SPOTLIGHT ON THE 2011 TONY AWARDS: DAY 13 - John Lithgow & SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS

As a super-special Spring extension of BroadwayWorld's SOUND OFF column, every day until the Tony Awards on June 12 we will be presenting a spectacular new entry in the SPOTLIGHT ON THE 2011 TONY AWARDS series featuring a particularly entertaining, interesting, relevant and exciting Tony Awards-related clip from the last sixty-three years of the ceremonies (and subsequent seasons on Broadway) with a rundown and commentary on the sights, sounds and showmanship on display in each carefully chosen selection - all, of course, coming in anticipation of Broadway's biggest night, which will be broadcast on CBS this year, as always. Once again this year, BroadwayWorld is the official home of the 2011 Tony Awards and we will also be featuring exclusive interviews, articles, photos, video content, interactive features and more in the coming days and weeks leading up to the event so be sure to check back daily for your theatre fix!

Today, we are setting our sights on one of the lesser-known shows from recent years that came from some seriously impressively pedigreed names - Marvin Hamlisch, Craig Carnelia, John Guare, Nicholas Hytner among them - as well as the impossibly talented cast onstage - namely: Brian D'Arcy James in his first lead role, alongside Kelli O'Hara in her first creation of a lead role, as well as, of course, John Lithgow in his unforgettable, Tony-winning performance as J.J. Hunsecker. The show I am speaking of also possesses one of the richest, most varied and unique scores on Broadway in the twenty-first century, including some stunning character numbers such as "At The Fountain", "Rita's Tune" and "For Susan", in addition to sizzling nightclub set-pieces like "I Cannot Hear The City" and "One Track Mind", as well as the truly stunning sequences employing dialogue, song, chorus, recitative, dance, choreography and stunts - like "Welcome To The Night", and the subject of today's Tony clip: "Dirt", the second act showstopper the show performed at that year's Tony Awards. Have you guessed the show yet? Can you spot the source? Well, did you read today's title?! SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS!

Don't Know Where You Leave Off

Some shows are ahead of their time. For example, last week in this column we discussed Stephen Sondheim's musical FOLLIES in honor of the currently-running revival in Washington, D.C. at the Kennedy Center, a show that had a similar fate to that of SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS - for many of the same reasons (read: audience's expectations not being met), thirty years before. Both shows have absolutely magnificent scores with truly moving and powerful music - but, at the same time, both shows are marred by books that try to do too much and succeed in doing too little at the same time. The book has to sing - and these books are, at best, marble-mouthed, and, at worst, mute. But, the characters and their tics - and, eventual actions - certainly fill in a lot of the blanks in the storytelling. J.J. Hunsecker is a character unlike many we see these days on Broadway - a truly commanding presence that makes the Phantom of THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA look relatively meek and mild by comparison - and John Lithgow was, in a word, stupendous, in the role. Yes, indeed, SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS was a down and dirty show with lots of unlikable characters doing heinous and, sometimes, just plain, outright mean things to each other - as today's Tony performance number, "Dirt", so expertly illustrates - so, if you can't take your Broadway musicals black as the night or a cup of NYC coffee, then best to stick with what is more palatable to your taste. If SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS had a flavor it would probably be lemon - or poison. Arsenic. It's a tough show - but, oh, what twists in the quite compelling story (thanks to Clifford Odets), thanks in no small part to the intriguing structure and expositional style (a credit to the true collaborative nature of the sound and style of the show all seeming as one). And, what detail on display! Sure, it had big flaws, but, at least I was willing to overlook them because the performances were so strong, some of the stage images were so striking, the choreography was sexy and oh-so idiosyncratic and the show had serious style to spare. See a bit of why I'm raving here for a mere taste of SWEET SMELL OFF SUCCESS and then go pick up the cast album. Bet on it.

Here is the original Broadway cast of SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS performing "Dirt", as introduced by Gregory Hines, at the 56th Annual Tony Awards.

Also, check out this bonus performance of Brian D'Arcy James performing his "I Want" establishing song from the show, "At The Fountain", on THE ROSIE O'DONNELL SHOW that same season.

Sometimes, just winning one Tony in a significant category - such as Lead Actor - is an acknowledgment of the valuable and memorable aspects of otherwise troubled productions and I hope to see a repeat of that Tony Awards tradition this season, given the shows we've had that were unfairly dismissed (and, there have been a few).

That's all for today. Be sure to stay tuned to BroadwayWorld for all things Tony Awards and subscribe to this column to be the very first to check out the clips, commentary and take part in the conversation in our deluxe toast to the one and only Antoinette Perry every day until June 12 - and, especially, on that day! Until then…

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