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June 9, 2019 8:20 PM Subscribe
I went looking for the Hadestown performance link, which apparently isn't up yet, but found this instead:
@racheline_m: Assuming the Tall Man lifting Orpheus in the Hadestown Tonys performance is launching a new tag in Ao3 right now.
Seriously though, this is the first time that the Best Musical award has ever gone to a show both written and directed by women and Rachel Chavkin was the only woman directing a musical on Broadway this season. Hadestown is so damn good and fresh and even socialist and I'm so happy it won.
posted by zachlipton at 8:40 PM on June 9, 2019 [8 favorites]
@racheline_m: Assuming the Tall Man lifting Orpheus in the Hadestown Tonys performance is launching a new tag in Ao3 right now.
Seriously though, this is the first time that the Best Musical award has ever gone to a show both written and directed by women and Rachel Chavkin was the only woman directing a musical on Broadway this season. Hadestown is so damn good and fresh and even socialist and I'm so happy it won.
posted by zachlipton at 8:40 PM on June 9, 2019 [8 favorites]
If, like me, you did not care for James Corden and his opening this year, Neil Patrick Harris's opening from 2013 is still the best ever and just a click away.
posted by zachlipton at 8:42 PM on June 9, 2019 [20 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 8:42 PM on June 9, 2019 [20 favorites]
Oh, I loved this! I don’t have the patience for awards shows, so without clips like these, I’d never see any of them. Thanks for posting!
posted by greermahoney at 8:48 PM on June 9, 2019
posted by greermahoney at 8:48 PM on June 9, 2019
Neil Patrick Harris's opening from 2013 is still the best ever
And it apparently put the "E" in Lin-Manuel Miranda's eventual "MacPEGOT".
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:06 PM on June 9, 2019 [6 favorites]
And it apparently put the "E" in Lin-Manuel Miranda's eventual "MacPEGOT".
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:06 PM on June 9, 2019 [6 favorites]
They did do a well thought out and smooth job this year - no gaps, no long yawn sessions, and man; the fashion design and apparel was spectacular this year. I hope this trend towards good Sunday TV keeps up.
Have to add; the Motown 60 A GRAMMY Celebration earlier this year was quite impressive also.
Easy to get into the ~tv sucks~ groove; nice to be clicking around after the news and finally be seeing professional editing and well rehearsed programs appear again.
posted by Afghan Stan at 9:27 PM on June 9, 2019
Have to add; the Motown 60 A GRAMMY Celebration earlier this year was quite impressive also.
Easy to get into the ~tv sucks~ groove; nice to be clicking around after the news and finally be seeing professional editing and well rehearsed programs appear again.
posted by Afghan Stan at 9:27 PM on June 9, 2019
The lyrics were very precisely describing something I've felt and experienced but never heard anyone say just like that. I've heard people say theater is good and tv is bad and screens are bad and culture is good and so on but specifically the feeling of seeing human beings doing something together and having it be real good is so special. (The song itself wasn't my favorite.. it had an ironically joyless feeling to me)
posted by bleep at 10:22 PM on June 9, 2019 [5 favorites]
posted by bleep at 10:22 PM on June 9, 2019 [5 favorites]
The audience reveal at the beginning is the most effective part for me. It is amazing to look at these events and think of the shear abundance of writing production and performance talent that allows a number like that to be written for (ironically) just one performance.
I think there is a bit of a shout out at 4:20 for A Chorus Line - and this performance at the 1976 Tonys. Iconic for its ending and, I suspect, rather woven into the DNA of anybody aspiring to appear on Broadway.
posted by rongorongo at 11:38 PM on June 9, 2019 [5 favorites]
I think there is a bit of a shout out at 4:20 for A Chorus Line - and this performance at the 1976 Tonys. Iconic for its ending and, I suspect, rather woven into the DNA of anybody aspiring to appear on Broadway.
posted by rongorongo at 11:38 PM on June 9, 2019 [5 favorites]
Thanks, I really enjoyed this, and wouldn't have seen it otherwise.
posted by freethefeet at 12:13 AM on June 10, 2019
posted by freethefeet at 12:13 AM on June 10, 2019
Billy Porter during a fitting for his Tonys gown, made from the red velvet curtain that once rose and fell on “Kinky Boots.”
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 2:41 AM on June 10, 2019 [9 favorites]
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 2:41 AM on June 10, 2019 [9 favorites]
"I'm bloated AND I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE" starts the show, kinda right getting going with a film reference, are there any live shows that are not remakes of an old film? Yea Beeltejuice!
posted by sammyo at 5:27 AM on June 10, 2019
posted by sammyo at 5:27 AM on June 10, 2019
I went to high school with Ali Stroker (I was a year below her) I remember people in high school bitching about her getting cast as a lead for everything and saying it was stupid because she was never going to make it anyway so they should give people with actual broadway a chance. Congrats to her and what she’s accomplished.
posted by raccoon409 at 5:58 AM on June 10, 2019 [14 favorites]
posted by raccoon409 at 5:58 AM on June 10, 2019 [14 favorites]
TV Line provides a single page round-up of all musical performances from last night's Tony Awards.
posted by hippybear at 6:38 AM on June 10, 2019
posted by hippybear at 6:38 AM on June 10, 2019
I thought the show was pretty good, even if not terribly exciting. Corden was serviceable, and the opening number was cute (no one will ever top NPH).
The Hadestown performance was definitely intriguing, but all of us in my house were appalled by how whiny and unappealing ex-Spider-Man Reeve Carney is in the lead role of Orpheus (I notice that, despite Hadestown raking in tons of awards, Carney wasn't even nominated). We agreed that we would see it on a tour or with a subsequent cast.
Stroker is indeed a powerhouse and I look forward to her future career. I have a thing about people belting Rodgers & Hammerstein, though, and thought the whole scene was kind of shouty.
Saw the Prom a couple months ago and loved it - the scenes they chose to perform don't really do it justice. It is sweet and funny and infectious. Highly recommended.
Beetlejuice, just no.
posted by Ben Trismegistus at 6:59 AM on June 10, 2019
The Hadestown performance was definitely intriguing, but all of us in my house were appalled by how whiny and unappealing ex-Spider-Man Reeve Carney is in the lead role of Orpheus (I notice that, despite Hadestown raking in tons of awards, Carney wasn't even nominated). We agreed that we would see it on a tour or with a subsequent cast.
Stroker is indeed a powerhouse and I look forward to her future career. I have a thing about people belting Rodgers & Hammerstein, though, and thought the whole scene was kind of shouty.
Saw the Prom a couple months ago and loved it - the scenes they chose to perform don't really do it justice. It is sweet and funny and infectious. Highly recommended.
Beetlejuice, just no.
posted by Ben Trismegistus at 6:59 AM on June 10, 2019
I'm hardly one to talk, but kept thinking that James Corden is not in good enough physical shape (nor a strong enough singer) to do an extended song and dance routine like that. I kept imagining how much better it could have been with NPH, Hugh Jackman, Santino - or how !!! it would be to have Lin-Manuel as host forever. I wish they'd shop the Tonys contract around to other networks, although I guess CBS has the olds demographic firmly on lock.
posted by Sweetie Darling at 7:01 AM on June 10, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by Sweetie Darling at 7:01 AM on June 10, 2019 [1 favorite]
Oh, man, that Hadestown performance. As a reformed theatre nerd far from Broadway, or even any major city center with a flourishing theatre culture beyond the occasional showing of Escape to Margaritaville, I end up listening to a lot of cast recordings. I really grooved on the Hadestown one, but I hadn't really appreciated the staging. I especially swooned over the swinging lights portion.
I've also been mainlining The Prom -- which, y'all, check out Caitlin Kinnunen singing "Dance With You" from it.
posted by sgranade at 7:17 AM on June 10, 2019
I've also been mainlining The Prom -- which, y'all, check out Caitlin Kinnunen singing "Dance With You" from it.
posted by sgranade at 7:17 AM on June 10, 2019
That was super-cute! However, I hadn't seen the NPH one and watching it, all I could think was HOW CAN HE NOT BE GASPING FOR BREATH WHILE LYING PRONE ON THE FLOOR?!
posted by pangolin party at 7:25 AM on June 10, 2019
posted by pangolin party at 7:25 AM on June 10, 2019
I love and admire James Cordon and think he's absolutely charming and adorable, but he just doesn't have the musical chops to hold this down. #teamNPH
posted by DarlingBri at 10:44 AM on June 10, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by DarlingBri at 10:44 AM on June 10, 2019 [1 favorite]
That was super-cute! However, I hadn't seen the NPH one and watching it, all I could think was HOW CAN HE NOT BE GASPING FOR BREATH WHILE LYING PRONE ON THE FLOOR?!
Heh heh. It's probably because he was already getting in shape for the level of exertion required to pull off the role of Hedwig the following year - here's the 2014 Tony Awards performance, complete with NPH removing and licking Samuel L. Jackson's glasses.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 1:28 PM on June 10, 2019 [2 favorites]
Heh heh. It's probably because he was already getting in shape for the level of exertion required to pull off the role of Hedwig the following year - here's the 2014 Tony Awards performance, complete with NPH removing and licking Samuel L. Jackson's glasses.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 1:28 PM on June 10, 2019 [2 favorites]
Hi America. People who had to work with Corden in the UK before he went to the US are less enthusiastic about what a great chap he is.
posted by GallonOfAlan at 2:27 PM on June 10, 2019 [4 favorites]
posted by GallonOfAlan at 2:27 PM on June 10, 2019 [4 favorites]
We got Broadway in Richmond tickets as a Christmas "experience" present and then re-upped for the 6 show season this fall because live theater is so much fun. Only wish I hadn't made it to empty nester age before realizing this.
posted by COD at 3:06 PM on June 10, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by COD at 3:06 PM on June 10, 2019 [2 favorites]
The theory on the latest Pop Culture happy Hour, is that the bit with Corden on the toliet was going to be the cold open but the show it was for, got one nomination and they re-arrange a bit to come up with what they did.
posted by 922257033c4a0f3cecdbd819a46d626999d1af4a at 3:45 PM on June 10, 2019
posted by 922257033c4a0f3cecdbd819a46d626999d1af4a at 3:45 PM on June 10, 2019
The Hadestown performance was definitely intriguing, but all of us in my house were appalled by how whiny and unappealing ex-Spider-Man Reeve Carney is in the lead role of Orpheus (I notice that, despite Hadestown raking in tons of awards, Carney wasn't even nominated). We agreed that we would see it on a tour or with a subsequent cast.
Do this at your own peril, because you'll miss Patrick Page's absolutely thrilling performance. Also, I saw Hadestown in previews just before opening, and I personally think that Carney's voice just suffers a bit in a recorded or broadcast context. I left the theater thinking that, though not necessarily on par with the likes of Eva Noblezada, he held his own.
posted by Expecto Cilantro at 4:15 PM on June 10, 2019 [3 favorites]
Do this at your own peril, because you'll miss Patrick Page's absolutely thrilling performance. Also, I saw Hadestown in previews just before opening, and I personally think that Carney's voice just suffers a bit in a recorded or broadcast context. I left the theater thinking that, though not necessarily on par with the likes of Eva Noblezada, he held his own.
posted by Expecto Cilantro at 4:15 PM on June 10, 2019 [3 favorites]
Oh god I have so many complicated feelings about this as a performance artist and theatre maker. Admittedly not one that's been on Broadway, though I was part of Taylor Mac's 24 Decades of Popular Music when they brought it to Melbourne and that was pretty epic.
With pre-recorded media, like television, you don't have to suffer the heartbreak of looking at empty seats in the audience (especially when a ton of your friends promised they'd come and they never did). You can also share your work across more audiences than you could live, which is helpful when the people that connect with your work the most aren't anywhere near you. (You can record live performances, sure, but it's not as technically straightforward as just pointing a camera at the stage.) You also have a chance to redo your work, to find different angles or methods to convey something, to take breaks.
In both situations you need a crew, and depending on what it is you're doing you do still need props and set and tech. At least with live performance you don't have to do an extra step of editing and post-production - once it's done, it's done. Directing, scriptwriting, planning - all of that is fairly similar, even if the work itself differs.
I'm not sure which option is more accessible as a performer, especially a minority like myself. In my experience, it's been harder to get something like a TV show or web series off the ground because you need access to cameras, sound equipment, editing tools, a film crew - whereas with stage performances it's a bit easier to get things going. (Maybe that's just a function of the circles I'm in though.) Getting to act in a mainstage production or a mainstage TV show beyond being an extra is hard because you need an agent, and getting an agent is hard when you're a minority - it's easier to break in or make your own smaller stuff that way. But you're less likely to get paid making your own stuff - hell you're more likely to lose money.
posted by divabat at 6:24 PM on June 10, 2019 [1 favorite]
With pre-recorded media, like television, you don't have to suffer the heartbreak of looking at empty seats in the audience (especially when a ton of your friends promised they'd come and they never did). You can also share your work across more audiences than you could live, which is helpful when the people that connect with your work the most aren't anywhere near you. (You can record live performances, sure, but it's not as technically straightforward as just pointing a camera at the stage.) You also have a chance to redo your work, to find different angles or methods to convey something, to take breaks.
In both situations you need a crew, and depending on what it is you're doing you do still need props and set and tech. At least with live performance you don't have to do an extra step of editing and post-production - once it's done, it's done. Directing, scriptwriting, planning - all of that is fairly similar, even if the work itself differs.
I'm not sure which option is more accessible as a performer, especially a minority like myself. In my experience, it's been harder to get something like a TV show or web series off the ground because you need access to cameras, sound equipment, editing tools, a film crew - whereas with stage performances it's a bit easier to get things going. (Maybe that's just a function of the circles I'm in though.) Getting to act in a mainstage production or a mainstage TV show beyond being an extra is hard because you need an agent, and getting an agent is hard when you're a minority - it's easier to break in or make your own smaller stuff that way. But you're less likely to get paid making your own stuff - hell you're more likely to lose money.
posted by divabat at 6:24 PM on June 10, 2019 [1 favorite]
I'd like to mention that part of the reason NPH's 2013 performance was outstanding was music by Tom Kitt, Lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda.
posted by Joey Michaels at 7:01 PM on June 10, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by Joey Michaels at 7:01 PM on June 10, 2019 [2 favorites]
I really enjoyed the opening from the last time he hosted.
posted by ChuraChura at 11:48 AM on June 11, 2019
posted by ChuraChura at 11:48 AM on June 11, 2019
Here's Billy Porter doing an impromptu "Everything's Coming Up Roses" for the house during a commercial break.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 5:45 PM on June 11, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 5:45 PM on June 11, 2019 [3 favorites]
Vulture, Gun Violence Victims Were Onstage During Oklahoma!’s Tonys Performance
The show was stunningly apolitical (I was really wishing Hadestown would do Why We Build the Wall and blow everyone's minds) in most respects, and many of the political moments were unannounced (like this one) or minimized as much as possible (Sergio Trujillo's "I arrived in New York City over thirty years ago as an illegal immigrant" acceptance speech ended up during a commercial break and was edited into a quick clip in the broadcast)
posted by zachlipton at 7:15 PM on June 11, 2019 [3 favorites]
The show was stunningly apolitical (I was really wishing Hadestown would do Why We Build the Wall and blow everyone's minds) in most respects, and many of the political moments were unannounced (like this one) or minimized as much as possible (Sergio Trujillo's "I arrived in New York City over thirty years ago as an illegal immigrant" acceptance speech ended up during a commercial break and was edited into a quick clip in the broadcast)
posted by zachlipton at 7:15 PM on June 11, 2019 [3 favorites]
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