Tony Awards 2016

Last night’s Tony Awards show was once again delightful, and then we can add in “thoughtful.” There was the somber news of the shooting in Orlando as noted by host James Corden and several others as they accepted awards. Frank Langela, who won for best actor in The Father, spent his acceptance time telling us and the world that this nation would not tolerate this senseless act of violence, the killing of fifty people by Omar Mateen, a follower of the radical Islamist group ISIS. Lin-Manuel Miranda won for best score (Hamilton) and best book for a musical (Hamilton). His acceptance was highlighted by a moving recital of a sonnet he had written about what happened in Florida: “When senseless acts of tragedy remind us that nothing here is promised, not one day . . . Love is love is love is love is love is love, Now fill the world with music, love and pride.” And then there’s the class and glamour of the show itself, the musical performances from the nominated musicals. The entire night—the awards, the audience, the performers—is so classy. The Oscars could certainly learn something about how to get it right. I thought that no one would ever be able to host the show as well as Neil Patrick Harris, but host James Corden came very close.

In his Opening Number “That Could Be Me,” he zips through more than a dozen musicals of the past, trying to explain how he felt about the musical stage when he was a boy. Like lightning: Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera, Lion King, Jesus Christ Superstar, Sound of Music, Music Man, Guys and Dolls, West Side Story, Cats, Evita, Fiddler on the Roof, Gypsy. Did I miss any? Probably. But he was going so fast that’s entirely possible. And through the evening we got to taste numbers from the nominated musicals—Waitress, School of Rock, Bright Star, Shuffle Along, and, of course, Hamilton. Also the nominees for best revival of a musical—The Color Purple, Fiddler on the Roof, She Loves Me, and one of the most interesting musicals Broadway has ever seen, Spring Awakening, which has the entire cast of deaf people signing the words as they sing the numbers. Once again, the magic of Broadway captured us. We have our Arizona Broadway Theatre to help fulfill our musical needs, but the real Broadway is the best. The singing, the dancing, the set designs, the costuming—all are unduplicatable. Whoa! Is there such a word as “unduplicatable?” My spell check gives it a yes so I guess it must be a real word. Corden and the writers couldn’t resist taking a jab at our two presumptive candidates for the presidency, suggesting that we might see two new musicals this year, The Book of Moron and A Clinton Line. Now I have to wait another year to see another Tony Awards. Come on, 2017.