I'm so happy for her. She's such a major talent who hasn't, in my opinion, gotten the attention she deserves up to this point. I hope this leads to many more Tony wins for her in the future. Also, she scores an A+ for being incredibly gracious in her acceptance speech. A class act all the way.
Though I havent seen her yet, I REALLY wanted her to win and I'm SOOOOOO GLAD she did!!! Theatreboi, my friends and I said the same thing about getting paid to thank Oprah. Also, I would LOVE to know what Patti said/thought when LaChanze name was called.
"I've always secretly longed for an actress to get to the top of the cherry picker and projectile vomit all over the guards below."- Wonderwaiter in the "Defy Gravity?" thread.
~~~~~~~~My dream? Sutton Foster as Cassie in A Chorus Line
"People have their opinions and that doesn't mean that their opinions are wrong or right. I just take it with a grain of salt because opinions are like as*holes, everyone has one".
-Felicia Finley-
It was a big upset indeed but a well deserved win in my humble opinion. I read these boards and saw how no one gave her a chance but tonight proved them all wrong. Maybe now she'll learn her last name and use it!
I'm not gonna hate you in the magazines,
(I'm better than that)
I'm not gonna compromise my Christianity,
(I'm better than that)
You know I'm not gonna diss you on the Internet
Cause my momma taught me better than that.
I wonder what LaChanze will do after she leaves Purple.
Wrong, sir. Wrong! Under section 37B of the contract signed by him, it states quite clearly that all offers shall become null and void if - and you can read it for yourself in this photostatic copy - "I, the undersigned, shall forfeit all rights, privileges, and licenses herein and herein contained," et cetera, et cetera..."Fax mentis incendium gloria cultum," et cetera, et cetera..."Memo bis punitor delicatum"! It's all there, black and white, clear as crystal! You stole fizzy lifting drinks. You bumped into the ceiling which now has to be washed and sterilized, so you get nothing! You lose! Good day sir!
Yay LaChanze! I was in a Tony Chatroom at the time, and we all just started cheering!!! I am very happy for her!
...What happened next, was stranger still, a woman breathless and afraid, appeared out of the night, completely dressed in white. She had a secret she would tell, of one who had mistreated her. Her face and frightened gaze, my mind cannot erase...But then she ran from view. She looked so much like you...
I am surprised and glad that La Chanze won, but then I was hoping anyone but Patti LuPone would get it (And yes, I did see all of the nominees and liked them better). I had always wanted to see LuPone on stage, but when I saw ST she seemed bored and rushed, as if showing up and merely singing the words were enough. By contrast, her co-stars were terrific right down the line. I know that I will be blasted by LuPone fans now, who automatically go on the attack when anyone is critical of her ST work, but some of them do not seem to differentiate between this lone performance and her entire body of work, so they act as if you are criticizing LuPone the Icon as opposed to LuPone the ST performer. I had one fervent fan tell me that perhaps I was not smart enough to understand that "Patti" made a conscious acting decision to appear bored and indifferent as her approach to this role, which she "owned". Well, that may be, but I have had the pleasure of seeing Angela Lansbury, Dorothy Loudon and Christine Baranski in this part. All had different approaches and all were wonderful in their own right, but I cannot recall any of them delivering a performance that I would describe as bored and indifferent.
I'm totally with you on this. LaChanze deserved this award so much and I was worried she wouldn't get it because Patti has such a history and fan base. I love Patti, but nothing she did in Sweeney made me think she should win this over LaChanze. The nominees are all great but none had the opportunity to carry the show like LaChanze does.
Yes, we do need a third vampire musical.--Little Sally, Gypsy of the Year 2005.
Yes! I was so EXCITED when I heard her name announced, I thought for sure it would have been Patti or Sutton. I had no hope left after TCP lost all the other catagories...
But, CONGRATS TO HER! She was FANTASTIC in TCP and she was amazing in the performance last night as well!
An extremely disappointing evening - and this just was the cherry on the cake.
Patti LuPone not winning for SWEENEY TODD just proves even further that the Tony Awards are a joke and do not, in fact, represent excellence but theatrical politics, personal bias, and just money money money.
I'm happy that La Chanze is happy...but to give her the most coveted theatre award for her mediocre, uneven performance in THE COLOR PURPLE just makes the Tony voters look like fools.
"If you are going to do something, do it well. And leave something witchy."-Charlie Manson
I'm guessing his choice didn't win, and if politics and money were involved, then Felicia would have won for featured so that they could vicariously award oprah for "sophia" and inevitably secure her financial support of all things broadway...didn't happen.
Congratulations, Lachanze- For gracefully aging a character from 14-60 in 2h 40m... For a vocal performance that is tops night after night. And for being the medium through which the majority of 8 audiences each week send the sales of kleenex into orbit! You are a class act!
Your Potential is greater than your problems, and your problems will bring out your potential- Vashti Murphy McKenzie.
Honey...don't be ashamed, be comfortable with who you are. Stay true to yourself.- Elisabeth Withers-Mendes