LET'S HAVE A LITTLE MORE DANCING

I LOVE DANCING. THE TWO LEADS IN GREASE WERE CHOSEN FROM A CONTEST ON TV.
HONEST! AND THEY ARE SO GOOD TOO. Laura Osnes and Max Crumm won the NBC TV Reality Series last year, winning by TV audience votes in addition to professional judges.









Aren't they terrific? Their dream came true.


Jiva

AND THE WINNERS ARE...........

Patti LuPone in Gypsy




Rondi Reed in August: Osage County




Laura Benanti and Boyd Gaines in Gypsy



Deanna Dunagan in August: Osage County




Mark Rylance in Boeing Boeing




Lin Manuel Miranda in In The Heights




NUMBER OF AWARDS:

South Pacific 7
August: Osage County 5
In The Heights 4
Gypsy 3
Boeing-Boeing 2
The 39 Steps 2



June 15, 2008
www.TonyAwards.com

The Winners

Best Play
August: Osage County
Author: Tracy Letts
Producers: Jeffrey Richards, Jean Doumanian, Steve Traxler, Jerry Frankel, Ostar Productions, Jennifer Manocherian, The Weinstein Company, Debra Black/Daryl Roth, Ronald & Marc Frankel/Barbara Freitag, Rick Steiner/Staton Bell Group, The Steppenwolf Theatre Company

Best Musical
In The Heights
Producers: Kevin McCollum, Jeffrey Seller, Jill Furman, Sander Jacobs, Goodman/Grossman, Peter Fine, Everett/Skipper

Best Book of a Musical
Passing Strange - Stew

Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre
In The Heights - Music & Lyrics: Lin-Manuel Miranda

Best Revival of a Play
Boeing-Boeing
Producers: Sonia Friedman Productions, Bob Boyett, Act Productions, Matthew Byam Shaw, Robert G. Bartner, The Weinstein Company, Susan Gallin/Mary Lu Roffe, Broadway Across America, Tulchin/Jenkins/DSM, The Araca Group

Best Revival of a Musical
South Pacific
Producers: Lincoln Center Theater, André Bishop, Bernard Gersten, Bob Boyett

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play
Mark Rylance, Boeing-Boeing

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play
Deanna Dunagan, August: Osage County

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical
Paulo Szot, South Pacific

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical
Patti LuPone, Gypsy

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play
Jim Norton, The Seafarer

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play
Rondi Reed, August: Osage County

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical
Boyd Gaines, Gypsy

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical
Laura Benanti, Gypsy

Best Scenic Design of a Play
Todd Rosenthal, August: Osage County

Best Scenic Design of a Musical
Michael Yeargan, South Pacific

Best Costume Design of a Play
Katrina Lindsay, Les Liaisons Dangereuses

Best Costume Design of a Musical
Catherine Zuber, South Pacific

Best Lighting Design of a Play
Kevin Adams, The 39 Steps

Best Lighting Design of a Musical
Donald Holder, South Pacific

Best Sound Design of a Play
Mic Pool, The 39 Steps

Best Sound Design of a Musical
Scott Lehrer, South Pacific

Best Direction of a Play
Anna D. Shapiro, August: Osage County

Best Direction of a Musical
Bartlett Sher, South Pacific

Best Choreography
Andy Blankenbuehler, In The Heights

Best Orchestrations
Alex Lacamoire & Bill Sherman, In The Heights


Regional Theatre Tony Award
Chicago Shakespeare Theater

Special Tony Award
Robert Russell Bennett (1894-1981), in recognition of his historic contribution to American musical theatre in the field of orchestrations, as represented on Broadway this season by South Pacific.

Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre
Stephen Sondheim

WHAT A FABULOUS SHOW! THE ENERGY LEVEL AT THE TONY AWARDS KNOCKED ME OUT.
PATTI LUPONE SINGING "EVERYTHING'S COMING UP ROSES" WAS SO POWERFUL,
THE AUDIENCE IMMEDIATELY CAME TO THEIR FEET IN A STANDING OVATION WHEN SHE SANG HER LAST NOTE.

HER ACCEPTANCE SPEECH, WHEN SHE WON FOR BEST LEADING ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL, WAS SO HEARTFELT AND MOVING. AS THE ORCHESTRA TRIED TO END HER, SHE SHOUTED "IT'S BEEN 29 YEARS!" NOTING BACK TO HER ORIGINAL TONY AWARD FOR "EVITA".

THE MUSICAL NUMBERS HAD ME JUMPING UP AND DANCING. MY HAT GOES OFF TO WHOOPI, WHO DID A FABULOUS JOB OF HOSTING. SOME OF HER COMEDIC IDEAS WERE THEIR USUAL OUTRAGEOUSLY SHOCKING MOMENTS OF BIZARRE FLAMBOYISHNESS. SHE'S A WINNER TOO.

THE ONLY DISAPPOINTMENT I FELT WAS THE NOTICEABLE ABSENCE OF STEPHEN SONDHEIM, WHO WON A LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD, AND HIS ACCEPTANCE SPEECH, WHICH I THOUGHT PERHAPS COULD HAVE BEEN DONE VIA TV SCREEN OR VIDEO OF SOME SORT, WAS READ BY MANDY PATINKIN.
ALL THEY SHOWED WAS A GIANT PHOTO OF HIM. I WONDER WHERE HE WAS?

I THINK IT WAS PROBABLY THE BEST TONY AWARDS SHOW I HAVE SEEN. I EVEN SENT A NOTE TO CBS TELLING THEM HOW MUCH I ENJOYED IT. THE SHOW COULD HAVE GONE ON FOR ANOTHER HOUR AS FAR AS I WAS CONCERNED.

I HOPE YOU WERE ABLE TO SEE THE SHOW YOURSELF, AND THAT YOU ENJOYED IT AS MUCH AS I DID. NOW THAT THE AWARD "SEASON" IS OVER, IT'S BACK TO READING, WATCHING FILMS, AND SWIMMING!

See you next time,

Jiva

IT'S TONIGHT !! .........THE TONY AWARDS CBS 8 PM

Tony Night Schedule
6:00 p.m. ET – Red Carpet

The excitement of Tony night begins at at 6:00 p.m. ET with live coverage of the celebrities’ arrivals on the Red Carpet, in partnership with NY1 News.

http://www.tonyawards.com/en_US/index.html

Or if you check your TV schedules, there may be TV shows of the Red Carpet arrivals also. Check it out.

7:10 p.m. ET – Exclusive Webcast: The First Hour of the Tony Ceremony

Then, at approximately 7:10 p.m., you can log in for a TonyAwards.com exclusive. Their site is the only place to view a live webcast of the Creative Arts Tony Awards, sponsored by Hilton Hotels, along with the other awards handed out before the telecast begins. These include the Regional Theatre Tony Award, presented by Visa. Past winners Michael Cerveris and Julie White will host. You can see the presentations, acceptance speeches, and everything else that happens on stage—as if you were sitting in the Radio City auditorium.

8:00 p.m. ET – The Tony Telecast on CBS

And then comes the main event – the live CBS telecast from the stage at Radio City. The show begins at 8:00 p.m. eastern/7:00 p.m. central. On the West Coast, the show will be shown on tape delay beginning at 8:00 p.m. PT

TonyAwards.com Coverage

TonyAwards.com is your insider’s pass to this year’s awards. Here is some of what you can expect to find here during and after the telecast:

Thank-you Cam - Live video camera in the wings at Radio City will record the winners' immediate responses as they exit the stage after winning their Tony Awards. The backstage camera will capture intimate and exciting moments from the winners as they give thanks to the people that helped them along the way.

Posting Winners - The site will be updated throughout Tony night with the names of winners

Winners Circle Interviews – Valerie Smaldone will chat with the winners in the Press Room.

Press Room Blog – Bloging from the backstage press room, in partnership with MyBroadway.com.

Acceptance Speeches – See who thanked whom!

Photo Galleries – Pictures from the Red Carpet, the awards ceremony, the post-show gala, and more.


For West Coast Viewers
A note for friends on the West Coast: The Tony telecast will be broadcast on tape delay at 8:00 p.m. Pacific Time on CBS. However, for the benefit of those fans across the globe who do not have access to the broadcast, website coverage of the Tony Awards is live. The winners' names will be posted as they are announced, beginning at 8:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. PT. So if you prefer to remain in suspense until you watch the telecast, we suggest that you log on to live Red Carpet and exclusive Creative Arts Awards coverage beginning at 6:00 p.m. ET/3:00 p.m. PT. Then close your browser and come back after the telecast is over, at which point you can watch video clips of backstage interviews with the winners and presenters.


See you at the Tonys!

Best Wishes, Jiva

THE TONY AWARDS !! SUNDAY JUNE 15

From the minute the Oscars are over, I'm waiting for the Tony's. Broadway's best comes on stage LIVE on CBS Sunday evening at 8 o'clock, EDT (Delayed on the West Coast). Whoopi Goldberg will be hosting. There are pre-show items on both The Tony Awards web site:

http://www.tonyawards.com/en_US/index.html

and also ET television will have the RED CARPET arrivals from 6 PM to 7 PM, and then at 7 PM ET will have a webcast of the FIRST HOUR of the Tony Awards, showing all the awards that are not shown during the main show on CBS.

Here for your pleasure is the list of nominees for Sunday Night's Broadcast:

http://www.tonyawards.com/en_US/nominees/index.html

And HERE is the link to all the Tony web site's Memories, Flashbacks, AND actual
CLIPS FROM EACH SHOW which should help you in judging the winners yourself:

http://www.tonyawards.com/en_US/interactive/video/show.html#a

I hope you enjoy the show as much as I will. No parties at my house, just me, my television, and my list of winners! Cocktails following!

Jiva

JERSEY BOYS

I saw Jersey Boys last night at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center. I saw a most amazing performance with a touring company where two lead performances were done by understudies.
There aren't enough accolades to toss out to this cast. I'm going to have to name the performers and the parts they played, because even though I never saw the New York production, it is really difficult for me to imagine that it was better than the production I saw last night.

The audience gave a five minute standing ovation, and it would have gone on much longer, except one of the cast members insisted we all sit down and stop applauding. That was because they were promoting a Broadway Cares drive for donations to be collected as we left the theater. Even after that announcement, the audience stood up and started clapping again. The energy level was electric.

Here is the list of main performers:

Frankie Valli played by Christopher Kale Jones
Bob Gaudio played by Andrew Rannells
Tommy DeVito played by Matt Bailey (understudy)
Nick Massi played by Nathan Scherich (understudy)

I point out the understudies, because when I saw there were going to be replacements in the cast the night I saw the show, I was afraid it would possibly not be as good as the performers chosen for those roles. Hard to say, as the performances I saw were outstanding. If the original performers were better, it's almost hard to believe. Whatever! I had all I could do to keep from jumping out of my seat and screaming like a teen aged groupie.

The story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons has many dramatic elements.
It's not just the story of a singing group, it's the story of four boys from New Jersey, two of whom were either criminals or borderline criminals, except for Bob Gaudio, who was the composer of their songs, (he was the creative genius behind the group, and he was a fairly innocent guy compared to the others), and Frankie Valli who was 16 when Tommy first took him into the group. Their rise to fame transcended all the squabbling and fighting among the group. And the death of Frankie's 22 year old daughter in his later years was heartbreaking. Marshall Brickman, who wrote the book along with Rick Elice, has a resume` that would raise your eyebrows with his long lists of credits, among them being head writer on both The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, and The Dick Cavett Show. He also wrote the scripts for many Woody Allen films, author or co-author (Sleeper, Annie Hall, Manhattan, Manhattan Murder Mystery).

I've seen a lot of Broadway shows and touring company shows. I used to see shows at The Shubert Theater in Chicago, when I lived there. I saw South Pacific with Janet Blair in the Mary Martin role. She was wonderful, but no Mary Martin. It was a great show, mainly because of the book and the songs. Aside from South Pacific, I'd have to say that my favorite shows as of today are Crazy For You, A Chrous Line, and now this Jersey Boys production. Dynamite productions and dynamite casts.

Here's a clip from the London Cast courtesy of YouTube:



Can't wait for The Tony Awards in June! See you there!

Jiva

IS THE AWARD SEASON OVER??

NOT BY A LONG SHOT! We still have the TONY AWARDS! That's Broadway, baby. I don't know which I love better, Broadway or Hollywood. We do have to wait a bit though, because the Tony Awards won't be on until June 15. The 62nd annual Tony Awards will be broadcast on CBS, live from Radio City Music Hall.

Top Girls is playing in London, and in New York, we have A Catered Affair, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Boeing Boeing, The Country Girl, Cry Baby, Gypsy, In the Heights, Avenue Q, Chicago, Curtains, Passing Strange, South Pacific, Sunday in the Park with George, Come Back Little Sheba, Mama Mia!, Jersey Boys, Top Girls, Thurgood, Xanadu, and more!


I will be seeing Jersey Boys next month right here in Florida. I can't wait! If I could transport myself molecularly, I'd be going to New York every weekend. To me, there is nothing like LIVE theater. I think that's why so many people love to watch The Oscars, not only because of all the stars, but because it's LIVE. And the Tony's are LIVE. It's so exciting, you never know what will happen from one minute to the next.

OK, I saw it! I saw Jersey Boys in Tampa on March 12 at 7:30 PM. Absolutely knocked my socks off!
Here's a clip for all you JB lovers, it's a ten star show... I think the touring company is BRILLIANT !
http://youtube.com/watch?v=P1bI-P-93Is
That's from the Tony Awards... and I'm telling you, this show I saw last night was better. The energy level was 120% non stop. Dynamite show, received a five minute standing ovation. And two of the main parts were played by understudies! I can't say enough about this performance, it was truly truly amazing.


Here is a clip from my absolutely favorite Broadway Show, CRAZY FOR YOU, where we see wonderful Harry Groener dancing so beautifully. Musicals are energizing!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bO3QGo5om6w

And then, Broadway wouldn't be Broadway without the fabulous A CHORUS LINE, and here is a clip from the 1976 Tony Awards with the ORIGINAL Chorus Line!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yk5yIiG3ip4

All courtesy of YouTube