BEST Best Musical — Page 3

blaxx, did you see A Chorus Line on Broadway?

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This is JUST my opinion but here's how I rank all the Tony winners by decade.
First musical to win the Tony was....
KISS ME KATE - Good show (but OKLAHOMA! is best of 1940s)
SOUTH PACIFIC better than KMK
GUYS AND DOLLS not better thas SP but better than KMK
KING AND I better than all of above
WONDERFUL TOWN - enjoyable but not better than any of the above
KISMET - same comment as WT
PAJAMA GAME - same comment BUT better than WT or KISMET
DAMN YANKEES! - not as good as PJ GAME but better than WT or KISM
MY FAIR LADY - better than all above except KING AND I
MUSIC MAN - enjoyable, better than PAJAMA, G&D and KMK
REDHEAD - Weakest of all to date
SOUND OF MUSIC - better than REDHEAD, but not as good as others
FIORELLO - better than SofM, MUSIC MAN, DAMN YANKEES
+++ BEST SHOW 1949-1959: KING AND I; WEAKEST: REDHEAD

BYE BYE BIRDIE - Fun, better than SofM, not as good as others
HOW TO SUCCEED - Clever, funny but not as good as GUYS AND DOLLS
FORUM - Better than SUCCEED and BIRDIE
HELLO DOLLY! - Enjoyble, fun, better than BIRDIE
FIDDLER - Better than all the other Tony winners of 60s so far.
MAN OF LA MANCHA - Better than FIIDDLER? On a par anyhow
CABARET - blows everything else out of the water!
HALLELUJAH! BABY - weakest show this decade
1776 - Not as good as CABARET but damn close!
+++BEST SHOW 1960-69 : CABARET, WEAKEST: HALLELUJAH BABY!
APPLAUSE - Better than HALLELULJAH BABY & REDHEAD.
COMPANY - Better than APPLAUSE. Best swhow since CABARET
TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA - better than APPLAUSE but not by much
A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC - EX - not as groundbreaking as COMPANY
RAISIN - Weakest of the decade so far
THE WIZ - 2nd Weakest of Decade
A CHORUS LINE - EX - but not as good as COMPANY
ANNIE - fun, better than APPLAUSE - but not by much
AIN'T MISBEHAVIN' - Revue. Not in league with book musicals.
SWEENEY TODD - The Decade's Best!
EVITA - Not as good as SWEENEY or COMPANY or ALNM or ACL
+++BEST SHOW 1970-79 : SWEENEY TODD, WEAKEST: RAISIN
42ND STREET - Enjyable Fluff but no EVITA
NINE - Smart, original, better than 42ND
CATS - Great staging but no book. Not as good as 42nd or EVITA
LA CAGE - Better than CATS. Not as good as NINE.
BIG RIVER - Not as good as LA CAGE
MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOD - Better than BIG RIV but not much
LES MIZ - Best so far this Decade
PHANTOM OF THE OPERA - Better than CATS
JEROME ROBBINS BROADWAY - Revue. Nothing original.
CITY OF ANGELS - Clever, funny. No LES MIZ or NINE though.
+++BEST SHOW 1980-89 : LES MISEARBLES, WEAKEST: CATS
WILL ROGERS FOLLIES - Weakest show since CATS
CRAZY FOR YOU - staged with style, better than WRF
KISS OF SPIDER WOMAN - best new musical since CITY OF ANGELS
PASSION - Difficult but rewarding. Better than SPIDER WOMAN
SUNSET BLVD - WORST show to win Best Musical ever!!
RENT - Larson didn't have a chance to revise, some flaws remain
LION KING - Better than WRF or CATS.
FOSSE - Revue. Nothing new or original.
+++BEST SHOW 1990-99 : PASSION (RENT if it had been fixed!)
(RAGTIME was the decade's best but it didn't win the Tony!!!)
WORST SHOW OF THE DECADE: SUNSET BLVD.
CONTACT - is NOT a musical. It's a dance piece.
PRODUCERS - Most entertaining show since CITY OF ANGELS
THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE - weak stage version of movie
HAIRSPRAY - good stage version of stupid movie
AVE Q - Better than HAIRSPRAY or MILLIE. Not as good as PROD.
SPAMALOT - Not as good as Q, better than MILLIE or HSPR
+++BEST SHOW 2000-2005: PRODUCERS, WEAKEST: MILLIE

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LES MIS
RENT
HAIRSPRAY

Only my personal opinion of course !

I posted this in the Worst Worst Musical thread, but clearly, it applies here, too:

We are all, of course, entitled to our opinions, but I would never voice my opinion in mixed company if I thought that a set classic like Oklahoma!, The Sound of Music, The Music Man, or Kiss Me Kate was the worst musical. It would only serve to show how limited my exposure to musicals is and my absolute disregard for what are considered without question the classics of the musical theatre canon.

Just some good advice! :)

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EX Advice, JRB!

You can tell the relative age or at least maturity of posters on BWW... when they write that certain classic shows "suck" but fail to say why you can pretty much ignore their posts.

I am not saying that everyone has to like the classics and if you don't like a show nothing wrong with saying so. But to trash a show and then NOT state why they think it sucks is childish.

The stupid thing is that I doubt any of them have ever even seen OKLAHOMA! or MUSIC MAN or HELLO DOLLY! They just assume anything that pre-dates RENT is garbage.

Sad..sad...sad

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Sweeney and Passion...ok so I'm a little Sondheim obsessed, but whatever...

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sweetestsiren, you are not alone. Truly. Noe one is alone. I, too, can't stand THE MUSIC MAN. In fact, I was rooting for him to get his jusd desserts at the end even though I knew everything would turn out fine.

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And THAT is the distinction I would say one should make. I can't really object to someone saying they don't LIKE The Music Man. But, for anyone to declare that it is BAD or the WORST, honey, pull off that wig and those cheap earrings, cuz we bout to throw down--o KAY?

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billy elliot and mary poppins

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Fences
The Chorus Line