The best way to describe Idina Menzel is not to reference Frozen. She is simply the Beyoncé of Broadway. Her heavily spotlighted return to the stage set even the most cynical Hollywood eye firmly on the Radio City Music Hall Sunday night for the 68th Annual Tony Awards.
It was a good thing, too, because the night was filled with many well-deserved awards. Audra McDonald broke world records with her sixth Tony win, smashing Angela Lansbury’s previous five. Lena Hall and James Monroe Igelhart won their first Tonys as Yitzhak in “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” and the Genie in “Aladdin” respectively, and Bryan Cranston drew a good reaction to his win as best dramatic actor for his performance in “All The Way.”
Even with all of that pizazz, even with Hugh Jackman hosting and basically every other Hollywood headliner presenting awards- it was once again Neil Patrick Harris and company who stole the show. Cue the following performance of “Sugar Daddy” from their show “Hedwig and the Angry Inch,” during which Harris paraded around the audience in a skirt and feathered blonde wig, licked Samuel L. Jackson’s glasses, lap-danced Sting, and smooched his fiancé David Burtka mid-lyric. The crowd went crazy. The critics went crazy. The fans went crazy. But it’s all in a day’s work for Harris, who has his own level of star quality when it comes to award shows.
This season on Broadway collected many Hollywood stars to join theater crews in order to draw crowds. It seems to have worked, because this year drew a stunning $1.27 billion in ticket sales, but it begs the question of balance. Sometimes, when entire shows are written specifically for actors like Menzel and Harris, their star power can overshadow the actual spectacle of the show. Some theater people love it – the crowds are showing up in droves, so why complain? Others say that’s not the way Broadway is supposed to be.
The Tonys did go down with a spoonful of sugar Sunday night, but there’s no telling what next year will be like with the dynamic of Broadway changing so much.
Only 525,600 minutes to go.
