'Billy Elliot' wins 10 Tonys; `Carnage' best play
NEW YORK – "Billy Elliot," the big British musical about a coal miner's son who dreams to dance, bowled over Broadway on Sunday, winning 10 Tonys, including best musical and a unique best actor prize for the three young performers who share the title character.
The trio — David Alvarez, Trent Kowalik and Kiril Kulish — traded off thank-yous during their acceptance speech, shyly thanking people associated with the show only by their first name. They also acknowledged siblings and parents. Finally, Kulish told the cheering crowd at Radio City Music Hall: "We want to say to all the kids out there who might want to dance, 'Never give up.'"
"Billy Elliot" collected eight other awards, including director of a musical, book of a musical and choreography, but its composer Elton John was upset for best score. That award was taken by "Next to Normal" — which seemed to stun "Normal" composer Tom Kitt and lyricist Brian Yorkey. Alice Ripley, who portrays battling mental illness in "Next to Normal," received the actress musical prize.
"God of Carnage," Yasmina Reza's savage comedy of manners about two liberal, middle-class couples whose children get into a fight, was named best play and picked up two other major awards, one for its director, Matthew Warchus, and the other for actress Marcia Gay Harden.
Reza, who previously won a best-play Tony for "Art," said: "Maybe you missed my accent; you wanted to hear it again. I'm very grateful for all the people who gave their best for the production."
"The Norman Conquests," Alan Ayckbourn's trilogy, received the revival-play prize, while "Hair," the iconic 1960s rock extravaganza roared to a win in the musical-revival category.
The director/musical award went to Stephen Daldry of "Billy Elliot."
"I have been blessed in my life to spend the majority of last 10 years of my life working on the story of 'Billy Elliot,'" said Daldry, who called it "a long, extraordinary journey."
He said the award belonged to everyone connected to the show and especially to "three great gifts of Broadway, our three little Billys."
"Billy" also received prizes for featured actor (Gregory Jbara), sets, lighting, sound and a tie with "Next to Normal" for best orchestrations, which Kitt shared with Michael Starobin.
Geoffrey Rush's extravagant portrait of a dying monarch in "Exit the King" took the top actor prize.
"I want to thank Manhattan audiences for proving that French existential absurdist tragicomedy rocks," Rush said.
Angela Lansbury received her fifth Tony, this time for her performance as the dotty medium Madame Arcati in a revival of Noel Coward's "Blithe Spirit." Her win in the featured-actress category tied the record for acting prizes held by Julie Harris, who has five plus a special lifetime achievement award given in 2002.
"Who would have thought," the 83-year-old Lansbury began, drowned out by a standing ovation. "Who knew that (at) this time in my life that I should be presented with this lovely, lovely award. I feel deeply grateful."
An emotional Liza Minnelli accepted the prize for special theatrical event for her show "Liza's at The Palace."
"This is exquisite," Minnelli said, asking for a list of people to thank because she didn't think she was going to win. "Lastly, I want to thank my parents and the greatest gift they ever gave me, Kay Thompson," her godmother. Minnelli recreated part of Thompson's club act as part of her Palace entertainment.
Roger Robinson's portrayal of a mystical shamanlike character in "Joe Turner's Come and Gone" was honored with the featured-acting prize.
"It has taken me 46 years to come from that seat, up these steps, to this microphone," said Robinson, who thanked his mother in Bellevue, Wash., "who's 98 years old ... who encouraged me and raised seven children single-handedly."
Featured actress-musical went to Karen Olivo as the spitfire Anita in the revival of "West Side Story."
"I'm completely unprepared for this. ... I just want to dedicate this to everyone who has a dream," Olivo said, thanking the production's 91-year-old director, Arthur Laurents, and then dissolving in tears.
The Tonys twittered this year, with Mark Indelicato of "Ugly Betty" as the night's uber-tweeter from backstage. He offered such timely nuggets as "NPH's (host Neil Patrick Harris) favorite beverage while warming up for the start of Tonys? RED BULL, natch!" Jane Fonda, nominated for lead actress in a play, offered: "The trick is to be Zen about it. Winning is sometimes not the prize."
Bret Michaels injured himself in the show's opening production number when he rocked it out with a number from "Rock of Ages." The extent of his injury was not immediately known.
Broadway had a surprisingly robust 2008-2009 season.
Attendance during the 2008-2009 season slipped a bit (to 12.15 million from 12.27 million the previous year) but not as much as was feared because of the recession. And grosses for plays and musicals actually were a bit higher than a year earlier, setting a record of $943.3 million.
Forty-three shows opened during the season, the highest number of new productions since 50 opened during the 1982-83 season.
The awards were voted on in 27 competitive categories by more than 800 members of the theatrical community, including producers, actors and journalists. The Tonys are presented by the League and the American Theatre Wing, a nonprofit service organization. The Wing founded the Tonys in 1947.
Woodstock Box Set Unearths Famous Festival's Rarities
Thirty-eight previously unreleased recordings -- from groups such as the Who, the Grateful Dead, Creedence Clearwater Revival and Jefferson Airplane -- will dot Rhino's "Woodstock -- 40 Years On: Back to Yasgur's Farm" box set, which will be released on Aug. 18.
Among the highlights of the six-CD, 77-song collection are a 19-minute rendition of the Dead's "Dark Star," "Amazing Journey" and "Pinball Wizard" by the Who, "Feelin' Alright" by Joe Cocker, CCR's "Bad Moon Rising," Blood Sweat and Tears' "You've Made Me So Very Happy" and tracks from Sweetwater, Bert Sommer, Tim Hardin, Ravi Shankar, Joan Baez, Melanie, Country Joe & the Fish, Sha Na Na, the Butterfield Blues Band, Johnny Winter and others.
The set, which lists for $79.98, also restores full-length performances of Canned Heat's "Woodstock Boogie" (to a whopping 30 minutes) and the Who's "We're Not Gonna Take It," and it includes the never-released Woodstock performances of Arlo Guthrie's "Coming Into Los Angeles" and Mountain's "Theme For an Imaginary Western," which were replaced by better-sounding recordings from other concerts for the original "Woodstock: 3 Days of Peace and Music" soundtrack.
The track lineup is accurate to the actual running order of the legendary 1969 festival, and it also includes stage announcements (you still need to check the brown acid, apparently), Wavy Gravy's announcement of "breakfast in bed" for the crowd estimated at 500,000, Max Yasgur's famous speech to the crowd and audio of Abbie Hoffman's encounter with Who guitarist Pete Townshend.
"This will be the most comprehensive collection of Woodstock music yet," Rhino Vice-President of A&R Cheryl Pawelski tells Billboard.com. "The goal was to make it as real as possible...as authentic an experience as possible. It feels like dirt. It feels like a field. We wanted to take you there. We worked very hard to make it a true document of that time."
Co-producers Andy Zax and Mason Williams compiled "Woodstock -- 40 Years On" from the original multitrack tapes recorded during the festival. Their research also allowed them to put the songs and artists in the correct order of performance, and the accompanying booklet will include the accurate sequence complete with full set lists.
One performance is conspicuously absent; Pawelski says Ten Years After would not clear the use of its performance for the box, meaning the group's epic version of "Goin' Home" will not be included. The Band and Keef Hartley were the only other acts that opted out of the set.
"Woodstock -- 40 Years On" follows Rhino's re-release earlier this week of "Music From the Original Soundtrack and More: Woodstock" and "Woodstock 2." A new Woodstock.com web site also launched this week, and a new DVD edition of "Woodstock: 3 Days of Peace and Music -- The Director's Cut" comes out Tuesday. And on June 30 Legacy adds to the onslaught with "Woodstock Experience" editions of seminal albums by five of the festival's acts -- the Jefferson Airplane's "Volunteers," Janis Joplin's "I Got Dem 'Ol Kozmic Blues Again Mama!," Santana's debut album, Sly & the Family Stone's "Stand!" and Johnny Winter's self-titled effort -- each with a second CD featuring the acts' complete Woodstock performances for the first time ever.
The full track listing for "Woodstock -- 40 Years On: Back to Yasgur's Farm" includes:
Disc 1: Richie Havens -- "Handsome Johnny," "Freedom (Motherless Child);" Sweetwater -- "Look Out," "Two Worlds;" Bert Sommer -- "Jennifer," "And When It's Over," "Smile;" Tim Hardin -- "Hang On to a Dream," "Simple Song of Freedom;" Ravi Shankar -- "Raga Puriya-Dhanashri/Gat In Sawarital;" Melanie -- "Momma Momma," "Beautiful People," "Birthday of the Sun;" Arlo Guthrie -- "Coming into Los Angeles," "Wheel of Fortune," "Every Hand in the Land"
Disc 2: Joan Baez -- "Joe Hill," "Sweet Sir Galahad," "Hickory Wind," "Drug Store Truck Drivin' Man" (with Jeffrey Shurtleff); Quill -- "They Live the Life," "That's How I Eat;" Country Joe McDonald -- "Donovan's Reef," "The ‘Fish Cheer"/"I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-To-Die Rag;" Santana -- "Persuasion," "Soul Sacrifice;" John Sebastian -- "How Have You Been," "Rainbows All Over Your Blues," "I Had a Dream;" Incredible String Band -- "The Letter," "When You Find Out Who You Are
Disc 3: Canned Heat -- "Going Up the Country," "Woodstock Boogie;" Mountain -- "Blood of the Sun," "Theme For an Imaginary Western," "For Yasgur's Farm;" Jerry Garcia and Country Joe McDonald -- Green Acid Advice (stage announcement); Grateful Dead -- "Dark Star;" Creedence Clearwater Revival -- "Green River," "Bad Moon Rising," "I Put a Spell On You"
Disc 4: Janis Joplin -- "Work Me, Lord," "Ball and Chain;" Sly & the Family Stone -- Medley: "Dance To The Music"/"Music Lover"/"I Want to Take You Higher;" The Who: "Amazing Journey," "Pinball Wizard," "We're Not Gonna Take It; Jefferson Airplane -- "The Other Side of This Life," ""Somebody to Love," "Won't You Try"/ "Saturday Afternoon," "Volunteers"
Disc 5: Joe Cocker -- "Feelin' Alright," "Let's Go Get Stoned," "With a Little Help From My Friends; Country Joe & the Fish -- "Rock & Soul Music," "“Love," "Not So Sweet Martha Lorraine," "Summer Dresses," "Silver and Gold, "Rock & Soul Music (Reprise);" Johnny Winter -- "Leland Mississippi Blues," "Mean Town Blues;" Blood, Sweat & Tears -- "You've Made Me So Very Happy"
Disc 6: "Crosby, Stills & Nash -- "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes," "Guinnevere," "Marrakesh Express," "4 + 20;" Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young -- "Sea of Madness," "Wooden Ships;" Butterfield Blues Band -- "No Amount of Loving," "Love March," "Everything's Gonna Be Alright; Sha Na Na -- "Get A Job," "At the Hop," "Get a Job (Reprise);" Jimi Hendrix -- "The Star Spangled Banner," "Purple Haze," "Woodstock Improvisation"
"Up" retains altitude, tops box office again
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – "Up," the story of a floating house, its grumpy 78-year-old owner and an inquisitive 8-year-old accidental stowaway, remained atop the weekend box office in North America, selling $44.2 million of tickets its second weekend in theaters.
The family-friendly Disney/Pixar animated release about a house lifted by colorful balloons and the odd couple's adventures showed surprising staying power. Its weekend gross was down 35 percent from its opening weekend but still made a strong showing for a film in its second week.
Movie industry analysts had predicted that "Up" would bring in less than $40 million.
"The Hangover," released by Warner Bros. Pictures, was a close second at $43.3 million. The film about a group of men trying to reconstruct what happened at a wild, Las Vegas bachelor party benefited from a good buzz and positive reviews. It also was the first big comedy released after a month dominated by action flicks.
Universal's "Land of the Lost," a new release starring Will Ferrell, finished a disappointing third at $19.5 million. It is a remake of a mid-1970s U.S. children's television series.
Four of the top five films attracted families with small children as recession-weary parents continued to seek entertainment at the movies.
"Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian," collected $14.7 million and landed in the No. 4 spot. It made about $54 million when it opened two weekends ago, and has taken in $127 million overall.
"Star Trek," a Paramount issue, also showed staying power, finishing fifth for the weekend in its fifth week of release. It brought in $8.4 million. Its cumulative total stands at $223 million.
ANGELIC WORLD GROSS
"Angels & Demons," from Sony/Columbia, earned $6.5 million in North America during the weekend and its worldwide gross surpassed the $400 million mark, making it the No. 1 film in the world in 2009.
The film, based on Dan Brown's popular novel about conspiracy in the Catholic church, is the follow-up to the Brown novel and 2006 movie, "The Da Vinci Code."
Rory Bruer, president of worldwide distribution for Sony Pictures, said the weekend pushed the "Angels & Demons" international gross to about $405 million. "The Da Vinci Code" brought in about $540.7 million globally.
The website rottentomatoes.com, which aggregates movie criticism, showed that positive reviews for "The Hangover" helped it prevail over "Land of the Lost" in their debut weekends. "The Hangover" gathered 75 percent positive reviews, compared to only 28 percent for "Land of the Lost."
A reason for the resilience of "Up" may be the fact that it had a 98 percent rating on the website.
Third among new released and seventh for the week overall was Fox Seachlight's "My Life In Ruins," which took in $3.2 million. It suffered from negative reviews -- only 12 percent positive criticism according to rottentomatoes.com.