If you missed the 64^th Annual Tony Awards last night, count yourself lucky: it was easily the worst assembled show in recent memory.  Regrets there must have been many, in this forgettable production featuring an insipid, one dimensional host, a mash-up of classic tunes fitted into the formulaic musical of the day, and a bevy of narcissistic Hollywood and TV stars who took a break in their multi-million dollar contract years to do a little pro bono work (and build their CV) via The Great White Way. 

The evening got off to a very bad start and continued south.  Looking like a cross between the Grammys and the Academy Awards, Green Day closed out a kaleidoscope set of rehashed musical numbers from past R & B's, Rock, Tribal, and Broadway musicals. Green Day? As the night wore on, there seemed to be an emphasis on acrobatics - back flips, cartwheels, and somersaults were in profusion - in the musical choreographies which went hurtling past.  Are they casting these guys and gals at the circus?  The show bogged down whenever the low wattage host Sean Hayes took the stage, who seemed more of a bystander than a leader of the celebration.  Bring back Rosie, Hugh, Whoopi, or get Chris Rock out there next time to juice things up.  Not too much new on the play agenda - a British import (Red) seemed truly the best of the offerings.  Maybe we need to bypass Times Square and head straight to the West End for the top shows. 

Tony voters were appreciative of all the star power, giving the nod to Scarlett Johansson (featured actress in a play), Catherine Zeta-Jones (leading actress in a musical), Denzel Washington (leading actor in a play), and Viola Davis (leading actress in a play).  But they had plenty of stars to choose from: Jude Law, Liev Schreiber, Christopher Walken, Alfred Molina, Laura Linney, Valerie Harper, and Kelsey Grammer, to name a few.  Ms. Johansson was never much of an actor on screen, but she has definite box office appeal.  Ms. Zeta-Jones demonstrated neither the ability to sing or act in her performance of Sondheim's "Send in the Clowns," which I had thought beyond butchering; there are so many great covers of this masterpiece, but her bitter, over-the-top, raspy rendition left me cold.  Mr. Washington seemed genuinely surprised to win as well he might have, with Mr. Molina's bravura portrayal of Mark Rothko in Red.  But he at least genuinely acknowledged the contributions of the late writer (August Wilson) and director (Kenny Leon,whose excellent work was last seen here in Stick Fly).   Ms. Davis, a former Tony Award winner and recent Academy Award nominee, with perhaps the most legitimate claim to the honor, seemed to overlook the collaborative nature of the art. She as well as the other self-absorbed winners spent a lot of time on themselves and those present and otherworldly forces personally enabling their careers.  Much praise was also lavished on the producers who picked up the tab for "the high production values," but that's about all they'll take home from this brush with celebrity.       

Fortunately the TV programming gods placed the NBA Championship (Boston vs. LA) on an adjacent channel and I was able to break away often to get my jolt of real excitement (The Celtics won to take a 3-2 lead).  So all was not lost for me last evening and I got a heads up on the caliber of Broadway shows this year.  If this is the best that they have to offer, I'll take a pass this summer and check out the many fine local and regional productions in the area.  Or head to the ballpark.