How can you be nommed for Best Musical and have no noms for Best Book or Score????

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How can you be nommed for Best Musical and have no noms for Best Book or Score????

Posted: 5/3/11 at 2:14pm

Catch Me If You Can is nominated for Best Musical but gets no nods for Book or Score???? How does this make sense. So how exactly does it qualify as best musical material?

I think to be nominated for Best Musical there should be a pre-requisite that you are nominated in at least one of the categories.

Otherwise, it makes no damn sense.

"The sexual energy between the mother and son really concerns me!"-random woman behind me at Next to Normal "I want to meet him after and bang him!"-random woman who exposed her breasts at Rock of Ages, referring to James Carpinello

How can you be nommed for Best Musical and have no noms for Best Book or Sc

Posted: 5/3/11 at 2:18pm

The argument works the other way as well. AIDA won Best Score and was nominated for Best Book yet was overlooked for Best Musical.

More recently LEGALLY BLONDE grabbed the Best Book & Score nominations and was shut out by MARY POPPINS for the big prize.

"Oh look at the time, three more intelligent plays just closed and THE ADDAMS FAMILY made another million dollars" -Jackie Hoffman, Broadway.com Audience Awards

How can you be nommed for Best Musical and have no noms for Best Book or Score????

Posted: 5/3/11 at 2:20pm

In the 49 years that there have been categories for Best Musical and Best Score (or some variant thereof), 33 shows won both.

That means 32% (almost 1/3) of the Best Musicals have not been deemed to have the best score (sometimes because the score wasn't original, granted).

So it's not all that unusual.

How can you be nommed for Best Musical and have no noms for Best Book or Score????

Posted: 5/3/11 at 2:24pm

I agree that it does not make sense. I mean, the ingredients for a musical are a combo of music and book, so to not have been nominated for either? I mean, I know it won't win, so maybe it was just to show it some love? Makes no sense.

How can you be nommed for Best Musical and have no noms for Best Book or Score????

Posted: 5/3/11 at 2:28pm

Because the nominations (and ultimately the awards) are all based on subjective voting. And each category belongs to itself. It's not like there's a formula that states if x is nominated for best _____ then y must be nominated for best ______.

Why do shows (or movies, for that matter) win best musical/play/picture when they weren't awarded best actor/actress/director/etc? If they were truly connected to one another, it would seem absurd that the musical/play/movie was the "best" when the "best" performances in acting (or design or whatever) were found in something else.

How can you be nommed for Best Musical and have no noms for Best Book or Score????

Posted: 5/3/11 at 2:44pm

Of course there's no causal relationships between particularly categories, but what is a "musical" if not a combination of it's book and score? In this case I think it's nothing more than the nominators throwing Catch Me if You Can a bone.

I'll tell you what is even more absurd: Urinetown not only being nominated for, but winning, Best Book, Best Score AND Best Director. How you can have the best elements in the hands of the best creative team and then lose the big award is completely beyond me.

How can you be nommed for Best Musical and have no noms for Best Book or Score????

Posted: 5/3/11 at 3:29pm

American Idiot did it. Basically it's if the show is still terrible but it's better than the worst show of the season a la Addams Family last year, or Wonderland/Priscilla this year; they put it in 'best musical' anyways.

Stephen: "Could you grab me a coffee?" Me: "Would you like that with all the colors of the wind?"

How can you be nommed for Best Musical and have no noms for Best Book or Score????

Posted: 5/3/11 at 3:33pm

Stranger things have happened. Millie won Best Musical while Urinetown won for Book, Score AND Direction. I never quite worked that one out.

"What can you expect from a bunch of seitan worshippers?" - Reginald Tresilian

How can you be nommed for Best Musical and have no noms for Best Book or Score????

Posted: 5/3/11 at 3:34pm

American Idiot doesn't support this argument because it doesn't have an original score and (haven't seen it, so this is just a guess) it doesn't have a book, either. So it couldn't have been nominated for Book or Score but still would have been eligible for Best Musical, and was, in a year where they deliberately (and rightfully) snubbed "The Addams Family."

#10

How can you be nommed for Best Musical and have no noms for Best Book or Score????

Posted: 5/3/11 at 3:42pm

Of course there's no causal relationships between particularly categories, but what is a "musical" if not a combination of it's book and score?

But they are still separate categories. Again, how can something have all the "best" actors of the year still not be the best show?

#11

How can you be nommed for Best Musical and have no noms for Best Book or Score????

Posted: 5/3/11 at 3:45pm

Regarding American Idiot, does not having much dialog (which it doesn't) mean the same thing as not having a book? If that's the case, how to account for a show like Evita winning Best Book?

#12

How can you be nommed for Best Musical and have no noms for Best Book or Score????

Posted: 5/3/11 at 3:47pm

Aida is a good example- it had the best score, the best female performance, the best sets and costumes and yet was not one of the four best shows of the year- all of which had less accolades.

I think it's because Tony Nominators are bitches.

#13

How can you be nommed for Best Musical and have no noms for Best Book or Score????

Posted: 5/3/11 at 3:51pm

1962: 'A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" wins Best Musical, without the benefit of a Best Score nomination for Composer/Lyricist Stephen Sondheim.

That year's winner? Richard Rodgers for "No Strings."

The Other Nominees: Richard Adler, 'Kwamina', Jerry Herman, 'Milk and Honey', Frank Loesser, "How to Succeed.'

Updated On: 5/3/11 at 03:51 PM

#14

How can you be nommed for Best Musical and have no noms for Best Book or Score????

Posted: 5/3/11 at 4:01pm

Best Musical isn't just the book and score. And Best Picture isn't just the screenplay.

It's the full production. They're judging the impact of this particular production on Broadway, which includes all aspects of it, from the writing to the costumes to the direction, to the concept, to the choreography, to the performances, to the sound design. It's an overall, general award for the best of the best.

It's not a second award for best score and book.

"Jaws is the Citizen Kane of movies."

blocked: logan2, Diamonds3, Hamilton22

Updated On: 5/3/11 at 04:01 PM

#15

How can you be nommed for Best Musical and have no noms for Best Book or Score????

Posted: 5/3/11 at 4:04pm

Besty, I respectfully disagree.

Best Musical is the culmination of a popularity contest, and the estimation of a show's projected net worth in a future-revenue scenario. Best Musical is a marketing tool.

Best Book and Best Score are accolades to the authors of new works for their contributions to the state of theatre for a given season.

In my opinion.

#16

How can you be nommed for Best Musical and have no noms for Best Book or Score????

Posted: 5/3/11 at 4:07pm

"Best Musical is the culmination of a popularity contest, and the estimation of a show's projected net worth in a future-revenue scenario. Best Musical is a marketing tool."

... which is exactly why Wicked won Best Musical.

"Jaws is the Citizen Kane of movies."

blocked: logan2, Diamonds3, Hamilton22

#17

How can you be nommed for Best Musical and have no noms for Best Book or Score????

Posted: 5/3/11 at 4:12pm

I like the score. I like the score a lot.

I also think the choreography should have been nominated.

#18

How can you be nommed for Best Musical and have no noms for Best Book or Score????

Posted: 5/3/11 at 4:13pm

I don't doubt that the Tony voters look at things from their own perspective, just like the Oscar voters do.

If a Tony voter is a producer, he/she is always looking for shows to produce. They are the ones by default that will be the most appealing. If a voter is an actor, he/she will be drawn to the show with the best/most outstanding performances, as well as well-written shows, since actors are always on the lookout for good material.

It's a bias, based on the perspective and agenda of the voter. So if you have a large number of regional producers voting, you're going to get shows that appeal to them and what they do. It makes sense. But I don't think it's any more calculated than that.

"Jaws is the Citizen Kane of movies."

blocked: logan2, Diamonds3, Hamilton22

#19

How can you be nommed for Best Musical and have no noms for Best Book or Score????

Posted: 5/3/11 at 4:17pm

So...what made CMIYC one of the best shows of the year? It was so well directed and Norbert Leo Butz was SO great they you forgot you didn't like anything else about it?

#20

How can you be nommed for Best Musical and have no noms for Best Book or Score????

Posted: 5/3/11 at 4:20pm

I don't think people liked the concept much and didn't think it was effective. It's a weird story about a person you don't really like. Add to it that the score isn't very memorable, and you have enough reasons for it to fall off the list of nominees.

"Jaws is the Citizen Kane of movies."

blocked: logan2, Diamonds3, Hamilton22

#21

How can you be nommed for Best Musical and have no noms for Best Book or Score????

Posted: 5/3/11 at 4:19pm

#22

How can you be nommed for Best Musical and have no noms for Best Book or Score????

Posted: 5/3/11 at 4:20pm

#23

How can you be nommed for Best Musical and have no noms for Best Book or Score????

Posted: 5/3/11 at 4:20pm

#24

How can you be nommed for Best Musical and have no noms for Best Book or Score????

Posted: 5/3/11 at 4:20pm

#25

How can you be nommed for Best Musical and have no noms for Best Book or Score????

Posted: 5/3/11 at 4:20pm

Believe me, besty, I'm on board with you on the Tonys.

The situation you mention is also why Thoroughly Modern Millie and The Lion King won Best Musical in their respective years, and Urinetown and Ragtime won Best Score in the same years.

Its going to be so nice for a change to see the 'right' show win both.

Wow, that quad posting was weird.

Incidentally, to be 'nommed' is to be eaten by a kitteh. 'Nominated' is the correct term, I believe.

Updated On: 5/3/11 at 04:20 PM

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