Last night were the Tony’s and it is my favorite award show and one of my favorite night of TV. Its not about the awards per se, its that you get to watch so many theatre performances it makes my heart happy. Its my Super Bowl meets the Oscar (ad I love both of those!) here are my thoughts of the night:
Highlight of the Night:
The highlight for me was the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Drama Students Singing Rent’s ‘Seasons of Love’. I had tears in my eyes the whole thing through and it was great because not only was it beautiful, socially relevant and a total surprise, it really highlights the power that arts and theater have on people, on overcoming tragedy and in bringing a bright spot in otherwise grim times.
Nominated Show Performances: (you can watch all the performances at the bottom I’m just doing highlight here)
Although i love watching all the performances it really boggles my mind as to why some shows choose one performance over another and how some of them dont bring their best foot forward:
Performances I loved:
- My Fair Lady was amazing. It showed one of my favorite songs: I could have danced all night and managed to also show how Fabulous Norbert Leo Butz was in the show. It would make you go buy a ticket. I think one of the strongest performances was by a non nominated show.
- The Donna Summer musical might not have been nominated but it definetly got people to buy tickets it was fun. (FYI Broadway World’s GIFS are amazing)
- Frozen’s mashup of Let it Go and First Time in Forever was really smart highlighting two great songs, showing off their two lead actresses Patti Murin and Cassie Levy (again how were they not nominated!!)
- Once on This Island I really enjoyed too. It captured the feel of the stage, the fun that is radiated from the stage and also highlighted another nomination crime in not having Alex Newell Nominated.
- Im not a Band Visit fan, but Omar Shariff is the perfect song to have done.
In between and meh
- was Squidward’s tap dance the best way to show Spongebob Square Pants? I dont know it the only show i haven’t seen and im seeing it next week – but i didn’t think it enough. But i liked it therefore it falls in the in between.
- Springsteen was a bit boring for me. I know hes THe Boss, but at the last 15 minutes it was putting me to bed a little bit!
- I understand that Carousel wanted to show off Justin Peck’s choreography (one of their two tony wins) and their chosen song of Blow High, Blow Low, is perfect for that but wouldn’t they have sold more tickets by having some of the classic melodies that everyone at home would have recognize and be excited about
- The Mean Girls song, although great at highlighting the whole cast and setting up the story, just kind of leaves you very neutral about the show. As i said in my post about it, it lacks a modern feel and something engaging for the kids.
THE HOSTS:
- Sara Bareilles and Josh Groban as hosts were amazing!! I loved the The opening number, it was beautifully written (very Sara Bareilles style melodies), Theater relevant, deprecating and inclusive all at the same time!
- As much as I loved the opening I even loved their performance of “8 Shows a Week,” featuring lyrics set to the tune of Sia’s “Chandelier more. it was amazing!
- Also host related we have to discuss the Chita Rivera and Andrew Lloyd Webber Medley. I was a bit on the fence as to the mashup (i was thinking maybe they could have separated it and I had asked for a full blown Andrew Lloyd Webber segment). However, it was so expertly mashed (thank Alex Lacamoire) and when Josh Groban started singing Phantom I died! (He could sing the phone book and i would die, but him singing Phantom – can we have more and more of that please!!)
- Sara Bareilles Stylist was amazing! all of her outfits were to die for!
OTHER THOUGHTS
- I don’t think I’m the Band Visit Love Bandwagon. I said it in my review I liked it I just didn’t love it. I knew it was a foregone conclusion that it would win Best Muscail but a 10 award sweep. I definite don’t agree with Best Book (go Tina! you were snubbed), Best Score (the music was not the highlight … bring on Frozen or Spongebob) or Best Actor: see below. 7 awards should have been enough
- Yes to anything that has to do with Harry potter Magic. Them winning 6 awards icing on he cake.
- I am so torn about the Best Revival. I am the biggest My Fair Lady fan and really wanted it to win, it was a spectacular staging, but you cant say bad things about Once on this Island. It’s the little show that could and its creativity level is amazing. So in general its a win for all when you have categories so filled with wonderful theater
- Ther were some great speaches with some great quotes.
- Glenda Jackson’s poise and class was spectacular
- Ari’el Stachel’s emotional acceptance speech about growing up muslim was a tearjerker . his highlight quote“Your biggest obstacle may turn into your purpose,”
- Lindsay Mendez crying and telling how she was asked to change he last name when she was starting out in the business was powerful: “I was told to change my name from Mendez to Matthews or I wouldn’t work, But I want to say how proud I am to be a part of a community that celebrates diversity.”
- Andrew Garfield dedicated his speech to those in the LGBT community who fought and died. “We are all sacred and we all belong. So let’s just bake a cake for everyone who wants a cake to be baked.”
- Orin Wolf accepting the Tony for Best Musical on behalf of The Band’s Visit had a great quote:”Our show offers a message of unity in a world that more and more seems bent on amplifying our differences.”
- DAvid Cromer, accepting forBand visit highlighted the humanitarian aspect of the theater, referencing recent suicides with the message from the show: “One of the things The Band’s Visit concerns itself with is people who, due to loneliness or isolation, may have started to lose hope, and I wish that I had the words or the wisdom for the people out there whose despair is overwhelming their hope; I wish I had a way to convince them to continue looking, to have the patience and the courage to continue to find hope. If you are suffering: Please, please call out. And for those of us who are fortunate enough not to be suffering so deeply, let’s make sure we answer them.”
- Glenda Jackson’s poise and class was spectacular
- I don’t think I’m ok with Tony Shaloum winning for Best Actor in a musical. His performance is powerful, no doubt about it but I like this award to go to the powerhouses who sing dance and act as spectacularly as he did.
- I think De Niro should have kept his F bomb and made his political statement in another way. Don’t get me wrong, I feel the sentiment, but it became the headline the next day and will garner lots of criticism for a show that was amazing, and an artistic political statement in beautiful not crude ways (yei for the Parkland kids, im still crying over here!)
- Norbert Leo Butz should have won. That’s all I have to say about that.
- Amy Schumer summarizing My Fair Lady, which is my favorite musical, was so right it made me reevaluate my choices. She called it “a comedy about class and sexism” featuring a “mansplaining expert.” mm yes maybe.
- The in memoriam was beautiful. It just highlighted once again that there are so many Dear Evan Hansen songs that give me the chills.
- Love the fact that once on this island brought goats and generated this moment with Nathan Lane:
The Dresses:
The fashion at the Tony’s is never the highlight but here were my top choices. What was spectacular was the rose backdrop!
Photos: Getty Images in Vogue
Media Coverage:
- Watch All the Performances From the 2018 Tony Awards
- Here Are All The Performances From The 2018 Tony Awards — most embedded links wil lfail so here you can get the original CBS clips of everything im talknig aboit
- The Must-See Looks From the 2018 Tony Awards Red Carpet
- Review: Hope and Restraint at the Tonys. Then Came Robert De Niro
- Parkland Students Give Surprise Tonys Performance After Teacher Gets Award
- The Best Looks From the 2018 Tony Awards
- Tony Awards Video Roundup – All The Musicals!
- Sara Bareilles’ Outfits At The 2018 Tony Awards Totally Represented Her Easy Glam Style
- Watch Sara Bareilles And Josh Groban’s Best Host Moments At The 2018 Tony Awards
- The best moments from the 2018 Tony Awards
- Tony Awards red carpet arrivals: See the photos
- The best and worst moments of the Tony Awards
- These Were the 7 Best Moments From the 2018 Tony Awards
- Tony Awards 2018: Highlights & Memorable Moments
- Here Are the Best, Weirdest, and Wildest Moments of the 2018 Tony Awards
- Tony Awards 2018: Nathan Lane Vs. Goat, Parkland Showstopper, De Niro’s Bleep and More Big Moments
- Tony Awards 2018: Andrew Garfield’s LGBT Speech, Robert De Niro’s F-Bomb and More Best Moments
- 2018 Tony Awards: 4 winners and 3 losers from Broadway’s biggest night
- Tony Awards: The Night’s Biggest Snubs and Surprises
- Marjory Stoneman Douglas Drama Students Sing Rent’s ‘Seasons of Love’ at the Tony Awards
- See All the Fashion From the 2018 Tony Awards Red Carpet
- Tony Awards: Parkland Shooting Survivors Deliver Emotional Performance of ‘Seasons of Love’
- 2018 Tony Awards: Marjory Stoneman Douglas drama club performs “Seasons of Love”
- Watch the 2018 Tony Awards Performances
- From Mean Girls, Frozen, Bruce Springsteen, and More
- Tony Awards 2018 highlights
- Tony Awards Video Roundup – All the Special Performances from Marjory Stoneman Douglas Drama Students to Springsteen!
- NYTimes award roundup
- 7 Memorable Moments From the 2018 Tony Awards
- Tony Awards 2018: Best and worst red carpet looks
- All of the Best Street Style Seen at the Tony Awards
- Tony Awards 2018: The Best Dressed Celebrities on the Red Carpet
- What You Didn’t See at the 2018 Tony Awards- Watch the Untelevised Speeches!
- BWW Review: The Best and Worst of the 2018 Tonys Broadcast!
- Review Roundup: The Critics Weigh in on the 72nd Annual Tony Awards!
- Tony Awards Video Roundup – All The Revivals!
All the Performances
Mean Girls – “Where Do You Belong?” / “Meet The Plastics”
My Fair Lady: “The Rain in Spain”/“I Could Have Danced All Night”/“Get Me to the Church on Time”
Spongebob Squarepants – “I’m Not A Loser”
Frozen – “For the First Time in Forever” / “Let It Go”
Summer: The Donna Summer Musical – “Last Dance”
The Band’s Visit – “Omar Sharif”
“We Dance”/“Mama Will Provide,” Once on This Island
“Blow High, Blow Low,” Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel
Bruce Springsteen:
Dear Evan Hansen Memorial:
Josh Groban and Sara Bareilles – Lifetime Achievement Medley forAndrew Lloyd Webber and Chita Rivera
The Winners:
Best Musical
The Band’s Visit
Frozen
Mean Girls
SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical
Best Play
The Children
Farinelli and the King
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts One and Two
Junk
Latin History for Morons
Best Revival of a Musical
My Fair Lady
Once on This Island
Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Carousel
Best Revival of a Play
Angels in America
Edward Albee’s Three Tall Women
Eugene O’Neill’s The Iceman Cometh
Lobby Hero
Travesties
Best Book of a Musical
The Band’s Visit, Itamar Moses
Frozen, Jennifer Lee
Mean Girls, Tina Fey
SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical, Kyle Jarrow
Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre
Angels in America, Music: Adrian Sutton
The Band’s Visit, Music & Lyrics: David Yazbek
Frozen, Music & Lyrics: Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez
Mean Girls, Music: Jeff Richmond; Lyrics: Nell Benjamin
SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical, Music & Lyrics: Yolanda Adams, Steven Tyler & Joe Perry of Aerosmith, Sara Bareilles, Jonathan Coulton, Alex Ebert of Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros, the Flaming Lips, Lady Antebellum, Cyndi Lauper & Rob Hyman, John Legend, Panic! at the Disco, Plain White T’s, They Might Be Giants, T.I., Domani & Lil’C
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play
Andrew Garfield, Angels in America
Tom Hollander, Travesties
Jamie Parker, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts One and Two
Mark Rylance, Farinelli and the King
Denzel Washington, Eugene O’Neill’s The Iceman Cometh
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play
Glenda Jackson, Edward Albee’s Three Tall Women
Condola Rashad, Saint Joan
Lauren Ridloff, Children of a Lesser God
Amy Schumer, Meteor Shower
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical
Harry Hadden-Paton, My Fair Lady
Joshua Henry, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Carousel
Tony Shalhoub, The Band’s Visit
Ethan Slater, SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical
Lauren Ambrose, My Fair Lady
Hailey Kilgore, Once on This Island
LaChanze, Summer: The Donna Summer Musical
Katrina Lenk, The Band’s Visit
Taylor Louderman, Mean Girls
Jessie Mueller, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Carousel
Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play
Anthony Boyle, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts One and Two
Michael Cera, Lobby Hero
Brian Tyree Henry, Lobby Hero
Nathan Lane, Angels in America
David Morse, Eugene O’Neill’s The Iceman Cometh
Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play
Susan Brown, Angels in America
Noma Dumezweni, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts One and Two
Deborah Findlay, The Children
Denise Gough, Angels in America
Laurie Metcalf, Edward Albee’s Three Tall Women
Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical
Norbert Leo Butz, My Fair Lady
Alexander Gemignani, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Carousel
Grey Henson, Mean Girls
Gavin Lee, SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical
Ari’el Stachel, The Band’s Visit
Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical
Ariana DeBose, Summer: The Donna Summer Musical
Renée Fleming, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Carousel
Lindsay Mendez, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Carousel
Ashley Park, Mean Girls
Diana Rigg, My Fair Lady
Best Scenic Design of a Play
Miriam Buether, Edward Albee’s Three Tall Women
Jonathan Fensom, Farinelli and the King
Christine Jones, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts One and Two
Santo Loquasto, Eugene O’Neill’s The Iceman Cometh
Ian MacNeil and Edward Pierce, Angels in America
Best Scenic Design of a Musical
Dane Laffrey, Once on This Island
Scott Pask, The Band’s Visit
Scott Pask, Finn Ross & Adam Young, Mean Girls
Michael Yeargan, My Fair Lady
David Zinn, SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical
Best Costume Design of a Play
Jonathan Fensom, Farinelli and the King
Nicky Gillibrand, Angels in America
Katrina Lindsay, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts One and Two
Ann Roth, Edward Albee’s Three Tall Women
Ann Roth, Eugene O’Neill’s The Iceman Cometh
Best Costume Design of a Musical
Gregg Barnes, Mean Girls
Clint Ramos, Once on This Island
Ann Roth, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Carousel
David Zinn, SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical
Catherine Zuber, My Fair Lady
Best Lighting Design of a Play
Neil Austin, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts One and Two
Paule Constable, Angels in America
Jules Fisher & Peggy Eisenhauer, Eugene O’Neill’s The Iceman Cometh
Paul Russell, Farinelli and the King
Ben Stanton, Junk
Best Lighting Design of a Musical
Kevin Adams, SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical
Jules Fisher & Peggy Eisenhauer, Once on This Island
Donald Holder, My Fair Lady
Brian MacDevitt, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Carousel
Tyler Micoleau, The Band’s Visit
Best Sound Design of a Play
Adam Cork, Travesties
Ian Dickinson for Autograph, Angels in America
Gareth Fry, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts One and Two
Tom Gibbons, 1984
Dan Moses Schreier, Eugene O’Neill’s The Iceman Cometh
Best Sound Design of a Musical
Kai Harada, The Band’s Visit
Peter Hylenski, Once on This Island
Scott Lehrer, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Carousel
Brian Ronan, Mean Girls
Walter Trarbach and Mike Dobson, SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical
Best Direction of a Play
Marianne Elliott, Angels in America
Joe Mantello, Edward Albee’s Three Tall Women
Patrick Marber, Travesties
John Tiffany, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts One and Two
George C. Wolfe, Eugene O’Neill’s The Iceman Cometh
Best Direction of a Musical
Michael Arden, Once on This Island
David Cromer, The Band’s Visit
Tina Landau, SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical
Casey Nicholaw, Mean Girls
Bartlett Sher, My Fair Lady
Best Choreography
Christopher Gattelli, My Fair Lady
Christopher Gattelli, SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical
Steven Hoggett, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts One and Two
Casey Nicholaw, Mean Girls
Justin Peck, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Carousel
Best Orchestrations
John Clancy, Mean Girls
Tom Kitt, SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical
Annmarie Milazzo & Michael Starobin, Once on This Island
Jamshied Sharifi, The Band’s Visit
Jonathan Tunick, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Carousel
Special Tony Awards for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre
Chita Rivera
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Special Tony Awards
John Leguizamo
Bruce Springsteen
Regional Theatre Tony Award
La MaMa E.T.C., New York City
Isabelle Stevenson Tony Award
Nick Scandalios
Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre
Sara Krulwich
Bessie Nelson
Ernest Winzer Cleaners
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