Tony losses due to category placement- Page 2

[Gothampc]

Posted: 8/16/11 at 12:44pm

"Why was the Joanna Gleason "thing" ridiculous?!? She gave an AMAZING performance in one of the leading roles of the show. And if you need proof how brilliant she was just watch any other Baker's Wife in history. NO ONE has ever even come close to touching her hysterical yet brilliantly moving performance."

I agree. I've never see anyone come close to Gleason's mousy, funny, heartbreaking performance.

[Musicaldudepeter]

Posted: 8/16/11 at 1:08pm

Why the **** didn't the Tonys put Gleason in the featured category like the Drama Desks did... And everybody's happy - Gleason would've won the featured Tony and LuPone would have won her also much deserved Tony for Anything Goes

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 8/16/11 at 1:08pm

Gad and Sheldon both gave leading roles last year. There would be no reason to consider Gad supporting and Rannels lead, other than Rannels is what is often called a "leading man type" whereas Gad isn't, which is not only unpersuasive, it's offensive.

There are three leading roles in Into the Woods: The baker, his wife and the witch. I have rarely had the experience of being enthralled by a performance that I had watching Gleason's Baker's Wife. Her engaging personality, her economy and sense of truth, and her comedic lightness and artistry in that role are unparalleled. We usually think of legendary performances by women in musicals as those given in highly dynamic, larger than life roles. Gleason's performance, equally legendary but in a very different kind of role, is in a class by itself.

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 8/16/11 at 1:09pm

Oh, I think Joanna Gleason definitely deserved her Tony, but I've always been perplexed by the fact that Drama Desk and Tony category rulings don't line up.

[WOSQ]

Posted: 8/16/11 at 1:17pm

Joanna Gleason in Into The Woods was to me a sterling example of an extremely gifted actress taking an arguably large featured role and making it into a lead through sheer talent. It was a Tony that was well-deserved in the correct category.

Another "featured" length role made into a lead was Carole Shelley in The Elephant Man. The character doesn't appear until halfway through Act One and is gone by the middle of Act Two. Nevertheless Carole Shelley was a lead in every way that Philip Anglim and Kevin Conway were. She made the character the emotional heart of the play and the audience substitute.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 8/16/11 at 1:25pm

Lupone didn't deserve a Tony for Anything Goes. Sure her vocals were excellent and she blew the roof off the theater, but her diction was horrible and her dancing was clunky. Gleason was really perfect in every way.

[Gaveston2]

Posted: 8/16/11 at 4:56pm

I couldn't agree more about Joanna Gleason in Into the Woods (or anything else, for that matter).

And isn't it nice when Tony shares the wealth a little? Angela Lansbury is one of the great Broadway stars of all time, so it makes sense that she has so many wins and nominations. But Boyd Gaines has four Tonys? I think he's terrific, but surely there are other fine actors in New York.

[AC126748]

Posted: 8/16/11 at 5:07pm

I've seen three of the four performances for which Boyd Gaines was awarded Tonys, and he deserved every single one of them. Especially for GYPSY, in which he took a role most people treat as throwaway and imbued it with so much humanity. And if I had my way, he'd have a fifth Tony for his extraordinary work in JOURNEY'S END.

[Gaveston2]

Posted: 8/16/11 at 5:19pm

I believe you, AC. I never meant to imply Gaines isn't deserving. (I'm on the other coast and know him mostly from film and TV, but I like him none the less for that.)

I was just questioning whether there weren't some other deserving actors as well.

I agree that some years in some categories there is one performance that clearly outshines the others. Maybe that was true for each of Gaines' wins. But much of the time, it seems to me that more than one nominee is "deserving" of recognition and the award comes down to subjective issues like taste, popularity and sentiment.

As Humphrey Bogard once said, the Oscar won't really reveal the best actor until all the nominees play Hamlet. I'm just saying there are lots of deserving actors on Broadway and it's nice when the Tony is given to someone who hasn't won before.

(And don't even get me started on the Emmys, where the same performer in the same role wins year after year after year. Until poor Candice Bergin had cry, "Enough already!")

[AC126748]

Posted: 8/16/11 at 5:31pm

I totally get where you're coming from, Gaveston, and I can understand the frustration that can come when it seems like the same person is winning over and over again. I personally didn't think Angela Lansbury deserved her Tony for BLITHE SPIRIT over a performance like Hallie Foote's in DIVIDING THE ESTATE, which to me was the performance of the year. Of the nominees the year that Gaines won for GYPSY, he would've gotten my vote--I think Daniel Breaker was just as good, but that was a case where a leading performance was nominated in the featured category, and I don't support that. That said, each performance is different, so if the voters believe that Gaines deserves four awards for four distinct performances, I don't really have a problem with that. It's not like Bergen or John Larroquette winning a half-dozen Emmys for essentially the same performance, in my mind.

[Gaveston2]

Posted: 8/16/11 at 5:42pm

I'm not actually frustrated. I chose my words poorly if I seemed to be.

Nor am I entirely consistent: I'm fine with Lansbury's many wins (not to mention Fosse's and Sondheim's) because I idolize her (and them). I admire Gaines, but he doesn't make me swoon in the same, embarrassing manner. But I haven't seen all his shows, so he may just be a bad example on my part.

If I were voting, I would try to cast my vote for the most deserving nominee, regardless of past wins. Past wins would come into play only if I thought two nominees were truly "tied".
Updated On: 8/16/11 at 05:42 PM

[AC126748]

Posted: 8/16/11 at 5:50pm

Yeah, I think if you had seen some of the performances for which Gaines has won, you might understand why he won or why he's so revered. He has the ability to take the most thankless or underwritten role (like Herbie or Booley in DRIVING MISS DAISY) and find layers that other actors wouldn't even think to look for. I guess I'm kind of a Boyd Gaines groupie.

[Gaveston2]

Posted: 8/16/11 at 6:37pm

I'm happy to take your word for it, AC, and consider the matter closed.

I happened to see Gaines as the squad lieutenant in the Eastwood film "Heartbreak Ridge" the other night. Gaines takes a role that has just a few lines and makes it one of the most emotionally compelling characters. Just as you describe: thankless role made memorable by the actor (whom Eastwood no doubt cast just for that reason).