Welcome to Staff Picks: YouTube Edition! In this time of social distancing, we’re missing our time at the theater just like you, so we’ve turned to YouTube to revisit some of our favorite performances. Each week, we’ll be sharing a roundup of some of our top spiral starters so you can fall down as many belting YouTube holes as you please.
This week, we’re watching some of our favorite Tony Award performances. From inspiring opening numbers to show-stopping medley, here are some of our favorite videos to lift your spirits and keep you entertained.
We also launched The Intermission Mission, where we’re highlighting exclusive performances on our social channels. Follow @TodayTix and tune in each night.
“Bigger” Opening Number (2013)
Victoria, ProductTeam
The song encapsulates the highs and lows of theater along with the herculean feat of performing live eight shows a week. The line “All of us up here we were that kid” makes me sob while the line about bouncing a quarter off Billy Porter makes me die. In that moment in 2013, I was watching on a livestream at god knows what hour in Spain sobbing along feeling at home though I was thousands of miles away
“Ain’t Too Proud” (2019)
Diane, MarketingTeam
“Ain’t Too Proud” is my favorite musical of the 2019-2020 season, and this performance explains why! The energy of the cast, Ephraim Sykes’s slick moves, and that irresistible falsetto by Jeremy Pope bring me so much joy when I need it the most. My favorite part of the Tony Award performance is the final number when the whole cast, including the swings, join the orchestra to perform “I Can’t Get Next To You.” Sergio Trujillo’s choreography paired with this hit by The Temptations is guaranteed to bring me sunshine on a cloudy day!
“A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder” (2014)
Jessica, TechTeam
I never got to see this show when it was on Broadway so I go back to the Tony Performance way too often. The lyrics and situation are hilarious, and the music is beautiful. Also, the intro is by an actor that plays multiple characters so getting to see him go through his costume/character changes is so fun! Watch from around 4:10 until 4:25 to see a great freak out and perfectly timed bag throw.
“Matilda” (2013)
Mikey, TechTeam
I was so excited to see this show, and TBH the first time i saw it i only liked it (second time i appreciated it way more). But I love this performance because these kids absolutely slay, and I feel like the way they put together the medley truly summarizes the messages of this show. I always get so proud of all of these little Broadway children and usually start to tear up during “Revolting.”
“Sister Act” (2011)
Geri, AccountsTeam
This performance was my first taste of “Sister Act: The Musical” and got me completely hooked. The energy! The belting! The dancing nuns! It’s one of those Tony performances that truly does justice to the theater magic brought by this show’s vivacious Act 1 finale. It’ll put a pep in your step, and if you like what you see, I’d highly recommend checking out the whole cast album for more joyful noises.
“The Life” (1997)
Matt, AccountsTeam
“The Life” remains one of my favorite musicals ever, and this Tony performance undoubtedly proves why. Viewers couldn’t possibly have been ready for these seven sultry, sassy, stomping sex workers as they powered through this anthem about being in one control of one’s body. The dance break – added into the number from another moment in the show – is the definitive highlight of the performance. Watch and fall in love with the ladies of (the dark side) of 42nd street.
“Anything Goes” (2011)
Courtney, Marketing Team
I’m incapable of listening to ‘Anything Goes’ without hearing the taps in my head. Completely in-sync a capella tap moments. Cole Porter. Sutton Foster in a nautical pantsuit. The only cruise I’ve ever wanted to be on.
This rehearsal video is my all-time top played YouTube video. Watch this one before the Tony performance for some before/after magic. (No judgement should you decide to teach yourself the tap dance in your living room.)
“Gypsy” (2008)
Sarah, MarketingTeam
Get your Patti fix. I watch this literally once a week.
“Thoroughly Modern Millie” (2002)
Ali, AccountsTeam
One would be hard pressed to find a clearer, crisper belt than that of a young Sutton Foster in Thoroughly Modern Millie. This song is an anthem for anyone who has been burned by a significant other and shows how the trials of dating can unify women, even driving them to break out into a tap number. The audience at the 2002 Tony Awards loses their mind at this iconic dance break, and the show goes on to win 6 Tony Awards that night.
“Rags” (1987)
Stephen, MarketingTeam
I love this performance! i have never seen the show, but am always blown away by Judy Kuhn’s gut-wrenching final note — plus the added story of her forgetting the lines and also doing a quick costume change from a “Les Mis” performance minutes earlier gives a whole other level on which to enjoy!
“The Color Purple” (2016)
Suzy, Marketing Team
Just thinking about this revival brings a smile to my face, and you have the ultimate trifecta — Heather Headley, Danielle Brooks, and Cynthia Erivo — performing an uplifting and inspiring melody from the show at the Tonys. I dare you not to smile and cry at the same time.
“Dreamgirls” (1982)
Brian, Executive Team
Check out songs from our favorite Tony Awards performances on Spotify!
Want to jam along to some of our favorite show-stopping performances? Whether you’re cleaning your home or having a solo dance party, these tunes are a great pick-me-up. Check out the Spotify playlist below.
When we started writing a special issue encouraging people to get out of their homes, it was… still safe for people to get out of their homes. The idea that our city, our country—the world—would go into lockdown to prevent a pandemic?
It seemed impossible. In many ways, it still does. Experts say we might be avoiding concerts and movie theaters and crowds of any kind until the summer (at least) to curb the spread of COVID-19. But there’s one thing we don’t need to avoid: the great outdoors.
“I think outdoor space… I think being outside will be really crucial through this period—getting fresh air, getting exercise,” Mass General physician Daniel Horn, who’s leading a team that’s strategizing to combat coronavirus, told the Atlantic. Minnesota State Parks are staying open (even if some buildings are closed). “Now is a great time to get outdoors,” said state DNR commissioner Sarah Strommen. “Parks are a great place to do some social distancing and enjoy the health benefits of nature.”
Don’t do anything that makes you feel unsafe; maintain distance between your hiking or bikepacking partners; and for the love of mother nature, don’t take a trek with friends if you feel sick. But when the blinds on your windows start to feel like bars on a cage, we hope this issue will help you find a place to escape, even if it’s temporary.
“Nature is still there,” Minnesota’s DNR tweeted earlier this week. “You can be too.”
The Coop FIS Cross Country World Cup is the premier international cross country ski race series, held annually at different host sites from November to March. It draws Olympic-level skiers, thousands of international spectators and widespread media attention.
With the support of Explore Minnesota and other partners, The Loppet Foundation is hosting one of the World Cup series races in Minneapolis’ Theodore Wirth Park on March 17, 2020. The race will be part of a larger event called the Fastenal Parallel 45 Winter Festival, which will take place from March 14-17, 2020. This four day event will feature the World Cup race, live music, craft beer, citizen races, spectator events and more! Mark your calendars and join us for the first World Cup cross country ski race in the U.S. since 2001!
While the beer doesn’t always speed the arrival of Spring, it will at least keep you warm. Come beckon warmer weather with a mug full of Bock, music, and food. Seven Bocks of Winter are hiding around the brewery and in Flandrau State Park, waiting for brave festers to venture out and capture them. Armed with completely useless clues and Bock beer, hunters will comb the park in search of these elusive bocks. Our two human St. Bernards, with kegs of Bock beer strapped to their backs, are ready to be dispatched at a moments notice of the first signs of thirst. Oft-repeated tales depict their heroic exploits, finding festers roaming the woods at wits end, searching for another glass of Schell’s Bock beer. Once they receive nourishment, they find the strength to go forth and continue their search for the stealthy bocks. Legend has it if all Seven Bocks of Winter are captured and brought back to the brewery, winter will release its icy grip on Minnesota, and bring an early spring. (This has never been scientifically proven and is widely disputed among scholars to this day.)
For those not hearty enough to leave the Schell’s Brewery fest grounds, feel no shame. Schell’s beer, brats, live music and warm fire await you. Grab yourself a Schell’s Bock and brag to your friends of how you braved the Minnesota forest “last year” and found all seven bocks yourself. Your friends will be so impressed with your exploits, you probably won’t have to buy another beer the entire time you’re here! Head over to the fire and have your beer “poked” by our fire tenders, giving your Bock beer some nice caramel flavors.
And when the final bock has been wrangled, the last Ring of Fire sung, the last keg tapped and last mug hoisted, its time to close the books on another Bock Fest…Unless you want to stick around and help with the cleanup! But the party doesn’t stop there. Festers flock to downtown New Ulm for a fun-filled night of friendship. And when the night has run its course and it’s time to call it quits, we ask that you call for a ride home! Be safe out there!
Tickets will also be available at the gate on the day of the event for $10. Limit of 10 per purchase
Limited number of tickets will be sold in advance. Gift shop will open its doors at 10 a.m. on the day of advanced ticket sales and will sell tickets as long as they are available. Online sales will begin at 10 a.m. on February 3rd and last as long as tickets are available. Can’t make it to the brewery to get your tickets? No problem, we’re selling them online as well!
End winter the Minnesotan way: on skis, sleds, snowboards, and tubes. Free rentals, free trail passes, and discounted ski and tube hill passes make Leap Day SNOW much fun!
The popular “biohack” cold-water immersion is gaining ground with Twin Cities residents and some scientists. Ponce de León’s search for the fountain of youth in Florida is just a legend. But about 1,500 miles to the north, in the icy waters of Cedar Lake in Minneapolis, dozens of people think they’ve found the next best thing.
On a recent Sunday around 9:30 a.m., a diverse group of about 20 people dressed in swimsuits trekked to a spot near the shore on the west side of the lake and immersed themselves in an 8-by-12-foot rectangular hole cut in the ice. Later in the day, another group of people gathered to do the same thing.
This isn’t a once-a-year, get-in, get-out, New Year’s Day plunge for Instagram bragging rights.
This is something that happens every Sunday throughout the winter.
Some people come several times a week, and stay for a good, long soak of five, 10, 15 minutes or more. Except for the knit hats, they look like they could be relaxing in a hot tub as they stand in water that ranges from waist- to neck-deep.
The Twin Cities Cold Thermogenesis Facebook group, which was created in 2016, claims the frigid dips do everything from increase testosterone in men to boosting brown adipose tissue. (The so-called brown fat or “good” fat may be helpful in combating obesity because it burns calories to create heat.)
Cold-water immersion also strengthens the immune system, according to Svetlana Vold, a part-time firefighter and ultramarathon winter bike racer from St. Louis Park, who organizes the Sunday morning cold-immersion session.
Vold and others say chilling out in the water combats inflammation, helps them sleep better and improves their focus and endurance. Some said they’re inspired by Wim “The Iceman” Hof, a Dutchman famous for his breathing and cold exposure technique called the Wim Hof Method.
The Cedar Lake group would probably meet the approval of David Sinclair, a Harvard genetics professor and longevity expert who thinks that cold exposure may help slow the aging process.
Maria O’Connell, the organizer of the afternoon session, has been immersing herself in an ice-filled horse trough in her backyard since 2011. “Initially it’s a little uncomfortable,” she said. “You end up getting better the more you do it.”
But many say the frigid dunks are a mood-altering, even pleasurable experience.
“It hurts so damn good,” said Stephen McLaughlin, a 61-year-old Minneapolis resident. “You are just completely present.”
“It makes me happy. I think it’s adrenaline,” said Allison Kuznia, 42, of Minneapolis.
“It’s kind of a treat to go out and get really cold,” said Nick White, 46, of Minneapolis. “It gives you a feeling of euphoria.”
