2004: The Tony's Most Confusing Year

[BeingAlive44Ever]

Posted: 12/31/23 at 7:46pm

I've been thinking recently about just how weird of a year 2004 was for the Tony Awards

Not even unwarranted, just bizarre and unheard of

I mean, a one man show winning Best Play and Best Actor? 

A little puppet musical by some basically new faces beating out what is generally agreed to be the best musical by legendary composer Stephen Schwartz in Best Score, Best Book, and Best Musical? 

Freaking Hugh Jackman winning Best Actor in a Musical???? 

Idina Menzel winning Best Actress the same year Kristin Chenoweth was nominated??????????? (Granted, Elphaba is a role that just screams Tony Award)

And then you look at the names on this ceremony 

I mean, I've already said a lot of them, but think of Robert Lopez, Raul Esparza, and Audra McDonald and how huge of a deal they are now 

This was Audra's fourth Tony Award, so she was already a big deal, but still

Also holy cow 4 Tony Awards? 

That is absolutely unheard of, and this year was the second year in a row that an actor gained the distinction of reaching 4 Tonys (Granted, the previous year was kind of on a technicality) 

This was just a weird, weird year for the Tonys and a lot of things either didn't make sense or did make sense but are strange regardless 

[A Theatre Fan 2023]

Posted: 12/31/23 at 10:02pm

I agree that a lot of the results in 2004 were baffling. I understand that Avenue Q winning the big prizes came down to its strong marketing strategy (positioning it as 'the little show that could' taking on the 'big, bad blockbuster' musical), and people voting for it to give it a chance of doing well on tour (the writers even spoke about this in the commentary for 'Show Business: The Road to Broadway' DVD).

Fortunately, Wicked didn't need the award win. We're now 20 years down the track, and Wicked is closing in on 8,000 performances (making it the fourth longest-running show in Broadway history), while Avenue Q seems to have been relegated to the community and school theatre circuits. 

But I strongly disagree about 'freaking Hugh Jackman' winning for The Boy from Oz. He was terrific in the role of Peter Allen, and while the prevailing sentiment around here seems to be that no one/nothing good can come out of Australian theatre, it's patently untrue.

And, really, who do you think should've won instead? Euan Morton for his Boy George tribute?

Updated On: 12/31/23 at 10:02 PM

[Jarethan]

Posted: 1/1/24 at 12:08am

For years, I have thought that Hugh Jackman gave one of the best performances I have seen by a male musical lead, that despite the fact that he was in a thoroughly mediocre show.  For my money, in this century it is right up there with  Nathan Lane in The Producers, Ben Platt in DEH.  For me nothing comes close, and their performances were so different.

[blaxx]

Posted: 1/1/24 at 1:34am

BeingAlive44Ever said: "I've been thinking recently about just how weird of a year 2004 was for the Tony Awards

Not even unwarranted, just bizarre and unheard of

I mean, a one man show winning Best Play and Best Actor?

A little puppet musical by some basically new faces beating out what is generally agreed to be the best musical by legendary composer Stephen Schwartz in Best Score, Best Book, and Best Musical?

Freaking Hugh Jackman winning Best Actor in a Musical????

Idina Menzel winning Best Actress the same year Kristin Chenoweth was nominated??????????? (Granted, Elphaba is a role that just screams Tony Award)

And then you look at thenameson this ceremony

I mean, I've already said a lot of them, but think of Robert Lopez, Raul Esparza, and Audra McDonald and how huge of a deal they are now

This was Audra's fourth Tony Award, so she was already a big deal, but still

Also holy cow 4 Tony Awards?

That is absolutely unheard of, and this year was the second year in a row that an actor gained the distinction of reaching 4 Tonys (Granted, the previous year was kind of on a technicality)

This was just a weird, weird year for the Tonys and a lot of things either didn't make sense or did make sense but are strange regardless"

Were you even born? You obviously didn't see most of these.

The Menzel award was just throwing Wicked a bone, Tonya Pinkins was the favorite to win - left and right, that was a huge upset.

[ljay889]

Posted: 1/1/24 at 1:37am

It was very much expected that Jackman was going to win. It wasn't the surprise that you're insinuating. 

Updated On: 1/1/24 at 01:37 AM

[Broadway61004]

Posted: 1/1/24 at 1:56am

The only real surprise for Avenue Q was Book, which most people thought would go to Winnie Holzman even if Wicked didn't win Best Musical (and if not her, probably Tony Kushner for Caroline). But the general feel in the NY theatre community at the time was that Wicked was rather "meh". It was obviously selling a ton of tickets and the tourists were eating it up, but it wasn't a critical success by any means and most in the industry felt that it was pretty to look at but not much substance. So while Wicked was still the odds on favorite to win, mainly because of all the money behind it, it was no real shocker when Avenue Q came out on top.

As for I Am My Own Wife, it was a hugely acclaimed Pulitzer Prize winning drama with Jefferson Mays playing 40 different characters. Of course it won Best Play and Actor. Nothing else really was in contention for Play and while Actor was a bit more competitive, still no surprise.

Kristin was never really in contention for Actress. She had won featured a few years prior and Wicked was always Idina's show. Tonya Pinkins was the favorite (and I actually suspect had Donna Murphy not missed so many performances of Wonderful Town that she may have won her 3rd Tony instead), but Idina was also very loved in the community (and many thought she was robbed for Rent previously), so it makes sense that she was able to pull out the win.

So no, nothing really too crazy about that year.

Updated On: 1/1/24 at 01:56 AM

[RippedMan]

Posted: 1/1/24 at 8:22am

I think the weirdest / oddest thing is the shutout of "Caroline, Or Change." 

[Kad]

Posted: 1/1/24 at 10:13am

It wasn’t confusing or weird, but it was one of the most competitive Best Musical races ever. It eventually shook out well for the major shows- Wicked is a stil-running iconic hit, Avenue Q went on to have extremely successful runs Broadway and off-Broadway (and launched Robert Lopez’s career), and Caroline or Change was ultimately vindicated by history.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 1/1/24 at 10:36am

Still surprising to me that neither actress has won a Tony for the role. 

[Kad]

Posted: 1/1/24 at 11:07am

I wasn’t a big fan of Sharon Clarke (or that revival as a whole, tbh), but her loss to Joaquina Kalukango was a definite surprise. 

[Mr. Wormwood]

Posted: 1/1/24 at 11:34am

As mentioned, Hugh Jackman winning wasn't a surprise or undeserved at all. And Idina winning over Kristin wasn't a surprise. Tonya Pinkins was the biggest threat to Idina for sure. Despite the massive success of Wicked, which cannot be denied, I was fine with it losing Book and Score. There are some real problems with both. I could have seen it being like a Phantom/ITW thing with Wicked still winning Best Musical even if it lost Book and Score. The Best Musical loss is still a major upset though you could see it coming with how the night unfolded.

There's a great documentary on the 2003-04 Broadway season called "ShowBusiness: The Road to Broadway." It covers Wicked, Avenue Q, Caroline and Taboo as well as lots of other things from the season. It's really fascinating and I would highly recommend it to anyone who has never seen it. It was on youtube still last I checked.

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 1/1/24 at 11:41am

RippedMan said: "I think the weirdest / oddest thing is the shutout of "Caroline, Or Change.""

Anika Noni Rose did win featured actress, though. Three Black actresses won that year, which we love to see.

I remember thinking this ceremony was very exciting. Even if people were meh about Wicked, the Avenue Q Best Musical win was still a huge shock. Also, let’s not pretend Avenue Q wasn’t a big hit; it ran in NYC until 2019. A 15-plus-year run is nothing to scoff at, and it basically originated the Broadway-to-Off-Broadway model.

[Broadway61004]

Posted: 1/1/24 at 12:08pm

HeyMrMusic said: "Anika Noni Rose did win featured actress, though. Three Black actresses won that year, which we love to see."

It's kind of funny how that worked out actually, because Pinkins was generally favored and didn't win and Rose generally wasn't favored but did end up winning. (I say generally because those categories were both very competitive, but as I recall, the majority of the predictions had settled on Pinkins and Isabel Keating).

One other interesting thing to remember about this year: There was a huge debate over whether Assassins should have been considered a new musical or a revival. Had it been considered a new musical, it likely would have become the frontrunner for both Musical and Score. It's possible Q would have still won (rare for a limited engagement from a non-profit to win Best Musical) but there certainly was a ton of support for it (and it ended up being the big winner of the night with 5 awards).

[dramamama611]

Posted: 1/1/24 at 12:34pm

I don't think these Tonys were confusing at all.   It's also odd to be confused by the results when it doesn't sound like you actually saw most of the performances nominted. 

[BeingAlive44Ever]

Posted: 1/1/24 at 1:17pm

I want to make clear that I am not at all saying these people didn't deserve the awards they got 

Like Hugh Jackman I thought was pretty good

Probably even the best male lead that year

But like 

When you think

Hugh Jackman

Do you think

Won a Tony Award for a Jukebox musical made out of songs from a failed musical with a book by the guy who won Best Actor last year? 

That is 

A bizarre situation

Bizarre does not mean unwarranted 

[BeingAlive44Ever]

Posted: 1/1/24 at 1:19pm

HeyMrMusic said: "RippedMan said: "I think the weirdest / oddest thing is the shutout of "Caroline, Or Change.""

Anika Noni Rose did win featured actress, though. Three Black actresses won that year, which we love to see.

I remember thinking this ceremony was very exciting. Even if people were meh aboutWicked, the Avenue QBest Musical win was still a huge shock. Also, let’s not pretendAvenue Qwasn’t a big hit; it ran in NYC until 2019. A 15-plus-year run is nothing to scoff at, and it basically originated the Broadway-to-Off-Broadway model."

I actually love Avenue Q, again I say that I do not mean that any of these awards were undeserved, I just think it's interesting to discuss the year because of how a lot of the wins were not what people would expect or just felt like out of body experiences 

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 1/1/24 at 1:42pm

Tonya losing to Idina is my Roman Empire. 

[BeingAlive44Ever]

Posted: 1/1/24 at 2:03pm

Jordan Catalano said: "Tonya losing to Idina is my Roman Empire."

I feel like that year had so many amazing actresses and the fact that Idina won for a show with two nominations for Best Leading Actress just seems so statistically improbable 

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 1/1/24 at 2:28pm

Kad said: "I wasn’t a big fan of Sharon Clarke (or that revival as a whole, tbh), but her loss to Joaquina Kalukango was a definite surprise."

One of the casualties of the pandemic and Caroline, or Change not opening in 2020 as scheduled. I don't think Adrienne Warren would've won had Sharon been eligible.

 

[Yessica Haircut]

Posted: 1/1/24 at 2:40pm

Out of curiosity, what was the consensus on Best Revival that year? I remember reading somewhere (not sure if it was a thread somewhere on this site or somewhere else) that Lincoln Center's Henry IV winning over the first ever Broadway revival of A Raisin in the Sun was something of a surprise. I've only seen one short clip from Raisin when Lincoln Center had it on display as part of their TOFT celebration last year, but I know that Phylicia Rashad, Audra McDonald, and Sanaa Lathan were all highly praised (with the former two receiving the award in their categories); and while I haven't gotten to watch Henry IV, it sounded like a pretty lavish and ambitious production.

 

For anyone who got to see both productions: What did you think?

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 1/1/24 at 3:03pm

Elphaba won just as much as Idina did.

[BeingAlive44Ever]

Posted: 1/1/24 at 3:51pm

Yessica Haircut said: "Out of curiosity, what was the consensus on Best Revival that year? I remember reading somewhere (not sure if it was a thread somewhere on this site or somewhere else) that Lincoln Center'sHenry IVwinning over the first ever Broadway revival ofA Raisin in the Sunwas something of a surprise. I've only seen one short clip fromRaisinwhen Lincoln Center had it on display as part of their TOFT celebration last year, but I know that Phylicia Rashad, Audra McDonald, and Sanaa Lathan were all highly praised (with the former two receiving the award in their categories); and while I haven't gotten to watchHenry IV,it sounded like a pretty lavish and ambitious production.



For anyone who got to see both productions: What did you think?"

I only saw Raisin in the Sun

I don't think I'm qualified to give an opinion, but I will say Raisin was incredible and I think it could've won that award 

It is hard for me to imagine a play revival better than Raisin in the Sun

But, just as with Michael Rupert not winning a Tony Award for Falsettos, not seeing the actual winner makes me unable to give a well formulated opinion 

TotallyEffed said: "Elphaba won just as much as Idina did."

I completely agree with this. I think this happens frequently. Another example of something like this is La Cage Aux Folles winning Best Musical and all the other awards over Sunday. Sunday is one of my three favorite musicals of all time and far and away the better musical between the two. But I definitely think La Cage deserved the awards because what was really winning was the ability for a super gay musical to run for a long time. There were better performances than Idina, but her winning that award allowed that show with powerful female leads that deserved to be played by dozens of budding actresses to run for two decades, and that is every bit as worthy of an award as any great performance

I think that, for all the **** I give the Tony Awards, most of the time there is a very good reason for people getting awards 

... Not sure about James Corden winning a Tony, but I didn't see him so for all I know he could've been amazing

[Jarethan]

Posted: 1/1/24 at 3:54pm

BeingAlive44Ever said: "I want to make clear that I am not at all saying these people didn't deserve the awards they got

Like Hugh Jackman I thought was pretty good

Probably even the best male lead that year

But like

When you think

Hugh Jackman

Do you think

Won a Tony Award for a Jukebox musical made out of songs from a failed musical with a book by the guy who won Best Actor last year?

That is

A bizarre situation

Bizarre does not mean unwarranted"

No.  It makes his deserved win all the more impressive.  It means that he overcame the obstacles placed in front of him (mainly a terrible book, but also uninspired direction and choreography) and put all of his energy into making the most of the remaining decent material he had to work with; end result: he gave one of the most charismatic (and frequently joyous) performances I have ever seen on stage.  That Tony would have been deserved in the vast majority of years in this century.

[Jarethan]

Posted: 1/1/24 at 4:11pm

Call_me_jorge said: "Kad said: "I wasn’t a big fan of Sharon Clarke (or that revival as a whole, tbh), but her loss to Joaquina Kalukango was a definite surprise."

One of the casualties of the pandemic and Caroline, or Change not opening in 2020 as scheduled. I don't think Adrienne Warren would've won had Sharon been eligible.

I think that the people on this board have always liked Caroline a lot more than typical audiences.  I saw both productions, appreciated the objectives, and was bored for sizable stretches.  I am not a philistine, but i did not even like Lot's Wife, probably turned off by all the comparisons to Rose's Turn's greatness, which I didn't see. 

Re the last comment, had Kulekango and Warren opened in the same season, it is inconceivable to me that Kulekango would have won. I am still amazed that Kulekango won for PS.  She was the best thing about it, but it wasn't a huge role in a show that was a massive flop.  Part of her winning IMO reflected a rejection of COC by voters (again); the same voters were remembering her loss for Slave Play, in which she was placed in the wrong category (she would have won hand's down in featured actress in almost any season), and for that whopper Let It Burn.  All opinion, needless to say.

 

[blaxx]

Posted: 1/1/24 at 10:20pm

dramamama611 said: "I don't think these Tonys were confusing at all. It's also odd to be confused by the results when it doesn't sound like you actually saw most of the performances nominted."

The OP is obviously not very well-versed on Broadway matters.