"The Tony Awards," the announcer said proudly, "with the music of Elvis, Frank Sinatra, Green Day -- and the best of Broadway composers."
That last part seemed almost like an after-thought. Of the four nominees for best musical, only one ("Memphis") had new music. Most shows simply put old songs in new settings. That included the other three nominees -- "Million Dollar Quartet," "Fela" and "American Idiot" -- and the unnominated "Come Fly Away."
The good news? The one completely original show, "Memphis," won the Tony. Here are a few of my comments; please add yours:
1) Listening to that Sinatra song again, I realized that his prediciton was correct. "I'm gonna live until I die," he said; he did.
2) Neil Patrick Harris remains the best host of the Tonys (or just about anything else) ever. Still, Sean Hayes did a good job. And don't you think his family was proud to see those piano lessons pay off?
3) There was great fun had by unnominated stars. Kristin Chenoweth even did an imaginary faint, when realizing she didn't get a nod. Still, let's remember that Nathan Lane was just repeating a line that was said by Bob Hope, long ago. Back then, it was: "Welcome to the Academy Awards ... or, as they call it in my house, 'passover.'"
4) The show started and ended with great oomph -- first with a thundering medley of musical moments ... and then with the "Memphis" winners adding one more performance.
5) Acceptance speeches tended to start well, then deteriorate into lists. Also, I'm in favor of rescinding any award that goes to someone who then weeps.
6) One of the great moments came from Lea Michele, with a spectacular, Barbra-worthy "Don't Rain on My Parade." She's on "Glee" now, but her first fame came from the Tony-winning "Spring Awakening." That was a musical with original songs ... which is kind of what you expect prize-winning musicals to have.