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Is THE COLOR PURPLE still the front-runner to win Best Musical?

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#1

Is THE COLOR PURPLE still the front-runner to win Best Musical?

What with the news of The Drowsy Chaperone coming soon and a few new musicals opening in the upcoming months (The Wedding Singer, Lestat etc), do you all still think that The Color Purple will win best musical? Just as a general consensus...


I say yes. It's doing wonderfully at the box office, it got very favorable reviews, and word-of-mouth seems pretty strong. I think The Color Purple will be the one to beat on Tony night. We'll see though.....
#2

re: Is THE COLOR PURPLE still the front-runner to win Best Musical?


Nobody gives a crap about THE COLOR PURPLE. It's a second-rate vanity production that is unlikely be a serious contender on Tony night, except by default (like most contemporary Tony winners).


Natasha Rostova
Moscow, Russia


#3

re: Is THE COLOR PURPLE still the front-runner to win Best Musical?

It, right now, looks like a 3 way race between Jersey Boys, Wedding Singer, and Drowsy Chaperone.

anything else has zero chance.

I'd put the odds at

Jersey Boys: 40% chance
Wedding Singer: 30% chance
Drowsy Chaperone: 30% chance

just my opinion
#4

re: Is THE COLOR PURPLE still the front-runner to win Best Musical?

I dunno. The Tony committee seemed to make such a big deal over ASU last year because it was a jukebox musical. I mean, it got decent reviews and had great performances, so I would have thought it would have at least gotten some design awards for sets and stuff. But then again Jersey Boys is the break out hit of the season. Although I think Color Purple will get nominated, it won't win unless Oprah is hosting. Depending on its reviews, Wedding Singer might be a top runner and Drowsy Chaperone will most likely be the "little show that could" this season.
#5

re: Is THE COLOR PURPLE still the front-runner to win Best Musical?

If Jersey Boys wins over Colour Purple it'll be a disgrace
"...But Kungurtseva reels off multiple fouettes and the tape is stopped so she can take a bow. The Jester, an abomination introduced to Swan Lake in Soviet times, extorts applause from the audience. The cuts don't help the storytelling, the production is bare bones and they go for the '50s-style happy ending. The audience cheers like mad at the end. It's the Russian ballet, after all..."
#6

re: Is THE COLOR PURPLE still the front-runner to win Best Musical?

IMHO, Jersey Boys is the front-runner to win Best Musical! The Color Purple is not rating that highly with neither critics nor the audiences--compared to Jersey Boys. I think TCP will be one of the nominees, but has no chance of taking the Tony home.

Here are my odds:
JB: 60%
Wedding Singer: 20%
Drowsy Chaperone: 15%
TCP: 5%

Jersey Boys Blog: http://www.jerseyboysblog.com


#7

re: Is THE COLOR PURPLE still the front-runner to win Best Musical?

I would give Chaperone the lead so far. It's the only completely original show. It got great reviews out of town. No one (who hasn't seen it) can really judge Wedding Singer yet, as it just opened today and reviews won't be out until this weekend. And even though Jersey Boys has gotten great reviews, so did All Shook Up. It was touted as one of the best of the jukebox musical genre, but it got NOTHING. Granted, it had competition from four highly successful shows, but it's enough to warrant that a jukebox musical will have a VERY hard time winning a Best Musical Tony.

It's between Chaperone and Wedding Singer, in my opinion. But then again, I've only seen Wedding Singer and I'm just judging from buzz, reviews and politics.
Eeeeeeyyyyyyyyaaaaaaaannnnnddddd aaaaaaaiiiiiiiiyyyyyyaaaaaammmmmmmm teeeeeeeelllllliiiiiinnngg yyyyooooooouuuuuuuwwwaaaahh...
#8

re: Is THE COLOR PURPLE still the front-runner to win Best Musical?

I haven't seen TCP nor Wedding Singer but my friend saw WS last week and gave B-/C+ overall rating saying trying to imitate Hairspray formula.

I saw JB and DC and I'd say both are fluff, neither of them is a soul moving show but I'd say JB would have an edge over DC although JB is a jukebox musical. Both are a really fun show but I don't remember any tune from DC. But remember, Tony is all marketing for touring productions. Otherwise Spamalot wouldn't have won last year. So it depends on how the out of town producers would vote to generate a buzz for their future season. And I think JB will do.
#9

re: Is THE COLOR PURPLE still the front-runner to win Best Musical?

I think JERSEY BOYS has always been the front-runner for Best Musical, although if Oprah campaigns heavily, TCP could pull out an upset. DROWSY will also be some stiff competition.

LaChanze still has a good chance of winning Best Actress. Will Sutton be considered leading? I'm not familiar with DROWSY or the size of her role, so I really don't know. I think Elisabeth Withers-Mendes is still the front-runner for Best Featured Actress, but Megan Lawrence is definitely stiff competition.
#10

re: Is THE COLOR PURPLE still the front-runner to win Best Musical?

And even though Jersey Boys has gotten great reviews, so did All Shook Up. It was touted as one of the best of the jukebox musical genre, but it got NOTHING.

I'm sorry, run that by me again. All Shook Up got decidedly lukewarm reviews and did absolutely nothing at the box office. With the exception of the fanbase on here, word of mouth was decidedly underwhelming.
Nothing precious, plain to see, don't make a fuss over me. Not loud, not soft, but somewhere inbetween. Say sorry, just let it be the word you mean.
#14

re: Is THE COLOR PURPLE still the front-runner to win Best Musical?

..and let us not rule out the awful-fabulous wreck that Lestat could easily be.:) Color Purple will win, and Oprah will produce more musicals equating to more money for the industry.

"You're telling me the Oscars are political!?!?" - Robin Williams. Sub Tonys in place of Oscars.
There's always room for pathos - and jazz hands.
#17

re: Is THE COLOR PURPLE still the front-runner to win Best Musical?

I went to the gypsy run-through of RING OF FIRE and hated it. I know, I know, I know it's supposed to be hard to describe (not juke box, not biographical, not story-driven), but it was easy for me to come up with a word: BORING. Everytime I think of the "Look at them BEANS!" song, I giggle a lot with my friend.

COLOR PURPLE has some major flaws and would not be difficult to beat on Tony night. Especially since a good number of the Tony voters are out-of-town producers, JERSEY BOYS seems like an odds-on favorite. A Tony will secure great box office across the country with no star power.

LaChanze will likely pick up the Tony, IMHO. She certainly has a compelling backstory and has put in years of work.

My $0.02
#19

re: Is THE COLOR PURPLE still the front-runner to win Best Musical?

Isn't it actually biographical rather than a horrible fictional story created to fit the songs?
Nothing precious, plain to see, don't make a fuss over me. Not loud, not soft, but somewhere inbetween. Say sorry, just let it be the word you mean.
#20

re: Is THE COLOR PURPLE still the front-runner to win Best Musical?

correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems from the CD that all of the Jersey Boys songs are performed by the characters. In other words, no one uses the songs as dialogue or monologue. To me, this seems like just a play with music and not a musical at all.
#21

re: Is THE COLOR PURPLE still the front-runner to win Best Musical?

It pretty much is kidmanboy. Its like "that thing you do" w/ tom hanks. I think Jersey Boys winning best musical would just be a slap. I mean, no offense to the hard working actors, but its not new music. I think an award should be given to the ppl who actually took time to write a score, good or bad, they should get some kind of recgonition.

Updated On: 2/9/06 at 12:08 PM

#23

re: Is THE COLOR PURPLE still the front-runner to win Best Musical?

i think to some extent "Color Purple" is a vanity project and even though i havent seen or heard the music from it, i have a feeling that "Drowsy Chap" will be the one to beat come Tony time.
Don't f*ck with me fellas. This ain't my first time at the rodeo.
#24

re: Is THE COLOR PURPLE still the front-runner to win Best Musical?

If you haven't seen or heard it, what are you basing your feelings on exactly?
Nothing precious, plain to see, don't make a fuss over me. Not loud, not soft, but somewhere inbetween. Say sorry, just let it be the word you mean.
#25

re: Is THE COLOR PURPLE still the front-runner to win Best Musical?

basing my feelings on reviews and synopsis and the little bit of music i heard on the website. it looks like and sounds like (from other people) a better production.
Don't f*ck with me fellas. This ain't my first time at the rodeo.

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