The excitement had been building for weeks. Rentals of black ties were exhausted. Harry Winston and Tiffany's raided their vaults for diamond loan-outs. Designers put finishing touches on gowns. Champagne was being iced all over town. At Radio City Music Hall, from the moment the doors were sealed shut, anticipation bubbled. Yes, of course, it was the American Theatre Wing's 63rd Annual Tony Awards®, broadcast live over three tight hours by CBS. And, for the first time, the entire awards ceremony was simulcast on the giant outdoor Clear Channel Spectacolor screen in Times Square.
By the time the evening was over, Billy Elliot, The Musical had earned 10 Tony Awards, including Best Musical. The three actors who play the title character -- David Alvarez, Trent Kowalik, and Kiril Kulish -- shared the Tony for Best Actor in a Musical, and their cast-mate Gregory Jbara won as Best Featured Actor in a Musical. Other big winners included Yasmina Reza's God of Carnage -- Best Play, Best Direction of a Play (Matthew Warchus), and Best Actress in a Play (Marcia Gay Harden); Hair -- Best Revival of a Musical; and the Alan Ayckbourn trilogy The Norman Conquests as Best Revival of a Play. Next to Normal picked up three Tonys, including one for leading lady Alice Ripley as Best Actress in a Musical.
Angela Lansbury won her fifth Tony Award, tying Julie Harris as the individual to win the most Tonys in acting categories, for her portrayal of the batty Madame Arcati in Blithe Spirit. The other acting awards went to Geoffrey Rush (Exit the King), Karen Olivo (Anita in the West Side Story revival), and Roger Robinson (Joe Turner's Come and Gone).
The Opening Number
Nerves were at a breaking point as Broadway's main event began. The audience hadn't seen anything yet. At 8:00 p.m. sharp, the "entertainment" portion of the program and the awarding of major awards began with a whopper of an 11-minute, showstopping showstopper production number choreographed by Rob Ashford. Telecast director Glenn Weiss earlier saluted Ashford as one of the best decisions he had made. The number was proof. It was a knockout that had the audience very close to pandemonium.
The three Billys -- Alvarez, Kowalik, and Kulish -- performed "Electricity" from Billy Elliot, along with composer Elton John at the piano. The sequence ended with Kowalik in a flying spin into the flies. Then came the gangs from West Side Story: the Jets and the Sharks singing of a rumble "Tonight." They were joined by Craig Bierko and an ensemble from Guys and Dolls singing "Luck Be a Lady Tonight." Next up in the opening medley was the Rock of Ages company joined by '80s rock band Poison in a rousing "Nothin' But a Good Time." In an interesting segue were cameos by Leading Actress in a Musical nominee Stockard Channing and Aaron Tveit singing snippets from her Pal Joey ("Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered") and his Next to Normal ("I'm Alive"). Enter Shrek The Musical nominees Brian d'Arcy James and Sutton Foster and company letting their "Freak Flag" fly.
The fever pitch excitement continued with Dolly Parton's entrance to a thunderous ovation and her rendition of the title tune from her 9 to 5 : The Musical with nominee Allison Janney, Stephanie J. Block and Megan Hilty. How do you top an over-the-top moment? Why, bring on Liza, who brought down what was left of the huge house with "And the World Goes 'Round" from her nominated (Best Special Theatrical Event), Liza's at The Palace. Then the Tonys "Let the Sun Shine In" as nominees Gavin Creel and Will Swenson and company presented a more-than-spirited, audience-involving version of the Hair classic.
The Host with the Most
"It's Show Time!" was the Tony theme this year, and Neil Patrick Harris guided the proceedings along. He was smart enough not to try to fill "bigger shoes," his earlier reference to such Tony hosts as Hugh Jackman and Whoopi Goldberg. Harris exhibited a great deal of charm and wicked wit - especially in references to Poison band member and "head banger" Bret Michaels and Leading Actor in a Musical nominee, Constantine Maroulis of "American Idol" fame and now Rock of Ages.
Other highlights: his mercury poisoning/sushi jokes regarding an unnamed Jeremy Piven, formerly of Speed-the-Plow, and his suggestion that Broadway adopt an old movie gimmick, Smell-O-Vision. He pulled out a scratch card and sampled a scent from Mary Poppins, but decided not to scratch Billy Elliot.
Harris had a bit of competition in the humor department as the proceedings neared the second hour: a not-so-shy Frank Langella reminded the Tony nominating committee that he was on Broadway this season for four sold-out months in the revival of A Man for All Seasons, and that somehow they seemed to have missed his performance.
More Musical Performances Than Ever
But, getting back into the time line, the promise of "more music, more stars" wasn't an empty one. Music and stars were crammed into the first hour and continued non-stop with numbers from current Broadway and touring shows Mamma Mia!, Legally Blonde and Jersey Boys, the latter showcasing the Frankie Vallis from Broadway, Las Vegas, Chicago, Toronto, and the national touring company.
Three of the first hour's highlights from nominated musicals were Featured Actor in a Musical nominee Christopher Sieber, introduced by co-stars Brian d'Arcy James, Sutton Foster, and Daniel Breaker, shrunk in stature and wowing the audience with Shrek The Musical's "What's Up Duloc?"; Jerome Robbins' stunning choreography from West Side Story with the company performing "Dance at the Gym," featuring nominees Josefina Scaglione and Karen Olivo with Cody Green and George Akram, followed by a poignant moment with Scaglione and Matt Cavenaugh singing "Tonight"; and a Rock of Ages company medley of "Paradise," "I Want to Rock" and "Don't Stop Believing" featuring nominee Constantine Maroulis and the hilarious Mitchell Jarvis, who delighted in taunting Liza with a Z seated in the front row.
The production numbers continued with the rousing "Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat" from the Guys and Dolls revival, featuring Tituss Burgess, Kate Jennings Grant and belter Mary Testa; and nominees Alice Ripley and J. Robert Spencer with Aaron Tveit from Next to Normal, performing a medley of "You Don't Know" and "I Am the One."
The cast of Hair, especially Will Swenson and Gavin Creel, were certainly not shy as they sang their title song and then rampaged into the audience with the uninhibited exuberance they exhibit at every performance. How sweet it was that moments after the number, the show won for Best Revival.
Another socko number was the Billy Elliot, The Musical company performing their bitter political protest against the British government, "Angry Dance," with jaw-dropping dancing from Kowalik.
In the "more stars" category, there was a generous roster of A-list stars on the program with enough smiles to boost Con Ed's output for the long, hot summer. Appearing and presenting were Lucie Arnaz, Kate Burton, Kristin Chenoweth, Jeff Daniels, Hope Davis, Edie Falco, Will Ferrell, Carrie Fisher (who, as she described Best Musical nominee Next to Normal as the story of a woman's struggle with manic depression and the toll it takes on her family, did a flawless, telling double take -- a silent reference to her own struggle and family), Jane Fonda, Hallie Foote, James Gandolfini, Gina Gershon, Lauren Graham, Marcia Gay Harden, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Lange, Langella, Angela Lansbury, Audra McDonald, David Hyde Pierce (who was introduced by Harris as "coming out for the second time this month"), Oliver Platt, Susan Sarandon, Chandra Wilson, and John Stamos, who was wildly received by his female fans.
Acceptance Speeches to Remember
One of the most poignant moments in the show was when the literally speechless Billys received a standing ovation for their historic win as Leading Actor in a Musical, the first time three actors have shared a Tony Award for the same role. They had a lot of people to thank, but it took a moment for the shock to subdue enough for them to do so. They paid tribute to their teachers and, in words of encouragement from Kulish, "to all the kids out there who might want to dance, never give up!"
Also, at the top of the list had to be Ms. Lansbury's acceptance of the Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play Tony for her Madame Arcati in Blithe Spirit; Featured Actor in a Musical Gregory Jbara bringing his wife onstage to share his moment and to speak of the sacrifice she made for him to come back to New York and Broadway from the West Coast; Karen Olivo's emotional acceptance of her Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical Tony for her Anita in West Side Story; Liza's breathless acceptance for Best Special Theatrical Event; and the In Memoriam remembrance, introduced by Bebe Neuwirth, of the Broadway community giants who passed in the last year.
Hard to beat and certainly memorable was Next to Normal's Alice Ripley, who said that "to accept this award is just beyond my wildest dreams." She remembered JFK and quoted him: "I am certain, after the dust of centuries has passed over our cities, we, too, will be remembered not for our victories or defeats in battle or in politics, but for our contribution to the human spirit." She observed, "He's talking about art . Musical theater is a fine art and so it needs constant adjusting and constant tuning." With that, she saluted the show's writers, Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey.
Ms. Lansbury, introducing the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement honoree Jerry Herman, described him as a friend and "a man never afraid to say, 'I am what I am.'" In his remarks, Herman said, "It just does not get any better than this, does it? Did you know that I was born on 50th Street and that Mom thought there was something special about the fact that her hospital window had a great view of the Winter Garden marquee? Well, here I am, 77 years later still on 50th Street!"
He said his journey to "this ultimate moment of my life
on this iconic stage has been filled with so much joy, excitement and laughter and lifelong friendships that the only way I know how to say thank you to the hundreds of thousands of the people who helped get me here is to say one enormous, heartfelt thank-you to every soul who has touched my life in the musical theater."
A Grand Finale
CBS very kindly allowed the telecast to run four plus minutes over the prescribed three hours. And thank you, CBS, because otherwise TV audiences would have missed one of the supreme highlights of the show, and perhaps the best Tony finale in many a year, when Neil Patrick Harris performed his "11 o'clock" number, "Tonight" with special lyrics (and double entendres and witty snarks). "Elton's Billy was all the rage!," Harris sang. "What class, what drive now Angela won five and she hooked up with Poison backstage. With heels as sore as poor Achilles, three tutu-wearing Billys were such a winning sight. Tonight, all three won Tonys, plus they hit puberty. I hope tonight, when they're high as a kite, to be there when the Hair cast disrobes This show could not be any gayer if Liza was named mayor and Elton John took flight."
In the hour before the national telecast, hosts Laura Benanti and Brian Stokes Mitchell presented 11 Creative Arts Tony Awards (Book, Orchestrations, Choreography, and the Costume, Lighting, Scenic, and Sound Design awards for Play and Musical). They bestowed the first Isabelle Stevenson Award -- named after the late, longtime Wing president -- on Phyllis Newman. Veteran press agent Shirley Herz received a Tony Honor for Excellence in the Theater, and the Regional Theater Award went to Arlington, VA's Signature Theater, along with a $25,000 grant from Visa, USA.
Though this portion of the show wasn't telecast on CBS, it was webcast at TonyAwards.com and, for the first time ever, simulcast live in Times Square on the jumbo ClearChannel Spectacolor HD Screen.
