Biggest Mistake(s) in Tony History- Page 3

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 7/6/04 at 4:23pm

But it was the same basic format.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 7/6/04 at 4:26pm

One of a kind in the sense that the numbers were fully staged, using facsimiles of the original sets and costumes, unlike "Fosse" which mostly used generic costumes and no effort was made to recreate the scenes within the context of the original show and with so many dance numbers blending together one after another that you had to look at the Playbill to know what show most of the numbers were from (sorry, but, unless you're a dance historian, chances are you're not going to be able to recognize a 30 second snippet from "New Girl In Town" or "Redhead" without a narrator or something). Alexander served to set up each show and scene so you knew exactly what you were looking at at all times.

Edited to add --

Same basic format perhaps, but the execution in JRB was far superior to Fosse.

Updated On: 7/6/04 at 04:26 PM

[robbiej]

Posted: 7/6/04 at 4:28pm

You can't even begin to compare FOSSE and JEROME ROBBINS' BROADWAY.

FOSSE was a rather cheap looking production that tried to capture the spirit of a dead choreographer (whilst violating the spirit of some of his dances, by the way. I'll never forgive the 'recreation' of RICH MAN'S FRUG).

JEROME ROBBINS' BROADWAY spared no expense to recreate these glorious scenes and songs and giving its audience a remarkable history lesson.

Also, I would argue that Bob Fosse was a much more limited choreographer than Robbins, which added an element of sameness to FOSSE. What you got from JR's BROADWAY that you didn't from FOSSE (probably because Fosse himself didn't direct) was the contributions Robbins made to the advancement of musical theatre. Robbins created a context in the show which allowed us to understand the importance of the pieces we were seeing. The creators of FOSSE failed on this account.

[magruder]

Posted: 7/6/04 at 4:28pm

Not really... "Fosse" blended everything together into one big melange, instead of the careful regimentation and set-up for each show that "Jerome Robbins' Broadway" provided. The limited sets and costumes in "Fosse" made no attempt to recreate the Broadway originals. You had those two dark and ugly, squeaking proscenium arches, and most of the time (my biggest objection to "Fosse"), you had beautiful dancers clad in black against black backgrounds, so you couldn't really watch them in action. They were NOT the same experience.

Updated On: 7/6/04 at 04:28 PM

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 7/6/04 at 4:29pm

Everybody relax - I'm just saying they were the same BASIC FORMAT.

[magruder]

Posted: 7/6/04 at 4:30pm

And we're saying they weren't.

[robbiej]

Posted: 7/6/04 at 4:31pm

Margo and Magruder,

I flatter myself to think that great minds think alike...at the same time, no less.

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 7/6/04 at 4:31pm

Whatever.

[EffieWhite]

Posted: 7/6/04 at 4:33pm

OK-several things.
to sean martin--thank you.
to Broadwaybaby614--Hunter WAS nominated for URINETOWN
to MJR--not to mention ONCE ON THIS ISLAND losing to both of them! And LaChanze losing to Daisy Egan!
and we have all forgotten?--BARBARA STREISAND losing best supporting actress for WHOLESALE and losing best actress for FUNNY GIRL!

[robbiej]

Posted: 7/6/04 at 4:35pm

Effie,

Hunter was not nominated for Urinetown. He was, however, for LSOH.

As for La Streisand and her Tonys...well...those are subjective, of course!

[magruder]

Posted: 7/6/04 at 4:37pm

Hunter (and Jeff McCarthy) were NOT nominated for Urinetown. Nancy Opel, Jennifer Laura Thompson, Spencer Kayden and John Cullum received nominations, but not Hunter and Jeff.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 7/6/04 at 4:38pm

Channing's Dolly beating out Barbra's Fanny (no pun intended) in hindsight might be viewed as Channing's early revenge for losing the role to Streisand for the Dolly movie a few years later.

Updated On: 7/6/04 at 04:38 PM

[BroadwayDiva]

Posted: 7/6/04 at 4:44pm

1. Aida not getting nominated for Best Musical.
2. Adam Pascal not getting nominated for Best Actor.
3. Aida not getting nominated for enough things.
4. Ann Harada getting "snubbed"(as someone geniusly put it)
5. Godspell only getting nominated for one thing.
6. Jesus Christ Superstar not winning anything.
7. TMM winning over Urinetown. Urinetown rocked.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 7/6/04 at 4:58pm

BroadwayDiva - I'm with you on items 4-7, but not 1-3. Aida was lucky to get what it got which is way more than I feel it deserved. Heather Headley over Audra McDonald in Marie Christine? Sorry, but even if Marie Christine was not a popular show, there is no dispute over who delivered the better performance. Ok, I'd give Aida a Tony for lighting, but that's it. The lighting was very pretty. And those ancient Egyptian lasers were pretty darn cool. Notice how they so literally spelled out the love "triangle" (which, if you didn't notice, is shaped like a pyramid). Though it is so much fun, I'll stop now.

[J.]

Posted: 7/6/04 at 5:23pm

I've never seen Pacific Overtures, but I do not like it I don't think.

[broadway86]

Posted: 7/6/04 at 5:32pm

Recently...

Harvrey Fierstein winning over Antonio Banderas.
Marissa Winokur winning over Bernadette Peters.
Dick Latessa winning over Michael Cavanaugh.
Jane Krakowski winning over Mary Stuart Masterson.
Vanessa Redgrave winning over Fiona Shaw.
Alan Bates winning over Billy Crudup.
Harriet Harris winning over Spencer Kayden.
Ned Beatty not being nominated for 'Cat...'
Jeremy Kushnier not being nominated for 'Footloose'.
Alan Cumming winning over Brian Stokes Mitchell.
Karen Ziemba winning over Eartha Kitt
Heather Headley winning over Audra MacDonald.
Hunter Foster not being nominated for 'Urinetown'.

I'll post more as I think of them.

[Sumofallthings]

Posted: 7/6/04 at 5:33pm

Wow J, Wow.

[J.]

Posted: 7/6/04 at 5:36pm

it was a joke but I probably wouldn't enjoy it.

[Sumofallthings]

Posted: 7/6/04 at 5:37pm

Wow J, Wow.

[BroadwayBound06]

Posted: 7/6/04 at 5:38pm

Tonya not Winning
Kushner not Winning
Tesori not Winning
and Caroline or Change in general not Winning.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 7/6/04 at 5:45pm

Bates over Crudup?? Crudup???? Crudup was only there to fill out the category. His performance wasn't in the same league as Bates or Neeson or Rickman or Jeffrey wright that year.

And IMO, Redgrave's was a superior performance to Shaw's.

[robbiej]

Posted: 7/6/04 at 5:46pm

I don't know how you feel, Margo, but I thought that entire production of MEDEA was incredibly wrong-headed. I felt cheated and lied to after sitting through it!

[CastAlbumFan]

Posted: 7/6/04 at 5:52pm

Interesting note: The 1959-60 Tony Awards was the only time that FIVE musicals were nominated: GYPSY, FIORELLO!, ONCE UPON A MATTRESS, TAKE ME ALONG, and THE SOUND OF MUSIC. Also of note, it was the only time that TWO musicals (FIORELLO! and SOUND OF MUSIC) tied for the Tony for Best Musical.

My pick for the biggest mistake in Tony history was moving the deadline for the 1967-68 Tony Awards up one month from the end of April to the end of March. This caused two worthwhile shows (HAIR and GEORGE M!) to be left off of that year's nominated list which resulted in HALLELUJAH, BABY! to be the only musical in Tony Award history to win the award after closing. The three other nominees that year were all mediocre at best: THE HAPPY TIME, ILLYA DARLING, and HOW NOW, DOW JONES. GEORGE M! and HAIR faced stiffer competition the next year with 1776 and PROMISES, PROMISES.

REDHEAD beating FLOWER DRUM SONG would be another pick.

DREAMGIRLS lost the Tony to NINE largely due to politics. If anybody wants, I'll get into the story a little deeper.

CONTACT really shouldn't have been nominated for Best Musical. It was more like a play with dancing (And no SINGING or ORCHESTRA, for goodness sakes!). If the "Special Theatrical Event" Tony was around when CONTACT played, it would have won that award instead.

BTW, Dick Latessa was a shoo-in for the Featured Actor award as Edna's dad in HAIRSPRAY.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 7/6/04 at 5:53pm

I thought it was gimmicky, poorly directed (Warner seemed to half of a good idea about the Greek chorus, but had no idea how to execute it -- they came off as whiny and annoying and unfocused) and except for Shaw, poorly acted (the actor playing Jason was such a stiff, it made no sense why Medea would go to such lengths to get revenge upon him -- Shaw could have chewed him up and spit him out given ten seconds alone with him). A very overrated production -- the weakest, by far, of the six or seven that I've seen.

[robbiej]

Posted: 7/6/04 at 5:55pm

I remember Shaw being on WEEKEND TODAY saying 'This play is remarkable. It's just like the Sopranos.'

But it's not. IT'S NOT!!!!!