Month: June 2010

A Blog of a Thousand Days

Well, another milestone. Theatre Aficionado at Large has been active for exactly 1,000 days today. There are so many interesting things going on this summer, most notably my nephew Jack’s first visit to the United States. My brothers, sister-in-law and nephew have flown in for four weeks so July should prove a bit chaotic. (Lessons learned: babies are enjoyable but exhausting!) But there is also the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, some cast albums to review (including both the revival and reissue editions of Promises, Promises) and perhaps another July shocker like last year’s Tony Awards dropping press voters debacle (we all know what a bum decision that turned out to be…)

I’m still adjusting to the new settings and surroundings with WordPress (I’ve mastered embedding, so huzzah for videos). (And a big shout-out to my web designer and all around IT support, my friend Chris Van Patten). I’m so glad I’m able to share my interests with my good friends in the blogosphere, and am looking forward to what the new season will bring (Driving Miss Daisy, Scottsboro Boys and War Horse!!) There’s nowhere to go but up!

“The Lambeth Walk”

Call me the Ghost of Tony Awards past. I’ve seen a lot written about the lackluster Tony Award telecast that spawned a lot of commentary about the quality of the telecast and the presence of Hollywood actors. As I’ve said, I’m more concerned with the former than the latter. So I’ve been looking at clips from previous awards ceremonies and am in awe of the numbers that used to be shown, in terms of length and quality.

This Tony Award clip comes from Me and My Girl, a 1987 Best Musical nominee. The show was written by Noel Gay in  1937, where it became a huge success after a performance was aired on the BBC (a last minute replacement for a canceled sporting event). The show was a vehicle for British song and dance man Lupino Lane, running 1,646 performances. In 1939, a performance was televised (making it the first British musical comedy to be aired on TV) and film adaptation starring Lane was released (retitled The Lambeth Walk due to the song’s – the show’s major breakout hit –  immense popularity in the days leading into WWII.

The musical was revived in a big way in 1984 at the Leicester Haymarket Theatre , with a new book by Stephen Fry and direction by Mike Ockrent. Tidying up and contemporizing the book, the new production starred Robert Lindsay and Emma Thompson and transferred to the West End in 1985. The production housed the Adelphi Theatre for a whopping eight years and 3,313 performances. Lindsay opened the Broadway production in 1986, opposite Maryann Plunkett, George S. Irving, Jane Connell, Jane Summerhays and Timothy Jerome. Once again, the show was a massive success, running for 1402 performances at the Marquis Theatre.

Plotwise, the show is fairly simple. Bill Snibson, a happy-go-lucky Cockney who is named heir to the Earl of Heresford. In order to inherit the title, Bill must learn to be upper class and pass muster with the elite but faces loses his girl Sally in the interim. The show that ensues is a genial, old-fashioned musical comedy about cultural clash between the British classes.

Lindsay’s performance took both coasts by storm. The classically trained actor had a career triumph, receiving rave reviews that most actors could only dream of. He went on to win practically every theatre award in both London and New York (and repeatedly besting Colm Wilkinson’s Jean Valjean). The London production also won the Olivier for Musical of the Year; the Broadway production received thirteen Tony nominations (including one for Stephen Fry) and winning three for Lindsay, Plunkett (Best Actress in a Musical) and Gillian Gregory (Choreography). Jim Dale replaced Lindsay on Broadway, Tim Curry took the show its national tour.

For the telecast, the original Broadway cast performed  “The Lambeth Walk,” the showstopping act one finale in which Bill’s Cockney friends crash an elite party and get the stuffy upper crust to cut loose. It’s one of the more infectious and endearing numbers I’ve seen on the Tonys. Things to take note of: the running time is a leisurely five minutes, including audience participation, and is allowed to build. The television direction is also much simpler. No flashy edits and camera shots. The number is intimate and looks, feels and sounds like a full-out Broadway showstopper. Not rushed, not constrained but just allowed to be. And notice how the audience in the Mark Hellinger Theatre (oh lost!) laps it up. Enjoy.

%CODE1%

Patti LuPone’s Memoir: a Preview

One of the more interesting books for theatre lovers this year is bound to be Patti LuPone: A Memoir. The two time Tony winning star has never been one to mince words and her book promises to be a blunt, no holds barred look at her career from Juilliard through Gypsy.

Patti made an appearance at BookExpo America 2010 Author Stages to talk about what she had written, and if it’s a sign of what’s to come, we are in for one hell of a page turner.

%CODE1%

Revisiting “A Little Night Music”

I didn’t have plans to revisit the revival of A Little Night Music before Angela Lansbury and Catherine Zeta-Jones’ departures, but much to my surprise I won a contest on BroadwaySpace for a pair of tickets to their final matinee on June 20. I’ve done a lot of final performances, from Bernadette’s Gypsy to The Norman Conquests, so it’s something with which I’m familiar. There is a huge fan base, the cheers are a little louder and longer and the general feeling in the theatre is that of good will. I met up with SarahB and Byrne at Sosa Borella before the show where we dubbed it “Angie Day – Summer Edition” and drank a toast to the star and her day. We headed down to the Walter Kerr, where we met up with fellow ITBA blogger (and Prettybelle enthusiast) Donald from Me2ism. We also had the opportunity to meet our delightful Twitter friend and fellow theatre fan Shari Zeck, who had flown in to see Ms. Lansbury.

Full disclosure: it was a pleasure to be in attendance on this particular performance and in spite of quibbles found myself enjoying the production more the second time, managing to focus on the text and action and mostly forgetting the bland sets, costumes and anemic orchestrations. Getting those quibbles out of the way: Trevor Nunn’s direction is hamfisted, lacking in nuance and full of far too much indicating. Act 1 and Act 2 feel like they were directed by two entirely different people, the former feels like a Lutheran penance, while things pick up considerably in the latter. Erin Davie is still humorless and ineffectual as Charlotte while Leigh Ann Larkin’s accent is still circling the airports of the world.

Catherine Zeta-Jones, fresh off a now notorious Tony performance, is much better than you’d remember based on that telecast but she also never, in my estimation, reached greatness in the part. There are moments when it seems that she’s playing the character of Desiree Armfeldt as the world’s greatest lush, with the idiosyncratic mannerisms of someone secretly taking a nip when no one is looking. Her “Send in the Clowns” stopped the show, but I wasn’t entirely convinced by it (those pregnant pauses – Trevor, how could you?); however, she really shone in the final scene, earning applause when Fredrik and Desiree finally connect (myself included). I think Night Music has one of the most flawless endings in musical theatre history, up there with She Loves Me. Now, mind you I mention these criticisms about her performance, but that’s not to say I didn’t enjoy her this time. At this point, I can only fault the director for the things that didn’t work.

Now onto the good: Hunter Ryan Herdlicka and especially Ramona Mallory have grown in their parts, with more nuance and understanding. Aaron Lazar and Alexander Hanson are still excellent as ever. The Liebeslieders are in excellent voice, and make an impression in spite of the walkography thrust upon them. (What a shame they don’t get to sing the full overture, a glorious piece of music). Keaton Whittaker is still a welcome presence as Fredrika.

And then there’s Angela Lansbury. Lansbury has been the toast of Broadway for so many years and has rightfully earned the status of legend, from Hotel Paradiso onward (to say nothing of her five Tony Awards). I’ve been so fortunate to see her in Deuce and Blithe Spirit, each time amazed that she was returning to Broadway. With her stage renaissance, I had hoped she would play the role of Madame Armfeldt and I am so glad this production made that pipe dream a reality. Out of the three productions, this one outshone the other two. On this last performance, Ms. Lansbury gave the greatest performance I’ve seen from her. On her entrance, which is timed with the applause button for the overture, the ovation grew and grew and lasted what I think must have been between 45 seconds and a full minute. Adulation from everyone in the house; the mere sight of Lansbury in the wheelchair made my heart leap. Her final rendition of “Liaisons” was the most devastating I’ve ever heard in my life, with all respect to Hermione Gingold, Regina Resnik, etc. In the final section of the song, there was unexpected emotion from Ms. Lansbury, as tears came to her eyes. A testament to her unrelenting brilliance: it came from a personal place for her last show, but was also an exceptionally valid acting choice . “Send in the Clowns” got the ovation; but it was “Liaisons” that was the pinnacle of this afternoon’s performance.

At the curtain call, there was a huge ovation as Zeta-Jones and Lansbury stepped forward. It took a couple minutes for Catherine to get the audience to quiet down, finally getting the audience to shut up and sit down. In a moment of pure class, the star dedicated virtually the entire speech to Angela. It was unexpected, honest and a beautiful tribute as those in the house and onstage hopelessly fought back tears. Zeta-Jones got down her knees and bowed down to Angela, who in turn gave a sophisticated curtsy to her co-star. It was a beautiful moment, chock full of emotion. Suffice it to say, I think it was in the back everyone’s minds that this could potentially be the last time Ms. Lansbury, the Queen of Broadway, appears on stage. But the first thing I said to SarahB was “So what do you think Angie will appear in next season?”

Reflections on “Give the Tonys Back to Broadway”

Yesterday, I joined the Facebook group “Give the Tonys Back to Broadway.”

It didn’t take me longer than a split second to click “join” when I saw it. I was deeply disappointed in the quality of the Tony Award telecast on Sunday evening. The opening number, which was a medley dedicated to second hand show music (pop music gone Broadway) was indicative of the weakness of the season and a depressing way to spend the first ten minutes of the show. In fact, were I not at the best party in town I may have turned off the show. When I joined yesterday, I was 776th member. By the time of this writing some 30 hours later, the count is up to 5,000. Hunter Foster, current star of Million Dollar Quartet, is the one who spearheaded this social media movement and has listed the following as the info for the group:

A group for all actors, directors, writers and fans who want to see the Tony awards celebrate the excellence of Broadway by allowing those artists who have made theatre their livelihood to take a more active part in its yearly presentation.

We want the evening to be about Broadway and for the fans of Broadway. This group is about including more of those artists that we admire and look up to, so that it truly becomes an evening to celebrate.

I didn’t join the group in attempt to stop Hollywood actors from returning to the boards or making their stage debuts. I am a little wary of the “come to Broadway for four months and get a Tony trend” but that’s not the crux of this biscuit. So long as the performance is good, it doesn’t matter who is giving it. That’s neither here or there for me. But that seems to be misconstrued as the point of this group.

The reason I joined this group is in relation to the telecast itself, not in reflection to the season or who was featured on Broadway throughout the year. I first started watching the Tonys in 2001; prior to that I was mostly unfamiliar with the telecast but well aware of the award itself. I’ve had issues since my telecast about the direction and pacing of the evening, the distribution of awards (how they are given, not necessarily to whom, though I’m deeply disappointed that Tony voters have yet to give the prize to Jan Maxwell) and overall scope of the awards from beginning to end. Each successive year these issues become more and more pronounced.

In the “olden days” when I started watching, the first hour of the telecast took place on PBS (which also hosted the Drama Desk Awards for a spell), then would switch to CBS for the main portion. As years went by, the telecast of that first hour disappeared, relegating those contending in less glamorous but still important categories to NY1 and a webcast that has yet to be perfected. Costume, set and lighting designers as well as orchestrators and librettists, and in some cases composers and lyricists were now part of this “pre-ceremony” (there’s no getting around the fact that most people tune in to CBS only). Also, depending on the year, those receiving special Tony Awards are also sometimes placed in the earlier slot this year. The greatest example this year is Marian Seldes, who received a Lifetime Achievement Award and gave the most brilliant and memorable acceptance speech of the night.

As for celebrities on Broadway, like I said I have no qualms with that. Let them give Broadway a shot, or let those who’ve found Hollywood success come back home. It’s happened since the dawn of the Tony Awards and there are many great stars who have been nominated for or won Tony Awards since the very first year (Best Actor in a Play Henry Fonda anyone?) It sells tickets, keeps many folks employed and makes most producers salivate with anticipation.

However, the issue I have, and why I think the group was formed, is that when Broadway comes to its year-end celebration of a year’s worth of work – the Tony Awards, those who are actually doing the work seem to get shuffled aside for big names who perform or present. Ratings are the only thing that is really important in television and with a show like the Tony Awards, perennially a ratings loser, seems to be getting more and desperate to draw in audiences, particularly the 18-49 demographic. But it doesn’t sit well with me when Green Day is given five minutes, two songs and the chance to turn Radio City Music Hall into the Grammy Awards while Christiane Noll is relegated to singing half of her big song from Ragtime, for which she is nominated. Kate Baldwin, the effervescent star of Finian’s Rainbow, didn’t even get a moment to shine (even though she was far more movie star gorgeous than half of the Hollywood contingent). I know of a couple of Tony award winning actors who asked to present the following year, but were denied by CBS because they weren’t big enough stars.

That brings about another issue I have with the Tony Awards telecast: the venue. I practically cheered to learn that the Tonys will be unable to be broadcast from Radio City Music Hall next year. Until 1967, the awards were merely a formal dinner ceremony at one of the upscale hotel ballrooms in Manhattan (generally the Waldorf-Astoria) with a local telecast in the NY metropolitan area. It was in 1967 that Alexander Cohen and Hildy Parks nationally televised the awards for the first time on ABC (CBS picked up the Tonys in 1978 and have held onto them ever since), transplanting the ceremony into the Shubert Theatre and showcasing performances from the nominated shows, turning the awards ceremony into a night to celebrate the Broadway season. For the next thirty years, the Tonys were televised in this manner: a Broadway house, performances from nominated shows, performances from theatre legends recreating their signature songs and the presence of immense talent.

In 1997, the Awards moved into Radio City Music Hall, the 6,000 seat landmark entertainment venue on the Avenue of the Americas, adjacent to Rockefeller Center. Watching the performances over the years, I’ve never been quite satisfied with the results. The cavernous auditorium is more than three times the size of the largest Broadway house and the numbers tend to get lost in the space. I was in the front orchestra a few weeks ago for Conan O’Brien’s show and it felt like I was in the back of a Broadway house, relying on the television screens. Put the show back on Broadway – perhaps the Gershwin again (the largest Broadway venue) or as SarahB suggested, the vast but intimate Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center. (I, for one, will now and forever nominate the Mark Hellinger for the venue out of respect to the lost venue).

There have always been stars on the Tony Awards, but there used to be more of a presence of stage stars and pieces from the nominated shows and stars: scenes from nominated plays, musical selections from the nominated musicals. In 1970, Katharine Hepburn and co. performed  a 15 minute segment from Coco. In 1982, the cast of Dreamgirls performed the entire first act finale, lasting 8 minutes. In between there was still chance for novelty performances medleys, tributes – oh, and awards. As the years have gone on, performance times for shows has become more and more limited, a result of increased commercial time and reliance on pop stars to perform. Many shows are required to present abridged songs or medleys that mostly fail to register on TV. Two of the greatest performances I’ve seen since I’ve started watching were Bernadette Peters and Patti LuPone performing numbers from their respective productions of Gypsy. There hasn’t been enough of that caliber on the awards in the last 10 years.

Ultimately, it’s all about the ratings. It’s not that the members of the American Theatre Wing or Broadway League are dismissing the actors on Broadway – that isn’t the case at all. One only has to look at all the work the two organizations do year round for evidence. It’s that the awards telecast isn’t translating well. There are consistent sound issues, unfortunate camera choices and an absence of Broadway. Give me American Idiot, just don’t give me a Green Day concert. By pandering to those who aren’t watching, it’s the loyal viewers whose viewing experience is effectively diminished.

One last point, I don’t think this group was formed as a reaction to stars winning the Tony Award. There was a higher number this year than usual, but it’s not based in sour grapes to their winning.  At least not to me. The reality of the matter in terms of wins remains the subjective result of voting. Keep the stars coming in, just don’t forget those who are already here.

Hepburn in ‘Coco’

Coco is one of the more interesting musicals to have played Broadway. Not that’s very good, but it’s still a show with an interesting gestation. Turning the life of Chanel into a tuner was the brainchild of Alan Jay Lerner and Andre Previn and proved one of the hottest tickets of 1970. The reason? Hepburn. Not Audrey, as Chanel reportedly assumed when she signed away the rights, but Katharine, known for her many talents – save musicality. Frederick Brisson was the producer and was preparing the vehicle for his wife Rosalind Russell, but the star was developing health problems from which she would never recover. The resulting show was an oddity: high class musical staging by Michael Bennett (who also stepped in for director Michael Benthall, now past his prime) with several eye-popping fashion parades of Chanel (as interpreted by Cecil Beaton) and a virtually DOA libretto.

The show opened at the Mark Hellinger after 40 previews to atrocious reviews. Hepburn escaped virtually unscathed, but according to Steven Suskin’s More Opening Nights on Broadway, the show received an overwhelming 5 pans out of 6. The book, the lyrics, the score – the critics weren’t having it. There is very little plot and the show is an excuse for Hepburn to give a star turn (and because of her age, its about Chanel coming out of retirement rather than her rise in the industry).

The 1969-70 season was rather weak overall, and the tightest Tony race was that between nonsingers Hepburn and Lauren Bacall for Best Actress in a Musical. The negligible Applause was better received than it should have been and was the big winner that evening; Bacall was triumphant. (Coco won for Beaton’s costumes and a featured actor Tony for a shameless performance by Rene Auberjonois as an over-the-top gay fashion designer hell bent on destroying Chanel).

However, audiences came out in droves to see the great (then) three-time Oscar winner onstage in her first musical. The result wasn’t pretty (Upon the release of the poorly recorded cast album, Hepburn quipped “I sound like Donald Duck.”) and there is very little to connect Hepburn’s performance with Coco Chanel, but Hepburn was a star and she gave the requisite turn that packed in audiences. No one particularly seems to have cared for the show, but the demand was such that Hepburn extended her limited contract, ultimately spending nine months in the show in NY. Her replacement (Danielle Darrieux) was received as an improvement on Hepburn, because she was appropriately Gallic, demure and more Chanel-like. However, she was not Hepburn and box office interest plummeted. Two months after Hepburn left, Coco shuttered. In spite of being critically reviled, the musical managed to run for 329 performances. Hepburn returned to the role on tour, and the show turned a profit. Plans for a London run and a Paramount film never came to fruition.

Interestingly enough, for all of the show’s critical shortcomings, it maintains the distinction of being the longest performance piece in Tony Award history. The television broadcast devoted fifteen uninterrupted minutes to the musical, showcasing the star Hepburn, but featuring several members of the supporting cast – George Rose, Gale Dixon and David Holliday in some scenes. Hepburn delivers, in an amusing sprechstimme, the eleven o’clock number “Always Mademoiselle” and then steps aside for the ladies of the chorus in a Michael Bennett fashion parade. We’re unlikely to see one show receive this sort of treatment again.

%CODE1%

Aficionado Makeover

I’ve been toying with the idea of another site face lift for a while, but never quite got around to doing it myself (last time I touched it was July ’08!). However, my friend and web designer Chris Van Patten, surprised me with a template of the new site which you see here. I’ve jumped ship from Blogger after two and a half years. Not that I didn’t enjoy using their template, but it was time for a change and here it is! We are still working out some of the kinks and I am getting used to the new set-up but I have to tell you I am loving it so far and I hope you do too!

Random Thoughts on the Tony Awards

Last night I was very fortunate to be watching the Tony Awards at SarahB‘s annual Tony party (which I lovingly call “Lady Iris’ Annual Moon Lady Extravaganza”). We were in a different suite this year, but the company was the same. While it rained on the NY, up inside 1820, the moon was the full, the gin was in the bathtub and a glorious time was had by all. There was a Twitter corner for those who wished to tweet during the ceremony, but we all had such a marvelous time with one another that no one left the couch!

The greatest acceptance speech of the night belonged to Marian Seldes. The beloved actress was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award which was presented on the pre-show telecast on NY1. There had been some conjecture wondering how long Ms. Seldes’ speech would run. However, she trumped all by merely walking to the microphone, taking several glances at the house and merely put her hand to her cheek in astonishment as she walked offstage. I think it will go down as one of the greatest Tony moments ever (and is that now officially the shortest acceptance speech on record…)

I’ve seen some speculation on web boards and twitter that Ms. Seldes’ speech was either disingenuous or indicative of failing health. But the truth of the matter that it is neither. Marian is an animal of the theatre, one who has a unique quality of eccentricity about her. But this eccentricity is pure sincerity. I don’t know that there is another person alive or dead who genuinely loves theatre like Marian Seldes, who recently sat through a three hour performance of A Little Night Music, backstage visit and dinner with a smashed shoulder (which would require surgery). She is wholly dedicated to her profession, and I for one say “Brava!”

Last July, the Tony Management Committee released a statement to the press to inform the world that members of the press were to lose their voting privileges in the awards. There was a huge backlash at the time because of the hypocritical statement that removing the press would make the awards more balanced and fair. Bullshit. It was a choice that removed the most impartial members (approx. 100 folks, accounting for 1/8 of the voters). The results of last night’s awards were indicative of that choice.

Producers were given far more influence in the voting results, which were reflective of the trends of this weary, underwhelming theatre season where the great financial successes were star driven limited engagements. Stars were given preference; not necessarily saying that their performances weren’t meritorious, but it seemed more like a plea on the producers’ part to entice other stars to come to Broadway. While I welcome any and all to give it a try onstage… I am weary at the unhealthy trend this could set as more and more producers look to shy away from artistic risks and pander to middling tastes.

There weren’t as many sound gaffes as last year, but that didn’t help much when it came to Tony performances. Once again they felt rushed and were at extremes. There was no balanced excerpt. Green Day was given two songs while Christiane Noll was given the bridge of “Back to Before.” Nominated revival, and the best reviewed show of the season Finian’s Rainbow wasn’t even represented in song. The television direction once again proved entirely incongruous, giving the audience very little feel for the shows in contention. Matthew Morrison needs to do another musical, but I’m not sold that Lea Michelle is ready for a revival of Funny Girl.

The trouble remains the need for CBS to draw ratings (which it always fails to do) so they limit the performance time for shows and make it impossible to get a sense of the shows currently playing. Also with the show being held in Radio City Music Hall, a cavernous barn fit only for a revival of Jumbo, much intimacy is lost. Radio City Music Hall is not Broadway, nor will it ever be. It’s unlikely to change unless the awards are given the boot from network television (and the way it’s going, it would probably be better off on PBS), but I wish the tradition of going to a different Broadway house each year would return.

Then there is the legend of Catherine Zeta-Jones. While I am not a big fan of the stage revival currently playing the Walter Kerr, I did think that the star could have been exceptional Desiree Armfeldt with a more nuanced director, such as Bartlett Sher. The performance of “Send in the Clowns” ranks as one of the worst renditions of the song I have ever seen/heard, whether it was the choice to remove Alexander Hanson (who should have been nominated for his exceptional Fredrik Egerman) from the moment so she would have someone to play to or nerves, or projecting to the house at Radio City Music Hall. It heightened what was problematic about her performance to me – the need to oversell, oversing and the overall lack of nuance and balance in her performance. Even folks I know who liked the performance found themselves screaming at the pregnant pauses, jerky head movements and crazy eyes. What seemed mediocre at the Kerr was downright terrifying in HD closeup. Barbara Cook introduced the number, but truth be told I think she should have been the one singing the Sondheim classic last night.

The Best Musical Tony should be renamed “Best Vehicle for Marketing on Tour.” It was a weak year for original musicals, very few properties were represented and there were only two eligible nominees for score (with Fences and Enron filling out the rest). Memphis won because it was the most wholly original and traditional musical in the bunch, a diluted and derivative hybrid of Dreamgirls and Hairspray. (I’d have voted for Fela!, one of the great experiences of the year).

Sean Hayes was an exceptional host. Funny, affable, self-deprecating. He was genuinely funny and his one liners and shtick worked very well. His quips as well as his numerous costume bits were very amusing and as the night progressed further and further into tedium, I looked forward to seeing what the Promises, Promises star would come up with next. Also, props on the classical piano skills – I was sort of hoping that he and David Hyde Pierce would engage in a round of dueling pianos.

Angela Lansbury did not break the record for most acting Tony wins last night, but she was still the epitome of class and grace as she was announced the first ever Honorary Chairman of the American Theatre Wing, an announcement which brought the entire crowd at Radio City Music Hall to its feet.

Oh – and one more thing. NY Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez was on hand to present the Best Musical performance of Memphis. In his introduction he was touted as a theatre aficionado, to which I said, “That doesn’t look like me.” It was unexpected, but I think it’s nice to see someone from the world of sports taking an interest in Broadway.

Lily Tomlin’s Special Tony Acceptance Speech

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: