Tonys and random sh*t

It's almost Tony time people. Closeted Midwestern teen boys, their unknowing hags and of course, yours truly, will be glued to their sets Sunday night. At the moment, I'm scheduled to be at the CDC theatre (again!) all day Sunday working on that damn trolley. Fingers crossed we'll be done in time to catch the opening number which is supposed to be a medley of pop tunes performed in current Broadway shows. This obvious attempt by CBS to make the Tonys, and by association, Broadway, more hip has “disaster” written all over it. I mean, pop songs sung by Broadway voices in little snippets out of context and in possibly ridiculous costumes may well just kill Broadway for good. Give it up already, CBS. Tony viewers are a niche audience. Your typical, beer-guzzling, football-loving, Ohio blue collar dude will not be tuning in because some unknown actor is doing a cover of a Green Day song. I’d like to keep my Tonys elitist, nerd-centric and totally gay.

Due to some recent replacement casting announcements, I may have to bite the bullet and pay for return trips to some current shows. Brian d’Arcy James, who I caught off-Broadway, is back for the Broadway run of Next to Normal. I’m hoping to find a date where Ripley’s out because I don’t know if I can take a another whole evening of her raspy, under-pitched singing. Girl can act, but her voice is a wreck (and I used to love it back in the Side Show days). Then I’ll probably have to go back again to see real husband and wife team Marin Mazzie and Jason Danieley take over the lead roles in July. That’s a lot of crazy in one month.

I may also have to suck it up and buy full price tick’s to A Little Night Music once Bernadette and Stritchie (that’s Bernadette Peters and Elaine Stritch for you straight people) start their run in July. I’m wet just thinking about it.

I also just subscribed to the Public Theatre for the first time ever so I can secure priority tickets to … wait for it … a 6 1/2 hour, 2 intermission adaptation of The Great Gatsby where the full text is read. I know, I’m a total masochist, but it sounds so crazy I have to be a part of it. Even crazier is that fact that it had a sold out run earlier this year in Boston!