Some thoughts on the 2010 Tony Awards

This is going to be a little like the Tony Awards: nothing too edgy or innovative, nothing that other people haven't already said and with more panache. You can find the winners here.

As host, Sean Hayes was charming and funny, terrific at the piano (did anyone else tear up at the first strains of "Give My Regards to Broadway?") and not afraid to put on silly costumes. His drawn-out kiss with Promises, Promises costar Kristin Chenoweth was perfect.

With so many styles of music represented on Broadway: rhythm and blues, pop, rock 'n' roll, Afrobeat, to name a few, why did American Idiot get to perform so many times? And people do realize that Green Day's not in the show, right?

As presenters, Bebe Neuwirth and Nathan Lane from The Addams Family made me laugh. Yes, the Passover line has been used before but what can I say? Perhaps it's programmed in my genetic code but I will laugh every single time.

I thought Catherine Zeta-Jones did a much better job with "Send in the Clowns" when I saw A Little Night Music than she did on the Tonys. Steve on Broadway, as usual, had the perfect quip on Twitter: "Catherine Zeta-Jones inexplicably became a bobble-head."

How glamorous was Scarlett Johansson! I was moved by her acceptance speech: "Ever since I was a little girl, I've wanted to be on Broadway." Sadly, A View From the Bridge closed in April. Johansson is a singer, too. So the 25-year-old may well have an EGOT in her future.

I think Glee is hit or miss, but I loved hearing Lea Michele sing "Don't Rain on My Parade." Although I know it's not likely to happen, I would buy a ticket to see her in a Broadway revival of Funny Girl. I just would.

I wish people would stop ragging on Best Musical winner Memphis. It's an energetic show with terrific performances from Chad Kimball and Montego Glover. At a time when we're still fighting for marriage equality, the story of the romance between a black singer and a white disc jockey in the 1950s resonated with me.

(And Michael Riedel, if you liked Fela! better, that's fine. But please, you're not an expert on what's "authentically black.")

Sean Hayes to host 2010 Tony Awards

So, Sean Hayes has been named as host of the 64th Tony Awards, on June 13. I'm a little surprised, since he's also a nominee - for Best Leading Actor in A Musical in Promises, Promises. I'd think those eight shows a week would keep him pretty busy.

But according to this L.A. Times article, several nominees have pulled double duty, including Hugh Jackman, Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick, Jane Alexander and George C. Scott. (Although I can't quite picture George C. Scott hosting an awards show!)

I'm sure Hayes will do everything a host is supposed to do: be funny and charming and keep things moving. I'm curious to see him when he's not playing over-the-top Jack from Will and Grace. (You can read Hayes' answers to questions from New York Times readers here.)

Although honestly, the host doesn't really matter. Sure, he or she might pick up a few extra viewers. (Or drive some away.) But by and large if you're interested in Broadway and theatre you'll watch the show. If not, you won't.

And I really like this clip of Hayes with Promises, Promises costar Kristin Chenoweth. He's so appealing - adorable and sweet in an understated way. I know you can't tell much from a brief clip but his Chuck Baxter didn't remind me at all of Jack.

Why I like Kristin Chenoweth's reply

I'm glad Kristin Chenoweth is getting lots of praise for her reply to a Newsweek story that questioned whether gay actors can play straight roles.

(The author cited Chenoweth's Promises, Promises costar, Sean Hayes, and Jonathan Groff, currently appearing on Glee.)

It's an eloquent and forceful answer to a ridiculous, offensive premise. There's one sentence I especially appreciated: “This article offends me because I am a human being, a woman and a Christian."

Thank-you, Ms. Chenoweth. It's nice to see someone use their religious beliefs not as an excuse to justify bigotry but as a mandate to speak out against prejudice.

Too often it's the most intolerant, reactionary elements who are the loudest and draw the most attention. It's easy to forget that there are many people of faith who are opposed to homophobia and are accepting, caring, committed to equality.

And really, this comment from Kieran on EW.com pretty much sums it up:

"I was actually shocked when I learned that Dustin Hoffman doesn’t really have autism, Helen Mirren never actually served as the Queen of England, Michael Douglas never worked on Wall Street, and Julia Roberts wasn’t really a hooker. My life is a complete ball of confusion. What next? Is Chewbacca really just a regular guy wearing a furry suit?"

Some thoughts on American Idol

I watched American Idol last night. I'm not really a fan of the show but Kristin Chenoweth, introduced to the Idol audience as "a darling of the American musical stage," was a guest judge at the auditions in Orlando.

And I do love her!

It seemed like she was having a good time, hitting it off with fellow judge Kara DioGuardi. Sadly, Chenoweth was only on during the first part before rushing back to New York for some unexplained reason.

Maybe it had something to do with what she told People magazine: “It was harder than I thought because you really do have to look into the faces of people and say yes or no. I don’t like to be a bummer and hurt anyone’s feelings.”

Anyway, I watched the rest of the show for maybe the third time in my life. It struck me as a little sad - thousands of people waiting for their brief chance to make an impression and get on TV, hoping for fame and fortune that most likely will never come.

Far be it from me to admit that there's anything underhanded going on but I did find it interesting that three of the contestants picked by DioGuardi, Randy Jackson and Simon Cowell to advance to the next round had compelling background stories.

They were: Seth Rollins, a father struggling to raise an autistic child; Matt Lawrence, a young man who served time for a bank robbery he committed with a bb gun at age 15; and Shelby Dressel, a young woman with a nerve defect that prevents her from smiling on one side of her face.

And they were all highlighted with introductory segments, which I took as a not very subtle hint. Seriously, after that heartwarming buildup, didn't you guess that they were probably going to get the thumbs up from the judges?

It did lead me to wonder: What happens if you're a great singer but you don't have a story of triumphing over adversity?

Then there are couple of performers who are so terrible I can only imagine that they're included for comic relief for the audience of 30 million people.

A young man named Jerrod Norrell became agitated when the judges didn't like his rendition of "Amazing Grace." He had to be removed by security and a few seconds later, we saw him outside the audition room, handcuffed and on the ground.

Seriously, while his behavior was inexcusable, did he really deserve to be humiliated like that on national television? Of course, to the Idol producers it hardly matters - what drama! And for all I know, he could be thrilled at his two minutes of fame.

If the 10,000 screaming Idol hopefuls we see at the beginning of the show are the optimistic, anyone-can-make-it side of the American Dream, the poor guy on the floor in handcuffs is an example of what happens when reality comes crashing down.

Love, Loss, and What I Wore

Gratuitous Violins rating: ***1/2 out of ****

I wasn't sure how much I'd relate to Love, Loss, and What I Wore, at off-Broadway's Westside Theatre. After all, it examines women's lives through what's in our closets. While I am a girl, fashion and accessories aren't exactly my thing.

Well guess what, they had me from the very first dress.

The play begins with Rhea Perlman talking about a New Yorker named "Gingy" and the Brownie uniform she wore as a child. I had one just like it when I was a little girl and that memory was enough to make me teary-eyed.

Far from wondering whether I could relate, I found so much that resonated, moved me and made me laugh in this work, based on a memoir by Ilene Beckerman, (Gingy is her story) with additional material collected by Nora and Delia Ephron.

Love, Loss, and What I Wore is a staged reading, with a rotating cast of five actresses who take turns with brief sketches like "The Prom Dress" and "I Hate My Purse." Occasionally they'll glance at their scripts but mostly they're acting rather than simply reading the stories. And there's a little interaction, too.

Through Sunday, the cast includes Perlman, Kristin Chenoweth, Capathia Jenkins, Rita Wilson and Lucy DeVito - Perlman's daughter.

They're all wonderful, moving seamlessly between hilarious stories about searching for the right purse, bra, prom dress and wedding gown, and stories of great poignancy, about coping with serious illness and the death of loved ones.

I liked how so many types of relationships were alluded to in the stories - husbands and wives, fathers and daughters, mothers and daughters, sisters, two lesbians planning their wedding ceremony.

Perlman, a great comedic actress, tells Gingy's story from her girlhood in Manhattan in the 1930s thorough adulthood with so much humor and warmth. It's accompanied by illustrations of the clothes that played a role at different points in her life.

I was so excited about seeing Chenoweth and it was hysterical to hear her talk about searching for the right purse, and all of the things that we keep in our purses. (I've certainly shopped for my share!)

I have to give special props to DeVito, who's on stage with four much more experienced actresses, including her four-time Emmy-winning mother three seats away. Talk about pressure! But she was terrific, so funny and spot-on as a teenager disappointed by a birthday present.

We chart our lives by the clothes we wear - by the clothes our parents wore. What Beckerman and the Ephrons have done is show how much we define ourselves by our relationship to our clothes, to the stuff we own, and the powerful memories they evoke.

Love, Loss, and What I Wore is about women, and the audience I saw it with was overwhelmingly female. But it's also for anyone who's ever had a woman in their life - yes, that includes men. It's for anyone who appreciates good storytelling. Hopefully, that includes everyone.

And if you don't get everything, don't worry. Honestly, I'd never heard of Eileen Fisher either.