It’s the eve of the Tony Awards. By this time tomorrow, we’ll know what the voters decided on and we will Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday morning, afternoon and evening quarterback (and possibly still further… Two Gentlemen of Verona over Follies anyone…?). Twitter, facebook and the blogosphere will be a jumbled mess of opinions, arguments, commentary and 20/20 hindsight. But for now I want to share one of my favorite Tony acceptance speeches -and one of the more unique -in Tony history.
Lily Tomlin has appeared in two solo shows on Broadway, both solo works and has won Tonys for both. The more famous is her 1985 vehicle The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe, which she revived in 2001. But in 1977, Tomlin made her Broadway debut in a special limited engagement Appearing Nitely, which she directed and cowrote with her partner Jane Wagner. She received a special Tony award for her acclaimed appearance and in turn they made her work for it. Happy Tony watching and may you all win your Tony party pool. In the meanwhile, here’s Lily. Enjoy:
Thank you for reminding me of this joyous performance.