one Annie vs. four Matildas?- Page 2

[yankeefan7]

Posted: 4/6/20 at 7:02pm

" Typically speaking, it is considered poor etiquette to post in a long dead thread. This act is called necroposting. Many boards have policies against it, and some actually make it impossible to do so by archiving the post, thus making it a "read only" entry. "

If it is poor etiquette like you said than it should be archived and read only. This poster was brand new to the board and right off that bat gets admonished for heaven forbid posting something on thread that still accepts new posts. Other posters had no problem with new post on this long "dead" thread. I will be honest and say I did not know anything about necroposting and I could have made the same "mistake". IMO don't make snarky remark to the poster, make it to the mods of this board.

[mikey2573]

Posted: 4/6/20 at 9:13pm

It always bugged me that the four Matildas got a special Tony Award the same year that Johnny Rabbe kicked butt as Ralphie in "A Christmas Story" .  He belted the songs out of the park, created and played a very endearing, lovable character, and had absolutely impeccable comic timing.  And he did it 6 times a week, as opposed to the Matildas who only did two.  Rabbe had an alternate who played the role at matinees, but I always felt that if the Tony committee was going to give a special Tony to a child in 2012, it should have been for Rabbe. 

[yankeefan7]

Posted: 4/7/20 at 6:04pm

" but I always felt that if the Tony committee was going to give a special Tony to a child in 2012, it should have been for Rabbe. "

Somebody can correct me if I am wrong but the four Matildas did not just get award because they were children. I think the Tony committee wanted to avoid another "Billy Elliot" and have best actress award go to the four of them. They gave them a special award and I think they were left out of the best actress category.

[AJ5]

Posted: 4/7/20 at 7:46pm

mikey2573 said: "It always bugged me that the four Matildas got a special Tony Award the same year that Johnny Rabbe kicked butt as Ralphie in "A Christmas Story" . He belted the songs out of the park, created and played a very endearing, lovable character, and had absolutely impeccable comic timing. And he did it 6 times a week, as opposed to the Matildas who only did two. Rabbe had an alternate who played the role at matinees, but I always felt that if the Tony committee was going to give a special Tony to a child in 2012, it should have been for Rabbe."


The Matilda’s were given their award in 2013, the same year they opened.

[AJ5]

Posted: 4/7/20 at 7:50pm

yankeefan7 said: "" but I always felt that if the Tony committee was going to give a special Tony to a child in 2012, it should have been for Rabbe. "

Somebody can correct me if I am wrong but the four Matildas did not just get award because they were children. I think the Tony committee wanted to avoid another "Billy Elliot" and have best actress award go to the four of them. They gave them a special award and I think they were left out of the best actress category."

They weren’t nominated for anything at all, but they received The Tony Honors for Excellence in Theatre award a day prior to the ceremony to acknowledge their talent.

[Phantom of London]

Posted: 4/7/20 at 8:13pm

Regardless if you are a Billy, Matilda or Annie the role is too big for one actor and should be shared, for no other reason in that a child needs more rest, free time to play with their friends and get a reasonable eduction.

I cannot see the problem having a child role being played by several actors?

At the time of Matilda I recall the republican Michael Riedel complaining the role being shared.

It is wrong to have a child perform 8 times a week.

[AJ5]

Posted: 4/7/20 at 8:47pm

Phantom of London said: "Regardless if you are a Billy, Matilda or Annie the role is too big for one actor and should be shared, for no other reason in that a child needs more rest, free time to play with their friendsand get a reasonableeduction.

I cannot see the problem having a child role being played by several actors?

At the time of Matilda I recall the republican Michael Riedel complainingthe role being shared.

It is wrong to have a child perform 8 times a week."


100% agree, as fun as Broadway might be to a kid, chances are they’ll eventually get tired after a couple of weeks. Plus, sharing roles adds variety, which is why I think the Matilda production was so good since they often switched out the kids and rarely would you see the same ensemble. 

[yankeefan7]

Posted: 4/8/20 at 9:53am

" They weren’t nominated for anything at all, but they received The Tony Honors for Excellence in Theatre award a day prior to the ceremony to acknowledge their talent. "

Understood and I thought the main reason they were not nominated was because the Tony Award committee did not want the same thing as "Billy Elliot" and have multiple children nominated for the same role.

[QueenAlice]

Posted: 4/8/20 at 10:26am

The child labor laws in England that pertain to child actors stem back to an old rule that specified not how many performances a child could perform a week, but how many they could perform a year.  Hiring multiple children to play a role was initially designed to allow producers the chance to not have to replace child actors every few months.

When Andrea McArdle came to the UK to open ANNIE, she only did 40 performances; she had 4 alternates (understudies), but I believe played a regular 8 performance a week schedule; when she left the show, the role was regularly split by two actresses who had been her alternates, with the two other alternates staying on as their alternates.

MATILDA and MARY POPPINS in the UK continued with the 4 alternate tradition and that carried over to the US at the wishes of the producers. There are no rules in American Equity that state that a role on Broadway for a child must be split with an alternate.  When ANNIE was last revived on Broadway, it had one principal cast (as the original Broadway production did).  A matinee Annie was added later in the run, though I think it was due to special circumstances and not any kind of Equity rules.

All the girls in the original production of ANNIE, Patty Duke in THE MIRACLE WORKER, Patty McCormick in THE BAD SEED are all examples of dazzling performances by children who didn't split the role. I never heard any of them complain that doing the roles (some did them well over a year) was exhausting or something they regretted later as adults.

Updated On: 4/8/20 at 10:26 AM

[AJ5]

Posted: 4/8/20 at 4:40pm

yankeefan7 said: "" They weren’t nominated for anything at all, but they receivedThe Tony Honors for Excellence in Theatre award a day prior to the ceremony to acknowledge their talent. "

Understood and I thought the main reason they were not nominated was because the Tony Award committee did not want the same thing as "Billy Elliot" and have multiple children nominated for the same role."


I believe they weren’t eligible for the best actress role. I’m not sure why but I think it’s because since their show had just opened and they regularly did 2 shows a week.