Tony Awards recap: Hollywood takes Broadway

And the winners were: Denzel Washington? Scarlett Johansson? Catherine Zeta-Jones?

Hollywood A-listers won some big prizes last night at the Tony Awards and I would’ve felt better about it if Denzel, best actor in a play winner for Fences, had known the name of the body giving him the prize or at least faked it better. Anyway, now he’s got a Tony to place between his two Oscars.

Catherine Zeta-Jones also has a Tony Award to go next to her Oscar after winning lead actress in a musical for A Little Night Music. Seated in the front row with her movie star husband Michael Douglas, she reminded the audience that she gets to sleep with him every night. Michael is still an attractive man in his 60s but 20 years ago, we might’ve been more envious. I’m not sure why Zeta-Jones always comes off as so phony in these moments. Also, she performed Send in the Clowns during the telecast and all I can say is I am sure her replacement, Bernadette Peters, will do it far better justice.

As for Miss Johansson, I want to hate her because she happens to be married to my dream man Ryan Reynolds. But when she won for featured actress in a play for A View From the Bridge, her speech was just too gracious and she looked so cute, that I didn’t find myself muttering “bitch” under my breath once. She went on a tad too long and mentioned that she squeezed in her run of the play between Iron Man 2 shoots so there’s a few points off for that but overall, Scarlett handled herself beautifully and showed proper respect for the theater community.

Scarlett’s award was presented by Daniel Radcliff and Katie Holmes. Daniel is a bonafide star of stage and screen while Katie is Mrs. Tom Cruise. What was she doing there and why didn’t she bother to rehearse so it did not seem like she was reading the words for the first time?

One winner is a movie star AND a Broadway star: I was so happy to see Viola Davis win lead actress in a play for Fences and in accepting the award, she really set the standard for acceptance speeches. Although many of us were not familiar with Viola until her shattering Oscar-nominated performance in Doubt, this was in fact her second Tony Award and it could not have happened to a more deserving actress.

Also especially moving was the acceptance speech of Kate Finneran who denied Angela Lansbury a record sixth Tony, had a message: “I want to talk to the kids at home watching. I was a kid and I watched this show and it seemed so far away from me … With the world moving so fast, I want to remind you to focus on what you love, because it is the greatest passport, it is the greatest road map to an extraordinarily blissful life.”

I was thrilled that Eddie Redmayne, featured recently as a Greg In Hollywood Morning Man last month, took home the featured actor in a play award for Red. Eddie (pictured, left) originated the role on the London stage and won the Olivier Award for his stellar work.

Other moments I enjoyed: Douglas Hodge’s performance from La Cage Aux Folles, especially when he sang to Mathew Morrison in the audience. …  Morrison and Glee co-star Lea Michele belted out a few numbers which they nailed … Bebe Neuwirth and Nathan Lane, both past Tony winners but overlooked this year for The Addams Family, were a wonderful pair of presenters and poked fun at their non-nominee status … It was very touching when Kelsey Grammer, presenting with Frasier co-star David Hyde Pierce, got choked up when telling the audience about David receiving the Isabelle Stevenson Award earlier in the evening for his work on behalf of Alzheimer’s research. It appears Kelsey is a Republican with a heart.