Interludes

VIEWPOINTS – The Top 10 Diva Moments at the Tonys

• By drediman
• September 2, 2014
• No Comments

As a stage-struck kid living in upstate New York, I remember arming myself with a blank VHS videocassette prior to each of the annual Tony Awards broadcasts. Recording these broadcasts would ensure that I had access to the great performances from the Tonys at my “fingertips”. Today, however, we have the wondrous YouTube to make Broadway literally fingertip-accessible wherever you are, enabling theater geeks like myself to revel in the glories of the stage with astonishing ease. Like many others not fortunate enough to have Broadway at their doorstep, the Tonys introduced me to the colorful cast of characters that make up the Broadway community. I was particularly intrigued by the seductive divas of the Great White Way: Bernadette, Patti, and Chita, to name a few. Thanks to the wonders of YouTube, I now no longer have to dust off my VHS cassettes in order to share my Top 10 diva performances at the Tonys. Here they are:

10. Tonya Pinkins in “Caroline, or Change” — Singing the stinging “Lot’s Wife” from the singular “Caroline, or Change”, Tonya was not in top form vocally during the Tony broadcast. Nonetheless, she sure gave a searing performance.

9. Chita Rivera in “Kiss of the Spider Woman” — I was smitten by Chita ever since I first encountered her seductive presence onstage in “Kiss of the Spider Woman”. With a voice like a brassy trombone and the grace of a Balanchine protege, there is no mistaking Chita. What at treat it was to see her charismatically light up the stage as she leads “Where You Are” at the Tonys.

8. Christine Ebersole in “Grey Gardens” — Those who missed Christine’s miraculous performance in “Grey Gardens” luckily have this Tony performance to cherish. Notice the precision and guts with which she attacks the show’s second act opener, “The Revolutionary Costume for Today”.

7. Idina Menzel in “If/Then” — I thought “If/Then” was the most exciting and original musical to open on Broadway last season. Therefore, it came as a sad surprise that the show was not nominated for Best Musical. Despite not being nominated for the big prize, the Tony broadcast included Idina singing the climactic “Always Starting Over”. And boy did she nail it; I have never heard Idina in better voice. I’ll take this as a consolation prize.

6. Sutton Foster in “Anything Goes” — I had initially thought that Sutton would be miscast when the revival of the unsinkable “Anything Goes” was first announced. Boy, did she prove me wrong. She was a remarkably vital singing and dancing Reno Sweeney, and her performance of the title song was perfectly captured during the Tony broadcast.

5. Donna McKechnie in “Promises, Promises” — Donna is a creature of the stage, and her dance solo in “It’s Turkey Lurkey Time” from the otherwise forgettable “Promises, Promises” is an astonishing display of enthusiasm and love of performing.

4. Patti LuPone in “Gypsy” — To witness Patti in “Gypsy” was akin to watching a master at the peak of his or her craft. This translated clearly and powerfully in her monumental rendition of “Everything’s Coming Up Roses” at the Tonys.

3. Alice Ripley in “Next to Normal” — For better or for worse, one of the wonders of Alice’s performance in “Next to Normal” was her spontaneity and unpredictability. Luckily, at the Tonys, she was on fire in the best ways possible as she burned her way through “You Don’t Know/I Am the One”, one of the many thrilling sequences in the show.

2. Bernadette Peters in “Gypsy” — Like Sutton in “Anything Goes”, I initially thought Bernadette would be miscast in Sam Mendes’s production of “Gypsy”. I’ve eaten my hat many times since: Bernadette’s impassioned, emotional rendition of “Rose’s Turn” is one of the great performances captured at the Tonys.

1. Jennifer Holliday in “Dreamgirls” — What more can I say. Jennifer’s pained howl of a performance of “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going” from “Dreamgirls” is the stuff of legends.