Tag Archives: Mike Nicols

Clay Aiken – Highlighting Real Talent

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I spent Sunday night watching The 68th Annual Tony Awards. It was exciting seeing the casts of After Midnight and Les Miserables, plus the talented Hugh Jackman who hopped his way from the city streets, down the aisles and then backstage where he proceeded to meet the cast members from many of today’s biggest Broadway shows. 

I came away from this show with some interesting thoughts:

  • There is so much fabulous talent on Broadway.
  • I can’t wait to go back to Broadway and see some live Broadway shows.
  • So many times I said to myself, “Clay Aiken would really shine in this role.”

The Tony Awards were created for the Broadway community to recognize excellence for plays and musicals as well as those who create them. The idea for this award ceremony came from the American Theatre Wing, a non-profit organization with the mission of supporting excellence in theatre. The first Tony Awards took place in 1947.

Are you wondering why it is called the “Tony” awards? The Tony Awards are named after Antoinette Perry, an actress and producer. Perry was one of the American Theatre Wing founders, who sadly died before the first Tony Awards ceremony.

A show must have appeared in a Broadway theatre within the current year’s eligibility period to be eligible for a Tony Awards nomination. In total, there are 27 categories of Tony Awards. The awards range from recognizing plays, creators, and directors, to recognizing members of the technical crews.

Many of the former stars of the Broadway production of Spamalot have received Tony Awards.  Two years ago, four of these talented people won Tonys.  I remember getting a tweet from Clay Aiken as he let his friends followers know about 4-for-4!

I have to admit, I had to find out about these talented performers.

  1. Steve Kazee played the role of Sir Lancelot in 2006. He was born in Ashland, KY in 1975. Kazee won the 2012 Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in the Musical, Once.
  2. Michael McGrath played the role of Patsy fromMar 17, 2005 – Jan 11, 2009. McGrath received a nomination for a Tony for the Best Featured Actor in a Musical for his work in Spamalot. This year he won for Best Featured Actor in a musical for Nice Work If You Can Get It.
  3. Christian Borle played the role of Prince Herbert and the Historian in Spamalot in 2005. The role earned him a nomination for the Drama Desk Award in 2005 as Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical. He also won the Broadway.com Audience Award that year. This year, Borle a Tony for Best Featured actor in a play for Peter and the Starcatcher, his first-ever Tony.
  4. Mike Nicols won the 2005 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical for Spamalot. Nichols won his 6th Tony in 2012.

I was so lucky to see Clay when he was on Broadway in Spamalot. He did an amazing job and seemed to enjoy the experience. I hope he will be on Broadway again someday in the future and find just the right role that will highlight his talent…and have a bit of fun too!

The following video is by the talented SueReu. It is a great look at Clay on Broadway and includes some performances before and after Spamalot…I love the snippets she added from Spamalot. Thank you, Sue!!

Did you see Clay in Spamalot?

 

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