I watched the 58th annual Tony awards last night. It's my chance to pretend i'm in New York actually seeing these wonderful shows. The live broadcast had its share of awkward moments. I wasn't a big fan of Hugh Jackman as the evenings host. I think you either have to be female or gay to appreciate him. He sang a number from The Boy From Oz that was more obnoxious than anything. For fun, he brought Sarah Jessica Parker on stave for an improvised moment of spontaneous entertainment. She was so worried about having a wardrobe malfunction of her own that she wasn't playing along. It was a wreck. I thought it was nice that Mrs Huxtable was the first African-American woman to win the Tony for a Leading Actress in a Play. Her acceptance speech matched her appearance: elegant and composed. All of the musical numbers were well done. A list of winners is available on line.
One of the great numbers from last night was Defying Gravity from Wicked. I've been meaning to by the soundtrack to the show for a while and last night's performance gave me the extra motivation i needed. I'm a bit disappointed after my first listen. Many of the numbers seem a bit muddy, or unfocused. There weren't many other songs that jumped out at me. The other frustrating part is that the CD jacket offers no context for the songs. The numbers themselves don't tell the whole story so if you don't know the plot (like me), it not easy to tell what everyone's singing about. I need a nice play-by-play (like they have in the Rent CD jacket); anyone know where to find one?
I'm sure i'll enjoy it after a few more listens (or after i actually see the show). I guess i just got spoiled by instantly loving Avenue Q. That would probably explain why Q won best musical, score and book.
Posted by Matthew at June 7, 2004 10:34 PMWithout seeing it, you have to read the book to get the full story of Wicked. Of course the musical is the super condensed version, but at least the book will give you more of the plot. As for it sounding muddy, Stephen Schwartz made a lot of obscure harmony and chord choices, which are really difficult for the singer. I'm sure when they made the recording that they were still getting used to them.
Posted by: Kristi at June 8, 2004 12:30 PMI just happened upon your site and read your question about Wicked's context. The CD is purposefully vague about the storyline because there are several twists in the show that they didnt want to reveal in the CD for people who havent seen the show. It basically takes the story of the Wizard of Oz and spins it in some surprisingly good ways. In particular (beyond all of the speaking parts in the show) they left out a number called "wicked witch of the east" because it has a BIG reveal in it). The musical barely follows the novel, so reading the novel will only partially fill in the storyline to the musical. If you plan on seeing this musical, I would HIGHLY advise you not to spoil yourself. :)
Posted by: Jim at July 13, 2004 01:40 AM