The Tony Awards have come and gone but that doesn’t mean we’re done talking about them. A night filled with live performances, it means that there are some great ones and then there are the moments where you wish that they’d made, well, literally any other choice. This year was a strange one given the lack of script because of the Writers Guild of America strike and many nominees and winners shared their support for the WGA throughout the night.
But because there wasn’t a script, there were a lot less “bits” and jokes throughout the night as it was and we got, instead, a lot of performances to make up for it. That’s not all necessarily the best thing in the world though because sometimes, a live performances isn’t the best way to showcase the best of the best.
So let’s breakdown what each performance was, how it went, and whether or not it helped the show in question.
14. Everyone forgot about Fosse I guess
To honor John Kander and Joel Grey, both Julianne Hough and Ariana DeBose did a dance from Chicago that both felt like they forgot who Bob Fosse was and also just why not do a song from Cabaret? It was a weird night for me, Cabaret‘s number one fan. There was a lot of talk of it and then when given the chance, these two did a dance number from Chicago instead. Weird!
13. Funny Girl was fine
I mean, full offensive, the minute the audience starts to clap because it is arguably the song that everyone knows from the actual show (“My Man” was not in the show), Lea Michele stops acting. Which, look, the Kurt Hummel “She’s difficult but man can she sing” moment from Glee holds a lot of weight. It’s just franking annoying that we’re being gaslit into thinking that this is fine and good to happen! It’s problematic on multiple levels, the most important being that Beanie Feldstein was Fanny Brice first and didn’t get this moment.
It’s absolutely fine and honestly something something we’ve already seen! Lea Michele has sung this exact song at the Tony Awards during the Glee days so it’s just not that exciting to me.
12. It’s a musical about corn, it’s Shucked
Shucked is a musical about corn making fun of the south in a frankly reductive way mixed in with a beautiful and breathtaking performance by Alex Newell so it’s a bit of a conundrum. Because this performance was a lot of “oh I really don’t want to see this” mixed with “Alex Newell you’re perfect.” It is really a moment of “what if someone just let me go for free” because I just don’t want to sit through it and this performance did nothing to make me want to either.
It is, out of these musicals, the one that I really did not even attempt to see while living here in New York City because I didn’t want to.
11. Well, this is essentially all of Camelot
Look, I happen to like what Aaron Sorkin did to Camelot even if it did emotionally manipulate me into crying over Arthur and a child by the end of the show but this was just the cliff notes version of the show. Want to know what is happening in Camelot? Don’t worry, you got a basic understanding just by watching this Tony’s performance.
I like to think that John F. Kennedy would have loved this (this was famously his favorite show). Honestly, it’s pretty obvious what this show is. It’s called Camelot. A beautifully fine performance that shows you what the show does and how it looks and if you have a report due on it tomorrow, just watch this!
10. Phantom of the Opera died this year
On the one hand, “Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again” is a pretty good song to use for the In Memoriam. On the other hand, is this because Phantom of the Opera finally closed on Broadway and my national nightmare is over? Is this all because there is not a single Andrew Lloyd Weber show on the Great White Way right now? Let’s keep it that way.
It was beautifully performed by last year’s winner for Best Performance by an Actress in a Lead Role in a Musical, Joaquina Kalukango. She was breathtaking as she sang Christine Daae’s song to her father but it just felt weird when one of the big deaths this year was Angela Lansbury, famous for being in a Stephen Sondhein musical.
9. The anagram of Kimberly Akimbo is cute
I like the movie Jack so when it comes to Kimberly Akimbo, I just don’t think there’s much difference between the musical and the Francis Ford Coppola film starring Robin Williams. Kimberly (Victoria Clark) is a girl who ages at a very fast speed so she looks like she’s in her 60s when she is still in high school and her life expectance is only 16 years old. Much like…Jack.
There is not a real song I remember from this show other than “Anagram” so it is great to see Justin Cooley shining because he really is incredible in the show. I just, as a whole, was not blown away by the show in the way that people were.
There is a number in the show that has all the teens “ice skating” on stage and I think that into a song would have, frankly, been a better choice for the show to give audiences a glimpse into why it’s so great to spend money on it but it’s not a bad time, I just think it is getting praise for being original when it’s not that original of a story.
8. The opening number
Given the status of the WGA strike, the Tony Awards had no script. Meaning there were no bits, actors came out to announce categories and said what they wanted, and the opening number had no lyrics. Which worked to the advantage of host Ariana DeBose. She was known for her dancing prior becoming the Oscar winner we know her to be now and DeBose is a powerhouse. Watching her fling herself into the arms of another dancer on the stairs? Absolute perfection.
It was, however, just a beautifully staged and choreographed number that was upstaged by some of the performances throughout the night. Still, a worthy contender for opening number and ranking up there with some of the best.
7. Cancel all your parties and see Parade
Parade is the Jason Robert Brown musical about the injustice that happened to Leo Frank. Played by Ben Platt, the show is one that won multiple awards throughout the night including Best Revival and while I did want to see it beforehand, this is a performance that made that need a little greater which is the point of the Tony Awards in general. You want to see these performances and go to the show’s in question.
I tend to like Jason Robert Brown as a composer and his shows are ones I love seeing so getting to see Parade Is going to be a great joy to me. I do think this performance doesn’t really tell you anything about this show which is a choice but is something that is recognizable from the show.
6. An entire audience sing Sweet Caroline
I was lucky enough to be in attendance as a seat filler and watching some of Broadway’s best all join in singing the Neil Diamond song “Sweet Caroline” was honestly pretty incredible. I could see Colton Ryan having the time of his life and it made me happy. This show is about Neil Diamond while Will Swenson sings Neil Diamond songs. It’s not going to be the emotional performances of Parade or Into the Woods. It’s going to be fun and that’s what this was.
It’s up this high because I watched people like Barry Manilow and Samuel L. Jackson sining along and that’s a sweet joy.
5. It takes two to go Into the Woods
The revival of Into the Woods was my favorite rock concert. It’s a beautiful show in general but seeing fans of this show cheer when their favorite songs play, hear kids gasping when they realize what is happening between Cinderella’s Prince and the Baker’s Wife? It’s truly and honestly an experience I will hold dear in my heart because Into the Woods as a show is just so special to many fans of Stephen Sondheim and his work.
This is the easiest performance to do from the show because it is only two of the cast (and Milky White of course) but it is also the song that will instantly have you crying for the joy and the beauty of their determination to have a child together.
4. Some Like It Hot was a grand ole time
J. Harrison Ghee won for Best Performance by an Actor in a Lead Role for their work in Some Like it Hot and you can see why in this performance. It’s big energy, fun performances, and bringing fans who love the movie starring Marilyn Monroe into the theatre. It is also important to note that Christian Borle is in this show and there is a special treat for fans of the show Smash in it. You know, famously the show that is all about a musical called “Bombshell” about Marilyn Monroe?
Overall a good performance! Not groundbreaking but solid and gives audiences a glimpse at what the show is about and what to expect.
3. You want to see New York, New York
I want to live in this musical, I want to see it every single day. The fact that Anna Uzele was not nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a Lead Role is my villain origin story because she is that good! It’s just so much fun in a way where I was screaming and having a ball in the front row. For this performance, they picked part of the opening number so fans could see all the players in the cast and ended with the number everyone is coming to see. My only change is that I wish it was “The Major Chord” and “New York, New York” because I really do love “The Major Chord” so very much.
In the song, Colton Ryan sings “So I didn’t get the girl” and I, for weeks, have been singing it because it’s addicting. That song is just really incredibly and I’m sorry to the cast who saw me losing my mind front row when I saw it but I loved it and I wish Tony audiences got to see it to. But perfect show that I love very dearly.
2. & Juliet is a perfect show
I saw & Juliet on my birthday and never have I experienced joy in the way that I did at this show. Featuring songs from the same song writer of some of our favorite pop songs, it’s all about a world in which Romeo and Juliet don’t die for each other. It’s a show about heartache, love, loss, and trying to accept and love who you are no matter what and that includes knowing just how perfect you are.
Genuinely, I could see this show over and over again and I have told many people to go and “Roar” is a good song to showcase. In fact, showcase the whole show just broadcast it for the world so audiences everywhere can have that same magic that I did.
1. Sweeney’s waiting
Sorry but this is my favorite Sondheim show and boy oh boy do I love how Josh Groban appears out of the fog. In the staging of the show, he pops out of the stage door and I screamed and I also screamed over this fog entrance. It’s just so good. This is the opening number of the show, something people who have only seen the movie would not know. It’s good, gets the point across, and you know that you’re attending the tale of Sweeney Todd, the demon barber of Fleet street.
Sure, there are plenty of other songs that highlight the cast nominated but let Andy Bernard on The Office have his moment attending the tale.
(featured image: Jenny Anderson/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions )
