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

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 2/8/06 at 11:32pm

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.....

[TheEnchantedHunter]

Posted: 2/8/06 at 11:58pm

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

[Doogie]

Posted: 2/9/06 at 12:28am

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

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 2/9/06 at 12:37am

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.

[stage_door76]

Posted: 2/9/06 at 12:59am

If Jersey Boys wins over Colour Purple it'll be a disgrace

[rebels]

Posted: 2/9/06 at 1:43am

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

[bjivie2]

Posted: 2/9/06 at 2:29am

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.

[lite2shine]

Posted: 2/9/06 at 2:57am

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.

[melissa errico fan]

Posted: 2/9/06 at 6:38am

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.

[popcultureboy]

Posted: 2/9/06 at 7:25am

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.

[Corine2]

Posted: 2/9/06 at 7:27am

Jersey Boys
The Color Purple
Don't forget Sweeney Todd. (Best Revival)
I love all three.


Updated On: 2/9/06 at 07:27 AM

[Smaxie]

Posted: 2/9/06 at 7:29am

The thread is about new musicals. Sweeney Todd is a revival.

[Corine2]

Posted: 2/9/06 at 7:34am

There are so many new musicals coming it is to early to tell:
Ring of Fire
Tarzan
Updated On: 2/9/06 at 07:34 AM

[MagicToDo82]

Posted: 2/9/06 at 10:52am

..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.

[sidneybruhl]

Posted: 2/9/06 at 11:12am

I think it's great we're having this discussion. I can remember times in the late 80s and early 90s when they couldn't even come up with a full slate of musicals to nominate for best musical.

[Thesbijean]

Posted: 2/9/06 at 11:20am

Jersey Boys got RAVES

All Shook Up got Lukewarm to Favorable

Plus, Jersey Boys is not a jukebox musical...

It uses the music to further a story, not the other way around...

[Sleeper2]

Posted: 2/9/06 at 11:23am

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

[ShuQ]

Posted: 2/9/06 at 11:23am

How is Jersey Boys not a jukebox musical?

[popcultureboy]

Posted: 2/9/06 at 11:26am

Isn't it actually biographical rather than a horrible fictional story created to fit the songs?

[kidmanboy]

Posted: 2/9/06 at 11:52am

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.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 2/9/06 at 12:08pm

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

[jv92]

Posted: 2/9/06 at 12:22pm

Personally, I didn't care fo Jersey Boys. It looks like it might go to one of the two musical comedies this year, although Color Purple has a possibility.

[children&art]

Posted: 2/9/06 at 12:42pm

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.

[popcultureboy]

Posted: 2/9/06 at 12:46pm

If you haven't seen or heard it, what are you basing your feelings on exactly?

[children&art]

Posted: 2/9/06 at 12:48pm

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.