2017 TONY Awards Live Blog

11:13 Patti's is the last face I want to see on the TONYs
11:11 I love that shoutout to Peter Marks!
11:09 Best Musical: Dear Evan Hansen
11:07 Frank Underwood hands Lin the envelope
11:04 Bette clocked in a 15 minutes
11:00 Best Actress in a Musical: Bette Midler
10:59 I just DIED when Glenn Close had to announce Patti's name
10:55 Best Actor in a Musical: Ben Platt
10:51 These TONYS are disappointing me; a general lack of energy
10:44 Best Revival of a Musical: Hello Dolly
10:40 Colbert says more political jokes that aren't clever at all
10:28 I almost left Oslo at intermission but then Michael Aronov showed up and I couldn't get enough
10:27 Best Play: Oslo
10:26 The snack bit is the only entertaining thing Kevin Spacey has done yet
10:15 Josh, get your accordion!
10:11 Best Revival of a Play: Jitney
10:10 Are the TONYs allowed to make fun of Hilary?
10:05 Lynn Nottage's glasses look like them came off of a Boyds Bear
10:04 If Patti and Christine don't tie, I quit
9:57 Patti's hat looks like Abu from Aladdin and Christine is sooooo statuesque
9:53 Best Direction of a Musical: Christopher Ashley, Come From Away
9:50 Taichman looks legitimately shocked...I like when that happens
9:37 Best Featured Actress in a Play: Rachel Bay Jones
9:33 Best Actress in a Play: Laurie Metcalf
9:27 Tommy Tune is just a real, old-fashioned theatre kween
9:19 I don't understand why Groundhog Day needed to be a musical
9:18 I don't understand how Kevin Kline beat Jefferson Mays
9:15 You know Patti died when Kevin mentioned John Housman
9:10 Poor Lucas Hnath lost his hairbrush
9:00 It's convenient when you get to perform after you win best score
8:59 I think Dear Evan Hansen is more mainstream but Great Comet was much more complex
8:58 Best Score: Dear Evan Hansen
8:57 I always forget Cynthia Erivo is British
8:54 Still thinking about that 80s jumpsuit realness
8:48 I love a good 80s jazzercise number
8:46 Cynthia Nixon is a true artist and a true theatre professional
8:45 Best Featured Actress in a Play: Cynthia Nixon
8:44 We need more arts teachers!
8:42 I kind of love how the playwrights are speaking about their work
8:41 I LOVE that all the nominated playwrights are 1st timers
8:35 How is this Miss Saigon selection going to sell tickets?
8:31 Yasssssssss Lea's fancy pantsuit
8:30 Gavin looks so fancy and I'm so happy he mentioned his education
8:29 Best Featured Actor in a Musical: Gavin Creel
8:28 Good lord Sutton is tall
8:27 Kevin looks like a neon blue smurf jacket
8:26 Catherine Zuber should've won best costumes for War Paint
8:23 Come From Away is beautifully uplifting
8:16 This is what a TONY speech should be about, your family and your art, not a guy in Washington DC
8:14 Best Featured Actor in Play: Michael Aronov, Oslo
8:10 Is this opening number over yet? I HATE IT!
8:08 Okay I will admit I did like the "Welcome to the Rock" segment, it was clever
8:07 I hate this opening number SO MUCH
8:06 Is this Natasha, Pierre, or Fiddler?
8:05 Colbert appears in a groundhog head, is he still a thing?
8:03 And we are going into a sendup of Groundhog Day with a clever repositioning of a cast
8:00 Kevin Spacey opens with an Evan Hansen spoof about not being the first choice to host 

Spring 2017 Broadway Preview

Y'all know that if there is anything I love in this world it is a great diva turn, and this spring on Broadway we will have a plethora. We have Bette in Hello Dolly, Patti & Christine in War Paint, Glenn in Sunset Boulevard...the list goes on! But who will win that TONY? I'm not going to preview all of the winter and spring offerings, but I am going to highlight a few that really excited me!

Sunset Boulevard
Palace Theatre
Previews begin February 2nd
I always look for the drama in all aspects of life and this show brings it in the form of shade that will be thrown by Patti LuPone from the Nederlander. She famously threw a floor lamp out of her dressing room window when Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber fired her from the London Production in the mid-90s. Thanks to a successful lawsuit, Patti has a beautiful pool in Connecticut. I am looking forward to some star power and screlting from Ms. Close who will not be TONY eligible.

Sunday in the Park with George
Hudson Theatre
Previews begin February 2nd 
I have loved Annaleigh Ashford ever since I saw her buying chips in a 7-11 in Chicago with my mom. She was so sweet to me at the Wicked stage door when I told her that I was at Legally Blonde the day that Laura Bell Bundy's wig fell off during the Bend & Snap. Continuing with the Chicago connection, a few years later on my annual vacation I saw the famous Seurat painting and sat and stared at it for an hour while listening to the cast recording. This is one of the most beautiful scores in Broadway history. I was so upset to have missed it at City Center and I think we are all in for a real treat. This is a limited engagement so get those credit cards out!

Come From Away
Schoenfeld Theatre
Previews begin February 18th
I've heard fabulous things about this show from friends who saw it in DC during the out of town tryout. The subject matter is incredibly intriguing. I'm not going to lie, the casting isn't making me do somersaults, but I'm hoping that the material will knock my socks off.

War Paint
Nederlander Theatre
Previews begin March 7th
Two two-time TONY winners in a musical about makeup mavens...I am so exited for this that I don't even know what to do with myself. I missed the out of town tryout in Chicago by about a week and I was really broken up about. Luckily for me, these broads are coming to the Great White Way. I would die to be involved in this production and get to hear about the drama between Patti and Christine. I am having dreams about the costumes and the makeup. And hello, there is a song called "Pink"...sign me up! Are the Nederlander ceilings high enough for all this Divatude? Who will Antoinette Perry prefer?

The Little Foxes
Samuel J. Friedman Theatre
Previews begin March 29th
Cynthia Nixon and Laura Linney star in a play about greedy Southern Belles. What could be better? To make it more interesting, they will be alternating in the roles of Regina and Birdie. Honestly, when you're as talented as these two, you need a challenge.

Hello Dolly!
Shubert Theatre
Previews begin March 15th
This is so exciting there's an exclamation point in the title. Bette Midler hasn't done a musical on Broadway in 700 years and this is the moment Kweens have been waiting for. I'm going to be completely honest and tell you that I don't really even like this show, but I would see Bette in a musical about coal miners...end of story.