EPISODE 819 ARIANA DEBOSE DID THE THING
And I Could Have Married Her.
POP CULTURE SPIRIT WOW
Hi and welcome to Pop Culture Spirit Wow! Tonight was the Tony Awards and I was obsessed. So rather than the normal Wownd Up, I’ve got a bunch of Tony tidbits and then a couple regular features at the end. Hope you enjoy it!
SILENT SUPPORT
Over the last month there’s been a lot of talk about how exactly the Tony’s are going to work. With the Writers Guild on strike, the only way to do the Tony’s was without a script. So no bits, no jokes, no clever opening number.
And the show leaned right into that, with an opening dance number starring host Ariana DeBose and others that involved not a single word. It was really something.
MICHAEL ARDEN BRINGS THE HEAT
Later CBS Michael Arden, who won best musical direction for Parade, got bleeped halfway through his speech. And the crowd went INSANE, so clearly it was amazing.
As it turns out, this is what Arden said: "I got called the F-word more times than I could count as a kid, but now I'm an F-word with a Tony."
And that second time, he didn’t say “F-word.”
SURE, WHY NOT?
Then, this happened:
We’ve all seen this at big award ceremonies, right? The host comes into the audience for an “impromptu” selfie and even though it’s the kind of thing we all do all the time it still seems somehow wow-worthy because it’s celebrities doing it.
But here’s the thing that I love about this one:
That’s Lea Michele.
That’s Lin-Manuel Miranda.
That’s Ariana DeBose and a bunch of other amazing actresses.
But who is this guy?
Maybe he’s some amazing playwright or powerful producer. But I’m going to live in hope that he’s just somebody’s dad, who is going to get yelled at later, and he’s going to be like, What, she invited me to be in it?
MILKY WHITE
Into the Woods chose to do this nicely intimate number at the Tonys, just the Baker and His Wife.
I’m really glad they did, because it allowed them to feature the puppeteering work of Kenny Kanagawa as the cow. I’ve seen a hundred versions of this show, but the expressiveness that he and designer James Ortiz have found in this version is just unbelievable.
If you haven’t seen this production of Into The Woods, it’s on tour and I hope you will, because it’s wonderful. And pay attention to Kenny from time to time if you do, because his facial expressions add so much.
WEIRD THOUGHTS AND STRANGE BITS
David Lindsay-Abaire, who wrote the play Kimberly Akimbo, which became the musical for which he just won a Tony, had this wonderful comment at the end of his acceptance speech:
I want to thank my parents, who are no longer with us, but whose good intentions, and bad habits, and hopes and fears, and weird thoughts, and strange bits, and broken parts, all got funneled into me to make me the writer that I am.
Love love love.
IF YOU’RE SEEING THIS PLEASE CALL MY AGENT
Did anyone else get to the pre-commercial moments where the next cast up was forced to stand and wave at we don’t know what and feel like you were watching a hostage situation?
The guy next to Alex Newell is looking directly into the camera and literally crying out for help.
I LIKE THE WAY YOU SEE THE WORLD
Really happy for Kimberly Akimbo tonight. No show on Broadway right now has more heart. You walk away from that show floating on air.
I wrote about it here in the fall. I can’t recommend it enough.
Here’s Tony-winning Bonnie Milligan’s number.
OUR BROADWAY OUROBOROS IS FINALLY OVER
Is it me or is Lea Michele standing at the Tonys singing “Don’t Rain on My Parade” feel like the completion of some kind of magical spell that was cast 15 years ago?
Now that it’s over, I don’t know, it seems like anything could happen. Like maybe we’re all finally free.
THIS IS YOUR WEEKLY REMINDER THAT STRANGE NEW WORLDS IS AMAZING
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds begins its second season on Thursday. I got the chance to see the first two episodes this afternoon, and Wow wow wow. Without giving too much away, let me say, if you love a Spock moment, or Pike’s hair, or an upside down shot, you will not be disappointed.
The second episode also has a guest star who is not a big name as of yet. But by the time the episode finishes you will be demanding she get a spinoff.
MY PRIDE WITH ANNA KENDRICK: CAMP
This week in Jim Watches Anna Kendrick Musicals for Pride, I checked out Camp, a 2003 film about a summer theater camp. Kendrick actually has a relatively small role in the film, which for some reason is instead way too obsessed with a straight white boy. But she does get one incredible show-stopping number.
The set-up: Kenrick’s Fritzi starts the film as a mousy little girl who spends her time as the personal assistant for the camp’s star kid. But then eventually the star tells her to get lost (like they do), and after the kids’ mentor tries to get her to realize she doesn’t need the girl, she’s goddamn Anna Kendrick, Fritzi puts a little bleach in the star’s lunch, so that she can take her place on stage in the camp’s performance of Company.
Yeah it’s straight-up insane. But it does give Kendrick the best line in the show, and a version of “Ladies Who Lunch” that is actually one of the smartest I’ve ever seen.
Next Week: Pitch Perfect!
I’ll be back next week. If you’re not here already, come to New York this summer and see some theater!
Loved this Jim....feel like I was there....all the way from Oz 🌟👏😊