JUST when you thought Broadway was starting to get with it, the feeble-minded old Tony voters served up their usual dish – sentimental slop.
Yes, “In the Heights,” which pulled off an upset to win Best Musical, is energetic. Yes, it has an appealing Latino cast. And, yes, it’s set in the barrio, a neighborhood most Tony voters only pass through on their way home from their country houses in Katonah. But the barrio of “In the Heights” is about as zesty as an enchilada from Taco Bell.
This is a hopelessly old-fashioned show that, for all its hyperactive staging, makes the groundbreaking observation that “there’s no place like home.”
Accepting the Tony last night, one of its giddy producers said, “This is a show about family and chasing your dreams!”
That should be enough to bury it for anybody raised on “The Simpsons,” but not those Tony voters, who still order their ethnic food “mild.”
The really groundbreaking rock musical of the year – “Passing Strange,” about a young musician’s coming of age – proved too edgy for Tony voters.
“Passing Strange” went home with just one award last night, Best Book for its creator, Stew, a downtown rocker who’s been a fixture of the European underground music scene for years.
“Passing Strange” began life in the downtown rock clubs and first came to the attention of Broadway producers at Joe’s Pub at the Public Theater.
“In the Heights” began life at Wesleyan, its creators’ alma mater.
Stew at least showed he had a sense of humor, appearing on camera wearing big glasses and a pig nose when his name was called out as Best Actor in a Musical. He lost to Paulo Szot of “South Pacific.”
In addition to the Tony voters’ distaste for a show with a rough edge, there were whispers around Shubert Alley all week that the road voters might not opt for “Passing Strange” because they couldn’t sell it outside of New York: It’s black, it deals with sex, the music is awfully loud.
“In the Heights,” some insiders said, would work on the road because everybody’s sentimental about “the old neighborhood.” If this, indeed, is the case, the road producers should have their Tony credentials revoked.
On an upbeat note, bravo to Whoopi Goldberg, who, as this year’s Tony host, put on the best telecast in years.
Whoopi popped up in scenes from classic shows, dancing to “One” with Mario Lopez, flying over Radio City as “Mary Poppins,” and stealing the scene from the ensemble of “The Lion King” dressed as the crab from “The Little Mermaid.”
She should be made Tony host for life.