Let’s say this of Hugh Jackman: only a man who grew up in relative proximity to kangaroos could have bounced onto the Radio City Music Hall with such abandon. At the top of the 68th annual Tony awards, Jackman aped (or wallabied?) a semi-obscure routine from the 1953 musical Small Town Girl, springing past the Les Miz cast, the Cabaret chorus girls – and hey, was that Clint Eastwood? Yes. And Sting, too. Who sang a song about shipbuilding. (I also believe there was a rap version of The Music Man, but I’d drunk a lot of prosecco by then.)  As host, Jackman had a tough act to follow, coming in on the tie and tails of the immensely popular Neil Patrick Harris – who performed an awesomely entertaining Hedwig excerpt in denim romper and gold Chelsea boots, before winning for Hedwig. Perhaps Hedwig should have taken over compere duties, but Jackman always had a flourish, a smile, and often a reference to his man parts, which he referred to as Down Under. (This and the tranche of queer jokes suggest this is a man who does not fear gay rumours.) He described the Tonys as “The only place you can see Wolverine in tap shoes,” dashing the hopes of the many X-Men fans angling for an all-singing, all-dancing sequel. He also pulled off a joke about the metric system.  Many of the production numbers were lackluster (an ecstatic duet between Jesse Mueller and Carole King excepted), though the dancing was of a very high order. Tap made an appearance in routines from Bullets Over Broadway, After Midnight (who knew Dule Hill could do the splits like that!) and Aladdin, an Arabian fantasia that Edward Said might return from the grave just to bewail. Sadly, Rocky and Apollo Creed did not attempt a shuffle ball change in the middle of their Rocky fight. And maybe a kickline would have improved the best play intros, which perplexingly were delivered by the playwrights. (Though John Patrick Shanley is surprisingly telegenic.)  The dresses were rather less lavish than at the Oscars, though Emmy Rossum looked very nice in a silver number that looked a bit like one of those sculptures they packed your leftovers into and Lucy Liu in a dress apparently inspired by a classic black and white cookie. My eyes are still scarred from Kate Mara’s sexy linebacker outfit. But let’s give it up for the men: Kenny Leon and his high-fashion sneakers and flashy earring; James Monroe Iglehart’s sequined suit; Alan Cumming’s Rorschach test.  Most awards were as predicted: All the Way for best play, Bryan Cranston for best actor in a play, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder for best musical. There were a few upsets, most relating to A Raisin in the Sun. Kenny Leon took home the best director of a play Tony rather than Tim Carroll. Similarly, Raisin beat Twelfth Night for best revival of a play. (Take that, Will!) Sophie Okonedo won for featured actress when people suspected the Raisin in the Sun vote would be split. (She ditched the American accent for her speech, which began with “Blimey!”)  Perhaps the biggest surprise of the night was Mark Rylance’s speech. Rylance is given to reciting modernist poetry on the podium, but instead he gave a warm, solemn, entirely sane speech celebrating Sam Wanamaker, the founder of the Globe. Darko Tresnjak, best director of a musical, thanked his skydiving mother in Serbian. Lena Hall, a winner for featured actress in Hedwig, who sobbed her way through her speech, thanked her unborn niece and the other women in her category. “Friendship is magic,” she wailed.  Audra McDonald also cried her way through her speech for a history-making award (she’s now won in every acting category). She thanked her late parents “for not medicating your hyperactive girl and finding out what she was into instead.” From all that bouncing, it seems like Jackman wasn’t medicated either. Well, let’s hope he puts it to good use in that forthcoming Wolverine musical. I can’t think of a better way to end than the close of Jesse Mueller’s acceptance speech for best actress in a musical: “So thank you. I'm sorry, everyone wants a drink, so thank you. Goodnight.”
Alexis Soloski: Hugh Jackman was bouncy, the sneakers high-fashion and the winners weepy – so no surprises there