BEST MUSICAL RACE 2014 — Page 4

"Yeah, since you haven't seen any of them, I think it would be weird to predict the nominees."

But I like to feel included :)
Nah, I'm just going off reviews and what I've heard on these boards. I WISH I could have seen them.

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"You better watch out or you're going to become a parody of yourself, if you haven't already. "


To thine own self-parody be true.

"Cleopatra's glorious entrance into Rome," indeed!

The only one I would nominate at all for anything so far this season is Gentleman's Guide.

"I will be dipleased indeed-"

You'll be displeased regardless.

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While the number of new, worthy contenders for best musical are exciting, there isn't a single show that I feel was strong enough to lock the award. I finally saw If/Then yesterday, so I now feel I can compile my list.

If I was nominating, I would choose:

Bullets
Rocky
Bridges
After Midnight
If/Then

Bullets is the front runner this season. Industry insiders seem to think Bullets, After Midnight, and Gentleman's Guide are locks in the best musical nomination category. Very curious for April to roll around.

I don't understand people's reasons why Rocky would get nominated over Beautiful.

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I wouldn't be too surprised if Beautiful got a nod (disappointed because I thought the book was subpar). But I think the nods for the show will be the actors-particularly Mueller and Larsen who manage to craft something out of the misshapen book.

I think After Midnight and Gentleman's Guide are locks. Both have received fabulous reviews and held out all season long. I think Bullets will likely snag a nod (yes I saw it-liked it very much).

The last two slots will likely go to If/Then and leave Bridges, Beautiful and Rocky vying for the last spot. I give Rocky a leg up for a couple of reasons (not the least of which is that it's a known entity). I'd like Bridges to get it in my heart, but I feel that so much works in Rocky's favor.

I think likelihood for the last spot is:

Rocky
Beautiful
Bridges (hoping to be wrong here).

If I was doing the nominations I'd pick (not that this matters or affects anyone):

After Midnight
Bridges of Madison County
Bullets Over Broadway
Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder

I would not nominate a fifth show (unless Hedwig was deemed new). Those are the shows I consider worthy.

Updated On: 3/20/14 at 10:16 AM

It's really hard to predict what will be nominated this year, even with an extra slot! After Midnight, Bullets Over Broadway, and If/Then are the shows I feel will definitely be nominated. I have a feeling The Bridges of Madison County will snag a spot even if it is no longer running.

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Updated On: 3/20/14 at 03:39 PM

There are going to be 5 slots. As I said above, since the praise was heaped on the actors rather than the production as a whole, I think they'll honor the show through nominating the actors.

I wouldn't be surprised if it was nominated for best musical, but I think the overall feeling is that the actors elevated the material.

With no evidence to back up my claim (this is the Internet, after all), I still feel there is a preference to nominating shows with original music over shows with known music. You still have to create a compelling show, but it seems if you have Duke Ellington (After Midnight), Carole King (Beautiful) or famous period music (Bullets) as a starting point, it is less challenging than creating something entirely new.

And it is less of an artistic challenge to show Carole King's life including her famous, very well known music than it is to convert a famous story about a boxer where he now suddenly breaks into original song.

I also don't think anyone has criticized Andy and Margo for their performances as being lackluster, as much as questioning how their characters were utilized to serve the show.

I think it is a case of it being better to aim high and miss a bit than to aim lower and nail it?

Full disclosure: I have tickets to Beautiful, but didn't see it yet.

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"I was doing my research to find that the average critic's ratings for Rocky is at 7.22 on BWW, while Beautiful stands at 6.61."

I don't know what those ratings are based on but if you actually read the reviews, from the same outlets (compare NYT to NYT, Hollywood Reporter to Hollywood Reporter, etc) critics found many more redeeming qualities in Beautiful. I'm so confused by the amount of pushback on this board for anyone who suggests anything mildly negative about Rocky. It's an ambitious show with many elements that deserve recognition (Alex Timbers, Andy Karl, and the set design all come to mind) but I just don't see it being nominated for Best Musical. Obviously, that's just my opinion.

And if there's such a preference to shows with original music, how come Jersey Boys, Mamma Mia, Million Dollar Quartet, Xanadu, Rock of Ages, etc. were all nominated for Best Musical? And those are just off the top of my head, I'm sure there are many more.

Ain't Misbehavin'- no original music - won for Best Musical
Contact-no original music-won for Best Musical
Phantom Of The Opera-music stolen from other sources-won for Best Musical

Seems to be that Aladdin is doing better box office and is getting better reviews than Rocky! Perhaps Aladdin may be a player, or at least a nominee after all.

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