Posts
First of all, congratulations to Monty Python's Spamalot for the distinction of being named the Best Musical of the 2004-05 season. More importantly though is Norbert Leo Butz scoring Best Actor in a Musical which I will write/bore you with more below.
So maybe it is because I am a theatre nut, but the three-hour presentation of The 59th Annual Tony Awards didn't seem so long to me. Of course a three- hour awards show for anything else would have put me to sleep in an hour. Maybe the show was more entertaining this year? Maybe I felt more of a stake in the results having actually been lucky enough to have seen a few of the nominated shows. Maybe it was Hugh Jackman? Hahaha, who knows.
What I did notice though was that all of the presenters tonight, were commercially "known" actors. It would have been nice to have seen others who are "known" in the Broadway community too...but at the same time, it seems that these "known" actors were once on Broadway and are finding success in Hollywood. I guess it's a return of sorts to those who either got their start on the stage or those who truly love it...like I do. It was a big season for The Great White Way filled with some truly talented shows and actors.
Which leads me to...
Who actually saw Norbert Leo Butz' performance (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels) at The Tony Awards??? He performed the show-stopping number, "Great Big Stuff" tonite and he was pretty damn funny. Anyone who has seen the show or listened to the CD might have noticed that he had to change the lyrics in the song (in order to comply with the FCC). He looked like he stumbled and almost said "fancy shit" (the written lyrics from the show). Not that it really matters though. Congratulations to Butz on winning his well deserved Tony Award! He is an amazing actor who gave a heartfelt speech thanking the community for his award and I for one am thrilled for him. Seeing John Lithgow's reaction during Butz' speech was a true testament to their relationship as actors and human beings.
I'm gonna sound like a total goof I realize this, but honestly...watching the awards made me both beyond ecstatic and incredibly sad. Ecstatic because Broadway...is my "grail" (it is)! Broadway is where I want to be and where I know I've always meant to be...and hearing "showtunes" touches my soul in ways that no other music can. But because the music gives me such an indescribable high, it also makes me so sad because I am not there. I don't want to be an actress, and I don't want to perform for the sake of performing, but I want to be involved. I want to be the person who helps bring awareness to this genre, who will introduce one of many people to the art form that has given me so much. The other day, I came across a book that had a copy of a journal entry by Jonathan Larson which described the conflict in his head between writing musicals for the "MTV generation" and writing shows that maybe he wanted to write. I might have completely interpreted this incorrectly, but what I did gleam from this was that his musical tastes were not mainstream and that most people might have considered his interest and taste in musical theatre as being cheesy. So he somehow had to find that balance between what he wanted and what the public wanted. What does this have to do with me you ask? I desperately want to one day work with the next person who will make a positive impact on the theatrical community like Jonathan Larson did. I want to understand what it takes to get from an idea to a Broadway stage...and be a part of it.
It's true, many people don't get my allure for musical theater and in some ways, I like that I am one of the only people I know who just adores musical theatre. However, I also realize that I can be a big theatre snob as well. The mere idea of Christina Applegate appearing on Broadway (prior to Sweet Charity's arrival on the Great White Way) was simply appalling. I was secretly relieved when the show was cancelled and wouldn't come to Broadway, thinking that Christina Applegate's appearance on the scene would be the beginning of the end. When the show emerged on the scene anyway, I was curious...but curious like watching a train wreck. When the cast appeared on The Today Show and performed "Big Brass Band" sadly enough, it was a train wreck. I thought everything about the show in that one appearance was mediocre but sub par was Applegate's Charity. She couldn't sing, she looked stiff...it was all simply not good. Then...today, I see the cast on The Tony Awards and...she has improved. Really! I was actually truly impressed. She could sing, she could dance...but then came the "Big Brass Band" number...which again failed to thrill me. But I digress. My preconceived notions of a Broadway performer fell short because I...am...a theatre snob.
On another note, Adam Guettel, Tony winner for Best Score and Best Orchestrations for The Light in the Piazza (and Richard Rodger's grandson) is some nice eye candy! :)
So maybe it is because I am a theatre nut, but the three-hour presentation of The 59th Annual Tony Awards didn't seem so long to me. Of course a three- hour awards show for anything else would have put me to sleep in an hour. Maybe the show was more entertaining this year? Maybe I felt more of a stake in the results having actually been lucky enough to have seen a few of the nominated shows. Maybe it was Hugh Jackman? Hahaha, who knows.
What I did notice though was that all of the presenters tonight, were commercially "known" actors. It would have been nice to have seen others who are "known" in the Broadway community too...but at the same time, it seems that these "known" actors were once on Broadway and are finding success in Hollywood. I guess it's a return of sorts to those who either got their start on the stage or those who truly love it...like I do. It was a big season for The Great White Way filled with some truly talented shows and actors.
Which leads me to...
Who actually saw Norbert Leo Butz' performance (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels) at The Tony Awards??? He performed the show-stopping number, "Great Big Stuff" tonite and he was pretty damn funny. Anyone who has seen the show or listened to the CD might have noticed that he had to change the lyrics in the song (in order to comply with the FCC). He looked like he stumbled and almost said "fancy shit" (the written lyrics from the show). Not that it really matters though. Congratulations to Butz on winning his well deserved Tony Award! He is an amazing actor who gave a heartfelt speech thanking the community for his award and I for one am thrilled for him. Seeing John Lithgow's reaction during Butz' speech was a true testament to their relationship as actors and human beings.
I'm gonna sound like a total goof I realize this, but honestly...watching the awards made me both beyond ecstatic and incredibly sad. Ecstatic because Broadway...is my "grail" (it is)! Broadway is where I want to be and where I know I've always meant to be...and hearing "showtunes" touches my soul in ways that no other music can. But because the music gives me such an indescribable high, it also makes me so sad because I am not there. I don't want to be an actress, and I don't want to perform for the sake of performing, but I want to be involved. I want to be the person who helps bring awareness to this genre, who will introduce one of many people to the art form that has given me so much. The other day, I came across a book that had a copy of a journal entry by Jonathan Larson which described the conflict in his head between writing musicals for the "MTV generation" and writing shows that maybe he wanted to write. I might have completely interpreted this incorrectly, but what I did gleam from this was that his musical tastes were not mainstream and that most people might have considered his interest and taste in musical theatre as being cheesy. So he somehow had to find that balance between what he wanted and what the public wanted. What does this have to do with me you ask? I desperately want to one day work with the next person who will make a positive impact on the theatrical community like Jonathan Larson did. I want to understand what it takes to get from an idea to a Broadway stage...and be a part of it.
It's true, many people don't get my allure for musical theater and in some ways, I like that I am one of the only people I know who just adores musical theatre. However, I also realize that I can be a big theatre snob as well. The mere idea of Christina Applegate appearing on Broadway (prior to Sweet Charity's arrival on the Great White Way) was simply appalling. I was secretly relieved when the show was cancelled and wouldn't come to Broadway, thinking that Christina Applegate's appearance on the scene would be the beginning of the end. When the show emerged on the scene anyway, I was curious...but curious like watching a train wreck. When the cast appeared on The Today Show and performed "Big Brass Band" sadly enough, it was a train wreck. I thought everything about the show in that one appearance was mediocre but sub par was Applegate's Charity. She couldn't sing, she looked stiff...it was all simply not good. Then...today, I see the cast on The Tony Awards and...she has improved. Really! I was actually truly impressed. She could sing, she could dance...but then came the "Big Brass Band" number...which again failed to thrill me. But I digress. My preconceived notions of a Broadway performer fell short because I...am...a theatre snob.
On another note, Adam Guettel, Tony winner for Best Score and Best Orchestrations for The Light in the Piazza (and Richard Rodger's grandson) is some nice eye candy! :)
1 comments:
Completely agree! ALITP is a great show!
Post a Comment