLET: Personal disappointment. Was looking forward to this one as I have always loved Violet's score but it felt like a very awkward pasting together of two songs.

C CABARET: It's great to see Alan and the show back but it's not got the same spark it had the first time around. It's just..... expected now.

C+ BULLETS OVER BROADWAY: Nothing special.

F THE LAST SHIP (Sting): I think I fell asleep during this one because I hardly remember it. This is how you sell your show? With a boring song? At least Neverland picked something that could be remembered the next day. Speaking of which.

C FINDING NEVERLAND (Jennifer Hudson): While I did not mind the song nor the performance and Jennifer was fine but she was making the song so pop with her runs and added Jennifer Hudson-ness, I didn't understand the lyrics half the song.

C+ THE MUSIC MAN rap: At least it made me laugh? This one was like getting hit by a truck or something. It came out of nowhere and I was so zoned out from the shows boredom by the time it happened it was like I was watching a bad dream or something. Was the show really this bad we needed THIS to try and save it?

B- LES MISERABLES: It was Les Mis. They sung One Day More. They waved a reg flag around. What more can I say?

F ROCKY: Am I.... am I suppose to take that performance seriously? They shoehorned so much into such a little space and none of it was any good. It was just laughable.

I don't get the Cabaret performance. From a marketing standpoint wouldn't it make a lot more sense to showcase Williams, who is argualy a much bigger draw than Cumming? Or she has a clause or something that she wouldn't promote the musical?

C - AFTER MIDNIGHT...not the best choice for a 1st performance
B- - ALADDIN...fun, but not very magical.
B - BEAUTIFUL...very nice
A - IF/THEN...I loved this performance. Idina's best televised performance.
C- - WICKED...seemed really rushed and very dull for a 10th anniversary "celebration."
A - HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH...much, much, much better than expected.
B+ - A GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE...fun, very fun
B - VIOLET...I'm not a huge Sutton Foster fan, but I think she did well in this.
B - CABARET...I would have preferred a different song, maybe.
C - BULLETS OVER BROADWAY...somewhat forgettable for me.
D - THE LAST SHIP (Sting)...bored me to tears.
C+ - FINDING NEVERLAND (Jennifer Hudson)...she sounded great, but I was very confused why she was previewing this song.
D - THE MUSIC MAN rap...WHY?
D+ - LES MISERABLES...this was more disappointing than the damn movie.
C - ROCKY ...meh.

Going to do a different type of grading as havn't got time to read everyones thoughts or put mine down.
Naturally we love some more than others-taste/preference/style etc-and just having watched them all-I was entertained, thrilled, emotional and slightly bored.
The opening had me smiling from beginning to end--I LOVED IT--it didn't try to compete, be better than, it just WAS-fantastic, original-that Hugh can do anything-Hop,Skip AND Jump.

- AFTER MIDNIGHT: B+ Enjoyable, but Jackman was unnecessary
- ALADDIN: C Truncating a 9 minute number down to 3 and a half is not to best way to sell it, especially without most of the "magic"
- BEAUTIFUL: B- The first half dragged, things picked up when Carole came on
- IF/THEN: A, Idina did not try for any of the high notes that do not bode well for her on live tv.
- WICKED: D Honest to god, "Wonderful" would have been more visually interesting on that MASSIVE stage
- HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH: A+ NPH owned that room, the highlight of the night
- A GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE... : A Sold me on seeing the show.
- VIOLET: C Opened Strong, the second half was a bit of a mess.
- CABARET: C- I love Alan Cumming, and the Kit Kat Girls (I have a bit of a crush on Andrea Goss) but I wish they did a different number. "It Couldn't Please Me More" is visually hilarious and showcases the two actors actually nominated from the show.
- BULLETS OVER BROADWAY: C Guys in suits doing Susan Stroman choreography.. boring. Bonus Points for Amanda Kloots' cameo.
- THE LAST SHIP (Sting): D- Nap Time
- FINDING NEVERLAND (Jennifer Hudson): B Hudson nailed the song, but I found the staging odd.
- THE MUSIC MAN rap : B+ would have been an A+ if Jackman didn't join in.
- LES MISERABLES: B- Nikki James is not the best vocal fit for the show, and it seemed the night's only major sound issue was being late to turn up Will Swenson's mic
- ROCKY: F (can there be an F-?) Their best MUSICAL tony performance featured virtually no singing.

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At the rehearsal, right before they started, the orchestra played an awesome Best Musical overture for After Midnight, Aladdin, Beautiful and Gentleman's Guide. While I loved most of the other performances (both at rehearsal and the ceremony) THAT was my favorite performance!!

15. A Gentleman's Guide - I've played "I've Decided to Marry You" repeatedly to see if I might get converted.

I've seen some clips and watched some interviews and it does, undoubtedly, look like an intelligent, well-thought out, witty, fantastic show. But it's hard for me to sympathize with a bad guy who doesn't see himself as bad, especially a serial killer. Yeah, I guess it's funny when unlikeable characters get killed, and on the other hand it's disconcerting--because what if they were likeable characters, would it still be funny to me?

14. Beautiful - I didn't get the context at all, but the singing and the costumes were lovely. ^^

13. Violet - If Violet was supposed to have an emotional scar from her accident I could buy into that. But imagining a physical scar that isn't physically there..but, I did like how she's so small and she's looking up to the powerful charisma of the evangelist.

12. The Last Ship - I feel like there was a message here, but I couldn't understand much of the lyrics..

11. After Midnight - Classy and energetic : D I didn't get the context, but it watching it was really fun. ^^

10. Rocky - I like how the camera cut in time to the music, and they did a good job capturing the excitement of a heated boxing match. The story is so simple that it's near-universally relatable-- popular strong guy at the top, beaten by a dark horse. Though when the announcer said that Rocky was taunting Apollo, it didn't look like Rocky was taunting Apollo.

9. Wicked - Aw, very sweet. I like Glinda's voice here. : )

8. The Music Man rap -This was cool!

7. Bullets Over Broadway - Despite the controversy around this, I really enjoyed the gangsters sing and dance, in their dark suits and hats. They got it across they were shady underworld types and knew it, and owned it.

6. Cabaret - I love how the Emcee crosses boundaries so fluidly and so easily, casually encountering women and other men. Raunchy and wonderfully decadent. Alan Cumming is a master.

5. If/Then - 'We're always starting over', that was so resonant, and what a powerhouse Idina Menzel is.

4. Hedwig and the Angry Inch - Sexy and audacious. Lena Hall made a great man. ^^ Neil Patrick Harris, that performance was truly legendary, probably his best ever.

3. Les Mis - I know this song by heart, so I was excited to see this version of "One Day More."

Jean Valjean - Wow. Simply amazing. I can't believe that he says in an interview he hasn't ever had singing lessons! The hunted, desperate look in him hit me immediately.
Marius and Cosette - Ah, it's been a long time since I've heard a Marius and a Cosette who weren't nasal. This was nice.
Eponine - Jarring at first, but the most raw Eponine--it gets across that she had a hard life in the gutters, and not just a third wheel in a romance. Really, I wanted to cry.
Enjolras - He was on FIRE!! Loved him! He looked like he was going to jump out of the screen!
Javert - To be honest, I laughed. This is definitely a different direction for Javert. oO
Thenardiers - Living up to the Thenardier legacy. : D
Ensemble - It seemed a little thin visually, but on the other hand, this is the student revolt of June 1832, not the French Revolution, so it worked out.
The biggest impact was the new writing of the Les Mis title--it looked chalky and it really looks like something thrown together, something coming from below, rather than polished and imperial. Well done, I wish I can see the whole show.

2. Finding Neverland - I was really close to crying at this one. That escapism that a lot of theater shows provide, and those of a certain sensibility long for with every fiber of their being, was encapsulated in this one. When Peter Pan came on I felt transported. Loved every moment of this number.

1. Aladdin - Yeaaaah, Aladdin!! ^___^ I never noticed the glitter on James Monroe Iglehart's head before. I loved how he and Adam Jacobs and the ensemble still sold the number even with just the props and no pyrotechnics. Loved the Cave of Wonders interior. ^^ So joyful, so exuberant, such a celebration of Howard Ashman and the zany ride that's Aladdin. ^^ My favorite part was Adam Jacobs was so in the moment, that he's not used to good things happening to him, he's this nobody struggling along (we don't necessarily get from this number that he's a thief, but that's okay) and now he's in this shimmering world where anything can happen, including learning how to tap dance. : D Though there's literal magic in the show with the pyrotechnics, that there were no pyrotechnics in the Tony performance kind of highlighted the other meaning of magic too, that the characters' fate isn't fixed, they can and they do go out and find the thing that changes it.