There was SO much wrong with the Tony's last night, it's hard to keep it to one thread,- Page 2
There was SO much wrong with the Tony's last night, it's hard to keep it to one thread,
#25re: There was SO much wrong with the Tony's last night, it's hard to keep i
Posted: 6/6/05 at 10:59am
how ridiculous to see the glass as half empty, rather than half full.
Al Dente, instead of bitching and moaning, why not say what worked?
JbaraFan1
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/14/04
#26re: There was SO much wrong with the Tony's last night, it's hard to keep i
Posted: 6/6/05 at 11:00am
Al Dente, I will say that I think it's great that you care so much.
That's better than not giving a damn. I mean it.
eslgr8
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/20/04
#27re: There was SO much wrong with the Tony's last night, it's hard to keep i
Posted: 6/6/05 at 11:01amJoeKv...you are so right!!!
Al Dente
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/22/03
#28re: There was SO much wrong with the Tony's last night, it's hard to keep i
Posted: 6/6/05 at 11:03amThank you. And I do care. I don't want the theater community to be the butt of industry jokes and believe me when I tell you, it is, especially out here on the west coast. I spend a lot of time defending the genre. Last night did nothing to help that.
#29re: There was SO much wrong with the Tony's last night, it's hard to keep i
Posted: 6/6/05 at 11:04amI think that Dirty Rotten Scoundrels should have won alot more. Im also extremly displease with the Best Book win for Spelling Bee. The show seemed to me to be the weridest thing Ive ever seen. I am though extremly happy for both Jerry Mitchell and Norbert Leo Butz.
"I am sorry but it is an unjust world and virtue is only triumphant in theatricle performances" The Mikado
#30re: There was SO much wrong with the Tony's last night, it's hard to keep i
Posted: 6/6/05 at 11:07am
I think Spelling Bee is great because it's so fresh! It's reality television brought to the stage. It's taking what is so hip and so popular in mainstream culture today (face it, ever since Spellbound came out, spelling bee's have been quite a little spectator "sport" among some people...myself included!) [Edit: and taking a different twist on it--putting it to music! So here we have a "reality musical" of sorts.] William Finn is always capable of creating new and fresh stuff to entertain current audiences; I wish it had won more, like Best Musical. I always like to root for the underdogs, even though they rarely win.
Akbar-n-Jeff
Understudy Joined: 8/22/04
#31re: There was SO much wrong with the Tony's last night, it's hard to keep i
Posted: 6/6/05 at 11:12am
SPELLING BEE was too Q to win, though Folger and the featured number were very funny.
I so agree with you about Hugh. Time to give him a long rest.
I'd rather have Folger host next year.
#32re: There was SO much wrong with the Tony's last night, it's hard to keep i
Posted: 6/6/05 at 11:14amI think Crystal should host.
"I am sorry but it is an unjust world and virtue is only triumphant in theatricle performances" The Mikado
Over_the_Moon
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/22/05
#33re: There was SO much wrong with the Tony's last night, it's hard to keep i
Posted: 6/6/05 at 11:15am
The thing that really aggitates me about the Tony's is all the movie and tv stars there that have nothing to do with Broadway...(I know it's been said before)
And I must agree that thibodeaux's av definitely makes my eyes happy.
cathyhyatt
Broadway Star Joined: 10/20/04
#34re: There was SO much wrong with the Tony's last night, it's hard to keep i
Posted: 6/6/05 at 11:16amI wouldn't call his performance dreadful or anything close to that. I was just surprised that he was asked to do such a dedication. I mean he hasn't done wonders for the broadway community or anything. I think his performance was good I was jsut surprised they didn't get someone who was more acclaimed.
TheGaIsSilent
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/25/04
#35re: There was SO much wrong with the Tony's last night, it's hard to keep i
Posted: 6/6/05 at 11:16am
Crystal was pretty abysmal, in my opinion. If he was the host, all that attention would have been worthy. But Hugh was the host, and aside from the ill-chosen duet with Aretha, and the very silly "Never Gonna Dance" medley, was hardly on stage.
#36re: There was SO much wrong with the Tony's last night, it's hard to keep i
Posted: 6/6/05 at 11:19am
Al Dente..very nicely said.
The show last night was a joke. I couldn't wait for it to be over and I look forward to this night all year. It made me embarassed to be a theatre fan. My reasons? Read on...Ugh..I know i'll get flack for this, but here goes.
1. Chita Riveira-Love her...let her perform.
2. Bleeping out Norbert's performace...we've heard more harsh words on ER..come on.
3. Another openin'.....ZZZZZZZZZZZZ
4. Jesse L. Martin....sing on key please. Insert Chita here.
5. Clark, Jones, Fogler, Raimerez, Lennox, Shanley, Spamalot producers...please at least *pretend* to look surprised. I think the person who was most surprised last night was O'Byrne. "What? I didn't win...but i'm supposed to!"
6. Did Jackman host? We barely saw him and when we did, he looked rediculous.
7. Aretha....unnecessary...didn't add anything. If you want RESPECT, then do something worthy of my respect. I bet all around the country, non-theatre goers saw that and thought "POOF, I'm a theatre fan! Thanks Aretha!"
8. John T....love ya..but where's Barrett?
9. Why was Victoria using a hand mic?
10. Why could I hear voices speaking during performances?
11. Yeah, give the revival award to La Cage...so when's Woman in White moving into the Marquis?
12. Yeah, give Piazza score, sets, orchestrations, lights, costumes, sets, and leading actress but name Spamalot the best MUSICAL? Um...ok.
Thank you Tony voters, for voting your wallets. I'll say it again, I'm ashamed to be a theatre fan this morning.
nmartin
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/3/05
#37re: There was SO much wrong with the Tony's last night, it's hard to keep i
Posted: 6/6/05 at 11:24am"It made me embarrassed to be a theatre fan." I feel exactly the same way. No wonder the general public looks at B'way as something stupid, if they look at it at all.
Jazzysuite82
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/6/05
#38re: There was SO much wrong with the Tony's last night, it's hard to keep i
Posted: 6/6/05 at 11:32am
Actually the tony voters did pretty well this year. I mean everyone knew Spamalot was gonna be Best Musical, I don't see why everyone's surprised and bitching...maybe you're just bitching. But the Best musical Tony is about money. I think it should have went to scoudrels, however, the rest of the awards were pretty predictable.
P.S memorizing speeches is foolish. No one does that in any venue. If they don't have a paper, they're rattling off things in their head. First of all I know I couldn't trust my brain to remember the speech if I had just won a freaking Tony. Secondly Tony's season is hellish. No sleep, constant lunches, learning a new cut of songs you've been doing for months, then doing the show. They last thing that should be on their mind is memorizing speeches.
TheGaIsSilent
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/25/04
#39re: There was SO much wrong with the Tony's last night, it's hard to keep i
Posted: 6/6/05 at 11:35amPrinceton, I'm assuming Q had a show last night, and so only Stephanie was out?
#40re: There was SO much wrong with the Tony's last night, it's hard to keep i
Posted: 6/6/05 at 11:36am
Yeah, last night I kept commenting on Jackman's hosting...in that it felt fairly non-existent.
~They pushed off the 'opening number' responsibilities onto a Broadway Legend and the current shows running - nothin' special, which sucks cause 1. if you got Bernadette, make it special and like it's a treat to get her, not just something Hugh could/should have done, and 2. when she co-hosted with Gregory Hines not THAT long back, they opened the show with (or perhaps it was just a big ole thing in the middle) with this song. It's close enough that people remember...and it was the same performer, c'mon now, work a LIL bit harder on the creativity on this one...
~They pushed the opening monologue onto Billy Crystal - who I miss terribly as the host of the Oscars with his musical medleys of best pic nominees...when Jackman finally took over I turned to my best friend and was like "can I tell you how happy I am that Billy Crystal just did the opening monologue?" - he was great and I think Jackman would've been 'eh'
I think Jackman only got invited back the first time because tiw as like "wow, we thought he'd bomb and people kinda embraced him - he proved he wasnt' just some a**hole hollywood star, he's actually into theatre" and that people ended up respecting him. But that's no reason to invite him a second time. I love him, but...at this piont it's kinda like "why?". Let him go while we still love him.
I feel like we need a new Rosie in there - someone who'll make it fun again like she did when she started hosting. I just wish I knew who that person was supposed to be...
Also, this seasons was one of the best for Broadway in awhile - the level of talent put out there by not only the performers but in the quality and quantity of new works that were offerred - it seems exceptional and extraordinary, perhaps I just paid more attention than I have in years past but...the Tony's last night HARDLY showcased that. Which is sad cause...with the season that they were given to work with, it really wasn't a hard job at all to make this year's theatre season seem exciting and to get people interested to come to NYC to see a show...yet they screwed it up somehow...oy.
Too much money and politics have their hands in it, it's too corporate and the Tony's just...they need to have heart I think more than anyting to make em' work. And creativity. Adn there was a serious lack of either.
Here's to hopin' next year goes better, and welcoming in the 2005-2006 theatre season! 
Tom1071
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/1/04
#41re: There was SO much wrong with the Tony's last night, it's hard to keep i
Posted: 6/6/05 at 11:37am
"...I so wish that the winners could have spent some time memorizing their speeches. I find it so charmless when people (theater actors no less), pull out a speech that most likely could have been memorized (Folger, Jones, Clarke). And I know she's Cherry Jones and she can do whatever she wants, including passionately kiss Sarah Paulson, but come on, at least pretend it's a surprise, humour me."
This is a little too much nit-picking.
#42re: There was SO much wrong with the Tony's last night, it's hard to keep i
Posted: 6/6/05 at 11:39am
I don't think so..
The best speeches are never read....like Bill Irwin's last night.
#43re: There was SO much wrong with the Tony's last night, it's hard to keep i
Posted: 6/6/05 at 11:39am
And let's not forget my favorite quote of the night after SPAMALOT won Best Musical - "Do you think they would get suspicious if I just read off the teleprompter?"
That one line alone made me even more mad than the shows undeserving win.
Thank you. I wanted to punch him in the face.
Al - I must say re: Writing speeches. When you win a Tony, you have so many emotions flowing through you that it's hard to even speak. The worst thing is to win and forget to thank someone who put you there. It may not mean a lot to you or anyone else - but it does to that person.
I am sure people who didn't win had a speech prepared.
InfiniteGirl
Understudy Joined: 1/5/05
#44re: There was SO much wrong with the Tony's last night, it's hard to keep i
Posted: 6/6/05 at 11:42am
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.
Jazzysuite82
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/6/05
#45re: There was SO much wrong with the Tony's last night, it's hard to keep i
Posted: 6/6/05 at 11:43amI guarentee Bill was adlibing his speech. Probably had certain people to thank. Guarentee he probably forgot someone too.
nmartin
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/3/05
#46re: There was SO much wrong with the Tony's last night, it's hard to keep i
Posted: 6/6/05 at 11:45am"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.
#47re: There was SO much wrong with the Tony's last night, it's hard to keep i
Posted: 6/6/05 at 11:46am*ding*ding*ding*....agreed...though I did start a thread to praise the *FEW* decent moments. *cough*Christina*cough*
grizzabella
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/11/05
#48re: There was SO much wrong with the Tony's last night, it's hard to keep i
Posted: 6/6/05 at 11:47am
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.
#49re: There was SO much wrong with the Tony's last night, it's hard to keep i
Posted: 6/6/05 at 11:47amThere were many things wrong with last nights' show. I agree with the idea of Aretha Franklin.. Why her? Why not get someone the Theatre community loves and adores? People should understand that when the music starts.. wrap it up.. I felt bad for Jesse L. Martin, cause that is unlike him to be off... Speaking of, did anyone record the show? I did, but we had severe weather alerts through out the show. We evern missed the end of Spamalot's performance. I would like a full copy.. I even had the TV Guide Pre-show. So if anyone could help?
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