The Lehman Trilogy, Company, A Strange Loop, MJ And sweet donation Were among the big winners at tonight̵7;s Tony Awards. And sweet donation This season was not even staged.
Credit Ariana Debos For the blink-and-miss-it shout-out Bob Fosse classic—and for much more that went right with tonight’s fast-moving ceremony airing on CBS. When DeBoss, who mentioned sweet donation being on it Broadway wish list pulled american buffalo Nominated by audiences Sam Rockwell for performing a quick bit of “Rich Man’s Frug” from the great 1966 musical, he made a case for a revival and for his stake as one of Tony’s great hosts.
75th Annual Tony Awards: Full Coverage of Deadline
DeBoss will crop up more than once on this list of highlights from tonight’s broadcast. so will MJPatti LuPone’s salary and that “big, dark and quirky-ass music” (in RuPaul’s memorable description) a weird loop,
Here, then, the best (and some not-so-best) of the 75th Annual Tony Awards:
Tony Awards: See the Best Looks from the Red Carpet – Photo Gallery
- Ariana DeBos got off to a quick and happy start with an opening musical number that paid homage to Broadway classics. Cabaret, Pippin, The Wiz, The Sound of Music, Hamilton, Rent, A Chorus Line, West Side Story And rent, among many, many others. The segment also included some cool clips from old acceptance speeches – how cool is it to see Michael Bennett and Daisy Egan again? If anything, the numbers were packed with some good stuff, and at least one replay is needed to capture all the references. Another quibble: Where was LuPone’s reaction shot when DeBose did it Evita,
- Debos also hit on some of the evening’s important themes in his opening monologue, paying tribute to the students, standbys and swings that propelled Broadway this season, and to the contributions made by the LGBTQ+ and BIPOC communities this year. ,Theater,” she said, “is becoming more reflective of the community it enjoys. As if to prove my point, the Tony Award for Best Musical went to A strange loop.
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Ariana DeBos during opening number at Tony’s
ap photos
MJ, Paradise Square And a weird loop Speaking of tonight’s performance, there were clear winners. Led by Miles Frost MJWith “Smooth Criminal” and Joaquina Calucango setting the stage on fire with the song “Let It Burn” from Paradise Square, both productions should see some action at the box office this week. and a performance of “Intermission Song” by the cast of Jackal Spivey and a weird loop A tough introduction to music that deserves all the love and attention it gets.
- Other numbers for the Best Musical nominees were less impressive on the small screen. Both company And Girl from the north country It may have been better served by songs highlighting specific performances – for example LuPone’s “Ladies Who Lunch”, or ‘I Want You’ from Dylan Music – than the number of busy artists chosen tonight. . schtick of over-the-top marching band music showed that the revival in all its weirdness, and Billy Crystal did mr saturday night Tired borscht belts do no favors with scat-singing that doesn’t begin to capture the allure of that musical.
- LuPone’s now-classic “Chris Harper pays my salary” line as a member of his masked audience was revived to fine effect several times tonight, most notably by LuPone and Harper himself.
- In an evening that offered political grandeur of any kind – for better or worse – came the most powerful moment minutes Playwright Tracy Letts. During a clever taped segment in which the nominated playwrights, among other remarks, offered audiences what to expect from their nominated plays, Letts bluntly stated, “I hope that the audience is not aware of fascism in this country.” Will come with a burning desire to stop Uday.”
- Frost’s acceptance speech, in which he thanked his supportive mother and then directly told “little black kids who may not have a good relationship with their fathers — you can do it.” Frost then said, “Also, Dad, I love you,” and slipped into his spot-on Michael Jackson whisper to say, “Lovely, lovingly, heal the world.”
- Deirdre O’Connell, who won Lead Actress for her stunning, lip-sync performance in the play Tony Dana H.gave an acceptance speech for the ages: “I’d love for this little award to be a token to everyone who’s wondering if I should try to make something that could work on Broadway and win a Tony Award.” Can win, or should I make strange art that haunts me, that scares me, that I don’t know how to make, that I don’t know that anyone in the whole world will understand, please give me a little hint from the universe Let there be strange art to be made.”
- The In Memoriam segment was particularly dynamic and elegant, with Billy Porter singing “On the Street Where You Live” while the photo roster of losers this season included big names (Stephen Sondheim, William Hurt, Peter Scolari, Robert Morse, among others) and beloved figures perhaps known to most of the theater community, but not worthy of public remembrance (advertising exec Vinnie Signato, conductor Donald Pippin, vocal coach Barbara Meier Gustern).
- Kalukango Follows Up His Amazing Performance of “Let It Burn” Paradise Square With an equally dynamic acceptance speech for the lead actress in a musical Tony. The music, centered around New York City’s Civil War-era draft riots, Calukango said tearfully, “gives strength to those anonymous ancestors who are suffering … I honor them every day.”
- spring Awakening The reunion with the entire original cast, including Jonathan Groff, Lea Michele, John Gallagher Jr., Gideon Glick, Skyler Astin, and more, didn’t really make a case for inclusion tonight (plugged a recent HBO documentary about the show). In addition to doing)) but the musical’s performance of “Touch Me” was, if nothing else, a nice little gift for diehard fans, and harmless enough for the rest of us.