Good morning, all, and I do hope it's a good one for us all.
Ah, the Tonys. I enjoyed Hugh Jackman as host this time around, more than I had before. There was just something joyous and effortless about him last night. He went out with no apologies and had a great time. I was puzzled at first with the hopping opening, but ended up liking it very much, even the quiet nod in the elevator to Neil Patrick Harris. And I did love his sung nominations for those two categories.
I agree with BK (and many others) that doing numbers from show not yet on B'way was a bad idea, especially the seeming Peter Pan/Dreamgirls mash-up. Seriously, whose idea was that? And the Sting number was not the one to do to lure people to that show. He'd done a different one from his show on Letterman a while back with a big group. That song was rousing and incited some real interest in the show, which is currently in tryouts in Chicago. And to do those "coming to B'way" songa, they cut out Best Score, and other creative awards. Can you imagine, if this were a Sondheim year to win for say "Sweeney Todd", relegating him to a 30 second soundbite, barely in the telecast? Oy to the nth power! Also, they cut out the In Memoriam, which I know upset many.
I would also have loved to have seen one number from Bridges of Madison County instead, since it was a winner for the score, even if it was just Kelli O'Hara and Steve Pasquale in a duet. However, I did see that BK answered someone else's question about this on Facebook, and in doing so, said that the show would have to pay a large fee for that performance on the Tonys. I guess, after having to close so recently, they had to cut their losses.
I was doing the live voice overs for The Actors Fund Benefit Viewing Party, before, during the breaks in the telecast and after, honoring Barbara Cook. Ms. Cook who is mostly in a wheelchair at 86 is still singing gloriously. One of the most touching moments last evening was Amanda McBroom, singing a song that she wrote, one that Barbara recorded as well. The song is "Errol Flynn", and it is a touching memory of Amanda's father, who was a B movie actor who worked close to stars like Errol Flynn. It is also a homage to all of those artists who work all their lives and never achieve greater recognition, and pass their dreams on to their children. So touching.
