Musical Performances on the 2023 Tony Awards- Page 5

[B212323]

Posted: 6/12/23 at 1:41am

I felt a few musical numbers had that issue especially early in the broadcast. 

[ACL2006]

Posted: 6/12/23 at 9:05am

I'd rank the performances as follows:

 

1. Shucked

2. Funny Girl

3. Some Like It Hot

4. A Beautiful Noise

5. Sweeney Todd 

6. New York, New York 

7. Parade

8. Into the Woods 

9. Kimberly Akimbo 

10. & Juliet

11. Camelot 

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 6/12/23 at 9:09am

Pretty good performances overall.

-Camelot had my favorite performance of the night - a great medley that really highlighted the show's strongest moments.

-Funny Girl was GREAT - Lea Michele is just a true bona fide star

-Kimberly Akimbo was going for a "Ring of Keys/ "Omar Sharif" moment, but I don't think it was 100% successful

-Shucked reminded me just how much I absolutely hated this show and how incredibly stupid I thought it was (just not my thing/ humor)

Other than that, everything else was just fine and as expected.

 

[DramaTeach]

Posted: 6/12/23 at 9:18am

1. Some Like It Hot and Ariana’s opening number tied

2. Funny Girl 

3. Sweeney Todd

4. Into the Woods

5. The rest…with A Beautiful Noise and Kimberly Akimbo being my least favorite.

[Rentaholic2]

Posted: 6/12/23 at 9:23am

Some Like It Hot was the best performance for me.  I enjoyed every second of it.

Funny Girl may have been my number one had I not seen it performed several times already.  Lea Michele's consistency is just amazing, and I really don't understand why she didn't get an honorary Tony for this performance.  If this wasn't deserving of one, I'm not sure a replacement performance ever will be.

Anagram is really not a great choice for Kimberly Akimbo.  It's a bit confusing out of context and hard to follow with Kimberly singing while he works out the anagram.  I don't think it sold the show well.

I enjoyed Shucked, but almost wish they had either done Alex's number, or cut the portion of it they included.  It was a bit jarring to just get a snippet of it.

Sweeney Todd made the right choice by doing one number instead of a medley, though I think they should have done A Little Priest.  This was my first time seeing the choreography, and it felt like a really strange choice.  It seemed like something a high school might do, not understanding that dance does not elevate this number at all. 

What was Colton Ryan's accent in NY, NY?  Is that how he talks the entire show?  

 

[theaterdrew]

Posted: 6/12/23 at 10:06am

I haven't seen KA and had no difficulty following what was going on with Anagram.  I thought it did a good job for the uninitiated (who are capable of paying attention) of setting up what the show is about.

I didn't think Shucked did a good job of selling itself to potential ticket buyers.  It tried to cram too much into too short time.  It's also interesting that that medley had to be written (scripted) for the show--by a member of the WGA (Horn, presumably).

&Juliet came across poorly in that performance. It wasn't just the fact the main performer was out of tune.  The choreography as someone else commented last night looked theater camp-esque.  It might have benefitted by a live scene-setting intro so it had something to buiild on other than the recorded clip.  

I liked SLIT in comparison to how other shows (like NYNY) came across.  

 

[EvanstonDad]

Posted: 6/12/23 at 10:15am

I live in Chicago and haven't seen any of these shows, but based just on the Tony performances, the only one that would persuade me to buy a ticket was Kimberly Akimbo. Even completely out of context, that performance made me want to cry, and Victoria Clark looks superb. Sweeney Todd had me hooked at first with the cool and atmospheric lighting design, but I could do without all of that weird choreography they gave the ensemble to do. Doesn't fit with the material at all.

[All So Ozmopolitan]

Posted: 6/12/23 at 10:44am

"What was Colton Ryan's accent in NY, NY? Is that how he talks the entire show?"

Yes, it is. And that was just a snippet of all the voices he does in the show. 

 

 

[dearalanaaaa]

Posted: 6/12/23 at 11:19am

I'll rank the performances as well, because I feel like this was a year where there wasn't any truly breathtaking, showstopping performance (Except maybe Parade's or Kimberly Akimbos, but I already knew I'd enjoy those).

1: Parade - Platt looked at home on that stage, and he perfectly embodied a lot of how terrific his acting is in this show. I was disappointed by the setup of the stage, however I realize that they were trying to recreate the prison and that can't occur as easily without the platform that a lot of the action takes place on in the theatre and the backdrops. I think there were audio issues during all the performances, but this one had slightly less as well

2:  Sweeney Todd - I have liked this show more and more after seeing it compared to when I saw it. When I saw this show, I found this number to be very repetitive and I didn't like how it was reprised so much, however I see why it's reprised so much here: The action and this number go hand in hand, and it's a great opening number that shows what this show is about.

3: Some Like It Hot - I haven't seen this show, however this number easily convinced me to get a ticket. It had gorgeous costumes and although I couldn't piece together the plot very well, I thought everybody from the leads to the ensemble did great.

4: Kimberly Akimbo - Such a charming and small number that felt like a good introduction, although I understand why the lines from Cooley's character seemed to interrupt. I think explaining the name of the show using a small intimate number that included the ensemble. I do wish they included Bonnie Mulligan though but I'm not sure how they could- "How to Wash a Check" would work if it was a legal activity.

5: Into The Woods - I just dislike into the woods as a show but I can totally admit that this was a great showcase for the show. It didn't feel necessary because the show was already closed, but I also didn't mind it.

6: Camelot - I don't know much about the show but I loved the costumes, they were all so beautiful. Their vocals were great but this staging felt so barren and minimal, I can't imagine what it looks like trying to fill the Vivian Beaumont. Borderline swallowed by the empty space.

7: Funny Girl - Very, very safe choice. I liked it but I still wasn't particularly compelled to watch it either.

8: & Juliet - What a huge letdown. I've wanted to see this show all season but never got the chance to. This convinced me to just... Not see it until Betsy Wolfe's final few weeks. I didn't like this at all. Felt like a cheap cover of pop music, and that's exactly what I dislike about jukebox shows where I know the songs very well (So something like Girl from the North Country is fine, but this really wasn't.)

9: New York, New York - I liked Colton Ryan in DEH, but I have no clue what he's doing here. Why was the kiss so long? The woman who sang the title song did amazing but the rest felt so boring.

10: A Beautiful Noise - What a safe choice, it did get butts into the seats though.

11: Shucked - So cringey. I literally didn't understand what was going on because it was messy. Newell did great on their section, but this whole shoving corn down the audience's throats as marketing is not it. Grey Henson was better in Mean Girls in my opinion. It feels like a slapstick comedy show with music, and in the scenario I do want slapstick, why don't I just go see Peter Pan goes Wrong or PTGW off broadway? I know people either loved or hated it but it was not working for me at all.

[jkcohen626]

Posted: 6/12/23 at 11:57am

theaterdrew said: "I haven't seenKAand had no difficulty following what was going on withAnagram. I thought it did a good job for the uninitiated (who are capable of paying attention) of setting up what the show is about."

I've been noticing a phenomenon where people who have NOT seen Kimberly Akimbo are responding to their performance much more positively than those of who have. I've sene a lot of people saying it was really sweet and cute and that it combined with the show's wins has them interested. 

I guess for those of us who have seen it, it just feels like there's a lot not conveyed by that performance. At the emotional core of this show is Kim and Seth's friendship/romance, but more of the show is honestly about family drama and check fraud. You'd have no idea about that from the performance. 

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 6/12/23 at 12:04pm

Funny Girl and Sweeney were the best performances of the night, IMO.

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 6/12/23 at 12:28pm

New York, New York's performance came off much better than I expected (if you can get past Colton Ryan's enunciation).  It did a good job of showcasing some of the dancing, a bit of the opening song, and the title song with the orchestra on stage (and Colton playing sax) was just a great moment, though the extended kiss was really unnecessary.

I actually didn't mind the Camelot medley, though I wish they had chosen longer excerpts.  The thing that baffled me was that Jordan Donica seemed to be on a different page from everyone else in terms of intensity, which just made all his parts feel off.

Some Like It Hot really did a great job staging the number to feature all their nominees (that quick change!) and just kept it light and fun, with a good showcase for costumes/orchestrations/choreography too (though I'm disappointed they didn't go with Tip Tap Trouble).

I love Shucked, but I'm not really sure that medley worked.  The snippets of songs in between just felt jarring, and I'm not sure it was clear that it was a medley or if people would've just assumed that was part of the usual song.  I was expecting them to just let Alex Newell take the second half and just close it out with Independently Owned.  Though based on the reactions here and elsewhere online it does look like the performance intrigued some people enough to buy tickets, so whatever works I guess.  I did love their rewrites at the beginning fo the song though.

I suppose it was a given for Neil Diamond to do Sweet Caroline but I was hoping for at least a medley with Forever in Blue Jeans or something.  It just didn't feel like that interesting of a performance, except maybe letting people know that the Neil Diamond show exists, because anyone that already knew that would know that Sweet Caroline is a number in the show.  But I guess people always enjoy a sing along.

& Juliet chose a really strange number to perform, as I thought that was one of their less interesting choreography moments (though the camera work captured it nicely), and Roar as a song just isn't as energetic as a lot of the other songs in the show, especially when you don't have the emotional payoff of the show ahead of it.  I would've loved to see Blow or It's My Life, or even Domino, but I guess there might have been set limitations.

[Voter]

Posted: 6/12/23 at 12:44pm

I thought & Juliet and New York New York were the big let downs of the night. Did Colton's voice get over exaggerated? I don't remember the "kermit" voice sounding that bad... and even just not my favorite rendition of NYNY (sorry)... & Juliet was simply, disappointing. Not the number to feature. Vocals and tempo were all over the place. And where was Betsy Wolfe? &J was truly the only performance that felt like it almost hurt sales

 

KA, Funny Girl, and Into The Woods were my favorites of the night. I really felt the soul of musical theatre in those.

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 6/12/23 at 12:46pm

Colton sounds different in the actual show, what he does in the show is really extraordinary. Like Lorna, he wasn't best in voice last night. 

[Voter]

Posted: 6/12/23 at 12:47pm

Voter said: "I thought & Juliet and New York New York were the big let downs of the night. Did Colton's voice get over exaggerated? I don't remember the "kermit" voice sounding that bad... and even just not my favorite rendition of NYNY (sorry)... & Juliet was simply, disappointing. Not the number to feature. Vocals and tempo were all over the place. And where was Betsy Wolfe? &J was truly the only performance that felt like it almost hurt sales


KA, Funny Girl, and Into The Woods were my favorites of the night. I really felt the soul of musical theatre in those."

 

OH i really wish we had at least gotten some of Hungry Like The Wolf from ABN... 

EDIT: I meant Robyn's number. Although I'd happily see a Duran Duran musical 

Updated On: 6/12/23 at 12:47 PM

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 6/12/23 at 12:48pm

Voter said: "Voter said: "I thought & Juliet and New York New York were the big let downs of the night. Did Colton's voice get over exaggerated? I don't remember the "kermit" voice sounding that bad... and even just not my favorite rendition of NYNY (sorry)... & Juliet was simply, disappointing. Not the number to feature. Vocals and tempo were all over the place. And where was Betsy Wolfe? &J was truly the only performance that felt like it almost hurt sales


KA, Funny Girl, and Into The Woods were my favorites of the night. I really felt the soul of musical theatre in those."



OH i really wish we had at least gotten some of Hungry Like The Wolf from ABN..."

I didn’t know there was a Duran Duran musical right now on Broadway!

[jkcohen626]

Posted: 6/12/23 at 12:50pm

Sutton Ross said: "Colton sounds different in the actual show, what he does in the show is really extraordinary. Like Lorna, he wasn't best in voice last night."

When I saw it, he sounded like Kermit the Frog except when he said the word "club. Then he sounded like Sophia Vergara. 

[Voter]

Posted: 6/12/23 at 12:51pm

EDSOSLO858 said: "Voter said: "Voter said: "I thought & Juliet and New York New York were the big let downs of the night. Did Colton's voice get over exaggerated? I don't remember the "kermit" voice sounding that bad... and even just not my favorite rendition of NYNY (sorry)... & Juliet was simply, disappointing. Not the number to feature. Vocals and tempo were all over the place. And where was Betsy Wolfe? &J was truly the only performance that felt like it almost hurt sales


KA, Funny Girl, and Into The Woods were my favorites of the night. I really felt the soul of musical theatre in those."



OH i really wish we had at least gotten some of Hungry Like The Wolf from ABN..."

I didn’t know there was a Duran Duran musical right now on Broadway!"

Ah crap I meant whatever Robyn Hurder's number is.... although I'd see a Duran Duran musical tbh

[Mr. Wormwood]

Posted: 6/12/23 at 12:53pm

I already shared my thoughts on the performances on the other thread but this would be my ranking:

1. Some Like It Hot

2. Parade

3. Funny Girl

4. Kimberly Akimbo

5. Into the Woods

6. Shucked

7. Sweeney Todd

8. & Juliet

9. New York, New York

10. Camelot

11. A Beautiful Noise 

[BCfitasafiddle]

Posted: 6/12/23 at 12:58pm

My ranking. 

1. Some Like it Hot

2. Funny Girl (she's just everything and I wish there was a way she could've been honored, but the performance felt like a way to do just that).

3. Parade

4. Sweeney Todd

5. Shucked

6. Kimberly Akimbo

7. Into the Woods

8. Camelot

9. New York, New York

10. A Beautiful Noise 

11. & Juliet (I love the show, but what was that? If any show should've done a medley it was this. Where was Betsy and Stark? Where was "Can't Stop the Feeling" and Backstreet Boys songs. They totally missed their chance. 

[RWPrincess]

Posted: 6/12/23 at 1:07pm

I thought New York, New York, Some Like It Hot, Shucked, and Camelot were the best performances of the night. All were great medleys and highlighted the casts well. Similarly, Sweeney did the best possible number for tv. Though it's unfortunate they didn't highlight Annaleigh (not sure if it was her choice).

Something was off with Funny Girl. It seemed like the music may have been slightly ahead of Lea at first but she caught up well. And the camera blocking was horrible--I didn't like how they showed a close-up of Lea instead of showing the station signage rising up behind her. You could hear the audience applauding like they do in the theater but on tv, we didn't see that.

Sweet Caroline was fine and just made me upset again that Will Swenson wasn't nominated. But I really wish they'd have him and Robyn sing You Don't Bring Me Flowers during one of these tv performances. That number was one of the highlights of A Beautiful Noise for me and Robyn should be featured more in these performances.

Into the Woods and Parade were fine. I'm sure both sold tickets. Also glad that ITW included Kennedy. 

I haven't seen &Juliet or Kimberly Akimbo yet but neither of those performances convinced me to buy a ticket.

I did like how the chyron at the beginning of each performance mentioned the Tony nominees who were performing. Overall, a fun night and I'm glad there was so much focus on the performances.

[MadsonMelo]

Posted: 6/12/23 at 6:28pm

Lea Michele just prove my point she would likely be a winner if she had opened this production. What a performance!

I liked ''Kimberly Akimbo'' a lot, as well as Joaquina Kalukango's In Memoriam segment.

[inception]

Posted: 6/12/23 at 11:01pm

The only performance really blew me away was the opening.  I thought DeBose redeemed herself from some less than stellar performances on other award shows.  If she's doing Spiderwoman, as had been rumored, I want to see it NOW!

I was also thrilled to see Kevin Csolak dancing in that number.

[inlovewithjerryherman]

Posted: 6/13/23 at 12:51am

1. Sweeney Todd - exciting and the staging translated to the camera exceptionally well.

2. Some Like It Hot - don’t reinvent the wheel, give us a clean, quality, Broadway performance baby! Exceptional.

3. A Beautiful Noise - again, don’t reinvent the wheel. I know they didn’t have as much time as the nominated shows and it’s tough to cram a whole “this is about Neil Diamond going to therapy” into two minutes, so let’s just rock out and sell some tickets. It worked. 

4. Into the Woods - three of the very best doing some of the very best material. What could go wrong? Nothing.

5. Parade - similar to into the woods, can’t go wrong here. Performances locked in a tie but I have Woods the edge due to the material.

6. Funny Girl - yes she’s amazing but remember when she charged down the aisle singing this like a woman possessed? I do. And that’s all I could think about while watching it.

7. Kimberly Akimbo - this was a real risk. Maybe it will pay off, idk. 

8. Shucked - I think what irked me so much was the choice to do so much when the show actually shines in its simplicity. I thought that “we love Jesus but we drink a little” would have been a much stronger choice that the general public would have lost their minds over.

9. Camelot - Jordan Donica. Wow. But yet somehow this performance was entirely in memorable to me. Nothing about it touched me or made me intrigued to see the show. I wish Phillipa Soo had more of a chance to shine.

10. & Juliet - what a mess. The pitch was all over the place, the camera blocking strange, and the choreography looks amateurish. Maybe it’s just not my thing.

11.  New York, New York - a disaster. The bandstand looked cheap. why is Colton Ryan talking/singing like that? The ensemble looked cramped on that small stage. And above all, do not put your leading lady up there singing what is literally one of the greatest American songs ever written with no context. What a horrible choice. Give us a Susan Stroman tap dream; not this. Anna Uzele is incredibly talented…but she was slightly pitchy, and we had no context for what was going on in that moment. if this is what you choose to showcase, we expect to see something on the level of Liza Minnelli or Frank Sinatra. We did NOT get that. 

[JasonC3]

Posted: 6/13/23 at 7:54am

I'm in the minority, but I love about 80-90% of the choreographed movement in Sweeney Todd and all of it in the opening number.  I think it adds an eerie and haunting quality.  Combined with the award-winning lighting, the huge orchestra, and the forceful singing of the ensemble, it makes for some thrilling moments and stage tableaus as I think their Tony number showed.

Does the show need all the movement? Nope.  But for this production's overall staging, I think it generally is an asset.  I totally understand why others feel differently though.