The Tonys last night seem to have done okay in the ratings department. The show's never going to be a blockbuster there, given that its premise is to bestow awards for work most of America will never see to people most of America has never heard of. And if they have heard of them, it's mostly because they were on TV or in movies.
The hosts — Josh Groban and Sara Bareilles — were largely unobtrusive, making the night about others rather than themselves…which was fine. Many of the winners gave great, touching speeches and many of the winners were big surprises.
This was supposed to be the evening when Angels in America dominated the stage but that distinction instead went to The Band's Visit. Mean Girls was also supposed to win a lot and didn't. Often, the Tony for Best Book of a Musical is presented during the non-televised portion of the award-giving but it was part of the telecast this year, obviously because they thought Tina Fey might take it home.
My friend Shelly Goldstein came over and we watched the show in a skillful way. My TiVo was recording both the Tonys and also John Oliver's show over on HBO. We watched the first half-hour or so of award-bestowal, then hopped over to view Mr. Oliver's program. When we returned to viewing the Tonys, we were a half-hour behind the broadcast…so we could skip instantly ahead through commercials and station breaks. By the time that "pad" was used up, we were current with the Tonys, watching the last half-hour or so in real time. Thus, we watched a three-hour awards show and a half-hour of John Oliver in three hours. Who says time travel is impossible?
Having only seen a few of the nominees, we had no real opinions as to who was win-worthy or not but we were qualified to judge the show itself — it was okay — and the all-important question of which shows probably managed to make viewers say, "Hey, I want to see that!" The Band's Visit probably did that just by winning so many trophies. Frozen and Spongebob Squarepants didn't win much of anything but I bet they sold more tickets than some shows that did. (These are my views, by the way, not necessarily Shelly's.)
Carousel probably didn't because though the number was rousing and fun, you could watch it and still have no idea what the show was about; the same with Once on an Island. My Fair Lady is a marvelous show and I'll be discussing it here shortly…but they opted to cram three of its numbers into their allotted time and that meant slicing them down so much they lost all impact. Given how hard tickets already are to get, that might not matter much.
And the number from Mean Girls sure didn't make me want to buy a ticket but since I'm not teenage and female, maybe they don't care. It'll do fine without that Tony Bump.
All in all, a decent show especially when watched with Shelly Goldstein and great food from the Wood Ranch Grill. It's really the best way to watch the Tony Awards.