Here are my thoughts:
Opening number- very busy. I liked that 9 to 5 had something, and it was kind of cute. Everything else, including poor Tveit, was awful up until Hair, which saved the whole thing.
Shrek- Cute number, great showcase of Seiber, though a waste of the other three.
West Side Story- Surprisingly, I was impressed by this number, even though Scaglione?s voice cracked (lmao moment- my mom saying ?I think she?s having a little trouble with that note??)
Guys and Dolls- It was as bad as everyone said it was going to be. Except for the fantastic Testa, who is wasting her time.
Next to Normal- Besides Alice getting behind, that was amazing. I am even more excited to see that show on Saturday! Alice Ripley must be exhausted after performing that show?
Billy Elliot- It was a bit?awkward? I don?t know why they chose Angry Dance, and I had to explain it to a lot of people who knew very little about the show. Wouldn?t make me want to get tickets, based on this or what I saw in the opening. But I already have tickets and know better as to the quality of the actual show.
Pal Joey- Channing sucks. Shouldn?t have been nominated. End of story.
Hair- Great performance, but I?m glad I didn?t get tickets to this on Broadway?I HATE audience interaction, and would really not enjoy being touched or talked to.
Rock of Ages- Ehhh, it was okay. I still think 9 to 5 should?ve been nominated instead. Don?t really know why the NYtimes or other critics were raving about it, though Maroulis and Spanger were quite good.
WSS, Shrek, Rock of Ages, and Hair all appear to be very fun shows to see when they tour, but not when I?m going to Broadway.
As far as the winners, I?m glad N2N won score and tied orchestrations. I think [tos] deserved book. Other than that, all the actors who should?ve won did. And though I think N2N is better than Billy, at least a solid show won Best Musical not because it will tour well but because it too is actually good, though maybe not the Best.
Touring stuff was stupid, and I found it ironic that Legally Blonde performed with a tour lead and Broadway chorus.
N2N?s haul seems similar to Piazza?s (Actress, score)
Though it is interesting that the closest any show came to Billy?s 10 was Carnage?s 3?
Overall, pretty good year. I liked NPH and the majority of the performances and the presentations were good. Sound was obviously an issue, but?
And I want to hear the rest of the closing number! My tv cut it off!
"Art, in itself, is an attempt to bring order out of chaos."-Stephen Sondheim