Trust me, I love Sutton. I haven't seen Victoria Clark's performance yet, but I have seen Sutton's. Sutton was fabulous, but her performance didn't scream out a sure-fire Tony win. I think that's more a fault of the material she's working with than of Sutton as an actress. I enjoyed Little Women very much, but it has a lot of problems. It's a mediocre show whose morale is boosted by a lot of heart, and a very touching story. The acting rides on the shoulders of Sutton and Maureen McGovern. The sisters aren't bad, per se, but they're certainly nothing to write home about. John Hickok is packed with talent, but his part isn't big enough to fix anything.
Before I heard about Clark, I figured that because of the seeming lack of competition, Sutton would probably end up winning anyway, and even though I can't accurately compare yet, I'm willing to be open to a possible switch-up of my own opinions.
That said, relax and don't twist what other people say. You talk about freedom of speech, yet you address TGIF with a "HOW DARE YOU" when she expresses her opinion, simply because it's not in coincidence with yours. If YOU dare to do that, you're in need of a serious reality check of your understanding of your First Amendment rights, as well as in your theatre-related, clearly tunnel-shaped views. First you tell TGIF that the show comes alive in Act II, which on your part isn't really a great line of defense. If a show needs an entire damned ACT to come alive, what does that say for it, now? Secondly, she didn't say anything that was blatantly anti-Sutton, and first you jump down her throat for saying the show was mediocre, then you say that Sutton's performance is amazing because she's amazing. You're not only giving a half-assed argument, but you're making no sense. If you're going to so naively stick to your guns, at least have a sensical argument. And no matter what your argument is, civility deserves civility back. I don't care how much people disagree with you, you have no right to react like that to a bland statement of opinion.
I love Sutton, so don't take this as me saying that I'm not, but she's probably not a shoe-in this year. That doesn't make her any less great, but she's very young still, and there ARE people who are better than her. There are also people who shine more simply because they have better parts, one of which sounds like it may be Clark.
A work of art is an invitation to love.
