Disney at the Tonys 2014

Last night I watched the Tony Awards.  I love theater and it was a big part of my years in high school.  My theater teacher would always encourage us to watch the Tonys on television during the summer and I have always tried to ever since.

There were several faces that would be familiar to a Disney fan at the Tonys this year and even a performance from Disney's Aladdin so I am sharing some of them here!   So here goes- let's start off this week at the theater!  

Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions

Disney Theater Productions celebrates it's 20th anniversary this year.  Their most recent production is Aladdin which received 5 Tony nominations.  Honestly I wasn't as excited when I first heard about this musical because we have a pretty spectacular version of Aladdin already in Disney California Adventure.  "Friend Like Me" was one of the music numbers at the Tonys however and it did seem like a fun show to see.  James Monroe Iglehart, the actor who plays the Genie was delightful so it was no surprise when he was rewarded a Tony for that role.  Check out his performance from last night:




Idina Menzel, the voice of Elsa in Frozen, was also at the Tonys.  She was nominated for her role in If/Then and I was happy to see her perform a song from it.   It was so good- it gave me chills!  I was also glad to see that she received a proper introduction- the "wickedly talented" reference was funny.




Anika Noni Rose, voice of Tiana from Princess and the Frog, was nominated for her performance in A Raisin in the Sun.  She didn't win but her co-star, Sophie Okonedo, did!  I really wish that Disney would do Princess and the Frog on stage and that Anika Noni Rose would star as Tiana!  How cool would that be?  Get on it Disney!

One of the biggest names of the night was Neil Patrick Harris.  For Disney fans, you might know him as the voice of California Screamin' at DCA.  Neil Patrick Harris hosted the Tonys the last few years but yesterday Hugh Jackman took on the role as host while Neil Patrick Harris attended the show as a nominee.  Harris took home a Tony for Best Leading Actor in a Musical for Hedwig and the Angry Inch. 

There was also a bit of Peter Pan in the mix when Jennifer Hudson performed a song from an upcoming show called Finding Neverland.   I enjoyed the film years ago but I am not sure how I feel about this musical yet.  We'll see where it goes!

Hugh Jackman was the host of the Tonys and although I still prefer Neil Patrick Harris, it's a treat to see Wolverine dance and sing!  I recently read that the first role he ever played that involved singing and dancing was actually Gaston in a production of Beauty and the Beast in Melbourne.  You can see clips of his performance in the video below:




I recently rewatched The Music Man so I really enjoyed watching Jackman perform "Rock Island" from it with LL Cool J and T.I.  This was one of the highlights of the Tonys for me!  Especially since whenever I see LL Cool J, it reminds me of how he did a version of "Big Bad Wolf" in Simply Mad About the Mouse.  The following video's sound is off (hopefully CBS fixes it) and it skips a lot of Jackman's intro but it gives you an idea of what they did- they turned it into a rap! 



Watching the Tonys last night definitely left me in the mood to go see a show!  Maybe I'll stop by DCA to watch Aladdin again sometime soon!

You can see a complete list of the Tony winners here:
Tony Award 2014 Winners

Did you watch the Tony Awards last night?  What were your favorite moments?