I'M GLAD MATILDA LOST LAST NIGHT! — Page 4

BWW: where casual racism is not only allowed, it's encouraged.

"Casual racism"? Did I miss something?

As a concierge, I am asked for theatre recommendations every day, and you have to size up the customer and help them make the right choice. It's tough to recommend a show you dislike, but it's tougher when you recommend something you do like and your client hates. A recent recommendation of VANYA et al resulted in a furious client who I think wanted to punch me in the face.

When asked what I like (and yes, I am very critical, and yes, I LOVE theatre and want every show to be great but, no, many of them are not), I'm just grateful that BUYER AND CELLAR returns next week. I sold dozens of tickets for it during its limited first run, and everyone thanked me, particularly because they would never have known about it.

And personally, I can recommend PIPPIN (or PIPPIN DU SOLEIL, as we like to call it) to most people, because it's fun and splashy and the light rock score is pretty.

I personally think it's always terrific when someone can rhyme, oh,

let's say,

"yeah"

with "yeah".

No wonder y'all understood the lyrics!

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I enjoyed the performances on the Tonys, but neither show seemed like a blockbuster hit, based on everything I saw and heard.

It appears to be a weak year for new musicals.

The best "new musical" number on the Tony telecast was from "A Christmas Story."

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I saw both Matilda and Kinky Boots in previews, after having not heard much about either. Since then, I've read criticisms and praise for both shows, and heard both scores multiple times. After all that, I still cannot fathom how anyone can think Kinky Boots is a better show than Matilda. Do I understand how it's more marketable? yes. Do I understand why a tourist might like it? yes. But wow I thought Matilda was the better musical by a very significant margin, and I'm surprised the Tony voters didn't agree with me.

Updated On: 6/11/13 at 02:47 PM

^agreed too. I went into both with a pretty open mind. Adored Matilda...liked Kinky.

"Couldn't someone enjoy Matilda AND Kinky Boots? I know I certainly did."

I did too. I'm sure many in the Broadway community wish we didn't have to compare apples-and-oranges shows, but we are discussing the outcome of the Tony Awards, which is a competition and inherently requires comparison among shows.

I didn't go into either show thinking "let's see how this compares to Kinky Boots/Matilda" but since we are discussing the Tony awards, I feel very strongly that Matilda should have won Best Musical.

There 5 Majors Factors in Kinky Boots victory:
1) RSC pissed off many Broadway producers, including the Neaderlanders, when they chose the Dodgers to produce Matilda on Broadway since they were not "in the running" ( aka kissing major butt). Many of these producers spent a lot of money on trying to get to produce Matilda on Broadway, and were sore loosers.

2) The creative team publicly stating that they did not want to "dumb down the show for American audiences".

3)Producers trying to play politics to get the most Tony ins by pushing Carvl into Leading. Actor when he is clearly supporting combined with the attempt to get the Matildas a joint nomination after the billy backlash.

4)The TERRIBLE sound design, which you could argue also played a factor in their loss for both Best Score and Orchestration because how can you judge a score if you can't understand half of it?!?

5)Telling Road presenters that they know their audience better than the presenters do.

Updated On: 6/12/13 at 08:26 PM

^^^ That...well said.

Why is that flawed arithmetic? Wouldn't those same factors influence the other awards as well? I'd also argue that Ben Brantley's Matilda review (ironically) hurt it, because I think a lot of people rolled their eyes at the tongue bath and couldn't stomach the idea of further rewarding the show after it. Just a thought.

Also... was Kinky considered a dark horse?? Going into the season I would've considered them a behemoth simply based on the star power of the creative team. Something like Avenue Q I'd call a true dark horse.

Kinky won. That is all.

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I really do think its apples and oranges here. I love Porter but I have no desire to see Kinky Boots, especially after what I feel was the weakest performance of the evening on Sunday. I found the Matilda performance, however, enthralling and I have since purchased premium seats to see the show later this summer. They play to two different audiences.

Art is subjective.