A huge congratulations to our friends at Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS for another spectacular Gypsy of the Year competition! This year had many highlights. Here are my Top 10 moments of the 2010 show, held Dec. 6-7 at Broadway’s New Amsterdam Theatre.
1. Carol Channing! She’s 90! 90 Years Old! (see #4). The three-time
Tony Award winner received several standing ovations after
her rendition of “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” and “Hello,
Dolly!” for the event’s opening number. The word legendary
doesn’t do her justice.
2. We here at Playbill love Adam Riegler, who is currently starring
as Pugsley Addams in The Addams Family. Riegler encouraged
his fellow poorly-reviewed shows that “it gets better”— to the tune
of $1 million a week at the box office! Riegler was so funny, he
walked away with first runner-up for best skit (and praise from
comedian Colin Quinn, who said: “I’m not as funny as that kid
from The Addams Family.” (P.S. we’re still waiting for a Cubby
Bernstein comeback!)
3. Year after year, The Lion King blows the crowd away with a
stunning dance routine. This year, the Broadway company paid
tribute to their former Young Nala, Shannon Tavarez, who lost her
battle with leukemia at the age of 11 this November. The troupe
performed a Hawaiian-themed number because “Shannon was
very excited for her upcoming trip to Hawaii in February.” The
company brought Hawaii to Shannon, and the crowd to tears.
4. Molly Shannon reviving her “SNL” Sally O’Malley routine for Kristin
Chenoweth’s I’ll be Oklahoma for Christmas at the Rodeo City Music
Hall tryouts.
5. Usnavis reunite! In the Heights’ creator (and original Usnavi) Lin-
Manuel Miranda joined the company, and fellow Usnavis Javier
Munoz and Kyle Beltran for their final Gypsy presentation on
Broadway.
6. Douglas Hodge as Miss Hannigan in La Cage aux Folles’ version
of Annie (excuse me…Trannie). As Hodge himself said, “Rosie
O’Donnell, eat your heart out.”
7. The Gypsy Robe presentation: This year, the famous Gypsy robe
turned 60. BC/EFA paid tribute to this longstanding Broadway tradition with a runway show of all the different robes created over the years, one donned by actor Adrian Bailey, who received a standing ovation. This was one of his first public appearances after his accident during a performance of A Little Mermaid in 2008.
8. Colin Quinn getting “mistaken for a member of Local 1 backstage.”
9. Rock of Ages taking home top prize for an amazing acrobatic
number performed by the very talented (and very flexible) Julie
Nelson and Rudi Macaggi.
10. Playbill’s very own funnyman Seth Rudetsky did a
fabulous job as host, deconstructing the evolution of his own
deconstructions. The “brava” moment came when Seth whipped
out a recording of him at the age of 3 (yes, 3!) singing “Oooh! My Feet!” from The Most Happy Fella.
GO (FREE)→ The great Carol Channing will make a public appearance in support of the release of her latest album entitled “For Heaven’s Sake,” a collection of the Tony winner’s favorite gospel songs including “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands” and “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot.” (6pm, Barnes and Noble Lincoln Triangle at 66th Street and Broadway, 
GO (FREE)→ The company of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater will take over Central Park’s SummerStage with a free show featuring two classic Ailey works and a piece by Ronald K. Brown—with music by Duke Ellington and Wynton Marsalis—that pays tribute to Judith Jamison, current artistic director of the famed dance troupe. (Central Park Main Stage at Rumsey Playfield, enter at 69th St. and 5th Ave., July 23 and 24, 8pm, 
GO→The kids from American Idiot take a break from the stage at the St. James Theatre and head downtown for a concert to benefit Broadway Impact, a group that mobilizes the theatre community and others to support equal rights for the LGBT community. (9:30pm, Joe’s Pub, 425 Lafayette St., $25-$100, .jpg)
GO→ Town Hall’s Summer Broadway Festival continues with All Singin’ All Dancin’, a show featuring some of Broadway’s up-and-coming choreographers and performers. This Broadway revue is said to be inspired by the work of legendary performers/choreographers like Fred and Adele Astaire, Bob Fosse, Jerome Robbins and Bill Robinson. (8pm, Town Hall, 123 W. 43rd St., btwn 6th and 7th Aves., $40-$50,
GO (FREE)→ The movie that helped introduce the hilarious troupe Monty Python to the world (and later, Broadway), “Monty Python and The Holy Grail,” enjoys a free, outdoor screening as part of the HBO Bryant Park Film Festival. One, two, five! (Begins at sunset btwn. 8-9pm, Bryant Park, btwn. 40th and 42nd Sts. & 5th and 6th Aves., 
GO→ Before there was Avenue Q’s Lucy the Slut, there was the original raunchy puppet, Madame. Madame, along with the late puppeteer Wayland Flowers, gained fame in the ’60s for their antics on TV shows like the “Andy Williams Show” and “Rowan & Martin.” Lady M returns to NYC to crack wise in her new show It’s Madame with an E, featuring Rick Skye at her side. (Through August 19, Feinstein’s at Loews Regency, 540 Park Ave., at 61st St., $33-$50 with food/drink min., 
