How would YOU have voted in 1991?

Best Musical

Choices (Alphabetical Order)

Miss Saigon
Once on This Island
The Secret Garden
Will Rogers Follies

What a year, huh? 1991 may be the only year where I'd have voted for any other musical BUT the one that won. I remember reading at the time how voters were looking to choose anything BUT a British musical and that's one of the reasons why Will Rogers Follies won but IF that were true and they were so anti-British by that point I think Secret Garden or Once on This Island would have been better choices. In hindsight WRF was the only one of the bunch to not have a lasting life once it closed on Broadway. I know it isn't an indicator of how good or bad a show is but it's interesting.

My vote would have gone to Once on This Island with TSG a close second and Miss Saigon in third. I just feel Once on this Island was the most complete musical of the bunch even if I loved The Secret Garden almost as much.

Updated On: 9/1/04 at 09:41 PM

I love all of them except Will Roger's Follies, so I'm not sure. I think Once On This Island.

Well like I said WRF didn't have a long life lasting life once it closed on Broadway. Yes, it did well on Broadway at the time but then its life pretty much ended. You never hear about the show being performed places like you do the other 3.

Updated On: 9/1/04 at 09:49 PM

Miss Saigon. I adore that musical - powerful, bold, and moving. I feel that Boublil & Schonberg were severely cheated that year, especially for their wonderful score (who won best score that year?). I think it was a very daring show to do, and brought an Asian presence to Broadway not seen in ages.

---

Cy Coleman won best score for WRF. IMO the other 3 were far more deserving.

I agree with you. I think the lyrics weren't up to the same standard as the fantastic score, the score got lost. I know some people who weren't even musical fans and saw the show and came out of the theatre complaining about the lousy lyrics. Schonberg's score deserved better lyrics.

wrf all the way.

---

Miss Saigon

---

Once On This Island.....i think this, revived in a few years, could be amazing....

well, i imagine it had alot to do with what was then perceived as the best show to tour...a major factor with many Tony voters....Will Rogers probably looked like a more appealing show, and so they voted to boost it's commercial appeal, plus it had some broadway legends attached to it...had they known Miss Saigon would have been such a success, they might have voted differently....there was also a minor brouhaha involving keeping Pryce in the cast, though he wasn't asian.

Once on This Island for sure.

---

Once on This Island

---

I vote with KMF - they both reached for uniqueness, and reached it in their own ways. Garden is breathtakingly beautiful, and Island is as mythic as its subject matter demanded.