The Tonys on sunday Night CBS

The Tonys are New York's answer to LA's Oscars.

It should be a great show with Hugh Jackman hosting. The guy's incredible. His performance in The Boy from Oz (a play that was critically panned) has been running for a year and no end in sight (excpt when Jackman bows out) The story is about Peter Allen who collaborated on many songs with Carol Sager Bayer who said that Jackman does Allen better than Allen.

Tune in and enjoy@

Joe

I love watching the Tony's

I'm so glad Rosie won't be hosting this year... she used to be funny but the last couple of years she's just really stopped being the "queen of nice" and she just isn't funny anymore

Thanks for the reminder, Joe. The Tony's are the last place on TV to hear great musical theater, other than the occasional PBS showing of the London revival of "Oklahoma!"--also starring Hugh Jackman.

BTW, for GSers who live in NY, the surrounding areas, or are planning a trip here this summer, I highly recommend "The Boy from Oz," which Joe described. I saw it several months ago and Hugh Jackman is absolutely astounding. The singing and energy he keeps up for two hours is like an Olympic event, except of course Jackman makes it all look so easy. ITA with Joe that it probably won't run down until Jackman leaves. I know there are some great talents in musical theater, but I sure wouldn't want to be the guy who has to follow Jackman.

I understand Jackman will only be in the show only through August. If you're interested in seeing it, I'd recommend buying tickets before Sunday, even if you don't plan to go until August. I think once people see part of the production on the Tony's, tickets will be very hard to come by. I don't understand why it's not sold out every show right now. I haven't rooted for a musical I'd actually seen live like I am for "Boy from Oz" since, well, ever. Unless you count "My Fair Lady" and "The Sound of Music," but I was only about four or five and we just had the records. Later I got to see the movie versions, but if you can see a great musical with great performers live, there's just nothing like it.

BTW, for those not in NY or nearby, there are discount ticket websites for Broadway shows. Go to Google or Yahoo and enter "discount Broadway tickets." I got mine through nytix.com. You have to pay a $3.00 fee through Paypal, which is good for 30 days, but my friend and I got great seats for $20 a piece.

Go Hugh! Go "Oz!" And the Belmont on Saturday! Go Smarty! Will I survive the weekend?!
Rgirl

Getting tickets as soon as you can is a must. When I told people I saw the play. They said "only once?" The woman beside me said she saw 2 matenees and 1 evening prior to this one. She is worried about being able to see the closing night. I don't think she is alone. So the matinee idol is keeping the show running forever but it will close end August.

How Jackman unwinds after each performance is the big question everyone asks after the show. Since the play was nominated for Best (it's not), they'll probably do a production number. I suspect it will the closing number of "Rio" and that will show the entire cast. Hope so.

Joe

Joesitz said:

... with Carol Sager Bayer who said that Jackman does Allen better than Allen.

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That's "Bayer Sager" !

Gosh, I sure wish I could see this performance. Alas, 3000 miles is just too far away to see a show. :\

Joesitz said:

Getting tickets as soon as you can is a must....
How Jackman unwinds after each performance is the big question everyone asks after the show. Since the play was nominated for Best (it's not), they'll probably do a production number. I suspect it will the closing number of "Rio" and that will show the entire cast. Hope so.
Joe

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ITA about getting tickets to "Boy from Oz" ASAP.

Which musical do you think is the best? Do you think that one will win? I heard a lot of good things about "Avenue Q." I hope too that they do "Rio" from "Boy from Oz." It really was the closest thing I've ever experienced to being at a real Peter Allen concert. It would also be nice to see the whole cast showcased. I thought it was great.

Even though I've only seen "The Boy from Oz," I'm still rooting for it only because I was such a fan of Peter Allen and have become such a fan of Hugh Jackman, plus I thought the cast really kept up with and complemented him. I can't imagine any of the other nominees outdoing Jackman as Best Performance/Leading Actor/Musical. Even though I am a huge fan of Alfred Molina, he's nominated for "Fiddler," and though I'm sure he's great, (he's great in everything I've seen him do, which is almost everything he's ever done), it's the old "it's been done." (OT: Molina should have received Oscar nominations for Best Supporting Actor for both "Prick Up Your Ears" and his 10 minutes onscreen as the billionaire crack junkie in "Boogie Nights." Alfred, your day will come.) Anyway, re Jackman, like you said, everybody asks how does he unwind after every performance? Also, how does he do eight shows a week, with two days of matinee and evening performances, week in and week out?

Joe and anybody else, do you have any other favorites and/or predictions?
Rgirl

The following is a list of the nominees in the major categories and the URL to look up the rest. Anybody living in Cincinnati? Sounds like you've got great regional theater.

http://www.jimsdeli.com/theater/awards/tonys/default.htm
The 2004 Tony nominations were announced May 10, 2004
Best Play
"Anna in the Tropics" by Nilo Cruz
"Frozen" by Bryony Lavery
"I Am My Own Wife" by Doug Wright
"The Retreat from Moscow" by William Nicholson

Best Musical
"Avenue Q"
"The Boy from Oz"
"Caroline, or Change"
"Wicked"

Best Revival | Play
"Henry IV"
"Jumpers"
"King Lear"
"A Raisin in the Sun"

Best Revival | Musical
"Assassins"
"Big River"
"Fiddler on the Roof"
"Wonderful Town"

Best Performance | Leading Actor | Play
Simon Russell Beale "Jumpers"
Kevin Kline "Henry IV"
Frank Langella "Match"
Jefferson Mays "I Am My Own Wife"
Christopher Plummer "King Lear"

Best Performance | Leading Actress | Play
Eileen Atkins "The Retreat from Moscow"
Tovah Feldshuh "Golda's Balcony"
Ann Heche "Twentieth Century"
Swoosie Kurtz "Frozen"
Phylicia Rashad "A Raisin in the Sun"

Best Performance | Leading Actor | Musical
Hunter Foster "Little Shop of Horrors"
Hugh Jackman "The Boy from Oz"
Alfred Molina "Fiddler on the Roof"
Euan Morton "Taboo"
John Tartaglia "Avenue Q"

Best Performance | Leading Actress | Musical
Kristen Chenoweth "Wicked"
Stephanie D'Abruzzo "Avenue Q"
Idina Menzel "Wicked"
Donna Murphy "Wonderful Town"
Tonya Pinkins "Caroline, or Change"

Best Performance | Featured Actor | Play
Tom Aldridge "Twentieth Century"
Ben Chaplin "The Retreat from Moscow"
Aiden Gillen "The Caretaker"
Omar Metwally "Sixteen Wounded"
Brian F O'Byrne "Frozen"

Best Performance | Featured Actress | Play
Essie Davis "Jumpers"
Sanaa Lathan "A Raisin in the Sun"
Margo Martindale "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof"
Audra McDonald "A Raisin in the Sun"
Daphne Rubin-Vega "Anna in the Tropics"

Best Performance | Featured Actor | Musical
John Cariani "Fiddler on the Roof"
Michael Cerveris "Assassins"
Raul Esparza "Taboo"
Michael McElroy "Big River"
Denis O'Hare "Assassins"

Best Performance | Featured Actress | Musical
Beth Fowler "The Boy from Oz"
Isabel Keating "The Boy from Oz"
Anika Noni Rose "Caroline, or Change"
Jennifer Westfeldt "Wonderful Town"
Karen Ziemba "Never Gonna Dance"

Best Direction | Play
Doug Hughes "Frozen"
Moises Kaufman "I Am My Own Wife"
David Leveaux "Jumpers"
Jack O'Brien "Henry IV"

Best Direction | Musical
Joe Mantello "Assassins"
Kathleen Marshall "Wonderful Town"
Jason Moore "Avenue Q"
George C Wolfe "Caroline, or Change"

Best Choreography
Wayne Cilento "Wicked"
Kathleen Marshall "Wonderful Town"
Jerry Mitchell "Never Gonna Dance"
Anthony Van Laast & Farah Khan "Bombay Dreams"

Best Book of a Musical
Winnie Holzman "Wicked"
Tony Kushner "Caroline, or Change"
Martin Sherman, Nick Enright (original book) "The Boy from Oz"
Jeff Whitty "Avenue Q"

Best Original Score Written for the Theatre
Boy George music & lyrics "Taboo"
Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx music & lyrics "Avenue Q"
Stephen Schwartz music & lyrics "Wicked"
Jeanine Tesori music Tony Kushner lyrics "Caroline, or Change"

Lifetime Achievement
James M Nederlander producer, chairman of the Nederlander Organization

Regional Theater
Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park

Here is an article annoucing what numbers each show will be performing:
www.playbill.com/news/article/86370.html

Avenue Q: "It Sucks to Be Me." performed by the whole cast ensemble
Boy From Oz: "I'm Not the Boy Next Door." performed by Hugh Jackman
Caroline, Or Change: "Lot's Wife." performed by Tonya Pinkins
Wicked: "Defying Gravity." performed by Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel

Assassins: "Everybody's Got the Right." performed by the cast ensemble
Fiddler on the Roof: "Tradition." performed by Alfred Molina leading the cast ensemble
Wonderful Town: "Swing." performed by Donna Murphy and company.

Sounds like a great line up...too bad they have to modify all the numbers to fit time contraints (and in Avenue Q's case...the F*** word and S*** word). I can't wait to see Idina belt out "Defying Gravity."

Too bad "Big River" won't be able to perform because of CBS. CBS said since the show is no longer on Broadway, it won't get to perform...but they are nominated for Best Revival and they are preparing to go on tour so all the actors are available to perform. I saw a video clip of their performance at the official Tony site, and it was amazing. The way they choreographed all the numbers with sign language is amazing.

Interesting Note: Both Tony Award nominees and performers this year, Alfred Molina and Donna Murphy, are going to be in Spiderman 2. Molina plays Dr. Octopus and Murphy plays his wife.


I can't wait to see it!

Go Wicked!

My Predictions:

Frozen
Wicked
Jumpers
Assasins

(Seems like a year of one word titles)

Langella
Kurtz
Jackman
Menzel

There are a few close races.

Joe

VIETgrlTerifa,

Too bad "Big River" won't be able to perform because of CBS. CBS said since the show is no longer on Broadway, it won't get to perform...but they are nominated for Best Revival and they are preparing to go on tour so all the actors are available to perform.

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Now that "Sucks to Me."


Joe,
"Wicked," eh? One person I know saw it and loved it. My kind of title, lol.

Have loved Langella's work a lot over about the last 10 years. A win for him would be great.

Have loved Swoosie Kurtz almost since birth, but certainly since she played the hooker Jenny (Glenn Close) "bought" for her son Garp (Robin Williams) in "The World According to Garp." Don't know anyone who's seen "Frozen." Swoosie alone is usually worth the price of admission.


VgT & Joe,
Thanks for your comments/predictions. Can't wait to see the show!
Rgirl

I'm still in shock about Avenue Q winning best Musical. I;m really happy that the underdogs got it. However, as you can see in my avatar and my sig, I was rooting for Wicked all the way. I'm still pretty sad about it not winning, but Idina's win was totally surprising. That was one of the toughest years for actresses (and luckily, we got to see all of them perform) and I really didn't think Idina would get it. She (and the other 4 ladies) deserves it, and I'm so happy for her.

Weren't all the performances from the shows great? Too bad they had to cut all the songs down and take dialogue out. To me it took away the impact of the songs, somewhat. I thought Wicked was the biggest victim of that, but Idina and Kristin were still amazing.

Two things I liked:

1. The "winner" who said something to the effect that this isn't about a contest. All the nominees could be here if they had my part. It's the role that determines the win.

2. The standing ovation that Jackman got from all those bigwigs and stars. Not often that happens.

Two things I disliked:

1. So many many commericials breaking the mood of the evening.

2. Sarah jessica Parker worrying about her bosom and refusing to underlate. Silly.