I do love the Tony Awards. They make the Oscars look like a Republican fund-raiser.
Not content to be a charismatic presence in a wifebeater in the X-Men movie franchise, Hugh Jackman has decided to launch an assault on Broadway, and his hosting gig, best actor statuette, and high kicking with the Rockettes left the hardened cynics of the New York theatre community offering their only standing ovation of the evening. Surely the gold lame “shirt” and pelvic thrusts alongside Sarah Jessica Parker didn’t hurt, either.
The awards are just so wonderfully gay, and they don’t make a big deal about it. Boyfriends thank boyfriends, producers speak out in favor of gay marriage, people win awards for playing gay pop stars and Nazi-fleeing transvestites. Okay, so Phylicia Rashad seemed to think she was accepting the Nobel Peace Prize, but everyone else pretty much got it. You can’t really go wrong when several major awards go to a musical about dejected, blunt-spoken slacker puppets. (And now that I’ve seen a number from “Wicked,” I’d suggest you just go ahead and read the book.)
This year, they seemed to fold in Hollywood a bit more gracefully. Most of the movie stars on hand — Jackman, Kidman, Linney, even P. Diddy — have actually performed on Broadway in the recent past. There’s no excuse for Jimmy Fallon, but there never has been, so there you have it.
On an entirely unrelated note, I’m plowing my way through the Discworld books by Terry Pratchett. How did it take me this long to discover them? I’m in the midst of “Pyramids” at the moment, which suffers a bit in comparison to “Wyrd Sisters,” but it’s still great fun. I picked up the DVD of the animated version of “Wyrd Sisters” at the comic store, and, blocky animation aside, it was great fun. Faithful, with excellent voice casting and a real grasp of the spirit of the book. Don’t know if I’d invest in the other ones (I think “Soul Music” is also available), but I’m glad I saw this.
On another entirely unrelated note, if anyone out there has any experience with Jackson and Perkins bulbs, can you let me know if they’ve ever germinated? I’d really love for those crocosmia and liatris to emerge, but I’m not holding my breath.