Bitter Losers Tony Thread — Page 7

Sauja said: "Robbie2 said: "Ashley over Chavkin or Greif?????????"



I know it's a day later, but I have to add: "Or Zaks or Warchus?!" I was SO thrilled to see Rebecca Taichman win for her stunning direction of Indecent--a glorious surprise. And then my heart thudded to the floor with Ashley's win. I'm not much of a Great Comet fan (I know--I'm sorry), but I did think Chavkin deserved the win. I think the success of that show rests entirely on her shoulders. But truly, if she was going to lose, there were still three better choices than Christopher Ashley's hokey, ridiculous direction of Come from Away. I'm still floored. There were other surprises, but nothing made my jaw drop like that choice.





"

I hear ya but once again ASHLEY!?

A lot of his relationships are broken.

Just the ones that were created out of his lies, resulting in a zero sum. The character didn't lose anything more than he started with. It's like a less funny and more sickening How to Succeed taken seriously.

Bless your heart Ado nobody is going to check your live twitter feed.

Ado Annie D'Ysquith said: "My boyfriend was very sad that Danny Devito did not win. I thought that was one of the biggest upsets, especially since they presented that category first. It seems to usually go the way of a "big star."

Anyway, I didn't see Great Comet, but it's a shame that Rachel Chavkin didn't win because then both Best Directors this year would have been ladies.

I wouldn't say I'm "bitter" about anything, but this year's telecast had some big hits (Bandstand, War Paint, the "plugin" bit with Sara and Chazz) and some big misses (Evan Hansen sweep, Dolly's performance controversy, Come from Away winning the wrong award). If you really want to know my live reactions, you can check my Twitter feed. Lol...

"

Was surprised with the "plug ins" myself - particularly since not every show eligible was included (Anastasia, Cats, Sunset off the top of my head)

GeorgeandDot said: "I was hoping that we'd at least get Annaleigh Ashford and Jake Gyllenhaal presenting an award, but.....

"

another great point.

I think the Tony's producers were still miffed that "Sunday" decided they'd actually want to do justice to their investors and do their best to return the investment rather than get steamrolled by "Dolly" and then ignored when the awards were handed out... but that's just me

Mister Matt said: "I'm also annoyed that David HP and josh groman got nominated I mean they were very good but no comparison to JJ's performance as the engineeer.

Well, to be fair, Hyde Pierce and Groban haven't been playing their respective roles for over two decades prior to Broadway.



"

Then should we judge the strength of performance or the length of time an actor has spent on his role for a category titled "best PERFORMANCE by an actor in a musical"?

I might not necessarily be the right poster for this thread. I am not much of a musicals person, and I'm not especially bitter over the Tony results for the plays as all of the nominees were worthy.

That said, I preferred Barlett Sher's direction of "Oslo" to any of his co-nominees work. Rebecca Taichman kept the somewhat overstuffed "Indecent" moving, moving and moving, but a leaner play might have allowed her a moment to slow down and let us feel along with the characters. Sher, I think, took a wordy play that had the potential to become didactic and kept it pulsing with immediacy. Did the fact that he is white, male and a previous Tony winner work against him? In this day and age you have to wonder. Clearly it did not work against the play.

I personally thought "Sweat" was the best of the four five plays nominated, but did think it suffered somewhat in that director Kate Whoriskey has an occasionally heavy-handed touch. I am sorry it took home nothing. Nottage's ability to write as a person of our times, and not as or for any particular demographic, is something I appreciate more and more with each play. "A Doll's House Part 2" ran a close second in my opinion. I wish it had won more, but I was thrilled that Laurie Metcalf was chosen over her stellar competitors.

The only musicals I saw all season (so far) were "Natasha, Pierre and The Great Comet of 1812" and "Sunday In The Park With George." Had the latter been eligible, I believe Annaleigh Ashfored would have been nominated and that the show would have been a fourth Best Revival nominee. "Natasha" deserved its many nominations, though I can't comment on any of its competitors so I will leave it at that.

"Bandstand" came off the best of the musicals represented. "Dear Evan Hansen" appears worth seeing for its obviously passionate lead performance and "Come From Away" seems at the very least a worthy, artless (in a good, unaffected way) accomplishment. The other musicals looked almost proudly uninteresting. Eva Noblezada of "Miss Saigon" almost made me want to see her in this revival of a show I consider the worst hit in Broadway history. But only almost.

The Other One said: "Did the fact that he is white, male and a previous Tony winner work against him? In this day and age you have to wonder.

"

No.

Then should we judge the strength of performance or the length of time an actor has spent on his role for a category titled "best PERFORMANCE by an actor in a musical"?

I was making an observation, not telling anyone what they should or should not do. Judge however you like. Personally, I thought Jon Jon was great both times I saw him (2003 & 2015). I just think having played the same role for over 20 years is a very unique distinction.

Mister Matt said: "Then should we judge the strength of performance or the length of time an actor has spent on his role for a category titled "best PERFORMANCE by an actor in a musical"?

I was making an observation, not telling anyone what they should or should not do. Judge however you like. Personally, I thought Jon Jon was great both times I saw him (2003 & 2015). I just think having played the same role for over 20 years is a very unique distinction.



"

I believe that most people starting a sentence with "to be fair" intend to offer an explanation instead of just making an observation.

The only wins of DEH that make sense to me are Ben and Rachel. If The Great Comet didn't exist, I could understand it winning score. But it does so. And the book was the worst of all the four nominees.

I think what people fail to realize is that DEH'S book is practically perfect on paper. A lot of the problems that people have with it are not related to the actual writing, but are related to people's personal moral issues with the show. A lot of the problems that people have with it are clearly explained in the script, but for some reason, people aren't really catching them. The only flaw that I think is valid, IMO, is that the ending can seem a bit tacked onto the rest of the show and that Zoe's line about "You saved my parents marriage" can be a bit distasteful, even though I understand what she means by that. I can't think of a better book this season.

As for score and orchestrations, it really is a shame that Dave Malloy went unrecognized. That score is just so damn innovative and decadent. I love DEH'S score, but it really isn't nearly as complex as TGC.

GeorgeandDot said: "I think what people fail to realize is that DEH'S book is practically perfect on paper. A lot of the problems that people have with it are not related to the actual writing, but are related to people's personal moral issues with the show."



^THIS!