Beady bling at the Tony Awards

Judith Light photo found at Broadway.com

The Tony Awards were Sunday evening, but first I needed to post my regular Monday feature, then I needed to fulfill my karmic debt, so here it is Thursday already.

For the past couple of years, women at all the major awards shows have been sporting the bare-neck look with their swept-up hair and plunging gowns. What's up with that? The bling is limited to earrings the size of teacups and perhaps a big ol' chunk of sparkle weighing down the wrist. (Most pieces, of course on loan from major jewelers and valued at more than all the houses on my block.)

Sunday night's Tonys were no exception. The only actress sporting anything around her neck was Judith Light. She won as featured actress in Other Desert Cities. I've Googled and Googled, but can't find the designer of her stunning statement necklace.

Bernadette Peters photo from aceshowbiz

Bernadette Peters has the look I was referring to earlier. Unfortunately, this not-very-flattering pic is the best I could find that showed even a hint of her spectacular earrings:

(She won a humanitarian award this year.)

Cristin Milioti, the female lead in Once (which won Best Musical) wore lovely green dangly drops. They look like they might be enamel, but perhaps they are stone. At any rate, they were a nice change from the diamonds and other dazzlers.

Cristin Miliotti photo found on
Times Union.com

Audra McDonald (who won for Porgy and Bess) sported a beautiful diamond cuff on her left wrist, but I can't find a decent photo of it.

It's been a while since I've done it, but in years past I would take a trip to New York (I lived there for more than eight years in the '80s) with daughter in tow to catch a show or two. I'm now wildly out of touch with Broadway theater, although I sometimes catch the Washington-mounted shows. (I saw Stickfly when it played at the Contemporary American Theater Festival in Shepherdstown a few years back and Next to Normal when it debuted in DC, both before their Broadway runs.)

But you gotta watch the Tonys if only to see the irascible Neil Patrick Harris as host. He steals the show every year!