Into the Woods Best Actress 1988 Tony Awards

Posted: 6/28/13 at 10:00pm

If Bernadette Peters as the Witch would've been nominated for the Witch in Into the Woods, do you all think she could've won the Tony over Johanna Gleason as the Baker's Wife? And do you think Bernadette performing in the show for a short amount of time hurt her chances at being nominated?

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 6/28/13 at 10:11pm

No. Gleason gave an iconic performance in that role (one of the best roles ever written for the musical theater) that has yet to have anyone come even close to being as magnificent as she was in it.

[noradesmond]

Posted: 6/28/13 at 10:20pm

I wholeheartedly agree. Gleason was magical and the beating heart of that production. Absolutely marvelous.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 6/28/13 at 10:22pm

So you guys saw everyone else who played the Baker's wife?

[jv92]

Posted: 6/28/13 at 10:24pm

Love Bernadette, but her performance, which was fine, got a little campy. Still, I'd rather see her do that part over Vanessa Williams. (Hell, I'd rather see Bernadette try to attempt Tosca over Vanessa Williams.)

Gleason was magnificent. Thank heaven it's on DVD for all to see.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 6/28/13 at 10:24pm

Yep.


Every. Last. One.

[broadway guy]

Posted: 6/28/13 at 10:41pm

I think It would have been close, could have gone to either one.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 6/28/13 at 10:43pm

I'm sorry, that's simply not even close to being anywhere near the realm of anything that would ever have the possibility of being even thought of in the loosest terms of the truth as being a fact.

[ljay889]

Posted: 6/28/13 at 10:47pm

Bernadette would not have won for that performance. The role isn't nearly as well written as the Baker's Wife.

Updated On: 6/28/13 at 10:47 PM

[pinoyidol2006]

Posted: 6/28/13 at 10:47pm

It seemed like a tight race between Joanna Gleason and Patti LuPone. Even if Bernadette was nominated, there was no way her as the Witch was gonna beat Patti as Reno... which was also amazing. I'm glad Joanna won the award.

[best12bars]

Posted: 6/28/13 at 10:59pm

As I recall, and I admit it's vague ... LuPone was considered the frontrunner that year, mostly due to the "love letter" in the Times review.

I wasn't "shocked" that Gleason won, but she wasn't anywhere near a lock or even the frontrunner (as I said).

All that aside, I adore her performance in the show, and I'm so glad it was preserved on DVD.

I do think that all Baker's Wives have been and will be compared to her. She set the bar extremely high.

I will also say that when I saw the Los Angeles cast with Mary Gordon Murray in the role, she was equally good. Her acting and singing were both fantastic.

[binau]

Posted: 6/28/13 at 11:11pm

Bernadette should win a Tony award for breathing air.

[jv92]

Posted: 6/28/13 at 11:12pm

She's already won two for doing more than that. Good enough for ya?

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 6/28/13 at 11:18pm

She should win a Tony for most musical farts.

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 6/28/13 at 11:37pm

From a report in Variety at the time it was explained that since Peters had left WOODS after only a brief run (maybe 5 months) there had been a mutual agreement that her name would not be submitted and that Joanna Gleason would be entered as the leading (above the title) actress nominee for WOODS. It was never a snub, although several writers at the time suggested that had Peters stayed with the show longer she would have been a contender. Peters gave a great performance and attracted a lot of attention when the show was in its early weeks.

INTO THE WOODS was never a sell-out but it did strong business while Peters was in it. It tapered some when she left and Variety deemed teh show's box-office as "nervous." After teh Tony Awards (with Phylicia Rashad as the new Witch) business picked up over the summer of 1988 and was strong (but not capacity) through the following summer as well.

The producers of WOODS felt that Gleason's well-received performance had a good chance of winning, and hoped that her being the only nominee representing WOODS in the category might give them a good chance at the award. Apparently,. they were right.

Lupone's ANYTHING GOES performance was highly controversial at the time, many feeling she was too "tough" in the role and her diction was either poor or hampered by the theatre's sound system. (Check out the FORBIDDEN BROADWAY parody..."I Get a Kick out of ME.")

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 6/28/13 at 11:43pm

I always found it odd that Phylicia Rashad, at the height of COSBY SHOW fame couldn't sell the show out.

[binau]

Posted: 6/28/13 at 11:43pm

5 months?? It's interesting how the video recording and legacy of INTO THE WOODS makes it seem like Bernadette had a larger contribution to that production than she did. She probably did more performances as Sally than The Witch.

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 6/28/13 at 11:50pm

It would have been among the dumbest tony decisions ever. And it seems highly unlikely. But it's the Tony Awards. Anything could happen.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 6/28/13 at 11:56pm

Exactly. These are the same people who gave an award to Idina Menzel over Tonya Pinkins.

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 6/28/13 at 11:59pm

It was announced when Peters joined the production that due to a film commitment she would only be able to stay with the show a limited time. She was able to extend her stay a few weeks. But after previews she played the show November 1987 to March 1988, returning for one week in the May 1989 for the TV taping. Note that the video was made when ten show was still running and had not announced a closing date. It wasn't until August 1989 that the September 3 closing was announced.

At the closing - I was there - Ellen Foley played the Witch and Kay McClelland was the Wife. Danielle Ferland was not on stage but she was in the audience. And at a final curtain call Sondheim joined the cast on stage and led everyone in singing Happy Birthday to Ben Wright (Jack.)

[binau]

Posted: 6/29/13 at 12:00am

And the same people who gave an award to THE SOUND OF MUSIC over GYPSY (actually nvm they're all probably dead now LOLOL).

[Play Esq.]

Posted: 6/29/13 at 1:11am

"So you guys saw everyone else who played the Baker's wife?"

FM: I do so love how you frequently mistake contentiousness for intelligence! Keep it up!

[karloskar2]

Posted: 6/29/13 at 6:04am

Sondheim himself never considered the Witch as a leading role and didn't think Bernadette would be interested when they were casting the role originally. Cinderella has a lot more to do than the witch, but the Baker's wife is the role that wins awards. Imelda Staunton and Julia McKenzie both got great notices for Into the Woods in London and both were nominated for the Olivier Award that year, but it was Staunton as the Baker's Wife who won.
As for the 1988 Tonys, the main competition was between Phantom and Into the Woods, so the real 'scandal' was the lack of a nomination for Sarah Brightman. (hahahaha) Also Judy Kuhn and Patti Lupone were both giving great performances that are still being discussed 25 years later, so it was one of the strongest fields in that category for many years. Nominations for both Bernadette and Joanna could have split the vote, leading to who knows what outcome...

[Musicaldudepeter]

Posted: 6/29/13 at 9:17am

I think Gleason was always going to go home with a Tony that night though. If Peters was considered eligible for a nomination it would have been the leading category, meaning Gleason would've been bumped to featured, and she would have walked away with the gong in that category. That would have made it a lot easier for LuPone to win the leading actress trophy that year. That's the whole controversy of the thing. Peters was nominated for a Drama Desk and LuPone beat her, while Gleason was nominated for the Featured Actress Drama Desk and won that award (incidentally, beating co-star Danielle Ferland). LuPone was mad because it put 2 frontrunners -- her and Gleason -- in the same category.

Just while we're talking about other award-winning Baker's Wives, it's interesting to mention Sophie Thompson (sister of Emma Thompson) who won the Olivier in 1998 for Best Actress for her Baker's Wife at the Donmar Warehouse. Haven't heard much about that production, but this was eight years after Staunton's win for the same award/same role. It's always been the award-winning role, and the Witch has rarely been. In 2002, Kerry O'Malley failed to secure even a nomination for her Baker's Wife in the Broadway revival, and Vanessa Williams was given a Leading Actress nomination for her Witch!

[Kad]

Posted: 6/29/13 at 9:58am

Of all the actresses I have seen or heard portray the Baker's Wife, the only one that approaches Joanna Gleason in terms of quality is Jenna Russell. Her "Moments in the Woods" is really quite touching and funny.

But it says a lot that all these years later, Gleason is still the only comparison point.