How To Succeed At The Tonys

Tonight (or last night) was the 65th presentation of The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre.  Once again, Neil Patrick Harris shined as the host as he poked fun at himself, Spider-Man (30 seconds of jokes about the troubled musical), and battled with Hugh Jackman to see who would be the better host.  Really in his element as an entertainer.  Since I had to work until 9, I had to watch via the DVR an hour late.

Honestly, I was not overly impressed with the excerpts from the NEW musicals.  Two based on movies (Catch Me If You Can.. never saw the Hanks/Decrapio movie; and Sister Act… which surprisingly did not translate that well to the stage).  The Scottsboro Boys is the now closed and soon to hit the road swan song of Kander and Ebb (who created Cabaret and Chicago).  The winner of Best Musical, The Book of Mormon, was co-created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone (known primarily for bringing “South Park” into our lives).

I was much more impressed by the two shows battling it out for Best Revival of a Musical.  Daniel and company were very fun while performing “Brotherhood of Man” from How to Succeed… Congrats to John Larroquette on his win for Best Featured Role by an Actor in a Musical.  Sutton Foster and her cast of the classic Anything Goes was the odds on favorite to snag the revival award and it did not disappoint.  I am still amazed that Radcliffe was not nominated for his role.  It does not make sense to blame Harry Potter itself when Jackman won for The Boy from Oz while he was still riding high as Wolverine in the X Men films.

Memorable moments:

• Spider-Man excerpt did not do a thing to endear it to me.  Re-opens Tuesday.  Julie Taymor is suing for royalties due to her after she was fired from the director’s gig.
• I found bits of The Book Of Mormon’s song, “I Believe,” to sound like a mockery of “I Have Confidence” from The Sound of Music.  What can we expect from the co-creators of “South Park?”
• Brooke Shields (soon to join the cast of The Addam’s Family) got a big long BLEEEEEEEEP (or was it a long mute)
• Christie Brinkley (yet another to soon revolve into the endless cast of Chicago) looked like a deranged Barbie doll and sounded like a munchkin.
• “No audience members have been injured during a performance…. YET!” (30 seconds of Spider-Man jabs)
• Whatever the (what can only be best described as) THING was that Whoopi had on her head.

So… while the year’s crop of NEW musical highlights leave something lacking, the awards and revivals were entertaining.  And please…KEEP THE SUPERHEROES WHERE THEY BELONG!  IN THE COMICS, ANIMATED SERIES, OR MOVIES!

Jamy Shaffer