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Who all watched the Tony's last night? Anyone? Bueller?

Right...so, for all, what, two of you who tuned in, how awesome was Neil Patrick Harris?! For those of you who missed out, the two-time host opened the evening with a show-stopping number--complete with dancing sailors, stewardesses, and (oh, why not?) nuns--that delivered the message: "Broadway! It's not just for gays anymore!" Later, he challenged Hugh Jackman to a musical hosting duel, rode in on the puppet horse from Best Play winner War Horse, and devoted a full thirty seconds to good-natured Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark bashing. Somewhere in the midst of all that, he managed to squeeze in a production number from his stint in the New York Philharmonic's concert version of Sondheim's Company. To finish off the night, he rapped a newly composed recap of the ceremony's events. I.Am.In.Awe.

Of course, the entire evening wasn't all NPH. The theatre junkie in me was positively giddy over numbers from Anything Goes (could Sutton Foster be any more adorable?) and How to Succeed in Business. I was less than impressed by the screechy Sister Act and morose Spiderman numbers, but after Norbert Leo Butz's tour de force performance, I have to check out Catch Me If You Can. The evening's best number, without question, had to be the feel-good anthem "I Believe" from The Book of Mormon. I'll be purchasing that cast album this week, if at all possible (don't judge me. Yes, I work for a church, but I also have a sense of humor. The two are not mutually exclusive). The evening also provided its own unintentional drinking game fodder, as The Motherf***** With the Hat was nominated for several awards, and presenters had to remember to censor the name for television. Most were successful. Others, not so much (Brooke Shields, I'm looking at you).

All in all, the awards rocked this year, and I'm on a performing arts high, right now. In light of that, I give you the goofiest ad I've seen in a while. It's not for a Broadway show (though you can learn about all of the nominated shows and view clips here), which would have made more sense, as I've written two full paragraphs on the Tony Awards...hmmm. Oh well, it's a blog, not the New York Times. We'll live. Instead, it's for the Royal Ballet's production of Romeo and Juliet. The British company is utilizing a different space for performances this weekend. Instead of their ususal haunt, The Royal Opera House at Covent Garden, they'll be at the O2 Arena, an enormous dome that plays host to rock concerts and seats 20,000 people. The company's regular attendees might fill 10-20% of that, so the powers-that-be decided to take drastic measures to put some butts in seats. The result: a series of ads that riff on the whole ballet-in-a-rock-arena situation. This first one is funny, informative, and just really enjoyable to watch. It's not "cool", but I got the impression the creators knew that. It's just a hoot and a half, and I hope you like it. The video won't embed, for some reason, but you can find it here.