Last night, I watched the Tony Awards for the first time. Okay, I’m not actually sure if it was my first time, but I know that it was the first time I’d made a conscious decision to watch them. I DVR’ed it and everything, even adding an extra hour just in case they decided to be like the Oscars and run overtime. (They didn’t, but better safe than sorry.) Anyway, IT WAS AWESOME! Sean Hayes hosted it, and I actually knew who that was, but only because I like to stay up-to-date on Kristin Chenoweth’s career. (They are currently starring in Promises, Promises together on Broadway.)
Okay, I just scanned my blog posts and realized I haven’t mentioned her at all. (Seriously, how did I NOT mention Cheno at all in thirteen posts?) That seems almost sacreligious, because Cheno is my IDOL and I worship the ground she walks on. Not literally. Okay, maybe. But not in the creepy, stalker way that “Evelyn” does (in her auto-biography, she talks about this one stalker chick she calls Evelyn…) But seriously, I liked her before I even knew who she was. I saw her for the first time in Annie, when I was like… eight. My parents bought me the video tape for Christmas, and I was immediately hooked. (At the time, I was more into Alicia Morton and Victor Garber {cause he was in Titanic and Cinderella, but I did remember her name.) And then, in High School, junior year, in MTP, two of the girls did Defying Gravity from Wicked and blew me away. I seriously had chills. It was the first time I’d ever heard the song, and I was absolutely floored. I’d only heard about Wicked in passing, so I had no idea what I was in for. Then, my senior year, in Drama (’cause our MTP got cut when the school put our theatre under reconstruction) we did You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown. I immediately loved Sally’s voice on the CD, though I had absolutely no idea who had played her. Then, this past December (the 18th, actually; my dad’s birthday) I found Wicked. And a new phase started for me. I looked up just about everything Idina and Cheno, and adore them both, but identify better with Elphaba the character (in the musical) and Cheno as a person. Plus, I’m one of the few adults I know who can say I’m shorter than Kristin Chenoweth! (By one inch!) Okay, and now you’ve seen the tip of the iceberg when it comes to my “Cheno” phase.
Anyway, so I LOVED Cheno at the Tony’s even though, as many said, her stuff from Promises, Promises, is nowhere near her stuff as Sally and G(a)linda. (I always like Galinda‘s name better.) My favorite part was probably the part where Cheno’s reading a “thank you speech”, and it goes something like…
Cheno: I’d like to thank… [insert names I don’t remember]
Sean: Kristin, what are you doing?
Cheno: [I’m giving my thank you speech.]
Sean: But you didn’t win anything… [insert words]
Cheno: I’m sorry, Sean. I stopped hearing after you said I didn’t win anything.
Sean: You didn’t win any awards…
Cheno: That’s unusual for me.
Sean: Yeah, in this case, you weren’t even nominated…
Cheno: *collapses to the floor*
[Me: uproar of laughter]
Cheno: Can I still go to the party?
Sean: Of course!
Cheno: Oh, okay! *stands and tosses aside sheets of paper*
In print, I suppose that might come off as a bit snobby, but really, she’s far from it. She is such a good comedian, and it’s so… so… so Cheno, you know? It just works, and I loved it.
Anyway, more highlights for me from the Tony’s:
Idina. Need I say more?
Angela Lansbury. OMG! Yay!
Bernadette Peters. Gotta love ‘er.
Matthew Morrison and Lea Michele. gLeek!
Other stuff: Catherine Zeta-Jones (did I spell her name right) didn’t seem to have that strong of a voice during her “Send in the Clouds” rendition, but that could have just been ’cause she was losing her voice that night. And besides, her acting more than made up for it, in my personal opinion. Her lip tended to oscillate up and down a bit while she was trying to add vibrato, but ah, well. The girl who sang from the Ragtime show was quite good, though. I liked when I was able to identify people and plays I knew or heard about, since I’m slightly new at this whole Broadway community thing, but I’m working on it. I noticed In the Heights, West Side Story, Promises, Promises, The Lion King, Wicked (of course), and a few of the faces in the crowd.
As for the winners, I wasn’t really surprised, even though I’d never even heard of half of them before. I kind of had a hunch as each of the nominees were read, based on what I’d seen during the Tony’s so Red, Fences, Denzel, Zeta-Jones, and La Cage Aux Folles really didn’t surprise me at all, though I was very pleased for each of them. All in all, a great first experience for me. I look forward to watching them in the years to come.
Be4TheCurtainRises 