BWW Blog: Jennifer Weber - Top 9 Girl Power Performances at the TONYS

9. Alex Brightman and the cast of School of Rock-The Musical:

Even though the incredible Tony nominee Alex Brightman leads the production, he can't do it without the kids. Having a great amount of boys and girls in the band, it's safe to say that rock has no gender (and no age).

8. Danny Burstein and the cast of Fiddler on the Roof:

A production where we can see Tony nominee Danny Burstein (Tevye) shimmy is always an A+ in my book. Sadly, no females were nominated in this production, but the Tony performance did open with a duet between Burstein and Jessica Hecht (Golde) that grabbed you into the story.

7. Tony nominee Carmen Cusack and the cast of Bright Star:

Bright Star's own Steve Martin and Edie Brickell joined the cast on stage Sunday night for a quick jam session before Carmen Cusack came out to blow us away with the song "If You Knew My Story." All eyes were on the tony nominee as she commands the stage with that smooth as butter voice of hers.

6. Tony nominees Lin-Manuel Miranda, Phillipa Soo, Leslie Odom Jr., Renée Elise Goldsberry, Christopher Jackson and Daveed Diggs and the cast of Hamilton:

I know I'm going to get crap for not putting Hamilton first, but I'll leave that to the comment section. As much as girl power goes there aren't that many female roles in Hamilton and we FINALLY got to see the Schuyler Sister #work... but at the end of the show while the credits role. I'm just thankful this time someone gave Jasmine Cephas Jones (Peggy) her own mic so we can hear the beautiful voice that girl has.

5.Tony nominees Brandon Victor Dixon and Adrienne Warren and the cast of Shuffle Along, Or The Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed:

The incredible show-stopping dancing that happened during the Shuffle Along performance reminded me how much I love musicals and love Adrienne Warren. That performance made me want to stare at the television in fear that if I blink, I would miss something. I also got to thinking that the child in Audra McDonald has the rights to say they've danced at the Tonys.

4. The cast of Spring Awakening:

After weeks of biting our nails, the Deaf West Spring Awakening cast finally got the green light and got to perform at the Tonys! Sandra Mae Frank (Wendla) and Katie Boeck (Voice of Wendla) opened the performance with "Mama Who Bore Me" as it mashed up with "The Bitch of Living" (which also features the first Broadway actress in a wheelchair to appear on a Broadway stage, Ali Stroker (Anna). The performance itself is captivating seeing how Spencer Liff made it look so effortless between the actors and expanding the door into theater.

3. Tony nominees Laura Benanti, Zachary Levi and Jane Krakowski and the cast of She Loves Me:

As someone who doesn't live in New York, I have a slim chance at seeing this amazing cast in She Loves Me. That being said, once I saw Laura Benanti Instagram a picture revealing she was singing "Vanilla Ice Cream" I was overjoyed and my other wish was granted when Gavin Creel & Jane Krakowski preformed "Ilona" (she does the splits while being dragged my Creel, who doesn't want to see that?!). I don't think people realize how hard it must be for Laura to sing sitting down, especially being a soprano the amount of energy she puts into her work is remarkable. A soprano who's allowed to be funny in a musical? Sign me up!

2. Tony nominees Sara Bareilles, Christopher Fitzgerald and Jessie Mueller and the cast of Waitress:

I was very curious as to what Waitress was going to sing since Christopher Fitzgerald was going to be featured and that the musical basically revolves around Jessie Mueller's character. After signing Waitress' opening number, Sara Bareilles comes out on the piano singing the first part of She Used to be Mine, until Mueller closes it. The performance can be summed up in one word. Flawless.

(Also, I have to confess something, I full on sobbed while this performance was over please go watch it then buy the whole cast recording)

1. Tony nominees Danielle Brooks and Cynthia Erivo and the cast of The Color Purple:

None should be surprised by The Color Purple getting the number one spot. A production that is filled with women with stunning voices can sing anything to me and I would love it. Cynthia Erivo won that Tony award right when she sang the first note of "I'm Here," I felt like clapping wasn't enough when the performance was over. I needed to give her and the cast more because that was a remarkable performance from all of them. Not only are they touching the lives of little girls who are watching the Tonys, they are touching the little girls who are African-American and felt like they couldn't do that. Well, I'll tell you one thing. You sure can.

All performances can be seen on Tonyawards.com or the CBS youtube channel. Rank your favorite performances in the comments below!

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