1998 Tony's- Page 2

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 7/8/06 at 6:26pm

Well, Lion King opened out of town as well.

Posted: 7/8/06 at 6:29pm

RAGTIME was robbed!

[FoscasBohemianDream]

Posted: 7/8/06 at 6:30pm

Brian Stokes Mitchell has said before that his Kiss Me,Kate Tony was really given to him for Ragtime, and he is right.

[BwayBaby18]

Posted: 7/8/06 at 7:26pm

I wish Ems and Al would have won.

[Chanticleer148]

Posted: 7/8/06 at 9:17pm

Ragtime should have won everything. It was an artistic triumph!

Here's hoping for a great RAGTIME revival one day.

Brian, Marin, and Audra were all marvelous!

[boxers7]

Posted: 7/8/06 at 9:30pm

Did Side Show perform at the Tony's even though they had closed? What did they do?

Also: How do you guys think a revival of Side Show would do within the next 7-8 years? Flop again?

[nealb1]

Posted: 7/8/06 at 9:42pm

Yes, I attented The Tonys in 1998, and "I Will Never Leave You" was performed from "Side Show."

[latheatrelover]

Posted: 7/9/06 at 3:24am

I had heard then, too, there was bad feelings about L.A. having Ragtime first. It is true that shows opened in other cities in the past but those were recognized as shows in progress on their way to Broadway (such as Boston and Philadelphia), but I think NY just wasn't happy with L.A. being L.A, Hollywood and all that, and that theater, Broadway's true art, shouldn't start here. Luckily, that is changing. Jersey Boys came from California and it won the big prize.

Updated On: 7/9/06 at 03:24 AM

[Ourtime992]

Posted: 7/9/06 at 3:51am

Side Show opened very early in the season, as did Ragtime. At the time of their openenings some writers, including Ken Mandelbaum, thought their leading ladies to be very viable contenders. Mandelbaum in particular thought that if Skinner and Ripley were nominated as a single entry they would be unstoppable. Cabaret came along a few months later, however, and when it did the whole race changed overnight. As I recall, Richardson and Cumming were very much the toast of the town and became odds-on favorites almost immediately.

A point I'm less sure of, but recall vaguely...didn't Ragtime try out in Toronto, then open a second production in Los Angeles? As I remember, the Toronto cast was readying the Broadway production to open in January 1998. Livent opened a Los Angeles company in June 1997 (which may or may not have been a sit-down engagement; I can't recall), featuring Stokes with a completely separate supporting cast from those that were featured in Toronto and on Broadway. The LA company included La Chanze, John Rubinstein, John Dossett, Jason Graae, none of which came to the Broadway production until some time later, as replacements.

This may be what the unnamed tony voter mentioned above was referring to, though I can't see that having an enormous effect on the actual voting. Disney simply did a bang-up job promoting a family friendly show that also happened to feature the work of a very avant-garde director and an incredible design team. I found Ragtime to be a hundred times more thrilling than The Lion King but that doesn't mean the Tony voters did. And as you may or may not remember (depending mostly upon your age, I guess), Ragtime was not critically hailed at its opening. Brantley in particular felt the show was too anthem-heavy, too large scale, and felt more like a committee effort than the work of a singular visionary.

[FoscasBohemianDream]

Posted: 7/9/06 at 4:11am

You're right. Ragtime opened in Toronto, there was an LA engagement with LaChanze, Marcia Mitzman Gaven (from The Who's Tommy), and Judy Kaye who I believe was the only major supporting cast member who transferred to the Broadway production from opening night. I still don't really understand why The Lion King was given the award, Ragtime was such a brilliant show.