Well, alas, I have not read the notes because they are not up even though I could get to today's message board. I'll go back and read them, but I just want to jot down my observations re: Tonys.
1st Observation: It has become virtually impossible to watch anything on network television any more with any kind of real enjoyment or sense of continuity because of the frequent and lengthy commercial breaks. It's bad enough we get five minutes of commercials for what seems like five minutes of show but we also get the same dumb-ass commercials over and over again. Do these companies really think they are endearing themselves to me and that I'll go out and buy their product when they inundate me with the same repetitive, nauseating crap every commercial break? With everything chopped up with commercials between it, it is quite easy to see why Attention Deceit Disorder is now creeping into the adult world.
Anyway, the commercials made a show that was probably not much more than an hour and half seem like an eternity and much longer than the three hour running time, giving it no pace and no energy.
2nd Obervation: Yeah, yeah, I know. People tune in to see the musicals numbers, but I am much aggrieved how year after year straight plays get short shrift at the awards show.
It is appalling that a giant like Edward Albee has his Lifetime Achievement Award presented before air time and, while we got his eloquent acceptance speech, it would have been nice to see his colleagues do him homage as he went up to accept his award (This never happens with a lifetime achievement at the Oscars).
And is Arthur Miller really only deserving of a couple of minutes as the lead-in to the Scroll of the Dead? This man is American Theatre! Can we not give him a segment to himself to acknowledge his great legacy to the theatre...can't we see scenes or just a list of his plays or stills from his plays like Death of A Salesman, The Crucible, View From The Bridge, All My Sons, The Price, After the Fall, etc. What shoddy treatment for a man who devoted his life to the theatre. Nope, can't give Mr. Miller more than a nod, we have to squeeze in a number from that tired old retread LA CAGE AUX FOLLES or see the ripped-off choreography of Fosse in a mediocre production number from SWEET CHARITY (and , yes, I found poor Ms. Applegate's voice a little rocky, but I find Bruce's explanation of possibly why very credible...and I do give the woman props for getting her ass on the live stage. She also had the best and funniest entrance of the evening.)
Observation #3: How about calling the Tony for best theatrical event what it is: Tony for best stand-up comedy routine on Broadway.
Ob #4: Enjoyed opening banter of Jackman and Crystal lots of fun. Thought Billy should have sung: "Tony! Tony!" ala his Oscar number.
Ob #5: Why was the woman in Light in Piazza, holding a hand mic in the opening of her number and then it suddenly disappeared?
Ob #7: I really didn't get the idea of the island in the middle of the audience that had folks craning their necks to see Hugh's "Won't Dance" medley. A lot of the songs in it were from movies by the way...not the theatre. Damned fine songs, just not theatre songs.
Ob #6: If you're going to honour Steve Sondheim with a number for his 75th. How about something that he wrote both words and music for?
Ob #8: I want dear Tim Curry to have a nice long run in SPAMALOT, but the number they did, didn't impress me anymore than the original cast album did. And it all looks a little too much like all that recycled Monty Python which I used to love until it just got overexposed with endless runnings on PBS and BBC America. You just want a moratorium after awhile and say, "Fellas, give it a rest." Maybe it all goes down better as a whole.
Ob #8: Bill Irwin and Edward Albee gave the most gracious, eloquent speeches of the night.
Ob #9: Let people finish their speeches, CBS. Gee, so you go over a minute or two, big deal. People actually watching the Tonys aren't impatiently waiting for the local Sunday night late news. They want to see the Tonys. You want it under three hours...cut a promo or two for the Tommy Hilfinger reality show. Who needs that?
Ob #10: Again, just too many commercials to make the three hours justifible and sustainable. No wonder the networks keep losing viewership every year. First they put a lot of crap on the air and then interrupt the crap with more crap about selling crap. And, in those odd moments, when they actually do have something good on, they still interrupt it with crap-selling crap. God bless Turner Classic Movies. No commercials....yet!
