Today’s
write-up is coming to you a day late so as not to disrupt Buster Monday. This year’s Broadway’s Biggest Night was a
bit of a mixed bag for me, but there was plenty of good and amazing mixed in
with the tepid and unremarkable, so I won’t be too grouchy.
In the
hosting seat, gone were the Jackmans and the NPHs. Instead, the emcee duties went,
appropriately, to an Alan Cumming/Kristin Chenoweth tag-team. Obviously, it’s hard to compete with Neil
Patrick Harris as an awards show host, but overall, I enjoyed our hosting
duo. They had some fun bits and jokes but
never overwhelmed the telecast. Their
opening medley was nice, if lacking in fireworks, and I laughed out loud when
they both ran onstage and glommed onto Tommy Tune. Ah, Broadway…
(On a side note, I love that Alan Cumming’s presence ensured lots of
queer inclusion, but what’s up with people laughing at his greeting of “Ladies,
gentlemen, and those who don’t identify as either” – why is that inherently
comical?) My one critique of our dynamic
cohosts was that, put together, they felt just a bit too “stagey” to me. A lot of their stuff felt noticeably
performed.
It was
a very old-fashioned Tony Awards this year. An
American in Paris and revivals of On
the Town, On the Twentieth Century,
and Gigi all hit the same
vintage-showtune mark, and since they were a good chunk of the performing
musicals, it made the evening’s numbers feel less differentiated. And then, there was a revival of The King and I (delighted about Kelli O’Hara’s
lead actress win – I’ve loved her since The
Light in the Piazza) and Chita Rivera in The Visit, the latest “last” Kander & Ebb show. I mean, seriously, we’ve had Curtains, The Scottsboro Boys, and now The
Visit. Is Fred Ebb not actually
dead? Are they still writing somewhere;
is that it? And Something Rotten, the one completely original new musical, offered
up an Elizabethan setting, a Producers-esque
sensibility, and copious self-referential musical-theatre jokes.
I’m
beyond thrilled that Fun Home took
home the big four awards (best musical, direction, score, and book,) plus Michael
Cerveris for lead actor. Going into the
night, it was the show I was most curious about, and it was also the
performance that I loved the most.
Honestly, I bet I’ve watched their song at least ten times since Sunday. Just incredible! I’m usually a sucker for unconventional off-Broadway
transfers, anyway – for further reference, see RENT, In the Heights, and Next to Normal – and Fun Home seems like a stellar addition
to the list. I can’t wait to dig more
into it.
In
other awards news, I was glad to see Christian Borle win supporting actor for Something Rotten, and I loved The Curious Incident of the Dog in the
Night-Time winning in so many of the play categories, including the top
honor. Assuming it’s much the same as
the West End production, its wins for direction, lighting, and set design were
well-deserved. (Also, I love that it was
up for best choreography. It was one of
the most strikingly-choreographed plays
I’ve ever seen, and even though it didn’t win, it really earned its place
alongside the nominated musicals.)
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