THE OFFICIAL 2017 TONY AWARDS VIEWING THREAD- Page 23

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 6/12/17 at 12:28am

I hope that performance will sell some tickets to Great Comet because they deserved to win more awards. We'll see if the marketing team gets creative with the ads since they did technically win Tony's but still... upset about this. 

[ggersten]

Posted: 6/12/17 at 12:28am

In other news....I thought the In Memoriam camera work was dreadful.  The long shots hid the names and their work.  Only some names were clearly visible.  But the music was lovely.

Updated On: 6/12/17 at 12:28 AM

[dianamorales]

Posted: 6/12/17 at 12:28am

I loved Bette's speech. i thought it was hilarious- so her.

On another note, while I was rooting for Dear Evan Hansen throughout, I feel terrible for other shows, especially Great Comet. I really wish they could have been recognized for more, instead of a DEH sweep. I also worry about what this could mean marketing-wise.

[UncleCharlie]

Posted: 6/12/17 at 12:28am

CallMeAl2 said: "Gotta say I loved Bette's speech. Only Midler can play the orchestra off and still be left standing at the end,. The woman knows her power and isn't afraid to use it.

 

Just because you can doesn't mean you should.

 

[GeorgeandDot]

Posted: 6/12/17 at 12:32am

Bette deserved her Tony and I thought that her speech was great.  The woman is 71, she may not win another Tony, so LET HER TALK.  I thought that Platt's speech was sweet and quick and his win was incredibly well deserved.  My favorite speech of the night was Rachel Bay Jones'.  She's just such a sweet, quirky lady.  I've spoken with her quite and few times and she always seems to be a genuinely great person.

The Great Comet had a brilliant performance, but they totally deserved Best Director, Orchestrations, and I would have been happy to have seen Malloy win score.  It was nice to see DEH do so well.  It's really a fantastic musical and it deserved to go down in the books.

Overall, great season, but the ceremony was kind of lackluster.

[CallMeAl2]

Posted: 6/12/17 at 12:36am

As I suspected, here is what Bette was doing while the rest of the Tonys wrapped up. The Press was not letting her go. Some touching stories here about how different the Broadway Community is now verses in the 1960's and the debt she owes to her first teachers.

 

[loveinnewyorkcity]

Posted: 6/12/17 at 12:36am

Robbie2 said: "loveinnewyorkcity said: "Robbie2 said: "loveinnewyorkcity said: "Luscious said: "loveinnewyorkcity said: "I have second row seats to Hello Dolly! this week. Safe to say I will be taking my seat when Bette comes  out for a bow."

Ahh... no you won't. And if you do, you're a real asshole.

 
Good I'll let the house manager know and the usher that handles that section to expect you A hOle!

Grow up child!
 

"

Audience members are not required to stand for performers during bows. It's not something that's owed to them. After paying $500+ for a ticket, what I choose to do with my body during curtain call is my choice. The only thing owed during a night a theatre is a top-notch performance by the actors who audience members are literally paying to see shimmy and skip around the stage. 

By no means do my actions make me that very classy expletive you called me. It does make performers who feel they are entitled to standing o's that though. 

 

"

HERE YOU GO~ I guess the truth hurts...

Good I'll let the house manager know and the usher that handles that section to expect you A hOle!

Grow up child!
 

 

"

 

"

 

 

"

Ooooh. I'm so scared that you'll tell the big, bad house manager I'm coming. As if they'd find it of any concern that an audience member doesn't plan on standing during the curtain call.

[Robbie2]

Posted: 6/12/17 at 12:38am

CallMeAl2 said: "As I suspected, here is what Bette was doing while the rest of the Tonys wrapped up. The Press was not letting her go. Some touching stories here about how different the Broadway Community is now verses in the 1960's and the debt she owes to her first teachers.

 

TY for this!

"

 

[Big Apple2]

Posted: 6/12/17 at 12:38am

I'm with those who enjoyed Kevin Spacey's hosting performance. His opening number was great. 

[Rumpelstiltskin]

Posted: 6/12/17 at 12:39am

I have no idea why some felt Bette's acceptance speech was anything other than precious.

[Robbie2]

Posted: 6/12/17 at 12:41am

Rumpelstiltskin said: "I have no idea why some felt Bette's acceptance speech was anything other than precious.

 

"those are the losers ~ HATERS in the world!

 

[RippedMan]

Posted: 6/12/17 at 12:41am

I enjoyed the whole show - thought Spacey was great and really kept me waiting to see what else he'd do! Really great job! And thought all the performances were great. Was a little "eh" on Dear Evan Hansen only because there was so much hype and it was great but didn't blow me away. Kind of thought Groundhog Day picked a terrible song/scene to do. So many funnier more interesting moments. 

[Robbie2]

Posted: 6/12/17 at 12:43am

GeorgeandDot said: "Bette deserved her Tony and I thought that her speech was great.  The woman is 71, she may not win another Tony, so LET HER TALK.  I thought that Platt's speech was sweet and quick and his win was incredibly well deserved.  My favorite speech of the night was Rachel Bay Jones'.  She's just such a sweet, quirky lady.  I've spoken with her quite and few times and she always seems to be a genuinely great person.

The Great Comet had a brilliant performance, but they totally deserved Best Director, Orchestrations, and I would have been happy to have seen Malloy win score.  It was nice to see DEH do so well.  It's really a fantastic musical and it deserved to go down in the books.

Overall, great season, but the ceremony was kind of lackluster.

 

"Wholeheartedly agree with everything you said!

 

[EthelMae]

Posted: 6/12/17 at 12:44am

Great that Scott Rudin has brought back this wonderful Dolly production. Lovingly designed, cast, even front of house lettering paying homage to the original. As he said tonight, he fell in love with the 60's musicals and it shows now at the Shubert.

That being said, come on folks. Work something out so people all over who don't have $200-$600 a pop or live elsewhere can SEE some of this musical history on stage at the Tony Awards. And what do they pick? A song cut out of town back in 1964??? Mr. Pierce was out this past Saturday night when I saw the show (thru rich, wonderful friends who paid, I can't even say how much). I was disappointed and thought well I'll see it again with him and Donna Murphy where the price might be a lot but less. Now Mr. Pierce was fine tonight on the Tony's but the understudy was just as good with a song that, in my opinion, slows down the beginning of the second act. If it were, perhaps, in another section of the show. It's a song telling us how Vandegelder made his money, an introduction of sorts about the character. I don't know where it could go-somewhere in the first act-but 90 minutes into the show- it feels wrong. When Elegance started after that I thought, ah, now back to the show. Anyway, I don't feel rushed now to catch it again. Any other number would have been better on the telecast.

[LesWickedly]

Posted: 6/12/17 at 12:46am

GeorgeandDot said: "Bette deserved her Tony and I thought that her speech was great.  The woman is 71, she may not win another Tony, so LET HER TALK.  I thought that Platt's speech was sweet and quick and his win was incredibly well deserved.  My favorite speech of the night was Rachel Bay Jones'.  She's just such a sweet, quirky lady.  I've spoken with her quite and few times and she always seems to be a genuinely great person.

The Great Comet had a brilliant performance, but they totally deserved Best Director, Orchestrations, and I would have been happy to have seen Malloy win score.  It was nice to see DEH do so well.  It's really a fantastic musical and it deserved to go down in the books.

Overall, great season, but the ceremony was kind of lackluster.

 

"

I agree with all of this, except I'm happy with DEH's win of Score. 

[Luscious]

Posted: 6/12/17 at 12:47am

PalJoey said: " 

DEAR SCOTT F*CKING RUDIN--

IF GREAT COMET COULD RE-STAGE AROUND THAT F*CKING PASSARELLE, SO COULD YOUR GODDAMN HELLO DOLLY.

go to hell."

I'm not a big fan of Rudin's but in this case I think the producer's of the Tony's should have put aside their egos and caved. They should have been more concerned with putting on the best show possible, and not cheating their television audience out of seeing Bette perform, instead of "winning" their argument. Rudin knew that the entire cast, but most importantly, Bette, would have had to set aside time to rehearse the newly staged choreography. He was being protective of his star. Bette is 71! As it is, it's amazing that she's doing seven shows a week. I'm actually glad that they're doing all possible to ensure that she doesn't miss a performance. And as far as Bette's speech... she's earned that extra time. I agree with PalJoey. No one plays off the Divine Miss M!

Updated On: 6/12/17 at 12:47 AM

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 6/12/17 at 12:48am

I thought Bette's Tony speech had some nice moments but it went on for too long and when it did, the content of the speech didn't justify it. I'm not saying it had to be political but don't just keep hyping your show. At least thank people who are meaningful to you or make some kind of a statement. Don't just kill time because you can. 

[wonderfulwizard11]

Posted: 6/12/17 at 12:54am

No, I agree with Pal Joey. If the Comet team (including the unfairly robbed Chavkin) could restage their work and create the best performance of the night, the Dolly folks could have done the same. It's another example of Rudin's extreme hubris, and it resulted in the most boring performance of the evening. 

[A Canadian in NYC]

Posted: 6/12/17 at 12:54am

I thought Kevin Spacey was fantastic tonight as host.  I'm surprised though to read how so many didn't know he can sing.  He was nominated for a Golden Globe for his role as  Bobby Darin  in Beyond the Sea,  back in 2004.  Starred - co-wrote and directed! A very good film and performance.  And with his impersonations tonight - this man is talented!

[RippedMan]

Posted: 6/12/17 at 1:02am

Singing on film is a little different than what he did tonight! He was great! 

I thought War Paint was the best of the night. 

And I stand by the fact that "No One" from The Great Comet is the best musical theater song written this season. Just simply stunning in its character work and emotional pull. 

Updated On: 6/12/17 at 01:02 AM

[CallMeAl2]

Posted: 6/12/17 at 1:10am

Luscious said: "...Rudin knew that the entire cast, but most importantly, Bette, would have had to set aside time to rehearse the newly staged choreography..."

Sure, but everybody sets aside time to work out a Tony number for live TV. It's what you do. Only Rudin balked at doing what every Tony nominated show has done for the past ten or so years.

Now that the show is done there are two points that seem obvious to me.

1. The show would have been considerably better if that "Hello, Dolly!" number was there.

2. Slicing up and re-staging numbers for the live broadcast left most of tonight's shows looking anemic - Comet and Bandstand excepted. As I said earlier, "Waving Through a Window" wasn't bad, but the expanded distances at Radio City made it look like Platt was scurrying from here to there with no real purpose. In short, I don't know that the live numbers are working.

Although you can't have remote crews in every theater shooting live. Which would probably lead us to filmed segments - which most productions release for press purposes anyway. But what's special about that? Then the Tonys becomes a clip show - nothing more than an average night at my house flipping through Broadway YouTube performances.

Somebody needs to do some thinking on this. I don't know why in previous years the numbers seemed to show off the musicals so well, but this year they did not. I continually watch Newsies, Cinderella, Fun Home - they all gave a taste of what the full productions were like. I'm not sure what happened this year. Even Falsettos looked like a mess. (The cleaned-up lyrics didn't help. "You save lives and I save chicken fat. I can't f*%kng deal with that!" is one of the great lyrics of musical theater.)

[carrienations]

Posted: 6/12/17 at 1:23am

Nicole7579 said: "Well it won't because LLL was average at best and Moonlight was a superior and groundbreaking film so...its not even on the same playing field. LLL winning would've been a travesty compared to everything else nominated for Film."

Standing ovation for this.

[illiniparkie]

Posted: 6/12/17 at 1:24am

Kevin Spacey was a lot of fun.  I had forgotten about his spot-on Johnny Carson impersonation.

I thought the way the best plays were presented was original and a splendid way to give recognition to the playwrights.

The Rockettes?  I felt I had accidentally turned on a Christmas show.

Bette's speech was hilarious.  A bit long, but so what?  She played off the orchestra!  Priceless!

I was personally predicting a Best Musical for Come from Away but the love for Dear Evan Hansen didn't surprise me.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 6/12/17 at 1:32am

The Rockettes did seem odd especially with the two coming out to sing, but we the show was in their home, and it is theatrical, so whatever. 

I think the live performances work, I just wish they'd rely less on projections and more on actual set pieces from the show. It just made everything feel very "same." 

[MadsonMelo]

Posted: 6/12/17 at 2:37am

Ok ceremony, not great, but Spacey was FAR BETTER than I expected. His final gag being Frank Underwood (did he just put robin wright for doing nothing? GENIUS) and the joke about Midler WAS JUST FREAKIN GENIUS.

All performances were lacking something, but I kinda liked Comet, Bandstand and DEH. Eva sang the hell out for Miss Saigon, both Ebersole and LuPone were good at War Paint. The Falsettos, Come From Away and GHD performances were everything but good, sad.

But that Hello, Dolly! number was boring, a total embarassment, I will never get over that THIS production of Hello, Dolly! was represented by PENNY IN A FREAKIN POCKET!.

The way the plays were introduced was amazing, really great. The In Memoriam with those ridiculous clapping for ''whoever is the most famous'' was painful to see.

I will forever hate Josh Gad for make me believe in a FORUM revival, but then I remember that it's easier to revive Passion these days than Forum.