Thanks to my budding thespian daughter, I wound up watching the entire Tony Awards last night. Given that I can’t recall the last time I watched an entire anything, this is a big achievement. And when it ended I was left thinking that every awards show should do it exactly like this, even if it means having Broadway actors come in and play the movie actors during the Oscars ceremony. (Except for Jennifer Lawrence, so the world wouldn’t have to be denied her adorable-ness.)

Five observations in support of that theory:

1) It’s almost shocking to see presenters and recipients who can actually, you know, speak, unlike some others I could mention. They’re all natural and funny, as if they’re used to being up in front of an audience or something. The only one who had any trouble was Clint Eastwood, who has an excuse because he’s old and he’s Clint Eastwood. Plus when we saw there wasn’t an empty chair next to him the entire country breathed a collective sigh of relief.

2) They gave out all the boring awards during the commercials and just showed brief clips of the speeches on the actual broadcast. This is brilliant, and should be de rigueur for all sorts of live presentations, including Major League Baseball and the State of the Union.

3) The Oscars have pop stars singing nominated songs no one will remember in a year; the Emmys have tributes to famous sitcom second bananas, or whatever; the Tonys have this:

Enough said. (Although I’ll go on to say all of the live performances were many, many times more entertaining than anything you see on the other awards shows. Even Sting!)

4) Hugh Jackman couldn’t have been any better if he’d slashed the entire audience with adamantium claws or shot them with a giant vampire-killing crossbow. Well, maybe a little better, but he was still awesome — he should be brought on to sing the nominees at every awards show, including the adult video one. (And I’m still not quite sure why he did all that hopping, but I got an impressive cardio workout just watching him.)

5) I want to hang out with James Monroe Iglehart. He probably has interesting weekends.

Sure, it’s not all perfect — apparently I’m the only person in the world who nods off whenever somebody mentions ”Wicked,” and then there was the requisite Rosie O’Donnell sighting. Plus, “Rocky.” (Only one “Adrian!”? That’s a travesty.) But given that most of us will rarely get a chance to see an actual show on the Great White Way, the Tonys remain the next best thing. It’s definitely a great way to spend a Sunday evening with your budding thespian daughter.

And I can only imagine how good it will be if Jennifer Lawrence ever wins one.

Read more Pete at Pete’s Pop Culture, Parenting & Pets Blog.

About the Author

Pete Chianca

Pete Chianca is a humor and music writer and author of Glory Days: Springsteen's Greatest Albums. He lives north of Boston with his wife, two kids and an indeterminate number of dogs and cats. Read more Pete at Pete's Pop Culture, Parenting & Pets Blog.

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