Neil Patrick Harris performs the "11 o'clock number" at the Tonys.
If there were a Tony Award for critics' best post-mortem sentence, this one would be a candidate:
With producers coming out of the woodwork like dinner-jacketed head lice, ebullient hippies celebrated in the aisles, staring down the camera lens and cavorting with the likes of Edie Falco.
That from the Chicago-based Theater Loop blog by Chris Jones, who accurately characterized last night's show as "uncommonly energetic." The above passage describes the antics of the Hair entourage after their win for best revival; in fact, every time the folks from Hair hit the stage, the exuberance level went up several notches.
But the best moment of the night, no question, was host Neil Patrick Harris' closing number. Written right up to the final minute by the Hairspray team, Marc Shaiman and Scott Witman, the lyrics name-checked losers and winners with high style and lowdown wit. The New York Times has the story of how the songwriters managed to be so timely so fast; read the lyrics (set to the tune of "Tonight, Tonight") after the break.
This article appears in Jun 3-9, 2009.