It just aired here in New York and it was a great show. I like this event cause it's kinda classy and you see the performers in nice clothes and concentrate on the music of the nominated shows. Great start with Cheyenne singing a wonderful: ON BROADWAY. Sutton and the Fionas with a funny powerful I KNOW IT'S TODAY. The adorable Mr. Creel and Co, with WHERE DO I GO? I love all of them and Gavin's sneaks. OK, NEXT TO NORMAL with that Superboy song: I have to say that this is the second song I have heard from the show and I am underwhelmed, the lyrics just didn't fit the music at all. I hope it's better in the theatre, Alice, Jennifer and Aaron looked super. Carole Shelley proved why she got her nod with a touching performance. ROCK OF AGES sounded great, but I thought they used famous songs, I've never heard of that one. Amy Spangler has a hard face. They did Rock It! GUYS AND DOLLS was actually kinda cute, but kinda bland in the staging. I thought Kate Jennings Grant was an ingenue, but I was wrong. Then came that Tornado Stephanie J Bloch with GET OUT AND STAY OUT, how does she sing like that? Just incredible. And great work from that cutie drummer, Sean McDaniel. And last, that stick of wood Matt Cavanaugh, does his face have any expression at all? Ho-sephina, as the announcer called her, looked lovely but I still find her voice good, but not exceptional for this role. It was a good show with lots of the other nominees getting some moments. Talking about their first stage appearances was very funny. Luck to them all!
I really didn't think any of the performances totally worked...and a lot of people sounded a bit off-key to me. I actually thought the best performance, vocally, was probably WSS' "Tonight." It translated the best out of context and I have to say Scaglione sounded wonderful and Cavenaugh sounded better than he does live in the theater.
D'oh. I missed it. Will it be airing again in the NY area or shall I wait for it to pop up elsewhere?
Now, mother always said that whenever you hear a strange, frightening, and potentially life-threatening ghostly chant coming from the dark woods that there's one thing that you should do: Not wake the others and go investigate it alone...
I have to totally disagree with you guys with the Billy Elliot performance. I havent seen the show yet and after watching that performance, I probably never will. If the score is like that, it's a definitely no. I know I'm gonna killed for saying this, but I really think that there are much better shows out there than Billy Elliot.
It's probably unfair to say that there are better shows out there when you haven't seen it yet. I think the song works much better in context of the show, as do most of the songs performed tonight.
I was also very underwhelmed. I only saw the second half starting with Carol Shelley. I enjoyed her performance more than I did in the theater, which was a lot. ROCK OF AGES was ok, I really don't enjoy Amy Spanger, but it was ok. GUYS AND DOLLS was possibly the worst thing I have ever seen-Lauren Graham was absolutely terrible! That last note was atrocious, mainly due to Graham's inability to sustain a note. Stephanie J Block was amazing in her performance; she has a truly phenomenal voice! WEST SIDE STORY was not great, similar to the show, Cavanaugh is stiffer than wood however Josefina has a very beautiful voice. I just hope the Tony performances are better than this...
I enjoyed it and hope they continue this as a yearly tradition. I didn't think Marry the Man Today was bad; I thought it was cute. I wasn't crazy about Carole Shelley's number, although I did love that song in the theater. Superboy and the Invisible Girl was great and I was glad they did a number that showcased Jennifer because I don't think she'll be in N2N's actual Tony performance.
I think the idea of this concert is to showcase the music and not necsarily represent the context in the show. There was a time when Broadway songs were also popular songs that could stand on their own. I thought Carole Shelly made a monologe of her song and it stood well on it's own. TONIGHT is so gorgeous a song it works on every level. WHERE DO I GO also means something without the show around it. Dolly's song stands completely as a single entity. And so did the SHREK number, it had it's own storyline. I just enjoy the different take on the music, and they didn't do any dumb medliy.
The only strong performance all around was Shrek. Of the others, Hair and Next to Normal were ok, but have been better. Guys and Dolls should not have done that song. WSS was AWFUL. Stephanie was also awful, and I loooove her. Rock of Ages...don't even get me started. And Carole Shelley made me cry. Not in the good way.
I think the idea of this concert is to showcase the music and not necsarily represent the context in the show.
The idea of the concert is to get people to watch the Tonys and buy tickets to the shows. I love many of the productions (not including the one I'm about to mention), but I thought West Side Story was the only performance that accomplished that "idea"/goal.
"Why, I make more money than... than... than Calvin Coolidge! PUT TOGETHER!" ~Lina Lamont
bjh2114-- I missed Shrek's performance (oops) but turned it on at 7:10 and continued from there. But can we be BFFS? I agree with your commentary wholeheartedly.
Hair and N2N were both great, though I think they have had even stronger performances at past events. Guys and Dolls could have probably picked a better song, though since I haven't seen the show, this performance wasn't a great first impression. And I adore Stephanie, but I am sorry that her performance went the way it did... it was not her best at all. Notttt really a fan of the Billy, WSS, or ROA performances... sorry.
Still sad that I missed Shrek because I love "I Know It's Today"! Updated On: 5/31/09 at 03:39 AM
post on something other than Rock of Ages for a change.
I'm a professional. Whenever something goes wrong on stage, I know how to handle it so no one ever remembers. I flash my %#$&.
"Jayne just sat there while Gina flailed around the stage like an idiot."