Liars and Saints

 Angela Lansbury won a Tony for "Gypsy"; Ethel Merman did not. Lansbury spoke candidly about the role of Momma Rose. She said she (Lansbury) brought emotional and intellectual understanding to the work; the implication was that Ethel Merman was a bit less of an artist. When I think of Lansbury, I think of Mrs. Lovett in "Sweeney Todd"; the recording makes you believe there really is a person called Lovett, somewhere in history. There isn't any winking at the audience; you'd think Angela Lansbury really does sound the way she sounds. There seems to be no gap between the actress and the role she is playing. Everything Lansbury does in "Sweeney" is iconic, but my favorite of her many great moments is "Wait." Here, she is trying to persuade Sweeney Todd to put aside his obsessive groaning about the "on-hold" status of his murder-efforts--put this aside, for just a bit: Don't you know, silly man? Half the fun is to plan the plan....

 Despite continued awfulness in America, we're allowed to acknowledge a positive story: Angela Lansbury will be winning an honorary Tony Award. It's amazing to me that Lansbury is alive and well, and that she had a major role in "Gaslight." I know the Tony doesn't acknowledge "Gaslight"--but, still! Lansbury made a big entrance in that movie; she was ferocious. In her second act--her second act!--Lansbury wandered over to Broadway and became a muse for Jerry Herman and Stephen Sondheim. She is the only person in history to have attained two "Herman" Tony Awards ("Mame," "Dear World") PLUS two Sondheim Tony Awards ("Gypsy," "Sweeney Todd"). Though Ethel Merman couldn't secure a Tony for the first version of "Gypsy," Lansbury completed the task in the revival. In a third act, Lansbury inspired Howard Ashman, and she did iconic work in "Beauty and the Beast." Unbelievable. Marc asked ...

Howard Ashman won a second and final Oscar for a title song -- "Beauty and the Beast." In that year, he could have won for "Belle" or for "Be Our Guest" (both were also nominated) -- but the Academy made the right choice. There is really only one version of "Beauty and the Beast." It's not Emma Thompson's. It's not Audra's. It's not the versions authored by John Legend and by Celine Dion. The only version is the first version, Angela Lansbury's. "Beauty and the Beast" is a work of musical theater, and there's something electrifying (and "meta") about having a theater legend (Mrs. Lovett, Rose, Cora Hooper) deliver the commentary at the climax of the story. The words of the song "Beauty and the Beast" are simple and direct; they actually seem to have been handed down through generations. They do not seem to have originated at a desk in the late eighties or early nineties. And this is a case...

It's never too early to anticipate the Tony Awards, with Tony trivia. God knows if the awards will happen this year. In any case, here's what interests me: *Angela Lansbury has been nominated for Best Lead Actress in a Musical four times. And--each of those four nights--Lansbury has walked away the winner. Not even Audra McDonald can say this. McDonald has more Tony wins--sure--but they aren't all in that one category. (Also, Lansbury has a straight-play win for "Blithe Spirit.") *Sometimes, a musical wins three out of the four acting categories. This is a special occasion. It happened for the LuPone revival of "Gypsy"; it happened for "Hamilton" and "The Producers" and the original "Miss Saigon." It happened for the 1998 revival of "Cabaret." And "Kiss of the Spider-Woman." And the original "Mame." And "The Music Man." I'll take your input for other cases where this has o...