In what is quite possibly the most ambitious medley ever attempted at the Tonys, this is the 1986 tribute to Forty Years of Broadway Show Music. These musical segments were interspersed through the awards and presentations by current plays and musicals, bringing some of musical theatre's finest out to sing the hell out of a lot of showtunes. (There is Lily Tomlin's Best Actress in a Play speech tossed in here for fun).
The cast: Dorothy Loudon, David Wayne, Helen Hayes, Bea Arthur, Susan Anton, Ann Reinking, Sandy Duncan, Hal Linden, Cleo Laine, Rex Smith, Tom Wopat, Bernadette Peters, Juliet Prowse, Jose Ferrer, Stefanie Powers, Nell Carter, Lee Remick, Leslie Uggams, Jack Lemmon, Chita Rivera, Debbie Allen, Karen Morrow, Ben Vereen, Alfonso Ribeiro, John Rubinstein, Lee Roy Reams. (I think that's everyone).
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
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Most of the Tony shows from the '80s were pretty ambitious. Some were successful (1984), some not so much (1985). The 1984 show featured tributes to Sondheim, Jerry Herman, and Kander & Ebb. The 1985 show tried to replicate that success with tributes to Jule Styne, Cy Coleman, and Andrew Lloyd Webber.
As you may recall, 1985 was a pretty bad year for Broadway. The best musical nominees were Big River, Grind, Leader of the Pack, and Quilters. Yeesh. So the Tony show ended on a hopeful note with three songs from shows that were supposed to hit Broadway the next season: Song and Dance, 13 Days to Broadway, And Rainbow's End. You'll note that only one of these actually made it.
It was a dark, dark time.
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