UPDATED WITH VIDEO
6:33 I feel like a 14 year old Michigander again, all excited for the Tony Awards to start despite not having any access to the shows. It's so masochistic, loving the theater! See, this has been my most poverty stricken year yet, so all I've seen is Catch Me If You Can, The Normal Heart, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson (which didn't get the main nomination it deserved in Best Actor) and Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown which was kinda terrible but still got some nominations.
6:35 Norbert Leo Butz arrives. He's nominated for Catch Me If You Can in the Tom Hanks role. Tom Hanks couldn't catch him if he tried Butz is so great in it. He says he's feeling...
joyous, celebratory, triumphant.
He also reveals that he met his wife while doing Wicked, a "showmance" that lasted and he says he filled out Fiyero's super tight pants better than his current Catch Me co-star Aaron Tveit
I couldn't find good pictures so you'll have to imagine the captain tight pants competition.
Norbert (original cast) & Aaron (one of many replacements)
6:52 My showmance with the theater, like Butz's, also lasted. Obviously due to my masochism.
6:53 They're talking to John Benjamin Hickey, who is the frontrunner for Featured Actor (i.e. "Best Supporting") for The Normal Heart. He is quite incredible in it -- easily best in show -- but he says he won't be doing much celebrating tonight because he has an early morning call on The Big C. From Tony to Linney... nice work if you can get it !
7:00 Sutton Foster and Bobby Cannavale we're just introduced as 'theater's new "It" Couple' and this was their reaction. Heh. Sutton Foster has been "it" for some time but Bobby is welcome to join.
Bobby & Sutton
The reporter is IN LOVE WITH THEM even commenting on how "in shape" they are? Lol. (Keep it in your pants, Donna!!!) but that love is going around. It's what happens to it couples, don'cha know.
7:11 Harry Connick Jr has just announced that he is going to star in a revival of ON A CLEAR DAY YOU CAN SEE FOREVER. Good luck finding a Barbra Streisand level co-star, Harry!
7: 15 Victoria Clark from Sister Act says...
God is front and center this season, I'm happy to say.
Huh. I don't remember seeing him in the nominee list. Was he even eligible?
More after the jump including VIDEO plus Vanessa Redgrave, Hugh Jackman, Neil Patrick Harris. And Frances McDormand is on the way to a triple crown, you betcha!
7:17 BREAKING: Vanessa Redgrave just sneezed on the red carpet. Gesundheit. (Hopefully God blessed her. He's front and center this season which means he's somewhere on the red carpet.)
7:22 They were interviewing Patrick Wilson (sigh ♥) and then I lost the live-feed. Damnit!
7:25 Patrick Pachecko made a funny. Noting that it didn't rain on the red carpet (leading up to big wins from sacriligeous musical The Book of Mormon he says...
God is obviously not a Mormon."
7:35 SO... short break. The Tony Awards start at 8:00 PM. Here's Neil Patrick Harris, HOST!, arriving with his boyfriend David Burtka. [more pics at Just Jared]
More soon... if you're reading say something in the comments. Share in my "I haven't seen these shows but I still care!" masochism.
7:41 Robert. He only speaks the truth.
It's sad because it's true...
8:00 IT'S STARTING.
8:06 That opening number... I can't even... brilliant. We must get the lyrics to that song. Joel Grey mouthed the word "wow" at the end of the number and we concur.
8:10 BEST FEATURED ACTRESS - ELLEN BARKIN in "THE NORMAL HEART"
Her category was all middle aged or older blondes but for Elizabeth Rodriguez. Very excited to win an acting prize. She called "The Normal Heart" a molotov cocktail" which is a good description. I just worry that those cocktails are going off in the entire cast's larynxes.
8:15 Daniel Radcliffe is so tiny and cute in this "How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" number. Emphasis on the tiny. But damn he's working hard. Good on him.
"The Boy Who Lived... To Dance"
8:24 John Leguizamo is talking. Here's who has won so far offscreen.
Best Sound Design, Score, & Orchestrations to BOOK OF MORMON. 3 prizes so far.
Best Choreography Anything Goes -Tap Dancing is a good luck charm in this category ;)
Best Costume Design The Importance of Being Earnest
8:28 BEST FEATURED ACTOR -JOHN BENJAMIN HICKEY for THE NORMAL HEART
who thanks The Lovely Laura Linney, his partner and various others ending with Larry Kramer. As expected this night belong to The Book of Mormon and The Normal Heart.
Ellen Barkin and John Benjamin Hickey representin' for THE NORMAL HEARTThe awards enthusiasm for The Normal Heart is kind of like the awards enthusiasm for any safely-in-the-past social issue pictures that win Oscars. It feels like the audience is kind of patting themselves on the back for being on the right side of an issue but of course they are! It'd be so much more thrilling if people got this riled up about fights happening RIGHT NOW you know. Not that the AIDS crisis is over but I hope you know what I'm saying.
8:31 I can't express to you how great this Norbert Leo Butz CATCH ME IF YOU CAN number is in the context of the show. But Tony performances are always like weird excerpts. Often the lead up to a musical number informs how one feels about it and that number is J-O-Y when it happens.
8:40 Spider-Man jokes as many as NPH can fit in. Hilarious. NPH is the best host ever. He's such a natural at it. I feel a sudden poll coming on... SPIDER-MEN
PARKERS, PETER: NICHOLAS HAMMOND, TOBEY MAGUIRE, REEVE CARNEY, ANDREW GARFIELD
I feel like JA hasn't done a "do, dump or marry" for Spider-Men yet so I dedicate this to him even though he will probably never read it given his weirdass hatred of musicals and thus Broadway. So have at it, people. "do, dump or marry"...
Wait there's only 3 categories with 4 actors. improvise in the comments! Go.
8:42 BOOK OF MORMON wins something. BEST DIRECTOR. I'm sure this is the first time that "South Park fans" have been thanked at the Tony Awards. Trey Parker has borrowed Liza Minnelli's sparkly black blouse to wear under his tuxedo jacket.
8:46 WAR HORSE wins "best direction of a play
8:47 SCOTTSBORO BOYS performance. I need to watch this. [Watches it] Now, I am sad that I missed the show.
9:00 BEST FEATURED ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL Nikki M James in "The Book of Mormon".
"Tony, come home with me!"
She's so so excited. She says her fellow nominees "are all ladies and women". Uh. Yes, that's why the category has "actress" in the title. If Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown had been a good show, Laura Benanti probably could've put up a fight for that award. But I hear Nikki is wonderful in it. Well done.
9:04 A performance from The Book of Mormon. A pastiche number based off of "I Have Confidence" from Sound of Music eh?
I am a Mormon and dangit, a Mormon just believes."
It's funny because it's true.
9:14 Hugh Jackman vs. Neil Patrick Harris. LOVE.
Making funny about the Oscars, Emmys, and Tonys. But somehow Hugh Jackman and Neil Pattrick Harris ending their "Anything you can host, i can host better" medley with Cole Porter's "baby if I'm the bottom you're the top." somehow contradicts NPH's opening song: 'Broadways' not just for the gays anymore.'
I'm going to mp3 the shit out of that.
9:26 Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark is performing. Shouldn't this be against the rules. They haven't even "opened". It's like free commercials. It was an odd minor romantic ballad.
9:33 Best Book of a Musical goes to THE BOOK OF MORMON.
9:43 I've run out of live-blog steam... my apologies. I blame that tepid Sister Act performance. They were going for exuberant but musicals that so clearly exist only to find more ways to take your money based on pre-existing love of something else annoy me.
9:45 WHERE IS MY SUTTON FOSTER? I must have some Sutton.
9:50 BEST REVIVAL goes to THE NORMAL HEART. The problem with sweepy awards shows like this year's Tonys is that the end is so anti-climactic.
10:00 I am disappointed to inform you that Lizzy Gardiner did not wear a credit card dress to win Costume Design for PRISCILLA on Broadway. But she did repeat that Oscar win.
10:03 WAR HORSE wins Best Play and then wins Best Picture at the Oscars. What? It could happen. It's not the same production, mind but still... awards meme.
10: 12 I'm still trying to recover from Sutton Foster's ANYTHING GOES performance. She's the best. This is what's known as a triple threat. There's no weak areas: singing, dancing, acting. The best! [/Sutton Fanboyisms]
Oh no... I closed that thought too quickly. One more fanboyism:
Fact: Sutton Foster is not a human being but joy bottled in human form. (Other examples of this phenomenon: The Muppets, Ewan McGregor)
10:18 Vanessa Redgrave and James Earl Jones are introducing a segment. They both have such melodious STENTORIAN voices... do you think they actually talk that way at home?
10:22 Christie Brinkley, who apparently went to Spokesperson 101 or Game Show Host School introduced a performance from COMPANY (not currently playing) with an all star cast. I love Company so much but Brinkley threw me off so I lost the thread of what was happening.
10:29 That in memoriam section reminds us that there's always been crossover between the movies and legit theater. Oscar winners and nominees kept popping up.
Frances McDormand on her way to the Triple Crown.
10:42 SORRY I DISAPPEARED BEST ACTRESS PLAY FRANCES MCDORMAND in "Good People" and BEST ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL SUTTON FOSTER in "Anything Goes" both gave amazing speeches.
Frances McDormand announced that she's played both Stella and Blanche in A Streetcar Named Desire "AND ALL THREE OF CHEKHOV's SISTER." and she believes this her current role will one day be played by future actresses just like those roles. High praise. Frances McDormand is awesome. Sutton freaked out about her dresser who is retiring from dressing.
Mark Rylance in JERUSALEM10:57 BEST ACTOR IN A PLAY goes to MARK RYLANCE in "Jerusalem" and BEST ACTOR IN A MUSICAL goes to NORBERT LEO BUTZ (yay!) in "Catch Me If You Can". I love both of these men and though I am actress-oriented I easily make an exception for these two.
Well done, Antoinette Perry.
Incidentally Mark Rylance's insane acceptance speech, a guide to walking through brick walls (?) was from this blog. [Thanks to Wesley Morris for that info!]
I wish Mark Rylance would make more movies. Do you remember him in Intimacy with Kerry Fox? They tore that up.
11:05 BOOK OF MORMON won Best Musical and Neil Patrick Harris wrapped things up with insane rap recapping the entire evening so that none of the fans have to do any "best of" clips or recaps for YouTube. He OWNED this show. All other awards show hosts are officially on notice. Jane Lynch is next with the Emmys. Good luck Sue Sylvester!
KISS KISS GOODNIGHT. We'll let the "It Couple" do that honor.
