The 76th Annual TONY Awards!- Page 17

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 6/11/23 at 11:57pm

PianoMann said: "The part of the telecast in which the present 11 of 26 categories and the two Lifetime Achievement Awards is not a "pre-show." It isn't a red carpet with interviews about what designers the nominees are wearing. It is a part of the official ceremony, whether CBS airs it or its shunted off to Pluto TV. The attendees from Lin-Manuel Miranda down didn't show up at 8:00pm for the Tonys, they showed up for curtain at 6:30pm. I'm not sure why this is a contentious point?"

Pluto broadcasting it (or last year Paramount+) is the luckiest thing that's happened to the telecast in a long time. These awards are on a real platform controlled by Viacom where curious viewers can go back and watch if they want.

[Testing1232]

Posted: 6/11/23 at 11:59pm

MCW1227 said: "Kimberly Akimbo is finally off TDF! Happy for them, but sad for me who wanted to see it another 4 times! Great win!"

Yep.... had a feeling this would happen, so bought a tic for 6/15 last night (trip #7) 

 

[Melissa25]

Posted: 6/12/23 at 12:00am

I liked the opening dance number showing off that elaborate lobby at the United Palace.  Overall I think Ariana did a very good job hosting and I liked this format without all the scripted lead ins and jokes.  I would be fine if they kept it this way although I agree Angela deserved a longer tribute.

I am pleased for the most part especially for Tesori, Lindsay-Abair, Clark, Milligan, Boritt, Susan-Lori Parks, Comer and Ghee.  I am disappointed that Cooley did not win. I thought his performance was just pure perfection.  

[Dirty Rotten Scoundrel]

Posted: 6/12/23 at 12:01am

To echo other’s sentiments, and with no disrespect at all to WGA: I think this is the most enjoyable awards broadcast I’ve ever seen. It moved along smoothly, had very few cringeworthy moments, and ended on time. I hope other award shows take note for the future and utilize the writers to frame and enhance this format - rather than revert back to the former ones that would run 20+ minutes long in order to accommodate forced and often unfunny/uncomfortable bits and banter. 

[ggersten]

Posted: 6/12/23 at 12:02am

Robbie2 said: "ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "SFFrontRow said: "Joel Grey and John Kander had their pre-telecast moments and they were not brief."

In hindsight might have just been better not to bring them up a second time –– just assemble a quick clip package and an intro of "earlier tonight we presented Lifetime Achievement Awards to John Kander and Joel Grey." And then cut to them in the audience. But the Pluto segments for Grey & Kander were so good that I can't even be mad at the CBS version.

Overall I really liked the clip packages this year of the shows & folks involved talking about them (mostly)."

"

I was just surprised Grey didn't go over there and start singing "Diiddly dee dee dee - two ladies!"

[PianoMann]

Posted: 6/12/23 at 12:03am

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "PianoMann said: "The part of the telecast in which the present 11 of 26 categories and the two Lifetime Achievement Awards is not a "pre-show." It isn't a red carpet with interviews about what designers the nominees are wearing. It is a part of the official ceremony, whether CBS airs it or its shunted off to Pluto TV. The attendees from Lin-Manuel Miranda down didn't show up at 8:00pm for the Tonys, they showed up for curtain at 6:30pm. I'm not sure why this is a contentious point?"

Pluto broadcasting it (or last year Paramount+) is the luckiest thing that's happened to the telecast in a long time. These awards are on a real platform controlled by Viacom where curious viewers can go back and watch if they want."

Oh, I don't disagree about that. But it seems like the insinuation is that not being on CBS = not a part of the "official" Tonys, which is obviously not true.

 

[MBFan]

Posted: 6/12/23 at 12:07am

Dirty Rotten Scoundrel said: "To echo other’s sentiments, and with no disrespect at all to WGA: I think this is the most enjoyable awards broadcast I’ve ever seen. It moved along smoothly, had very few cringeworthy moments, and ended on time. I hope other award shows take note for the future and utilize the writers to frame and enhance this format - rather than revert back to the former ones that would run 20+ minutes long in order to accommodate forced and often unfunny/uncomfortable bits and banter."

But does the fact that it went so well and tighter without writers not really bode well for the writers' cause?

[bear88]

Posted: 6/12/23 at 12:15am

MBFan said: "Dirty Rotten Scoundrel said: "To echo other’s sentiments, and with no disrespect at all to WGA: I think this is the most enjoyable awards broadcast I’ve ever seen. It moved along smoothly, had very few cringeworthy moments, and ended on time. I hope other award shows take note for the future and utilize the writers to frame and enhance this format - rather than revert back to the former ones that would run 20+ minutes long in order to accommodate forced and often unfunny/uncomfortable bits and banter."

But does the fact that it went so well and tighter without writers not really bode well for the writers' cause?"

I don't think so. The Tony Awards telecast, in the larger movie-TV world, are insignificant. For this ceremony, you can pick an experienced dancer as the host and have an opening act that works works without Ariana DeBose say a single word. Most people are watching the telecast to watch performances and to see who won. That's not going to work for almost anything else. You couldn't even have another major awards show pull this off. The Grammys, I guess?

[Robbie2]

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

Tony Awards 2023: The Best Of The Red Carpet

https://deadline.com/gallery/2023-tonys-red-carpet-fashion-looks/

[Mr. Wormwood]

Posted: 6/12/23 at 12:18am

Overall thoughts: The Pluto part of the night was awkward but the main show really was a great telecast. The montages before the musicals were a nice touch. The opening number was creative and enjoyable. It was a little awkward having each presenter introduce themselves but I'll take it over the stilted banter we're sometimes stuck with. Really have to give props to the Tonys team for doing great things with the constraints they had. Using "Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again" for the In Memoriam was a really nice way to acknowledge the closing of Phantom.

Performance Thoughts:

New York, New York - medleys are very hard to pull off at the Tonys. They should have just done the title song. This was also a performance where the stage felt too small for what they wanted to do.

Camelot - again with the medley thing. The leads sounded great vocally but this was a messy and awkward performance.

& Juliet - I felt underwhelmed by this one. I didn't think Lorna Courtney sounded very good & this was the other number that felt constrained by the setting.

Some Like It Hot - Wonderful. Crisp and polished. Everyone sounded great and they really sold the song/show.

Into the Woods - Super charming & sweet. I love that they chose to do this song instead of trying to cut down the opening or do Ever After or something like that.

Parade - I thought this was great. It made me very excited to see the show this summer.

Sweeney Todd - I thought they did well with this. I thought it was effective at capturing the mood of the show.

Kimberly Akimbo - I am not seeing Kimberly until this summer and this had me even more excited to see the show. Like Into the Woods, the simplicity & charm went a long way.

Shucked - It felt a little chaotic but I still think it was a fun performance.

Funny Girl - Lea Michele killed it though I wish the tempo was just a hair slower.

EDIT: I forgot A Beautiful Noise. Probably because that was so forgettable...

Updated On: 6/12/23 at 12:18 AM

[Robbie2]

Posted: 6/12/23 at 12:19am

HeyMrMusic said: "LaChanze won two Tonys as a producer tonight. The two shows she won for also did not have a mile-long list of co-producers, so she was probably instrumental in their successes. Congrats!

The lack of script helped with the pacing of the show and kept the evening focused on the task at hand. I hope going forward the Tonys and every awards show take note that it's typically the often-bad writing that bogs it down. I personally missed announcer tidbits like "This is Victoria Clark's second Tony Award," which don't factor into the length of the ceremony. But the show packages and videos of nominated performances (and designs etc. in Act One), I was a fan of those."

Yes, LaChanze you go girl! Rockin' 2 TONYS tonight and looking amazing. 

 

[Robbie2]

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

Yes and Ghee did it! Looking just WOW

[Robbie2]

Posted: 6/12/23 at 12:25am

O yea Myles Frost



 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 6/12/23 at 12:25am

The quality of tonight's ceremony shouldn't impact the WGA at all, positive or negative. It may show other awards bodies that a telecast is feasible under these conditions, IF the WGA will agree not to picket (and for something awarding film/TV like the Emmys, the WGA will want to be as disruptive as humanly possible).

What I hope the Tonys will take away is that the wordy intros are unnecessary, some things can speak for themselves, and they can trim down banter for future years.

One of the big things we didn't get is the announcer. The intro of presenters is less necessary, but things like "this is the fifth Tony Award for Tom Stoppard" or "Alex Newell is the first nonbinary performer to win a Tony" can help build narratives and keep more casual viewers engaged.

[Mr. Wormwood]

Posted: 6/12/23 at 12:28am

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "The quality of tonight's ceremony shouldn't impact the WGA at all, positive or negative. It may show other awards bodies that a telecast is feasible under these conditions, IF the WGA will agree not to picket (and for something awarding film/TV like the Emmys, the WGA will want to be as disruptive as humanly possible).

What I hope the Tonys will take away is that the wordy intros are unnecessary, some things can speak for themselves, and they can trim down banter for future years.

One of the big things we didn't get is the announcer. The intro of presenters is less necessary, but things like "this is the fifth Tony Award for Tom Stoppard" or "Alex Newell is the first nonbinary performer to win a Tony" can help build narratives and keep more casual viewers engaged."

Yep, I think the Tonys can learn a lot from this for future telecasts. But some of the other award shows are an entirely different matter. The WGA should & will picket the Emmys if the strike is still going on by then. Everything they're honoring at the Emmys is WGA-affiliated unlike the Tonys, where it's usually just the telecast itself & not the work being honored.

[Robbie2]

Posted: 6/12/23 at 12:38am

TaffyDavenport said: "Kimberly is now selling through December 17."

[Robbie2]

Posted: 6/12/23 at 12:40am

bwayobsessed said: "Highlights for me were Arden’s speech, Shucked and ITW performances"

[Robbie2]

Posted: 6/12/23 at 12:42am

Robbie2 said: "HeyMrMusic said: "LaChanze won two Tonys as a producer tonight. The two shows she won for also did not have a mile-long list of co-producers, so she was probably instrumental in their successes. Congrats!

The lack of script helped with the pacing of the show and kept the evening focused on the task at hand. I hope going forward the Tonys and every awards show take note that it's typically the often-bad writing that bogs it down. I personally missed announcer tidbits like "This is Victoria Clark's second Tony Award," which don't factor into the length of the ceremony. But the show packages and videos of nominated performances (and designs etc. in Act One), I was a fan of those."

Yes, LaChanze you go girl! Rockin' 2 TONYS tonight and looking amazing.

"

Updated On: 6/12/23 at 12:42 AM

[Jonathan Cohen]

Posted: 6/12/23 at 12:55am

TheSecretArden said: "Bettyboy72 said: "Also really livid for Stephen McKinley Henderson. The man is a legendary actor. Sean Hayes, who was wonderful, doesn’t touch the mastery of SMH. That Tony was a joke. Doug Wright is a sitcom writer. He did not write a legendary play."

Which is why Good Night, Oscar wasn’t nominated for Best Play. Henderson is a legend and no one can take that from him, but Hayes is still a worthy winner. Among a stacked category he gives the most transformative performance of the group, acting the role with an incredible level of stamina. His show-stopping climactic moment deserves recognition in and of itself. Really, any of the five in that category would have been satisfying winners though in my book!"

Stephen McKinley Henderson gave a great performance, Sean Hayes gave a great performance. But Henderson gave a great performance in a great play, and the Hayes is acting in a play I'd describe as adequate. 

Can you appreciate a great performance as much if it's not in the context of an equally great script? For me the answer is no and for that reason I was really surprised Henderson lost. 

 

 

[djoko84]

Posted: 6/12/23 at 1:03am

I just want to be negative for a second. I'm tired of the people who start predicting winners based on the Outer Critics, Drama Desks, etc... when they know Kimberly Akimbo wasn't eligible. But they still come on here and say stupid things like "the tides are turning" or "so and so has momentum." Stop giving your opinion when you don't know what you're talking about or how the Tonys work. End of rant.

[Mr. Wormwood]

Posted: 6/12/23 at 1:04am

djoko84 said: "I just want to be negative for a second. I'm tired of the people who start predicting winners based on the Outer Critics, Drama Desks, etc... when they know Kimberly Akimbo wasn't eligible. But they still come on here and say stupid things like "the tides are turning" or "so and so has momentum." Stop giving your opinion when you don't know what you're talking about or how the Tonys work. End of rant."

Amen. The Some Like It Hot chatter was silly when KA wasn't eligible for anything SLIH was winning.

[B212323]

Posted: 6/12/23 at 1:13am

They should've done short packages of winners including the honorary ones earlier in the evening on the main broadcast

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

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

djoko84 said: "I just want to be negative for a second. I'm tired of the people who start predicting winners based on the Outer Critics, Drama Desks, etc... when they know Kimberly Akimbo wasn't eligible. But they still come on here and say stupid things like "the tides are turning" or "so and so has momentum." Stop giving your opinion when you don't know what you're talking about or how the Tonys work. End of rant."

That's part of the Oscarization of theatre awards season and the interest in prognosticating at places like GoldDerby. Some people drive themselves silly trying to make predictions instead of just enjoying the show or being surprised. There are no real precursors for the Tonys because no voting body is remotely similar to the Tonys and all cover the work in different ways. You can gauge "momentum" at the Glass House bar or on Twitter or in any number of other places, but in the way that the Tonys are structured now it really doesn't mean anything outside of the Michael Paulson method (surveying 150+ voters from different fields of work).

That being said, some of us felt there was still a chance SLIH could have won Best Musical, up until the very end of the night. At that point Kim had two writing and two acting and SLIH had 3 crafts and an acting.

Updated On: 6/12/23 at 01:17 AM

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 6/12/23 at 1:19am

Quick thoughts:

Ariana was even better than last year, and so was the opening number, an unintentional wordless nod to Dancin' that set the United Palace aflame (there was even a prominent "Sing, Sing, Sing" section with some of the dancers from that show, I noticed). That number proves it: she is a DANCER first, and an outstanding one at that.

Most of the shows' performances were solid.

From one Atlantic Theatre Company transfer to another, Kimberly Akimbo became the first show to win the Tony Triple Crown since The Band's Visit, as expected. Well done.

Sean Hayes winning for Good Night, Oscar is yet another case of incredible actor carrying a meh show on its back. See also: Joaquina Kalukango for last year's Paradise Square (she also sounded wonderful during tonight's In Memoriam).

Casey Nicholaw finally won a Choreography Tony. Felt waaaay overdue at this point.

The only true shocker in terms of winners, IMO, was Nevin Steinberg for Sweeney. 

AMPTP, pay your writers and actors!

 

 

 

 

 

Updated On: 6/12/23 at 01:19 AM

[jkcohen626]

Posted: 6/12/23 at 1:56am

Arianna's 2 opening numbers are 2 for 2 for me. I loved "This is Your Round of Applause" and I loved this dance! The Choreo and camera work was INCREDIBLE, the dancers were PERFECT, and that stair jump gave me CHILLS!!! It fit the night so well!