| Bornstein:
Other than a few missteps, awards were right on 'Q'
Rocky Mountain News
June 7, 2004
By Linda Borstein
I take it
all back. What was lining up as a predictable Tony Awards ceremony,
rewarding the musicals most likely to make the most money, ended
up giving its top musical prize to Avenue Q, a show that hasn't
planned a tour and is holed up in one of Broadway's smallest theaters.
What started
off as an embarrassment turned into a classy Tony Awards, which
rewarded devoted theater fans while remaining lively and unstuffy.
It didn't bode well as Hugh Jackman strutted across the stage
of Radio City Music Hall with the Rockettes behind him.
The first
award was a mess, as mottled sound cleared just in time for Billy
Joel to mispronounce three of five nominees. Sean Combs equaled
Joel's feat with another streak of mispronunciations a few minutes
later.
Gentlemen,
you're going on national television. How hard is it to investigate
pronunciations before taking the stage?
Jackman eased
into his second year as host with joy and flair. His seemingly
extemporaneous remarks brought a frisson of the unpredictable
to the event, as he broke his number from The Boy from Oz to reach
out to the audience and pull onstage Sarah Jessica Parker, who
was sincerely flustered and struggled to hold up her strapless
gown as they danced. And when he won best actor, he thanked the
man who originated the role in Australia. That is class.
Other notable
aspects of the evening:
• The
random Hollywood types were kept to a minimum, with almost all
having at least a tenuous grasp to the theater. The exception
was Jimmy Fallon, but who can blame him when he cut a string of
target-hitting one-liners. Fallon pointed out that audiences were
probably wondering if Brian Dennehy had been sent to the MTV Movie
Awards by mistake, then explained that he got the gig by making
out with Elaine Stritch.
• Rather
than a string of dead folks, the awards made special, dignified
mentions of two theatrical legends who died this year: Gregory
Hines and Tony Randall.
• Best
winners: Michael Cerveris, for correcting Combs' mispronunciations
while paying individualized homages to his fellow nominees; Phylicia
Rashad, for her perfectly measured, graceful speech delivered
without notes.
• Best
re-interpretations: Mary J. Blige and Tony Bennett, bringing new
life to What I Did for Love and Lullaby of Broadway.
• My
favorite aspect of the show, though, was the boisterous, uncalculated
response of the audience. Awards for Avenue Q brought screams
and shouts for the little show that could. Even once they're famous,
theater people are still the kids that hung out together in high
school.
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