The TONYs

I watched the TONY awards with my wife last night. I just wanted to get a few things down regarding the show.

First of all, Neil Patrick Harris did a great job as the host. There were a few good jokes that were delivered well. The end of the show song was great. It was well performed and the perfect end to the program. My wife thought a few jokes were harsh, but my sense of humor was greatly appreciative.

In my opinion, the addition of the touring companies performing was kind of a slap in the face. There is a lot of great theater happening in NYC and beyond, but they felt the need to promote old Broadway shows that will more than likely do fine in the towns they travel to. The commercial was unnecessary.

The "Creative" awards were given the shaft again this year, but I felt they did even more this year than usual. Every time someone comes back from a Broadway musical I get a quick synopsis of the show, a quick note on their opinion of the performance, and then I get a lengthy description of the special effects, costumes, makeup and scenery. So, why would we want to show our thanks to those that created the story and designed the effects?!?!?!

A few technical issues came up during the show. The sound department had a rough show. Mics were muted a few times, off stage mics picked up backstage and audience noise, there were some monitor troubles, and the prerecorded shows were not mixed very well. Bret Michaels also had a bit of a rude awakening. He was late on a cue, turned around and walked right into a piece of scenery that was flying in. It looked like he was trying to jump up onto a platform and his hat blocked his view from the wall coming down. It caught him right in the face and he went down.
I also noticed that the 'Frankie' from the NY production of "Jersey Boys" moved downstage early because the lights did not go with him when he moved.

As always the performances were good. The lighting was really well put together, and it was nice to see humble performers receive well deserved accolades. I just wish they would give the technicians and playwrights the attention they deserve.