And The Winner Is...

Last night was the 2007 Tony Awards. Let me start by saying that his year has meant more to me than any other year, and I've watched the Tony's since I was a little kid. This year, being able to see all of the productions and form my own opinions, has really changed my take on the awards.

The BIG winner was Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater's SPRING AWAKENING. The show walked away with awards in 8 of it's 11 nominated categories:Best Lighting, Choreography, Book, Score, Orchestrations, Best Supporting Actor (yay John G. Jr!), Best Director (yay Michael Mayer!), most importantly Best New Musical.

This juggernaut was highly deserved. The story and music are thrilling, and the performances delivered by it's young stars were without a doubt some of the best work I've seen this year. Had the Best Actor and Best Actress categories not been stacked with theater legends, I would think that Jonathan Groff and Lea Michele could've been awarded as well.

Best Revival went to Company. Totally deserved, and predictable. As good as 110 In The Shade was, Company is a raw embodiment of both minimalistic musical theater and the genius that is Stephen Sondheim. That was a long awaited "thank you" after Sweeney Todd was snubbed last year by RoundAbout's Pajama Game.

Best Actress went to Christine Ebersole. Her performance was highly acclaimed and apparently brilliant. I have not seen that show yet, but from what I gather no one else even had shot in hell. So, like I said in my predictions, this was deserved and expected.

The biggest upset came in the category of Best Actor. David Hyde Pierce walked away with the award. As I've said before, his performance was not as great as Raul Esparza's. But he is loved by the community and has more of an impact of theatergoers than he did on me.

His acceptance speech was incredibly gracious and humble, which completely endeared him to me. And I couldn't help but laugh when he cited 24 years of his partner's notes for being the reason he is where he is. What a great guy. As bummed as I am that (my future lovah) Raul didn't win, I'm completely happy for David.

Best Featured Actress went to Mary Louise Wilson from Grey Gardens. She was funny, but I don't love her.

My favorite moment was Julie White's reaction to winning Best Actress in a Play! She was shocked and witty and funny and fabulous. I've been a fan of hers since I saw her on TheaterTalk a little over a month ago. She just seems like a completely down to earth actress who is really doing this because she loves it. She doesn't have a degree from Tisch or Yale… she just does what she does really well! And I love her for that…

Most of the play awards were incredibly predictable. Coast of Utopia won seven awards including Best Actor Billy Crudup and Best Actress Jennifer Ehle, Best Play, and Best Director.

The performances this year were reasonably good as well. The show opened with A Chorus Line doin' it's thing. Naturally. I mean, you don't NOT open with the iconic box office smash of the season. Come on.

A friend of mine said he wanted a montage… but can I say THANK GOD that they didn't? Montages do no justice to the shows. And the Tony's exist to draw people to the theater, so I think shows are best represented by showcasing individually. NOT mashing them all together with one another, making Broadway appear like the barf-bucket of entertainment.

For the record - Medley is different than Montage. I did like the medley's from Mary Poppins and Spring Awakening. I really wanted them to put Gavin Lee up on the ceiling. I mean, they let Elphaba fly - how hard could it have been? But it was still very effective in showcasing the musical as fun family fodder. And Spring Awakening took both of it's taboo numbers and self-censored - which I thought was surprisingly effective! Good to both of them!

I thought the performances from Grey Gardens and 110 In The Shade were good, but both of those numbers really need the context of the show to really be effective. So while the two leading women were adequately showcased, I think the producers will be disappointed that there is no immediate up-swing in ticket sales. Grey Gardens could still come out of the awards with a boost in liu of both Ebersole and Louise-Wilson's wins, but only time will tell.

All in all I thought it was a good show. It was admittedly a little anticlimactic, as most of the awards had been predicted long ago. But it's always good to see all of the stars dressed up and ready to party! (Below: Audra McDonald, Jane Krakowski (to be seen next season in Guys & Dolls revival?), Laura Bell Bundy, and Lea Michele)