Biggest "Best Musical" Tony Upset of all time?!?!- Page 3

[popcultureboy]

Posted: 2/27/06 at 1:17pm

but again, can Spamalot winning be considered an UPSET as opposed to just UPSETTING?

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 2/27/06 at 1:21pm

The 'Q' performance on the Tonys is one of those classics that was pitch perfect. They were all on target as usual and they kicked major ass! I loved the bleeping of Steph's "F*ck!". That was a wonderful year for the Tonys.

The only thing that I would have loved more would have been if Idina lost to anyone else in her category, Best Costume Design went to TABOO, and Best Set Design went to ASSASSINS. For WICKED to win nothing would have been a gift. But hey, they lost where it counted, so I was thrilled regardless.

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 2/27/06 at 1:27pm

Yea, again guys, there's a difference between an UPSET and what you didn't want to happen.

SPAMALOT was not an upset. THE LION KING was not an upset. Obviously, the shows that lost to them were far superior, but it wasn't shocking in ANY way when they won...

And WEST SIDE STORY loosing to THE MUSIC MAN? Both are wonderful, beloved musicals - but is that really an upset? No. THE MUSIC MAN was the popular show at the time. It wasn't until after that that WSS really started being called "legendary." and even if you think WSS is a better show, what better show to have it loose to than THE MUSIC MAN? Atleast it didn't loose to something like BROOKLYN - it lost to a wonderful show.

[alli2]

Posted: 2/27/06 at 1:34pm

Spamalot over Spelling Bee.

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 2/27/06 at 1:35pm

Clearly, you don't understand what upset means...

[TabooPhan1]

Posted: 2/27/06 at 1:42pm

Just wanted to say I really disagree with the whole Spamalot situation. I don't think the other shows were superior, and I was glad to see a not-so-artsy-traditional show win.

Munk- while I always appreciate your posts, would we be arguing over these shows winning if there was not, if at least minutely, an upset? The fact that it may not have upset the entire community does not mean it did not upset smaller communities (ie: our tiny community here on BWW) therefore, the topics of these comments can be considered "upsets".

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 2/27/06 at 1:44pm

To me, and "upset" is when something huge, vastly commercial, and the projected winner looses out to something completely unexpected.

How can "Spamalot" be an upset, when it was projected to be the winner from the beginning?

[robbiej]

Posted: 2/27/06 at 1:45pm

My GOD!

There's a HUGE difference between what's upsetting (Joan Rivers' plastic surgery) and an upset (USA over Russia at the 1980 Olympic games). They are completely different and have absolutely nothing to do with each other.

Lion King of Ragtime...Spamalot over anything...Music Man over West Side. These were NOT upsets. It may upset you...but they are not upsets in the way the word 'upset' is defined.

Updated On: 2/27/06 at 01:45 PM

[Enjolras77]

Posted: 2/27/06 at 1:51pm

There is a difference in an "upset" and being upset (or angry) about something. I am still upset (angry) that Ragtime lost to The Lion King (because I feel it is a far superior show), but it is not an "upset" because The Lion King was predicted to win.

Here are two definitions of this type of "upset" thanks to dictionary.com

--v. To defeat unexpectedly (an opponent favored to win).

--n. A game or contest in which the favorite is defeated.

Updated On: 2/27/06 at 01:51 PM

[Songsstresss]

Posted: 2/27/06 at 3:30pm

Lion King over Ragtime, Q over Wicked, TMM over WSS. And although I never saw it, wasn't Contact more of a ballet than musical? THAT year pissed me off big time. For anything with canned music and no live singers to win best musical seems absolutley ridiculous. Am I wrong? Were there live musicians and singers?

[ljay889]

Posted: 2/27/06 at 4:13pm

Please, MISS SAIGON isn't even THAT great.

Cy Coleman was by far the best composer of the musicals nominated for Best Musical and Best Score that year.

[Zimmy]

Posted: 2/27/06 at 4:19pm

He may be the best composer but was that really the best show?

I believe it had the shortest tenure of the 4!

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 2/27/06 at 4:38pm

Although Avenue Q did win and rightfully so, it's still a huge upset. Wicked was the favorite to win. This is a classic upset by definition, I'd say.

~Steven

[ljay889]

Posted: 2/27/06 at 4:41pm

IBDB is your friend. WILL ROGERS FOLLIES ran the second longest (after MISS SAIGON) of the 4 nominated shows that year - with 981 performances.


ALSO WILL ROGERS FOLLIES grossed the second most amount of money (after MISS SAIGON) out of the 4 nominated shows - according to grosses on this site.

AND it also won the most Tonys out of the 4, with six tonys.

Hmmm, fans, voters, and critics saw something in this show, didn't they?

Updated On: 2/27/06 at 04:41 PM

[seasons of love]

Posted: 2/27/06 at 5:03pm

Biggest UPSET: definitely Avenue Q over WICKED.

WICKED has such a huge fan-base and hundreds of fangirls cried themselves to sleep that night...

Updated On: 2/27/06 at 05:03 PM

Posted: 2/27/06 at 5:07pm

^^^^Not me!! =)

I love Avenue Q so much!! Of course I love Wicked too, but Avenue Q (in my opnion anyways) has alot more songs to listen to PLUS it was really, really funny and original. Coming up with doing a show with puppets is really unique to do in my opnion.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 2/27/06 at 5:16pm

Um, Ijay I think you have an extra digit in there. WILL ROGERS' three year gross was approx $54.6 million. Other than Phantom and maybe one or two others, I don't think any show has grossed over a half billion dollars just from its Broadway run (though a few others have if you add in tours and international companies).

Updated On: 2/27/06 at 05:16 PM

[WickedGeek28]

Posted: 2/27/06 at 5:20pm

I'm still pissed that Spamalot won. I can't even listen to the cd. If I had my order. . . .

Spelling Bee
Piazza
DRS
Spam

[ljay889]

Posted: 2/27/06 at 5:50pm

LOL. Don't mind that number. Typo. But we get the point.

[leon1489]

Posted: 2/27/06 at 6:12pm

The Lion King winning over Ragtime is disgusting. There is no way, in my mind at least, that Lion King deserved to win over Ragtime. At least not in the Best Musical category.

I'm one of those who feels that Avenue Q winning over Wicked was an upset and upsetting. Say what you want, but it's just how I feel.

And Follies winning over Miss Saigon is also depressing.

Overall, I feel that awards should not be granted simply to extend the run of a show. If a show can't support itself, it's not the responsibility of those granting the Tony Award to make it run longer.

[Dirty Rotten Scoundrel]

Posted: 2/27/06 at 6:19pm

Lion King over Ragtime.
Spamalot over Light in the Piazza.

[Piazzaslight]

Posted: 2/27/06 at 6:37pm

Leon: I agree 110% with you that AVENUE Q winning over WICKED was just upsetting and an upset. I was shocked that all those awards that I felt WICKED rightly deserved went to AVENUE Q. And for all of you who feel Idina Menzel shouldn't have won - I am proud she won. I knew right from the beginning that she as going to win that award. At least that's great. But AVENUE Q winning... The next day, I felt like killing something because of that award. Ah, well. I got over it, just so you know. But I remember Nathan Lane announcing the winner, and right before he announced it, I fully expected and imagined him to say, "Wicked," but when he said, "Avenue Q." I remember yelling, "WHAT!!??" But that was a few years ago.

[JakeBraith]

Posted: 2/28/06 at 6:55pm

Urinetown is a little bit of both I think (Both upsetting and a little bit of an upset). I mean, honestly, Millie is crap and Urinetown won Best Book and Score and Direction (maybe not, but I know it won three big ones and book and score were in there). Urinetown also had the great underdog story (all the way from the fringe) and this race even had familial ties (the Fosters). Whether or not this is an upset. It may be the most upsetting thing I've ever seen.

I think that in 2004 the Tony voters saw another race like the one above and realized their huge mistake with urinetown and said, hey we're gonna give it to the deserving show this time!

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 2/28/06 at 7:06pm

ljay, the total gross of a show is hardly a decent measure of its theatrical and artistic worth. Mamma Mia grossed twice as much as Chicago this past week. Does that make it a better show?

[bwayondabrain]

Posted: 2/28/06 at 7:27pm

Spamalot over Light in the Piazza is probably the one I'm most upset about
and I am also upset a little bit that Avenue Q won over Wicked

and I WOULD be upset this year if some show wins over The Color Purple...