People come, people go, people find more Yuletide ideas they'd never considered.

[tzikeh]

Tonight, The Tony Awards air on OMG DON'T RUN AWAY I KNOW YOU THINK YOU DON'T CARE BUT HANG ON A MINUTE.

Tonight at 8 (7 central), The 2009 Tony Awards air on CBS. Why is this of any interest to you unless you are a die-hard (mostly musical-) theater fan, you ask?

First of all, the evening's host is Neil Patrick Harris.

NEIL PATRICK HARRIS, PEOPLE.

For them as only know him from Dr. Horrible and/or How I Met Your Mother, NPH is a Broadway veteran (Cabaret, Proof, Assassins), and has performed in plays and musicals all over the country.

Second of all, the nominees are STUPID INSANE this year--Jeff Daniels, James Gandolfini, Geoffrey Rush, and Raúl Esparza for best actor in a play, Hope Davis, Jane Fonda, Marcia Gay Harden, Janet McTeer, and Harriet Walter for best actress in a play, and it's C.J. Cregg versus Abby Bartlet when Alison Janney and Stockard Channing vie for best actress in a musical! Two more faves: John Glover is up for supporting actor in a drama, and Angela Lansbury for supporting actress.

Third of all, if you don't watch, you risk missing a performance like this one, because you never know what you might see in any given year.

This is from the 1989 musical adaptation of Grand Hotel. I'm not gonna get into the whole plot, because Jeezy Creezy it's involved, and a summary is unnecessary for this post. But lemme tell you about the two guys in the video below.

Berlin, 1928. Baron Felix Von Gaigern (quadruple-threat Brent Barrett) is young, handsome, dashing, and completely penniless. He has gotten himself into deep debt with people who don't take that lightly, and he sees a chance to pay them off when a wealthy ballerina checks into the hotel with a collection of expensive jewelry.

Otto Kringelein (the astounding Michael Jeter, whom you might recognize as Mr. Noodle from Sesame Street, or from his roles in The Green Mile, The Fisher King, or Evening Shade, among others) is a buttoned-down bookkeeper who, upon discovering that he is fatally ill, decides to truly live his last days by checking in to The Grand Hotel. When the hotel manager tries to toss him out of the "overbooked" hotel, Kringelein gets so upset that, in his weakened state, he passes out. The kind and sympathetic Baron uses his not-inconsiderable charm to get Kringelein a fine room, and a tuxedo for evening festivities at the hotel. The two men bond instantly. You can see where I'm going with this, I'm certain (PLEASE PLACE YOUR YULETIDE VOTES NOW).

In this number, "We'll Take a Glass," the Baron and Kringelein celebrate their new-found friendship.

LOOK AT HOW THESE MEN LOOK AT EACH OTHER. THAT RIGHT THERE IS PURE SHARED JOY AND DEEP LOVING WARMTH AND OTHER THINGS. THERE'S A LOT MORE HAND HOLDING GOING ON HERE THAN IS STRICTLY NECESSARY I TELL YOU WHAT.

For them as what can't see it, it's on YouTube here.

I mean Kringelein is all tipsy and happy--likely for the first time in his small, dreary life, and the Baron finds him sweet and endearing and has taken him under his wing, and right after this scene there are all these other scenes with other people so WHERE DO THEY GO AND WHAT DO THEY DO NEXT I PUT THIS ON THE TABLE FOR YOU TO PONDER.

Also, if you want to see one of the most succinct (40 seconds!) but heartfelt and lovely acceptance speeches in the history of the Tonys, Michael Jeter's moving words have become justly famous among theater types. (For non-Tony-watchers: the nominees don't wander about all night in costume; the supporting actor award was presented directly after "We'll Take A Glass" finished, so instead of changing and going back to his seat, he was stationed backstage in case he won. My educated guess is that they knew Jeter had it in the bag, and wanted the performance right there in front of people when he accepted.)

So there's that. Watch The Tony Awards. NPH says there's a chance he'll sing. ;)

ETA: NPH on Late Night with David Letterman, delivering the Top Ten Signs You've Hired a Bad Tony Awards Host.

Comments

[slb44.livejournal.com]

I'll never get why more people don't watch the Tony Awards. It's always full of the most incredible surprises. You see folks you never think you will and best of all, tonnes of top notch actors in every field.

I'll be watching and enjoying myself immensely. It's always the best award show on tv in any given year. Drama, comedy, or musical, there's just so much to appreciate.

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

I'll never get why more people don't watch the Tony Awards.

Lack of familiarity with the nominated material. Everyone can see movies or watch tv. Hardly anyone (comparatively) goes to Broadway. For many people watching the Tony awards is watching a bunch of people they've never heard of win awards for things they've never seen.

[slb44.livejournal.com]

But honestly, after wards all my friends are, "OMG Hugh Jackman, Jeremy Irons, Martin Shaw, Ian McKellan, Ralph Fiennes,.... (fill in the blank) why didn't you tell me?" Thing is, I do, every year and they still, oh it's only Broadway. Then when they find out someone they adore would rather work in theatre or movies they get all upset that they might not see them again, and blame live theatre for it. It's just ridiculous imho. People are very strange even when it comes to their fannish interests. ;-)

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

People are very strange even when it comes to their fannish interests.

Fixed that for ya. :D

[slb44.livejournal.com]

Yeah, realized that after I posted, but was only in on a water break from gardening, so didn't take the time to delete and repost. *g*

[hubbit.livejournal.com]

I think another reason is that the Tony Awards don't get the overpublicity that other awards programs get. Major news sites drool all over themselves when it comes to the Academy Award, or the Emmy Awards, or the Grammy Awards. I haven't noticed the same press for the Tony Awards. Were it not for this LJ alert, I'd not have known that they were tonight.

And even though fewer people go to Broadway, Broadway makes an effort to go to the people. Road shows abound, and Chicago in particular has a ridiculously vibrant theater scene between Broadway In Chicago and various independent houses. Mrs. Hubbit and I really should rework our budget and get out and see something at least once a month.

But I have now followed The Tony Awards on Twitter and joined the Facebook Fan Club, so I'll at least be able to come home from work and catch up on what I've missed. Tapping a pair of friends to DVR the rest.

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

I think another reason is that the Tony Awards don't get the overpublicity that other awards programs get. Major news sites drool all over themselves when it comes to the Academy Award, or the Emmy Awards, or the Grammy Awards. I haven't noticed the same press for the Tony Awards.

But that's because most people don't go to Broadway theater--as I said above, lack of familiarity with nominated material. There is no point for major news sites to drool over the Tonys because it won't bring them ratings, while reporting on the Oscars and Emmys--which are full of household names and sex symbols--will draw people in. Movies, TV, and music are omnipresent and easily accessible to anyone, while you have to go to New York City (time, money, desire) and see each specific show (massive money, desire) in order to have seen the work that the five nominees for best actor did this year. The tv is right there in front of you. The music is 99 cents a pop. The entertainment media isn't interested in reporting on entertainment that nobody sees.

Here's an example in hard numbers:

Nathan Lane played Max Bialystock in The Producers on Broadway from March 21, 2001, to March 17, 2002. Let's round that up to a full 52 weeks. There are 8 shows a week, which means he appeared (if we pretend that he never missed a single show) 416 times. The St. James theater (where it played) seats 1700 people (possibly up to 1710 with wheelchair seating). 1700 x 416 = 707,200.

707,200 people saw Nathan Lane in The Producers over the course of 365 days.

Now.

The Hangover, a movie that premiered Friday, took in $43,275,000 from Friday to Sunday. The average price of a movie ticket in the U.S. in 2009 is $7.18. This means that 6,027,518 people saw actor Bradley Cooper in The Hangover over the course of three days.

Around six million people in one weekend versus around 700,000 people in one year.

When people say "nobody goes to the theater," they, for all intents and purposes, are speaking the truth.

[vickita.livejournal.com]

How much do I heart my TiVo, that I was able to tell it to record this from two time zones away? *g*

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

THIIIIIIIIIIS MUCH! (and thanks for an excuse to use my TiVo icon!)

[bethbethbeth.livejournal.com]

I'm rooting mostly for Geoffrey Rush, who was not only brilliant in Exit the King, but - when I wrote him a fan letter (oh, the shame), actually wrote back! *g*

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

I love the ones who write you back.

TONYS WOOOO!

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

Geoffrey Rush's speech was FABULOUS!!

[bethbethbeth.livejournal.com]

I know! He made me so happy. :D

[tingler.livejournal.com]

That was brilliant! Okay, you've talked me into it. TiVoing the Tonys tonight!

And wouldn't life just be that much better if there were overall more handholding?

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

So much better. And YAY A CONVERT!

[penwiper26.livejournal.com]

Hmm...do you think it might be...LEGENDARY?

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

Wait for it....

[iseult-variante.livejournal.com]

Delurking because:

a) OMG thank you for reminding me, I almost forgot! and

b) it is possible that I went to see Jersey Boys recently, and spent large chunks of the show going, "... there's not a lot of sub to this text, right? It's not just me, right?" to the point that I was convinced that when I got back on the interwebs, and checked Yuletide, there would be fic. Y'know, fic for the show that is effectively RPF itself. BUT THERE WASN'T. *sadface* I shall have to request it this coming year SIGH. ;)

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

More and more the subtext is really not sub so much as... hypo? Hm. We need a new term. Because it isn't *text*, but it sure ain't hiding too well. (Thinks of Monty Python sketch "How Not To Be Seen")

And you're welcome!

[iseult-variante.livejournal.com]

See, I wonder if it's more along the lines of hypER or surtext - like, you have the basic text that makes up the narrative, but then you have the tasty, tasty icing of how you are interpreting things on top of that? Hrm. Like, it makes sense without the surtext, but it's an added bonus of an emotional/romantic/character arc. And it's obviously there, like icing on a cupcake, or something, as opposed to having some... almond extract in the batter, or something, which would be more a matter of being able to taste it, i.e. subtext. Possibly this analogy is getting away from me. Also, now I want cupcakes.

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

Also, now I want cupcakes.

... well now I do too. Tasty, tasty, subtext-frosted cupcakes.

[nestra.livejournal.com]

I've heard surtext referred to as the stuff above and beyond the source -- things you know because you read interviews with the writers and actors, deleted scenes, the status of actors' contracts, and so on.

Which really has nothing to do with the original topic. Um. Go Tonys!

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

I like that - surtext!

GO TONYS!

[shayheyred.livejournal.com]

When I checked the clip with his speech, I was surprised to find that it was the same year my high school friend Jon Hadary was nominated! So thanks for the double thrill!

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

HEE! It's always fun to see pals on these shows. When Jason Robert Brown won the Tony for Parade (music and lyrics), I was like, there is Jason Brown, who wrote a song about my breasts when we were at summer camp together. FAME AT LAST!

[shayheyred.livejournal.com]

AHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Thanks!

[jackycomelately.livejournal.com]

I called my mother and let her know. I'm tuning in for Harris, but it actually means more to me that my mother might watch it. She doesn't have a lot of interests.

Re: Thanks!

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

I'm glad I could help out!

[kismeteve.livejournal.com]

Second of all, the nominees are STUPID INSANE this year

So true. There were so many good plays/performances this year that one of my favorite revivals (The Seagull) got completely shut out.