There was SO much wrong with the Tony's last night, it's hard to keep it to one thread, — Page 2

I loved Al D's post. I think it's fine to take issue with the artlessness of it all, especially since this is the only exposure to Broadway a lot of people across the country get - come on people, show your best!

Razzle Dazzle was a horrible choice - to me not so much b/c of the interpretation as the content. It's a lyric all about faking it. Don't say that about my boys in memoriam!

Piazza may be lush and tuneful, but it sure looked boring on my Trinitron. Although it did generate the biggest laugh and a new catchphrase in our house -- "It's a completely naked statue!"

As boring as Piazza looked - the Spamalot number dragged into infinite. Whoa, could that thing have repeated any more? And if that's the point of the number - zzzzzz. Oh, and too many faces, Ms. Ramirez. At least on camera in closeup. Agreed about the dress - first rule of costuming, you should be able to put it on and then forget you're wearing it. Unless that was all a planned part of her schtick (bet it was) in which case - do it better.

Hugh Jackman twinkling his eyes still affects me - although in the "I Won't Dance" number it began to feel like he was giving me the old Razzle Dazzle pretty early up. And Mr. Camera Director, sir - unless you actually have the camera on Hugh's feet 'not dancing' ahead of the joke, the joke doesn't really pay off.

Stupid me - also thought Cherry Jones was kissing her daughter.

My 11 year old thought Jerry Mitchell looked like Brian Stokes Mitchell. Maybe it was the Mitchellness of it all. Maybe the soul patch. But I thought that was funny.

Spelling Bee mildly amused - but I miss the old set. Even though I can't remember a note after the opening line, I still wish William Finn had won Best Score - if only for A New Brain and Falsettos. Come on, he deserves it!

The La Cage number was the only big number that seemed to demonstrate anything like actual talent and training. Everything else looked (perhaps deceptively) like something the kids could put up at our local high school next spring and you wouldn't know the difference. (Except Norbert - he was just as funny and surprising onscreen as onstage)

Is all (or any) of that Bernadette Peters actual hair? And yes, please, I beg somebody - write us a new showbiz anthem or two. It's time already.

I thought Billy Crystal was funny. Let him host and Hugh Jackman shake his tushy. Hosts shouldn't shake their tushies unless it's part of the opening special material number (that isn't "Another Opening, Another Show"). Speaking of tushies - the tushy line from Spelling Bee got a laugh at my house. Okay, I've said tushy enough - moving on.

Albee was cool and quotable on Breakfast on Broadway this morning. And Sutton Foster was fresh, unmade up, and perfectly lovely.

All in all... ehh.

"Instead of bitching and moaning, why not say what worked?" The answer to that is obvious:Because very little worked. The Tonys were a mess and the performers, shows, and the AUDIENCE deserved better than that.

I have to concur completely with Akbar-N-Jeff. Overall, it was a disappointment that did little to present Broadway in general as a worthy place to put disposable income - or even interest.While Aretha was, sadly awful (and I generally like her, and do understand her style), Hugh was lame, and Jesse wasn't at his best (and I like him, too), there were IMO far more egregious moments. I thought that Robert Goulet READING his lines from the teleprompter (in the role he's supposed to be playing!) was a total embarrassment. And was all that hand-flapping some mistaken attempt at characterization? I thought that the Neaderlander organization's congratulatory expositions to itself (while failing to mention its CAST) was disgraceful, and that cutting Davis entirely out of the "Best of Times" clip was just petty. It was nice to see the REST of the theatre community giving them the cold reception they deserved.The applause was half-hearted at best. Didn't anyone get that the later comment about reading from the teleprompter was a slap at Goulet doing precisely that?
Sadly, I also have to agree with those who said the whole show was poorly staged. I watched it on the small screen, and too much of it seemed to be slapdash, as if little planning had gone into where to put the cameras, which shots actually highlighted what was being shown, how to stage the musical numbers; things that should have been seen to in the dress rehearsal, if not before.
On the plus side, even the presentation couldn't kill the charm of Victoria Clark in the Piazza numbers. Now I really want to see that show. Because I haven't seen it, the Spamalot number made me smile just because it didn't take itself seriously.
I also liked Billy Crystal's "Deep Throat" dig at Fierstein.
Overall, its value was in giving me a glimpse of a couple of the shows I'd like to see, but haven't yet, however deeply flawed it was.

---