6-11-10 The Tony Award Special!

In case you missed it...

THE TONY NOMINATIONS
Rosie began the show announcing that today's show is the 2010 Tony Award Special! She said they would discuss all the nominees and playing the interviews with some of the Broadway performers that Rosie has interviewed this year. Rosie said this is her favorite award show of all! Bobby, the resident Broadway expert and Tony award nominated costume designer, shared the big news that actor Sean Hayes will be hosting this year's Tonys! Rosie said Sean will be a fun host so the show is sure to be good.

Bobby said the other piece of Tony news he had to share was that they were going to close A Little Night Music on June 20th except now Bernadette Peters and Elaine Stritch are going to be joining the cast! He said they will shut down for a while and then reopen in July. Rosie and Bobby said that they will definitely go see it! Janette began to sing A Little Death from A Little Night Music (Janette's known for her comedy, not her singing voice) and Rosie said, "Please don't sing- it's the Tony Special!!"

Bobby also said that the police officers that patrol the "Broadway beat" are getting a special Tony award for all their hard work. Janette, Rosie and Bobby reminisced about the times that Rosie hosted the Tonys and the time she came up out of the floor at the Grammys. Rosie still remembers the song and dance numbers she performed when she hosted the Tonys. She said that hosting the Tonys was so much fun and she doesn't know any time you have a better time in the entertainment industry than on Broadway. Bobby said that performing and working on Broadway is such a hard job that you have to really love it to do it. He said there's an amazing feeling being part of a Broadway show that everyone there is doing what they really love to do. Janette said it's impossible to not feel transformed when you go into a Broadway show. She said the person you are when you leave a performance is different than the person you were when you first came in.

Then it was time to discuss the 2010 Tony Award Nominations!

Best Musical
American Idiot
Fela!
Memphis
Million Dollar Quartet

Rosie thinks American Idiot will win Best Musical and Bobby said that he thinks Memphis will win because it's the most original show (meaning original music and storyline). Janette said that Memphis felt the most relevant to her over all the nominees.

Best Play
In the Next Room or The Vibrator Play
Next Fall
Red
Time Stands Still

Rosie hasn't seen any of these plays so she wouldn't guess. Bobby has only seen one - Next Fall. Bobby thinks Next Fall will win because of the subject matter.

Best Book of a Musical
Everyday Rapture
Fela!
Memphis
Million Dollar Quartet

I believe that both Rosie and Bobby thought that Everyday Rapture will win.

Best Original Score
Addams Family
Enron
Fences
Memphis

Bobby thinks Memphis will win Best Score. David Bryan from Bon Jovi wrote the music!

Best Revival of a Play
Fences
Lend Me a Tenor
The Royal Family
A View from the Bridge

Bobby thinks Fences will win!

Best Revival of a Musical
Finian's Rainbow
La Cage Aux Folles
A Little Night Music
Ragtime

Bobby said he thinks La Cage will win because it's the best show he's seen in a long time. Rosie said she thinks that Kelsey Grammer is fantastic in it too.

Best Performance by a Lead Actor in a Play
Jude Law in Hamlet
Alfred Molina in Red
Liev Schreiber in A View from the Bridge
Christopher Walken in A Behanding in Spokane
Denzel Washington in Fences

Rosie said they all could win because they're all good actors. Bobby agreed but thinks it's going to be between Jude and Denzel.

They then had Google Pete discuss the Tony Award nominators and the Tony Award voters. Pete explained that The Administration Committee has 24 members: 10 designated by the American Wing, 10 by The Broadway League, and one each by the Dramatists Guild, Actors' Equity Association, United Scenic Artists and the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers. This committee determines eligibility for nominations. The Nominating Committee, consisting of 30 theater professionals selected by the Tony Awards Administration Committee, makes the nominations for the various categories. Nominators serve three-year terms and are asked to see every new Broadway production. There are about 700 Tony Award voters. [source Wiki and Google Pete]

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play
Viola Davis in Fences
Valerie Harper in Looped- Rosie and Bobby really want Valerie to win!
Linda Lavin in Collected Stories
Laura Linney in Time Stands Still
Jan Maxwell in The Royal Family

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical
Kelsey Grammer in La Cage aux Folles
Sean Hayes in Promises, Promises
Douglas Hodge in La Cage aux Folles- Bobby's guess for Best Actor.
Chad Kimball in Memphis
Sahr Ngaujah in Fela!

Bobby talked about how it's hard to compare the performances because they are all so different. He said it's like comparing apples and oranges.

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical
Kate Baldwin in Finian's Rainbow
Montego Glover in Memphis
Christiane Noll in Ragtime
Sherie Rene Scott in Everyday Rapture
Catherine Zeta-Jones in A Little Night Music

Bobby said he thinks it's between Catherine and Montego.

Rosie thinks this is going to be a good year for the Tonys! She encouraged her listeners to watch it on Sunday so she can talk about it on Monday!

AN INTERVIEW WITH CARRIE FISHER

Rosie then introduced Carrie Fisher who called in to be interviewed! Rosie started the interview telling Carrie that she was robbed because she wasn't nominated for a Tony for her one woman performance of Wishful Drinking. Apparently the Tonys took out the category of one woman performance. Rosie said she thought the show was fantastic and that Carrie was amazing in it. She said "screw the Tony Committee!" Rosie said she's not a member of the Tony committee because it felt like a lot of pressure. Rosie hoped Carrie had fun doing the play because the crowd loved it.

Carrie said she had a fantastic time performing the one woman show because every night the performance changed because the audience changed.

Rosie and Carrie talked about depression and weight issues. Carrie said that her favorite exercise is getting into bed. But seriously, her favorite real exercise is the elliptical machine. Carrie and Rosie found out they both love to watch documentaries! They are also great friends with Sheila Nevins from HBO who Rosie said will send you any documentary you want if you bug her enough. Rosie recommended the documentaries Gasland and Crossing Arizona to Carrie. Rosie asked Carrie if she ever watches her mother's movies and although Carrie doesn't watch them regularly, she's seen all of them. Rosie asked Carrie if her daughter watches her movies and Carrie said she does not. She said she's embarrassed by her. Rosie said her kids are the same way about her! Rosie asked if Carrie's daughter is embarrassed about her mom being famous and Carrie said her daughter just thinks it's funny and wishes she would shut up about it.

Rosie told Carrie that her eldest daughter Chelsea has told her shrink that she has issues having a famous mom. Rosie asked Carrie how it was having Debbie Reynolds as a mother. Carrie said she didn't like being Debbie Reynold's daughter growing up because as a teen it's your job to not like what your parents do and she did her job well.

Rosie told Carrie that her book Wishful Drinking had an amazing look on fame and at life. She said it's so rare that someone at her level of fame is able to show the underbelly of fame and Hollywood as she does in the book. Carrie said she realizes it's a high class problem to have and said it's hard for some not to be famous too. She talked about her own chemical depression and how that can make fame even harder to deal with. She also talked about depression and how depression medications make you fat and then you get depressed again because you're fat! Rosie and Carrie talked about getting off medication and changing it. Carrie also talked with Rosie about her ECT and how she finally decided to try it out of desperation. Carrie said she was performing and depressed and the ECT really helped her. She said there are a lot of misconceptions about ECT that continue today but what's true is that ECT works, helps with depression and can get you off medication.

Carrie joked with Rosie about how we're no longer our worst enemies - the Internet is. Rosie encouraged Carrie to not ingest all the crap she reads about herself on the Internet. Carrie said she's gotten used to it and instead of letting it bother her she uses it as material to make it funny.

Carrie Fisher's Wishful Drinking is headed to HBO as a feature length documentary! Rosie and Carrie ended the interview agreeing to have dinner together and with their mutual friend Sheila Nevins. Rosie thanked her for calling in. See Wishful Drinking June 25th and 26th only!

an excerpt from Wishful Drinking

AMERICAN IDIOT

Rosie Radio then played the the American Idiot interview from May 20th, 2010.



KEVIN CHAMBERLIN FROM ADDAMS FAMILY
Rosie Radio then aired the Kevin Chamberlin interview from June 3rd 2010.

VALERIE HARPER FROM LOOPED
Rosie Radio then aired the Valerie Harper interview from March 25th, 2010.

BETTY BUCKLEY

Rosie Radio then played Betty Buckley singing (with Seth Rudetsky on piano) from when she was on the show on April 27th, 2010.

Here's some audio from when Betty sang in April.

But the quality is stinky and you can hear my kids in the background.

Sorry about that.

Rosie closed the show reminding listeners to watch the Tonys this Sunday at 8pm on CBS!

and that's what you missed -kw