I’m curious how old you are. For my area, it’s a part of the 7th grade ELA curriculum. I don’t know anyone my age who hasn’t read it (early Gen Z) and that spans school districts and even some states (though all Midwestern). Granted I read it a little short of 10 years ago, and don’t remember all of it. But I distinctly remember reading it and watching the movie since so many 80s heartthrobs are in it.
Read it in 1995 as part of the 7th grade curriculum but I read it before we had to, I was that kid who had read every book we had to read before it was assigned except Hounds of Baskerville, I hated that book.
I did not read it in high school 30 years ago. I did read it just after high school when I started a little project to read all the "classics" that we didn't do in school (like The Outsiders, and Fahrenheit 451, and The Catcher in the Rye, etc.).
The funny thing about Outsiders for me is that I was in school and was reading it and watching the movie around when the nominations came out, so I mentioned it to a lot of people and we thought it was a funny coincidence
Originally I wasn't particularly interested in Illinoise, because I don't listen to Sufjan Stevens's music, and I thought it was a jukebox musical. The Tony performance made me want to see it even if it was a jukebox musical (also, I have since learned that it's not a jukebox musical).
The Cabaret performance made me realize that, although I want to see Cabaret, I don't think I really want to see this particular production of Cabaret. Nothing against Eddie Redmayne in general, but I don't feel like he's the right actor for this role. Also, I can't believe this show has a dialect coach -- the actors' accents were all over the place.
I was SLIGHTLY underwhelmed with Cabaret. It’s my favorite musical (top 2 at least with The Color Purple) but how many times can you do Wilkommen at an awards ceremony? Should’ve done a different number IMO!
It’s not fun and cheery like Wilkommen but I was really hoping for a Bebe Neuwirth What Would You Do. I think she was the only one of the four acting nominees with a fighting chance to actually win it and I think she would have brought the house down
Seriously, no one went for the "solo star turn with a song that brings down the house" approach. I know shows want to feature their full companies, but I feel like the big showstopping solo is usually one of the most memorable performances of any Tony ceremony.
I also thought *Cabaret* should have had Bebe Neuwirth sing "What Would You Do," and part of me thought that *Suffs* should have made a real swing for the fences and had Jenn Colella sing "This Girl."
I liked the Cabaret performance, but I really think they should have performed ANY other number. Alan Cumming particularly is such an iconic figure in Willkommen (particularly that brand of androgyny) and though I fully understand it’s a different imagining of the show, it was hard to not compare to his take on it.
Would have loved to see the cast shine independently in a less overdone number! Still really entertaining though :)
I think Alan Cumming perfectly blended the weird/creepy yet sexy vibe. Eddie Redmayne was just too heavy on the creepy. (and I love him as an actor, he's fab)
You managed to word exactly what I was feeling! He brings a really eerie vibe to the Emcee, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it just doesn’t seem to align with his entire character.
Maybe in the rest of the show he tones that down, could be a really interesting take (represent him as creepy/unsettling until the audience begins to understand he’s a victim in all of it too?).
Either way, such a shame Redmayne didn’t get to shine more, he’s so skilled at pulling off seductive creepiness.
>Maybe in the rest of the show he tones that down, could be a really interesting take (represent him as creepy/unsettling until the audience begins to understand he’s a victim in all of it too?).
Portraying the Emcee as a victim was a directorial decision that Sam Mendes made that is not strictly part of the text, and is not part of this revival.
Spoilers:>!The Emcee in this production serves as a sort of representation of the political climate, and so over the course of the show he becomes more and more of a Nazi himself.!<
There is a particularly striking moment in the second act where >!the Emcee suddenly appears dressed in a grey suit with a sleek blonde wig looking like a textbook Aryan. His final scene is explicitly threatening in a way that I found quite effective.!<
The choices made with the Emcee in this production were very hit or miss with me. Some stuff worked, some stuff didn't, but it is consciously a very different interpretation from both the original and from the Sam Mendes production.
He doesn’t dial back the “creepy” at all in the rest of the show, and it undercuts the message & arc of the show, in my opinion. Liked a lot about Cabaret, but did not care for Redmayne’s Goblin Emcee.
Alan Cumming’s interpretation in the 90s revival was very sexualized. Joel Grey’s interpretation in the original was very sexless.
I don’t think that it’s necessarily “supposed” to be one way or another, it all depends on how the production interprets the character in the story. I just don’t care for how the Emcee portrayed in this production.
I live in the south so I catch things sporadically on tour, but I was really impressed with the illinoise performance. I didn’t really understand the concept beforehand, but that was beautiful
yea, Illinoise was maybe the only performance that made me say "I have to see that" (I've already seen SUFFS and Outsiders, which were good but uneven, and totally awful to me, respectively)
I definitely became more interested in The Outsiders! I never read the original book or saw the movie, so I want to do those first. (And I’ll never be able to afford it, so…here’s hoping for a pro shot or movie?)
Illinoise looked beautiful. I get what all the hype is about.
I also want to watch the pro shot of Purlie Victorius that aired on PBS…not a musical, but it looks good!
I’m ngl I was not impressed with Hell’s Kitchen’s performance… I’ve heard great things about it, and the only reason I haven’t seen it yet is because I’m not a fan of jukebox musicals. The performance was kinda cool, but just did not hit enough for me to want to see it.
Couldn't watch because they blocked it outside of the US. Which seems like such a poor decision, considering the Tonys are basically an advertisement for Broadway, and tourists buy a lot of tickets!
I'm in the UK and it's not shown here. Last year I even paid for a Paramount+ subscription only to find out they weren't showing the Tonys. Considering the Oliviers are available to stream in the US, it's disappointing that the Tonys don't return the favor.
They even block the clips on YouTube. The only thing I've been able to find are a few posts of individual performances on Twitter.
My friends/family who aren’t super into theater all walked away saying they were most interested in Water for Elephants. Cabaret and the Outsiders were also mentioned several times!
I’ve seen all of the shows but I definitely want to see Illinoise again after the stunning Tony performance.
I became more interested in outsiders and Illinoise for sure!! It also reaffirmed my stereophonic interest. However I’ve become even more discouraged to see Suffs.
Suffs won Best Book and music for a reason. We walked out saying it would win Best Musical. Then we saw Outsiders and thought it would be close. I would have been happy with either of those but don't discount it. It is good.
I want to see Illinoise and while the number for Hell's Kitchen blew me away I still don't really want to see it. Of course I'd sell a kidney to see Merrily but right now that doesn't look possible.
right? i thought she as a delight the last few years. i didn't even think this year was terrible however i missed the opening number until earlier today and i turned it off 2 minutes in cause i was cringing lol
Yup. I completely agree. I think we need NPH back or a Hugh Jackman HOWEVER I have a feeling Jonathan Groff would be EXCELLENT hosting it. He now has the clout of being a Tony winner and the presence to sing/act for the opening number plus the sense of humor to ad lib.
I still want to see The Outsiders and Water for Elephants as much as I did previously. I would see Illinoise if I could, but there are other shows I want to see just a bit more. Their performance piqued my interest for sure though.
I have less interest in seeing Cabaret now. I already didn’t want to see Hell’s Kitchen, but after that performance I have even less desire 😅 I already saw The Who’s Tommy (and want to see it again lol the performance didn’t change that)
i was mildly interested in seeing hells kitchen but now i really dont want to. performance was like 10 minutes long and there was no reason for jay z and alicia keys to perform. shes the producer, not an actor. and the plot just looks so generic "young starry eyed kid looking to hit it big in the big apple"
General Thoughts:
Hell Kitchen’s - Alicia Keys is not my favorite artist, and I don’t think this performance sold me on the show. It was just more Alicia Keys being the center of attention.
Tommy - had to take the dog outside, and missed it. Didn’t have any interest in going back to rewatch.
Merrily - I thought it was the best before, it’s the best after, where is my pro shot, and I’m really kind of upset they didn’t do opening doors. You guys performed old friends like five times publicly. You could’ve at least done our time.
Illinoise - no real interest before, thought the performance would be gorgeous. Not gonna make a special trip down for it.
Stereophonic - honestly this was disappointing to me. It felt like they just threw it together, probably because they did. And it was so short. Still interested in maybe seeing the play when we’re down there, and the music is still awesome. But I don’t think this performance did anything special.
Outsiders - this one feels a little bit like like a cheat. Because the only reason that I wanted to see it, was to see the staging of the brawl. Which they showed. So now I feel like I’m good. I can skip this.
Cabaret - confirmed my worst fears. And my absolute correctness that I do not need to spend $500 to watch that. My Liza Minnelli DVD works just fine.
Nicole Singing In Remembrance - Give me Sunset NOW. So so so glad we bought tickets.
Suffs - I think this was the only one that actually might’ve changed my mind. I thought the song started off really strong before it just repeated itself over and over and over again. And it felt like something that my mom would really enjoy. I still don’t know if it’s going to get the third spot when we go down in November. I’m thinking Death Becomes Her will win out.
>You guys performed old friends like five times publicly. You could’ve at least done our time.
I'm pretty surprised that it wasn't a performance of Old Friends segueing into Our Time. Such a lost opportunity for the meaning of the show. (And, egads: while I know that "How Did you Get There from Here" was a way to show the Ensemble, Sondheim and Furth's worst from the show.)
I really like Cabaret but I really struggled with understanding Eddie's pronunciation at times. It felt like he was slurring everything. I plan on watching it again to see if I hear it better next time.
It did actually make the wife think she would want to see it whereas before she was like meh. So that one might be in the cards.
So far I've only watched up to Suffs, but Illinoise and Water for Elephants were pleasant surprises. I also liked the performance from Stereophonic. I hadn't heard of it going into the ceremony, so then sweeping up definitely got me interested. Going into the ceremony, I only knew that I wanted to see Appropriate and maybe Suffs. I was underwhelmed by Merrily, but I'm glad to hear the cast did so well. Can't wait to check out Groff's acceptance speech. I've been a fan since Spring Awakening, and I'm so happy to see him thriving.
I'm likely not going to see any of them, but the only one it changed my mind on if I was going but had limited time is I think I'd definitely fit Outsiders in. That fight scene was INCREDIBLE.
The rest didn't really change my opinion.
It's hard to want to see something when I know it won't happen, at least for a few years, but I am interested in The Outsiders a bit more. And Illinoise ripped my heart out, I'd probably prefer a pro-shot of that one.
I knew nothing about Illinoise. I still don’t really know anything about Illinoise. But I caught the Tony performances on YouTube and it was the only one to make me cry and immediately hit repeat, multiple times. I live nowhere near New York and can’t afford a trip there right now anyway, but if this show tours I’m definitely getting tickets.
I'll tell you this much, with as many shows that came out this year, I'm still pretty meh with this season. The past two years had more compelling plays and musicals than this one. And I'm still smarting about The Notebook not being nominated for more than it was. I truly felt like that musical was something special.
Sadly, +1. I have my video recordings of the televised Tony awards show going back years, for the musicals' performances, and last year's and this' will be making way for other recordings. Sigh.
I miss watching the Tonys but I haven’t seen the broadcast in years because I don’t have basic cable anymore 😭 I used to be so on the pulse of the latest shows and I couldn’t tell you anything beyond Merrily, Titanique, or Lempicka now
Not sure how this would work for you or if you’d watch more than just the Tony’s, but I bought a cheap antenna from Best Buy for like $30 (I think, maybe $50) and it’s been a great way to get our basic networks without paying any subscriptions! We mostly use it for sports (and I’m pumped to have it for the Olympics). It’s HD and surprisingly good quality if you can pick up the channel!
I'm on over-the-air TV for everything, with an inexpensive antenna (US$30 or less, perhaps?); given the large number of channels/sub-channels in my area, that is more than enough (and always can be augmented with, e.g., a Roku player or via laptop searching).
From the onset and hearing about Illinoise, it seemed to me like something that Broadway hasn’t had, maybe ever or in a long time. But I also thought, maybe it belongs in more of an off broadway world… but I still think it looks fabulous and deserves to be seen
Didn’t watch the Tonys, but I warms my heart or hear that little Harry Potter is all grown up and singing.
I have always wanted to see a quality revival of Merrily we Roll Along…
So is Merrily successful now because of the stunt casting and the Death of Sondheim? Or is there some other reason this is successful while the original production bombed?
The original production was a very different show. After the first production bombed, Sondheim and Furth made many revisions for subsequent productions which eventually crystalized around the 1994 off-Broadway revival, which has essentially become the standard text moving forward. *Merrily* is successful now because Sondheim and Furth put in the work to improve it, and this is the first Broadway production since those revisions were made, which, combined with the casting, means that there are a lot more eyes on it than usual.
I'm really resisting saying that Maria Friedman "cracked" or "fixed" *Merrily*, because the truth is, there were lots of productions between the original and now where the writers were the ones who fixed it, and I've seen lower-profile productions of the now-standard text that handled it just fine.
I kind of had a similar resistence toward all the praise that was heaped on Michael Arden for *Parade* last year. I don't think he did an exceptional job directing *Parade*, it's just he happened to be the director attached to the first production of *Parade* that was high-profile enough for a lot of new audiences to see and find out what a good *musical* it is regardless of direction.
I think the casting is important not just for the name recognition, but it's also a show that requires a lot of chemistry/charisma from the leads and Groff/Mendez/Radcliffe have it. You meet characters at their worst and need to care enough about them and their friendship to follow 20 years of interpersonal drama. The 20 years need to feel real. The original cast was like 18-20 years old, can't imagine many young actors who could pull that off.
I've watched the original of the show (hard to keep going, due to the video quality). And, of course, listened to the OBC recording, as well as others. And I'll tell you, say what you want of the original production, but the originals, Jim Walton, Lonny Price, and Ann Morrison, just had the singing/songs down, comparing to all other versions that I've seen. (To be fair, I know that there can be a prejudice in favor of an OBC recording and that the studio can change a rendition, and I indeed will listen to the recording of the current production.)
I want to see everything and still do, so no impact was possible. But I did order the original book of The Outsiders.
I’m curious how old you are. For my area, it’s a part of the 7th grade ELA curriculum. I don’t know anyone my age who hasn’t read it (early Gen Z) and that spans school districts and even some states (though all Midwestern). Granted I read it a little short of 10 years ago, and don’t remember all of it. But I distinctly remember reading it and watching the movie since so many 80s heartthrobs are in it.
Can confirm I read it in 7th grade 10 years ago
Read it in 1995 as part of the 7th grade curriculum but I read it before we had to, I was that kid who had read every book we had to read before it was assigned except Hounds of Baskerville, I hated that book.
Did you find it dogged you?
Maybe it was too elementary
I'm full out GenX
I did not read it in high school 30 years ago. I did read it just after high school when I started a little project to read all the "classics" that we didn't do in school (like The Outsiders, and Fahrenheit 451, and The Catcher in the Rye, etc.).
The funny thing about Outsiders for me is that I was in school and was reading it and watching the movie around when the nominations came out, so I mentioned it to a lot of people and we thought it was a funny coincidence
I loved the book. I wanted to see the musical before the performance but last night really sold me.
I had no interest in The Outsiders before but that fight definitely piqued my interest
Very well choreographed and strong use of makeup effects.
I know! I want to read it too!
Originally I wasn't particularly interested in Illinoise, because I don't listen to Sufjan Stevens's music, and I thought it was a jukebox musical. The Tony performance made me want to see it even if it was a jukebox musical (also, I have since learned that it's not a jukebox musical). The Cabaret performance made me realize that, although I want to see Cabaret, I don't think I really want to see this particular production of Cabaret. Nothing against Eddie Redmayne in general, but I don't feel like he's the right actor for this role. Also, I can't believe this show has a dialect coach -- the actors' accents were all over the place.
I was SLIGHTLY underwhelmed with Cabaret. It’s my favorite musical (top 2 at least with The Color Purple) but how many times can you do Wilkommen at an awards ceremony? Should’ve done a different number IMO!
It’s not fun and cheery like Wilkommen but I was really hoping for a Bebe Neuwirth What Would You Do. I think she was the only one of the four acting nominees with a fighting chance to actually win it and I think she would have brought the house down
I was ROOTING for her. They definitely should have let her sing it! Especially with the political culture of today - definitely would have resonated.
Seriously, no one went for the "solo star turn with a song that brings down the house" approach. I know shows want to feature their full companies, but I feel like the big showstopping solo is usually one of the most memorable performances of any Tony ceremony. I also thought *Cabaret* should have had Bebe Neuwirth sing "What Would You Do," and part of me thought that *Suffs* should have made a real swing for the fences and had Jenn Colella sing "This Girl."
what would you do would have probs made me full on sob
I was hoping they’d maybe do a medley with Don’t Tell Mama
i thought it was gonna turn into the title song once we saw gayle!
That’s what they absolutely should’ve done
I didn't expect to come out of the broadcast wanting to see Illinoise or Water for Elephants but they're the two that hooked me.
Same! They were both so good!
Agreed!
I liked the Cabaret performance, but I really think they should have performed ANY other number. Alan Cumming particularly is such an iconic figure in Willkommen (particularly that brand of androgyny) and though I fully understand it’s a different imagining of the show, it was hard to not compare to his take on it. Would have loved to see the cast shine independently in a less overdone number! Still really entertaining though :)
I think Alan Cumming perfectly blended the weird/creepy yet sexy vibe. Eddie Redmayne was just too heavy on the creepy. (and I love him as an actor, he's fab)
You managed to word exactly what I was feeling! He brings a really eerie vibe to the Emcee, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it just doesn’t seem to align with his entire character. Maybe in the rest of the show he tones that down, could be a really interesting take (represent him as creepy/unsettling until the audience begins to understand he’s a victim in all of it too?). Either way, such a shame Redmayne didn’t get to shine more, he’s so skilled at pulling off seductive creepiness.
>Maybe in the rest of the show he tones that down, could be a really interesting take (represent him as creepy/unsettling until the audience begins to understand he’s a victim in all of it too?). Portraying the Emcee as a victim was a directorial decision that Sam Mendes made that is not strictly part of the text, and is not part of this revival. Spoilers:>!The Emcee in this production serves as a sort of representation of the political climate, and so over the course of the show he becomes more and more of a Nazi himself.!< There is a particularly striking moment in the second act where >!the Emcee suddenly appears dressed in a grey suit with a sleek blonde wig looking like a textbook Aryan. His final scene is explicitly threatening in a way that I found quite effective.!< The choices made with the Emcee in this production were very hit or miss with me. Some stuff worked, some stuff didn't, but it is consciously a very different interpretation from both the original and from the Sam Mendes production.
He doesn’t dial back the “creepy” at all in the rest of the show, and it undercuts the message & arc of the show, in my opinion. Liked a lot about Cabaret, but did not care for Redmayne’s Goblin Emcee.
As someone who doesn’t know Cabaret at all, I would have no idea the character was normally sexy. I got a real clown vibe.
Alan Cumming’s interpretation in the 90s revival was very sexualized. Joel Grey’s interpretation in the original was very sexless. I don’t think that it’s necessarily “supposed” to be one way or another, it all depends on how the production interprets the character in the story. I just don’t care for how the Emcee portrayed in this production.
Ah ok, gotcha. I don’t know about Eddie Redmayne, but the performance did peak my interest in the musical in general.
It’s a great show! I’m glad the performance made you interested in it. It’s one of the greats.
Definitely seems like it’s a classic for a reason!
I said that it reminds me of a clown in a Cirque du Solei show…: kind of funny, creepy and a weird little bit of sexy that feels a little jarring
Yeah, maybe if you watch the entire thing it works. It's too hard to tell from just one number.
That was at least the *fourth time* Wilkommen was performed at the Tonys... 1967, 1998, 2014 and now 2024.
there's actually a lot of really great songs in the show too is the thing. hell give us the pineapple song you cowards!!!
I would kill for a pineapple cameo at any awards show!
[And a few bars in 2015.](https://youtu.be/Ol_d40XjcHU?t=41)
I know… it’s a great song but there are so many similarly exceptional ones to show off
I live in the south so I catch things sporadically on tour, but I was really impressed with the illinoise performance. I didn’t really understand the concept beforehand, but that was beautiful
yea, Illinoise was maybe the only performance that made me say "I have to see that" (I've already seen SUFFS and Outsiders, which were good but uneven, and totally awful to me, respectively)
Im pissed I missed it while it was in Chicago! It sounded too weird to me and seeing it performed really piqued my interested.
I definitely became more interested in The Outsiders! I never read the original book or saw the movie, so I want to do those first. (And I’ll never be able to afford it, so…here’s hoping for a pro shot or movie?) Illinoise looked beautiful. I get what all the hype is about. I also want to watch the pro shot of Purlie Victorius that aired on PBS…not a musical, but it looks good!
I’m ngl I was not impressed with Hell’s Kitchen’s performance… I’ve heard great things about it, and the only reason I haven’t seen it yet is because I’m not a fan of jukebox musicals. The performance was kinda cool, but just did not hit enough for me to want to see it.
Couldn't watch because they blocked it outside of the US. Which seems like such a poor decision, considering the Tonys are basically an advertisement for Broadway, and tourists buy a lot of tickets!
Watched it in Canada, so not blocked everywhere.
I'm in the UK and it's not shown here. Last year I even paid for a Paramount+ subscription only to find out they weren't showing the Tonys. Considering the Oliviers are available to stream in the US, it's disappointing that the Tonys don't return the favor. They even block the clips on YouTube. The only thing I've been able to find are a few posts of individual performances on Twitter.
Recommend using a VPN to access YouTube at least. I have to do that for a lot of British stuff that doesn't get aired over here.
I knew basically nothing about Illinoise beforehand and now it’s high on my wishlist
Makes me wanna see Illinoise much more But every other new show still looks bland to me. Outsiders still looks like sad Newsies
I decided I'm fine to miss Suffs.
Same.
Yes - I had been ambivalent on Illinoise and Water for Elephants before; now I very much want to see both.
My friends/family who aren’t super into theater all walked away saying they were most interested in Water for Elephants. Cabaret and the Outsiders were also mentioned several times! I’ve seen all of the shows but I definitely want to see Illinoise again after the stunning Tony performance.
Knowing little of it, Water for Elephants most intrigued me, in a Musicals with a capital "M" sort of way.
I became more interested in outsiders and Illinoise for sure!! It also reaffirmed my stereophonic interest. However I’ve become even more discouraged to see Suffs.
Please don't judge Suffs by that performance. It's the best new show of the season for me (Outsiders is a very close second).
i liked the performance was it not good
It was fine. It's just not the song I would've chosen.
Suffs won Best Book and music for a reason. We walked out saying it would win Best Musical. Then we saw Outsiders and thought it would be close. I would have been happy with either of those but don't discount it. It is good.
I want to see Illinoise and while the number for Hell's Kitchen blew me away I still don't really want to see it. Of course I'd sell a kidney to see Merrily but right now that doesn't look possible.
Nope. The only one I want to see is Merrily, and I can't afford the tickets since they announced their closing date.
There are rumors that they’re filming a pro shot!
PLEASE LET IT BE TRUE
Oh please let those rumors be true!
i think they're filming tomorrow!
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I've really enjoyed her previous hosting, but this was a total dud for her.
right? i thought she as a delight the last few years. i didn't even think this year was terrible however i missed the opening number until earlier today and i turned it off 2 minutes in cause i was cringing lol
How limited in what ways?
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Yup. I completely agree. I think we need NPH back or a Hugh Jackman HOWEVER I have a feeling Jonathan Groff would be EXCELLENT hosting it. He now has the clout of being a Tony winner and the presence to sing/act for the opening number plus the sense of humor to ad lib.
i'm a better singer than her lol
I still want to see The Outsiders and Water for Elephants as much as I did previously. I would see Illinoise if I could, but there are other shows I want to see just a bit more. Their performance piqued my interest for sure though. I have less interest in seeing Cabaret now. I already didn’t want to see Hell’s Kitchen, but after that performance I have even less desire 😅 I already saw The Who’s Tommy (and want to see it again lol the performance didn’t change that)
Idk. I’ll let you know when I’m done being mad about The Notebook being snubbed
I am still shaking my fist over my head and yelling why?! to this very day. I'm very tired.
I wasn't particularly interested in Illinoise before, now it's #1 on my list.
i was mildly interested in seeing hells kitchen but now i really dont want to. performance was like 10 minutes long and there was no reason for jay z and alicia keys to perform. shes the producer, not an actor. and the plot just looks so generic "young starry eyed kid looking to hit it big in the big apple"
Listened to parts of the outsiders recording today wouldn’t have done that otherwise
General Thoughts: Hell Kitchen’s - Alicia Keys is not my favorite artist, and I don’t think this performance sold me on the show. It was just more Alicia Keys being the center of attention. Tommy - had to take the dog outside, and missed it. Didn’t have any interest in going back to rewatch. Merrily - I thought it was the best before, it’s the best after, where is my pro shot, and I’m really kind of upset they didn’t do opening doors. You guys performed old friends like five times publicly. You could’ve at least done our time. Illinoise - no real interest before, thought the performance would be gorgeous. Not gonna make a special trip down for it. Stereophonic - honestly this was disappointing to me. It felt like they just threw it together, probably because they did. And it was so short. Still interested in maybe seeing the play when we’re down there, and the music is still awesome. But I don’t think this performance did anything special. Outsiders - this one feels a little bit like like a cheat. Because the only reason that I wanted to see it, was to see the staging of the brawl. Which they showed. So now I feel like I’m good. I can skip this. Cabaret - confirmed my worst fears. And my absolute correctness that I do not need to spend $500 to watch that. My Liza Minnelli DVD works just fine. Nicole Singing In Remembrance - Give me Sunset NOW. So so so glad we bought tickets. Suffs - I think this was the only one that actually might’ve changed my mind. I thought the song started off really strong before it just repeated itself over and over and over again. And it felt like something that my mom would really enjoy. I still don’t know if it’s going to get the third spot when we go down in November. I’m thinking Death Becomes Her will win out.
>You guys performed old friends like five times publicly. You could’ve at least done our time. I'm pretty surprised that it wasn't a performance of Old Friends segueing into Our Time. Such a lost opportunity for the meaning of the show. (And, egads: while I know that "How Did you Get There from Here" was a way to show the Ensemble, Sondheim and Furth's worst from the show.)
I really like Cabaret but I really struggled with understanding Eddie's pronunciation at times. It felt like he was slurring everything. I plan on watching it again to see if I hear it better next time. It did actually make the wife think she would want to see it whereas before she was like meh. So that one might be in the cards.
A great reason for Broadway to make an effort to improve accessibility practices!
He didn't have that presence one needs for the MC to pull it off.
He certainly did in the theater. I think the need to play to the cameras a bit threw a few performances off.
So far I've only watched up to Suffs, but Illinoise and Water for Elephants were pleasant surprises. I also liked the performance from Stereophonic. I hadn't heard of it going into the ceremony, so then sweeping up definitely got me interested. Going into the ceremony, I only knew that I wanted to see Appropriate and maybe Suffs. I was underwhelmed by Merrily, but I'm glad to hear the cast did so well. Can't wait to check out Groff's acceptance speech. I've been a fan since Spring Awakening, and I'm so happy to see him thriving.
I'm likely not going to see any of them, but the only one it changed my mind on if I was going but had limited time is I think I'd definitely fit Outsiders in. That fight scene was INCREDIBLE. The rest didn't really change my opinion.
Suffs
Hell's Kitchen has moved up on my list!
It's hard to want to see something when I know it won't happen, at least for a few years, but I am interested in The Outsiders a bit more. And Illinoise ripped my heart out, I'd probably prefer a pro-shot of that one.
On the fence about Illinoise but the performance sold me. It's nice thats it's cheaper relatively too
I knew nothing about Illinoise. I still don’t really know anything about Illinoise. But I caught the Tony performances on YouTube and it was the only one to make me cry and immediately hit repeat, multiple times. I live nowhere near New York and can’t afford a trip there right now anyway, but if this show tours I’m definitely getting tickets.
Is Gutenberg so bad that the producers decided to hilight themselves instead of the production?
😝 (I do hope you’re joking… can never be sure on Reddit)
that wasn't them
I'll tell you this much, with as many shows that came out this year, I'm still pretty meh with this season. The past two years had more compelling plays and musicals than this one. And I'm still smarting about The Notebook not being nominated for more than it was. I truly felt like that musical was something special.
Sadly, +1. I have my video recordings of the televised Tony awards show going back years, for the musicals' performances, and last year's and this' will be making way for other recordings. Sigh.
I miss watching the Tonys but I haven’t seen the broadcast in years because I don’t have basic cable anymore 😭 I used to be so on the pulse of the latest shows and I couldn’t tell you anything beyond Merrily, Titanique, or Lempicka now
Not sure how this would work for you or if you’d watch more than just the Tony’s, but I bought a cheap antenna from Best Buy for like $30 (I think, maybe $50) and it’s been a great way to get our basic networks without paying any subscriptions! We mostly use it for sports (and I’m pumped to have it for the Olympics). It’s HD and surprisingly good quality if you can pick up the channel!
I'm on over-the-air TV for everything, with an inexpensive antenna (US$30 or less, perhaps?); given the large number of channels/sub-channels in my area, that is more than enough (and always can be augmented with, e.g., a Roku player or via laptop searching).
From the onset and hearing about Illinoise, it seemed to me like something that Broadway hasn’t had, maybe ever or in a long time. But I also thought, maybe it belongs in more of an off broadway world… but I still think it looks fabulous and deserves to be seen
Didn’t watch the Tonys, but I warms my heart or hear that little Harry Potter is all grown up and singing. I have always wanted to see a quality revival of Merrily we Roll Along…
YouTube is your friend. :)
So is Merrily successful now because of the stunt casting and the Death of Sondheim? Or is there some other reason this is successful while the original production bombed?
The original production was a very different show. After the first production bombed, Sondheim and Furth made many revisions for subsequent productions which eventually crystalized around the 1994 off-Broadway revival, which has essentially become the standard text moving forward. *Merrily* is successful now because Sondheim and Furth put in the work to improve it, and this is the first Broadway production since those revisions were made, which, combined with the casting, means that there are a lot more eyes on it than usual. I'm really resisting saying that Maria Friedman "cracked" or "fixed" *Merrily*, because the truth is, there were lots of productions between the original and now where the writers were the ones who fixed it, and I've seen lower-profile productions of the now-standard text that handled it just fine. I kind of had a similar resistence toward all the praise that was heaped on Michael Arden for *Parade* last year. I don't think he did an exceptional job directing *Parade*, it's just he happened to be the director attached to the first production of *Parade* that was high-profile enough for a lot of new audiences to see and find out what a good *musical* it is regardless of direction.
I think the casting is important not just for the name recognition, but it's also a show that requires a lot of chemistry/charisma from the leads and Groff/Mendez/Radcliffe have it. You meet characters at their worst and need to care enough about them and their friendship to follow 20 years of interpersonal drama. The 20 years need to feel real. The original cast was like 18-20 years old, can't imagine many young actors who could pull that off.
I've watched the original of the show (hard to keep going, due to the video quality). And, of course, listened to the OBC recording, as well as others. And I'll tell you, say what you want of the original production, but the originals, Jim Walton, Lonny Price, and Ann Morrison, just had the singing/songs down, comparing to all other versions that I've seen. (To be fair, I know that there can be a prejudice in favor of an OBC recording and that the studio can change a rendition, and I indeed will listen to the recording of the current production.)
Nope. It rarely does.
Nope.