Review: The 2009 Tony Awards

I'm still here. I have good excuses for not blogging, but you don't need to hear them. I have noticed a big drop-off in my friends' blogging since the weather turned nice. But for my handful of readers, I will make a better attempt to do something a little more frequently in the future.

So tonight I'd like to talk about the Tonys. I felt like the only person I had to dish with about the Tonys was my husband. And what a great husband he is! We kept AJ up a little late to watch her first Tony ceremony and she was glued to the screen for the performances. I have participated in a lot of community theater, and APY did some in high school too. But aside from that, his sister is an extremely talented Broadway actress. So between the two of us, we have a good deal of appreciation for musical theater. We are hoping to share that appreciation with AJ.

So here are my thoughts on this year's Tonys. In case you missed it, I'll post some links so you can catch up and see the best parts.

- The audio issues were a disgrace. I realize it's an enormous undertaking, but not having back-up mics on singers? Hearing cast and crew voices offstage? Disgraceful. The 'in memorium' section was so disrespectful - zooming camera shots that distracted from the photos.

- Tituss Burgess of "Guys and Dolls" was the actor with the bad mic. A sound guy ran onstage and handed him a stick mic. He was an absolute professional, plowing through that song as if he performed it with a stick mic every single night. Amazing voice!! This isn't from the Tonys, but it's the same number he performed that night.

- Flipping Bret Michaels, best known for some sorry-ass reality TV show, had the balls to lip-synch (and badly) at the Tony Awards. Every single person on stage had more talent than that guy and somehow he's the famous one who gets the cheers. I wasn't there so I probably shouldn't judge....but for some reason (lack of experience? rehearsal? smarts?) he missed his mark and got smacked in the face with a piece of the set. Watch the video here.

- I'm not normally a fan of the musical "Hair" but this cast was so incredibly into their roles that their enthusiasm was contagious. And though she knows nothing of the actual plot (nudity, drugs, sex, the 60s baby), AJ thinks it's great that there's a song that says so simply "HAIR HAIR HAIR HAIR HAI HA HA HAIR HAIR HAAAAAAAIIIIIIR."

- I don't think I would want to see "Rock of Ages" on Broadway, but they really belted out "Don't Stop Believing" and it reminds you that this is an awesome song. Unfortunately the audio was not synched so it looked like the choreography was being performed a half second late. Annoying, but still a strong performance. It's right here.

- Neil Patrick Harris did a surprisingly great job! No offense to any fans of "How I Met Your Mother," but I think that show is poorly written and acted. Audiences are smarter than that and I think NPH is too. He was a great host, not stealing too much attention and always focusing on the awards and performances. His final number was hilarious! And also very nicely performed. I know he was on B'way in "Rent," but his singing really surprised me (and was so much better than Stockard Channing's performance in "Pal Joey").

- There are many other things I could talk about. Entertainment Weekly did a great slideshow here that really captures the highlights and lowlights of the ceremony. The user comments are almost all right on target as well.


Seeing all these great performances makes me so eager to take AJ to see a Broadway show. That's probably a few years away, but I still can't wait. The first Broadway show I ever saw was "Crazy for You" and I'll never forget it. When I interned in NYC one fall, I saw something like 22 shows in the three months I was there. I was poor but a happy little audience member.

So go see a show!!!

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