the Tony Awards 2009 (1 Viewer)

[TonyD]

So I just tuned into the Tony awards show to see Neil Patrick harris and
I'm sorry I missed the beginning monologue.
Anyway as I turn it on I see Shrek, the musical, and my first thought was
wth is that?
It must be successful or I guess it wouldn't be on the show but wow what
an odd thing to see.

 

[Michael Reuben]

Just wait till next year, when it's Spider-man, the Musical! (I'm not making that up.

)

 

[Randy Tennison]

I thought it was interesting how both Shrek and Farquad were played by Nathan Lane!?!?! Hello. Shrek had a scottish accent, people. Not an effeminate New York accent.

But the highlight was seeing Bret Michaels bite it after his lip sync.

 

[Michael Reuben]

I'm not sure if that was meant as a joke, but Nathan Lane isn't in Shrek. He's starring in the current production of Waiting for Godot (in which he's great, BTW).

 

[mattCR]

Great closing number by NPH.

 

[Joe Bernardi]

Aquarius-Let the Sun Shine In was marvelous. The lead singer was very good, and the one of the other young women in the group was amazing -- it seemed as if she were almost bursting with the intensity of her happiness. I previously noticed her when the cast performed on The Late Show with David Letterman. She's the one with red or reddish-brown hair, wearing a short light blue dress with horizontal stripes over jeans. I did some searching and learned that she is Allison Case, who was previously in Mamma Mia on Broadway. Others in the theater industry have noted her infectiousness.

 

[Michael Reuben]

From playbill.com:

 

[TonyD]

looks like tix are for sale this year for the play next year, I just got this email.

v Well there is a link there but it doesn't show
http://click.bsftransmit1.com/ViewI...vPJlyueP1bJ+XY=&digest=X5KQPyiCHuLgUPaPgEReLA

 

[Aaron Silverman]

Sigh. . .I had no idea this was on until I saw it on the news the next day. :frowning:

What the heck was Bret Michaels doing performing at the Tonys? Is he in a show or something?

I saw Sebastian Bach in Jekyll & Hyde several years back. Afterwards, I heard someone say "that was like Hyde & Hyde!"

Then Bas came out to sign autographs for us '80s metalheads. He was very nice.

 

[Michael Reuben]

No, but the show Rock of Ages celebrates the bands, the era and the music; so the show's producers thought it would be cool to have Poison perform on the awards show.

I merely report. I do not endorse.

BTW, shows that did not see a post-Tony surge in ticket sales are already posting their closing notices. Guys and Dolls is closing this weekend, as is Neil Labute's Reasons to Be Pretty. A shame about the latter, because it's a great play, but it got crowded out.

 

[Randy Tennison]

It was a joke in that both actors seemed to be doing Nathan Lane impressions.

 

[Michael Reuben]

That's probably because Nathan Lane draws heavily on a musical-hall style of performing that, since The Producers, is now closely identified with him (although it's not all he can do). People performed in that style long before Nathan Lane, and they'll probably still be performing that way after he retires. (For my taste, that style is all wrong for Shrek, but we're dealing with a corporate-produced confection here.)

The actor playing Shrek under all that rubber, Brian D'Arcy James, is a versatile guy with leading man looks. He played the Tony Curtis part in the musical version of Sweet Smell of Success a few years ago (not great, but not a disaster), which required a completely different approach. He was genuinely moving.

 

[Aaron Silverman]

Holy Hair Metal, Batman!!!!!!

 

[Kevin Hewell]

The gods of Broadway seemed to really come down on Bret Michael's head for the blasphemy of lip-syncing.

 

[Ethan Riley]

I thought he did a very good job and probably little kids love it!

 

[Michael Reuben]

I'm sure they do. I'll be the first to admit that I'm not the target audience.

It was bad luck for Dreamworks that so expensive a show had to open smack in the middle of an economic crisis. Taking the family is a pricey proposition. They're currently offering a deal where, with every full-price ticket to Shrek, you can buy up to three additional tickets at half-price.