The 2008 Tonys

A few thoughts from the Tonys.
Jim Norton is the most adorable old Irish man. I want him to be my grandfather.

Lin Manuel Miranda's freestyle speech was AMAZING. I really hope I can find that on youtube.

It's really too bad this Tony day had to be the day I woke up at 5:45 and sat in the sun for 5 hours. Because the number of performances is wonderful, including the silly Whoopi Goldberg bits- it makes it a really fun experience. I just with I wasn't so exhausted, because now that I've started I can't stop watching them.

Oooh just saw a bit from The Seafarer, which I read the other day. It sounds so much better with real men and real Irish accents instead of the voices I make up in my head. Although the set looked too clean. When I read it it was much dingier. And much smaller. But I suppose it's pretty hard to put a cramped Dublin apartment on Broadway.

Anna D. Shapiro is so young. And reminds me of how lucky I am and that my dream is not impossible. And I'm not even trying to get to Broadway. But it makes me think about luck. She talked so much about how lucky she was. And she certainly seems lucky. But I feel like that's a very female thing. Men don't usually talk about how lucky they were, that the stars happened to align. The men always act like they deserve it. It was just wonderful to hear from someone from something like my own generation- I think I can just understand the way she sees theatre better than other people. Someone worth looking for an opportunity to meet.

Oh Mary Louise Parker. You're onstage! Perform!

How many has Boeing-Boeing won now? Best revival and best leading actor? I remember reading about this year's Tony noms being sexist. It's unfortunate but kind of true... although Whoopi negates that a little bit. It's frustrating that all the winners seem so white, as well. I think the only winner of color so far is Lin-Manuel Miranda for In the Heights. ALL OF THE DESIGNERS ARE WHITE. I suppose that's normal, but when I KNOW there's a black costume designer it makes me sad (ok so he might be my best friend's cousin but I'm allowed to be biased).
Edit: Passing Strange did win best book. So make that 2 winners of color. It just seems conspicuous when there are so many shows created by and starring people of color.

Finally the In the Heights performance! Oh my gosh I want to see this so badly. I thought I did but now I know I do. It totally speaks to our generation- just the multi-facetedness of this song is so modern, subject matter (and even hip-hop itself) aside.

Showing the Mamma Mia commercial during the Tonys is a BAD idea! You're going to turn away the few theatre-lovers who might have been fooled into seeing it!

People always talk about Stephen Sondheim. But I don't think he ever shows up. When was the last time he attended the Tonys? The 70s?

Hurrah Lily Tomlin! I love how she looks to check with the people that LMAO is ok to say on TV. (Literally, not the words).

Today I (officially) graduated from Stanford with a Bachelors Degree in Drama. I received the Louis Sudler Prize in Creative Arts, but also the Sherifa Omada Edoga Prize for work involving social issues, which was a surprise. I remember three years ago when I saw the title of that award for the first time and hoped I would get it one day. Who knew that dream would come true.

Tomorrow I head back up to Berkeley Rep for an interview. Hard to go from graduating to job hunting, although I suppose it shouldn't be. I have had weeks to recover from school work, its time to actually go out and land a job. If only the Tony's would end and I could get a good night's sleep... this is great though because it makes me think about theatre. And how much I love it.

And the moment so many people have waited this long for: the original cast of Rent. (I really dislike the current Mark from the 30 second La Vie Boheme bit which is unfortunate). Here we go!

Oh more white people are winning. Borrring. I'm actually kind of impatiently anticipating best actress in a musical. It's funny that this is the only one they presented actor before actress because clearly Patti LuPone vs. Kelli O'Hara and whoever else is WAY more deserving of the top actor billing. YAY PATTI LUPONE! Oh I am so happy for her. 28 years since the last time she won a Tony. Wow. And she thanked the ghosts!

Alright the Chorus Line Whoopi gimmick went over the edge for me. You'd think they'd start with the more gimmicky ones so we wouldn't get tired as the entertainment slows.

At least we get to end on a positive note. Shoot I should have bought my tickets BEFORE it won the Tony. Oh well. Hurray In the Heights!

And the closing music is from... Legally Blonde. Seriously?

The end has finally arrived, and I am off to the depths of musicals in my sleep. Have a wonderful night.