Best Actress in a musical???- Page 2

[Hanna from Hamburg]

Posted: 5/17/06 at 2:11pm

munk . . . can't comment on Carolee or Felicia, but I would have nominated Lauren Molina for her performance. I saw it twice and was blown away equally both times. Perhaps a nod for Sutton, but I don't think the win in the Featured category.

[JerseyGirl2]

Posted: 5/17/06 at 2:18pm

I am surprised that no one has started a thread on the HUGE OBVIOUS SNUB of Wicked this year. I mean, nothing?? And what about Idina? She was nominated for NOTHING?? They should give her her own special award!!!

Where are all the teens this week?

[bschneid76]

Posted: 5/17/06 at 3:32pm

But Idina did win the Tony for best actress for Wicked?? I don't get your comment. What does she need a special award for?

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 5/17/06 at 3:48pm

In my book, the nominees should be:

Maria Friedman
LaChanze
Patti Lupone
Laura Benanti
Nellie McKay

(Sutton should be featured, folks.)

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 5/17/06 at 4:42pm

I agree with that!

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 5/17/06 at 4:44pm

JG2, I understand where you're coming from. (LOL)

[keggss23]

Posted: 5/17/06 at 4:57pm

"But Idina did win the Tony for best actress for Wicked?? I don't get your comment. What does she need a special award for?"

That made me laugh.

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 5/17/06 at 5:09pm

Laura Benanti's "Unusual Ways" is fantastic!

[meggsison]

Posted: 5/17/06 at 5:15pm

I wish I had seen Laura, but only having seen LaChanze, I would give the Tony to her. She gave an amazing performance, but I heard from everyone who saw LuPone that she was also amazing.

And I don't really like the fact that Chita Rivera was nominated, it should have been Maria Friedman.

[rflpfl2]

Posted: 5/17/06 at 5:37pm

I don't think that Laura Benanti deserves a nomination- in fact I think she's not so great in a not so great show. If they're going to nominate a not so great actress in a not so great show (although I liked it tons more than wedding singer)- nominate Jenn Gambatese for TARZAN- they had to work their ass off for that show being it's soooo complicated.

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 5/17/06 at 5:40pm

-Chita is great, but she didn't deserve a nomination for this musical in particular. Although she was charming and funny in it.
-Kelli is amazing! just not in this role, she didn't really deserve a nomination, but they just felt sorry because they didn't give her a well deserved Tony Award last year.
-Sutton is wonderful too, but not a lead. And does she have to be nominated every year?
-Patti is great, but i wasn't impressed with her "slutty" portrait of Mrs Lovett. If it were anyone else but her, probably most people would say that she is too sexy or trashy.
-LaChanze or "LaScreamz"(how Bway singer calls her, LOL!) was great, but for whatever reason, her singing didn't do much for me, but i think she is the one that deserves the Tony the most.

Updated On: 5/17/06 at 05:40 PM

[Hanna from Hamburg]

Posted: 5/17/06 at 5:42pm

Muscle - who would be your 5 nominees, and why?

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 5/17/06 at 5:57pm

I would have nominated Maria Friedman, because she was thrilling in WIW. If there was another supporting actress pushed to leading, it would have to be Amy Spanger, she is just outstanding, she can act,dance, sing and never gets recognized. She stole The Wedding Singer and Amy deserved it more than Sutton i think, who also has a Tony and has been nominated last year for Little Women?! I'd nominate LaChanze and Lupone as well i think. And maybe Nellie Mac Kay or Laura Benanti, for playing a "girl next door" for the 1st time. Maybe i'd give Chita a special Award but not nominate her as best actress for playing herself.

Updated On: 5/17/06 at 05:57 PM

[meggsison]

Posted: 5/17/06 at 6:33pm

See, that's why I don't think Chita deserves a nomination--she's playing herself. I mean, yes, she's amazing--she's Chita Rivera, but there are other actresses that deserve it more than she does. I still think Maria Friedman should have gotten the nomination.....

And as for Jenn Gambatese, I will be seeing Tarzan on June third, so I'll see how I like her then. I've heard she's fantastic.

[FoscasBohemianDream]

Posted: 5/17/06 at 6:44pm

OK, the performances of all the nominated actresses were superb, so why not recognize them even if they had been nominated/won before? The category is BEST Leading Actress in a Musical not Best Breakthrough Performance by an Actress in a Musical.
I do agree that Chita did not deserve a nomination in this category, yes, it was great to see her on stage being as legendary as she has always been, yet there were actresses who actually had to workshop their roles, research them, work with their directors to embody someone else, adjust their voices to fit a certain era. Nellie McKay, Maria Friedman, and Laura Benanti put a lot more effort in their roles than Chita Rivera did. I'd have given the nomination to Friedman because she was the only remarkable thing in a rather dismissable show, and when she was on stage she gave her best.
Sutton Foster gave a spectacular performance but it's hard to determine whether she's a lead or not because of the musical-within-a-musical concept. I believe Bob Martin is the only lead in The Drowsy Chaperone, but Sutton Foster is obviously the star of the show in a way, so the substantial material she has and her flawless portrayal of the role are what probably make her a leading actress.

Posted: 5/17/06 at 6:46pm

didn't Tarzan come in too late to be considered? I had heard that it will be considered for next years Tony's.
Just like most things in show business, The Tony's have NO RHYME or reason! A lot of its political and all of it is personal taste. Just look how one person here looks at an actress and says "BRILLIANT" and another looks at the same actress and says "DRECK".
In the end..my fries are still burning!

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 5/17/06 at 6:47pm

Foscas, what about Amy Spanger, what did you think of her performance?

[dancingthrulife04]

Posted: 5/17/06 at 6:52pm

For the leads, I would have left off Chita (sorry) and put Maria Friedman in there.

I would have taken Carolee out of featured (Sorry, again.) and put Lauren Molina in there. I also would've liked to find some way to get amy Spanger in there.

[meggsison]

Posted: 5/17/06 at 6:55pm

Dancing, I agree with you on replacing Chita with Laura! It seems like a lot of other people think that also.

[FoscasBohemianDream]

Posted: 5/17/06 at 7:02pm

Tarzan opened the last day any show would be considered for the Tony awards; it did get a Best Lighting Design nomination so the reason it wasn't nominated for other categories is because it's a horrible show.
Muscle23, I found The Wedding Singer to be a terrible musical. However, the cast was top-notch. It reminded me of Lennon even, great actors stuck in a mediocre production. Amy Spanger was one of the few highlights of The Wedding Singer, she definitely stole the show and seemed to be enjoying herself on stage, I would have given her and Cyndi Lauper a nomination over Elisabeth Withers-Mendes and Carolee Carmello, although both are very much deserving of their nominations.

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 5/17/06 at 7:10pm

I like Cyndi, but I don't know, the standout from The ThreePenny Opera was Brian Charles Rooney, i think he was the strongest performer in the show. And every time i think about Elisabeth Withers-Mendes i can't help but thinking "Margaret Avery was sooooooooooo much better playing the same role in the film version, there is no comparisson" and the girl that plays Sophia was good in TCP but even Oprah(in the movie) touched me more than she did.

Updated On: 5/17/06 at 07:10 PM

[FoscasBohemianDream]

Posted: 5/17/06 at 7:18pm

Brian Charles Rooney gave a magnificent performance as Lucy, yet I knew he wouldn't get a nomination because of how poorly received the show was. I'd have given a nomination to Alan Cumming over Stephen Lynch as well as a nomination to Rooney over Brandon Victor Nixon. I particularly didn't find The Color Purple to be a great show, so probably that's why I'd have given a nomination to Cyndi Lauper (whose performance of Solomon Song is definite) over Elisabeth Withers-Mendes.

[dancingthrulife04]

Posted: 5/17/06 at 7:23pm

Meggs, I actually said I would replace Chita with Maria Friedman, but now that you mention it, I would LOVE to have Laura Benanti uyup there.

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 5/19/06 at 6:48pm

For me, the award goes to LaChanze hands down. She carries the weight of the show on her shoulders, is its main focus, has a bigger journey, a bit more 'meaty' material, etc. You can't help but have your heart go out to Celie...

With Patti, I feel there is an odd complex to her performance. Don't get me wrong, she is indeed fantastic and does a remarkable job, but for me, in the process of trying so hard to make her Lovett that much different (darker and sexier,) she missed the true purpose of the character as it's intended in the show: the comedy. Is she funny? Yes, even hillarious at moments. But I don't feel she took it far ENOUGH. I couldn't help but feel she was holding back. Sondheim has said Lovett is intended as a comic device for some relief from alot of the intense action, and I don't feel Lupone's performance fulfilled that to its fullest potential.

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 5/19/06 at 6:53pm

LaChanze should win.