Tuesday, June 13, 2017

Gathering Broadway’s Usual Suspects: Kevin Spacey Hosts The Tony Awards

 June 11th, 2017- The 71st Annual Tony Awards was hosted by “The Usual Suspects”( and numerous other projects on stage and screen) actor Kevin Spacey.  He opened the show with a montage about the quest to host the night in question, spoofing “Dear Evan Hansen” among other nominated shows along the way...He was a man of many faces throughout the night, bringing out impressions of Johnny Carson, Bill Clinton, and even his character from the show “House of Cards” Frank Underwood…His vocal talents were on display as he closed out the show with a Bobby Darin song in an ensemble finale with the night’s winners and Patti LuPone… I personally enjoyed his interaction with Chazz Palminteri -of “A Bronx Tale” and Spacey’s interrogator in “The Usual Suspects”

A Moment of Reflection on a Stage Not So Far Away…: Mark Hamill of the “Star Wars” film franchise introduced the montage of those the Broadway community lost this past year… To the classic Boyz II Men hit “It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye (To Yesterday)”, the video screen showed images across the marquee-like video screen. Led off by Carrie Fisher (Hamill’s “Star Wars” co-star), the tribute included other names such as Fisher’s mother, Debbie Reynolds and Mary Tyler Moore (Broadway Barks” co-host for many years and supporter of the arts).

When Plays Reflect Real Life: Some of the winning shows were based on true events. “Oslo” won for Best Play; Best Actor in a Featured Role in a Play went to this show’s Michael Aronov… “Indecent” had a decent night with Rebecca Taichman taking home the Tony for Best Direction of a Play and Christopher Akerlind winning for Best Lighting Design of a play.

Present to “Present Laughter”: Kevin Kline won his third Tony Award for his lead acting role in “Present Laughter”. His acceptance speech was low-key and humble as he thanked his family, the arts foundations, and mentors that made him what he is today and everyone in general.

Before the Band Plays Me Off….: In one of the more interesting moments of the night, Bette Midler’s acceptance speech for the Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical topped the billing in grand statements that would not be silenced by the show’s house orchestra. Midler practically yelled over the music before getting the time to thank the “Hello Dolly!” actresses that came before…Her speech also affirmed that the role of theater is to provide an escape in the troubling times in which we live.  Shows such as “Hello Dolly!” will always do that for people, and I am glad she reminded people of that.

Natasha, Pierre &The Two-Time Winner at the Tony Awards of 2017: The scenic and lighting design for “Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812” was recognized as Mimi Lien and Bradley King each took home the Tony for their superb work transforming the Imperial Theater into a Russian parlor.

Hello Tony!: “Hello Dolly!” was a big winner last night…Besides Bette Midler, the show’s costume designer Santo Loquasto and featured actor Gavin Creel were honored for their work…”Hello Dolly!” also received the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical

One-Time Winners: Some shows walked off with just one award while some walked off with their first Tony awards…Nigel Hook won for his scenic design of “The Play That Goes Wrong”…Andy Blankenbuehler got a deserving honor for his choreography of the musical “Bandstand”… “Come From Away” ‘s Christopher Ashley got the Tony Award for Best Direction of A Musical…Laurie Metcalf received her first Tony Award for her leading role in “A Doll’s House Part 2”….”August Wilson’s Jitney” won Best Revival of a Play.

Sly “Foxes”:  “Lillian Hellman’s The Little Foxes” won two awards last night. Jane Greenwood was given a Tony for costume design…Rotating lead/feature actress Cynthia Nixon won for her role, and was one of a few that night to use the awards podium to make a statement.

“Dear Evan Hansen” Goes For 6: Being topical can benefit a show. Case In Point: “Dear Evan Hansen”, a “socially relevant” entrant among this year’s nominees.  It was the big winner of the original musical categories, netting 6 awards during the course of the evening, including: Best Orchestration (Alex Lacamoire), Best Book (Steven Levenson), Best Score (Ben Pasek and Justin Paul), Best Featured Actress (Rachel Bay Jones), Best Lead Actor (Ben Platt), and the highest honor of the night of Best Musical

If I Had My Time Any Other Year: I want to take this moment to acknowledge the original musical that got shut out of the Tony Awards this year. “Groundhog Day the Musical” was praised and honored by London’s theater community with wins for the lead actor Andy Karl as well as the show itself…Prior to the Tonys, Andy Karl won the outstanding actor in a musical from both the Outer Critics Circle and Drama Desk. On Broadway’s biggest night however, the year was very competitive. During the evening, “The Great Comet” performed a medley of songs from their show; while “Come From Away”, “Dear Evan Hansen”, and “Groundhog Day the Musical” showcased one number…The “Groundhog Day the Musical” cast performed the show’s finale “Seeing You” for the audience at Radio City Music Hall and the viewers at home. This number expressed the heart of the show. #championsadjust-“Groundhog Day the Musical” cast motto (courtesy of @andy_karl)


Give My Regards to Broadway: It was quite a night to honor Broadway’s best. Relevancy and timeliness was the theme of the night, and technical skill was rewarded…Legends were honored and new legacies created...Bette Midler would not let the awards show pass by without having her say… and people watching saw the many entertaining faces of Kevin Spacey…Now that the awards are handed out, I encourage the reader to see the works honored last night to experience live theater; there is truly nothing like it.

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