2015 Grammy Nominees for Best Musical Theater Album Nominees

[Jeffrey Karasarides]

Posted: 11/30/14 at 4:02pm

So with the nominations for this year's Grammy Awards coming up on Friday, how about we discuss the potential nominees for what is our favorite category, Best Musical Theater Album?

The following is a list of the cast recordings that were released between October 1st, 2013-September 30th, 2014:

Aladdin
Beautiful: The Carole King Musical
Big Fish
The Bridges of Madison County
Bullets Over Broadway
A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder
Hedwig & the Angry Inch
If/Then
Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill
A Night with Janis Joplin
Rocky
Violet

So which of the five (or three if it ends up being the same amount of nominees as last year) cast recordings do you think deserves a nomination? Updated On: 11/30/14 at 04:02 PM

[Starship]

Posted: 11/30/14 at 4:05pm

I would imagine seeing Aladdin, Beautiful, Gentleman's Guide, Hedwig, and If/Then up there for nominations. Just my prediction.

[Mr. Nowack]

Posted: 11/30/14 at 4:06pm

FUN HOME
BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY
HEATHERS

BIG FISH and GENTLEMAN's GUIDE too if it's five.

Though aren't off-Broadway recordings ineligible now?

Updated On: 11/30/14 at 04:06 PM

[Fantod]

Posted: 11/30/14 at 4:22pm

Gentleman's Guide
If/Then
Either Lady Day or Bullets Over Broadway

[After Eight]

Posted: 11/30/14 at 4:56pm

Let's hope that the Grammys are not as poisoned and poisonous as the Tonys, NY Critics Awards, etc., and will reward actual merit this time.

No dirgicals, please, and no assaults upon one's ears and sensibilities either.

I wouldn't count on it, though.


Updated On: 11/30/14 at 04:56 PM

[Sally Durant Plummer]

Posted: 11/30/14 at 5:04pm

"No durgicals, please, and no assaults upon one's ears and sensibilities either."

Yet you're still here.

[mFabila]

Posted: 11/30/14 at 5:07pm

Just like Kinky Boots won because of Cyndi Lauper, Beautiful will win cause of Carole King. The only difference being Beautiful is deserving.

[Green_Flash]

Posted: 11/30/14 at 5:21pm

Nominated:
Beautiful
Bridges
Hedwig
Gentelman's Guide

Win:
Hedwig

[jv92]

Posted: 11/30/14 at 5:30pm

Why do they even still have this category? They don't know how to vote for it. The Grammys are such a farce...like most competitive artistic awards.

[bdn223]

Posted: 11/30/14 at 5:39pm

Don't discount the commercial nature of the Grammy's. Idena Menzel, was able to get IF/THEN the first top 20 debut of a cast album since the days of West Side Story, which also landed her the cover of Billboard Magazine. I homestly wouldn't be suprised if Ms. Menzel gets 3 nominations this ywar for, Best Theater Album (If/Then), Best Motion Picture Soundtrack (Frozen), and Song and/or Record of the Year for Let It Go.
For the other 2 or 3 nominees I see,
BEAUTIFUL (Carol King's appeal)
HEDWIG (NPH)
The last spot is a tossup of Aladdin/Bridges/Gentleman's Guide


Updated On: 11/30/14 at 05:39 PM

[jv92]

Posted: 11/30/14 at 5:55pm

Well, even if IF/THEN wins, I wouldn't be disappointed since it is a really well produced cast album.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 11/30/14 at 6:00pm

Beautiful
Big Fish
Bridges
If/Then

5th
Gentlemen's or Rocky

[Jeffrey Karasarides]

Posted: 11/30/14 at 6:12pm

Here's a breakdown on my predictions:
*Aladdin-Almost all Disney shows have been nominated before, two of them won (The Lion King, Aida), so I wouldn't count this out.
*Beautiful: The Carole King Musical-Shows with the appeal from the music industry have done pretty well in this category (Jersey Boys, American Idiot, Once, Kinky Boots).
*The Bridges of Madison County-With the acclaim this Tony-Winning score received, I think it deserves some acknowledgement.
*Hedwig & the Angry Inch-The Grammy's do have a soft spot for contemporary musicals (Spring Awakening, In the Heights)
*If/Then-First Broadway cast recording to have done so good on the Billboard charts since Rent.

[chewy5000]

Posted: 11/30/14 at 6:37pm

I thought everyone here hated the Hedwig album, now you're all picking it to win?

[Jeffrey Karasarides]

Posted: 11/30/14 at 7:10pm

I don't know if Hedwig could actually win, but I could see it getting a nomination.

[Starship]

Posted: 11/30/14 at 7:12pm

Award shows are so political. I wouldn't be surprised if Beautiful wins (because of Carole King) or If/Then (because of Idina).

[HorseTears]

Posted: 11/30/14 at 7:31pm

Why do they even still have this category? They don't know how to vote for it. The Grammys are such a farce...like most competitive artistic awards.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong about this, but I believe that Academy voters get to vote for all of the "major" categories - album, song, record of the year, best new artist, etc., but then only get to choose a small number of other more specialized categories - something like six awards? If that's still the case, that means people voting for musical theatre album are actively choosing to do so and likely have a strong interest or experience in musical theatre. Or maybe I'm totally misremembering how this all works.

Anyway. Usually, the only categories with much merit and actually interesting artists are Best New Artist and Best Alternative Album.

[Phillypinto]

Posted: 11/30/14 at 7:55pm

NOMINATED
Beautiful
Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Gentlemans Guide
Aladdin

WIN
Beautiful

[jv92]

Posted: 11/30/14 at 9:03pm

HorseTears, I think you might be confusing that process with the Academy Awards. IF musical theater experts actually have picked a few of the last winners for Best Show Album, I wouldn't consider them experts anymore. Some of the recent winners have been laughable.

[theatreguy]

Posted: 11/30/14 at 9:19pm

HorseTears is correct. This is the Grammy voting process for both nominations and winners:

"Ballots are sent to voting members in good dues standing. To help ensure the quality of the voting, members are directed to vote only in their areas of expertise; they may vote in up to 20 categories in the genre fields plus the four categories of the General Field (Record Of The Year, Album Of The Year, Song Of The Year and Best New Artist.)"

http://www.grammy.org/recording-academy/awards/grammy-awards-voting-process

[Brave Sir Robin2]

Posted: 11/30/14 at 10:12pm

Aladdin
Beautiful: The Carole King Musical
The Bridges of Madison County
A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder
If/Then

Possible spoiler: Heathers. That show will live on for a long time due to that cast recording.

[wonderfulwizard11]

Posted: 11/30/14 at 10:36pm

These nominations are always so strange, but I'd love to see some recognition for Lady Day. It's beautifully recorded and represents the entire show so beautifully. I love listening to it.

[jnb9872]

Posted: 11/30/14 at 10:39pm

Re: IF/THEN being the First Broadway cast recording to have done so good on the Billboard charts since Rent.

Jeffrey- this sentence is laughable if you don't specify that you're talking about chart debuts. Just off the top of my head, the WICKED and JERSEY BOYS cast albums easily have IF/THEN beat in terms of duration on the chart, and THE BOOK OF MORMON peaked at #3, which was the highest any musical has gone since the HAIR OBC.

If I were judging based solely on the merits of the recordings, not the strengths of the shows or their scores, which I like to think the Grammys should do but rarely do, I would nominate these five:

ALADDIN
THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY
A GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE TO LOVE & MURDER
LADY DAY AT EMERSON'S BAR & GRILL
VIOLET

[JoseLee_]

Posted: 11/30/14 at 11:11pm

I want Beautiful and If/Then to get nominated. I also would be super happy if either or won.

[chewy5000]

Posted: 12/1/14 at 12:32am

Considering that 'Follies in Concert' one all those years ago, I'm seriously hoping for 'Lady Day'.