In the final days leading up to the 2011 Tony telecast, Broadway.com is posting videos of favorite Tony memories of this year’s nominees, with their own commentary. David Lindsay-Abaire, a Best Play nominee for Good People, cites the 1990 performance of Grand Hotel star Michael Jeter, who danced an impossibly rubber-limbed Charleston as Otto Kringelein, the dying clerk in Tommy Tune’s hit musical. (Jeter’s subsequent acceptance speech, citing his successful battle against substance abuse, ranks as one of the most beloved Tony moments ever; the actor died in 2003.)
“I have so many Tony memories, but I’d have to say my favorite is Michael Jeter doing ‘We’ll Take a Glass Together’ from Grand Hotel. I remember never having seen a performance like that. It was so exhilarating and thrilling to see a body move in that way. God, I loved that performance!”