The 63rd Annual Tony Awards Megathread — Page 31

Actually, I just read on Jim Hill's Disney news site that basically, after the performers had been rehearsing the Jerry Herman tribute number (which included Hello Dolly) for weeks and the programmers had worked hard to program the live-action WALL-E, the Tony producers just up and told them, "Sorry, we're going to go a different direction and just show clips of the classic actors." Which screwed over the hard work of both the performers and the Disney Imagineers. Pretty damn shoddy, you ask me.

I'm going to open a can of worms here. I don't frequent this board as often as I ought to these days, and my only familiarity with Billy Elliot are the songs I've heard on Comcast Music Choice (and they do seem pretty good). So why is the consensus that Billy Elliot didn't deserve the Tony? What's wrong with the show? (I will also admit to liking the number from N2N that I heard...I'll have to get my hands on the cast album.)

Updated On: 6/7/09 at 11:22 PM

I seem to be the only one who thinks Hair has a trying-too-hard Fame vibe, and find it silly to see men in wigs singing about their hair.

I want to see Hair and N2N now. I thought their performances were great. Props to ROA. Loved it when I saw it, loved it here. NPH was great, loved the Piv dig, especially since they will more than likely be competing for an Emmy against each other.

I think the 2 Shrek performances should have been switched. Freak Flag should have been used to highlight the show. I wish WSS hadn't focused as much on the dancing. I can kinda understand why BE focused on just the dancing, but I wished they had incorporated more of the cast or at least more of the Billys. Wasn't feeling Guys & Dolls' performance. Would have liked to have seen at least 1 of the 4 leads there. But at least Lauren Graham looked AWESOME!

The touring performances added nothing. I liked the opening and loved the ending of the opening. Liza and Stockard scared me.

Oh, and I do wonder why Aaron, a non-nominee sang twice for N2N, but Jennifer, a nominee didn't sing at all. Is it cause he's pretty?

I agree about the tour performances. They. Must. Go. Or, at least, be something worth seeing, which these were not. The acceptance speeches were very nice. The house clearly thundered for Angela and Geoffrey when their names were read off before their wins; just lovely. Marcia Gay Harden's speech was particularly touching. Shrek revealed itself for what it really is - Dreck. Hair's performance was riveting, as was West Side Story's, save for Cavenaugh - good looks do not an excellent musical theatre performer make. I got chills when Geoffrey Rush and Karen Olivo won, and I had tears in my eyes when Angela won. Bebe Neuwirth looked fantastic, and the opening number was absolutely awesome. Liza's "...And the World Goes Round" gave me chills; absolutely thrilling. Sarandon flubbed a bit but looked absolutely stunning. Gavin Creel is a legend in the making. Ripley's speech was awesome and stirring. It was very amusing to see Brian in his Shrek costume, especially right behind Angela. Gregory Jbara's speech was so sweet, as was his wife steadying him. I'm glad Christopher Sieber got spotlighted - he absolutely deserves it.

My favorite moment - Frank Langella. I was pumping my fist! YEAH MAN! Hilarious and well-said.

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Updated On: 6/7/09 at 11:32 PM

The opening and closing numbers were by far the best thing about the telecast tonight. The number from Mamma Mia was downright embarassing. No more numbers from touring productions. They aren't necessary.

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I only hope those of you who enjoyed the opening number aren't subjected to random drug testing this week.

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There were a lot of production aspects that should be embarrassing to these professionals. I think the student crew I worked with at my college on a telethon would have done a much more professional job.

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What was wrong with the opening number? It was a little too much in too little a time, but I thought it was awesome. Perhaps Liza's inclusion makes me biased.

Don't you just love Liza? The BWW interview, on the subject of the Tony opener: "Oh, I don't know a thing! They haven't told me anything." :)

Also, I loved Will Ferrell. Hilarious self-deprecation. Hopefully he will not be a stranger.

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GREAT SHOW?

What station were you watching? Weren't all the other channels repeats?

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Sit down Trent Kowalik! Take that lip-syncing Bret Michaels.

The opening was exactly what the opening of the Tony awards this season should have been. Take that as you will.

You can't deny the reveal of the entire cast after Liza singing "And World Goes 'Round" which is from a movie, of course, wasn't impressive. Sure, it's a cheap thrill.

I think this is the most lively telecast since 1984, which is the best along with 1970, I'd say. Sure, most of the new shows weren't the calibre of past seasons but at least the telecast showcased pretty much all the shows to their best extent.

I thought it was quite an obvious slight to Sondheim that the WEST SIDE STORY performance highlighted the dancing and book (?!) and two lines of his lyrics. Not cool.

Last song was the best part!

P

P.S. Elton's speech could not have been classier. He is an asset to Broadway in general as disdainful as some may be of the shows he has written (I think AIDA was his best score).

I enjoyed the show, it was the first time I was able to watch it on my 150" screen because we just got our local networks in High Def, it looked and sounded fantastic!

I agree with the poster above, the musical numbers with the touring shows was OK, but I felt it would have been quite spectacular to instead of one of them have a great production number right before the special award to Jerry Herman. There wasn't much of "traditional" Broadway on the show except for Guys and Dolls and West Side Story, and I really feel they missed an opportunity to present the title song of MAME and mix it with the title song of Hello Dolly for a really awesome showstopping number. Missed opportunity!

Oh for frack's sake. Another voice declaring a horribly put together show with disastrous sound gaffes was EVEN BETTER on a large scale.

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