"Boys" Night Out

My first Tony Awards Ceremony was really memorable. The seats were great, and the program itself was very enjoyable, probably more enjoyable as a theater piece than as a CBS broadcast, but I would literally have to go to the videotape to prove my above statement. All I know is that I was very pleased that the producers also thought of the thousands gathered there as well as the millions watching it at home, and gave those of us fortunate to have a ticket a very enjoyable show. The Radio City Music Hall itself is a gorgeous venue to hold this kind of award ceremony: the place was made for gowns and tuxedos, and it was great to see the lobby filled with thousands of people in evening attire.

I was also very happy that The History Boys came up the big winner in the play category taking home six of the coveted Tony Awards, including Best Play of the year. It really deserves it, and I was very happy that both Richard Griffiths and Frances de la Tour won their respective Tonys. It would have been perfect if Samuel Barnett had also won, but he was beaten by Ian McDiarmid from Faith Healer.

Personally, I was very disinterested in the musical scene this year, to the point that I have not seen what ended up being the two main winners in this category: Jersey Boys and The Drowsy Chaperone. I did get to see the memorable revival of Sweeney Todd, and the outrageous East Village version of The Threepenny Opera, but it was The Pajama Game (the one I didn't see!) that took home the prize. I think that I will make my way to see The Drowsy Chaperone this week, though, just to satisfy my curiosity about this work: some swear by it, while others would love to see it buried. Jersey Boys won four awards, while The Drowsy Chaperone won five.

Taking all into account, it was a memorable New York evening, which goes to prove that even though the 60th Tony Awards might not have had scores of historic plays and musicals to honor, just being at such a star-studded glamorous evening makes all the difference.