Grade the 2008 Tony performances...

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

We've done it the last two years so why should this year be any different?!

THE LION KING: B+
IN THE HEIGHTS: A-
XANADU: B+
GREASE: C-
GYPSY: A
PASSING STRANGE: C+
CRY-BABY: B
RENT: C
A CATERED AFFAIR: C
YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN: B
THE LITTLE MERMAID: B

[BroadwayBaby6]

Shame on CBS for not airing the Tonys in High-Def.

[GYPSY1527]

THE LION KING: B
IN THE HEIGHTS: A+
XANADU: B
GREASE: F
GYPSY: A+
PASSING STRANGE: C-
CRY-BABY: C
RENT: B+
The Medley Overall-C
A CATERED AFFAIR: C
YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN: B+
THE LITTLE MERMAID: C

[Mister Matt]

THE LION KING: B
IN THE HEIGHTS: B+
XANADU: A+
GREASE: C
GYPSY: A
PASSING STRANGE: B
CRY-BABY: B
RENT: B+
A CATERED AFFAIR: C-
YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN: B-
THE LITTLE MERMAID: B

[ashers2u]

THE LION KING: B+
IN THE HEIGHTS: A-
XANADU: A+
GREASE: C+
GYPSY: A+
PASSING STRANGE: C-
CRY-BABY: A
RENT: B+
A CATERED AFFAIR: C
YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN: A+
THE LITTLE MERMAID: B

[WithoutATrace]

THE LION KING: A
IN THE HEIGHTS: A
XANADU: A
GREASE: F
GYPSY: A+
SOUTH PACIFIC: A+
PASSING STRANGE: F
CRY-BABY: B
RENT: B
A CATERED AFFAIR: F
YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN: B
THE LITTLE MERMAID: B
SUNDAY: A

[BroadwayBound115]

THE LION KING: A-
-I think it sounded a little raspy with the soloists, but its a great show and it opened the tonys really well. I just thought the raspiness at the beginning was a little odd.
IN THE HEIGHTS: A
-This performance was really entertaining. I loved the singing.
XANADU: B
-I had never hear Cheyenne sing. He was one of the best things about the performance and thats it.
GREASE: C+
-Laura Osnes can dance and I could see her having a good future. But man, the harmonies with the boys were HORRIBLE and the girls sounded horrific.
GYPSY: A
-Patti did an amazing job. There was shakiness towards the middle though.
PASSING STRANGE: C-
- I didn't like this at all. I didnt like stew's screaming and I felt it had a spring awakening feel all around, and we already have spring awakening on broadway.
CRY-BABY: B+
-The dancing is what gave this performance the B+ instead of the C-. Rob Ashford should've won choreography.
RENT: B
-As said by many people before, this was more of a tribute speech than a performance.
A CATERED AFFAIR: D
-Faith Prince was not on her A, B, or C-game tonight
YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN: B+
-Megan was FANTASTIC. She looked really comfortable, but she needed more time.
THE LITTLE MERMAID: B-
-Sierra looked a little nervous and the key change was a little off when they combined it with the reprise.
SOUTH PACIFIC: A++
-I had never seen south pacific or heard the music. Man this blew my mind.
SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE: B
-They did a good job. The show itself does nothing for me.

[DayDreamer]

THE LION KING: A
IN THE HEIGHTS: C
XANADU: B
GREASE: D
GYPSY: A
SOUTH PACIFIC: B
PASSING STRANGE: missed it
CRY-BABY: C
RENT: C
A CATERED AFFAIR: missed it
YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN: C
THE LITTLE MERMAID: C
SUNDAY: A

[fnyboi88]

THE LION KING: B-
IN THE HEIGHTS: A
XANADU: A+
GREASE: C
GYPSY: A+
PASSING STRANGE: B-
CRY-BABY: B+ (The chorus boys owned it!)
RENT: B
A CATERED AFFAIR: C
YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN: A- (I wish Megan had more time)
THE LITTLE MERMAID: C

[westcoastdrama]

With brief explanations:

SOUTH PACIFIC: A+ Spot on perfection for television

CRY-BABY: A Ironically, the only solid performance by a new best musical nominee. The only new show my mother and grandmother want to go see based off of the telecast.

YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN: B+ For all of the negativity surrounding it, it looked funny and Megan knows how to work the small screen

A LITTLE MERMAID: B+ I'm not a fan but every family will be headed there based on that.

PASSING STRANGE: B Not the right number for the telecast, but even based on that one performance v. ITH's performance, I can see why Passing Starnage should have won the Tony for Best Musical. Simply far superior than the ultimate winner.

GYPSY: B I heard it was amazing in the teheater, but Patty looked like a gargoyle on TV

THE LION KING: B It is what it is - I thought all the animals would enter walking down the aisles, which I always found very dramatic??

XANADU: B The wrong choice of number but delivered solidly . . . and those legs. Extremely distracting. Cheyenne should be headed to the big screen more often these days.

SUNDAY IN THE PARK: B- A terriffic production (and number) but no one else is going to care after watching it


IN THE HEIGHTS: C Sorry, but this was a hot mess. No energy, people everywhere on stage. Looked awful on TV and left me shaking my head.


GREASE: C- It is what it is. You hate it but the masses love it.

RENT: D No wonder it's closing. A mess of a performance after a lot of hype and is looking very dated.

A CATERED AFFAIR: F If that is the only thing I have to go on in terms of deciding whether to buy a ticket, I think I would have to kill myself during the actual performance.

EXTRA TREAT:

Clip of AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY: A++ When do we get a movie version!!

[kate2]

THE LION KING: C
IN THE HEIGHTS: C
XANADU: A
GREASE: D
GYPSY: A
PASSING STRANGE: C
CRY-BABY: B
RENT: B
A CATERED AFFAIR: F
YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN: B
THE LITTLE MERMAID: B

[Sondheim_Geek]

THE LION KING: n/a
-I missed it. I'm sure it was equal to all those press clips I've seen over the years.

IN THE HEIGHTS: A-
-I really wish that they just did the opening number, rather than 96,000.

XANADU: A-
-It was the best it could be. The best song choice they could have done.

GREASE: C
-However bad and campy this was, I'm sure it only reaffirmed how "great" this show is to its target audience. I'm really surprised they didn't throw Taylor Hicks in it somehow.

GYPSY: A+
-Phenominal.

PASSING STRANGE: C+
-I just felt weird watching this.

CRY-BABY: C-
-The choreography was great, everything else was less than that. The Tony should have gone to Ashford.

A CATERED AFFAIR: D
-Very unattached and it was hard to comprehend with the setup. Faith was off.

YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN: B
-Mullaly was great.

THE LITTLE MERMAID: B
-Sierra was as expected.

[JoeKv99]

THE LION KING: A Always moving. I love to hear the audience squeal as they see the elephant come down the aisle.

IN THE HEIGHTS: C I just don't get it.

XANADU: D I REALLY don't get it. Completely lackluster in every way

GREASE: F Oy. Horrible

GYPSY: A Well done.

PASSING STRANGE: D Devoid of entertainment and frankly it made no sense.

CRY-BABY: B+ I really liked it- the choreography was wonderful.

RENT: C Meh.

A CATERED AFFAIR: B Too short but I love Faith.

YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN: B Too short.

THE LITTLE MERMAID: D Too long.

[theatre2]

the lion king A+
cry baby A++
grease B
GYPSY C did not like when they gave it a standing opain and not rent.
south pacific B+
sunday in the park with george A
in the heights B+
PASSING STRANGE F
xanadu B
the little mermaid B
A CATERED AFFIR c
young frankenstein c
rent A+++

[Ed_Mottershead]

Xanadu -- A+++
Gypsy -- A++
Sunday/Park -- B
South Pacific -- B
Passing Strange -- C-
In the Heights -- C
Cry-Baby -- B-
Grease -- D
Lion King -- B
Rent -- D
Catered Affair -- D
Young Frankenstein -- D+
Little Mermaid -- D-

[Broadway212]

Xanadu: A++
Grease: F
Gypsy: A+
Passing Strange: C
Cry Baby: D
Rent: A
A Catered Affair: C+
Young Frankenstein: A+++
The Little Mermaid: C

[wonderfulwizard11]

THE LION KING- Beautiful number, but the vocals were not very good. B-

IN THE HEIGHTS- The performers were fine, but I thought the transitions were awkward and messy. B+

XANADU- While I question the song choice, Cheyenne and the rest of the cast sounded great. A

PASSING STRANGE- I love the song (especially the beginning), but I wasn't crazy about the end. B+

GREASE- Just bad. F

CRY-BABY- Excellent choreography, but the song is dull. B

SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE- Very well done performance, even if the show was cut a little too short for my taste. And the projections looked surprisingly good on the large Radio City stage. A

SOUTH PACIFIC- It was a nice performance. While all the performers were great, the performance itself didn't wow me. Something just felt missing. A-

GYPSY- Best performance of the night. Boyd and Laura were wonderful, and Patti blew the roof off Radio City, as expected, of course. A+

RENT- It was fine. Not really good or bad, just fine. B-

YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN- While the song was pretty bad (seriously, would you like to hammer the point home any more, Mel?), Megan did the best job she could with it. B-

THE LITTLE MERMAID- Sierra has a lovely voice, but her arm movements are incredibly distracting. C

A CATERED AFFAIR- I don't even remember it, it just bored me. D

[jonartdesigns]

THE LION KING: B+
IN THE HEIGHTS: C+ (not my cup of tea but it picked up near the end)
XANADU: B+ Tony Roberts popping up from the audience made me laugh out loud.
GREASE: Performance: D Laura Osnes' Ass: (and the camera angles) A+ lets average that to a C
GYPSY: A+ Nothing like seeing a theater that huge give a full standing ovation
PASSING STRANGE: C the ending dragged way too long
CRY-BABY: B+
RENT: D the current mark was lackluster and the whole thing was rushed
A CATERED AFFAIR: F I really wished they cut it to give the other 2 more time
YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN: A+ Megan managed to NAIL the song evenwith it that truncated
THE LITTLE MERMAID: C- Nice to look at but the cuts in the song did nothing to help the overall quality

[jacobsnchz14]

THE LION KING: Missed it
IN THE HEIGHTS: A-
XANADU: A-
GREASE: B
GYPSY: A-
PASSING STRANGE: C+
CRY-BABY: B+
RENT: C+
A CATERED AFFAIR: B-
YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN: B+
THE LITTLE MERMAID: A-

Is there a video of the Lion King performance?

[jewishboy]

THE LION KING: B+
IN THE HEIGHTS: A-
XANADU: B
GREASE: C+
GYPSY: A+
South Pacific: A
PASSING STRANGE: B-
CRY-BABY: C+
RENT: C-
A CATERED AFFAIR: D
YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN: D
THE LITTLE MERMAID: C

[florida theatre kid]

THE LION KING- C+. Visually stunning, as always, but some of those voices....eeek!!

CRY-BABY- C. The song was terrible, but the dancers were amazing, and it's always great to see guy dancers getting publicity.

PASSING STRANGE- I can't even grade this. I seriously have no idea what on Earth that was.

IN THE HEIGHTS- B. I love this song and I love the dancing, but the rapping was very sluggish and slow...you could definately tell that were tired at the end of an 8 show week.

XANADU- A. Loved it. The vocals sounded amazing...and is there anyone else out there who are more georgous than Cheyenne and Kerry. The cast all looked like they were having a blast.

THE LITTLE MERMAID- C-. Sierra sounded tired, and mixing the reprise in made it very awkward.

A CATERED AFFAIR- F. Is that the best the show has to offer?

YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN- B-. Megan Mullaly sure has quite the voice, but the number did not do anything for me.

GREASE- F. No...just no.

GYPSY- B+. I was a little disappointed that Laura was not showcased more since she is one of my favorite performers, but Patti did what she does best.

SOUTH PACIFIC- A+. The best performance of the night for me. I don't know what it was specifically, but I smiled the whole time they were performing. And Kelli O'Hara's cartwheels made my life.

SITPWG- C+. The performers were both very beautiful, but the number put me to sleep

RENT- D. After all the build up, I was disappointed. Just didn't live up to my expectations, and everyone looked so bored.

[BroadwayBelle2]

The Lion King: B+ (that was very cool)

Passing Strange: C

Cry-Baby: B+

Gypsy: A++ (Brilliant and Fantastic!)

Grease: D (nothing special)

South Pacific: A

A Catered Affair: C

The Little Mermaid: B (Wish it were a different song performed)
Rent: A

Young Frankenstein: A-

Sunday In The Park W/ George: A (they sounded great)

In The Heights: A

(Overall I was very happy with this years Tony Awards!)

[Leo_Yikes]

THE LION KING:
The song/show itself it good. Not my cup of tea (I never fell in love with it) but my god I LOATHED the current cast. Somin about them just makes me wanna hurl lol.
Presentation: B+
Vocals: F
Acting: C
OVERALL: C-

IN THE HEIGHTS:
It had rap, street dancing, girls in slutty outfits...it was a dance at my school. Seriously, I dont know why the heck this recieved Best Musical (IMO)
PRESENTATION: A
VOCALS: F
ACTING:C
OVERALL: C

XANADU:
It was good. I held my attention which is somin that theater is supposed to do. Was I humming the haromny the rest of the night...nah.
PRESENTATION: B
VOCALS: C+
ACTING: C-
OVERALL: C+

PASSING STRANGE: MISSED IT

GREASE:
God how does this show keep an audience? The show itself is not that great, and this revival SUCKS. It was just bad. The set (even tho thats not the REAL thing) looked like somin a middle school would have if they decided to do Grease, and the cast...were bad. I'm sorry they all looked like amatures. The dancing tho was semi-good towards the end
PRESENTATION: C
VOCALS: F
ACTING: F
OVERAL D

CRY-BABY:
Like everyone else said...the dancing was great, but I didnt remember much of the songs itself.
PRESENTATION: B-
VOCALS: B
ACTING: D
OVERALL: C-

SUNDAY IN THE PARK:
I liked it. The projections were well placed and well maintained,and the 2 cast members (God I cant remember his name) kept the song alive. I LOVED how they made it look like a painting...def. have to make it a must see next time I go to NYC.
PRESENTATION: A
VOCALS: A
ACTING: B+
OVERALL: A

SOUTH PACIFIC:
I've never been a big fan of this show, but idk, this seemed like a great revival that def. deserved the Tony.
PRESENTATION: A+
VOCALS: A+
ACTING: A+
OVERALL: A+

GYPSY:
PATTIE OWNED!!!! Sorry but she did. Her voice is amazing...and I love her vibratto :)
PRESENTATION: A+
VOCALS: A+++
ACTING: A-
OVERALL: A+

RENT:
It was rushed, and the current cast members are not that good. They really lacked energy and also Eden really has to tone it down...you could only hear her. And I think Eden is a great singer but she sounded odd singing that song. I dont think RENT is her thing. And the OBC were awsome...but it was just rushed. Idina was cute but jeeze if those were in fact her fans cheering...if I were Idina I would of told them to shut up. Theres a time and place to cheer...and its not there.
PRESENTATION: C-
VOCALS: Current Cast: F OBC: B+
ACTING: C-
OVERALL: C-

YOUNG FRANENSTEIN:
This show needs to close now. I'm sorry but it was bad. The monster looked bad (that makeup is dreadful) and Megan was basicaly the only good thing about it.
PRESENTATION: D
VOCALS: A
ACTING: B
OVERALL C-

THE LITTLE MERMAID:
My neice walked in when Sierrra was singing and said "Why is she giving birth to a dolphin?"...I laughed lol
PRESENTATION: C (They should have just had her sing the whole POYW)
VOCALS: B- (She seemd sick)
ACTING: B- (Her moves are weird)
OVERALL: C

CATTERED AFFAIR: MISSED IT

[Antisocialite]

THE LION KING: B. It's a good performance, but I take points off because I have always hated the Lion King, especially the song Circle of Life.

IN THE HEIGHTS: B+. All the best aspects of the show on display, but 96,000 is better in the theatre.

XANADU: B. I wanted more of the Muses, dammit.

GREASE: D+. Grease Is the Word should never have been put into the show in the first place. One of the Pink Ladies (Marty, I think) looked like Bette Midler.

GYPSY: A+. Patti, I love you. And way to go Laura Benanti and Boyd Gaines for making the most of their no-lines.

PASSING STRANGE: B. I love this show in the face, and they did good. This was maybe not the best choice of songs to perform.

CRY-BABY: C. The song's stupid. The idea of tapdancing with liscence plates is...interesting. The dancing was good.

RENT: B-. This was not what it promised to be, nor was it very good. The current Mark blows. I love the crazy Idina fans screaming when she had her one PSA line.

A CATERED AFFAIR: B. The faults of this number were not the faults of Faith Prince or the music so much as "this is not their stage". It made less sense, both in display and in Prince's performance, than it should.

YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN: B+. Mulally and Andrea Martin are the best things in this show, and I'm glad at least one of them got to perform. Also, the song is pretty funny.

THE LITTLE MERMAID: C-. Sierra Boggess looked so damn confused. And that damn tail...agh. And the transition between the song and its reprise was awkward.

SOUTH PACIFIC: B+. I want to see this again! I dislike medleys as a rule, and I'm sad Bali Hai was relegated to the pre-show, but I like the songs they had here. As long as I get to see Kelli O'Hara owning I'm in Love with a Wonderful Guy, I'm pretty happy.

SUNDAY IN THE PARK: B-. Cameras, PLEASE BACK UP FROM DANIEL EVANS' FACE. They sounded amazing, but Evans is almost too intense in the theatre, which was amplified by the cameras.

[Jonny boy]

THE LION KING: A-
IN THE HEIGHTS: A
XANADU: B+
GREASE: D
GYPSY: A+
SOUTH PACIFIC: B+
PASSING STRANGE: C
CRY-BABY: C
RENT: D-
A CATERED AFFAIR: F
YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN: F
THE LITTLE MERMAID: B
SUNDAY: B