Looking at the above comparisons, the main thing that pops out to me as far as wins, is that MFL got more love at OCC than the Tonys. Mainly in the best revival category as the MFL winners in the OCC acting categories were bested at the Tonys by actors from TBV, which wasn’t eligible at OCC during that season.
Admittedly I haven't seen Oklahoma yet (it's my last show of the season tomorrow), so I haven't seen Testa. Once I do, I might change my list.
Really surprised by the complete SHUT DOWN of Pretty Woman so far this season. And sad The Cher Show will likely not get a Best Musical nomination.
Broadway Star Joined: 11/24/16
Surprised at Eva not getting a nom yet Reeve getting one. ALso surprised at HoH getting multiple noms, good for them. Andre vs Patrick Page doesn't surprise me as much as it might have a few weeks ago, it seems that's the way the wind blows. (Though imo Patrick is doing more detailed and more subtle work)
Another thing that pops out to me from last year’s comparisons is that the eventual Tony winner was at least nominated by OCC except when not eligible. I will note that except for Ari'el Stachel, they were OCC nominated the year before that.
Surprised to see two Tootsie men in featured actor and one of them NOT being Andy Groteluschen. He was the standout for me.
Leading Actor Joined: 5/15/18
Marlothom said: "Really surprised by the complete SHUT DOWN of Pretty Woman so far this season. And sad The Cher Show will likely not get a Best Musical nomination."
The reviews were weak and it came really early in the season (although to be fair, Head Over Heels arrived at the same time). I also think that "Pretty Woman" is affected by fatigue with screen-to-stage adaptations (It looks like Tootsie is the dominant musical in that particular subgenre) and there seems to be a focus on more creative and innovative musicals. I am surprised that Samantha Barks is no longer a Best Actress contender, but the field this year is generally a lot stronger than it was in 2018...
HenryTDobson said: "Surprised to see two Tootsie men in featured actor and one of them NOT being Andy Groteluschen. He was the standout for me."
I'm surprised as well! He was hilarious.
I'm also a BIG fan of the Featured Actress in a Musical category.
Broadway Star Joined: 3/27/19
Testa will get in before Lilli Cooper, of that I am almost sure.
Looking at the list again, I'd count the following surprises:
* complete shut out of Burn This (namely Driver and Uranowitz, though I expect both and the production itself to all be Tony nominated)
* no Heidi Schreck
* no Jonny Lee Miller
* Relatively little love for Girl From the North Country's much beloved cast
* ignoring Metcalf is surprising given the raves she got, and suggests to me this is May's award
* happy for John Clay, but that spot is more likely going to Gideon Glick and/or Gbenga Akinnagbe (deservedly so); I also think Lucas Hedges will sneak in here
* Reg Rogers over Patrick Page is the sorta choice that really reminds you how silly and subjective all of these awards are- i found the former irritating and one-note, while Page is brilliant
Stand-by Joined: 4/24/18
JDonaghy4 said: "happy for John Clay, but that spot is more likely going to Gideon Glick and/orGbenga Akinnagbe (deservedly so); I also think Lucas Hedges will sneak in here"
Isn't Lucas Hedges up for Leading Actor in a Play?
Shh_413 said: "Isn't Lucas Hedges up for Leading Actor in a Play?"
Yup.
I loved Lucas Hedges in The Waverly Gallery. His nomination would be deserved on his end, but honestly with how stacked his category is someone else would be robbed of a spot if he is a nomination. Just too many to choose from this season.
So will Patrick Page definitely be considered "Featured" for Hadestown at the Tonys? If he isn't at least nominated I think he will probably the biggest Broadway star of the past two decades to never get a Tony nomination, which would be a huge letdown.
Is Beetlejuice THAT bad? Worse than HADESTOWN? Really?
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Updated On: 4/23/19 at 02:23 PMI seriously hope Head Over Heels gets some Tony love. It was one of the highlights of this season in my opinion. So unapologetic, so vibrant, so joyous. Glad to see it recognized here with some deserved nominations.
I was very happy to see that Steven Skybell was nominated for best actor in a musical, and I will not be surprised one bit if he wins it. And mazel tov to Joel Grey as well for his nomination as best director of a musical.
Broadway Star Joined: 3/27/19
RaisedOnMusicals said: "I was very happy to see that Steven Skybell was nominated for best actor in a musical, and I will not be surprised one bit if he wins it."
Amen to that.
No Gary love?
Very happy for Steven. He got this.
Hoping for a SJB win also
This list (whatever it is) shows how very weak Broadway is right now as far as creative musicals go. Producers need to take more chances (I know, $$$) but I think smaller shows are gonna get more awards this year. Lots of transfers.
This isn't the weirdest list ever. Nominating Head Over Heels is a very OCC thing to do. Remember when Young Frankenstein and Xanadu tied the OCC Award for Best Musical in 2008?!
For an obvious contender (Patrick Page, Laurie Metcalf), an OCC "snub" isn't anything to lose sleep over. A darkhorse candidate (Bonnie Milligan, Reg Rogers) shouldn't start shopping for a Tony outfit, but it can be a good reminder to Tony nominators that at least 9 journalists liked their performance, especially when paired with Drama Desk and Drama League nominations.
HeyMrMusic said: "I seriously hope Head Over Heels gets some Tony love. It was one of the highlights of this season in my opinion. So unapologetic, so vibrant, so joyous. Glad to see it recognized here with some deserved nominations."
Totally agree.
It also bears repeating: the nominators for these awards do not overlap at all with the body of people who nominate for the Tony awards, which is both a larger group and made up entirely of industry insiders and theatre professionals. The critics that make up this awards body are largely extremely minor and not really part of the industry.
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/1/14
Kad said: "It also bears repeating: the nominators for these awards do not overlap at allwith the body of people who nominate for the Tony awards, which is both a larger group and made up entirely of industry insiders and theatre professionals. The critics that make up this awards body are largely extremely minor and not really part of the industry."
The same is true of the Drama Desks -- the nominators are a handful of journalists who are largely freelancers or writers for second- and third-tier publications. But the DD seems to be accorded a lot more deference than OCC. Why?
I don't particularly put much stock into either awards body- for me, there are the Tonys, for Broadway productions, and the Lortels, for off-Broadway productions.
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