Tony Awards 2012
Monday, June 11, 2012 at 10:10PM 
Neil Patrick Harris sang and danced and wisecracked and otherwise hung out (har dee har har... see Spider-Man gag to the left) at the Tony Awards last night.
Did you watch?
If so what delighted you most? I'll admit right up front that this may be the season from which I'd seen the least amount of nominated shows in the past decade. I only saw three: Bonnie & Clyde (terrible), Porgy & Bess (strong) and Follies (genius/wondrous I saw it twice despite barely going to Broadway shows this year.) Porgy & Bess and Once (based on the great movie about the budding romance between two musicians) stole many of the trophies Follies might have won if the Tonys loved Stephen Sondheim shows as much as his legion of obsessive fans do.
Since I am very very tired today, herewight ten highlight tweets via me (and photos and winners) from last night as sort of retroactive fake live blogging...
Awww. it's Mrs Hugh Jackman. (According to Hugh, she's terrible at keeping secrets)
- Tonight's tv schedule (Mad Men, True Blood, Tony Awards) is wearing me out before I even head out to my morning movie (Prometheus)
- I love the call your understudy when you're feeling cruddy suggestion from the Tony Awards. I'll take resumes for the role of me starting tomorrow.
- "Little Orphan Know it All" NPH's great new title for Annie
- Judith Light Wins The Tony. Hyperventilates. Is Glad Ugly Betty is Over.
- Christian Bale forgot where came from. No surprise Newsies performance cameo.
- NPH suggests film to stage musicals including Field of Dreamgirls. OMG. Buying my ticket now.
- "Unchained Melody" on quaaludes. No longer righteous. #GhostTheMusicalLooksAtrocious
- Where is Madonna? #Evita2012Problems
Ricky Martin works up a sweat doing an odd Evita number - If straight men watched the Tony Awards, Jessica Chastain's peekaboo nipple would have been an awesome career move. #WrongAudience
- Wish I'd seen Once on stage. Loved the movie. Totally shoulda been Best Picture nominated. (Not that 2007 wasn't a good Oscar vintage)
And here are three tweets that made me guffaw so I wanted to share.
@RusselHFilm on that Field of Dreamgirls joke...
@HitFixDaniel on Judith Light's Tony.
and @SortaThatBoy on Andrew Garield losing the Featured Actor Tony
Complete Winners List
PLAY Clybourne Park
MUSICAL Once
REVIVAL, PLAY Arthur Millers' Death of a Salesman
REVIVAL, MUSICAL The Gershwins' Porgy & Bess
The star winners skewed a bit younger than: James Corden (33) Audra McDonald (41), Nina Arianda (28) and Steve Kazee (36) all beat major well regarded rivals; Corden even beat his favorite actor Phillip Seymour Hoffman for the win.
REVIVAL, PLAY Arthur Millers' Death of a Salesman
REVIVAL, MUSICAL The Gershwins' Porgy & Bess
DIRECTION, PLAY Mike Nichols, Death of a Salesman
DIRECTION, MUSICAL John Tiffany, Once
BOOK OF A MUSICAL Once
ORIGINAL SCORE Newsies
LEADING ACTRESS, PLAY Nina Arianda, Venus in Fur (she's got only one week of performances left. Her co-star is the wonderful Hugh Dancy. Everyone I've talked to who has seen it simply raves about her. You may remember her from her itty bitty part in Midnight in Paris as Michael Sheen's girlfriend.
LEADING ACTRESS, MUSICAL Audra McDonald, Porgy & Bess
LEADING ACTOR, PLAY James Corden, One Man, Two Guvnors
LEADING ACTOR, MUSICAL Steve Kazee, Once
FEATURED ACTRESS, PLAY -Judith Light, Other Desert Cities
FEATURED ACTRESS, MUSICAL - Judy Kaye, Nice Work If You Can Get It
FEATURED ACTOR, PLAY -Christian Borle (of Smash fame), Peter and the Starcatcher
FEATURED ACTOR, MUSICAL Michael McGrath, Nice Work If You Can Get It
CHOREOGRAPHY Newsies
ORCHESTRATIONS Once
SCENIC DESIGN, PLAY Peter and the Starcatcher
SCENIC DESIGN, MUSICAL Once
COSTUME DESIGN, PLAY Peter and the Starcatcher
COSTUME DESIGN, MUSICAL Follies
LIGHTING DESIGN, PLAY Peter and the Starcatcher
LIGHTING DESIGN, MUSICAL Once
SOUND DESIGN, PLAY Peter and the Starcatcher
SOUND DESIGN, MUSICAL Once
SPECIAL TONY AWARD LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT Emanuel Azenberg
REGIONAL THEATER AWARD The Shakespearean Theatre Company, Washington DC
ISABELLE STEVENSON AWARD Bernadette Peters (pictured right)
SPECIAL TONY AWARD Actors Equity Association and Hugh Jackman
TONY HONORS FOR EXCELLENCE IN THE THEATER Freddie Gershon, Artie Siccardi, TDF Open Doors
...and curtain.
Audra McDonald, Broadway, Broadway and Stage, Follies, Newsies, Nina Arianda, Once, Porgy & Bess, musicals
Reader Comments (23)
So happy Nina won. So well deserved.
What delighted me most? The scene from Follies (by miles and miles). And I liked Corden's acceptance the most. But overall I didn't think the show was as strong as last year's, even though I generally liked the winners.
Though I was so happy for Steve Kazee and Audra McDonald.....my heart was breaking for Danny Burstein and Jan Maxwell from FOLLIES.
Love this post! :)
True story: if StinkyLulu had done his supporting actress blogathon, I would have chosen Nina Arianda for "Paris" and especially "Higher Ground". She reminds me of Brooke Smith. She'll probably continue to get these tiny parts and run away with them.
I thought the ceremony was great and NPH was game as usual. I also think most/all of the speeches from the winners were well done. Some of the numbers were less than stellar (Ghost), but there were still some good bits. I was very happy for Kazee and Corden. The latter mostly because of the shock of him beating all of those actors and his reaction to that.
Also, thanks for RTing my Andrew Garfield tweet last night and highlighting it here again. :-)
I was watching a free Rufus Wainwright concert with Jake Gyllenhaal in the audience. After watching Brokeback Mountain on the big screen for the first time. I'm trying to figure out which event was gayer.
Also, yay Audra McDonald and I hope this is one of many more!
Why do 'theater people' act so ridiculous? They all put on this phony accent. It's very bizarre. Also, is Mike Nicholas sick? He looked very thin and frail.
I was disappointed for Andrew Garfield and no Emma Stone is not a treat: I am.
Audra McDonald earning her fifth Tony ting her victory with two veteran female performers proves how much Hollywood (The Academy Awards) sucks. Seriously this woman would be no where in movies very quickly but can be a Streep/Hepburn of her profession on the stage.
Off Topic: I'm watching Dangerous Liaisons for the first time and I know Cruel Intentions is a teen remake but I can't help thinking about Cruel Intentions while watching it. PS Glenn Close is a monument ignored for no apparent reason.
4rtful-Agreed. Audra McDonald is one of the best singers and actresses around, and yet the best Hollywood can do is give her a supporting role on a procedural spinoff? Terrible. They should be building movies around the woman.
It's hard to believe that a musical about showbusiness like "Follies" went almost empty-handed. Too bitter?
I had Corden on my ballot so I'm glad. Love both Arianda and Light.
PS If you're tired you can save the red carpet post. They all wore the worst gowns on Earth.
Celia Keenan-Bolger can't catch a break playing cute, can she? Twice now she's lost while the Featured Actor nominee from her show with an equally ridiculous part won.
The only real surprise to me was seeing Clybourne Park win Best Play. I figured Other Desert Cities would take it. It's ridiculous to complain about that. There were so many great plays this season (not musicals, plays) that most of those categories could have gone to any performer or artist/designer and not caused controversy.
Still think One Man, Two Guvnors should have won for Original Score, Music and/or Lyrics. I mean, Newsies had new songs but they sounded just like the old songs from the movie. So congratulations to Alan Menken for finally winning a Tony Award for writing "Sante Fe."
Nate--I know you're gonna hate me, and I love love love movies, but
10 Reasons Why the Tonys are Better than the Oscars:
10. No camera pans of Brad and Angelina scowling, George Clooney looking bored, Jennifer Aniston's hair, or Meryl Streep's husband looking uncomfortable.
9. People are happy and excited to attend; their agents didn't make them go.
8. Performances on stage are performed by folks who've been doing the job 8 days a week for at least 2 months. They make it look effortless. And the presenters look more relaxed.
7. No Red Carpet walks by skinny starlets no one knows but Entertainment Weekly, US Magazine, and the U.K.'s Hello Magazine.
6. Neil Patrick Harris, a fantastic host, who is always adorable, amusing, and well-rehearsed.
5. No shots of Harvey Weinstein being smug.
4. Shots of Scott Rudin deserving to be smug (except for Clybourne Park--whadda ya say now, Scottie?)
3. Angela Lansbury and James Earl Jones doing nothing.
2. Bernadette Peters and Patti LuPone doing anything.
1. Thank you speeches that almost always include the playwright and the whole theater crew.
and bonus....
Hugh Jackman in the house!
I didn't see the other nominees in her field, but Arianda really was amazing. I saw her recently in Win Win and it did not do her justice (granted, it was a small role). Her timing in Paris is just a tease of what she's capable of. I hope I can see her on stage in anything else she does from now on.
It's weird... I really enjoyed the Tonys this year, but nearly every number from one of the nominated musicals was not very good, or at least an odd choice to represent the show (I love Danny Burstein, but why have a solo number represent Follies? That was the best ensemble I've seen on Broadway in ages!).
THRILLED for James Corden since One Man, Two Guvnors is so freakin' funny and he is just genius in it. The bit he did was just the tiniest taste of what he does in that show. Also thrilled for Nina Arianda, who I keep hearing raves about and am FINALLY going to see tonight after having had to turn down tickets to that show THREE TIMES.
Everyone in the New York area should really see ONCE as soon as possible. It is so good. Words cannot even describe. The cast is so ridiculously talented; they make a rather large Broadway theater feel like the most intimate performance space - like they're singing just to you. So happy that it won for Best Musical.
And on a final note, GHOST is awful. AWFUL. BUT! The effects are really some of the most amazing things I have ever seen on a Broadway stage, and Molly's big number, "With You", is absolutely heartbreaking.
Did you see this last night?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nJopEnhAF8
So creepy and funny.
denny, they did Danny Burstein by himself because it's the only "show" number that doesn't require a lot of people on stage.
The performing shows made a lot of mistakes. Porgy and Bess does not lend itself well to montage. Once could have had an awesome montage. Open with "El Pada Pada Rosicka," transition into "Gold," and close out with "Falling Slowly." Newsies did what Newsies could do. Ghost should have done "I'm Outta Here" to showcase their only performance nomination and really sell it as a high energy show. And, bless their hearts, Leap of Faith put up a fantastic performance of a terrible song.
Neil Patrick Harris's schtick is becoming too formulaic for me. Better than Sean Hayes though, amirite? Great winners and acceptance speeches for the most part. Goddess Audra McDonald, Nina Arianda, Steve Kazee (loved the song from "Once" and seeing this show when it comes to tour), James Corden (never thought I'd hear someone give a shout-out to his baby mama on stage, which was awesome), Judith Light, Christian Borle, etc. That made up for some of these sorry production numbers. Did we really have to sit through "Hairspray" on a cruise ship? I didn't need that or "Evita" or "Godspell" or "Ghost" (so bad) or "Leap of Faith" (poor Raul Esperza). But, the plays bit was cool, and I loved the presenter banter that Parker and Stone did before announcing best musical. This is the full extent of the exposure I get to Broadway, so I have to take it all in once every June. :-/ Until next summer . . .
Robert, I know they had their reasons for doing the Blues from Follies, I guess it was mostly just wishful thinking on my part. I REALLY wanted them to bring the house down with "Who's That Girl" even though I know it's impossible because they're all in California. But agreed on all the other performance comments: Porgy & Bess should have just had Audra do "Summertime" and be done with it. I was fine with "Gold" as the sole number representing Once, but a medley could have been grand. The choice from Ghost was confounding - it really only works in the show after you've heard the songs individually - but I would have gone for Oda Mae's other number, which could have gotten in the lines that people know and love from the movie along with Randolph's very different take on the character. I know they're trying to sell it as a love story (they even sell branded packs of tissues as souvenirs... I KNOW), but she's really the best part of the show after the effects. My heart went out to the poor Leap of Faith cast, because that was pretty great as the last performance of anything from that show ever.
And also, I have to point out my two favorite moments of the evening: The random Godspell cast member who grabbed her Tony moment by the balls and danced with Hugh Jackman in the audience (YOU GO GET IT, GIRL!) and Nina Arianda's acceptance speech when she admitted that she got all hot and bothered when Christopher Plummer blew the ship's whistle in Sound of Music (just when I thought I couldn't love her any more!)
AND! Really, no pictures can possibly do justice to that genius Spider-Man bit. It went on for that entire, interminable American Theatre Wing speech without missing a beat. Really the funniest bit on any awards show in quite some time.
Lowest ratings in ages. I'm so afraid the producers will cut the show (even more) next year!
I'm sure Danny Burstein's performance was all about the money. Sure, he was most likely to win, but it also required the least amount of people to fly to NYC
I guess they could have had Jan Maxwell do Could I Leave You by herself, but at least Burstein's song had color and movement. Remember all these people were in LA just the day before.
By the way, I saw Follies last Monday in LA and I thought that Burstein was the most checked out of the principals. Victoria Clark was so amazing it's a shame they didn't cast her from the beginning. The entire show was fantastic.
I thought that Spider-Man would have won for visual effects or whatever they call it, but they must really really hate the show and refused to allow it to say "Tony Winner" in any way. I saw the show and thought it was truly awful, but then I saw it before Julie Taymor got the axe.
Unlike previous years, I can't really say that any of the shows would be helped by their numbers on the show. Maybe Newsies. But I do think that it will really help Steve Kazee's career since Hollywood got to see how photogenic he is. And how emotional he can be.
Unfortunately, Hollywood has no clue what to do with a 40 year old force of nature like Audra McDonald. I don't think they're going to do The Leontyne Price story anytime soon and if they were, they'd just cast Halle or Zoe anyway. Sigh. Can't they do an English language remake of Diva just to feature Audra? I've heard a LOT worse ideas come out of Hollywood.
The guy who plays "Jesus Christ Superstar" looks like a serial killer... Ricky Martin seems really tall and they really couldn't find a duller woman for "Evita"...NPH deserve his own weekly variety show..."Ghost" the musical looks deadly... "Newsies" was the best production number.
It's proof of how corrupt Hollywood is when the likes of Anne Hathaway, Amy Adams, and Kate Winslet are big stars and Audra McDonald, Nina Arianda, and Judy Kaye aren't.
I can't believe that the Field of Dreamgirls tweeter missed the most obvious one: "And I Am Telling You (I'm Not Growing)."
I loved all the performances during the show-- James Corden's was the most surprising to me since I haven't seen the show. It's on my list now. Newsies' was a bit of a trainwreck--they got way off-tempo. Once proved why it deserved to win.
And I agree with the poster about that NPH's hosting is becoming formulaic. It's like Billy Crystal at the Oscars. After years of witty openings, it just gets... expected.