While many have been commenting about not liking how the COMPANY opening number came across on the Tonys, I just watched how it was done on the New York Philharmonic concert version released in 2011. There are some performers wearing black who move the furniture around and do sing in the background for the title song. One of them looked like Ariana DeBose, and it definitely was she, as I skipped to the end and saw she was listed in a grouping called the "Ensemble." How great to see that in the intervening years her career has skyrocketed to include winning an Oscar for WEST SIDE STORY and now hosting so brilliantly the Tony Awards.
Was interested to see that in the Philharmonic version, Neil Patrick Harris sings quite a bit of the opening song by himself, while Katrina Lenk just sings it with the rest of the cast, possibly indicating that she is overwhelmed by all her friends crammed into her apartment to bring their birthday wishes. |
