I spent Sunday night watching The 66th Annual Tony Awards. It was exciting see the casts of Newsies and The Book of Mormon, plus the talented Neil Patrick Harris as they entertained the TV audience with their wonderful talents. I also loved seeing Diane Sawyer watch with pride as her husband, Mike Nicols, won his sixth Tony for staging Arthur Miller’s, Death of A Salesman. Hugh Jackman…what an amazing man!
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.
It was fun to be interrupted during the show by a tweet from Clay Aiken.
Clay Aiken@clayaiken
Spamalot goes 4 for 4!! All 4 Spam alums nom. 2nite win Tonys! Congrats to Steve Kazee, Michael McGrath, Christian Borle, and Mike Nichols!
So…I had to know more about these people.
- 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.
- Michael McGrath played the role of Patsy from Mar 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.
- 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.
- Mike Nicols won the 2005 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical for Spamalot. Nichols won his 6th Tony this year.
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 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?
Do you think Clay will return to Broadway?