The Tony Awards, Kevin Spacey<\/b>
\nKevin Spacey was the somewhat surprising \u2014 though certainly not unqualified \u2014 host of the 71st running of the Broadway theater-honoring Tony Awards, broadcast Sunday night from New York\u2019s Radio City Music Hall. Having made his first Broadway appearance 35 years ago and, more recently, serving as artistic director of London’s Old Vic Theater for about a decade, he has theater cred to spare.
He even has a Tony himself, awarded in 1991 for Neil Simon\u2019s \u201cLost in Yonkers.\u201d Most important, he has a sense of play and fun. What mattered all the way through is that he was game.
But unlike last year\u2019s host James Corden, and other recent hosts such as Neil Patrick Harris and Hugh Jackman, Spacey is not known for his singing or dancing. And so, naturally, he sang and danced through the first 10 minutes of the broadcast from New York\u2019s Radio City Music Hall in a medley of numbers playing off of current Broadway musicals.
Spacey was unveiled as Ben Platt\u2019s character in \u201cDear Evan Hansen, \u201d sporting a cast on his arm signed \u201c#HOST, \u201d a dressing that was later moved to his leg in reference to the knee injury Andy Karl suffered during previews for \u201cGroundhog Day.\u201d
But the import was clear, even to a person unfamiliar with any of these shows, because all the lyrics were about Spacey hosting the Tonys, including one playing off his own earlier joke that he was 15th choice for the job.
Stephen Colbert appeared from inside a groundhog head, Whoopi Goldberg came out of a closet and Billy Crystal flew in via video, all to advise the host.
This was, of course, the first Tonys of the Donald Trump administration, with which the theater world is in many ways philosophically at odds. Still, politicking was kept subtle. Here, acceptance speeches often celebrated parents, teachers and the community.
Kevin Kline, however, did name-check the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities, and former Second Lady Dr. Jill Biden, introducing a number from the veteran-themed \u201cBandstand, \u201d arrived to a standing ovation. Husband Joe, meanwhile, was in the audience. (No members of the current administration were evidently in attendance.)
2017 Tony Awards: The complete list of winners and nominees \u00bb
More overtly, Colbert, introducing the award for musical revival, characterized the Trump administration itself in theatrical terms. \u201cCouple of problems, \u201d he noted. \u201cMain character is totally unbelievable, and hair and makeup, yeesh. This D. C. production is supposed to have a four-year run but reviews have not been kind. Could close early, we don’t know.\u00a0\u00bb
As with all awards shows, three hours is a long time to sustain interest. There is a reason that Broadway plays do not generally last that long. An evening with so many scheduled high points, so many moments of focused energy, can have a cumulative enervating effect.
And yet, I will be honest, I choke up regularly and reliably through the Tonys.
It is, along with the production numbers, scripted banter and parade of internationally and locally famous faces, a performance by the fans, who are present in person at the Tonys along with the people who make the work. However big a business Broadway is, it remains the property of the people who create it and love it \u2014 it’s a community, and one that\u2019s interactive by nature.
Perhaps the height of the evening came with its penultimate award, won by Bette Midler for her performance in \u201cHello Dolly!\u201d Not done having her energetic say, Midler talked down the orchestra that was attempting to play her off (\u201cI just want to say — shut that crap off!\u201d) , earning her laughs and applause.
She then praised the musical\u2019s \u201coptimism, its democracy\u2026 its love of life\u2026 This thing has the ability to lift your spirits in this terrible, terrible times.\u201d
\u201cThank you so much, how was that show?\u201d Spacey asked in closing, taking the stage with Patti Lupone to sing \u201cThe Curtain Falls, \u201d a song written for Bobby Darin, whom Spacey has played on film. \u201cAs they say in this biz, that\u2019s all there is, there isn\u2019 t any more, \u201d the song goes.
As the tune unfolded, the winners swayed in the background. It was corny and sweet, a fine way to finish.<\/p>\n

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