TONYS -- NPH ratings?

[defyinggravity2]

Posted: 6/12/12 at 8:30am

How would you guys rate Neil Patrick Harris's performance at the Tonys? I would give him a 7.5, seeing as though some of his jokes were just awful, but some were hilarious. Especially "The ExorciSisteract".

[hermajesty]

Posted: 6/12/12 at 8:34am

I thought he was brilliant and very funny in the time he had to do those lines

[JamesBroadwayWiner]

Posted: 6/12/12 at 8:48am

I think he is awesome!

[yankeefan7]

Posted: 6/12/12 at 8:58am

I think his act has gotten old as I have stated in another post. As for jokes, I would think they are written for him since I doubt he is a comedy writer. BTW - have loved him in all of his comedy series shows.

[rjm516]

Posted: 6/12/12 at 9:03am

They need a new host for a few years, or a few different hosts, and then NPH can do it again once everyone forgets the bad times and only remembers the good.

[WestVillage]

Posted: 6/12/12 at 9:08am

I thought he was terrible. Everything was "aren't I clever, aren't I funny". He came off as incredibly full of himself. Not an ounce of class.

[Playbilly]

Posted: 6/12/12 at 10:05am

He's become Billy Crystal of the Tonys. Not a compliment

[aasjb4ever]

Posted: 6/12/12 at 10:12am

I LOVE Billy Crystal. I hate NPH. He’s just clinging to the caricature the Harold and Kumar writers came up with.

[hyperbole_and_a_half]

Posted: 6/12/12 at 10:32am

Terrible, just terrible.

[JohnyBroadway]

Posted: 6/12/12 at 10:58am

Loved NPH both years. I Thought he was fabulous, hilarious, and had great comical timing. I found his opening to be one of the best, and I thought it ran smoother than other years as a whole, but it's time to pass it on to some one else. what about James Marsden or Bette Middler. Also Can Patti Lupone come out with a lawn mower every year.

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 6/12/12 at 12:24pm

He looked overtaxed and lonely. He needs a sparky cohost.

[goldenboy]

Posted: 6/12/12 at 7:03pm

Overtaxed and lonely says it best.
It takes two...

I enjoyed him the first two times but like movie sequels, (as he even pointed out)
he's gotten tired.

Ideas for next year? James Corden? Ricky Martin? Nathan Lane and someone to play off of, Linda Lavin, others???

[ucjrdude902]

Posted: 6/12/12 at 7:04pm

Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Sofia Vagara OR Chris Rock.

[Idiot]

Posted: 6/12/12 at 8:10pm

I'm vexed by the polar opposite responses here. I thought he was wonderful, as usual.

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 6/12/12 at 8:15pm

I thought he was fine, as always, but the material written for him by no means compared with what he did last year. It looked to me like he owed somebody at CBS a favor.

[jasonf]

Posted: 6/12/12 at 8:18pm

I thought he was great. The musical medley in the middle of the show was sheer genius.

[sally1112]

Posted: 6/12/12 at 8:22pm

I have to agree with the he was wonderful camp.

[mamaleh]

Posted: 6/12/12 at 9:26pm

Harris' aging adolescent shtick is well past its expiration date. Bring back Hugh Jackman for the optimal mix of charm, talent and warmth. Or if he's not available, what about James Corden or a similar powerhouse personality. Hmmm--how would Patti LuPone do as host? Well, I think.

[alterego]

Posted: 6/13/12 at 1:28am

I thought him excellent. I don't ever want to see Jackman host the Tonys again.

[Overkill]

Posted: 6/13/12 at 1:34am

He was great, but it's definitely time for a new host. I feel like we've seen all that he can do as a host now, after hosting 3 times and hosting the Emmy's as well.

I'd love to see Nathan Lane and Martin Short, but that's just a pipe dream.

[AADA81]

Posted: 6/13/12 at 2:40am

I find his smug "aren't-I-just-the-greatest" shtick tiresome and off-putting. There is not an ounce of warmth or class in this guy....just empty show-biz narcissism. I like it when the host at least has some sincere love of the theater that comes through. NPH has some sincere love....but it's for himself, which ain't exactly a thrill.

[best12bars]

Posted: 6/13/12 at 7:45am

I thought he was terrific.

If the ratings were low, blame it on the continuing shift of taste in American pop culture.

The Tonys celebrate Broadway. Not all theatre, not even all New York theatre. Its appeal is shrinking as younger audiences care less about anything that isn't part of their everyday lives. They aren't exposed to it on a regular basis (no Ed Sullivan Show now, or even anyone who remembers the Ed Sullivan Show).

That's why they've started featuring musical numbers from older established shows like Mamma Mia! on tour or Hairspray on a cruise ship. Because by now, those shows have reached wider audiences across the country via their movie adaptations, tours, and regional productions. But I still don't think it's working.

Broadway will always have a dedicated audience, and it will always be a major reason for tourists to visit NY ... but it's not going to have the mass audience appeal that the even Oscars, Grammys or Emmys have (and their audiences have been declining as well). The Tonys don't celebrate all movies, all recorded music, or all television in any given year, the way the other awards shows do.

So scrambling to find the perfect host, as if that's the issue, won't help. Neal was great. One of the best Tony hosts they've ever had, which is why he's been brought back repeatedly.

They are just fighting the YouTube generation now who would rather watch themselves (or people like themselves) on TV than watch a niche group of celebrities congratulate each other on a job well done. And it's a job they will most likely never see, hear, or experience, so it means very little to them.

Updated On: 6/13/12 at 07:45 AM

[PalJoey]

Posted: 6/13/12 at 7:50am

Loved him, but he was destroyed by the bad, formulaic material this year.

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 6/13/12 at 3:39pm

As so often happens, I agree with best12 and joey. Watching the show was like watching paint dry, but it wasn't because Harris was emcee.

And for the record, I don't think NPH's schtick is narcissistic or intended to say, "Look how great I am." What he does on his TV show and when hosting is poke fun at all the posturing that young straight guys do with their "dudes" and "awesomes" and "BTWs".

Heterosexuality in our culture is as much a performance as the most flamboyant drag queen who ever lived. Harris understands that and has built a comic persona lampooning the games straight people play.

Anyone has a right to tire of a performer and, myself, I thought it was too soon to come back and host, simply because Harris was competing with the brilliant numbers he did last year. But unless you know him personally, I don't understand the insistence that Harris is so conceited; the phony confidence of traditional masculinity is what he is mocking. What he's like as a person I don't know, but he seems reasonably down-to-earth for someone who's been a millionaire since he was a teenager.

[Playbilly]

Posted: 6/13/12 at 3:46pm

Gaveston. I'll be devil's advocate. Are you saying he's doing his "heterosexual poking" shtick AS he's hosting the Tonys? Hmmm...then that's worse. He can't host as NPH, he has to always be "on"?

Performing "the phony confidence of traditional masculinity" Isn't that usually called "straught acting"? But when it's done by someone who's out then it's OK?

I wish he had taken a year off, as well.