the Tonys

[curious george]

I haven't seen any Broadway shows, ever, so I'm not really in a position to judge, but was that young woman in Hairspray really better than Bernadette Peters, or is this just another case of once the judges decide which show they like, it gets all the awards?

Me, I'd kill to see the revival of Man of La Mancha, which got nominations but no wins.

cg

[Ace]

I haven't seen any of these productions but the rumors were there was a mini backlash against Peters, not because everyone doesn't love her, they do. But she's been ill during almost the entire run of the musical, often cancelling perfomances and her understudy has been on more often than not except when a big critic is known to be stopping by.

Oh and man of La Mancha, better than any of the other music from any of these other musicals last night. But as much as I like the new lead, Brian Stokes Mitchell I believe, he's no Richard Kiley.

Ace

[curious george]

Didn't know that about Peters. Certainly makes sense if that's the case.

Nobody's Richard Kiley. Believe it or not, one productions I saw of La Mancha had Hal Linden in the lead. Hard to say how good the production might have been, but it was performed at the (sadly) now defunct Starlight Musicals theater, which, as the name implies, is outdoors. (I saw a few minutes of SZ there once in My One and Only.) However, after too many summers of shows cancelled due to rain, they put a roof over it, which served primarily to keep the heat in. The night we took my parents to La Mancha had been a not atypical 90 degree day, and little of the heat had dissipated by evening, so these poor folks were dying in period costumes trying to breathe, let alone sing and dance.

First time I ever saw it was at Starlight, but can't remember who starred in that version. However, the college I attended produced it one year, and the philosopy professor who played the lead was incredible. He also used to sing with the Indianapolis Opera Company, so he could really sing, but it was knowing him personally as perhaps a bit on the Quixotic side himself that made it even better.

cg