Theatre Lover's Journal for June 8, 2004
The 2004 Tony Awards:
The Hugh Jackman Show
by John Kenrick
Copyright 2004
The big winners were the viewers! With the exception of one hopelessly misplaced pop singer, it was the best Antoinette Perry Awards broadcast in years -- an exciting finale to a less than thrilling musical theatre season.
How delightful to have Broadway's hottest star -- and one of Hollywood's sexiest -- hosting the Tonys and taking one of the shiny discs home to boot. No one deserves that distinction more than Hugh Jackman, whose talent, energy and genuine class have delighted audiences and colleagues during his acclaimed run in The Boy From Oz. Here's hoping we see him back on Broadway often in years to come -- Jackman and Broadway are good for each other!
I was not surprised to see Avenue Q win the Tony for Best Musical. Every Tony voter I know told me they were voting for it. The Tony Committee's heavy-handed attempt to ram Wicked into the winning slot set off a backlash. Pity -- for all its flaws, Wicked deserved more Tonys than it wound up with.
We salute CBS for renewing its contract to carry the Tonys, and its decision to make the show a one-network three hour show again. But we wish they would stop being so anxious to make the Tonys into something "more" than a theatrical evening.
Just past 10 PM, the producers had Jackman recite a list of the unusual things seen on the first two hours of the broadcast, finishing with the wry observation, "It's not TV -- it's the Tony Awards!" If only CBS fully believed those words! What moron decided to have Mary Blidge sing "What I Did For Love"? This pop star had no clue how to handle such material, and her terror resulted in a screaming, frequently off-key embarrassment. Does anyone seriously believe this woman's presence added so much as one-half a point to the ratings for this broadcast? If so, they are in the wrong job. The more that CBS let the Tonys be the Tonys, the better off the annual ratings (and the viewers) will be.
Some other assorted reactions to the show --
Jack O'Brien and Joe Mantello now know beyond doubt that Broadway loves them -- both winning richly deserved Best Director Tonys two years in a row, just switching categories.
It was great to see simple, classy tributes paid to Isabelle Stevenson, Gregory Hines and the beloved Tony Randall, as well as the heroes of D-Day.
Anika Noni Rose has all the earmarks of a star in the making -- beauty, talent, taste, humor and class.
For this musical theatre lover, the most satisfying moment of the night was seeing Michael Cerveris win for Assassins -- how wonderful to see this marvelous talent get his due!
If Brian F. O'Byrne honestly believes that musicals do not rate as "theatre," then he is a flaming ass -- proof positive that brilliant talent and ignorance can co-exist in one man.
Memo to the folks at Cadillac -- The ad with the guy with the car and a camera is cute -- but running it on almost every commercial break turned it into a quick bore.
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Memo to Tanya Pinkins -- Your voice box is a fragile piece of body tissue about the size of a half dollar. If you misuse it, you'll lose it -- and once lost, it's gone forever. Just ask Julie Andrews. We love you and want you around for years to come -- please be careful!
Memo to Idina Menzel -- Ditto!
Thanks to John Tartaglia (and "Don") from Avenue Q for fulfilling the fantasies of millions by kissing Hugh on network TV!
It took the irrepressible trouper Carol Channing (who will do anything to make a gag work) to keep LL Cool J from looking like a fool.
Wasn't it interesting to see the composers of Avenue Q both go out of their way to announce their sexualities -- making it clear who wants to stay on Broadway, and who hopes to head off West?
And wasn't it equally interesting that the winners for Leading Actor in both Plays (Jefferson Mays) and Musicals (Jackman) were straight men who won for playing homosexuals -- and that each made his wife a star player in his nationally televised thank you speech? Fear not, boys -- just because you play gay doesn't mean we assume you to be "in the life."
Did Wonderful Town go out of its way to look bad? They may get brownie points for sneaking in cameo appearances by columnist Liz Smith and theatre owners Gerald Schoenfeld and Rocco Landesman -- but I fail to see how the number they chose to broadcast will sell a single ticket. Any bets on how soon the closing notice will go up?
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"It Sucks to Be Me" was almost as ill-advised, but at least it was a perfect representation of what Avenue Q is like. At least no one who saw this highlight can make the mistake of thinking Avenue Q is appropriate for children!
The divine Audra McDonald is one of Broadway's all-time greats, who royally deserves to join the rarified ranks of four-time Tony winners. It is an easy guess that she will be the first performer to go far beyond that number.
Memo to Sarah Jessica Parker -- We know you're a momma now, but it's hard to believe you could get so embarrassed by doing an innocent bump and grind with Hugh Jackman after all the stuff you've done on camera for Sex and the City! And if it is true that you have never given your handsome Matthew a lap dance, I'd like to know why not!
All the Assassins winners played nice, so I'll say it for them -- calling Assassins a revival was pure bullpoop!
A "lifetime achievement" Tony award for James M. Nederlander -- an award for being a landlord? For the man who sold off the gorgeous Mark Hellinger Theatre to a fundamentalist church? That's like giving George W. Bush a peace prize.
Memo to David Richebthall -- We love you for producing I Am My Own Wife, but if you are going to preach during an awards show, do it with gusto! Sticking in a "message" as a wordy afterthought to a thank you speech does a worthy cause no favors!
For the record, here are the winners --
An asterisk (*) denotes the winner in each category.
Best Play
Anna in the Tropics
Frozen
I Am My Own Wife*
The Retreat from Moscow
Best Musical
Avenue Q*
Caroline, or Change
The Boy From Oz
Wicked
Best Revival of a Musical
Assassins*
Big River
Fiddler on the Roof
Wonderful Town
Best Revival of a Play
A Raisin in the Sun
Henry IV*
Jumpers
King Lear
Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play
Kevin Kline, Henry IV
Frank Langella, Match
Jefferson Mays, I Am My Own Wife*
Christopher Plummer, King Lear
Simon Russell Beale, Jumpers
Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play
Tom Aldredge, Twentieth Century
Ben Chaplin, The Retreat from Moscow
Aiden Gillen, The Caretaker
Omar Metwally, Sixteen Wounded
Brian F. O'Byrne, Frozen*
Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play
Eileen Atkins, The Retreat from Moscow
Tovah Feldshuh, Golda's Balcony
Anne Heche, Twentieth Century
Swoosie Kurtz, Frozen
Phylicia Rashad, A Raisin in the Sun*
Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a 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 by a Leading Actress in a Musical
Kristin Chenoweth, Wicked
Stephanie D'Abruzzo, Avenue Q
Idina Menzel, Wicked*
Donna Murphy, Wonderful Town
Tonya Pinkins, Caroline, or Change
Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a 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 Performance by a Leading Actor in a 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 by a Featured Actor in a Musical
John Cariani, Fiddler on the Roof
Michael Cerveris, Assassins*
Raul Esparza, Taboo
Michael McElroy, Big River
Denis O'Hare, Assassins
Best Director of a Play
Doug Hughes, Frozen
Moises Kaufman, I Am My Own Wife
David Leveaux, Jumpers
Jack O'Brien, Henry IV*
Best Director of a 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 and Farah Khan, Bombay Dreams
Best Book of a Musical
Winnie Holzman, Wicked
Tony Kushner, Caroline, or Change
Martin Sherman; Nick Enright, The Boy From Oz
Jeff Whitty, Avenue Q*
Best Original Score
Boy George, Taboo
Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, Avenue Q*
Stephen Schwartz, Wicked
Jeanine Tesori and Tony Kushner, Caroline, or Change
Best Orchestrations
Paul Bogaev, Bombay Dreams
William David Brohn, Wicked
Michael Starobin, Assassins*
Larry Hochman, Fiddler on the Roof
Best Scenic Design
Robert Brill, Assassins
Ralph Funicello, Henry IV
Eugene Lee, Wicked*
Tom Pye, Fiddler on the Roof
Best Costume Design
Jess Goldstein, Henry IV
Susan Hilferty, Wicked*
Mike Nicholls and Bobby Pearce, Taboo
Mark Thompson, Bombay Dreams
Best Lighting Design
Jules Fisher and Peggy Eisenhauer, Assassins*
Brian MacDevitt, Fiddler on the Roof
Brian MacDevitt, Henry IV
Kenneth Posner, Wicked
Special Tony Award
James M. Nederlander - Lifetime Achievement*
Regional Theatre Award
Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park*