TONYS Performances Discussion Thread

[Theatreboy33]

Posted: 6/12/06 at 1:36am

Im sure theres a whole lotta this in the main tony thread, but i dont really feel like going through 25 plus pages of posts, so im going to start one SOLEY dedicated to the specific show performances. Im sure this will piss countless thread conservationists off, but oh well. Heres my thoughts:

Jersey Boys: Probably the best overall performance. Simple, yet powerful. And JLY sounded the best he has in a while, judging from a slew of recent morning show appearances. As someone who has yet to see the show, if i had to pick one based on the TOnys telecast, this would be it.

Drowsy Chaperone: Another nice performance, though I wanted to see more of the supporting characters. Again, not a show I've seen yet, and though Ive heard nice things about Sutton Foster, all anyone i know that has seen the show can talk about is the man in the chair, who got very little onstage time. What little i did see of him, however, i loved. Very charming. He should have opened up the show with a little rant or something rather than that painful jazzing up of "Tonight." I heard Bernstein rolling on that one.

Sweeney Todd: My third favorite performance of the night, though, as always, i would have liked to have heard more of the opening number. Also thought they could have chosen a blood bucket/butcher coat moment to get the inventive direction accross a little better. Cerveris was hauntingly good.

The Wedding Singer: As tacky and brainless as it may be, this sure came off well on television for me. The energetic dancing reminded me of mitchell's Hairspray choreography, and I wish they had focused in on it a little more. After all, watching Steven Lynch playing a guitar can only be shown at so many angles before it becomes menotonous. Nonetheless, music was catchy, and the extreme 80s of it all made it come off as very fluff, but fun entertainment.

The Pajama Game: A nice blend of lead showcasing with big cast number. Dont know if Kathleen Marshall directed this telecast bit, but if she did, she did much better than her efforts on Wonderful Towns tony performance from a couple years ago. Ick. Was nice to see Harry play the piano with such gusto, however, I found the chorus members entirely abbrasive. perhaps its the classic case of theatre coming off poorly on television, but the cast seemed so damn DESPERATE to please that I was completely turned off. Similar to Hairspray's tony performance in 2002, i wanted to yell back to them, "Calm down, for gods sake! Youve got it in the bag."

The Color Purple: Havent seen this one either, and after that lackluster performance of one unmemorable song playing off of a too-often used big mamma sass appeal, followed by an ending number that sounded like something out of a Disney World Epcot parade, don't care to see it much either. Sorry Oprah. And was it just me who was creeped out by Oprah's line delivery on the Harpo line? Just doesnt work when dressed in a nice ball gown.

Threepenny Opera: If you havent figured out by now, this show order has been going in descending order of my enjoyment of them. And this was by far the worst. If Scott Elliott didnt think that the awful press would hurt them, this BORING BORING performance surely will. I did in fact see this production, and boy, was Jim Dale the one redeeming factor in it. And of course, which actor is completely left out of the number? Jim Dale. Give the man his moment for gods sake. I could only take Alan Cumming's sexy stare into the camera lens so much.

Harry Connick opening number: Bottom of the list. Nuff said. Id rather see a highlight reel of Hugh jackman/aretha franklin duets.

[Theatreboy33]

Posted: 6/12/06 at 1:47am

oooh, and i forgot one.

The gorgeous Phantom performance: I think it actually took me longer to type this than it did to perform that.