Tony Award Performances: Are Some Lip-Synched?

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 6/8/12 at 11:39am

Andrew Keenan-Bolger just posted on Twitter that the NEWSIES cast is in the recording studio for the Tony Awards and I was wondering if performances are usually lip-synched without even knowing. For the most part, it seems they are definitely not and you can tell from the passion and energy in live performances. But maybe I'm just overreacting because of one tweet. haha.

[TheatreKid3]

Posted: 6/8/12 at 11:57am

Actually, a lot of them (if not all of them) are, much like what is done for the Macy's Parade. The shows want to be flawless for the audiences tuning in so they can better sell their show. Any mistake, especially vocally, could cost them. Plus, it just doesn't look good to make a mistake at the Tony Awards.

[ljay889]

Posted: 6/8/12 at 12:04pm

Maybe some chorus parts are prerecorded. But I don't think solo parts are prerecorded anymore like they used to be (70's, etc). I mean is there any doubt that Patti LuPone was singing live in 2008??

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 6/8/12 at 12:06pm

I could see them going that route based on some of the horrible sound issues they have had in recent years, especially the last few at Radio City. I seem to remember the show in general sounding better last year at the Beacon.

[theatreguy]

Posted: 6/8/12 at 12:11pm

Soloists almost always sing live. The problem with big groups is getting everyone wired for sound - it would take too many people too long to get ALL of those newsies mic-ed before their number, un-mic-ed afterwards, and then get those mics to the cast of the next show before they go on.

[peachesr82]

Posted: 6/8/12 at 12:28pm

I always assumed it was just the soloists who sang live, mic-ing every single one of the performers in the show seems like it would be a nightmare. I remember Josefina Scaglione cracking on the final note of Tonight so there was no doubt about that being live, maybe some soloists do lip-synch.

[Auggie27]

Posted: 6/8/12 at 12:37pm

Watch Bacall do "One of the Boys" from WOMAN OF THE YEAR back in the day. No way is that live.

[ljay889]

Posted: 6/8/12 at 12:46pm

Angela Lansbury is lip-syncing here. Her lips don't match the words at some points.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1-QQFUb3HI

But soloists clearly don't lip-sync anymore.

[hermajesty]

Posted: 6/8/12 at 12:52pm

that looks like it's the video at fault [ slow not in synch] not Angela

[mamaleh]

Posted: 6/8/12 at 12:57pm

OK, not the Tonys, but I remember in Hugh Jackman's salute to movie musicals at the '09 Oscars, he sang live while Beyonce's much smaller portion was pre-recorded. Perhaps more to be expected at the Oscars than the Tonys.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 6/8/12 at 1:00pm

There were several years during the early 80s in which the Tony Performances were pre-recorded and lyp-sinced during the telecast. The year of SWEENEY/WHOREHOUSE was one; the year of EVITA being another.

Updated On: 6/8/12 at 01:00 PM

[Gothampc]

Posted: 6/8/12 at 1:13pm

I think producers must record vocals just as insurance in case of sickness.

During the year when Spamalot performed, Sara Ramirez had allergy issues (she thanked Claritin in her acceptance). People said she performed live, but I don't see how she could sing while being hoarse from pollen allergy.

[ljay889]

Posted: 6/8/12 at 1:30pm

that looks like it's the video at fault [ slow not in synch] not Angela

It is the same way on the Lost Treasures DVD, and as Michael Bennett said, it was pre-recorded/lip-synced.

[willep]

Posted: 6/8/12 at 1:37pm

Wow it never occurred to me that the performances were not live on the Tonys. I knew they weren't on the Macy's Parade, of course. That's kind of disappointing. haha

[random person 112]

Posted: 6/8/12 at 1:42pm

I agree soloist are almost certainly live, remeber the defying gravity at the 03 awards where Menzel sang the song during/right after having an asthma attack.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 6/8/12 at 2:00pm

And there ain't no Santy Claus neither.

[Bwaydide92]

Posted: 6/8/12 at 2:09pm

Soloist sing live. Andrew Rannells was accused over twitter of lip-syncing last year and he responded saying he didn't, but there is a back up part to I Believe and I think that was pre-recorded especially since none of that part of the cast appeared on stage.

I'm sure Next to Normal also performed live because that performance was very different sounding than a recording.

And the revival of Guys and Dolls had a mic issue back in 2009.

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 6/8/12 at 3:18pm

The ensemble is pretty much always recorded while the soloists sing live. I'm sure it's a sound/mic practicality issue. You can tell sometimes when the soloist is singing with the ensemble, the soloist sticks out, sometimes awkwardly.

I will never forget American newscaster Victoria Clark reporting from Italy during the Light in the Piazza performance.

The cast of Godspell has been tweeting pictures from their "Tony rehearsal," which took place in a recording studio with the cast at microphones.

[artscallion]

Posted: 6/8/12 at 3:50pm

Sound issues have been a nightmare for the last few years. It boggles my mind how other award shows run as smoothly as silk. Yet the one industry that specializes in live performance plucks it up every single time.

[Buscee]

Posted: 6/8/12 at 3:52pm

Trust me on this one. I work at the Tony's every year. Believe me for the most part (meaning possibly the backgrounds) the actors are not lip synching. They are singing live. They may have ear pieces in because the orchestra is not in the theatre, or the orchestral tracks may be pre-recorded. Andrew Rannells sang live last year. Back in the 70's yes they all lip synched, and Angela had problems lipsynching WORST PIES" The only number I know for sure in that 1979 telecast was Lucie Arnaz and Robert KLien in THEY'RE PLAYING OUR SONG. Lucie insisted on doing it live.

Also if you don't realize the whole Tony Ceremony has a dress rehearsal Sunday morning where everyone goes through there numbers. The only thing that's different is they say the "winner for this rehearsal is"

Enjoy the Tony's this year...The Beacon is a beautiful venue.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 6/8/12 at 9:00pm

Dear TONY producers:

I would like to volunteer my time to mic any NEWSIE at my own expense.

Thank You
in advance.

CPD

[MusicMan93]

Posted: 6/9/12 at 1:41am

Why are the Macy's parade performances lip-synched? I have a friend who was in Rent from 2001-2002 and she told me that when they did the parade they sang it live. No pre-recording. Why has that changed??

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 6/9/12 at 1:47am

I volunteer to mic Andrew Keenan-Bolger!

Seriously though, why is Newsies recording a track now? Wouldn't it have been more cost effective to anticipate performing on the Tonys, and record their track without the lead vocals when they recorded their cast album?

[My Oh My]

Posted: 6/9/12 at 1:55am

I can't get past people nowadays not being able to distinguish between an obvious synch issue originating from video tape and a synch issue originating from an actor's lips and bad sense of timing.

For example, there is no question that LuPone sings live on that Tony Awards Evita performance, but the battles on YouTube between those who swear she is merely mouthing to a track and those who swear it is live tends to come up every now and then and the mind boggles.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 6/9/12 at 1:56am

That Angela clip used to always confuse me--it makes sense if that was the standard that year. TV producers are notorious for prefering lip synching--it's just so much easier to handle, particularly for live events where they can't go back and "sweeten" bad vocals (the way they do even on many live DVDs--ie Bernadette Peters in Sunday in the Park who was sick when it was taped, and redubbed some of her vocals later on). It does seem ironic though, and I don't think it's the norm, as some have suggested, by any means.