BroadwayBox’s Ultimate Top 10 Tony Performances Series continues this week with our third guest blogger, Tony Award nominee Stephanie J. Block. Below she counts down her favorite Tony moments from the time she was growing up to the time she was a nominee.
10. “Prologue: Into the Woods,” Into the Woods, 1988
Angela Lansbury introduced their number, and I remember loving the look and sound of this piece. At 15 years old, I wanted to be Joanna Gleason and I wanted to impress all my friends by memorizing the entire Opening Number of the show.
9. “Where You Are,” Kiss of the Spider Woman, 1993
Chita! Chita! Chita! Her movement, her class, her ease were absolute perfection. I also remember thinking, “Wow! She is so lucky to strut around in a white tux and fedora.”
8. "As If We Never Said Goodbye," Sunset Boulevard, 1995
Their presentation on the TONYS was so large and lush. I was obsessed with old Hollywood. So to blend Broadway with that old Hollywood aesthetic…magical!
7. Bernadette & Liza in 1996
I vividly remember Bernadette and Liza announcing the nominees/winner for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical. Those two standing side by side…it was almost too much to take as a musical theatre actress in Southern CA watching and dreaming of being on Broadway.
6. "Ragtime,” Ragtime, 1998
Those three distinct "classes," music types, and cultures told me everything I needed to know in a 4-minute production number… I was desperate to see this show!
5. “This Is Not Over Yet”/”The Old Red Hills of Home," Parade, 1999
When you have two powerful and passionate voices singing the music of Jason Robert Brown, all you need is a bed, a table and a desk to set the stage and still have a memorable TONY telecast.
4. "Run, Freedom, Run!” Urinetown, 2002
The hilarious Jeff McCarthy and Hunter Foster!!! I still wasn’t living in NYC and I had no idea what this show was and their TONY performance confused me even more. There was a strange, dirty, pregnant, blindfolded ensemble singing gospel and I LOVED IT!!! I loved that I had no clue as to what I was watching but I smiled from start to finish and wanted to be onstage with all of them.
3. Opening Number Led by Hugh Jackman in 2004
It was my first time at the TONYS. It was my first time performing at the TONYS. And it was my first time on the Radio City Music Hall stage. That's one to remember!!
2. The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, 2005
Their production number was more of a scene than a "number", but you got a chance to fall in love with every character…even the Rev. Al Sharpton.
1. Opening Number Starring Neil Patrick Harris and the Entire Broadway Community (So It Seemed), 2013
They put on the most incredible production number I've ever seen live on one stage. As a nominee, I'm sure my excitement level was higher than normal, but this Opener was out of this world!
Click here to see each previous bloggers' top picks, and check back next Friday to hear from another of Broadway's leading ladies.
