My Thoughts on The 77th Tony Awards

The Tonys were a whirlwind last night! I had seen a majority of the nominated musicals and a good portion of the plays this year so I was very invested. Here are some of my thoughts about the winners and the broadcast:

Alicia Keys & Jay-Z performing during the Hell’s Kitchen segment was probably great for CBS’s ratings (and ticket sales) but feels like false advertising for what the show actually is.

Pete Townshend playing the opening guitar for Tommy a little less so because he was only briefly shown at the beginning of the number.

I like that awards love was spread across so many shows in the musicals categories.

I wish that Here Lies Love had been acknowledged with a win in the set design category over Cabaret.

Perhaps I missed this, but I think there should have been a couple of moments during the broadcast that mentioned the winners of the technical categories announced during the pre-show.

I was on my feet screaming in excitement when Shaina Taub won the best score for Suffs!

On the subject of Suffs- I think that the number they chose to perform was a mistake. The number they performed last night is the finale and while it is impactful in context of the show, I think “The March” from the first act is much more of a show-stopper. More action, less preachy, and Hannah Cruz on a huge mocked up horse...that would have been fantastic!

Unpopular opinion: I was as surprised as everyone else that Maria Friedman didn’t take best Director for Merrily We Roll Along but I agree with the decision. Merrily was a great production but I think that was more about the standout performances than the directing choices. I had seen the filmed version of the same production from London with different actors and I wasn’t a fan.

Nicole Scherzinger brought the house down singing “What I Did for Love” during the In Memoriam. I wasn’t overly excited about a new production of Sunset Blvd. coming to Broadway with her as the star but I am sold now.

Also the staging and filming of the In Memoriam was the best one I have seen in a long time.