SOUND OFF: TONY AWARDS 2010

The Best of Times, The Worst of Times

Today, I am recapping the 2010 Tony Awards as it was broadcast on CBS last night - and on NY1 for the first hour. I was particularly privileged to have my interviews conducted for BWW and TonyAwards.com used throughout both telecasts and was quite moved by the evening in general. But, first: let's start at the very beginning, a very good place to start - as Ted Chapin, President of the Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization and the first presenter of the evening would surely recall from his friend Oscar Hammerstein - who, of course, also mentored Stephen Sondheim who personally selected last night's Best Actress winner Catherine Zeta-Jones for the revival of A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC.

The Creative Arts Tony Awards Pre-Ceremony On NY1

Following technical difficulties, Ted Chapin and Howard Sherman - as well as the rest of the Tony crew - began the ceremony in a humble and affable manner. Karen Olivio and Greg Jbara - Tony winners last year for Best Featured Performances In A Musical - were spectacular and enjoyable presenters throughout the Special Tony Honors ceremony on NY1. A particular highlight was Olivo's opener about Arthur Laurents - a particularly fun way to start off the evening. Alan Ayckbourn was kind enough to reference our fantastic conversation a few weeks ago following his well-deserved standing ovation upon winning the Lifetime Achievement Award - the first standing O of the evening - with a wonderfully witty and touching speech. Marian Seldes made a wordless speech, using her exquisite and expressive instrument of her visage and swinging her cane to let us know all is well with her. The rest of the awards here were appropriately touching, though a few of the winners went a bit too long in their speeches - one of them rudely and inappropriately so. In short, for the night in general - with these Creative Arts acting as, as they usually are, a microcosm and precursor of the distribution of the big prizes and how the race will ultimately play out on the national telecast - RED seemed to sweep, though it was nice to see the MEMPHIS crew so nonplussed and appreciative of their many awards. Of course, as we soon saw, those two took the top prizes, too.

The Telecast on CBS

The opening number was quite different than anything anyone could have anticipated, and though there were a far too many technical issues to call it pristine, it moved smoothly. The concept of featuring the many pop songs currently showcased in most - if not all - of the nominated shows was a wise choice and made the best of what could have been a bit drab and dithering. Sean Hayes displayed quite a dexterous demonstration of his many abilities, chiefly among them his heretofore unrevealed pianistic expertise. Kristen Cheonoweth was quite wonderful with "Say A Little Prayer" and overall all the participants were particularly entertaining. Green Day rocked as hard as expected and certainly set a new standard for the raucousness and rock and n roll aesthete allowed on the ceremonial stage of Radio City. Sean Hayes is a great host and while the audience seemed a bit reluctant at first, it was good to see they rightfully warmed to him - particularly after the slightly risqué Billy Elliot bit! Scarlett Johansson's somewhat surprise win was met with a touching and heartfelt speech and it was revealed to watch her marvel at her co-star Liew Schriber from A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE. Eddie Redmayne is an exceptional performer and his win for RED and his respect for his sole co-star Alfred Molina was affecting and apropos given that play's content. RED was, of course, the big winner of the night and while it would have been nice to see the awards spread around a bit more judiciously among the nominees, the strength of John Logan's quite dazzling script - dedicated to Stephen Sondheim, Logan having befriended him during the writing of Tim Burton's film adaptation of SWEENEY TODD starring Johnny Depp a few years ago - surely is the strongest of the selections chosen by the committee for Best Play. Viola Davis and Denzel Washington were justly rewarded with Best Actress and Best Actor and as Washington said of the production - and as Kenny Leon said to me in our discussion of FENCES, which also featured contributions from Viola Davis - "It starts from the top." Indeed, it does.

From top to bottom, the Tony Awards moved smoothly this year but the fact that it was quite a dire season as far as new musicals go was hard to ignore. Sure, Catherine Zeta-Jones scored with a an impassioned and impressive "Send In The Clowns" - one of the most singular and strong performances of the song I've been privileged to see, despite the minor lyric flub on "crowns/clowns - but Sondheim always scores. It's hard to deny the been-there done-that nature of MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET and COME FLY AWAY and try as they might, the material seems a bit stale despite the very best of intentions. MEMPHIS is surely a great showcase for performers, but the material is a bit bland and reminiscent of Bon Jovi - no surprise - for my liking. Montego Glover and Chad Kimball are fierce, though, I'll surely give them that. The cast of FELA - Lillias White in particular - were on fire and the most memorable of the performances in the first half of the evening besides Zeta-Jones who was truly transcendent. Katie Finneran gave a truly tear-filled but eloquent speech and it was wonderful to see her express such affection for fellow nominee Angela Lansbury who was unforgettable in all of her featured shots throughout the telecast and the fantastic surprise of her announcement as the new Special Chair of the American Theatre Wing. Brava!

Christiane Noll certainly proved she has lungs of steel with "Back To Before" from RAGTIME, and Douglas Hodge was unexpectedly hilarious and unique in his "The Best of Times" from LA CAGE - particularly the Matthew Morrison and Will Smith proposals - and Kelsey Grammer was an elegant and expressive performer and presenter, particularly alongside fellow FRASIER alum and similarly gentlemanly David Hyde Pierce earlier in the evening.

Scores of Silence

The fact remains that this was one of the weakest years in history for the Best Score category with only a few eligible entries and that is a very, very concerning factor when considering any of the Best Musical categories. I mean, the score is the foundation of everything and without that, you're nothing. The simple fact that two plays made the nominees for Best Score - with certainly no slight meant to the accomplished nominees - says a lot. It's a sad state of affairs when something as innocuous and uneventful as MEMPHIS or THE ADDAMS FAMILY makes any "best of" anything when you consider seasons of yore. Yet, this is now and now is not the most innovative place to be as far as new scores go and that is something that needs to be addressed as soon as possible. There are some marvelous scores out there, they just haven't made it to Broadway. Yet. I hope they do soon, because we cannot afford another desert of a season as far as new scores for musicals go. I'm surely not alone in that sentiment.

Jesus Or Judas?

AMERICAN IDIOT's performance was flashy and infused with a certain affectedness that the cast managed to pull off, though it certainly can't be too much fun for them to inhabit these truly troubled and generally unlikable characters - and their thrashing, crashing music - eight times a week. I love Green Day and AMERICAN IDIOT is quite good onstage and on record, but like other rock musicals it is treacherous for the vocal chords and I worry for the cast. Furthermore, it seems like one of those shows that will get stale faster than it justifiably should and the oh-so-au-currant-aesthetic certainly does not abet notions to the contrary. It's nice to hear a good, strong, theatrical and popular score on Broadway that actually has a purpose and reason for existing in a theatrical context, if nothing else.

The Best of the Fest

These were a few of the very best moments of the night:

The most moving moment of the evening perhaps occurred with FENCES win for best revival, August Wilson's daughter taking the stage along with her mother Constanza Romero and the rest of the Production Company of the revival.

The joke of the night was, without a doubt, Sean Hayes Bernadette Peters/BP comparison. Her reaction was priceless, to boot. FOLLIES at the Kennedy Center can't come soon enough!

The best performance of the night was - without question - Matthew Morrison doing an unbelievably athletic and exciting rendition of "All I Need Is The Girl" from GYPSY. Lea Michele was pitch-perfect and powerful with FUNNY GIRL's "Don't Rain On My Parade" but no one wants to face the inevitable - and impossible - comparison to the original singer of that song. One thing is for sure: GLEE's gain, is Broadway's loss. Let's hope he does the SOUTH PACIFIC PBS telecast last this year so at least one of his stage performances is preserved on video.

MEMPHIS won the big prize and Zeta-Jones and Hodge took the Best Performances In A Musical categories, as expected. Well, compared to the competition, it's no surprise that the safer choice MEMPHIS won the crown. FELA was surely a bit more original and innovative though, no? It's not as if any of the nominees taking it in the end would have been that big of a surprise, right? Right. There was no clear frontrunner and at least it went to a show with an original score - if nothing else. Though saying so makes me feel like a cast member of AMERICAN IDIOT. Or maybe just the second word.

New Horizons

What's next year? SISTER ACT and CATCH ME IF YOU CAN have some of the strongest musical comedy scores I've heard in years and LOVE NEVER DIES has the potential to be something truly spectacular. Hopefully, the 2011 Tony Awards will have lots of original musical and exciting performances by actors and actresses creating roles in them, with new and innovative designs and direction of them. Cross your fingers, toes... and other extremities. This telecast may have lacked that extra oomph, but it was a solid entertainment and the many surprises and the slick production design reinforced the requisite excellence expected of the best of the best that Broadway has to off - who, without a question, are the best entertainers in the world. As last night proved. Overall.