Tony Awards Live!

Some people go crazy for the Emmys, while others go gaga for the grammys.  Meanwhile, I'm a Tony's girl.  It's like a national holiday.  So tonight, I'm trying something different and live-blogging my thoughts - as well as I can while fan-girling, that is.

~ The opening speech about last night's heartbreaking news out of Orlando, was pitch perfect.  I thought they may pre-empt the ceremony in honor of the victims, but I agree with going on.  The theatre community has always been about diversity and spending the evening showing what diversity can accomplish and celebrating it, is a perfect response to the hateful act. #HateWillNeverWin

~ I LOVE LOVE LOVE the opening act.  James Corden is now my most favorite host ever.  The songs, the cutest little boy ever, the love and inclusion message - every single thing was perfect!

~ "Welcome to the Tonys, which are sort of like the Oscars but with diversity!" and "There's so much diversity here tonight that Donald Trump is thinking of building a wall around the theatre tonight." HAHAHA! 

~ Jane Krakowski, and Renee Elise Goldsberry's dresses are gorgeous!

~ The live Ham4Ham outside the Beacon is genius!

~ Ok, Audra McDonald's dress is my new favorite.

~ Love Renee Elise Goldsberry, but Jane Krakowski was amazing in She Loves Me!  She deserved the award for the splits she does, alone. (Hamilton award count: 1)  However, the fact that the cast of Hamilton is crying because she Renee won, is very very sweet.

~ Audra McDonald is pregnant, belting and tap dancing - clearly she's super woman!

~ I had no desire to see School of Rock before tonight, but now I'm thinking it might need to happen.

~ Titus Andromedon (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt) auditioning for Hamilton was awesome! This would be me if ever I got enough guts to audition for anything.

~ Daniel Dae Kim is just as dreamy in a tux as he was yesterday in his Kingly duds in The King & I.

~ ~ Hamilton Award Count: 3 (though I was hoping for a 3 way tie between Groff, Diggs and Jackson)

~ Do any of the nominees up against Hamilton actually think they might win?  

~ Lin! getting a standing O from his family - too cute!  He wrote a sonnet for his acceptance speech because of course he did.  I just want to have dinner with him and have a little of genius wear off on me. (Hamilton award count: 4) "Fill the world with music, love and pride!" Yes!!!

~ The set design for She Loves Me looks just as beautiful digitally created as it does for real on the stage at Studio 54. Seriously, how does she do a split like that?! Where can I get a pair of pj's like that?  Too cute!

~ I still have NO idea how Jesse Tyler Ferguson wasn't nominated for Fully Committed.  Memorizing 40 different characters and performing them in 90 minutes is a feat of super-human talent.

~ Not the Humans!?  That's a big upset!

~ Hamilton Award Count: 5 (Yay Tommy Kail and fabulous speech!)

~ To Life! L'chaim! - Ha! Josh Groban in Fiddler - so fantastic!  His reaction was priceless!  "Oh, that just happened on the Tony's" Yay, arts education!

~ In the words of Something Rotten! - "Who is this fiddler and why is on the roof?"

~ After a little more than an hour, I'm ready to announce that this may be my most favorite Tony award broadcast ever!

~ Who stole Neil Patrick's Harris's hair?

~ I'm adding the female accountant's dress to my list of faves.  The orange is beautiful!

~ Yay Andrew Rannells!  He'll hopefully be nominated for Falsettos next year.

~ If I could be sure I wouldn't cry, I'd really want to see The Humans.  

~ How does one decide to take up the Banjo?  Not that he's not fab at it, but it's just so odd to see Steve Martin playing it. "To be on Broadway you have to study and work really hard, or you can do what I did, and already be famous." Ha!

~ The Moana trailer is out!  Woohoo!

~ The Law and Order bit is fantastic - since L&O is one of the few shows that shoots in NYC, most of Broadway has been in it.  

~ Hamilton Award Count: 7 (I'm feeling bad for the set designer who is the only HamFam that hasn't won yet.  Do you think he'll be voted off the island since he lost?

~ Still not really into seeing The Color Purple but Cynthia Errivo has an absolutely gorgeous voice!  Much deserved standing O!

~ Nathan Lane!  It wouldn't be Tony's night without him. "Winning means everything, is the first lesson I learned at Trump University." Ha!

~ Emilio Estefan is the sweetest. Yay Gloria!!  You go girl!  The woman playing her in the show looks and sounds just like her - that casting director is fabulous at his/her job!

~ Carpool Karaoke!!!  This has me grinning from ear to ear! Even if some of it is a repeat, I'm in love!  I just want to be a fly on the windshield of this car.  I have this idea in my head that Lin looks like this on a daily basis in his own car.

~ Sad Jeff Daniels lost to Frank Langella.  From what I hear, he's a powerhouse in Blackbird.  However, he just gave a beautiful speech.

~ The Oscars couldn't even see fit to include more than one race in their nominations and telecast, but the Tony's are not only including all races, genders, sexual orientation, but also disabilities as well.  This version of Spring Awakening looks so amazing!

~ Hamilton doing Rent!!  Oh my god! Way to make me cry.  Such a gorgeous sentiment for today!

~ I love how CBS has decided to Broadway-ify all of their commercials for the evening...

~ I'm not sure how I feel about all of these awards being given off stage. I mean I love having time for the performances but these artists deserve their moment in the sun as well.

~ Why is the music playing so loudly over Diane Lane's speech?

~ Blair Underwood is dreamy.  That is all.

~ The woman that just won the special award missed her chance to give a kiss to Blair Underwood - she's gonna regret that tomorrow.

~ Why is James Corden wearing that awful suit?

~ Who better to intro Hamilton than Hamilton's number one fan boy and girl - President and Mrs. Obama.  So great!  

~ Hamilton - here we go!  Moment of silence for awesomeness!  How in the world did that not warrant a standing O? So, So, So Brilliant!  Such a great song choice too.  They were able to include everyone in the cast.  

~ Christian Borle is my fave!  He is also dreamy but is not wearing a ribbon.  Really Christian?

~ Yay Humans!  Eli's daughter from the Good Wife is in it which is admittedly the only reason I wanted it to win.

~The crazy red suit is now gone.  Will we ever know why he was wearing it?

~ James Corden's parents are adorable.

~ Ok, I'm going to have to bite the bullet and spend the money.  Waitress looks great!  I wonder how not so fun it is to wear a pregnant belly for a whole show?

~ I'm seeing ads this evening for independent movies I've never heard of before.  Is that an assumption that since we like theatre we'll like them?  

~ Hamilton Award Count: 9 (they can only tie The Producers not break the record)

~ Andrew Rannells in The Book of Moron, Glenn Close in A Clinton Line - HAHAHA!

~ Go Bebe Neuwirth!  Yet another show I've never seen live.  I'm going to have to fix this.

~ Sad to see She Loves Me lose out to the Color Purple.  She Loves Me was fabulous!

~ Oh my goodness, Seasons of Love for the In Memoriam segment?  Perfection!

~ HOLY COW!!!  The fact that Leslie won instead of Lin is HUGE!!!  His speech is so uplifting.  This cast is like a set of the most amazing people on the planet.  

~ Second shock of the night, no Phillipa Soo.  Yay Cynthia though!

~ Wow, that sparkly green jacket James is wearing is a lotta look.

~ I just don't get the Streisand thing.  She's cool, but really a standing O for just walking on the stage?

~ Why does Streisand's outfit look like it was taken from the cast of Hamilton?

~ Surprising almost no one - Yay Hamilton!  Though, I'm still not sure she actually opened the envelope before announcing the win...Why is the cast not on the stage too?   Lin's on verge of tears face is my favorite.  I swear that's his natural state. "Look around, look around, how lucky we are to be alive right now." Awesome!

~ And Hamilton to close the show!  Awesome! Yay Schuyler sisters!  The perfect ending to a perfect show!

And so ends one of the greatest Tony telecasts ever.  Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did!