Rate the 2019 Tony Performances

[bdn223]

Posted: 6/10/19 at 11:27am

I am amazed no one has created this yet so I guess Ill be the first:

Ain't To Proud-B+ It did what it needed to do, and felt really fun. I honestly think the best part was then they lifted the rear wall to reveal the band. I honestly didn't think the show was that big, and it was definitely very eye popping with the entire cast and band wearing the White on Black attire.

Beetlejuice-A-- :I was honestly surprised how much I liked this. When I saw the costumes backstage during the tease I was really dreading seeing them do the "The Whole Being Dead Thing", as it didn't come off well on The Today show. The lead in they did with Day-O/The Banana Song being cut off by Beetlejuice, actually worked. I wished his initial lines were a little more self referential about choosing to start the performance with a song from the movie,  but the number surprisingly worked.  I especially loved that they were able to squeeze in the shrunken head and football player. Do I wished they performed one of the more special effects driven numbers? Probably, but the cost to rebuild their set, probably wouldn't have been worth it.

 

Tootsie- B: A solid performance, but it felt very generic. Going into the night, producers and Scott Ellis knew that they were likely only walking away with Best Actor and Best Book, and although Unstoppable, does showcase Santino Fontana, it didn't sell his performance, other then your standard power ballad and gives off "I'm a Man in a Dress" gag the show goes out of its way to avoid. Scott Ellis mentioned they were initially going to do Dorothy's audition/ I won't Let You Down but was afraid the TV audience wouldn't be emotionally invested enough to enjoy the number. I wished they kept it, but the number was solid, but not spectacular.

Oklahoma- C- This one gave me a mixed reaction. It definitely showed off Ali Stroker, who just from the show's tonight show performance, I thought was destined from Tony glory. It was when the perfromcne transitioned to its title song, this felt a bit muddled. The show tried to follow in the footsteps of Great Comet and Once on This Island, which both successfully used the immersive production, whether it be a theater in the round production, or audience on stage, to their advantage in the telecast. As they only had 1.5 rows of people behind the cast the faces of the audience became much of a distraction then a way to sell the feel of the show. You could see the audience on stage mugging for the camera, and as it wasn't a sea of faces, it was obvious. Also I was very confused by the shaking of the beer then spraying it on the audience. I understood the metaphor or the "This Oklahoma F*&&**s", and it was meant to be a release of the tension, but it should of been opened and directly sprayed the camera at the climax, instead of him opening the can on the audience the spraying it on them before throwing the empty can at the camera man. 

The Prom- A : The Best performance of the night, and really made me want to by tickets. Although a generic ensemble number, the performance made the show feel like a party I wanted to attend.

Kiss Me Kate B-: A solid dance number, but like most dance numbers that are televised, it fell a little flat and I got bored halfway through. 

Hadestown: B-: It was just ok. It was a good medley, but the staging felt a little off. In terms of staging, I know building a stairwell is expensive, but it really helps sell the power dynamic Hades has. Having him simply stand of the stage with Persephone, just felt weird. I also really didn't like how they ended the number. For a show that is all about the music, I wished they ended with a "wall of sound" money note instead of a whimper of a coda with Orpheus running around the stage, just felt like a awkward sigh. It If it ended with "I'm Coming" then cut to black, it would of worked much better in my opinion.

Cher Show: F: My mother immediately asked if  Stephanie J Block was a drag queen, as it felt as if she was doing a bad impersonation. It just didn't work, and felt like a bad drag show. My mother literally went from saying before the number started, "Have you gotten me tickets to this yet?" to "Never mind, it must be a really weak year for Best Actress". 
Choir Boy: D When it started my mother's ears perked up, and asked "What show is this?" I told her Choir Boy, and said it already closed. Then about 3/4 of the way through she said, "I see why, I got bored after 2 minutes, I can't imagine sitting through entire show like this." I think this number could of been better, but it needed a lot more camera rehearsal. I am sure the number went over well in the theater as krumping is a very powerful style of dance, especially in terms of acoustics. That sound doesn't travel well through TV, and so they needed to try and find another way to transmit that power to audiences watching at home. Also the full stage shots didn't just made the performance feel repetitive and boring, which I am sure is not the case when watching the performance in person. It just felt like a missed opportunity. 

If I were to rank them in order I'd say:

The Prom

1. Beetlejuice
2. Ain't To Proud
3. Tootsie
4. Kiss Me Kate
5. Hadestown
6. Oklahoma
7. Choir Boy
8. Cher Show

 

Updated On: 6/10/19 at 11:27 AM

[songanddanceman2]

Posted: 6/10/19 at 12:50pm

Ain't Too Proud - B
Started shakey but came in to its own and had me impressed by the leads.

Beetlejuice - A+
All the negative I hear about this show and yet I enjoyed most of the cast recording and this performance knocked it out of the park. They also felt like the ones who knew how to do a number for TV.

Tootsie - B-
It was fine, the song is fine, the staging fine, it was fine.

Oklahoma - A-
I loved this, im so over this musical but I loved this, Ali did brilliant.

The Prom - A-
Such a fun number, it looks like a good old fashioned musical comedy mixed with a big heart and a lot of energy.

Kiss me Kate - C
Great chorography but adds nothing new to the multiple productions of it done before. I see why Oklahoma won.

Hadestown - B -
Luckily I've seen the show, but to a regular TV viewer, they must have been confused as hell. Great song, great performances, bad for the Tony performance.

The Cher Show -F
Just awful, awful awful. This show just looks tacky in the worst way and that performance just died a death.

Choir Boy - C
Great play, but for the Tony awards this did nothing.

Beetlejuice EASILY came out on top for me.

[Rogerdellibovi]

Posted: 6/10/19 at 1:16pm

Ranked:
Ain’t Too Proud- AMAZING. Definetly sold a lot of tickets for the show
Choir Boy- I really liked it and it was original
Oklahoma- not sure why people are hating on this. Ali Stroker tore down the house and I liked the dark energy it had
The Prom- simply delightful. I love the transition between the two songs
Hadestown- they chose the wrong song. Featuring the one non-nominated actor doesn’t make sense to me and the camera can’t capture what Wait For Me really is
Beetlejuice- I do not understand the beetlejuice hype. Alex Brightman’s voice in this is cool but I would not want to listen to it for more than 3 minutes
The Cher Show- not great, but SJB looked amazing and all the costumes were on point
Kiss Me Kate- really no Kelli?? Choreography was good but Ain’t Too Proud’s and The Prom’s we’re better
Tootsie- it was fine but not featuring Lilli Cooper or Sarah Stiles (I get there not in this song but they could have been in the ensemble)? And the costumes looked awful

[BroadwayLuv2]

Posted: 6/10/19 at 1:28pm

The Prom was my fav!  THey picked the 2 catchiest songs in the show Loved it!

The Cher Show was HORRENDOUS.  It was embarrassing. SJB came off like a bad Cher impersonator.   Michaela Diamond is the best of the 3 so it's too bad she wasn't given much time to shine. 

[ACL2006]

Posted: 6/10/19 at 1:35pm

My rankings.

1. Beetlejuice
2. Hadestown
3. Ain't Too Proud
4. Kiss Me, Kate
5. The Prom
6. Choir Boy
7. The Cher Show
8. Oklahoma
9. Tootsie

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 6/10/19 at 1:40pm

The Prom actually managed to pull of a medley, which so many shows fail to do. (Oklahoma! didn't fare well putting those two numbers together.) They chose numbers with high energy, too, and I thought it translated really well onscreen. 

[Wick3]

Posted: 6/10/19 at 2:10pm

I have a friend from FL visiting me in 2 weeks here in NYC and the only show he got tix for before the Tony's was Hadestown (whew!). After watching the Tony numbers, he bought tickets to see The Prom and Beetlejuice. 

[dramamama611]

Posted: 6/10/19 at 2:22pm

The Prom: B-, WAY too frantic - which is kind of what I thought watching the show itself, re-watching the clip today, I thought of  it as edgier High School Musical. 

Beetlejuice: B+, I enjoyed it more than I did the actual show

Ain't To Proud: B, but I still don't care to see it.

Tootsie: C, It felt FAR too old fashioned and simple.

Kiss Me Kate: B+, It's a great number.  I really did expect them to win choreo.

Hadestown: B+, As much as I love the show, I think they showcased the wrong thing.

Oklahoma - B+, I think the filming hurt it a lot, but I'm looking forward to seeing in 2 weeks.

Choir Boy - B+, Thought it was wonderful, but don't know if it would have had been buying tickets. (A moot point, of course.)

Cher Show-C-, Not impressed.

Updated On: 6/10/19 at 02:22 PM

[Pose2]

Posted: 6/10/19 at 2:24pm

Beetlejuice and Choir Boy were both amazing and entertaining. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Everyone else. 

[bearhorn]

Posted: 6/10/19 at 2:48pm

My thoughts & ratings:

Oklahoma: A-
Loved Ali Stroker's "Cain't Say No".  She's just terrific and brings such joy to the show. "Oklahoma" was good, but not sure they needed to demonstrate the "immersive" feel of the show for this telecast as it detracted from the talented cast.

Ain't Too Proud: B+ 
Good performance that neither helped or hurt sales.  This will continue to sell well.

The Prom: B+ 
I really had absolutely no interest in this show, but frankly enjoyed what I saw.  I hope this performance helps turn the boat around for them.

Hadestown:  B
Easily my favorite song from my favorite show this season - but I don't think it translated as well as it could when out of context.  Somewhat disappointed here. It deserved its Tony wins & I really wish the audience could have seen why.

Kiss me Kate: B-
Terrific choreography but still didn't make me want to see the show.

Beetlejuice:  C+ 
It faired far better than I expected, but still not sure if this show appeals to anyone over 12.

Choir Boy: C+
I was disappointed I missed this play.  Their performance was interesting, but not sure it told me why the play received stellar reviews. 

Tootsie: C 
I wasn't a huge fan of the show when I saw it.  Maybe my expectations were too high?  The Tony performance, however, simply confirmed how bland the show really is. 

The Cher Show: D
Though nothing special, I had a fun time at this show.  This performance, however, did not feel fun at all.  I just kept shaking my head and wondering what happened.  SJB (who's amazing) seemed so flat. A real lost opportunity here.

Updated On: 6/10/19 at 02:48 PM

[JudyDenmark]

Posted: 6/10/19 at 2:53pm

Ain't Too Proud - A 
I think this was my favorite performance of the night... they did exactly what they needed to do to show off the energy of the show, and it was a visceral reminder of how much fun I had seeing it, especially that great finale with the whole cast & band. And what a pleasure to be able to hear the actual cast instead of the obnoxious audience members singing along around me! 

The Prom - A-
I thought it came off as high-energy and fun, and I'm SO glad that Brooks got to do a little bit, but I will forever scratch my head at why this marketing team continues to ignore the part of the show that makes it unique and hilarious, namely the four obnoxious Broadway stars. It's the Tonys! Use the theatre jokes! I've been using my parents as a gauge, because they see a lot of shows on tour (and what I take them to in NYC), but don't follow anything online, and they said that this performance was fine but generic. Sigh. It's so not a generic show and I wish they would embrace that.

Choir Boy - A- performance; F for sound design!
What a joke that this show had just won the Tony for sound design and then had to perform with such an out of whack board. They're such talented guys... I just wish the blend had been so much better here. But it was a nice memory of how good the play was, so yay. 

Beetlejuice - B+
Thought it was a solid performance, and I like the lyric changes they made, but I just don't love Brightman's performance in the show, so it is what it is. Rooting for it to sell a bunch of tickets, though, since I genuinely enjoyed the show as a whole when I saw it. Caruso & Kritzer steal it. 

Hadestown - B
I have mixed feelings, because I LOVE this show and I'm so thrilled that it won everything it did, and I really love Wait For Me and appreciate the creative choice to do something unique with Hermes... but unfortunately I think Reeve Carney is by far the weakest link in the production, so it was a little bit of a bummer to have such a focus on him with no performance at all from Eurydice/Hades/Persephone who I think are exceptional. I hate saying that, but yeah. I just don't really get his performance, so selfishly I wish there was something different to replay ad nauseam on YouTube, haha.

Kiss Me Kate - B
Solid dance number, exactly what was expected.

Oklahoma - C+
I absolutely loved the actual production, but what made it so effective to me was the intimacy and "realness" about it in CITS. There was no way to translate this to Radio City, so they did they best they could (and I'm thrilled that Ali Stroker got to perform), but I knew this was going to fall flat out of context and it did.

Tootsie - C
I really enjoyed this overall show, but it's about the witty book and quirky characters, and I don't think this worked very well out of context. The songs are just not the highlight of the show. 

Cher Show - D
Oh boy. 

 

 

[MCfan2]

Posted: 6/10/19 at 3:03pm

Best singing: Oklahoma
Best dancing: Ain't Too Proud, Kiss Me Kate 
Most visually stunning: Hadestown

That's about the best I can do. It seemed like every one had a different strength -- and unfortunately, as some have said, several performances seemed a little generic. (I have not seen any of these shows, so take this with the requisite grain of salt!)

[IdinaBellFoster]

Posted: 6/10/19 at 3:23pm

THE PROM - A+

The perfect medley. Everyone who I was watching with started to ask me about the show. This one sold some tickets.

OKLAHOMA - A

I would've liked more of a crowd, but I felt they captured the essence of the production. Stroker is a star, and I LOVED the camera moving in a circle around the entire cast. The close-ups at the end (particularity of Rebecca Naomi Jones) brought me right back the finale.

CHOIR BOY - A-

Sound was messed-up, but what a breath of fresh air during the telecast!

AIN'T TOO PROUD - A-

I have little interest in seeing this, but it was a slick performance - nicely staged with phenomenal vocals. 

KISS ME KATE - B+

I wish we could've heard Kelli sing, but this is the best number in the show.

HADESTOWN - B-

Boy was this the wrong choice. The staging is impressive, but at least do Wait for Me II so we can hear Eva (who is actually nominated). "Way Down in Hadestown" should have been their number. They're lucky they won.

TOOTSIE - C+

Santino is fabulous, but this number is one of the most bland in the show. He sells it, but it just came off as "meh".

THE CHER SHOW - C-

I get that they're trying to save money, but the stage just looked...empty? Stephanie J. Block killed it as always, but it would've made more sense for them to do "I Got You Babe" into "Believe".

BEETLEJUICE - F

Wow was this horrible. I liked the opening bit with the principals, but Alex Brightman is insufferable. The Michael Keaton Beetlejuice had this energy where you never knew if he was going to laugh or kill you - Brightman and the writer's characterization is basically the Genie from ALADDIN. Plus what a dreadful song. 

[thecometbringsnofear]

Posted: 6/10/19 at 3:26pm

1) Hadestown: A 

I am biased because I love the show, but I thought they did a great job. I liked that they did one full song, and got to show off some of the incredible staging. I do wish they did some of the parts of Wait for Me 2, just to showcase the other cast members. 

2) Beetlejuice: A 

This performance did the best job on selling me on wanting to see a show. This performance was fun, quirky, upbeat, and really sold me on the show. I liked that they included the visual elements like the snake. 

3) Oklahoma: B+ 

I was so glad they showcased Ali. She started singing and our entire party cheered. I liked that they sang the title song and it sounded great, although I think it was a little confusing out of context, and I'm not sure the transition worked. 

4) Ain't Too Proud: B 

This wasn't a show I knew that much about, but I really liked this performance. They really showcased their dance which was fun to see. Vocally not the strongest, but the dance made me super interested in seeing the show which is always a win for a tony performance. 

5) Choir Boy: B

I was already mad at myself for missing this show, and this performance just made me more annoyed because of how good it was! I wish they had the mics louder because the sound was sometimes a little quiet, and I think it is hard to do a number designed for a very intimate space in a place like Radio City, but I liked getting the chance to see them perform. 

7) The Prom: C+ 

I was excited when they started because I love Tonight Belongs To Us, but I hated that they included Build A Prom. I wish they did the prom proposal song or Unruly Heart instead if they had to do a mashup. Was very happy to see they included the kiss! 

8) Kiss Me Kate: C 

Eh. It was exactly what I expected. Didn't disappoint but didn't wow. 

9) The Cher Show D

This fell completely flat for me. I couldn't figure out the point, the costumes looked cool. It looked like a show from Vegas, and even SJB, who I love, didn't wow me. 

10) Tootsie: D- 

This was just so bland. Even the outfit change which was clearly supposed to be a wow moment did nothing for me. I already had no desire to see this show, and this confirmed that. Boring song, boring costume costumes, just so meh. 
 

[RippedMan]

Posted: 6/10/19 at 3:59pm

This is the first year I can remember with shows using such tech elements - turntables and lifts. I was surprised!

[woeisme3]

Posted: 6/10/19 at 4:14pm

Ain’t Too Proud- B+ Sounded and looked slick and clean. Shows like this have an advantage because they have built in great songs.

Tootsie- B My favorite show of the season, but the performance didn’t make it look amazing. Santino sounded great but Unstoppable is probably their worst production number. I think I Like What She’s Doing or the audition probably would’ve translated better

Oklahoma!- B- Ali was great, but mixing the two Oklahomas ended up giving off a really weird vibe. I think they should’ve done People Will Say We’re In Love

Beetlejuice- A- energetic and fun, and the new lyrics really worked. Unfortunate for anyone who buys tickets and realizes that’s the peak of the show (also hated the day-o intro but good for them for including everyone)

The Prom- A awesome energy showing off the choreo which was snubbed for a nomination. Brooks and Caitlin sounded great. Although it was kind of morbidly hilarious that they were all happy and dancing at the end compared to the actual ending of Tonight Belongs To You

Kiss Me Kate- B like Beetlejuice, showcased the best part of their show, but it still wasn’t wowing

Hadestown- B+ I GET why they did wait for me, but I feel like it’s way more epic in context. Also sucks that amber and Patrick both didn’t get awards and got snubbed in the performance

The Cher Show- D YIKES what was that? Hope SJB’s win sells tickets cause otherwise....

[Kitsune]

Posted: 6/10/19 at 4:16pm

woeisme3 said: "The Prom- A awesome energy showing off the choreo which was snubbed for a nomination. Brooks and Caitlin sounded great. Although it was kind of morbidly hilarious that they were all happy and dancing at the end compared to the actual ending of Tonight Belongs To You"

My boyfriend (who saw The Prom with me) commented, "But it's going to end all sad!" when they started the part of Tonight Belongs to You with the teenagers at the prom. We were both pleased to see they transitioned to Time to Dance

[goldenboy]

Posted: 6/10/19 at 5:32pm

Ironically, the shows I liked the least fared best at the Tony Awards

 

Beetlejuice. A .. I loathed this show becuase it was uninteresting and was all over the place and it felt desperate. Also the Winona Ryder character annoyed the hell out of me and she belted out one more power ballad I was going to puke. What I did love was love Alex Brightman and the opening number. Wisely they featured Alex Brightman and the opening number and a snip from Day-o led but the fabulous Leslie Kritzer. That is the best of the show and they wisely featured that. Hate the show but A for enjoyment on the Tony.s It doesn't say a lot about  the show when Day- O is the best number in it.  

 

Kiss Me Kate  A-   I loathed this revival. which featured wonderful dancing but  a miscast Kelly O Hara who plays bitchy as if she was  moderately upset that she broke a nail. No chemistry with Will Chase thus the story became uninteresting.  Love the movie and the last revival and the dancing was great. Corbin Bleu rocked it!!! Wisely, they chose Too Darn Hot which was great. Wish they chose Tom Dick or Harry though

Hadestown D - I love me some Hadestown but what idiot chose the worst number in the musical? So many better choices. Why not Welcome to Hadestown or Why We build a Wall?

Tootsie - C -  Loved the Tootsie show. Wish they did their opening number instead of this but what the hey. It was fine but as someone said, generic,

 

Choir Boy - A  I never saw Choir boy but the number made me want to see it and alas I cannot as it has closed.

Prom - C... Ho hum. Okay. It was a mediocre number from an okay show.

Cher  Show -   A    I loved what they did. I love Stefanie Block. This was the most entertaining show of the season. Loved seeing Stephanie Block as Cher. 

Ain't t Too Proud  C-    I was interested in seeing it but after seeing that medly, I felt as if I could just you tube  the Temptations and be just as happy.

Oklahoma- B   Ado Annie rocked it and it showed how much better music in musicals were when  R and H,  Kander and Ebb,  Jerry Herman and Bock And Harnick and Sondheim wrote them. It gave a taste of the musical and it was fine. Not seeing the whole show I can see how it might be odd. But I really respected and was won over by this revival even thought I am normally a traditionalist. 

 Tony's Overall  - D  Oh was a Dull Evening

 

[juliacd]

Posted: 6/10/19 at 6:05pm

• Beetlejuice D... if u don't know the show u would never know it any better now. Didn't help this show sell tickets
• Hadestown B ... not the best choice out of all the great performances but really the show is a hit and it doesn't matter so much
• Ain't Too Proud A ... best of the night and sold more tickets.
• Kiss Me, Kate F ... really? THAT number. Not great and why not have Ms O'Hara do what she does best. Didn't sell a single ticket
• The Prom ... FFF ... C'mon... enough of the bad stereotypes and that damn kiss. No ones cares or goes to see this show anyway. It will close
• Choir Boy A... if the show was still playing they would have great ticket sales after that rousing number
• The Cher Show FFF ... sad sad sad. Lots wrong here. Its a fun show but the producers don't know how to convey that. too bad. Say goodbye... didn't help sell tickets
• Oklahoma B ... either hate it o r like it... but this peaked interest in people watching... they will sell some tickets 
• Tootsie C... was just ok, great book, bad music... that red dress is so bad I can't even. won't help ticket sales... too bad

[Scarlet Leigh]

Posted: 6/10/19 at 7:34pm

Hadestown A-
- Gosh I loved this so much. My favorite song in the show and the best scene I think it translated pretty well to the Tonys. Of course some stuff was lost without the turn table but they did a very good job at faking the movement. My only criticism was the lack of most of their actually nominated actors. Patrick, Amber and Eva were basically just moving props. I don't see how they could have fixed it for Patrick and Amber but I would have liked to see the last chorus shifting to Eva's Wait for Me II part. With the blocking they were using it could have been just fine to have Reeve run up stage as Eva is coming downstage to they never really see one another and having her give us that wicked great belt of hers. That would have made it a total A+

Beetlejuice B+
- This would have been an A if not for the kinda awkward opening bit with the secondary cast singing. Was it really needed to make the transition into the main part of the number? Cus once Alex took over it was fantastic. So much energy and fun and you have GOT to love the re-writes to the song for the awards. Also, honorable mention to O'Hares introduction being great.

Oklahoma B
- This is a score that is the AVERAGE of their performance because Ali was an A but the group part was a C. So it's a B overall. It just looked... well.... sloppy. I KNOW that this is a part of the style of this revival but it just looked poorly put together and rehearsed out of context. But Ali killed it.

Choir Boy C+
- The stepping was impressive but doing the scene as well and out of context of the show, some of the impact I think it was meant to make was lost.

Tootsie C+
- Well, it had the quick change? The quick change was impressive. I gotta give it up to Santino as well as the ensemble of this one. They as all doing the best he can with meh material they are working with. 

Ain't Too Proud C
- First impressions are everything and the start of this performance was awful. The vocals sounded more like screaming then singing. Thankfully they switched singers and it improved but to me the damage was done. As good as the dancing was, and it WAS good, I couldn't get into the performance after that.

The Prom C-
- I just don't get it. I don't get the love for this show. It looks like a frantic cluster F of peppy actors throwing themselves all over the stage wildly. It looks to suffer from Casey's tendency to over choreograph his shows. A sad trend he has been on since Tuck Everlasting. The songs are not that great either. Generic. Generic. Generic all around.

Kiss Me Kate D
- I only have one word of this one. Yawn. 

Cher Show F
- Ouch. And this is coming from someone that didn't really mind the show. What a mess of a mish mosh performance. Random, not at all cohesive costumes, throw together with one of the songs. No. Just. And it really also made me realize that SJB might have won last night but it was only because she was the best of a bad season for leading actresses.

[AADA81]

Posted: 6/10/19 at 8:45pm

The only segments I really enjoyed were 'Oklahoma' and 'Kiss Me Kate'.


Not having seen the show, I was surprised how much I liked the 'Oklahoma' segment.  Ali was a revelation.  Her vocal was totally in character but also technically superb.  Every character chord she hit in that performance was specific and alive.  The transition to the title song was abrupt but, after a moment to adjust to the rather "unique" approach of this production, I thought it had an alive and spontaneous feel.  I want to see this show.

'Kiss Me Kate' had far and away the best choreography of the night.  To see dancers actually tapping and spinning away while expressing themselves through character-coherent choreography was a treat.  And a treat that was in small supply for the rest of the night.

Like so much of what goes for choreography today, 'The Prom' cast did the usual marching-and-calisthenics version of dance that typifies choreography in these post-MTV, Beyonce-ladened days. 

'Choir Boys' started out promisingly but quickly devolved into more marching, more aerobics, more CLAPPING and lots of down-to-the-lip-of-the-stage-in-your-face choreography.

'Tootsie' was more of the same, i.e., more aerobics with a terribly generic song to boot.

'Ain't Too Proud' was over-choreographed beyond anything the real Temptations have ever done and the dancers seemed to overemphasize every move for their 6 seconds of fame.  Lots of good songs, though.

'The Cher Show' ... dreadful.  Nothing theatrical about it; just cheaply cheesy, Las Vegas retro stuff.  And 2nd-grade stuff at that.  What exactly was being celebrated here?

Everything about 'Beetlejuice' was second-rate and I would say that 'Hadestown', while seemingly intriguing in its concept, must not have chosen the best representative song, as I was wondering what all the fuss is about.

I usually love the musical moments on the Tonys but this year, except for the revivals, there wasn't much.

Updated On: 6/10/19 at 08:45 PM

[Olivia11]

Posted: 6/10/19 at 9:55pm

Although I have tickets to some of these shows, I have not seen any of them, so truly going off performances:


Cher Show. D-

Tootsie. C+

The Prom C+

Kiss Me Kate B-

Oklahoma C-

Ain't Too Proud B-

Beetlejuice. B

Choir Boy C

Hadestown A-

Willing to consider seeing anything C+ and up, with priority to B and above. 

Updated On: 6/11/19 at 09:55 PM

[BroadwayAndSports]

Posted: 6/10/19 at 10:08pm

To me there were 4 very obvious standout performances (in no particular order):

-HADESTOWN: Some of it didn't come through clearly, and I didn't like how they opened it (Patrick Page and Amber Grey didn't need to be there), but it's still a showstopper. The angle from downstage center during the 2nd chorus, with the lamps swinging out, is impeccable. Only wish some of the camera angles better showcased the lamp effects and the set coming apart. And it would've been great to have Eva Noblezada sing her Wait For Me II solo at the end, they could've done it.

-AIN'T TOO PROUD: Wow that was entertaining. Ephraim Sykes yet again gave the dancing performance of a lifetime, all 5 of the main Temptations were showcased, and it got you tapping your feet.

-THE PROM: You could tell so clearly that this show was loads of fun and had a ton of heart. All the performances were great. Sure it's pretty standard Broadway but put a big smile on your face. 

-BEETLEJUICE: Lots of fun, Alex Brightman commanded the stage, and the lyrics were clever (especially about doing that voice 8 shows a week)

[tja928]

Posted: 6/10/19 at 10:15pm

Can Billy Porter’s commercial break “Everything’s Coming Up Roses” get an honorable mention?

Updated On: 6/10/19 at 10:15 PM

[msmp]

Posted: 6/11/19 at 3:43am

1. Beetlejuice - Made me want to see the show, which is a 180 from where I was before Tony night. And the altered lyric of "I want money, I want art, I want Glenda Jackson's part" was legitimately one of the highlights of my night.


2. Hadestown - The beauty of this production could not be understated, but I would have preferred them to do one of the peppier numbers from the show and/or highlighted more than Reeve Carney.


3. The Prom - As another poster said, it was a great medley which is not easy to do at all. Still not my favorite entry this season, but better than I expected.


4. Oklahoma  - Waffled between this and ATP, but Ali Stroker's part tips it into fourth for me. The title number still made me want to see the show at the end of the month, but it didn't work in the Tonys context.

5. Choir Boy - I didn't expect the music to be as interesting as it was, and I thought it did a good job of highlighting what the play was about above and beyond the musical number itself.


6. Ain't Too Proud - I just felt very meh about it, but the choreography was gorgeous. Think it's just not my favored type of music.

7. Kiss Me, Kate - I like that they highlighted the ensemble, but I was hoping for a medley that showed off Kelli, Will, and Stephanie's talents as well as the ensemble and Corbin Bleu. In particular, I wanted a little "Tom, Dick, and Harry" or "Always True to You."

8. The Cher Show - They went for spectacle and it fell flat despite Stephanie J. Block's (IMO) powerhouse vocals. I get trying to show off the Tony-winning costumes, but it just felt like a knockoff of the final scene of Kinky Boots to me.

9. Tootsie - Dull, dull, dull. They did it for the change from Michael to Dorothy, but the music was unmemorable even compared to some other moments from the score. If I didn't know the book was funny, I would have been totally turned off by this performance.