Best Actress in a Musical Tony winners of the past decade

[givesmevoice]

Best Actress in a Musical Tony winners of the past decade#1

Posted: 6/10/09 at 1:37am

I had noticed this a few weeks ago, when perusing a list of the Tony winners for Best Actress in a Musical. my friend and I were discussing how the roles that are rewarded for women involve belting and crying. there have definitely been comedic roles actresses have won the Tony for (Sutton in Millie, anyone?), but I think in this list...it's Victoria Clark who sticks out like a sore thumb in a sea of belters. (and, I suppose, one could argue Marissa Jaret Winokur, since she beat an actress playing a legendary role that runs the emotional gamut.)

(I'm not trying to make a huge statement about this. it was just interesting to me)

2000: Heather Headley - Aida
2001: Christine Ebersole - 42nd Street
2002: Sutton Foster - Thoroughly Modern Millie
2003: Marissa Jaret Winokur - Hairspray
2004: Idina Menzel - Wicked
2005: Victoria Clark - The Light in the Piazza
2006: LaChanze - The Color Purple
2007: Christine Ebersole - Grey Gardens
2008: Patti LuPone - Gypsy
2009: Alice Ripley - Next to Normal

When I see the phrase "the ____ estate", I imagine a vast mansion in the country full of monocled men and high-collared women receiving letters about productions across the country and doing spit-takes at whatever they contain. -Kad

[ljay889]

re: Best Actress in a Musical Tony winners of the past decade#2

Posted: 6/10/09 at 1:41am

This has nothing to do with your point

but 2005, 2007, 2008, and 2009 are the greatest female performances I have ever seen on the stage. Amazing women.

[MTVMANN]

re: Best Actress in a Musical Tony winners of the past decade#2

Posted: 6/10/09 at 1:42am

I was going to say that Ebersole didn't belt in Grey Gardens...but you also mentioned crying and she did do that.

[givesmevoice]

re: Best Actress in a Musical Tony winners of the past decade#3

Posted: 6/10/09 at 1:46am

you're right, MTVMANN, but I still feel like her Act II Little Edie fits in better with the belters than she would with Victoria Clark.

tbh, I was in the middle of the post going "dammit, it made more sense before I decided to post!"

When I see the phrase "the ____ estate", I imagine a vast mansion in the country full of monocled men and high-collared women receiving letters about productions across the country and doing spit-takes at whatever they contain. -Kad

[MTVMANN]

re: Best Actress in a Musical Tony winners of the past decade#4

Posted: 6/10/09 at 1:48am

She sings soprano ballads, but I guess you could call some of the comedic songs "STAUNCH!!!!!" Belting...but more like shouting.

[tazber]

re: Best Actress in a Musical Tony winners of the past decade#5

Posted: 6/10/09 at 9:11am

I know this will send all the fangirls into a frenzy, but awarding Idina the Tony over Tonya Pinkins has to be one of the great oversights of the decade.

Ebersole, (for GG), Clark, and LaChanze are three of the strongest performances I've ever seen.

....but the world goes 'round

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

re: Best Actress in a Musical Tony winners of the past decade#6

Posted: 6/10/09 at 11:45am

I was gonna say that if anyone sticks out like a sore thumb on that list is Idina Menzel (and Marissa Jaret Winokur, who really didn't seem to be able to do much on stage after HAIRSPRAY), who very undeservedly won her award over the brilliant work of Tonya Pinkins in CAROLINE, OR CHANGE. And really, if they didn't want to award Pinkins, then it was Donna Murphy's award to lose. Oh well...

Otherwise, it's a very nice list. Good for Christine Ebersole for being the only double-winner in the decade. Looking forward to see who is the winner in 2010.

"Some people can thrive and bloom living life in a living room, that's perfect for some people of one hundred and five. But I at least gotta try, when I think of all the sights that I gotta see, all the places I gotta play, all the things that I gotta be at"

[MTVMANN]

re: Best Actress in a Musical Tony winners of the past decade#7

Posted: 6/10/09 at 1:24pm

I think Idina might be more deserving that Marissa...

[jewishboy]

re: Best Actress in a Musical Tony winners of the past decade#8

Posted: 6/10/09 at 2:07pm

I know I'm in a very small minority, but for whatever it's worth, out of those performances (of which I saw, so not laChanze or Headley) Idina Menzel's and Marissa Jaret Winokur's were my favorite ones (with the possible exception of Patti's).

[esparza 333]

re: Best Actress in a Musical Tony winners of the past decade#9

Posted: 6/10/09 at 2:43pm

"but 2005, 2007, 2008, and 2009 are the greatest female performances I have ever seen on the stage. Amazing women."

Not only that but they were the absolute locked frontrunners in their category. With the exception of Lachanze( who I'm sure was brilliant but not as lauded) for the past 5 years that category has had arguably the best performance of the season.

Current Avatar:The sensational Aaron Tveit in the soon to be hit production of Catch Me If You Can.

[Scarywarhol]

re: Best Actress in a Musical Tony winners of the past decade#10

Posted: 6/10/09 at 2:58pm

In the past few years, it's one of the only categories I think they've shown real sense with.