Sydney Lucas was robbed of a Tony

[CurtainsUpat8]

Posted: 6/14/15 at 1:09pm

http://www.nytimes.com/video/theater/100000003727748/in-performance-ruthie-ann-miles.html 

I don't see how this tepid rendition of Something Wonderful wins the Tony over the thrilling performance Sydney Lucas gives. And it's not that Lady Thiang has that much to do it the show otherwise. Sydney was robbed.

[LarryD2]

Posted: 6/14/15 at 1:11pm

First: no one can be robbed of an award because no one is entitled to an award. 

Second: you're going to judge a performance -- which, I'm guessing, you haven't seen -- by a 3 minute out of context clip? Ok. 

[mattmarkowski99]

Posted: 6/14/15 at 1:13pm

I saw both of these shows. And I must say that Sydney was wonderful in her part, but Ruthie gave a thrilling performance. Her facial expressions, her singing, and her formation of her lines was just so wonderful. It really was a well-deserved Tony win for her.

 

And ditto to the poster above me.

Updated On: 6/14/15 at 01:13 PM

[PalJoey]

Posted: 6/14/15 at 1:13pm

I don't see how this tepid rendition of Something Wonderful wins

Too bad for you that you're not a Tony voter then.

The majority of Tony voters chose it.

[Someone in a Tree2]

Posted: 6/14/15 at 1:21pm

Ruthie Ann Miles took the stodgy role of Lady Thiang that had always been within the Nettie/Bloody Mary/ Mother Abbess tradition in the R&H cannon, and turned it into a stunning new character-- young and gorgeous and fully in command of her premiere place in the King's household. She made you sit up and take notice every moment she was onstage, even though most of the time she was a silent witness. Sydney Lucas will have many other opportunities to dazzle, but I was thrilled the Tony went to Ruthie this year.

[FishermanBob]

Posted: 6/14/15 at 1:24pm

This will I hope, teach Sydney not to walk alone in bad, poorly lit neighborhoods.

[JBroadway]

Posted: 6/14/15 at 1:40pm

I too, was rooting for either Lucas or Kuhn. Ruthie Ann Miles was great, and I definitely admire how the role was reinvented, but I have to wonder: who really did the reinventing here? Miles or Sher? Sher was presumably the one who envisioned Lady Thiang as a young, beautiful, powerful woman. He's the one who directed her in that way. I do NOT mean to say that Miles was not fantastic in the role, and obviously the director and the writers play a huge role in creating ANY Tony-winning performance. But in this particular case, people keep citing this "reinvention" that Ruthie Ann Miles did as a reason for beating out Kuhn and Lucas, and I just don't PERSONALLY feel that is enough of a reason to give it to her, given that it was Sher who really reinvented the role. In my personal opinion, Kuhn and Lucas gave more award-worthy performances than Miles in their own rites.

But of course, I'm not a Tony voter, and it's all subjective anyway :) 

[ebontoyan]

Posted: 6/14/15 at 1:45pm

Well not Ruthie Ann Miles fault that the 3 FH nominees split the vote in their category. Although I'm in the camp that thinks Ruthie is a very deserving winner of her Tony award 

Updated On: 6/14/15 at 01:45 PM

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 6/14/15 at 1:50pm

"First: no one can be robbed of an award because no one is entitled to an award. 
Second: you're going to judge a performance -- which, I'm guessing, you haven't seen -- by a 3 minute out of context clip? Ok. "

No one can be robbed of something they don't already have. (The repeated "robbed" phrasing that comes up at awards season will be the death of me.)

I loved Sydney Lucas in Fun Home, and haven't yet seen The King and I, but I also totally agree with the second part. Tony winners don't win based on how or what they perform at the Tonys.

[mikem]

Posted: 6/14/15 at 1:53pm

Kuhn, Lucas, and Miles all gave outstanding, Tony-worthy performances.  They all deserved to win, although only one of them did.  I don't think any of them were robbed.

And I don't think the reinvention of Lady Thiang purely goes to Sher.  Ruthie Ann Miles brought complexity and inner life to Lady Thiang that made her one of the most fascinating characters on that stage.  After the show, I was thinking that I would love to see a musical based on Lady Thiang's life, which is not a thought I've ever had from previous productions.  Just as you wouldn't say that Lucas's performance is because Sam Gold directed her that way, Miles's performance is not solely the creation of her director.

[romain2]

Posted: 6/14/15 at 2:04pm

Actually, Emily Skeggs is the person from Fun Home for whom I would have voted, even though Kuhn and Lucas are indeed both excellent.  Skeggs had the most difficult role--catching her character at her most confused, in a state of self-denial, and then obtaining confidence as she falls in love with Joan.  She makes it all look effortless. 

This conversation proves more and more that the Tonys should have a Best Ensemble category.

I haven't yet seen King and I (I don't live in NYC), will be doing so soon, so I cannot say that Miles "robbed" any of the Fun Home actresses of a Tony.  It's not as if the voters meet in a closed room and discuss the nominees--they send in their ballots separately.  Miles just happened to receive the most votes.  I did see Miles in Here Lies Love and she was fantastic--so I'm a fan, and she is one of the reasons I'm going to King and I, Tony win or no Tony win.

Updated On: 6/14/15 at 02:04 PM

[JBroadway]

Posted: 6/14/15 at 2:06pm

@Mike: I understand, and I think you're right that Miles did bring a lot to the role, and the quality of her PERFORMANCE is not due entirely to Sher (as you and I both pointed out, the same could be said for Lucas or Kuhn or any Tony-worthy performance). But I personally feel that Sher's brilliant re-envisioning of the role and Miles' skillful portrayal of it, did not match up to the emotionally shattering performances of Kuhn and Lucas. But you are free to feel differently. It's a matter of opinion I guess.

Updated On: 6/14/15 at 02:06 PM

[UnwoundFantasies]

Posted: 6/14/15 at 2:13pm

They all gave amazing performances. You don't need to put down Ruthie's performance to praise Sydney's. I saw both shows and I for one thought Ruthie's performance was incredibly stunning. But don't blame Ruthie for Sydney's loss, she didn't force voters to choose her.

[JBroadway]

Posted: 6/14/15 at 2:23pm

UnwoundFantasies:

I'm not sure if that was directed at me, but if it was, I want to make clear that I don't mean to PUT DOWN Miles' performance. I think she was great. 

To be entirely honest, I'm still working out my own opinion on this and how to put it into words, so forgive me if I say something ignorant, unclear or rude. 

I guess the way I sort of see it, is that every performance in a play or musical is created by a combination of the actor, the writers and director. In the case of Lady Thiang, the writing is not great (as others have pointed out, the role is usually very 1-dimentional). However, the direction is creative and triumphant, and the performance is very skillful. 

The way I see the roles of Small Alison and Helen Bechdel. The writing, and performances were triumphant, while the direction of those roles was extraordinary (though perhaps not as innovative as Sher's direction of Thiang). Again, just my view.

I'm not trying to PUT DOWN Miles, just express why I was rooting for Kuhn and Lucas over Miles. It's all apples and oranges anyway.

Updated On: 6/14/15 at 02:23 PM

[Bilbo3]

Posted: 6/14/15 at 2:24pm

Sydney wasn't robbed. I would have liked to see Kuhn win but Ruthie completely deserved the award. 

[UnwoundFantasies]

Posted: 6/14/15 at 2:30pm

Oh sorry JBroadway, I was actually responding to the OP! Sorry if that was misleading. 

 

I definitely do see what you're saying though about Ruthie's performance in conjunction with Sher's direction. Ruthie has made it clear in her speech and in subsequent interviews that she would not have been able to fully embrace Lady Thiang without Sher.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 6/14/15 at 2:37pm

Is Jan Maxwell at it again, robbing people of Tonys to put in her bag?

[CurtainsUpat8]

Posted: 6/14/15 at 2:43pm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4bV3IP_Zww

[PalJoey]

Posted: 6/14/15 at 2:48pm

YOU'RE the one robbing her. You're robbing her of the pure joy of her nomination at 11 years old, by inserting this disgusting note of bitterness and jealousy into the equation.

You're ASSAULTING her youthful idealism and BATTERING her love for her fellow performers and the theater in general.

You oughta be ashamed of yourself, sliming an 11-year-old girl with your posts.

[ChiTheaterFan]

Posted: 6/14/15 at 2:49pm

I am grateful that I have seen/will see both of these performances. I am also grateful that I'm not a Tony voter because there is really no reason to choose which of the many beautiful and very different performances in any given category is "better."

[snarkmachine]

Posted: 6/14/15 at 3:05pm

I haven't seen the King and I yet but Ruthie's performance is anything but tepid in the NY Times video. The featured actress category was full of deserving winners and Sydney will have plenty of time to win one (if she doesn't fall into the same traps Daisy Eagan did). She got her own solo on a primetime Tonys telecast anyway which I'd almost argue is as valuable as a win considering how fantastically she performed that song.

[RaisedOnMusicals]

Posted: 6/14/15 at 3:09pm

"http://www.nytimes.com/video/theater/100000003727748/in-performance-ruthie-ann-miles.html 

I don't see how this tepid rendition of Something Wonderful wins the Tony over the thrilling performance Sydney Lucas gives. And it's not that Lady Thiang has that much to do it the show otherwise. Sydney was robbed."

 

I have three things to say about this post.  First, I saw both performances, and Sydney Lucas was terrific. Had she won the Tony I would have felt it was well earned.

Next, as others have said, Ruthie Ann Miles' performance in the show was absolutely wonderful as well, and no Tony voter could be faulted for voting for her.

But your comment about the video of her performance of "Something Wonderful " that you linked and commented about tells us all we need to know which is that you know very little about music or performance of it.  In the clip, Ruthie gives a master class of what it means to connect with the lyrics of a song.  It was breathtaking, stunning.  To call it tepid as you did is absurd, which is the mildest word that comes to mind at this moment. 

[JBroadway]

Posted: 6/14/15 at 3:34pm

"if she doesn't fall into the same traps Daisy Eagan did"

I believe Eagan said her career stopped because her mother died right after she won the Tony. 

http://www.playbill.com/news/article/i-dont-know-personally-that-i-would-wish-it-on-a-kid-youngest-female-tony-winner-reflects-349289/print

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 6/14/15 at 3:44pm

PalJoey, you're the best.

On THE KING & I cast recording thread, I wrote that Ruthie Ann Miles does with "Something Wonderful" what Audra McDonald did with "Mr. Snow" in the '94 CAROUSEL revival--both of them took a Rodgers/Hammerstein song that had been done to death by countless of people, cracked it wide open, and built it again from the ground up in such a way that the songs come off as if they were being sung for the first time. At the time I didn't know Miles would win the Tony, but I had a small inkling given how much her performance of that song reminded me of Audra's Tony-winning rendition of "Mr. Snow." And that's just the one song and via a record. I didn't even get to see Miles. I can't imagine how spectacular she is live, both in her book and musical scenes.

Lucas might as well have won. No one who saw her performance of "Ring of Keys" that night will forget her, as I'm sure she will never forget the experience of being a Tony nominee at 11 years old, getting glowing reviews for her performance at the telecast, and being a part of the show that defied all odds to take the big prize. I say she is a winner in every way.

[theatreguy12]

Posted: 6/14/15 at 3:45pm

I wouldn't exactly say she was robbed either. The Tony voters have the right to choose whoever they want, and they chose Miles.

And since I haven't seen TKAI, I can't really comment on the performance of RAM...or KO, for that matter.  Based on the Tonys performance it seemed rather 'meh.'  Not exactly any different, vocally, from anything TKAI has done before.

But again, you have to see the WHOLE show, not just snippets, obviously.  (Heck, I saw OTTC and thought it was amazing.  But I didn't think the Tonys performance of that one played out all that well. They tried to do too much IMO.)

Apparently Sher has taken an old show that is a pretty textbook show when you have the talent behind it (and even KO admitted that the range wasn't that difficult for her), and made it something special.  Something different.  Somehow.  

It's a show that gets revived pretty regularly, and seems to capture the awards every time it does.  Kudos to him for doing something "new" with it to make it stand out from all the other times it has made its appearance on Broadway.

As for individual performances though, I still think Lucas captures something pretty special for someone her age.  It's in her vocals, in her eyes, in her gestures, in her being when she sings that song and when she performs the role she's in.  I always find it impressive when such a young person can do that.  

Conversely, you expect someone who is older and experienced to capture the essence of their character.  I mean, if they're a good actress and singer.  Which Miles is.

I guess that would have been my reasoning for giving the edge to Lucas.