best musical – That Girl Allison

I remember at my last job we all thought this was the almost-guaranteed-shoe-in-for-Best-Musical. It apparently had book issues in it’s out of town try out in Chicago but supposedly it’d been fixed.

I managed to score comps in November and after a speedy trip to the Edison for dinner, Kristen and I settled in at the Neil Simon. We sat in the mezzanine for the first act and it was half empty. We moved down to seats on the side in front row at intermission.

I liked The Last Ship a lot. The score was fantastic – unlike Bono, Sting can write great music for the stage. But the book still had massive issues. It didn’t resonate with me why it was such a big deal to stick it to the man and build one last ship. I suppose that because of that, I couldn’t really empathize with the characters and get involved in the show.

I loved the set though, and the lighting. And Michael Esper? Of course. He was fantastic. As per usual. Also amazing was Collin Kelly-Sordelet as Michael Esper’s teenaged son. He was jaw-droppingly amazing as he should be since he attends Juilliard. Fred Applegate, Rachel Tucker, and Aaron Lazar (who I haven’t seen in anything since 2006!) were also fantastic.

I also really loved the choreography and the “movement” provided by the lovely Steven Hoggett. We guessed before looking in the Playbill at intermission that it was Hoggett – his style of movement is SO distinct.

So, who’s up for Best Musical now? Finding Neverland? Fun Home? Waitress has been delayed as far as I know. We shall see.

Bon Voyage to The Last Ship; Sting Musical Sets Closing Date on Broadway

This article, about Jessie Mueller, was really adorable. I highly suggest you read it. I’m sure she was totally excited to do this interview this morning after partying all night at the Carlyle 😉

The top moments from last night:

A Gentleman’s Guide winning Best Musical. Obviously. (Full disclosure: my current office of employment works on the show so we were all incredibly happy.)
Hedwig’s performance. it was the best (GGLAM following a close second!). Hedwig is going to be sold out for their entire run soon. Mark my words.
Lena & NPH winning their much deserved awards.
Bryan Cranston and All the Way winning. Love that show.
Jessie Mueller’s acceptance speech. She was so sincere.

Let’s see, last night’s WTF moments were as follows:

The Wicked performance. That was the best they could do? Come on. Idina Menzel was in the house – throw her $10k to perform Defying Gravity. She’s a single mom now, so she could probably use the extra money, right? (No, I’m just being an asshole and I’m completely kidding. I think she makes upwards of $20k/week for If/Then, she’s fine.) This performance was a waste of time and a dishonor to a show that’s been on Broadway and selling out for 10 years.
The Music Man rapping. WHAT WAS THIS? Everyone at the party was speechless. We had no idea what was going on.
Nikki James in Les Miserables. Jesus christ. When is she scheduled to go on vacation because I cannot sit through a production of Les Miserables for three hours where Eponine sounds like a, and I quote, bag of dying babies. Miscast, indeed.
Celia Keenan-Bolger and The Glass Menagerie losing. WHAT? This was not supposed to happen. Wires got crossed somewhere.
The opening number. Look, I get it, I read online today why Hugh Jackman was hopping, but even if I’d gotten the reference when I was watching it, it was still incredibly boring. It was one of the most lackluster openings in a while.

It wasn’t the best Tony’s, but it had it’s moments. I was exhausted and made my way home around midnight. It’s always worth the exhaustion.

Taking Her Tony Home