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Post by Deleted on Jun 12, 2017 3:19:37 GMT
Bette Midler is possibly the only person on the planet who can go on and keep talking past the music playing her off and not be physically removed from the stage!
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Post by d'James on Jun 12, 2017 3:22:55 GMT
Bette Midler is possibly the only person on the planet who can go on and keep talking past the music playing her off and not be physically removed from the stage! Nah. I'm sure I've seen it before. At the Oscars I think.
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Post by sherriebythesea on Jun 12, 2017 3:23:07 GMT
This tells you where my America is when Jill Biden gets a standing ovation. And I love it I would like to live in/visit your America. Well so would I. But unfortunately it only appears in brief moments, between the Orange Man Yelling and the Congress Hiding Behind His Toupee. My America has become a Brigadoon.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 12, 2017 3:25:21 GMT
In the end it was:
Dear Evan Hansen (6 Wins) Hello Dolly! (4 Wins) Indecent (2 Wins) Natasha, Pierre & Th Great Comet of 1812 (2 Wins) Oslo (2 Wins) The Little Foxes (2 Wins) A Dolls House: Part 2 (1 Win) Come From Away (1 Win) Bandstand (1 Win) Jitney (1 Win) Present Laughter (1 Win) The Play That Goes Wrong (1 Win)
Two observations for the moment:
1.) At least there is more musical diversity and winners than there was last year! 2.) There are gonna be alot of pissed off Comet fans!
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Post by Deleted on Jun 12, 2017 3:42:56 GMT
I'm pissed now but in 5 years I genuinely believe it will be the consensus that Comet should have won (ala Matilda and Next to Normal). It's ahead of its time. Bring on the DEH backlash!
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Post by ali973 on Jun 12, 2017 3:49:22 GMT
Groundhog Day never had a chance- but I honestly think it is such an intelligent, layered and meaningful without being overly sentimental (Dear Evan Hansen).
So I guess Ben Platt will get laid tonight and lose his virginity. Good for you. (See what I did there?)
I havne't seen the entire thing yet, and probably will only do so tonight (or maybe at work if I decide I want to do nothing?). I did see Kevin Space's opening number. Much better than I expected. His singing is not half bad. I could even see him do a musical. The only problem is that he's um, a bit too hetero. We've had straight men hosts before, but they were a bit more camp. I also find him quite serious, even when he is being fun.
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Post by sherriebythesea on Jun 12, 2017 3:59:49 GMT
Wow. This is the first time I've heard of Kevin Spacey being straight.
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Post by ali973 on Jun 12, 2017 4:01:10 GMT
LOL oh, that's true I totally forgot what the word on the street is. Whatever he is, he reads straight.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 12, 2017 4:07:54 GMT
I saw Kevin when I was in NYC two weeks ago. His company of 5 was very male and very young. One of which he went home with. That's all!
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Post by sherriebythesea on Jun 12, 2017 4:17:24 GMT
LOL oh, that's true I totally forgot what the word on the street is. Whatever he is, he reads straight. Too tired to respond fully. I have no "word on the street". I just haven't heard one way or another. I just know he is so friggin great in so many things and haven't heard that any of that was dependent on his sexuality. Only that he is private. Good night all !!!!
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Post by ali973 on Jun 12, 2017 4:32:47 GMT
Aw, you go to sleep, dear. You sound cranky.
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Post by viserys on Jun 12, 2017 4:58:03 GMT
Just got up and checked the results, good thing that I didn't bother to stay up for the predictable Evan Hansen lovefest. I can't like every comment you made through the night @snutte but I'm with you (and others like ali973 ) all the way. Shame about Groundhog Day which didn't get the appreciation it deserved and I'd even rather seen Comet pick up a few more Tonys than DEH, which just seems unfinished, half-baked and somewhat amateurish to me in every aspect - plot, lyrics, music - and Ben Platt winning is the equivalent of the Oscars, where people playing someone physically or mentally handicapped will ALWAYS win the Oscar. Grrr.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 12, 2017 5:54:41 GMT
Based on a 70-page portion of War & Peace in which Natasha (engaged to Andrey) has an affair with Anatole which leads to her ruin in society. Meanwhile, Pierre is going through existential depression and finds a reason to live in a moment of compassion with Natasha at the end. Significance of the plot? It's Tolstoy, there's a reason why War & Peace is still read by millions around the world. It's Tony worthy as not only is it excellently designed, it has a brilliant ensemble of a cast and the music and lyrics - although divisive - are groundbreaking, innovative, varied and unlike anything that's ever been on Broadway before. Like any other show that prides itself on being unconventional, it wont be for everyone, but I happen to think it's pretty much a masterpiece and it moved me more than any other show this season. And I greatly admire the courage to bring something like this to commercial, Broadway theatre. Thanks but my original post was sarcastic. I totally got the plot and the fact it is based on the 70-page portion of War and Peace - but didn't understand why that 70 pages. It felt like it could've gone on another hour or ended half an hour sooner and not made any difference to the story. There was no beginning, middle or end, the songs were forgettable, the size of the cast (albeit fantastic) felt unceccesary. Why have 9052892 ensemble members when the show is based around 4 or 5 main characters? The ensemble didn't add anything to the story (however they were incredibly talented and had infectious energy). Don't get me wrong I loved the production and the cast but I feel like the actual piece (ie book and music) wasn't as groundbreaking as the staging of it. Okay because I think now of all times Great Comet deserves a passionate defense, I'm going to write one for you. Why that 70 pages? Well, I can't speak for Dave Malloy obviously. But clearly War & Peace is a huge novel, and even with only 70 pages represented Great Comet is long, almost three hours. So a small section would have had to be chosen. This section reflects a story circle: . A character is in a zone of comfort, . But they want something. . They enter an unfamiliar situation, . Adapt to it, . Get what they wanted, . Pay a heavy price for it, . Then return to their familiar situation, . Having changed. This pretty much describes exactly what Natasha goes through. She is in a zone of comfort, but she wants Anatole. She has an affair with him, adapts to it and falls in love (or what she thinks is love), she gets what she wants as he wants to elope with her, she pays the heavy price by being found out and ruined and then she returns to her normal life, having been changed by what she has been through and the moment of compassion she shares with Pierre. By taking this part of War & Peace, Malloy was able to reflect an entire story circle without having to adapt the entire novel. Within this part of the story, we see love, lust, envy, anger, depression, realization, empathy, friendship, romance, family. We see everything we need in a good story. 'We see no beginning, middle or end'. Now, I respect differing opinions, but this just isn't true. Beginning of act one (beginning): There’s a war going on out there somewhere and Andrey isn’t here End of act one (middle): I will love you Anatole, I'll do anything for you End of act two (end): My newly melted heart now blossoming into a new life. The beginning is Andrey leaving and the beginning of Natasha's stay with her godmother in Moscow. The middle is when she finally gives into Anatole. The end is Natasha's realisation of what true compassion is and Pierre finding what he has been looking for during his existential crisis in that moment of compassion. These are all significant plot developments that serve as more than reasonable 'chapter' ends in the show. I mean when the last words are 'my newly melted heart now blossoming into a new life,' can we really say that's not a significant place to end? He literally states that from then on, his life is new. In 'Pierre', 'Dust and Ashes' and 'Letters', we see Pierre lament that he does not understand what he has to live for. And then he finds it in a moment of simple, genuine gratitude from Natasha. Then he sees the comet: The comet said to portend Untold horrors And the end of the world But for me The comet brings no fear No, I gaze joyfully And this bright star Having traced its parabola With inexpressible speed Through immeasurable space Seems suddenly To have stopped Like an arrow piercing the earth Stopped for me It seems to me That this comet Feels me Feels my softened and uplifted soul And my newly melted heart Now blossoming Into a new life The comet is symbolic to him of the joy he feels, of his melted heart and of his ability to move into that new life. It would be super weird if there was an extra 10 minutes after the comet or if it cut off just before that part of the book. As for the score being forgettable, taste in music is very, very subjective and Great Comet's score is strange, at times unnerving and even deliberately unpleasant (I'm thinking of the 'constrained and strained, irksome' sharp sound that is used to reflect Natasha and Mary's unpleasant feelings towards each other.) It is also not what people expect to hear when they enter a Broadway theatre. It is not a score that is instantly hummable. I completely understand why people have an issue with it. In fact, I first listened to the off-Broadway cast recording before the show made it to Broadway because I'm a big Phillipa Soo fan and was instantly put off by the majority of it. It very, very gradually grew on me and it was only after I'd seen the show that I was able to embrace it in full. However it IS complex, varied, original and innovative. It is clever. It is a score that is incredibly rewarding the more you listen to it. I would say the most recent time I listened to it is the time I enjoyed it the most, unlike most songs where the effect wears off after a while. It blends folk, electropop, rock, blues and traditional Broadway ballads. In my view, people are free to dislike the score but I think there should be a level of admiration. I think the ensemble is so big in order to add to the spectacle of it which in my view is used ironically. The line in the first song that says 'chandeliers and caviar, the war can't touch us here,' is proof of that. They're being deliberately ignorant of the horrors of what surrounds their country because they have the grandness and spectacle of Russian high society to remain ignorant in. This is reflected in all of the design elements. It's even shown in the lobby. The lobby is designed as a drab, bleak, grey war bunker and then you enter the main house and are greeted with opulence and beauty and spectacle. In other words, you enter and forget/ignore what's outside. And yes, it's reflected in the huge ensemble. They're there to provide the spectacle of the huge numbers like Prologue, Balaga, The Abduction etc. but then at the end when all is said and done we are left with Natasha, Pierre - and once all the stunning lights have gone down - a single light bulb to reflect the Great Comet. We are left with simplistic staging, two cast members and finally the real heart and meaning of the piece is left bare for us to witness. There's no spectacle left to distract themselves with so they have to face up to reality and in that moment of regret and shame and anxiety they find the reality of what love really is. Don't get me wrong, the story is slight and the music is weird. It's just that I kind of think that's the point and I think the thought that has gone into this show, at all levels, is so far ahead every other Best Musical nominee this year that it's genuinely 'irksome' that it hasn't been recognised tonight. Aaaaaand done!
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Post by viserys on Jun 12, 2017 6:35:43 GMT
Lovely post. I think my main problem with "Comet" is that they picked THIS bit of War & Peace of all things, thus putting Anatole centre stage, who's a detestable slimey creep in the book (along with his sister) while the big epic arc of the Natasha & Pierre love story is left out and the second big male lead, Prince Andrej doesn't even get a look in. When I watched the BBC adaptation of War & Peace last year (which, admittedly, is my point of reference here as I've never tackled the book), I found this part of the story (which covered one episode of the six) by far the weakest as it seemed more like a trivial teenage soap opera ("good girl falls for bad boy, gets into a mess, goody two-shoes best friend steps in to save the day") while there were so many more bigger issues in War & Peace to tackle.
HOWEVER - I've gradually come 'round to the show after someone whose opinion I explicitly trust loved it. I also think the new Broadway cast recording is far easier to listen to than the godawful OOBC. I have yet to see this show live to really be able to form an opinion. But I would agree to most of what you write here and no matter what, Comet definitely stands head and shoulders over the bland middle-of-the-road Dear Evan Hansen with its "okay" pop music, mediocre lyrics and too-saccharine tone.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 12, 2017 6:42:10 GMT
Lovely post. I think my main problem with "Comet" is that they picked THIS bit of War & Peace of all things, thus putting Anatole centre stage, who's a detestable slimey creep in the book (along with his sister) while the big epic arc of the Natasha & Pierre love story is left out and the second big male lead, Prince Andrej doesn't even get a look in. When I watched the BBC adaptation of War & Peace last year (which, admittedly, is my point of reference here as I've never tackled the book), I found this part of the story (which covered one episode of the six) by far the weakest as it seemed more like a trivial teenage soap opera ("good girl falls for bad boy, gets into a mess, goody two-shoes best friend steps in to save the day") while there were so many more bigger issues in War & Peace to tackle. HOWEVER - I've gradually come 'round to the show after someone whose opinion I explicitly trust loved it. I also think the new Broadway cast recording is far easier to listen to than the godawful OOBC. I have yet to see this show live to really be able to form an opinion. But I would agree to most of what you write here and no matter what, Comet definitely stands head and shoulders over the bland middle-of-the-road Dear Evan Hansen with its "okay" pop music, mediocre lyrics and too-saccharine tone. I understand! I also had only seen the mini series prior to this and Andrey(/Andrei/Andrej) was probably who I felt was most compelling in that, so it's a big change to have him feature so little in the musical. However, for me Anatole and Helene in Great Comet - whilst obviously deliberately slimey as they should be - were much more compelling to watch than they were in the miniseries and I felt their joint 'seduction' of Natasha was much more believable and worked better, largely thanks to the brilliant Lucas Steele and Amber Gray. I hope you get to see the show soon!
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Post by viserys on Jun 12, 2017 6:46:04 GMT
Lovely post. I think my main problem with "Comet" is that they picked THIS bit of War & Peace of all things, thus putting Anatole centre stage, who's a detestable slimey creep in the book (along with his sister) while the big epic arc of the Natasha & Pierre love story is left out and the second big male lead, Prince Andrej doesn't even get a look in. When I watched the BBC adaptation of War & Peace last year (which, admittedly, is my point of reference here as I've never tackled the book), I found this part of the story (which covered one episode of the six) by far the weakest as it seemed more like a trivial teenage soap opera ("good girl falls for bad boy, gets into a mess, goody two-shoes best friend steps in to save the day") while there were so many more bigger issues in War & Peace to tackle. HOWEVER - I've gradually come 'round to the show after someone whose opinion I explicitly trust loved it. I also think the new Broadway cast recording is far easier to listen to than the godawful OOBC. I have yet to see this show live to really be able to form an opinion. But I would agree to most of what you write here and no matter what, Comet definitely stands head and shoulders over the bland middle-of-the-road Dear Evan Hansen with its "okay" pop music, mediocre lyrics and too-saccharine tone. I understand! I also had only seen the mini series prior to this and Andrey(/Andrei/Andrej) was probably who I felt was most compelling in that, so it's a big change to have him feature so little in the musical. However, for me Anatole and Helene in Great Comet - whilst obviously deliberately slimey as they should be - were much more compelling to watch than they were in the miniseries and I felt their joint 'seduction' of Natasha was much more believable and worked better, largely thanks to the brilliant Lucas Steele and Amber Gray. I hope you get to see the show soon! Thanks, me too. I still hold out hope in my fangirl heart that Josh Groban will bring it to London! And you may have a point about Anatole - the guy who played him in the TV version was just so utterly detestable, so maybe I'd feel different about him, the role and Natasha's attraction to him when I see someone else in the part.
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Post by ali973 on Jun 12, 2017 6:55:59 GMT
For London, I could imagine them going back to the show's roots and mounting a tent and doing it there rather than in an actual theatre (perhaps were they had one for Lazarus).
I think in the case of Broadway, the show has already built a buzz from its off-Broadway run, and adding Groban to the mix added a legitimacy to it (and a name). I think the show will do just fine without Groban, but I think it needed him to get it off.
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Post by herculesmulligan on Jun 12, 2017 7:28:21 GMT
Has anyone got any links to videos of any of the performances yet at all?
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Post by Deleted on Jun 12, 2017 7:33:58 GMT
Has anyone got any links to videos of any of the performances yet at all? CBS are uploading them slowly. So far the opening, Come From Away, War Paint and Cynthia & Leslie: www.youtube.com/user/CBS/videos
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Post by frontrowcentre on Jun 12, 2017 7:42:52 GMT
thank you so much for the link! All the videos I've found so far wouldn't play...
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Post by Deleted on Jun 12, 2017 7:55:53 GMT
Another Great Comet defender here! Whatever you can say about the music/book (which personally I thought were both great, particularly the latter but appreciate they aren't to everyone's taste/maybe not the best of the best) BUT what I can't let go is the fact that it is some of the most innovative staging of a musical I've seen in a long long time. I haven't seen many of the other performances to get grumpy about losses there, though again I thought everyone was great. But the staging, frankly that deserves all the recognition over the (from what I gather) much more traditional staging of the other winners. Other than that, my personal love for Andy Karl's performance and the 'Hog as a whole is a bit disappointing, but it never really stood a chance. But hey I can revel in the delight that was Karl and Orfeh's insagram feeds which are more beautiful than usual in awards season
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Post by Deleted on Jun 12, 2017 8:16:51 GMT
Jennifer Ehle was robbed. 'nuff said.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 12, 2017 8:29:06 GMT
And in other Tony news, Cynthia Erivo actually looked great this year. Sadly, it appears lots of other people allowed her to dress them instead. Oy oy oy.
And Gavin, powder blue??
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Post by Deleted on Jun 12, 2017 8:35:30 GMT
Shut that crap off!
I am so going to use that when things start to drag next time I'm at the theatre.
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Post by Cardinal Pirelli on Jun 12, 2017 10:23:15 GMT
It was a very American set of winners, not in terms of winners' nationality but in a 'well that's what they seem to prefer' sort of thing. Dear Evan Hansen is unlikely to travel well, with its generic score and its 'interesting' morality whilst Hello Dolly is a retread put on with no real effort to make it work for today, other than to plonk an aging star on stage to go crazy over. Maybe UK producers can find someone similar, if so it could transfer successfully but there's a still a massive 'why?' hanging over the whole enterprise.
Meanwhile the two most effective shows 'Natasha, Pierre.....' and 'Groundhog Day' are left to pick up scraps or nothing but their intelligence and cynicism just doesn't chime with the sort of people who are Tony voters. It's no wonder that Chavkin has done much more visibly praised work over here and that Groundhog Day and Andy Karl are more appreciated here also (there does appear to be a dislike of Minchin in particular that is unfathomable).
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Post by Deleted on Jun 12, 2017 10:30:25 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jun 12, 2017 10:37:29 GMT
For London, I could imagine them going back to the show's roots and mounting a tent and doing it there rather than in an actual theatre (perhaps were they had one for Lazarus). You mean on the train tracks at Kings Cross Station? hmm.
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Post by Cardinal Pirelli on Jun 12, 2017 10:48:16 GMT
For London, I could imagine them going back to the show's roots and mounting a tent and doing it there rather than in an actual theatre (perhaps were they had one for Lazarus). You mean on the train tracks at Kings Cross Station? hmm. It would make some of the staging of Anna Karenina easier if they went for that one instead!
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Post by firefingers on Jun 12, 2017 11:15:03 GMT
For London, I could imagine them going back to the show's roots and mounting a tent and doing it there rather than in an actual theatre (perhaps were they had one for Lazarus). You mean on the train tracks at Kings Cross Station? hmm. That bit of land isn't becoming more King's Cross Station, it is going to be an office block for Google. Could stick the theatre tent on the roof.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 12, 2017 11:17:57 GMT
If they bring the tent back for us, then I hope they bring the vodka shots back too.
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