Grade the Tony performances- Page 2

[nexttotheheights]

Posted: 6/13/11 at 4:23pm

Book of Mormon: A+ (I was worried at first, but it was the perfect choice. It really showed off the show well and it was hilarious)
Catch Me if You Can: A (Always the show stopper)
Scottsboro Boys: A-
Sister Act: A-
How to Succeed: A-
Anything Goes: B
Priscilla: C+
Memphis: D (why were they even there?)
Spider-man: D- (I was bored out of my mind)

[Christoph]

Posted: 6/13/11 at 5:04pm

Perhaps it is cheating, but I got to watch the clips online with work colleagues who had not seen any of the shows and got to gauge their reactions as well on what they would have an interest in based on the numbers.

How to Succeed: A
It was the best number in the show and I felt the highlight of the ones presented. Radcliffe ably demonstrated for viewing audiences why it was a crime that he was snubbed yet again and the number showed how all that was wrong with the woeful Matthew Broderick revival was rectified. Plus it is fun to watch my work colleague's reactions to Radcliffe with their "OMG! Harry Potter is REALLY good!" Definitely something that seemed to perk up interest for them - a couple of them actually looked up to see how long his run with the show is.

Catch Me If You Can: A
I could have done with more from Live in Living Color, but Norbert's rousing Don't Break the Rules was probably the way to go. It is a great number that shows off the Tony winner at his best. People seemed to really respond favorably to it.

Anything Goes: B+
I always love to see Sutton and company tap their hearts out, but the editing the number received was inexcusable, particularly given the coverage doled out to non-nominees like Memphis, Spiderman and Priscilla. Some people here thought it was rousing, others thought it was quaint. I have a hunch they would have responded higher to the unabridged number.

Scottsboro Boys: B
I had never heard of this show except through this board. The number started off great and I thought I had really missed something, then segued into a different number that was far less compelling. A really uneven choice. No one else here seemed especially bowled over after the strong opening.

Sister Act: B
Patina Miller was in great voice, but I am not really impressed with this number like I should be. It seems very generic to me. Some people here really enjoyed it (and were surprised there was such a thing as a Sister Act musical), others passed on the song itself but thought the show sounded "cute".

Book of Mormon: C+
There were far better songs to pick from in that show and this was fairly underwhelming to me. Andrew Rannells certainly threw himself into it, but it is not especially hilarious or particularly rousing. A couple of people in the office have tickets to go see it later in the summer and their reaction perfectly captured the number's impact - "I hope there are better songs and that isn't as good as it gets!"

Priscilla: C+
Had a mild interest in seeing this one, but this hodge-podge number doesn't really compel me at this point. As one co-worker put it, the number comes off like "a drag queen's fever dream".

Memphis: D+
Just simply...Why? Why was time that could have been donated to other shows granted to a recap of last year's winner? They could have run the Anything Goes number unedited in place of this. Really inexcusable and I don't care how many exuberant kids stormed the audience.

Spiderman: D+
Really? Was this it? I have not seen the production and was sorely tempted, but this selection is enough to put me (and others) off. Granted they went a low-key route with a love ballad, but it just seemed so ho-hum. Reeve Carney and Jennifer Damiano definitely have chemistry, but this was such a tedious selection. Are there better numbers in the show or is this the cream of the crop? Most of the people here disliked the song, but enjoyed the performers.

Company: D
Can anyone say MEH? Not remotely impressed by this at all and I actually lost a few of the co-workers watching the clips on our lunch at this point. Spiderman may not have been the greatest, but this was the only one to literally bore people out of the room. I have just saved myself a few dollars from watching this on the screen.


Updated On: 6/13/11 at 05:04 PM

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 6/13/11 at 5:23pm

Scottsboro Boys- A-... I am not a fan of the show or the score, but I do love that song. Plus their energy was great

Catch Me If You Can- F... I'm sorry I just really don't like anything I have seen or heard from this show. I am a fan of Norbert Leo Butz, but I just found him to be obnoxious

Book of Mormon - A+... This was my favorite performance of the night

How To Succeed - B... Great dancing, but a little boring

Anything Goes - A+.... WOW. Sutton Foster s truly dazzling. The dancing, singing, and energy in this performance was incredible

Spider-Man - B-... They should have picked a more upbeat song, but it was still a decent performance

Sister Act - A-... Another really good performance. Patina Miller is great

Priscilla - C... Mehh. I found this to be rather insipid.

Memphis - D... I swear that song is the only decent song from that show, and it is not even that good.

Company - B-... I would have rather have seen them perform the title song. I'm seeing the filming of this on Wednesday night though and I am soooo excited.

Updated On: 6/13/11 at 05:23 PM

[SFFrontRow]

Posted: 6/13/11 at 5:35pm

BOM - C only because it was a bad selection. No one really got the context of the song and the Hello opening number would have been much better. Several people in my office actually watched the show and kept asking me if the show was better than it looked on the show. Missed opportunity.

CMIYC - A because I like the show (saw it in Seattle 2 years ago and again in NYC a week ago). I don't understand all the hate on this show.

Sister Act - B because they picked a good song and performed it well.

Scottsboro Boys - B because they merged two songs, but not necessarily the best to really showcase this show for the road.

Anything Goes - B because I am sick of this song being used for the highlight (same as in 1989 with Patti LuPone).

How to Succeed in Business - A because they picked a good ensemble number and Radcliffe actually did some stunt dancing. Have not seen this and was a little surprised by his participation in the dancing.

Spiderman - C because they seemed to rework this number to fit the two characters rather than pick a better fit to present.

Memphis - D because I am sick of this song and why was this on a second year in a row.

Opening Number - A because it was wrong and funny and to the point (all the reasons why BOM won Best Musical).

Closing Number - A because it was funny and written on the fly by LMH for NPH.

Jackman and Harris - did not see this on the broadcast - but I have taped it and will check it out tonight.

Biggest Loser - those who wanted to see why Book of Mormon was such a big winner and is a big hit. May be a good number in the show (I have seen the show) but not a good showcase for a big hit like this (one guy singing without any of the ensemble that makes this show so great).

[suttonfoster]

Posted: 6/13/11 at 5:43pm

Book of Mormon: A+
Catch Me if You Can: B-
Scottsboro Boys: A-
Sister Act: A
How to Succeed: A
Anything Goes: B -
Priscilla: C+
Memphis: D
Spider-man: C

[Wishing Only Wounds]

Posted: 6/13/11 at 5:49pm

Opening- A+

Scottsboro - A

Catch Me - A-

Mormon - A

How To Succeed - A-

Anything Goes - B

Spider-Man - D-

Sister Act - A-

Priscilla - C-

Memphis - D-

Company - D-

[allofmylife]

Posted: 6/13/11 at 6:12pm

Sadly, I haven't been able to see this crop of shows in New York (the curse of being employed) but I was wondering why Sutton just stands there for the last verse of "Anything Goes" and then comes in at the end.

Is she offstage or something?

[vinnylin]

Posted: 6/13/11 at 6:39pm

Opening Number: B+. The in-audience cameos didn't work at all, but the song was edgy and NPH performed it well.

Book of Mormon: A+. The best performance of the night. It was a great choice of song, and was funny and warm. I didn't miss the ensemble at all. I think I enjoyed the number more on TV than I did in the theatre.

Catch Me If You Can: C+. This is a great number in the theatre, but it felt out of context here. I don't think it was performed badly, but I also don't think it would make me want to see the show. Would have preferred an entire number starring Aaron.

Scottsboro Boys: B. Nicely performed and solid. But frankly, a little on the dull side by the end of the number.

Sister Act: C-. Just seemed to be trying a little too hard. And the song was so generic.

Anything Goes: A-. The cuts and faster tempo took something away from what you get in the theatre, where it is utterly thrilling. Also, some of the choreography got lost in the camera angles. But overall this was still an energetic, toe-tapping performance that show-cased its choreography and star well.

How to Succeed: B-. The song is a great one, but the performance was technically proficient without being brilliant. And Harvey's solo totally disappeared (which is how I remember it in the theatre).

Priscilla: F. Dreadful. At least we got to see the Tony-Award winning costumes, I guess.

Memphis: D-. Tired, tired, tired. I would rather have seen the kids on stage performing. Chad sounded awful.

Spider-man: B-. I actually liked the song, but it was overly low-key, almost apologetically so. Not surprised many found it boring.

Company: F. Yikes.

NPH/Hugh Jackman: A. Very fun. Both men at the top of their games.

Closing Rap: B+. Started a little slow but was jam-packed with fun references. Amazing NPH got through it without getting tongue-tied.

Favorite presenter of the night: Chris Rock. MotherF***ing hilarious.

[mjroberts972]

Posted: 6/13/11 at 6:47pm

Book of Mormon: A+

Anything Goes: B+

Catch Me if You Can: A+

Scottsboro Boys: B

How To Succeed - B

Priscilla: C+

Memphis: C

Spider-Man - A-

Company: B-

Sister Act - B-

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 6/13/11 at 7:05pm

"but I was wondering why Sutton just stands there for the last verse of "Anything Goes" and then comes in at the end." AllofmyLife - to answer your question.

Sutton "standing" there comes at the end of an 8 minute tap routine. It is an opportunity for her to catch her breath before she belts the final note. There was an article in the NYTimes a couple where she mentions that number.

[wonderfulwizard11]

Posted: 6/13/11 at 7:30pm

The Book of Mormon: A. I didn't think that "I Believe" was the best choice when they announced it, but Rannells knocked it out of the park, and despite the fact that I've heard the song quite a few times by now, it was still very funny.

Anything Goes: B+. The tap was great, and Sutton sounded fantastic, but the cuts to the number made it feel a tiny bit flat.

Catch Me if you Can: B. Thought Norbert did a fantastic job, but the song was only so-so for me.

Sister Act: A-. Really fun, high energy performance. It got a little messy towards the middle, but I really enjoyed it, and Patina was great.

How to Succeed: B-. I actually really liked the choreography and thought Ellen Harvey was fantastic. Radcliffe's dancing was impressive, but he looked a little uncomfortable and he does not have the vocal skill for that song.

The Scottsboro Boys: B+. Though I wasn't crazy about the inclusion of "Commencing in Chatanooga", the performance was still very good and a sad reminder of how good the show as a whole was.

Spider-Man: F. Awful- hated the song, and didn't think either of the two actors sounded particularly good.

Memphis: D. The kids were cute, but Chad and Montego sounded tired. And that song is a poor "You Can't Stop the Beat" rip-off.

Company: C. Not very polished, but it was fun.

The opening and closing, as well as the duet between Harris and Jackman, were all fantastic.

EDIT: Realize I forgot to include Priscilla, which pretty much demonstrates the quality of their performance. It was fun seeing Martha Wash, though.

Updated On: 6/13/11 at 07:30 PM

[philly03]

Posted: 6/13/11 at 7:41pm

Scottsboro: B
Catch Me: F (have no interest now sitting through it)
Mormon: A-
How To Succeed: C
Anything Goes: A+
Spider-Man: C-
Sister Act: B+
Priscilla: F (Yikes!)
Memphis: D
Company: C+

My favourite performance was NPH & Jackman performing!

Posted: 6/13/11 at 7:53pm

Book of Mormon: A+

Anything Goes: A+

Catch Me if You Can: A-

Scottsboro: B+

How To Succeed - C+

Priscilla: D- I WISH THE BROADWAY SINGERS SANG IT INSTEAD OF THAT WOMAN SHE WAS HORRIBLE

Memphis: D-

Spider-Man - C+

Company: F

Sister Act - B-

[CapnHook]

Posted: 6/13/11 at 7:57pm

NPH & HJ Duet - A+
Opening Number - A+
NPH Rap - A-
BOOK OF MORNMON - B+
SISTER ACT - B+
HOW TO SUCCEED - B
SCOTTSBORO BOYS - B
COMPANY - B-
CATCH ME IF YOU CAN - C+
ANYTHING GOES - C+
PRISCILLA - C (started off great then turned into a clusterf**k)
MEMPHIS - C
SPIDER-MAN - F+

[mc1227]

Posted: 6/13/11 at 9:59pm

Opening #- A
Hugh and NPH- A
Sister Act A-
Anything Goes- A-
Book of Mormon- A-
Scottsboro Boys-B- (Which was disappointing since I saw them perform at Susan Stroman tribute and it was so much more energized. Maybe it lost something on Tv.
Catch Me- C+ (Love Leo but hate that number)
H2$- C+ Didn't like the choreography but Radcliffe showed good energy. The 1995 rendition of Brotherhood was so much more exciting)
Company- C-
Priscilla- C-
Memphis- C
Spiderman- Z (as in zzzzzzzz)
Didn't care for NPH rap ending but he did a great job all night.

Pretty good show I thought for the most part.

Updated On: 6/13/11 at 09:59 PM

[kyl3fong2]

Posted: 6/13/11 at 11:36pm

How to Succeed - B (Daniel Radcliffe was great but I've seen them perform this number better before)

Catch Me - A (PHENOMENAL! Though I would have loved to see more of Aaron performing "Live in Living Color" but Norbert was perfection in his performance)

Book of Mormon - A- (I wish that they did "Hello!" or "You and Me (But Mostly Me)" but nonetheless Andrew Rannells was amazing)

Scottsboro Boys - B (I was intrigued at first but the performance in general didn't get me too excited about the show)

Spiderman - C (WTF. And this is coming from a HUGE Spiderman fan. I LOVED the show and this was one of my favorite songs from the musical. But I hated how they reworked the number to let Reeve sing more in it when the song wasn't in his range to begin with. They should have done "Boy Falls From the Sky" or "Just Can't Walk Away." Set-design was beautiful however.)

Sister Act - B- (Patina was amazing, but the ensemble was...eh. I prefer the West End ensemble more.)

Anything Goes - B (Nothing that WOWed me in this performance, though I loved the choreography.)

Memphis - D (OKAY...they were much better last year at the Tonys.)

Priscilla - D- (Absolutely hated it. What was suppose to be a fun and upbeat number was entirely destroyed by this performance of it)

Company - D (Terrible camera work and the performance was simply forgettable for me.)


CATCH ME hands down had the best performance of the night with MORMON a very close second in my opinion. I am still bitter about that SPIDERMAN performance because the show really has a lot of good moments and the way they performed that song(an amazing number in the show might I add) simply did not do the show justice.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 6/13/11 at 11:40pm

Philly03- Soooo glad I'm not the only extremely underwhelmed with Catch Me If You Can's performance!