Tony Awards Live Broadway Blogging
Live From The TonyRoom
Well, the big one is in, and Tony has spread the love around, with In the Heights on top. Stew has gone a little over the top, and Patti Lupone went a little long. Almost right on time for the show. A few moments to remember. Stephen Sondheim’s words were beautiful. Whoopi nailed it, hope people watched…. tomorrow we’ll see which shows will survive the ceremony and which won’t.
OK, so now we have South Pacific and Xanadu performed, but not the number I would’ve picked. Big wins, and ”In The Heights” is going to win the whole show it looks like. We’ll soon see. This is the last part. Nice Madonna.
Was Rylance amazing. Just posted the complete text of his speech. Here it is below as well. The perfect words from a life-long actor, a man who knows about costumes and life. Sage advice for us all: “When you’re in town wearing some kind of a uniform is helpful. Policeman, priest, etc. Driving a tank is very impressive or a car with official lettering on the side. If that isn’t to your taste, you could join the revolution, wear an armband, carry a home-made flag tied to a broom handle or placard bearing an incendiary slogan. At the very least, you should wear a suit and carry a briefcase and a cellphone. Or a team jacket, a baseball cap, and a cell phone. If you’re in the woods, the back country, some place far from any human habitation, it is a good idea to wear orange…and carry a gun and, or depending on the season, a fishing pole or a camera with a big lens. Otherwise…I will wrap it up now very quickly…otherwise it might appear that you don’t know what you’re doing and you’re just wandering the earth, no particular reason for being here, no particular place to go. Thanks very much for this.” -Mark Rylance
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Interesting way to present the best play nominees, very effective. Big win for August Osage County. They are already planning a national tour for 2009. Wonderful story from Anna Shapiro about Little Mermaid tickets for her nephews, it looks like that production is going to get a lot of attention from the awards. Lady In The Lake felt a bit flat.
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Did Bradley Whitford lose out on the role in Young Frankenstein? He looked angry in the cut away after the number ended. That said, the trio of solos was the best, and who knew The Little Mermaid would make such an impact. All three shows looked great, and maybe less is more. The close ups for Faith and Sierra both seemed to strengthen the impact on TV. Young Frankenstein looked good too, but why didn’t they do “Puttin On The Ritz”? Boyd Gaines win tips the scale for Gypsy in the big award category…or does it?
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Way to go GREASE as an ensemble show. You have to smile to hear those songs, though a bit of a shaky start. Great for Laura Benanti from Gypsyfor her win. She has dealt with health problems in the past, and has made that role her own. A wonderful win in a strong category. Whoopi is doing a great job of moving things along and keeping fun moving. Loved the August Osage joke. Disney would be crazy not to have her as Mary Poppins. Love the TONY Capsule. More show now.
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Very exciting segment for sure. Lin-Manuel Miranda’s win and Stew’ earlier win for best book make for a show-down for Best musical. South Pacific number so far has been the on that has brought down the house. A great segment of Tony Awards for sure. Congrats to Boeing-Boeing, and all the other “Tony Tuck Away Winners” as they will be forever known. More musical numbers coming though, aso that promises much. Congrats to the Tony Tuck Away Winners again!
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Great number with Whoopi Goldberg in the Phantom, all the musical numbers feel big and bigger, real push. Lupone really went for it, and so did Stew, and so did the Cry-Baby dancers, and the Lion King, but nothing quite seems to be hitting the Heights…we’ll see what happens.
Tonight is the night when all that is the best of Broadway celebrates the past season. Starting tonight at 8:00 pm EST CBS will telecast the Tony Awards live from Radio City Music Hall. Join Broadway.tv and Broadway Magazine right here on-line, live from the Tony Room to talk about the show while the events unfold. All are welcome, no jacket required.
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Just back from the red carpet with fresh news, first up is the news that Stephen Sondheim will not be at the Tonys and Mandy Patinkin will be delivering his speech. Lily Tomlin will also be offering a short speech as well. More items later, but the show is about to start.
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Great opening, Rondi Reed, and now Waters is on fire. This show is moving fast. This number could be great for Cry-Baby. Blends the perfect past with the new, lots of fun. Whoopi snuck in a Clarence Thomas joke, and a crab outfit it less than 5 minutes. Funny, fresh, and more. Rondi Reed gave a great speech.
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Great for Jim Norton, and glad to see Stew out there. Looking at the audience, the shot of David Hyde Pierce and the other couple reveal much about the old Broadway and the new.
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Tags: Broadway, Broadway.tv, CBS, Live Blogging, Tony Awards
June 15th, 2008 at 6:29 pm
Photo is of Stew and his less famous cousin Soup.
June 15th, 2008 at 6:38 pm
Amazing opening, and now Rondi Reed…it could be August in June all night
June 27th, 2008 at 5:13 pm
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