2009 Tony Awards: The Ceremonies

This piece was created as part of my weekly sketch project on Facebook. Come visit me at Squigs Knows His Lines to see something new each week. Above, you see some illustrated observations of this year's ceremonies:

The wonderful host Neil Patrick Harris. The opening number: Elton John and the Billy Elliots, West Side Story and Guys & Dolls, Brett Michaels (of the metal band Poison) and his Rock of Ages exit mishap, Stockard Channing of Pal Joey and Aaron Tveit of Next to Normal, the cast of Shrek, Dolly Parton, Liza Minnelli, the cast of Hair. Some nifty (and nearly nifty) speeches: jerry Herman accepting his lifetime acheivement award, the Billys hesitant speech, Karen Olivo's hearfelt acceptance, Brian Yorkey and Tom Kitt accepting for best score (and getting cut off), Roger Robinson's charming speech, Alice Ripley's bold statement about art and the human spirit.