Sunday, June 09, 2013

In the spirit of Tony revivals...

...here are highlights from my past Tony reviews. I won’t be reviewing them this year because they’re tape delayed and I don’t want to stay up until 4:00 writing a review of a show that only I saw. But I love the Tony’s and if you do too, here are excerpts from my previous snarky reviews to get in the mood.

Usually I say the Tonys are the only award show where no one thanks their wives. This year, with THE BOOK OF MORMON there was the chance that winners would thank many wives. But not so. That would require Mormons to actually be involved.

This year we had JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR, GODSPELL, THE BOOK OF MORMON, and LEAP OF FAITH. Don’t producers know that JEWS are the people who go to the theater? What’s next? A Mel Gibson one-man show?

The theater community was thrilled and relieved when Audra McDonald finally won for lead actress. Her four other Tonys were just for supporting actress. Highlight of her speech was saying it was an honor to get raped by Philip Boykin every night.

How nice to have an awards show where the “Harvey” they’re saluting is Fierstein not Weinstein.

For the first time in the 65-year history of the Tony Awards, they waited a full two hours before the Sondheim tribute number.

My delightfully caustic daughter, Annie and her writing partner, Jon Emerson are also contributing this year. Annie (during the JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR number): “That musical has had more revivals than Jesus.”

Sick joke alert but I laughed: When Tyne Daly was introducing the In Memoriam segment and saying the theater lost many great people this year, Jon chimed in with, “Yeah, and half the cast of SPIDERMAN”.

Very happy that Nina Arianda won even though you’re saying who is she and what did she win for?

I always find in unnerving to see a Judy Garland impersonator who isn’t a man.

The Tonys are only once a year in the summer so you can understand why CBS continues to air them despite so little interest. I mean it’s not like it’s a weekly series about Broadway. What network would be crazy enough to have one of those, spend big bucks on it, and then renew it? Even NBC couldn’t be that foolish, could they?

The production numbers are always more fun at the Macy's Parade where they do the same thing but in 20 degree weather. If I don't see steam coming out of mouths I'm not as transported.

Christina Applegate, with her short blond hair and tight green dress looked like Tinkerbell while her co-presenter, Neil Patrick Harris looked like Peter Pan. Neil is maybe the only male who could ever play that part.

Julie White won the TONY for “Best Impersonation of a Harriet Harris” performance. She was very funny in THE LITTLE DOG LAUGHED.

As usual, off stage announcer, Randy Thomas, was smooth and flawless. I want to win just so someday I could hear her say my name (and maybe plug my book).

Mandy Patinkin and Patti LaPone were presenters together. That’s like Godzilla and Mothra on the same stage. There must be teeth marks on every piece of backstage scenery at the Beacon and three neighboring theaters.

Good luck to all the nominees. May the best man, or man playing woman, or woman playing man, or woman win.

6 comments :

  1. "Don’t producers know that JEWS are the people who go to the theater?"

    Jeeeesus... Christ...

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  2. Yesterday I was passing the discount ticket both in Times Square and a guy yelled out, ”Anybody for PIPPIN or ANNIE? I subsequently said to myself, ”No, you did not go though a time machine. This is NOT 1976!”

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  3. Wow, that's the exact same photo of the Tony set that I posted on my Facebook page. Great minds download alike!

    And the Tonys are always the best award show of the year. People who are comfortable on stage doing material not tailored to the average boneheaded teenage boy. What's not to like?

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  4. Off topic, but I heard your interview today on NBC sports radio. Good interview. I always love the Springfield Isotopes story.

    One interesting point is that you said the one show you wish you could have written for but didn't was Seinfeld. That suprised me because I don't remember you ever talking that much about Seinfeld when you mention your favorite TV comedies (though I could be wrong about this).

    Do you think there is a reason you never got the Seinfeld gig or is it sometimes just the way things work out?

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  5. C'mon, Ken. The Tonys start in 30 minutes. Don't break with tradition. I'll be watching, and we're interested in your opinion. You still have time to settle in unless you have other commitments. I agree that tape delay sucks, but we take what we can get if we're theatre junkies.

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  6. Well, I posted my review. What am I going to have watched? Game of Thrones? Sports? Or singing and dancing?

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