Who knew that Sean Hayes could really play the piano? We didn’t before watching him host last night’s 64th Tony Awards. For those of you who missed the live show, it was pretty entertaining as these things go — in fact, it was obvious that they were trying to keep things viewer-friendly for the Glee Generation. While we could spend an entire post snarking on the production issues that plagued the broadcast (seriously: bad miking, lighting issues and awkward camera zooms), we figure that anyone who wasn’t on stage crew in high school would rather hear about the highlights. Photos and clips after the jump.
Sean Hayes responded to a Newsweek article that said he came “off as wooden and insincere” playing a straight man in Promises, Promises (which incidentally, earned him a Tony nod) by making out with his co-star Kristin Chenoweth. Perhaps not the best way to respond, but kind fun of to watch.
Green Day performed at the Tonys. And then Billie Joe went off teleprompter when introducing the American Idiot cast in a later segment. It could have been a pretty rock and roll moment, but we’re pretty sure that he just couldn’t see.
Daniel Radcliffe and Katie Holmes presented the award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play. Suddenly, we realized that Harry Potter is extremely tiny in real life, and that Katie might be even taller than Hagrid. Then we were shocked when Scarlett Johansson won the award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play. We think she was a little, too.
Throughout the night, Hayes donned different costumes as host. While Annie and Spider-Man were cute, our favorite had to be his look that was inspired by a recent visit to Billy Elliot.
Catherine Zeta-Jones ended her acceptance speech for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical a little differently than most: “That man’s a movie star and I GET TO SLEEP WITH HIM!” Looking at Michael Douglas these days, we can’t say that we’re jealous.
Katie Finneran (Promises, Promises) beat out Angela Landsbury for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical, which we thought was impossible, as Landsbury is both beloved and extremely old. Finneran then gave what was the night’s most emotional (read: borderline crazy) and rambling acceptance speech. We appreciate the sentiment, though.
Matthew Morrison’s suddenly-plunging neckline during his performance of ““All I Need Is the Girl” was just weird (fast forward to 2:00 for the big reveal). We were also disappointed that he and Lea Michele performed separate numbers, and that Lea’s was a repeat. Yes, we love “Don’t Rain on My Parade” (and a good Jay-Z/Beyoncé serenade), but we’d already seen it previously on Glee.
Cate Blanchett, who presented the award for Best Revival of a Play and Best Play, had on a very shiny silver pantsuit. Our friends at StyleList think she looked like the Tin Man.
Oh, and in case you were wondering, here’s a list of winners in the major categories:
Best Play- Red
Best Musical- Memphis
Best Book of a Musical- Memphis
Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre- Memphis
Best Revival of a Play– Fences
Best Revival of a Musical- La Cage aux Folles
Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play- Denzel Washington, Fences
Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play- Viola Davis, Fences
Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical- Douglas Hodge, La Cage aux Folles
Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical- Catherine Zeta-Jones, A Little Night Music
Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play- Eddie Redmayne, Red
Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play- Scarlett Johansson, A View from the Bridge
Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical- Levi Kreis, Million Dollar Quartet
Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical- Katie Finneran, Promises, Promises
Best Direction of a Play- Michael Grandage, Red
Best Direction of a Musical- Terry Johnson, La Cage aux Folles
Best Choreography- Bill T. Jones, Fela!