Grade the 63rd Annual Tony telecast performances!

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 6/8/09 at 8:02am

NEXT TO NORMAL: B+
BILLY ELLIOT: B
HAIR: A-
MAMMA MIA!: C
LEGALLY BLONDE: C
JERSEY BOYS: B-
OPENING NUMBER: C+
WEST SIDE STORY: B
GUYS AND DOLLS: C-
ROCK OF AGES: B (I hate the show but they are gonna sell a load of tickets with that performance...very smart)
SHREK THE MUSICAL: B-
Updated On: 6/8/09 at 08:02 AM

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 6/8/09 at 8:04am

Hair - A+
Rock of Ages - A
Next to Normal - A- (camera angles were, for once, fantastic)
Jersey Boys - B+
Billy Elliot - B
West Side Story - B-
Legally Blonde - C+
Guys and Dolls - C
Opening - C-
Mamma Mia - F+

[fgreene1938]

Posted: 6/8/09 at 8:27am

Opening Number: B (first problems with sound during the show, with plenty to come)
Billy Elliot: A-
Guy and Dolls: B (a pleasant surprise, sound glitch and all)
Hair: C- (completely over the top, and the cast looked about as much like hippies as the Rockettes)
Jersey Boys: C-
Legally Blond: D+
Mamma Mia: D- (awful)
Next to Normal: B+
Rock of Ages: B-
Shrek: C
West Side Story: A (great dancing...when the cameras followed it)
Closing Number: A (hysterical lyric, well sung by NPH)
Updated On: 6/8/09 at 08:27 AM

[holdmetouchme]

Posted: 6/8/09 at 10:22am

Opening Number: (no grade - just missed it)
Billy Elliot: C (disappointing - gave me no interest to see BE)
Guy and Dolls: D (how can you blow Sit Down is beyond me)
Hair: A- (finally gave some life in the Tony show)
Legally Blond: C- (dumb)
Mamma Mia: C- (dumber)
Jersey Boys: C- (dumbest)
Next to Normal: A-(making plans now to see)
Rock of Ages: B+ (and I hate music of this era)
Shrek: B (fun choice)
West Side Story: B (safe choice)
NPH Closing: A- (Oscar has Billy Crystal, Tony has NPH)

[shesamarshmallow]

Posted: 6/8/09 at 10:30am

Opening Number: A for effort, B for execution
Billy Elliot: A
Guy and Dolls: C
Hair: A+
Legally Blonde: C+
Mamma Mia: F
Jersey Boys: C+
Next to Normal: B+
Rock of Ages: A
Shrek: B
West Side Story: B- (knocked down for including the WORST dialogue in the show!)
NPH Closing: A

Posted: 6/8/09 at 10:31am

The opening, closing and Hair were the only good ones. Shrek (Surprisingly) was pretty cute. The rest were really pretty bad.

Next to Normal came off like a Saturday Night Live sketch about a wildly inappropriate musical.

[millie_dillmount]

Posted: 6/8/09 at 10:34am

Opening Number: A- (hey I liked it)
Billy Elliot: C+/B-
Guy and Dolls: B-
Hair: A+
Legally Blonde: C+
Mamma Mia: C+
Jersey Boys: B
Next to Normal: A-
Rock of Ages: B
Shrek: B
West Side Story: B/B+
NPH Closing: A

Updated On: 6/8/09 at 10:34 AM

[taylorPHENOMENON2]

Posted: 6/8/09 at 10:38am

Opening Number: A (loved it!)
Billy Elliot: B
Guy and Dolls: F
Hair: A+
Legally Blonde: D
Mamma Mia: C
Jersey Boys: B-
Next to Normal: B+
Rock of Ages: B
Shrek: B+
West Side Story: B
NPH Closing: A-

[bwayfan7000]

Posted: 6/8/09 at 10:39am

Opening Number: B (Some of it was okay!)
Billy Elliot: B
Guy and Dolls: C-
Hair: A-
Legally Blonde: B
Mamma Mia: C
Jersey Boys: B
Next to Normal: A-
Rock of Ages: B
Shrek: B
West Side Story: B+ (This was the performance that surprised me the most, actually)
NPH Closing: I missed half of it!

[jagfkb]

Posted: 6/8/09 at 11:03am

I will say this, of the touring shows, Leggaly was the best, and Jersey Boys and Mamma Mia are tied at worst. Really, both were truly horrible.

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 6/8/09 at 11:23am

Opening Number: A (very well thought out and put together)
Billy Elliot: B (wrong song choice)
Guy and Dolls: F (painful)
Hair: C (despise this show)
Legally Blonde: F (painful)
Mamma Mia: F (painful)
Jersey Boys: B (not painful, just unnecessary)
Next to Normal: A+ (the best performance of the night)
Rock of Ages: F (horrendous)
Shrek: C (this number was better in the theater)
West Side Story: A (excellent)
NPH Closing: A (excellent)

[BroadwayBound115]

Posted: 6/8/09 at 11:29am

Opening Number: A- (It was a brilliant idea!!)
Billy Elliot: B- (Great effort by trent, just not the right song)
Guy and Dolls: C+ (It was just average. Titus' vocals give it the extra plus)
Hair: A+ (This number kicked major ass)
Legally Blonde: C- (needed to be longer, did anyone notice Tracy Jai edwards up there?)
Mamma Mia: D (It was okay, nothing too exciting
Jersey Boys: B (not painful, just unnecessary)
Next to Normal: C (I really wanna give this show a chance, I don't know much about it, but I wasn't fond of the performance)
Rock of Ages: F (didn't bother watching
Shrek: B (I loved this song, just wanted them to sing Who I'd Be)
West Side Story: A+ (really well executed)
NPH Closing: A (excellent)

[ACL2006]

Posted: 6/8/09 at 11:41am

Hair: A+
Closing Number: A+
Opening Number: A
Next to Normal: A
Billy Elliot: A-
Jersey Boys: B-
West Side Story: C
Rock of Ages: C
Guys & Dolls: C-
Legally Blonde: D
Shrek: D
Mamma Mia!: F

[jovie27]

Posted: 6/8/09 at 11:46am

Does anyone know if the ratings were strong this year?

Opening A
Mamma Mia D
Legally Blonde C
Next To Normal A
Shrek B
Hair A
Billy Elliot B+
Rocky of Ages A
Guys and Dolls (incomplete or repeat course next year)
West Side Story C
Jersey Boys C

Cool beans!
Updated On: 6/8/09 at 11:46 AM

[mormonophobic]

Posted: 6/8/09 at 11:47am

Opening Number: A+ (just spectacular)
Billy Elliot: B
Guy and Dolls: B-
Hair: B+
Jersey Boys: C-
Legally Blond: D
Mamma Mia: F (literally the only time during the broadcast I hit the mute button)
Next to Normal: A
Rock of Ages: D
Shrek: C-
West Side Story: B- (really great dancing, but I just don't understand why in the world they would do Dance at the Gym. I was more excited by the tiny appearance of the Tonight Quintet than I was for their actual number)

[Testing1232]

Posted: 6/8/09 at 11:50am

So interesting how these grades are all over the place !!

All I will say is that "Mamma Mia" made me cringe- thought "Hair" and "N2N" were very good, and NPH (closing) was excellent-- he sounded great !!!

[RockabyeHamlet]

Posted: 6/8/09 at 11:56am

Opening Number: A: It did the job it needed to do.
Billy Elliot: D: Bad song choice
Guy and Dolls: C: Redeemed only by Tituss.
Hair: A: Amazing
Legally Blonde: F: I hate the show and I hated Becky's vocals
Mamma Mia: F: UGH
Jersey Boys: C: Nice idea
Next to Normal: A: Loved it.
Rock of Ages: D
Shrek: C
West Side Story: C
NPH Closing:A

[breakfree303]

Posted: 6/8/09 at 11:58am

Opening Number: C- (Didn't like it. It seemed a little sloppy and all over the place)

Billy Elliot: B (Trent was great, I just would have picked a different number)

Guy and Dolls: B (It would have been a C, but Titus is amazing, and even with mic problems, he still rocked it out, so did Mary)

Hair: A++++++ (Loved, loved, loved, loved it!)

Legally Blonde: C (I wanted to see a different number. I like "So Much Better", but I wanted to see something different)

Mamma Mia: D (The tour cast I saw was amazing, and they were not as good. was underwhelmed)

Jersey Boys: B (I liked it. Not needed, but very nice)

Next to Normal: B+ (The plus is for J. Robert Spencer. I just love him)

Rock of Ages: C (Not as bad as I expected. But the narrator guy (sorry, I'm not too familiar with the show) was funny)

Shrek: B+ (Love Chris Sieber. The plus is for James Gandolfini :) )

West Side Story: B+ (Karen Olivo, your amazing. Matt Canvenaugh is good, but in my opinion too old for the part)

NPH Closing: A+ (Adorable, and a memorable way to end the evening)

[NGeorgiaBwayFan]

Posted: 6/8/09 at 12:12pm

Opening Number:A (could have been executed better)
Billy Elliot:B- (gave me absolutely no reason to buy a ticket)
Guys & Dolls:C (great indiv performances, but staging was uninspired)
HAIR: A+ (not really my thing, but a fantastic performance)
Next to Normal:A (I think I want to see this show now. very intense)
Rock of Ages:B+ ( You don't have to like it, but they performed the hell out of it!)
West Side Story:A (well performed -- dialogue took them off course, though)
SHREK: B+ (cute number)
NPH CLOSING: A (hilarious)

[ColorTheHours048]

Posted: 6/8/09 at 12:33pm

NEXT TO NORMAL: B (Alice could've been better, but J. Robert and Aaron were pretty good. They should've showcased Jennifer.)
BILLY ELLIOT: C (WHY did they choose 1-to use one Billy and 2-to do a non-song?)
HAIR: A- (Best performance of the night but was too late in the telecast so I was bored)
MAMMA MIA!: D (awful)
LEGALLY BLONDE: D (awful, and HATE Becky)
JERSEY BOYS: D- (all those non-Broadway Frankies were deadfaced and bad)
OPENING NUMBER: C (a big mess, especially using Elton and Dolly and Stockard [who was as boring as a rock])
WEST SIDE STORY: B- (Should've done the Quintet. WHYYYYYYY does Matt have that bizarre accent?!? God, he's bad. Joesfina is stunning though.)
GUYS AND DOLLS: C- (Go away Tituss. Also, Mary was annoying. And the sound glitch ruined everything.)
ROCK OF AGES: C- (Booooooooooooring and a mess. Would've been better if we saw Bret get knocked out again.)
SHREK THE MUSICAL: B- (Eh, whatever. Not as funny as it should have been. But Christopher was decent. Stupid dialogue at the beginning and the "Defying Gravity" joke is tired.)
NPH CLOSING: A- (Only good because we got to see the only exciting part of the show again: Neil. He was poorly underused. Too bad it came after all that crap.)

[yay_gerb]

Posted: 6/8/09 at 12:34pm

Opening Number:C (not very well put together/horrid sound)
Billy Elliot:B- (wouldn't make me want to see the show)
Guys & Dolls:B- (technical problems again but it wasnt bad)
HAIR: A+++ (saved the show. yay hair!)
Next to Normal:A (would be A+ if it wasn't for alice being off in the beginning)
Rock of Ages:A (wasn't planning on seeing it, now i'm definitely going to check it out)
West Side Story:B+ (i thought it worked very well)
SHREK: C (bad choice, who i'd be would have been better)
NPH CLOSING: A+ (loved it!)

[Craww]

Posted: 6/8/09 at 12:36pm

A+ : Hair, Closing Number
B+ : Next to Normal
B : West Side Story, Billy Elliot, Opening Number
B- : Rock of Ages, Guys and Dolls
C : Shrek
D : Pointless Tour Performances (averaged)

Next to Normal came off like a Saturday Night Live sketch about a wildly inappropriate musical.

I think that makes it sound even more awesome than it actually was.

[ashley0139]

Posted: 6/8/09 at 12:44pm

It's interesting. This is the first year I've gone to the show, so I was watching it from a different perspective.

NEXT TO NORMAL: A- (Great song choice and performances, something about it just seemed a tiny bit off)
BILLY ELLIOT: B (definitely thought they could have chosen a better number and showcased all the Billys)
HAIR: A (so much fun and a great performance!)
MAMMA MIA!: D
LEGALLY BLONDE: D
JERSEY BOYS: D (the touring show performances were STUPID. and saving Jersey Boys for the last performance of the evening? even more stupid)
OPENING NUMBER: A (everyone around me at the show thought this opening number was the best ever! I am interested to see how it looked on the broadcast because we were having a great time with it there!)
WEST SIDE STORY: B (it was just good, nothing too exciting)
GUYS AND DOLLS: C (ehhhh)
ROCK OF AGES: B+ (great for their show)
SHREK THE MUSICAL: C (WHY didn't they use Brian and Sutton???)
NPH CLOSING: A (very funny and he did a great job the whole night!)

[sylvesterbird]

Posted: 6/8/09 at 1:58pm

Opening Number: B: I really liked the idea, but combined with not being able to hear the very beginning and the messy execution I wasn't too impressed. Also, was anyone else cringing during the Pal Joey/N2N combo?
Billy Elliot:--: Only caught the back half (my recorder failed...), and had no idea what was going on.
Guy and Dolls: B+: Overall enjoyed it, although the mic screw-up had me laughing/cringing.
Hair: A: Don't really see Gavin Creel as a hairy guy, but still an awesome performance :)
Touring Performances: D: WHY?!! Mamma Mia especially made me cringe. I'd maybe bump Jersey Boys up...
Next to Normal: A: Might have been just because the production itself lends to an easier presentation on screen, but I thought this performance came off the best. Still wish they could've done Just Another Day though.
Rock of Ages: B: Wasn't impressed, but I do like the song and it wasn't particularly bad either.
Shrek: C: Why this song?! Might've been cute/funny for about the first minute, but quickly soured for me. Seriously, you're going to pick that as your Tony performance song when you have Brian D'arcy James and Sutton Foster?!
West Side Story: B+: Wish they would've performed Quintet, but overall thought it was done well.
NPH Closing: A: I honestly wasn't too impressed with NPH as host (Whoopi Goldberg still fresh in my mind), but the song/presentation was great.

[toddlisatyriem]

Posted: 6/8/09 at 2:36pm

Hair - A++ (Creel makes me want to book a flight to NYC ASAP!)

Next to Normal - A+ (All 3 were flawless)

Closing - A+ Legen.... wait for it.... dary!
(NPH is our Billy Crystal!)

Opening - B+ (Only loses points due to putting Brett Michaels on a Broadway stage at the Tonys..... sinful-just sinful!)

Rock of Ages - B
(Great cast performance - F for the Poison casting in the intro)

Billy Elliot - B (Not fond of the song choice)

West Side Story - B- (Blah, but with talented dancing... that last note was painful)

Legally Blonde - B- Enjoyed seeing the old Broadway cast in the back.

Jersey Boys - C+ Snorefest!

Guys and Dolls - C+ ZZZZZZ.... next!

Mamma Mia - F+ What was that? It was painful!
Updated On: 6/8/09 at 02:36 PM