Grade the Tony performances

I always find myself wondering if the musical numbers really do much to increase ticket sales, because they never seem terribly effective out of context and truncated as they do on the awards. I would think most unfamiliar television audiences would simply watch them in confusion.

I agree that the COLOR PURPLE came across best. It was rousing and tuneful. I think SPRING AWAKENING should have added "Totally F*CKed" as it did on the original Tony Broadcast -- "The Bitch of Living" went on too long and the concept became less interesting. It also wasted half the cast.

HAMILTON sold the energy of the piece well but I think likely would have been kind of baffling to someone who wasn't already familiar with the score.

I thought Jessie Mueller was extraordinary; I thought they needed to announce Sara; it seemed like she was part of the show as a narrator or something.

I was most disappointed in BRIGHT STAR because I don't think that performance will sell many tickets. They should have gone with a different selection from the show because that song on its own was not interesting.

I thought FIDDLER, SHE LOVES ME, ON YOUR FEET and SHUFFLE did a more or less effective job of showing what they are "selling."

Updated On: 6/13/16 at 12:08 PM

hork said: "QueenAlice said:
I thought Jessie Mueller was extraordinary; I thought they needed to announce Sara; it seemed like she was part of the show as a narrator or something.

I was most disappointed in BRIGHT STAR because I don't think that performance will sell many tickets. They should have gone with a different selection from the show because that song on its own was not interesting.

I had the opposite reaction. I thought Jessie Mueller's performance was weird and twitchy and overblown, while the Bright Star performance was the only one that made me want to see the show."

I'm halfway between you two. I really love Jessie Mueller and think she's so talented, but I just can't find myself liking her cover of She Used to Be Mine. It's probably because I think Sara Bareilles' performance of it is perfectly nuanced and flawless, so Mueller's comes across as too melodramatic and shouty to me. Oh well - I'm thrilled that she's clearly moving so many people. I LOVED Bright Star as a show so much, and Carmen is fabulous, but I don't think this was the most energetic song they could've done to sell tickets - I'm surprised they didn't go with some sort of medley.

Color Purple was hands down my A+ for the night. Cynthia Erivo might have had my favorite Tony Awards vocal EVER. I thought School of Rock did a great job of selling their show as well - everyone at my party who hadn't seen it had a really strong reaction to the talented kids.

I guess my take on the WAITRESS number is that I thought it effectively illustrated the difference between a songwriter creating the song and then how the song appears in a more heightened version for the actual musical.

I thoroughly enjoyed BRIGHT STAR and have been rooting for its success. But in truth, "If You Knew My Story" isn't a great song. It's all set up and its endlessly repetitive. But perhaps some people watching will be interested to know what the hell her story is and buy a ticket. Carmen looked and sounded great though.

I would go:



Opening: A-: Thoroughly charming, and Corden may not have the vocals for the songs, but his energy, enthusiasm, and a lot of silly and delightful quick changes put it over.

SHE LOVES ME: C: What a missed opportunity. They should have settled on just doing one full number because the medley was a mess. And poor Zach who I loved it the show had a really off night.

THE COLOR PURPLE: B+: The medley section was a mess, but once they let Erivo plant her feet and belt, it (and she) soared.

FIDDLER ON THE ROOF: C: Average. Again, they seemed to pick the wrong section so it felt a bit jerky and erratic.

SCHOOL OF ROCK: D: Talented kids, mediocre Brightman, miserable song. Hated the show, hated the performance.

BRIGHT STAR: B+: Not the song I would have chosen, but it showed Cusack off beautifully and sounded lovely.

SPRING AWAKENING: C-: Loved the show, didn't love the performance which felt out of sync, and again: no one on this telecast seemed to put a medley together well.

SHUFFLE ALONG: B: That number soars in the theater, but it's also much longer. Would've gone with the train number which, while it doesn't show off the whole cast, is a damned delight and the right length.

ON YOUR FEET!: C-: Love the songs. Love Gloria. Total mess.

HAMILTON: B: One more time, it seems like the wrong chunk of a show was chosen. Was it great? Sure. Does it stand on its own free of the show? Not really.

WAITRESS: B-: Love the show. Thought Bareilles sliding on to give Mueller time to change and then pick up in the middle of the same song was...odd.

HAMILTON FINALE: C-: Yes, we all knew it was going to win, but...it led the opening, got all the speeches (deservedly), and had an unusually long performance. We didn't need them back on stage as a finale. There was too much other talent this year.

Note: my highest scores did not AT ALL go to my favorite shows. They do, however, show a real bias I have against medleys. Which I didn't quite realize until I started grading!

I thought Fiddler and Bright Star really picked the wrong songs. If they were counting on a boost from that, I'm not sure they'll get it.

Opening: B: love Corden but he can't really sing. Fun number and sweet message, though

SHE LOVES ME: B+: what's everyone freaking out about? I thought they all did a great job, with the exception of the lighting midhap.

THE COLOR PURPLE: B+: weird choice to have them sing the opening and divide up the solos like that. But they did a great job and Cynthia slew us all.

FIDDLER ON THE ROOF: A-: Breathtaking choreography. The choreography was my favorite aspect of this revival, so I think they made absolutely the right decision in showcasing it.

SCHOOL OF ROCK: B+: Lots of fun and impressive performances by the kids! Brightman sounded a bit vocally tired but otherwise good.

BRIGHT STAR: C: didn't tell us anything about the show - just like the number in the actual show itself

SPRING AWAKENING: A: I thought they did a kick-ass job

SHUFFLE ALONG: B: Kind of forgettable, but a good choice for the show

ON YOUR FEET!: C+: fun dancing and medley, but very forgettable

HAMILTON: A: love this number, and I think it's a good showcase for how the show treats historical events.

WAITRESS: C+: The "plus" is for Sara Bareilles who thankfully saved us from listening to Jessie Mueller sing the whole song by herself #sorrynotsorry #notafan

HAMILTON FINALE: B+: kind of tacky that they did it in the first place, but it was fun and I'm glad the women had a chance to perform.

Updated On: 6/13/16 at 12:58 PM

Seeing Bright Star 3 times now (and it's a wonderful little show), I 100% agree with everyone saying they had the wrong song choice. I think they mainly chose it for it being very "Carmen-Centric." I think "Whoa, Mama" or "Sun is Gonna Shine Again" would've been better choices or having Carmen do a stand alone number like "Way Back in the Day" or "At Long Last" (which all 3 times made me tear up). I love this show and I hope it keeps going for just a bit longer.

QueenAlice said: "But in truth, "If You Knew My Story" isn't a great song. It's all set up and its endlessly repetitive. But perhaps some people watching will be interested to know what the hell her story is and buy a ticket. Carmen looked and sounded great though."

I agree! It starts out so gorgeously and really highlights Carmen Cusack's beautiful voice and delivery, but then it's like *snooze*...It starts out great and loses energy quickly. Actually all/most of Bright Star's songs are like this. I think this is one show that would have really benefited from doing a medley because all the songs drag on after the first 30 sec and are so repetitive. For example, I found the titular song really catchy when I'm hearing about 15 seconds of it or less but god I hated that song when I heard it in the show.

For me, "Whoa Mama" is the best song and performance in the whole show. It features two of their [very attractive] leads and is upbeat/fun and gives off the wholesome romcom vibe that a lot of people are into. But they already did that on the Today Show and my guess is that's why they decided not to do it again.

Updated On: 6/13/16 at 01:28 PM

I'm probably one of the very few people who don't overly love She Used To Be Mine. I don't think it's the best song and it's not a personal favorite, still a great and powerful song and Jessie Mueller was wonderful, I just would have liked to see a better song to show off the rest of the great cast.



Similarly with Bright Star, although in this case I actually like If You Knew My Story and was happy with it, I can acknowledge a "bigger" song was probably needed to help draw in more of an audience. I agree that both Carmen Cusack and Paul Alexander Nolan are very attractive leads, so Woah Mama would have worked.



Sunrise, Sunset shows only a snippet of Fiddler's excellent choreography, To Life is such an exciting and talented number, that would have been my first choice and what I was hoping to see from them.



Oddly enough, I liked She Loves Me. Mind you I have not seen the show or heard the songs prior to the Tonys, but my initial thought upon viewing the performance last night was that it looked like the kind of show I would enjoy. If I didn't have plans up until its closing date I would have tried to get tickets to see it.



I thought all the performances last night were great, it was just a matter of song choice really.

As a kid I watched the Tonys for the performances and to get a peek at shows I knew I would most likely not get to see but was excited to just see a snippet. Now that I have more of a chance to see them and know these performances are also hopefully going to boost sales, out of last night's performances the one that made me want to go get a ticket for was "On Your Feet". Loved the energy and danced to that music when it came out.

Of the nominated shows I didn't see them all. Have seen "Shufflin..", Bright Star and Color Purple. Saw the original off-Broadway production of Spring Awakening and the tour. Had no real desire to see it again. So outside of the ones I have seen, Fiddler, She Loves Me and Waitress were the other 3 l now want to see. I saw the Harvey production of Fiddler and loved it. This production looks wonderful. Jesse Mueller is what sold me on Waitress she sang The Hell out of that song. I was choked up. It was right up there with Erivo's last night.

I thought Spring Awakening's performance was the weakest. As far as the finale, they missed a chance, with the message they were sending, to include all of the casts in the closing song. With all of the positive comments about love, divirsity and community it still came down to just Hamilton at the end. The best thing about the finale was Renee's dress! (That dress was fabulous!) JMO

Updated On: 6/14/16 at 02:16 PM

uncageg said: "I thought Spring Awakening's performance was the weakest. As far as the finale, they missed a chance, with the message they were sending, to include all of the casts in the closing song. "

I hated the first time I saw the revival (from front orch) and then really enjoyed it the second time I saw it (from rear mezz)... I didn't realize how important the lighting (so subtle) was to this show. The first time I was confused at who to look at, who was talking, the signing was distracting as heck, and it just felt like a mess. Being removed in the rear mezz, it was much easier to focus on the deaf and hearing actors rather than the voice actors. Viewing the signing became natural.

For this performance, having close-up angles and shots did not do this show any favors. Maybe they should have ended with Purple Summer so that everyone would be performing. So much hullabaloo about getting the whole cast back and yet so few featured.

That said... my friend, who had no idea SA would be performing, was super psyched to see them! She loved the performance, and she is an avid fan of the OBC and production.

Opening: D

School of Rock: C+

Shuffle Along: B

Fiddler: B

She Loves Me: B-

Spring Awakening: A

On Your Feet: C

The Color Purple: A

Bright Star: C

Hamilton: A-

Waitress: A