Mormons, A Horse and Neil Patrick Harris make for one Awesome Tony Awards!

Attention future Oscar and Emmy Award producers~ I sure hope you were watching last night’s Tony Awards because that is how you put on a show! It was efficient, moving, hilarious and kinda amazing. It helps that you had one of the most talented hosts around in Neil Patrick Harris who was simply perfection in his second turn as master of ceremonies. (In fact, he won an Emmy for his first go round and I’m pretty sure Neil and the show will be in the running again next year for this great show). Along with Neil’s amazing singing, dancing and hysterical bits (how great was the number with Hugh Jackman?!!), you also had wonderful performances from Daniel Radcliffe, Sutton Foster and the cast of Anything Goes, plus all the other musical nominees, a potty mouth Brooke Shields, and a crazy Frances McDormand in a jean jacket accepting Best Actress in a Play. While Frances gave a nice speech (as did a very emotional and wonderful Ellen Barkin and John Benjamin Hickey, plus a wonderfully jovial Foster), the best speech came from newcomer Nikki M. James who won for The Book of Mormon in a speech that’s up there with the greats of all time like Cuba Gooding Jr’s Oscar speech… Speaking of Mormon, the show dominated pulling in 9 awards including Best Musical (kudos to those crazy South Park kids and Momon creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone). Also trampling the competition was the play War Horse which nabbed 5 awards. The revivals of the brilliant The Normal Heart and the incredibly entertaining Anything Goes both took home 3 trophies. For more info on the show and Broadway’s best, head to the Tony site here. And for tix to your favorite Broadway show, head here. Also, check out all the winners below and my favorite NPH moments from this wonderful program.

2011 Tony Award Winners:
Best Musical: The Book of Mormon
Best Play: War Horse
Best Revival of a Musical: Anything Goes
Best Revival of a Play: The Normal Heart
Best Actor in a Lead Role in a Musical: Norbert Leo Butz (Catch Me if You Can)
Best Actress in a Lead Role in a Musical: Sutton Foster (Anything Goes)
Best Actor in a Play: Mark Rylance (Jerusalem)
Best Actress in a Play: Frances McDormand (Good People)
Best Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical: John Laroquette (How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying)
Best Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical: Nikki M. James (The Book of Mormon)
Best Actor in a Featured Role in a Play: John Benjamin Hickey (The Normal Heart)
Best Actress in a Featured Role in a Play: Ellen Barkin
Best Director of a Musical: The Book of Mormon
Best Director of a Play: War Horse
Best Book of a Musical: The Book of Mormon
Best Orchestrations: The Book of Mormon
Best Choreography: Anything Goes
Best Sound Design of a Musical: The Book of Mormon
Best Sound Design of a Play: War Horse
Best Costume Design of a Musical: The Adventures of Priscilla~ Queen of the Desert
Best Costume Design of Play: The Importance of Being Earnest
Best Scenic Design of a Musical: The Book of Mormon
Best Scenic Design of a Play: War Horse
Best Lighting Design of a Musical: The Book of Mormon
Best Lighting Design of a Play: War Horse

Neil Patrick Harris’s opening number~ “Broadway isn’t Just for Gays Anymore”

Neil Patrick Harris v. Hugh Jackman

Neil Patrick Harris’s closing rap:

More Emmys~ The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Last night’s Emmy Awards provided a lot of surprises most of them good, but there were still a few stinkers as well. While Jimmy Fallon was a shockingly good host, some of his bits flamed out, but he kept the show running and it ended at a happily brief 3 hours. So, in honor of brevity, here are some brief tidbits about the Emmys looking at the Good, the Bad and the Ugly from last night….

The GOOD:

Modern Family wins Best Comedy: the most consistent and hilarious show on TV deservedly took the crown and became ABC’s first winner in this category since The Wonder Years in 1988!

Jane Lynch wins Supporting Actress: the Glee star was the Comedy Queen of the past year and is beloved by everyone who works with her. Loved her speech and her shout out to her lovely wife too. Oh and who knew she could rock a pretty eggplant dress. Well done Jane!

Kyra Sedgewick wins Best Drama Actress~ after losing 5 years in a row, the star of The Closer finally nabbed the honor beating the frontrunners Juliana Marguiles and Glenn Close. And if you watched her episode submission, she deserved it!

Jimmy Fallon’s musical numbers~ from his Glee group opening to his tribute to departing shows 24, Lost and Law & Order, Fallon was on fire. They were hilarious and well done.

The Temple Grandin wins~ the BEST TV movie of the year deservedly took home a ton of honors including Claire Danes for her insanely good performance as an autistic woman who beat the odds and paved the way for better understanding of the disease and her many accomplishments. Seriously, rent this movie now. You will love it and you might just bawl.

Top Chef wins Reality Competition Show~ while I love The Amazing Race, I was thrilled it finally lost after 7 years in a row in the winners’ circle. And how wonderful that the most deserving show Top Chef took the title. It’s fun, entertaining, riveting and suspenseful and you learn a heck of a lot about food. Thank goodness the awful season of American Idol, the lackluster season of Project Runway and the cheesy delight of Dancing with the Stars didn’t get in the way.

Also great wins:
Eric Stonestreet (Modern Family) for Supporting Actor comedy Comedy Series in a tough category and kudos on the great speech.
Archie Penjabi (The Good Wife) for Supporting Actress Drama. She steals the show week in and week out with a fascinating character that is all sexy subtlety and no showboating.
Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad) wins Supporting Actor Drama~ in perhaps the biggest shocker of the night Paul was overwhelmed and thrilled and seriously I need to watch this show.
Jim Parsons (The Big Bang Theory) wins Best Actor Comedy and we got some great new blood.
Edie Falco’s win for Best Actress Comedy for Nurse Jackie made her the first actress to win lead actress in a Comedy and a Drama (The Sopranos) in Emmy history!

Ryan Murphy wins Best Director for Glee: the most innovative and joyous show on television missed the top award, but the pilot grabbed a trophy for director and executive producer Glee’s wunkerind Murphy.

Jewel: loved her pretty song honoring those we lost in the biz last year. This is a nice new tradition that Emmy producers have taken up following Sarah McLachlan’s glorious performance last year.

Ricky Gervais: two words… “Bucky Gunts”!

George Clooney: ’nuff said.
Best Dressed: Claire Danes

Honorable Mention Best Dressed: Lea Michelle, Toni Collette, Nina Dobrev, and hello Kelly Osbourne.

Most Hamsome: John Hamm ~ easily the best looking and best dressed guy there.

The BAD:

Mad Men winning again~ yes, I know it’s a good well done show, but really? 3 years in a row. Enough! And how could you ignore Lost‘s wonderful final season and Dexter’s best season to date?!

Bryan Cranston winning again~ yes, he’s also brilliant, but 3 years in a row for the Breaking Bad actor? Boo. And you still leave Michael C. Hall (Dexter) and Hugh Laurie (House) Emmy less for arguably their best work to date. Argh!

Jimmy Fallon’s Texting jokes~ um, just bad…

NBC’s promotion of their new shows~ can you say overdone? Hello, don’t tell me who is gonna be the big new star. You have to prove it with quality material. And Outsourced, Chase and Outlaw leave me seriously doubtful… I’ll give The Event and Undercovers (despite the bad title) a shot though…

Kate Gosselin~ why oh why must she be on TV? … I mean even we were even spared the Jersey Shore folks, but still this hateful talentless boring mess makes it on the telecast?

Lost gets the goose egg~ how could one of the most brilliant and unique shows on television go home empty-handed on its final try? So sad. The show and Terry O’Quinn should’ve nabbed their categories… and how Elizabeth Mitchell and Matthew Fox never grabbed Emmys during the run is beyond me. (At least they did finally get nominations this year).

The UGLY:

Kate Gosselin: ’nuff said

Worst Dressed: January Jones in that seashell meets couture hot mess and the I just had sex in the limo hair.

Honorable mention worst dressed: Christina Hendricks, Anna Paquin, Lauren Graham, Emily Deschanel and Kristen Wiig

There ya have it a brief yet illuminating take on some of Emmys highlights. Hope you enjoyed it!

The True Blood In Memoriam Video

At last night’s Emmy Awards, Jewel sang a lovely song celebrating the wonderful artists and performers the television industry lost last year including Rue McLanahan, Gary Coleman, Dixie Carter and others. And of course, the ever irreverent people at True Blood and HBO decided to do their own spin on the annual “In Memoriam” montage. Take a gander at the True Blood Memorial below. Oh, and expect a few more characters to be added to the list after the season finale on Sunday 9/12. And one more thing, you’re warned~ it’s kinda gross!

True Blood In Memoriam

Emmy Voters~ Please don’t forget these Drama Queens (and Kings)!

The Emmy nominations are fast approaching and I’m worried several deserving contenders may be forgotten. I’ve already posted on some of my comedy favorites, and now, here’s a quick list of people I hope the Emmy voters remember alongside favorites like Juliana Marguiles, Glenn Close, Hugh Laurie and Michael C. Hall. So, take a look at my list, let me know your thoughts and suggestions and watch for my predictions in the upcoming weeks and the official nominations on July 8!

Matthew Fox (Lost): how on Earth Fox has never received an Emmy nom for his work as man of science turned man of faith Dr. Jack Shepard on Lost has me, well, completely lost. He has been amazing for 6 years and in the final season, his work was breath-taking. The Golden Globe nominee had better finally get his name called or else I may just have to storm the Academy in protest.

Josh Holloway (Lost): the never nomm’d actor was the heart and soul of the show in season 5 with his romance with Juliet (the brilliant Elizabeth Mitchell who should’ve had 3 nominations by now). This season his return to sullen anti-hero grieving over her death was extraordinary. He deserves some much overdue recognition.

Yujin Kim (Lost): another criminally under recognized actor from Lost, Kim deserved noms in seasons 2 and 3 and again this year. She does heartbreak like nobody’s business and in her touching final scenes with Jin (the wonderful Daniel Dae-Kim), you couldn’t deny her pain and unflinching love.

Matthew Bomer (White Collar): as the charismatic con man and star of USA’s hit White Collar, Bomer has become a star who’s not only incredibly easy on the eyes, but incredibly adept at assuming different personas equally at home in comedy and drama.

Jessica Capshaw (Greys Anatomy): easily the most consistently likable character on Greys, Capshaw’s Arizona dealt with a lot of relationship turmoil this season with the also Emmy worthy Sara Ramirez’s Callie not to mention the deaths of some of her young patients, a gun-toting madman in the hospital and Callie’s homophobic family. Through it all, she remained the only consistently positive character on the series and Capshaw’s performance was lovely, grounded and inspiring.

Mary Lynn Raskub (24) as the always irksome and brittle tech whiz Chloe on 24, Raskub has become the only indispensible character to last through the series along with Kiefer’s Jack Bauer. She was robbed of noms back in seasons 4 & 5, but with her standoff with her friend in the series finale, she may finally hear her name called on July 8.

Annie Wersching (24): arguably the most interesting part of this season’s 24 was the return, redemption and murder of Wersching’s troubled agent Renee Walker. She stole Jack’s heart, committed acts of torture and revenge, and heroically helped CTU and Jack find the Russian connection to the terrorist plot. Through it all, Wersching was spell-binding and should grab a nomination. (Heck she should’ve gotten one last season too!)

John Noble (Fringe): as the brilliant and kooky scientist Peter Bishop who literally ripped the fabric of time and space out from under us, Golden Globe nominee Noble is nothing short of brilliant. Straddling comedy, tragedy, and scientific mumbo jumbo with aplomb, Noble roots it all in the lovely relationship with his onscreen son Peter played by the increasingly good Joshua Jackson. Of all the people on my list, I think he has the strongest shot of actually grabbing a nod.

Regina King & Michael Cudlitz (Southland): as a tough female cop and a tough drug addled gay cop fighting LA’s inner city’s criminals, King and Cudlitz represent two fascinating and disparate characters on this great yet little watched show.

Alexander Saarsgard (True Blood): as the sexiest vampire in history (sorry Bill Compton, and Edward Cullen, for that matter), Saarsgard’s Eric in intense, intellectual and undeniable. He’s easily the standout male cast member on the show and that’s saying something considering Nelson Ellis’s wonderful work as Lafayette.

Michelle Forbes (True Blood): her crazy demonic debaucherous character wrecked havoc all over the show in season two and Forbes was fantastic in every single crazy second of it.

Calista Flockhart (Brothers and Sisters): The Golden Globe winner and Emmy nominee from Ally McBeal has never received any kudos for her exemplary work on Bro & Sis, but with her dropping to the supporting race this year and a storyline dealing with her cancer battle, political travails, marriage woes and her husband’s death, Flockhart may finally be welcomed back into the Emmy spotlight.

Other names it might be nice to see on the list this year: the aforementioned Sara Ramirez (Greys Anatomy), plus the never nomm’d Ellen Pompeo (Greys) who did her best work this year, the coolest spy around Jeffrey Donovan (Burn Notice), the absurdly debonair Nathan Fillion (Castle), the ever reliable Lisa Edelstein (House) and Joely Richardson for her fantastic guest work on The Tudors as Henry’s final Queen.

The Emmys: Which of these Funny Ladies do you Support?

 Here’s the latest installment of my series looking at this year’s competitors for the Emmy Awards. Today, it’s more comedy with the funny supporting actress vying for the trophy.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS COMEDY SERIES CONTENDERS:

Locks:

Jane Lynch (Glee): the Golden Globe nominee and SAG ensemble award winner plays the breakout TV character of the season with the acerbic bitter and ballsy Sue Sylvester. She has the best one liners anywhere on television and Lynch makes the most of every single one. I’d say she’s the clear front-runner.

Jane Krakowski (30 Rock): This Tony winner was a nominee last year and looks likely to repeat and possibly steal Lynch’s trophy as the wacky narcissistic and hilarious Jenna Maloney. She’s also a former Golden Globe nominee and SAG Ensemble winner for her work on both 30 Rock and Ally McBeal.

Good Bets:

Kristin Wiig (Saturday Night Live): She remains the best (and sometimes only) reason to watch SNL with hilarious characters like the Target Lady and Sue Surprise. A burgeoning film career (Macgruber, Paul, Whip It)  can only bolster her chances on grabbing a second consecutive nomination.

Vanessa Williams (Ugly Betty): the 3 time nominee may finally win the golden girl on her 4th try for Ugly Betty’s last season. The show and Williams have been on fire and she’s certainly overdue for her uproarious role as venomous “Wilhelmina Slater”. She’s also a perennial SAG nominee, a Broadway vet and a multiple Grammy Award nominee.

Strong Contenders:

Sofia Vergara (Modern Family): playing the hot Columbian mama Gloria, Vergara has finally found a sitcom worthy of her immense talents. She more than holds her own on TV’s smartest hit comedy.

Julie Bown (Modern Family): playing the straight woman to Ty Burrell’s crazy husband and wacky kids, Bowen mines comic gold with the best Bea Arthur takes in ages. The former SAG nominee (Boston Legal, Weeds, Modern Family) may grab her first individual kudos this year.

Elizabeth Perkins (Weeds): with 3 previous nominations and no wins, Perkins could be overdue. A former Golden Globe and SAG nomine who’s also well respected for her dramatic work, she’s perfection as the severely flawed and acid tongued Celia on Weeds.

Jenna Fischer (The Office): with her fantastic work this season as her character “Pam” dealt with her first pregnancy, Fischer could land a second career Emmy nomination to go with all those SAG Ensemble Award wins.

Outside Shot:

Cheryl Hines (Curb Your Enthusiasm): a two time Emmy and SAG nominee for her role as the long suffering wife/ex-wife of Larry David on Curb, Hines could be a contender again this year.

Holland Taylor (Two and a Half Men): a former Emmy winner for The Practice and a three time nominee for Two and a Half Men, veteran Taylor can’t be ruled out as a threat. In my opinion, she’s the only reason to watch that boring and conventional sitcom.

Jayma Mays (Glee): as OCD clean freak “Emma” on this season’s sensation Glee, Mays could be a surprise nominee. She’s hilarious and heartfelt in every scene and has been a guest star on practically every other show on television only adding to her notoriety in the biz. She shared in the SAG ensemble award earlier this year as well.

Loveable Longshots:

Busy Phillips (Cougar Town): ever since Freaks and Geeks, Phillips has been a go to sidekick on a number of shows (Dawson’s Creek, ER), but never has she been better or funnier as the flighty and flirtatious “Laurie” on the increasingly addictive freshman show Cougar Town.

Becki Newton (Ugly Betty): Newton has been criminally ignored by the Emmys and Globes for her wonderful work as airheaded “Amanda” on Ugly Betty. However this season her character’s growth and depth have given Newton some seriously great submission episodes that may finally get her a nod. At least she has two SAG ensemble nominations and a new pilot for fall season.

Merrit Weaver (Nurse Jackie): holding her own against multiple Emmy winner Edie Falco is a tough job but Weaver is more than up to the task. As the goofy newbie nurse “Zoey”, Weaver could ride a potential Jackie Emmy wave to a nomination.

On the ballot, not gonna happen:

Eve Best (Nurse Jackie), Conchatta Ferrell (Two and A Half Men), Alyson Hanigan (How I Met Your Mother), Colbie Smulders (How I Met Your Mother), Angela Kinsey (The Office), Dana Delaney (Desperate Housewives), Amber Riley (Glee), and Portia DeRossi (Better Off Ted)~ I’d love that one though!

~So, just who do I think is most deserving? Here’s my rankings of this year’s contenders:

1. Jane Lynch

2. Jane Krakowski

3. Vanessa Williams

4. Kristen Wiig

5. Becki Newton

6. Julie Bowen

7. Sofia Vergara

8. Busy Phililps

9. Amber Riley (hello, did you see her “And I Am Telling You” or “Bust Your Windows” numbers?!!)

10. Jenna Fischer

~But who do I think will grab the nominations? Here are my current predictions for this year’s Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series:

Julie Bowen (Modern Family), Jane Krakowski (30 Rock), Jane Lynch (Glee), Elizabeth Perkins (Weeds), Kristen Wiig (Saturday Night Live), Vanessa Williams (Ugly Betty)