Musicalfest: 2009 Tony Awards

Watching the Tonys, I find the dominance of jukebox musicals and shows based on movies kind of disheartening - musicals, it seems, are a medium about which I feel pretty unequivocally snobbish in a preference for original work created specifically for the stage. I will say, however, that this year's opening number, which somehow managed to include Elton John, Dolly Parton, Bret Michaels and Liza Minnelli, as well as a "tonight"-riffing mashup of "Quintet" from West Side Story and "Luck Be a Lady" from Guys and Dolls and culminated in about five casts worth of performers singing "Let the Sunshine In," was everything that Baz Luhrmann's tragic musical medley from this year's Oscars wanted to be.

I'll end with a selection from one of my favorite musicals - this is from the documentary special about the recording of the Company original cast album (a film worth watching if you're into musicals).