Full disclosure, I love musicals, so The Tony Awards is always one of my favorite things to watch. Living in NYC doesn’t mean I get to go see a lot of Broadway, as let’s get real, I can’t afford it. But the shows I have been able to catch this season, and the musicals featured on The Tony Awards look like something you must try to get over and see. Motown! Annie! Newsies! Kinky Boots! I really could go on…but back to Neil Patrick Harris.
I kind of want to marry Neil Patrick Harris. Hilarious, talented, I think probably sweet too, he makes lovin’ (Broadway) fun. Last night, Harris hosted The 67th Annual Tony Awards, pulling out all the stops in a hard-to-top opening act, and kept the show moving along (which is no easy feat) with humor, talent and his co-hosts – costumed cast members of various current Broadway shows. It’s a great way for those poor, unfortunate souls who don’t live in New York a chance to have a sneak peek at what kind of shenanigans are going on right now in Times Square. And no, I’m not talking about that creepy Cookie Monster.
Outside of my obvious crush on Harris, we also got to see the likes of Cyndi Lauper (who won Best Score for her musical Kinky Boots), Martha Plimpton, Tom Hanks, Alan Cumming, and Cicely Tyson (who won the Tony for Best Leading Actress in a Play). Along with seeing lots of talented people perform live for our viewing pleasure, one I thoroughly enjoyed (and did not know I would so much) was the cast of Bring It On: The Musical. They performed an amazing, feminist manifesto of having the strength to empower yourself to greatness through support, friendship and, obvi, – team spirit. Which is kind of what Broadway is all about. It’s what makes Broadway so special, and The Tonys such a joy to watch.
That and my aforementioned undying love of the theatre…here I am in the Wig Room at Bring It On: The Musical.
When watching the Oscars, I always feel like there is a looming question:”Where my ladies at?!” Which is such a shame, because there is obviously no shortage of them behind the scenes, or in front of the camera. They just always seem to get the shaft. Broadway, on the other hand, is crawling with them. Well-dressed, fabulous actors, directors, choreographers, singers, stage production ladies (they exist!), and more who win SO MANY awards. In addition, unlike the cut-throat nature of show business, these ladies are around to support each other, and are never shy about being “proud to be a community of talent” or being given the opportunity to be “welcomed to the family”. Talk about inspiring! It’s nice to know that a community can and does exist.
So, in effort to join the club, here’s my Tony Award winner speech:
I’d like to thank all the inspiring ladies (and gays) in my life for introducing me to musicals at young and impressionable age, to Jessica and Emily for helping me write a musical in 8th grade about secretly slutty nuns (oh, it’s true), to Disney for making being a kid in the 80’s easy, to Pee Wee Herman for blowing my mind, to the Little Theatre in Chattanooga, TN for putting on Evita, to Thursday night karaoke at Playbill Café in Washington, DC that not only encouraged singing of musical numbers, but basically required it, and of course, to my Graddaddy Bill, who never failed to show up to a theatre performance of mine, though often slept through them.
If you missed the show last night, you can catch clips or the show in its entirety at CBS.com. Or, if you just to watch my new husband in the opening act, check that out below.
Images via CBS.com and my Android
