How did The Life (or anything else) lose out to Titanic?

Hey, forget all those other comparisons of losses and wins. That unprepared mess called Titanic beating The Life simply amazed me. I happened to see both those shows the week of the Tony's that year. I was stunned.

I saw both shows... I actually enjoyed THE LIFE more! Cy Coleman score was spectacular and memorable, though Maury Yeston's score was fantastic too~ very old fashioned. Personally it was hard for me to pick between the two-when it comes to score...but definitely THE LIFE was my choice for BEST MUSICAL that year!

That year was a good year for New Musicals! Score-wise! Yeston for Titanic, Kander & Ebb for Steel Pier (the show was so-so) and Coleman for THE LIFE.

also Juan Darien is the same year! great show!

J*

THE LIFE was a brilliant score set to an inane book.

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joe5 said it perfectly! yes.. its also a popularity contest.

There were years that I lost my faith to the Tony voters like:

Grey Gardens losing over Spring Awakening

The Light in the Piazza losing over Spamalot

and probably this year....

Passing Strange might lose to In the Heights. Dont get me wrong ITH was an entertaining piece, but Passing Strange is a more superior show...its almost an ART by itself!

at least in 2004- Avenue Q won over the much hype Wicked~ which I personally think that is preachy show & pretentious but really no substance whatsoever!

J*

Updated On: 6/5/08 at 10:38 AM

Just because it runs a long time doesn't mean it's good! Think CATS and PHANTOM.

JEKYLL & HYDE, for me personally, was one of the worst Broadway shows I've ever seen.

And don't even get me started on Hasselhoff.

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The Titanic season was a rotten year. Each musical nominee had serious faults. Titanic was probably the most commercial of the four.

While Titanic lacked in character development (The writers decided to make the ship the lead in the show.), The Life had an odious subject matter that was really a fantasy by three old white men. The Life attempted to romanticize street prostitution and pimping, and you know what? That isn't a romantic topic at all and offended many people, not the least was me who thought that it ought to close before the critics saw it. The Life is one of the few shows I have truly hated. A good cast and some nice music could not redeem this bad-taste farce.

Steel Pier was a muddy story with some magical realism thrown in that was written because they couldn't get the rights to "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?" There seemed to be several borrowings from that story.

Juan Darien was actually artistically the best of this lot, but was just not commercial and was long-closed.

Titanic did a politically smart thing and announced a tour right after the nominations so all those road producers saw a possible "Best Musical Winner" in their theatre and marked an X.

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I love all of Cy Coleman's work but I thought that The Life was the one show he really couldn't connect with. It felt - and feels on the odd occasion I listen to it - as if he never really found the right "sound" for that material.

Titanic, for all its book problems, works better for me because Yeston DID find the right approach. I thought that, in a bad year, it did deserve its Tony.

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oh GOD don't even get me started on this!!!

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While Titanic lacked in character development (The writers decided to make the ship the lead in the show.)

Hence the title, unlike the film for which the ship was merely a backdrop for a ridiculous fictional love story that grew more ludicrous by the second. The musical was about the ship, the broad range of passengers (all based on real people), and their intertwined fates. It was never meant to be a character-driven show.

I can completely understand people's misgivings regarding the show's design, but I thought it was gorgeous, moving and engaging. Not to mention the fact that it featured one of Broadway's most beautiful scores in decades.

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Titanic was wonderful from beginning to the end (I cried during "Still")and the only thing I had a problem with was the ridiculous set design for the closing of Act I.

The Life had 2 great performances (although one showed too much boobs, and it wasnt Lillias!) and a decent score, def. not Coleman's best! If I had to hear Isaacs sing "Oh Daddy..." one more time! Some of the dialogue was just embarrassing, imo.

Seriously, tho...why did I have to watch Chuck Cooper's man boobs?

And the year of Will Rogers, I agree...it was the worst of the four nominees, though I'd put Secret Garden and Once on this Island above Miss Saigon.

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Lost all faith and stopped watching the Tonys religiously when Miss Saigon lost to Will Rogers Follies.

I felt smilarly from watching the Tony broadcast until I actually saw Will Rogers Follies. Then I totally got it. It was a tight race, but Will Rogers Follies was a brilliant show that edged out Miss Saigon in creativity. I really wasn't expecting much from Will Rogers Follies, but when I saw it, I was blown away by its brilliance, humor and ingenuity.

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A ping pong ball and a 20ft piece of string!!!!

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The Life was a very dark, depressing show. Prostitution, drugs, NYC during the 80s. The story wasn't good. You didn't really feel for any of the characters. Plus they tried to style the show in "late 70s porn", which made it look cheap.

It did give us some good talent though. Pamela Isaacs had a beautiful belt soprano. Lillias White was great as second banana.

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