Carpool Karaoke, Pouty Parodies & a Metal-Mouthed Lin-Manuel Miranda! Broadway's Top Five TV Moments of 2016
The year 2016 has been a wonderful one for going to the theater—and for staying the heck home with a blanket and bowl of popcorn. Numerous Broadway faves have appeared on the small screen in beloved series like Younger and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend or in highly anticipated one night only stints. Lin-Manuel Miranda’s meteoric rise in 2016 brought him all the way to 30 Rock’s coveted stage spot hosting Saturday Night Live, and Fox’s Grease: Live broadcast proved itself to be a live musical gamechanger. Get a cozy mug of hot cocoa ready—here are the top five TV moments of the year from our Great White Way pals!
5. Broadway Carpool Karaoke
It’s been our lifelong dream to cruise around New York belting showtunes with Lin-Manuel Miranda, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Jane Krakowski and Audra “Mama Broadway” McDonald, and Tony host, winner and late night king James Corden lived it in 2016. The fab four joined Corden in a segment of his wildly popular Carpool Karaoke, covering favorite tracks from Hamilton, Rent, Jersey Boys and of course, Les Miserables. Let’s be honest: we are all Jesse Tyler Ferguson in this video.
4. Laura Benanti’s Melania Trump Debut
Following her sweet-as-vanilla ice cream stint in She Loves Me, Laura Benanti brought that razor-sharp Twitter wit straight to the late night circuit. An observation of her resemblance to President Elect Donald Trump’s wife Melania Trump during a visit to The Late Show with Stephen Colbert became a full-blown impression; #Benanti4SNL became a hashtag among her Broadway BFFs (Cynthia Erivo and Alex Brightman, to name a few). Perhaps an SNL hosting spot is in her future for 2017 (in between diaper changes, of course)?
3. LMM in “Crucible Cast Party”
There was one Broadway fave who did nab the SNL hosting gig in 2016. Hamilton mastermind Lin-Manuel Miranda is usually hailed for his genius and relentless positivity. This is exactly why seeing his more outrageous, humorous side during his SNL stint was so refreshing—especially when he poked fun at theater dorks just like him (and us, obvs). We couldn’t stop laughing at Miranda rocking braces as senior drama club heartthrob Cody Shuck. He was the Phantom in Phantom, and he was Sweeney in Sweeney.
2. Vanessa Hudgens’ 11 o'Clock Number
With a breakout role as High School Musical sweetheart Gabriella Montez and a Broadway debut as neat-as-a-pin Gigi, fans were intrigued to see what Vanessa Hudgens would bring to the table as Grease: Live’s bad girl. Hudgens beyond delivered as Fox’s Rizzo, especially considering her father passed away the night before the broadcast; she performed in his honor. Her crystal clear rendition of “There Are Worse Things I Could Do” was just as commanding as a character like Grease’s Rizzo is. This Pink Lady was red hot!
1. JHud’s “I Know Where I’ve Been”
NBC’s Hairspray Live! was chock-full of big, fat, boisterous numbers that made the broadcast pure fun, but Grammy and Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson truly took the TV event to a whole new level with this performance. She riffed and belted Hairspray’s message of inclusivity and unity loud and clear. Her flawless vocals combined with a message audiences across America can all benefit from hearing nabbed her our number one spot and inspired our 2017 mantra: What would JHud do?