Posted: 6/4/19 at 3:56am
I keep thinking about the year that the more traditional revival(The Pajama Game) beat out the less traditional one(Sweeney Todd). Could we see a repeat this year? The new Oklahoma! is such a departure from the original that many Tony voters may be turned off by it but will give it it's due in other categories. What do you think?
Updated On: 6/4/19 at 03:56 AM
Posted: 6/4/19 at 5:52am
Posted: 6/4/19 at 8:17am
Soaring29 said: "I keep thinking about the year that the more traditional revival(The Pajama Game) beat out the less traditional one(Sweeney Todd). Could we see a repeat this year? The new Oklahoma! is such a departure from the original that many Tony voters may be turned off by it but will give it it's due in other categories. What do you think?"
Yes, that year the more traditional revival one. But we've also seen a re-imagined Pippin beat a traditional Edwin Drood, a re-imagined Color Purple beat a traditional She Loves Me, a re-imagined Porgy and Bess beat a traditional Follies, etc. And I think the most important difference is that there were a lot of people really passionate about that Pajama Game revival. This Kate revival? Not nearly enough.
Posted: 6/4/19 at 8:18am
Oklahoma! lost out to Kiss Me, Kate at the Drama League and to Fiddler at Drama Desk. Granted, different eligibility and voting body for those, but I won't say an upset is impossible. The Times poll this week will tell all (probably, unless the vote is as close as last year).
Posted: 6/4/19 at 9:07am
Yes. It can.
Posted: 6/4/19 at 9:32am
I just wish the Yiddish production of FIDDLER had been eligible. It's the best revival of the year.
Posted: 6/4/19 at 9:37am
The precursors only really tell one thing: OK is more divisive and so sent some votes elsewhere, landing on FIDDLER because it's a great production with a lot of good will. Drama League is an older and often more conservative voting block, so it wasn't completely surprising. That said, Tony voters are often less adventurous than the nominating committee.
It's very possible Tony voters were divided by this production and some want to send a message. But no one is enthused by this KATE revival. The message it would send was not that they liked KATE but they hated OK's untraditional approach so much they gave it something they aren't even enthusiastic for, but safe. And ick what a message.
All of this is possible but I imagine more likely, if it turns out voters were more divided by OK, than I'd look to them possibly losing the other close races they're in while holding on to this.
Posted: 6/4/19 at 10:52am
The roadie Tony voter block will probably vote for Oklahoma! simply because it'll have a national tour next year. It would certainly help with selling tickets if this production won a Tony for Best Musical Revival.
Posted: 6/4/19 at 11:22am
It has become SUCH a ploy though to announce a national tour in tandem with Tony voting. Half the time the tours never manifest, and I think the roadie Tony block has become hip to that. And I still think if it were to tour this would be a very 'limited' tour. I can not imagine this production of OKLAHOMA playing well in a lot of markets. KISS ME KATE would likely tour better.
Posted: 6/4/19 at 1:10pm
Posted: 6/4/19 at 1:28pm
QueenAlice said: "It has become SUCH a ploy though to announce a national tour in tandem with Tony voting. Half the time the tours never manifest, and I think the roadie Tony block has become hip to that. And I still think if it were to tour this would be a very 'limited' tour. I can not imagine this production of OKLAHOMA playing well in a lot of markets. KISS ME KATE would likely tour better."
Yea, most touring markets outside of the big theatre cities are probably shying away from this production Oklahoma, if anything. Their subscriber base (read: usually older and less adventurous) will most likely want a more traditional version of the show.
Posted: 6/4/19 at 1:30pm
Posted: 6/4/19 at 1:33pm
It can and I don't really know if one could call it an 'upset' if it does. As innovative as the revival of Oklahoma is, it's also proven to be a highly polarizing production as well. There are likely a number of people that hate, hate, hated it that will would not feel like Kiss Me Kate beating it would be an upset at all. An 'upset' would have been more like.... Waitress beating Hamilton. It was never gonna happen in a million years so if it had, it would have been one. This one is a total toss up especially since Oklahoma has yet to actually win a best revival award leading up to the Tonys in the other awards. It only shows that it's chances are not as set in stone as many might believe. Do I think it SHOULD win. Oh yes. Do I think it WILL win. It might not.
Posted: 6/4/19 at 1:39pm
Posted: 6/4/19 at 2:08pm
I don't think the touring market plays into the revival race nearly as much as it does for the Best Musical race. The most recent tours of Roundabout shows were Cabaret and Fiasco's Into the Woods. Giving one of their revivals the award because it might boost hypothetical subscription sales is definitely putting the cart before the horse for the voters.
Posted: 6/4/19 at 2:47pm
Posted: 6/4/19 at 3:02pm
Posted: 6/4/19 at 3:13pm
Stripped down productions have been a thing for a while and will continue to be a thing as long as producing musicals remains a costly endeavor, regardless of whether this particular production wins a Tony.
Updated On: 6/4/19 at 03:13 PM
Posted: 6/4/19 at 3:16pm
Posted: 6/4/19 at 6:10pm
God, I hope not. I saw this Kiss Me Kate last week for the first time and felt like I'd already seen it before.
Posted: 6/4/19 at 8:35pm
CATSNYrevival said: "Maybe that was the wrong description. I feel like this production is a little different in concept than the stripped down revivals we’ve seen in the past."
I wouldn't call it stripped down, it's just been re-conceived as a smaller, more intimate production. I think a better word would be "experimental." Maybe that's the same thing? I don't know. I think the difference is that we aren't meant to imagine what isn't there, per se. It's just that it's no longer meant to feel like we are out in the streets of an Oklahoma settlement - it's inside a cozy barn instead.
Posted: 6/4/19 at 11:09pm
Posted: 6/4/19 at 11:10pm
Posted: 6/5/19 at 12:05am
Posted: 6/5/19 at 12:08am
I didn't see Kiss Me, Kate and I know it has admirers, but the consensus view seems to be that it's a traditional, somewhat uninspired revival with a few tweaks to the book and some good choreography.
That doesn't mean it won't win the Tony, though. The revival "contest" feels like a referendum on the Oklahoma! revival. I liked it a lot, despite some experiments that I didn't think worked, but there are plenty of people who hated the show. If those people make up a majority of Tony voters, Kiss Me, Kate wins.
My hypothetical comparison, based on current revivals I've actually seen, would be Oklahoma! and My Fair Lady, which we saw on consecutive days last month. I know my family would be divided if we were Tony voters. We enjoyed both musicals.
