Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (and Two Never-Ending Online Debates)

(This contains spoilers of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, so proceed with caution)

This past week, I saw for the very first time Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, which is touring and was playing in Minneapolis, part of what will be a month-long tribute to the Boy Wizard in my house (including another concert, and a rewatch of all of the Fantastic Beast & Harry Potter films that I'll be chronicling with reviews, in some cases first logged reviews, on Letterboxd).  In the decade since this play first went to Broadway, this has been a top priority for me, to the point that it was the only Harry Potter-related thing I've never read or seen.  In all likelihood, given Fantastic Beasts reception compared to the original run of movies and JK Rowling's fall-from-grace, it may well be the last original Harry Potter idea we may ever get, as the next few years it seems certain that HBO's new remake will be the #1 priority for the Wizarding World.

Before we get to the two reasons that I am actually writing this article, I want to share my thoughts on the play itself, which I really enjoyed.  I am the biggest of Harry Potter fans.  In real life, I am linked first to movies & politics, and of course the Oscars, but probably name-checked as much is Harry Potter, which pretty much everyone associated with me knows I love (and if you've been to my house, you'll also understand this because there's Harry Potter stuff in virtually every corner).  My dad, who went with me, I could see smirking as he saw his 41-year-old son grin from ear-to-ear as they played the opening music and saw Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and a host of other familiar characters on the stage (no matter how old you get, your parents always see you as a little boy in their hearts).  The show itself reads, frequently, as fan service (occasionally even fan fiction), and therefore it's not quite to the caliber of the original books.  It offers little in terms of sacrifice of main characters (we are spared the pain of seeing any of the main characters from the original series die in the end).  But it's also fun and has moments of solid magic (I loved the stuff in the alternative timeline, and the set design in this is maybe the best I've ever seen give-or-take Matilda in a stage show), and in Rowling's distinctive fashion (she is, for all of the criticism of her, someone who is good at showing the sacrifices & truths of growing up), she gives us a real parable about a young boy who is coming to terms with his own sexuality.  In a shock that is proof that I didn't have this play ruined for me through the years, Harry Potter & Draco Malfoy's sons are pretty explicitly shown to be romantic partners by the end of the play, something that might in part explain why this hasn't been made into a Warner Brothers big-screen movie given the billion-dollar implications.

Of course, the other is that Rowling herself has basically torched her reputation (making stars like Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, & Rupert Grint, were they even open to returning to the roles for likely 8-figure paydays, far more apprehensive).  It's not new news to talk about this, and indeed if you look back through the years on this blog you'll find I've weighed in a few times on the author who I grew up hero-worshiping in my twenties only to be disgusted by her in my thirties.  Cancel culture, in my opinion, has somehow not gone far enough and has perhaps in other ways gone too far.  Case in point for the latter-at a Netflix roast for Kevin Hart this weekend, Chelsea Handler made a crack about the Riyadh Comedy Festival, in the oppressive regime of Saudi Arabia where there is a long history of censorship and human rights violations...a comedy at which roast dais members Pete Davidson, Jeff Ross, & Kevin Hart all performed.  But in turn they're all still working (i.e. they're getting checks for appearing at this roast), with Hart starring in a $100M franchise entry in the Jumanji series later this year, likely making a fortune in the process.

This is, in part, because it's next-to-impossible to keep track of all of the things that people are expected to boycott or protest online.  Go on the social media of virtually any celebrity online and you will find a series of gloating and angry complaining underneath their posts.  Never mind that these platforms we're all using are owned by men with actual power who are actually destroying the planet (like Elon Musk & Mark Zuckerberg), so even using these platforms is tantamount to endorsing cruelty.  It's exhausting, and makes boycotts of entertainers impossible all-things-considered.  This is why Scream VII, despite many calls to boycott, ended up being a huge box office success, and why it appears likely that the Harry Potter TV series will be a blockbuster its first season (and perhaps its whole run)-people cannot be at 11 all the time, and if that's the expectation from online culture...you're going to find people tapping out and choosing not to protest anything.  This isn't necessarily me trying to have my cake-and-eat-it-too (I'm not endorsing complacency), but I will admit that the expectations of being a social progressive online feel, to a degree I have not experienced before, unrealistic.  I do not have the money, time, or knowledge to be able to successfully boycott every person & company whose opinions I disagree.  This doesn't mean that I won't continue to stay away from certain entertainers or places (I have never been to a Chic-Fil-A, and in a year I have devoted to action stars each week, you'll note that Mel Gibson is not one of the stars I'm going to focus on despite him being a staple of the genre and admittedly an actor whose career would be fascinating to profile), but it does mean that I am struggling to keep up with what increasingly inconsistent voices on the internet want from me.

This is in particular a situation that has come up repeatedly, and relates to Harry Potter in a different way-whether it is appropriate for an adult to be entertained by it at all.  Go on your social media, and you'll find that people are perpetually talking about the concept of Disney Adults, very much a cousin of the Harry Potter Adult.  These are people who regularly go to Disney parks, spend a significant amount on merchandise & travel expenses, and in some cases more than they have.  The latest round of this was brought on by a New Yorker article about people going into dramatic debt over the Disney trips.

I will say-you should not go into serious debt trying to live a Disney adult lifestyle, period, end of story.  I talked recently about 401k withdrawal penalties (and my support of them), and will own that I think people should be more respectful of their personal finances.  But I also think that, if you can afford it, you should do trips to places like Disney & Universal, even as an adult with no children, for a number of reasons.

For starters, these parks are fun, and not really wholly meant for children (even Walt Disney said that).  The detail, character work, and even some of the rides are created in a way to inspire magic for all ages, and honestly are way more in-depth than a child is really going to appreciate.  To pretend otherwise is to ignore that things like musical theater, Las Vegas & Atlantic City, cruise lines, and all sporting events that are things that are very much about play and make-believe, yet for some reason they are not considered to be "age inappropriate" for adults and (save for the gambling) are things generally enjoyed by children.  Additionally, given the disproportionately large amount of money that these major theme parks make as a result of childless adults visiting their parks, they basically couldn't stay in business were it not for these clients (there's a reason that they are creating things like food festivals at Epcot...to keep them coming back).  And these Disney adults are not the reason that these parks are going up in exorbitant costs-that's on larger nationwide financial policy, and also that it should cost more to take a family of four to a park than it does a single person or a couple (also, let's be honest here-the cost per person for a family of four going to a Disney park is WAY less than it is for a single or coupled group).  It's not single people's fault you can't afford this-that's on you (and, admittedly, Republican lawmakers who have made life considerably more expensive in the Trump era).

That said, and to close, I will say that Disney adults, I don't totally have your back even if I'm basically at this point counted among you (I have planned two trips to Disney/Universal locals over the past year, and will have two more if my finances hold in the next two years, albeit in four different cities for each of them).  You should have trips that see things other than Disney.  You should read/watch movies other than Disney and Harry Potter.  Occasionally, you need to challenge yourself by going to more traditionally adult spots like art museums, plays, R-rated movies, and even pick up a book written by someone like Dickens or Austen or Dostoevsky.  The play and "adulthood is hard, let's be a kid again" vibe of Disney and Harry Potter only work if you do, in fact, try to expand your mind in adulthood into things that are intended exclusively for you, not just in part.

Chita Rivera (1933-24)

I am a midwestern gay boy who (literally) grew up down the street from a cornfield, and so I didn't see my first Broadway show until I was 25 (Promises, Promises with Kristin Chenoweth & Sean Hayes).  But I loved live theater, and like most young, closeted men, the way that I found an opening into the world of theater was through cast albums, including the original cast album of West Side Story.  This was the first time that I would become familiar with Chita Rivera, one of the grand dames of the New York stage in the latter half of the 20th Century, who passed away this week at the age of 91.

Born Dolores Conchita Figueroa del Rivero Anderson (which was never going to fit on a marquee), she was already on Broadway at the age of 18, doing chorus work before reaching stardom a few years later as the original Anita in West Side Story, which would make her a headliner on Broadway.  While she would not play the role in the movie (which would win Rita Moreno an Academy Award), she spent most of the next few decade's being one of the signature actresses on Broadway.  Like Mary Martin or Barbara Cook, her time in cinema was limited (her most noteworthy role was opposite Shirley MacLaine in Sweet Charity), but she'd originate countless musicals, including Bye Bye Birdie, Kiss of the Spider Woman, and Chicago, playing Velma Kelly (yet another role that would win the actress playing the part an Oscar).

Rivera was a singular star.  In an era where Broadway feels like they're all about who can belt the loudest (even if that becomes hopelessly generic over time), Rivera wasn't the best singer on Broadway (she wasn't Barbara Cook), but instead belonged to a group of actresses like Carol Channing, Elaine Stritch, & Angela Lansbury who used their distinctive singing styles to make magic on the stage.  I thankfully would eventually get to see said magic, watching her as Princess Puffer in the Studio 54 imagining of The Mystery of Edwin Drood.  She was sublime, watching one of the true greats light up the stage that felt made for her.

The Prom (2020)

Film: The Prom (2020)

Stars: Meryl Streep, James Corden, Nicole Kidman, Keegan-Michael Key, Andrew Rannells, Ariana DeBose, Kerry Washington, Tracey Ullman, Jo Ellen Pellman

Director: Ryan Murphy

Oscar History: No nominations

Snap Judgment Ranking: 3/5 stars

It goes without saying, but 2020 has been an awful year.  We have spent much of it in isolation (if we cared about those around us), and as a result it's been a lonely year (compounded by a bitter election, a rocky economy, and the constant fear of loved ones coming down with Covid, & the fears that came when they inevitably got it).  The movies have reflected this.  Without the presence of good-over-evil blockbusters (which were all saved for 2021), most movies that have been released this year have been depressing, oftentimes dealing with heavy subjects; there was one critically-acclaimed one I made it through 30 minutes of yesterday that I literally had to turn off because I just couldn't deal with more sadness (I may still get back to it if I feel I'm missing in my year-end lists).  So even with the mixed reviews, I was genuinely excited to indulge in The Prom.  I love musicals, and I love many people in this cast, but really I just wanted something happy to watch for a few hours, and something new.  The Prom is featherlight & has problems, but it delivers if you just want a cotton candy distraction for two hours, and it's a generic crowdpleaser that I recommend trying if you're doing a socially-distant screening this Christmas.

(Spoilers Ahead) The movie is about a young lesbian teenager Emma (Pellman) who cannot go to her prom with her secret girlfriend Alyssa (DeBose), but it's really about four Broadway performers who come to her town to help her get to go to the prom...and in the process get some good publicity for their flailing careers.  The two leads are Dee Dee Allen (Streep, doing at least a semi-fictionalized version of Patti LuPone, let's be real here), and Barry Glickman (Corden), an openly gay actor who is always just out-of-reach of proper critical acclaim.  They choreograph numbers to convince the town, along with eternal chorus girl Angie (Kidman) and former TV star Trent (Rannells), that being gay is okay, and in the process they become better people, confronting old demons & moving on to new chapters in their lives.

The plot is pretty thin, and I'm not saying this just because it's directed by Murphy, but it feels like an extended episode of Glee (which, if you've read this blog a long time, is not a problem for me-I liked the first few seasons of Glee).  Everyone other than Kerry Washington's Mrs. Greene (Alyssa's mother) and a team of Abercrombie-ready bullies is open & accepting, and by the end they all join with Emma in their prom.  The musical numbers are flashy, fun, & "Tonight Belongs to You" is the big showstopper it should be (this must have been a blast to watch onstage-this should do good numbers if it tours).  The script has tons of plot holes (biggest of which is why, exactly, everyone knew Emma was taking a girl to the prom in the first place), but musicals always have plot holes-people are literally singing & dancing for no reason-so this isn't a big problem.  And The Prom feels like a musical that is genuinely happy to be a musical, resisting most winks to the musical-averse in the crowd.

The casting, though, is a bit of a mixed bag & for a while threatens to take the movie off of its track.  Streep is delightful, hammy, and not stretching herself at all (though, really, when was the last time Streep properly "stretched" herself rather than just coasting on her Grand Dame reputation), and Kidman/Rannells are fun if one-dimensional.  But oh lord is James Corden bad in this movie.  I don't even have the collective allergy that the rest of the internet has to Corden (I have liked skits on his show, and I think he does have decent comedic timing even if his recent movie roles feel like he's become a "meet my asking price & I'll do it" sort of actor in the vein of Nicolas Cage).  But his mincing, stereotypically gay performance is the sort of thing you expect from 1990's cinema, and it definitely feels gross coming from a straight man (the part on Broadway was played by openly gay actor Christopher Sieber).  I'm not someone who subscribes to either the school that straight actors can't play queer characters, nor that all queer characters need to redefine stereotypes, but...come on here.  Corden's acting is bad (you understand that when Tracey Ullman comes onscreen & is so much better she nearly knocks him offscreen), and it's deeply offensive, and I struggle to understand why someone (cough Ryan Murphy cough) didn't put that together during an audition.  The role is basically begging for Tituss Burgess to play it (he'd be perfect), and Corden's performance is so wrong I spent much of the film wincing when he came onstage.  If you can get past his work, this is a fun, entertaining ride...but I would understand if you can't.

OVP: The Phantom of the Opera (2004)

Film: The Phantom of the Opera (2004)
Stars: Gerard Butler, Emmy Rossum, Patrick Wilson, Miranda Richardson, Minnie Driver
Director: Joel Schumacher
Oscar History: 3 nominations (Best Art Direction, Cinematography, Original Song-"Learn to Be Lonely")
Snap Judgment Ranking: 2/5 stars

I know it's not what "I'm supposed to do" as a theater gay (a lax theater gay-I don't deserve to wear that crown in the same way I would a political gay or a cinephile gay), but I love Andrew Lloyd Webber's musicals.  They might be a bit gaucher or louder than you'd normally expect from the theater (comparing him to Stephen Sondheim is a great theatrical parlor game, but let's be real here-they're trying to achieve different goals in the same way you can't really compare Spielberg to Scorsese).  Growing up there was one musical I loved of Webber's more than all else-The Phantom of the Opera.  I got the CD from my cousin (probably paid for by my aunt-and-uncle in hindsight) for Christmas, and I wore. it. out.  I haven't listened to this CD in at least 15 years, and watching it on the big screen, I knew every word by heart, to the point where in my stir crazy quarantine mode, I was texting one-person TikTok's to my brother of me singing "Masquerade."  But the question of course is-is the film any good?  The play gets a lot of its power not just from the songs, but also from the spectacle-could that be equalled on a big-screen?

(Spoilers Ahead) The movie is pretty close to the original musical, which is of course a loose adaptation of Gaston Leroux's 1909 novel, which is no stranger to onscreen adaptations (we've in fact reviewed a different version of this movie here).  The film tells the tale of Christine (Rossum), a talented opera ingenue who is unable to breakout at a Paris opera house because she's in the shadow of Carlotta (Driver, getting her camp on).  Christine is smitten with Raoul (Wilson), a theater patron who falls in love with her, but he has competition in the Phantom (Butler) who is referred to as the "Opera Ghost" and has been coaching Christine how to sing.  The film continues with the Phantom and the theater's proprietors quarreling over whether or not to put Christine or Carlotta in the leads of the productions, and the complicated love triangle between the Phantom, Raoul, and Christine, as the latter two are eventually engaged to be married.  The film ends with the Phantom being chased out of the catacombs (he has, to the credit of the mob that's chasing him, killed several people at this point in cold blood), with Christine going to be with Raoul.  The film ends at a gravesite many years later, with Raoul visiting the grave of his beloved, and finding a red rose with a ring that Christine had given the Phantom attached to it, meaning that the Phantom is still alive, and is still in love with Christine.

The film's music is really the drawing-card here.  While the singers here don't really have the same seismic bravado of OBC Michael Crawford & Sarah Brightman (or at least the 13-year-old gay boy inside of me is not willing to allow for such a concession), the singing is solid here.  It's kind of weird that Emmy Rossum, who has been pretty famous since this came out & had relatively decent reviews at the time never did another musical-perhaps the overall reviews for this movie might have sunk her from wanting to indulge in such an endeavor again.  Either way, she's the best part of the film.  Christine is arguably the least-interesting character in the musical production of this, but she finds a clear vision for the character that no one else really can.  Wilson's Raoul is still a wimp, Driver's indulgent diva breaks no ground, and while it's weird to think of Gerard Butler as kind of attractive here (his off-screen persona & terrible script choices since this have turned me off from him, to the point where I was shocked when he came onscreen and looked startlingly youthful), he doesn't have the range to pull off the Phantom, if not musically than certainly in terms of his thespian credentials.  Combined with Schumacher's indulgent direction (every single dramatic moment has to be underlined-it's a movie about opera, there's already enough flourish), the film is pretty gauche, and I get why it was dismissed as excessive when it first came out.

The film received three Oscar nominations in 2004.  The first, and the one it had the best shot of winning at time (I remember predicting it at the time) was "Learn to Be Lonely" for Original Song.  In hindsight, while this not a bad song, it's nowhere near to the excellence of even the worst of the numbers in the movie, and it's sung over the credits by Minnie Driver, the only person who doesn't actually sing their numbers in the musical.  I'm sure this was a negotiation on Driver's part to get to be featured vocally in the movie, but it also means the singer and song have little connection to the film, and it feels a bit like a rip-off (Rossum would've been a better choice).  The Art Direction is much better.  It's gaudy, but still kind of glorious-the giant opera house providing a lot of fun motifs, and the auction house in the opening being properly gloomy.  I know that "most" and "best" are sometimes exchanged with too little care by the Academy in this category, but that doesn't mean they can't intersect, and they do here.  I was slightly less-impressed by the Cinematography, though it's not bad.  The lighting from the grey-stained opening scenes at the auction house to the eventual grandeur of the film is a cool effect, as is the rooftop scene, which pays homage not just to Webber's work, but also to some of the same angles from the 1925 horror classic with Lon Chaney.  But what's in-between isn't as creative, and for a category that the Academy gets right more than most technical achievements, I have to dock some points for a lack of originality for long expanses of the film.  Overall, though, this was still a fun experience, recalling my glory days with my CD, even if the film itself cannot begin to equal those expectations.

Cats (2019)

Film: Cats (2019)
Stars: James Corden, Judi Dench, Jason Derulo, Idris Elba, Jennifer Hudson, Ian McKellen, Taylor Swift, Rebel Wilson, Francesa Hayward
Director: Tom Hooper
Oscar History: No nominations
Snap Judgment Ranking: 2/5 stars

The first Broadway play I saw was Promises, Promises starring Kristin Chenoweth and Sean Hayes.  It was a magical experience, one that set off a love affair with Broadway that continues to this day (every time I go to New York, I see 4-5 shows on the stage).  But a decade before that, I got my proper introduction to high-caliber productions when I was in London, and saw Cats in the West End (I still have my Playbill, and can see it from where I'm typing this).  I loved it-Cats would not go on to be one of my favorite plays, though thanks to buying a CD of the soundtrack I know every word of it (Phantom would be the musical that would dominate my young, closeted high school years), but it has a special place in my heart as a result of its introduction for me to the world of theater.  I have no problem with its nonsensical plot and occasionally bizarre musical numbers, and was one of the few people when the trailer arrived who wasn't prone to mockery (though I did think the digital fur was a step in the wrong direction).  As a result, I was going to see this movie no matter how bad the reviews were, as I wanted to relive the magic, if that was still possible, of the first time I saw this production.

(Spoilers Ahead) The plot of Cats is at once very easy to explain and rather confusing if you start asking questions.  Essentially, a group of cats get together each year and audition for Old Deuteronomy (Dench), an aging and wise cat, for a chance to, well, die, and be reborn as a new feline.  This year we have a variety of candidates, ranging from Gus the Theatre Cat (McKellen) to Jennyanydots (Wilson) to Bustopher Jones (Corden), but the clear frontrunner for the audience is the cat-in-the-shadows Grizabella (Hudson), who is seen as a former glamour cat by all except the new cat Victoria (Hayward), who sees her potential.  However, the wicked Macavity (Elba), threatens to upend the whole operation as he slowly kidnaps all of the cats who are competing so that Old Deuteronomy will be forced to pick him as the cat that gets a new life.  In the end, Macavity is punished for his wickedness, and Grizabella is sent off to start a new adventure in the next world, while Victoria joins the rest of the "Jellicle" cats in the streets, finally finding a family.

Here's where I am going to start the contrarian reviews-I didn't hate Cats, in the same way that I didn't hate the stage play.  I know it's been long fashionable to hate the latter, something that's going to quickly become true of the former, but I don't get the vitriol.  This is weird-something like Ford vs. Ferrari is a story that's particularly dreadful.  There are fun musical numbers in this film.  Obviously there's the "Memory" showstopper from Hudson, who is generally a questionable choice as an actor but can pull off great character work through song, and does so here.  But we also have a great tap number in "Skimbleshanks" and the infectious opening "Jellicle Songs for Jellicle Cats," and I even liked what Jason Derulo did with "Rum Tum Tugger."  Cats is a musical that's more for dancing than it is for singing, something alien to our "park and bark" modern-era of cinematic musicals.

That said, there are definitley problems with the film.  Putting aside the bizarre sexualization of the cats, the CGI is clunky.  While there are moments (like Taylor Swift's descent during "Macavity") where the cats look pretty much perfectly in sync with the fur and their bodies, other times Jason Derulo & Francesca Hayward genuinely look like floating heads on the screen.  Any time we aren't singing we have a problem, as Wilson & Corden doing their schtick (which genuinely would work on me-I don't dislike them like Twitter seems to do) feels a bit too reliant on cat-to-human jokes and less on genuine humor.  The sound mixing is downright dreadful on a few numbers-when your orchestra is drowning out Jennifer freaking Hudson, there's a problem in the control room.  Worst of all is the direction-Hooper doesn't know how to adapt this to the real world in the way he's supposed to (this was a problem to a lesser degree with Les Miserables), and frequently it feels like a filmed play in the worst possible way.  The "Ad-Dressing of the Cats" is awful and he deserves to be on film probation for making Dame Judi Dench endure such a travesty, with her breaking the fourth wall and singing that clunky number with every audience member wondering if the film was about to end thanks to the poor pacing.

So I'm going with 2-stars.  I considered three because honestly there were moments I felt found the weird wonder of the "now and forever" Cats and I feel like the internet is being collectively unfair to the film by comparing it to a travesty like Battlefield Earth.  It's become clear that at this point every actor in this movie needs to get their agents on the phone fast and book a crowdpleaser, as this isn't just a "derided" movie, it's the kind that takes on John Travolta's career and throws it in the garbage.  But it's also not a good movie-the failings are there, even if it's not "the worst film ever made."  So should you see it?  I think it is the sort of film that should probably be seen to be believed, but if you know the stage show by heart you'll be entertained, though not surprised.

Top Ten Favorite Divas

The Tony Awards are now in the rearview mirror, but I'm still pining for the Great White Way.  Growing up, I was fascinated by the stage, something that grew when I actually was able to see a Broadway performance for the first time, but alas this year it isn't in the cards for me to catch the boards.  As I am teeming with jealousy over people who get to see the big shows right now, I figured I'd do a Broadway-related article to calm my nerves.

I can't believe in all of the years I've been doing this blog (and finding new excuses to make lists) that I haven't done this before, but I have never done a list of my top ten favorite Broadway actresses (or, as the title suggests, divas).  Broadway is one of those places where women reign supreme, so while I could attempt one of these with men, I doubt even my top guy could bust through this list.  As a result, bask in the female empowerment of this lineup, my top ten Broadway Divas (in ranked order), as well as my favorite of their vocal performances (that I could find on YouTube):

10. Donna Murphy

9. Betty Buckley

8. Liza Minnelli

(picking a clip from Cabaret felt like cheating as she only did that cinematically, but of course-hot damn)

7. Barbara Cook

6. Angela Lansbury

5. Kristin Chenoweth

4. Laura Benanti

3. Chita Rivera

2. Patti LuPone

1. Audra McDonald

Ranting On...Mike Pence & Hamilton

Fine, fine, fine!  I thought this story would have died by now, but the President-Elect spent the entire weekend tweeting about it (and Saturday Night Live) and it's technically in this blog's wheelhouse, so I'm going to write about the Hamilton/Mike Pence thing.

Growing up, I was the kind of teenager you pointed to your kids (internally, hopefully), and said "be more like him."  I was courteous to all adults, and had a part-time job that I was good enough in to eventually become a manager.  I was persistently, exclusively on the Honor Roll, and was in every school band you could find.  I went to national competitions in our local business club, regularly volunteered at our church, was accepted at every college I applied toward, visited my grandparents, and was in National Honors Society.  Aside from not picking up a football, I was pretty much what you'd hope your kid would turn out to be (and even then, I swam after school for several miles most days when I wasn't working).  I was a quintessential good kid.

I was, in fact, what Mike Pence would probably have pointed toward if he said he wanted an example of a good kid, aside from the Gore/Lieberman sign in my window.  Conscientious, studious, hard-working, and kind to others, all things that if he saw them in a resume would have made him proud, were I his son or his constituent.  But I was also something that Mike Pence wouldn't have been able to move past: I was a closeted gay kid struggling with that identity even if externally I was what my community expected me to be.

To people like Mike Pence, all of the good things that I was don't matter once they find out that I liked other guys.  How do I know this?  Simple-I grew up in a community of Mike Pences.
"Good people," people who would point to me and say, "what a great kid" and then in different breaths, but ones that I was listening for, also complain about the "others."  One of the strange things about growing up gay is that you get to see the other side in a way that you don't if you're a person of color or a woman-you know what people say about your community before they realize that you are, in fact, gay.  I heard friends of my parents talk about "weird" or "immoral" or "sinful" or any other more colorful word you can think of to describe gay people.  I was told I would "go to hell" indirectly more times than you can fathom.  People that you would normally describe as honest, good Americans, but they would say detestable, indefensible things about the gay teenager in their midst, and the only reason they did was because I was "one of them."

Mike Pence is one of these people, though I don't know him so can't personally vouch for his being a "good person" otherwise, but he fits the mold.  However, he frequently has made targeting gay teenagers and gay Americans a cornerstone of his time in office.  He has frequently denied gay people rights, gay people medical aid, and perhaps worst of all, espoused gay conversion therapy.  Yes, that's still a thing, something the Vice President-elect wanted funded instead of giving help to victims of AIDS.  He literally took money away from people dying of a disease commonly associated with gay men, and gave it to a practice that teaches gay people to hate themselves through physical and emotional abuse.  I shudder when I think of this-I know gay people who have gone through this process because their parents, people like Mike Pence, thought that there was something wrong with them, something to correct.  People like Mike Pence are the reason that I waited until college to come out, denying my true identity for years, because I knew that once he saw that I was gay, all of the good things that I was, all of the things that people like him found so commendable would disappear since I wanted to kiss men instead of women.

I'm aware that booing the Vice President-elect isn't a classy thing to do, particularly when he's not doing anything in an official capacity, and I'm aware that the cast of Hamilton went out of their way to make Pence feel welcome in the Richard Rodgers.  It was the audience, patrons of the arts (of whom I've been a part of more times than I can count, including at the Richard Rodgers), that booed him, and perhaps that wasn't the best course of action.  Perhaps they should have tried to welcome him in, hoping that through a connection with the art and its inclusivity he might find some sense of what the hateful things he's done throughout his life have done to communities like those of Hamilton, like those of gay people everywhere.  That is the point of art, that is the point of Hamilton or Saturday Night Live-to entertain, but also to occasionally shine a light on what we know in our hearts as a society, and point out that it might be time to change something in said society.

But I also understand their urge, and I want to be very clear to every person, typically white, straight liberal thinkers, that are thinking this is bad optics and took away from Trump University or Jeff Sessions over the weekend: you ask us to be silent a lot.  Constantly.  Exclusively.  In fact, this entire pivot to the economy may be smart to turn back Obama voters who went to Trump in hopes of victories in 2018 and 2020.  It's the core message of Tim Ryan's run for Speaker.  But it's also about making that gay teenager I was invisible again.  It's about making the cast of Hamilton stay just onstage and not say anything that might upset the "acceptance" of their play being a hit.  I'm tired of having to turn the other cheek every time a straight person feels uncomfortable with who I am.  I have spent my entire life being asked "to give them time to adjust," never having someone recognize the ridiculousness of asking me to be the bigger person while they're saying and doing horrible things to me and my community.  Tolerance is something that should be natural-it wasn't something that my parents excluded from their personal education toward me.  I'm not asking for an extensive vocabulary on social justice from everyday citizens like Mike Pence (I am asking it from him though because he's in public office), but I also think that you need to look in the mirror a bit and realize what you're doing if you chastise people for booing Mike Pence, and also more thoughtfully questioning why they're booing the Vice President-elect.  In thought, deed, and action, he has been booing people like me my entire life.  And unlike him, I did nothing to deserve that.

Thoughts on She Loves Me Live!

I miss a lot of things from when I lived in New York City.  I miss the food, the people, the neighborhoods.  I miss knowing that I can see any movie that the Academy was going to see if I was willing to take the train far enough, or the thrill of an art museum I've never even heard of popping into my afternoon after a leisurely panini in the park.  But most of all, as a devoted theater fan, I miss Broadway.

Don't get me wrong, I still go to Broadway when I can, but it's not an endeavor that I can afford or that I can venture toward on a regular basis.  After all, finite funds only get you so far in life, and I've been told there are other places I should try visiting other than New York City (I don't necessarily believe such rumors, but they continue to persist).  I do hit my local theaters as often as I can, and I support touring shows whenever they're in town, but there's nothing quite like a live Broadway show to truly spark the imagination and to make, me, well giddier than I normally am under such conditions.

So BroadwayHD's recent decision to air She Loves Me on a live-streaming platform was something that I couldn't really pass up, even I was somewhat skeptical that the thrill of a live show could ever be duplicated.  The idea was that you could watch the show, the actual show that is on Broadway, live.  While Broadway shows have appeared on PBS before, in this case it was months after the fact, and while that's still fun and all, it didn't have quite the same experience as a live program-one where anything could happen, one where you can see the reaction right along with the audience.  I was bound-and-determined to support such a concept and give it a shot, and wanted to make sure it wouldn't be a taped version but instead to watch it alongside the audience, albeit a thousand miles away in my pajamas with a bowl full of popcorn that I wouldn't dream of bringing into an actual theater (I think it's beyond rude to eat snacks in a Broadway house, or even have a drink-that's what intermission or after the show is for).

The program wasn't without its glitches.  There were, especially during the previews but even during the opening number, some technical hitches that people were adamantly pointing out on Twitter.  My computer stopped working, so I had to quickly switch over to my phone (I am literally counting the days until I can get a new computer-46 to go!).  However, after clearly some on-boarding issues (my hunch is BroadwayHD wasn't really prepped for such an interest, but expatriate theater fans clearly wanted this product), the show went off without a hitch and I will just vouch that this was a marvelous experience.  It helps that the show was really wonderful.  Not being familiar with Zachary Levi outside of his work on Chuck, I wasn't sure if he could transfer his charm to the stage, but I was pleasantly surprised to see him transpose to the boards so well.  Gavin Creel and Jane Krakowski both smoldered (seriously-Gavin Creel should keep that mustache as it more than working for him), and Laura Benanti, is well, always perfect but here in particular.  Her "Vanilla Ice Cream" and "Will He Like Me?" were strong enough to make Barbara Cook herself proud, and she nailed the comic timing.  It was a strong choice by the Roundabout and BroadwayHD to go with for the first live-stream-no one could confuse this for the bumpy outings that NBC has made with valuing celebrity over pure Broadway talent for their musicals (admittedly out of a sense of financial obligation), as everyone was on all cylinders here (there was no country star trying to be Julie Andrews), but the story was familiar enough to modern audiences through You've Got Mail to ensure that people who were lay theater fans could enjoy it.

For us devout fans, it was bliss.  Not a single cell phone went off during the production, and while next time I will find a way to either watch this on my TV or my computer (my brother insists he can figure out a way to get me into the 21st Century and learn how to properly stream things-I remain hopeful but unconvinced), and I was able to literally sing along with Benanti and Creel as my favorite numbers from the show came up.  I don't know why it felt more thrilling to watch it live-perhaps it was the actual moments where I was doing the same thing during intermission I would have done in a show (texting, tweeting, grabbing a cocktail), or that you could see the same things you would in an audience, your eyes shifting focus around the stage and wondering how an actor will react to a flub of the line or a prop gone wild (Laura Benanti got that one when her ice cream fell off of its spoon and she, without missing a beat, grabbed it and ate it off her lap, making it not only seamless but also realistic as we've all been there).  This was a very special night, and an historic one for Broadway.  I did miss getting into my chair and clutching my Playbill, anxiously looking at the next number wondering when one of my favorites was going to pop up, and there's nothing quite like looking up and seeing someone you've admired for years like Benanti or Krakowski live, but for a Broadway fan from Minnesota, this was easily the best $10 I've spent in eons.  I'm hoping this catches on-whenever there's funds for such an adventure I'll be heading to Broadway, but it would be a true joy to have the option to see a show that I can't quite get to streaming into my home.  Make it happen, BroadwayHD!  And if you're in NYC, catch this before it closes on July 10th, as the show is divine.

Top 10 Actors I Most Want to See on Broadway (But Haven't Yet)

With the success of the Tony Awards, my general penchant for theater (I get to see three shows in the next two months), and my recent trip to Broadway, I've been in a Shubert Alley state of mind lately, and started thinking about the strange situation that is Broadway fans that don't actually live in NYC.  I used to live in NYC, but haven't for a few years now and yet I still maintain my devotion and love for the theater, something I had before I even saw so much as one Broadway play.  This circumstance of loving theater but not living in NYC, through YouTube, cast recordings, and the occasional PBS special, results in you actually becoming fans of certain actors or performers without having actually seen them live.  I've seen some forty Broadway productions over the past six years, and even the worst of them I still loved (there's no beating heading into a Broadway house and being entertained in that way), but I have a few gaps in major Broadway stars that I have somehow never seen live.  So listed below, I figured I'd give a theatrical opening to our Monday with the ten stars that I haven't seen on Broadway yet but desperately want to:

Note: I'm only picking people who have made a show since I started attending six years ago.  You will not see, therefore, legends of the theater like Meryl Streep, Carol Channing, and Barbra Streisand who have long since retired from actual acting on the Great White Way even if I would surely put them on this list without that caveat.

Honorable Mention: I adore Patti LuPone like any gay Broadway fan surely would, but I have technically seen her live in one of her concert tours (she even made eye contact with me, or at least that's what I keep telling myself), though I haven't seen her act on Broadway.  Considering this, I wasn't sure if she should count (she'd be Number One if she did), but I decided not to include her since she did perform a number of her most iconic musical numbers in the show.

10. Kelli O'Hara

What I've Missed: I started watching Broadway shows six years ago, so I'll be listing here only shows since I went to Broadway for the first time (my first show was Kristin Chenoweth in Promises, Promises).  For Kelli that means South Pacific, Nice Work If You Can Get It, The Bridges of Madison County, and The King and I are all missing as O'Hara is one of those few stars that gets a show nearly every season.
Why the Intrigue: Kelli O'Hara is a conundrum for me.  She's one of the most celebrated actresses currently on Broadway with six Tony nominations, but every performance she gives at awards shows or concerts seems to be beautiful but dull.  I've always wanted to know if she's maybe a stronger actress or comes alive in a different way when she's on the stage.
Why She's Missing: Like I said, I don't love her, and her shows always feel like afterthoughts to me.  She's never in a show that's competing for a top Tony win (and since I don't live there I have to be prudent in terms of what I actually see on stage), and generally her shows aren't as thrilling to me.  Still, I'll be seeing The Bridges of Madison County on tour next week!
What I Most Wish I'd Seen: The Light in the Piazza-I have heard she was marvelous in this, and that it's Victoria Clark at her peak.

9. John Lithgow

What I've Missed: The Columnist, A Delicate Balance
Why the Intrigue: Lithgow is one of those performers who clearly has talent, but I've always found a bit scenery-chewy in his many film and television works.  I honestly think he's got skills, though, and would be marvelous on a stage where bigger is better.  I remember feeling similarly about Philip Seymour Hoffman until I saw him in the seismic Death of Salesman, and then was universally moved by his talents and better appreciate his filmic work.  Lithgow feels right around that alley.
Why He's Missing: I generally travel with relatives when I go to see shows on Broadway, and as they are older relatives I have to be a little bit more careful about plays (they tend not to like the ones that are too racy or less famous, since the musicals are clearly more fun), and it's hard to tell in advance when we buy the tickets if a play, quite frankly, will be any good if it's not something tried-and-true like an Arthur Miller or a Tennessee Williams.  Therefore, I couldn't find the time for either of Lithgow's works.
What I Most Wish I'd Seen: Lithgow's resume is a cavalcade of productions (he really is a Broadway champ), but I think his work in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (especially his chemistry with Norbert Leo Butz) would be too delightful to pass up.

8. Phylicia Rashad

What I've Missed: August Osage County
Why the Intrigue: While Bill Cosby has spent the time since their show went off the air snapping up lifetime achievement awards and then watching his reputation rightfully desecrated in recent years, Rashad has instead watched her career flourish on the Broadway stage, becoming the first African-American woman to win Best Actress in a Play, and even starring in the occasional musical (she was the Witch in Into the Woods-did you know that?).
Why She's Missing: Considering that I do tend to get to Broadway shows when they tour, I rarely go to a play or musical on Broadway unless it has the original cast.  Even when it's the case of someone like Rashad, who probably made a very strong Violet Weston, I didn't feel like I should be hitting that without first seeing the original.
What I Most Wish I'd Seen: I actually think her Violet Weston would have been quite good, but Lena Younger in A Raisin in the Sun, the role that finally got her a Best Actress trophy is a ticket I couldn't possibly refuse.

7. Debra Monk

What I've Missed: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Why the Intrigue: Monk, or as Kristin Chenoweth calls her "Mama Monk" since she's played so many different actors mothers, is a longtime Broadway hoofer who is largely out of the spotlight that she once enjoyed near universally.  Still, she's definitely someone who was once a star and occasionally finds her way back on the Great White Way (witness something like Curtains not long ago), and she's an excellent and game singer.
Why She's Missing: Like with Rashad, Monk's only contributions to actual Broadway shows since I started watching are as a replacement.  She's also done off-Broadway work since then, but she seems more content to do bit parts in movies and television in recent years than taking to Shubert Alley (or perhaps she's at that stage where producers aren't heading her way, something that happens to nearly every musical performer at some point in their career).
What I Most Wish I'd Seen: Steel Pier, definitely.  She won a Tony nomination for Best Featured Actress, and did it next to Kristin Chenoweth, who was making her Broadway debut in the production. At the time, it was the most-nominated musical ever to not win a trophy (it was eventually trumped by The Scottsboro Boys).

6. Gavin Creel

What I've Missed: Hair, The Book of Mormon, She Loves Me
Why the Intrigue: While there is a lot of talk about how gay-friendly Broadway is (and it is, especially compared to literally every other major entertainment medium), there still aren't a huge number of openly gay matinee idols on the Great White Way.  Creel manages to be that, having a name that's good enough to go above a marquee, and he's a great singer (and he's cute, which always goes at least a little bit of a distance with me).
Why He's Missing: I was not going to take my entire family to Hair, as that felt like something you just don't need your parents around for, and She Loves Me fell onto my radar on too short of notice (The Book of Mormon I did see, but with different actors).  It's not for a lack of interest, that's for sure.
What I Most Wish I'd Seen: Hair is definitely the title on his list that I most wish I'd been able to see from an overall production standpoint, and he was Tony-nominated for it, but I think I'd go with Thoroughly Modern Millie if only to catch Sutton Foster (an actor I have seen hence her absence from this list) become a star (plus, Creel was Tony-nominated there as well).

5. Donna Murphy

What I've Missed: The People in the Picture
Why the Intrigue: It's Donna freaking Murphy-if you don't get the intrigue, may I welcome you to your first discussion on musical theater.  Murphy is an icon in the world of Broadway, having won two Tony Awards and essentially being one of the truly great Broadway musical actresses of the 1990's.  She also is the first person to find out that Audra McDonald, my North Star of Broadway love, was pregnant, so there's that in terms of reasons to be in love.
Why She's Missing: Like Debra Monk, Murphy has largely gone the way of bit parts in television and movies since her big show-stopper in LoveMusik.  People in the Picture is the only show she's done in the time I've been buying Broadway tickets, and was actually while I was living in NYC, but the reviews weren't great (she was the only reason to see it), and even with me seeing Broadway shows at an astonishing clip back then (I still wish I'd gone to more), I was too tired from work to fit this one in before I moved back.
What I Most Wish I'd Seen: Surely her triumphant Anna in The King and I.  I know this is Tony catnip, but it's hard not to see her classy demeanor as a perfect choice to match this Rodgers & Hammerstein score.

4. Jane Krakowski

What I've Missed: She Loves Me
Why the Intrigue: Krakowski is perhaps the only actor ever to have starred in three different television shows where I genuinely loved the series and watched it consistently while on the air: Ally McBeal, 30 Rock, and The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.  As a result, I've developed a mad talent crush on her through the years and know that she's a very capable singer and, in particular, dancer who I'm guessing comes alive in a big way on the stage.
Why She's Missing: Like I said for Creel, I bought my tickets for the latest shows far enough in advance that I couldn't get the buzz around She Loves Me (and its Tony-winning sets), so I missed out on seeing Krakowski assuming that "Vanilla Ice Cream" was about all this show was going to have to lend to it.
What I Most Wish I'd Seen: Clearly Nine, where her "Call from the Vatican" was so sexy that it inspired Penelope Cruz to get an Oscar nomination just by mimicking it (Krakowski was rewarded with a Tony, so don't feel too bad).

3. Jonathan Groff

What I've Missed: Hamilton
Why the Intrigue: Because Jonathan Groff is perfect.  Seriously-he can sing, dance, we're the same age, he's gay, beautiful, talented, funny, a good dramatic actor (Looking-seriously, what a show), and sassy enough that he'd make a magical night of theater, and also I might get to meet him at the Stage Door.  Let's just say I have a crush.  A big one.
Why He's Missing: Because I didn't have a kidney to sell to get to Hamilton, and even if I did his time there might have been interrupted by Andrew Rannells or Rory O'Malley instead.  I do have to admit to being in love with a character that's meant to be a little homosexual has been played by entirely out gay men so far.  Hopefully the producers continue that as the headliners start to exit.
What I Most Wish I'd Seen: Spring Awakening launched the careers of so many different actors that ended up being stars (Groff, Lea Michele, John Gallagher, Jr., Skylar Astin) that I couldn't help but want to catch it.

2. Laura Benanti

What I've Missed: In the Next Room, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, She Loves Me (I'm becoming well aware I should have gotten tickets to this-blame it on an uneasiness about Zachary Levi)
Why the Intrigue: Because Laura Benanti is also perfect, albeit not quite in the same lusty way Jon Groff is (though if I were straight...I probably wouldn't know her name, but I'd like to think she'd be my type).  Benanti has arguably the best pipes on Broadway (give or take Audra or Kristin), is an extremely game performer with impeccable timing, and while television is clearly not her game (or she doesn't know how to pick out decent sitcom scripts), she's flawless when it comes to performing live.
Why She's Missing: I've already been over She Loves Me.  As for Women, it's worth noting that the show was not a big hit, and the reviews weren't kind to anyone except she and Patti LuPone, so I didn't feel the urgency.
What I Most Wish I'd Seen: Clearly Gypsy-not only is it starring LuPone as Mama Rose (finally taking that second Tony Award), but also got Benanti her Tony Award as Louise, so you can't really go wrong here.

1. Lin-Manuel Miranda

What I've Missed: Hamilton (technically he also did M&L for Bring It On: The Musical as well if we want to count that, but only Hamilton as an actor)
Why the Intrigue: I know it's cliche to put him as Number One right now, but he (and Benanti) are the reasons I decided to make this list so I might as well be honest.  Truly, if you haven't gotten on the Lin-Manuel train yet, I don't know what is wrong with you.  Not only is he exceptionally talented, incredibly cute, starring in a musical where the hype actually equals the praise (or at least as far as I can tell from the soundtrack), but he also seems like a genuinely lovely human being, both kind and caring in terms of his political ambitions (supporting Puerto Rico, as well as Latino and gay rights causes) and as a human being.  All-in-all, I am in love.
Why He's Missing: Like with Groff, I just don't have $10,000 lying around waiting for me to be able to buy Hamilton tickets.  Know, though, that I will be buying tickets to literally his next starring production on Broadway literally no matter what it is as I need to see him live.  It's an itch.
What I Most Wish I'd Seen: Hamilton, clearly.  Let's be honest here.

There you have it-my Top 10.  How about you theater-fans-who are the gaps in your theatrical library, and who on this list am I most missing out on?  Share your thoughts below!

Ten Tony Losers That Still Ended Up Winners

For those wonderful Tony nominees today who are looking at your empty shelves, wondering why your agent didn't follow up on that call from Lin-Manuel Miranda, I know it's got to be rough to wonder what might have been.  After all, at this point Scott Rudin is probably using all of his Tony Awards as coasters.  But don't fret too hard-find some solace in the below ten nominees, all of whom (shockingly) missed on Tony night but went on to more lasting immortality:

Gypsy (1960) lost Best Musical

One of the most iconic shows in the Broadway canon (seriously-who hasn't done this show at some point on-stage?) didn't win too many plaudits its first go-around.  While it cemented the immortality of one Ethel Merman (she was already pretty much there), the show was up against The Sound of Music, and lost both the production trophy as well as lead actress (Merman fell to Mary Martin).  Sadly for both actresses, neither would make it to the big-screen version of their shows (Rosalind Russell & Julie Andrews would see to that), but Gypsy lives on as a near-constant revival on Broadway, while The Sound of Music had to suffer the indecency of Carrie Underwood trying her hand at it.

Hair (1969) lost Best Musical

Deeply controversial in its time, Hair only managed two Tony nominations back in its day, losing out to the far more traditional 1776.  However, it's very clear in the "dawning of the age of aquarius" which one of the two lived on in infamy.  It won a boatload of Grammy Awards and caused a worldwide sensation.  Decades later the Tony Awards rectified the situation by rewarding it the Best Revival of a Musical statue.

Grease (1971) lost Best Musical

Two Gentleman from Verona has the dubious distinction of losing out to arguably the most popular American musical of the past fifty years.  Grease lost the Tony Award in 1971 to the Shakespearean adaptation, but went on to become (at the time) the longest-running musical in Broadway history, and eventually launched into an even more successful film, the highest-grossing movie musical of all-time.

Chicago (1976) lost Best Musical

In 1976 it probably made sense that Chicago, a dark musical comedy that had received mixed reviews would falter to the smash hit Pulitzer Prize-winner A Chorus Line, which would go on to become (at the time) the longest-running musical in Broadway history.  However, the tables turned in a truly remarkable fashion a few years later.  A Chorus Line watched its cinematic version bomb, while Chicago was bolstered by a smash revival and a big-screen adaptation that won the Best Picture Oscar. And that revival?  It's now run longer than A Chorus Line.  And all that jazz.

Dreamgirls (1982) lost Best Musical

Even in 1982, it's kind of hard to believe that Nine was able to take out Dreamgirls at the top of the Tony Awards, considering that Dreamgirls was clearly going to run for years while Nine was mostly being bolstered by the stage prowess of one Raul Julia.  Even with that surprise, Dreamgirls persevered, lasting longer on Broadway, and eventually getting a huge big-screen adaptation that won a different Jennifer an Oscar.  Nine, on the other hand, watched its big-screen adaptation go up-in-smoke, proving that even Daniel Day-Lewis can't do everything.

Miss Saigon (1991) lost Best Musical

Here the revenge might not be a film adaptation or eventually getting a major revival, but instead just money.  LOTS and LOTS of money.  Miss Saigon somehow got bested by Will Rogers Follies in 1991, but would go on to become a massive hit on Broadway, going strong for ten years and doing over 4000 shows in that time, becoming a staple of Shubert Alley in the 1990's.

Wicked (2004) lost Best Musical

I actually remember this happening, as I was old enough to be watching the Tony Awards and being floored by Avenue Q taking this trophy.  While the puppet musical has enjoyed some resonance, it hasn't remotely approached the dominance that Wicked has over the past decade, as the Wizard of Oz musical launched the careers of stars Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel, grossed over $2.5 billion, and is still one of the hottest tickets on the Great White Way.  Now if only they'd finally get around to the movie...

Julie Andrews in My Fair Lady lost Best Actress (1957)

Julie Andrews for a brief moment there was somehow the charm of Broadway and someone who was in desperate need of some luck.  She lost Best Actress at the Tony Awards for her immortal star-turn as Eliza Doolittle to Judy Holliday and soon lost out on the part in the big-screen adaptation when Jack Warner refused to cast an "unknown" and put in Audrey Hepburn.  Andrews got revenge, though, when she made a massive hit of her own in Mary Poppins, and won both the Oscar and Golden Globe over Hepburn.  During her Globes speech, she even cheekily thanked "Jack Warner for making all of this possible."

Barbra Streisand in Funny Girl lost Best Actress (1964)

Streisand made a triumphant return to the Tony Awards last night, but it was in 1964 that she made one of her biggest splashes.  She was a massive triumph in Funny Girl on Broadway, but she lost out in one of those "she truly would have won in any other year" situations when Carol Channing's immortal role of Dolly Levi came about.  Streisand also got revenge, though, going on four years later to win the Oscar for her work in Funny Girl, and then the following year gave her own rendition of Dolly Levi, being cast over Channing in the big-screen adaptation.

Eileen Heckart in Butterflies are Free lost Best Featured Actress (1970)

Perhaps no one better says "if at first you don't succeed, try try again" than Eileen Heckart.  The longtime character actress had to not only lose the Tony Award, but lose it to her fellow cast member Blythe Danner in 1970.  Two years later, Heckart would be picking up an Oscar for her work in the cinematic adaptation, while Danner was unceremoniously dismissed in favor of Goldie Hawn for the lead.

There you have it-any other stories of triumph after losing to share with the Tony losers from last night?  And share your favorite thoughts in general on what I thought was a lovely night!