Ironically, if LuPone had won for Sweeney - as many think she should - then she perhaps might not have won for Gypsy, and her biggest then-rival O'Hara might then have won - as many think she should - for South Pacific, in which case O'Hara's chances for winning for Bridges now might well have been diminished since the fact that O'Hara has never won a tony in spite of consistently superb work is probably her biggest single advantage in this season's tony race.
I didn't understand anyone who said that O'Hara was giving a performance as good as (or better than) LuPone did in Gypsy. In my opinion, Jenna Russell did far better work than O'Hara that season in Sunday in the Park With George, and Laura Osnes was an even better Nellie when she replaced O'Hara. Then again, I don't really understand most of the love O'Hara gets, with the exception of the praise her very lovely voice gets. I can think of several sopranos I find more interesting, including Elena Shaddow (who I wish was leading Bridges).
Marin was out the night I saw the show. So she’s eliminated automatically. Sorry.
Imagine if life worked that way.
"You called out sick from work one day last week so you're fired."
Stand-by Joined: 2/21/14
I thought O'Hara was terrific in South Pacific and not just based on her singing, gorgeous as it was. She absolutely nailed the character--I thought she was totally convincing as the ambivalent and somewhat naive Nellie, complete with a convincing Arkansas accent. She and Szot also had this wonderful chemistry. While I loved LuPone in Gypsy, I don't think O'Hara's performance suffers at all by comparison. It's too bad they can't give two Tonys when merited.
It's too bad they can't give two Tonys when merited.
They do when two people receive the same number of votes...
Will she put the Tony in Jan Maxwell's bag?
Kelli O'Hara gave one of the best performances I have ever seen! I will be rooting for her on Tony night!
"I didn't understand anyone who said that O'Hara was giving a performance as good as (or better than) LuPone did in Gypsy."
Ok. I'll say it: O'Hara's Nellie was, for me, better than LuPone's Rose.
I'm not alone in that assessment. Nor is anyone who says the opposite. Both performances have, no doubt, people who believe them to be among the greatest ever given on stage.
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