With two hosts of the 2015 Tony Awards, viewers should expect double the entertainment, right? While expectations have been high for Tony co-hosts Kristin Chenoweth and Alan Cumming, the duo did not spend long onstage during heir opening performance at the award show on June 7. Obviously, the seasoned stage veterans know how to get an audience in the palm of their hand, but after a short song montage, they gave the opening of the Tony Awards to the Broadway cast of Something Rotten!
Although Brian d'Arcy James and the rest of the cast of Something Rotten! were extremely talented, it wasn't the first time that Tony Award-winners Chenoweth and Cumming combined forces for the sake of entertainment, so I had wanted to see more of the crazy kids on their own. The stars strolled on stage and started singing almost instantly with Cumming covering "Wilkommen" from Cabaret — and claimed that he will never sing that song again. (You'll never not be the Emcee in my heart, Cumming!) They moved into singing versions of "It Takes Two" from Into the Woods, "Popular" and "Cool" from West Side Story. Cumming tormented Chenoweth with a rendition of her song "Popular" from the still-running Wicked.
They tried to lure movie producer Harvey Weinstein with "Smile" and serenaded Dame Helen Mirren with "There Is Nothing Like a Dame" from South Pacific (while Chenoweth commented on the bad teeth of the British).
But after that, they handed the stage to Something Rotten! (although they did join in on the fun slightly). Both Chenoweth and Cumming have completely impressive stage résumés — and screen résumés for that matter too — so having them pair up as hosts for the televised Broadway awards was a stroke of genius. But previous hosts Neil Patrick Harris and Hugh Jackman showed that it's not always easy for the hosts to nail the opening number of Broadway's biggest night unassisted.
The 2015 Tony Awards had promised to be a night of great of performances, but it turns out that Chenoweth and Cumming weren't really a part of that promise... promise. Just give me more Cumming in his school boy outfit and I'll hopefully get over my disappointment.
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