Kelli O’Hara’s Tony Nominations- A Look Back

[Soaring29]

Posted: 12/25/22 at 5:44am

I’m a huge fan of O’Hara and of looking back at last award ceremonies  so I decided to do a fun thread looking back at Kelli’s Tony nods and my personal thoughts, kind of in the vein of some YouTube videos that go back and look at Oscar races but obviously less in depth. Chime in with your thoughts below. 

 

1. The Light In The Piazza: In another year, I think Kelli would probably have won this since I don’t see any of the other nominees having a better chance than she did(I’d be interested if I’m wrong here though- feel free to chime in) but Ramirez clearly was such a scene stealer in Spamalot and was undeniable. 

2. The Pajama Game: No chance in hell- she may have come in last just due to competition being so tough. This was a very strong year for lead actresses which is why I was surprised when I found out Lupone was such a strong favorite when I revisited the coverage of the race prior to the ceremony. I remember Lachanze winning and being happy for her and I still think she was amazing. As good as Cynthia is, it does seem a bit sad people have forgotten about how good Lachanze was. A side note- don’t you think it’s weird Bernadette presented twice when Patti lost surprisingly? Strange. 
 

3. South Pacific: Here is where I am fairly confident that if it had not been for Lupone’s losses in 06 and 88 and how amazing she was in Gypsy, that the juggernaut that was South Pacific would have carried O’Hara to a win who was of course terrific in the part. I remember reading somewhere that pre Tony nominations there was more of a race between them but post nominations, Lupone’s chances increased especially with the calculation that South Pacific would win Best Revival and Best Direction, dominate the tech awards, and Gypsy would be rewarded with the three acting prizes it was up for. 

4. Nice Work if You Can Get It: I’ve never gotten that deep into this show although I love Gershwin’s songs and Kelli sings them wonderfully. I remember being somewhat surprised Audra was the default prediction since she had had four awards and that Kelli was on her fourth nod and seemingly had no chance which I feel like was the case when I look back. Was anybody else ever in contention? 
 

5. Bridges of Madison County: She should have won for this, it was the kind of undeniable performance that only comes along every so often. We know the reasons of course, Bridges not being a commercial success, it closing after it got shut out of the Best Musical nod(I’m definitely still annoyed there was no performance of it on the Tony Awards especially because there were SO many performances on that telecast, I know it was for marketing reasons but considering how good the music is&hellip , Beautiful being a hit that needed to be honored somewhere and Jesse Mueller being a big talent. But this should have been her year. 
 

6. The King And I: I saw the show and I thought she was fabulous. I also saw On the 20th Century- I didn’t enjoy the show much when I saw it but I have enjoyed the recording and footage of it plus the original production and it has grown on me a lot. Chenoweth is one of my favorites and she was indeed terrific but I feel like I would have been more impressed now than I was then due to me being much fonder/familiar with the material and now I’m not 100 percent which of the two I prefer. But anyway, O’Hara was clearly overdue, she did a fabulous job in the part(definitely not a subpar performance that just won because of her career) and I do think what hurt Chenoweth was that The King and I dominated the awards season while On the 20th Century had disappeared buzz wise. I bet Kristin came extremely close though. Chita seemed to have faded a little post the nominations. 
 

7. Kiss Me Kate: I wish I had gotten the chance to see this  but I’m happy with the recording. This was Stephanie J Block’s time hands down and deservingly so, so she had no chance but it seems she was wonderful in the part. Kind of weird she wasn’t given anything to sing for the Tony performance but it is a big dance show. 
 

 

[The Other One]

Posted: 12/25/22 at 7:41am

There were some odd directorial choices in that revival of Kiss Me, Kate, but Kelli and Will Chase (was he even nominated?) were fabulous, nailing the sexual tension-fueled comedy and singing the score like nobody’s business. 

[JoeyEvans1206]

Posted: 12/25/22 at 9:59am

Haven’t missed one of her Broadway performances since Piazza. Piazza, South Pacific, and Bridges are some of the finest musical performances I’ve ever seen. Such a glorious voice and a superb actress and interpreter of song and text.

Can’t wait to see her in concert in a couple weeks in MA!

http://tickets.thehanovertheatre.org/brickbox/online/article/kelliohara23

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 12/25/22 at 10:18am

The 2015 Tony Award for Best Actress for a Leading Role in a Musical was *such* an exciting race. I remember folks on the board being extremely divided between Kelli and Kristin with some people rooting for Chita. There were some great discussions, and that was definitely a race that was a nail biter and toss up until the envelope was opened on Tony night. 

I was team Kelli all the way. While Chenoweth was great in On the Twentieth Century, O'Hara's Anna was sublime. It was two very different performances - Kristin was over the top, zany, and madcap whereas Kelli was more understated. Both great performances for sure, though.

[Broadway61004]

Posted: 12/25/22 at 11:28am

2008 definitely would have been interesting had Patti won for Sweeney two years prior. Her performance in Gypsy was still certainly the talk of the town, but some of that could have been the overdue factor of not rewarding her 2 years prior.

I don't think she stood much of a chance in 2012. That year was Audra vs. Jan Maxwell all the way (some very heated discussions on this board about that) with Cristin Milioti lurking as a possible upset given all the love for Once, which Nice Work just didn't really have.

As far as Piazza, would have been a real interesting race between her and Celia Keenan-Bolger had Spamalot not existed in the race (which would have been extra interesting since Celia originated the role in Piazza out of town).

As for the Bridges year, besides the show being a flop, what also hurt was she had basically already won for King and I at that point (not literally, of course, but they had already announced her in it for the following season and she had instantly been thought of as the frontrunner even before the 2014 Tonys had happened, so there wasn't a huge rush to reward her right then).

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 12/25/22 at 12:28pm

I love this thread. I really think her performance in Kiss Me, Kate- was her absolute best performance and maybe the best performance I have ever seen in theater, she was involved in a physical altercation with her costar and was able to hit some notes that were insane at the same time. I saw her in all the other shows and she is always brilliant, but her performance in Kiss was her very best by far. I was absolutely shocked by her, and surprised by her skills and don't think any other actress could play that role like she did. Too bad she didn't win the Tony for Kiss, but I think voters were probably thinking she already got her well deserved Tony and didn't pay that much attention to her.

Something similar happened to me with Kristin Chenoweth, I think her performance in The Apple Tree was her very best, and she didn't win the Tony for it.

The only performance I can compare to Kelli's in Kiss Me, Kate is Lea Michele in Funny Girl or maybe Glenn Close in Sunset BLVD. or maybe Lauren Ambroise in My Fair Lady, it was a level of complete excellence. The theater I love and why NYC is a great place to live in, so you don't miss some of the shows without so much buzz, those tend to be the best ones!

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 12/25/22 at 2:52pm

What a great body of work O'Hara has accumulated. She's had the good fortunate to lend her talents to a wide variety of roles. 

I personally feel she deserved to win for her performance in "Light in the Piazza". She was robbed. 

[halfhourcheckwithmerman]

Posted: 12/25/22 at 6:39pm

I always liked her, didn't love her, and then I was at a cabaret thing this summer where she made a brief surprise appearance to sing one song. It was "Make Someone Happy," a song I've always disliked. And my soul left my body... I got it all at once. I've rarely been so won over by a performance, just her and a piano and absolute heaven. Now I just can't get enough of her. 

[Jeffrey Karasarides]

Posted: 12/25/22 at 7:41pm

muscle23ftl said: "Something similar happened to me with Kristin Chenoweth, I think her performance in The Apple Tree was her very best, and she didn't win the Tony for it."

Kristin also wasn't even nominated that year.

[Jeffrey Karasarides]

Posted: 12/25/22 at 7:43pm

The Other One said: "There were some odd directorial choices in that revival of Kiss Me, Kate, but Kelli and Will Chase (was he even nominated?) were fabulous, nailing the sexual tension-fueled comedy and singing the score like nobody’s business."

Will Chase actually wasn't nominated.

 

[Melissa25]

Posted: 12/25/22 at 9:01pm

I still mourn that she did not win for Bridges.  I love her in everything but her Francesca was haunting and I played that cast recording to death.  I am so glad I got to attend her magical Carnegie Hall debut and have my tickets purchased for her February 2023 sold out show at 92Y.  Kelli is such a class act.

[Jarethan]

Posted: 12/25/22 at 9:17pm

I have always felt that she had a beautiful voice, but lacks charisma on stage.  I thought she deserved the Tony for Piazza hands down, but did not feel she deserved a win for anything else.  I thought Donna Murphy and Faith Prince were more charismatic Anna’s, as was Marin Mazzie.

i did not see Bridges, but could see her in the role.  I have never liked Kiss Me, Kate, but thought she could not compare with Mazzie in the earlier revival, this despite the fact that I never considered myself a Marin Mazzie fan.

I just don’t see her as being in the same league as Foster, Murphy, Lupone, Peters, MacDonald, or Clark…or, based on only one show, Michele.

[Soaring29]

Posted: 12/26/22 at 12:19am

Delete.
 

 

Updated On: 12/26/22 at 12:19 AM

[Soaring29]

Posted: 12/26/22 at 12:32am

Jarethan said: "I have always felt that she had a beautiful voice, but lacks charisma on stage. I thought she deserved the Tony for Piazza hands down, but did not feel she deserved a win for anything else. I thought Donna Murphy and Faith Prince were more charismatic Anna’s, as was Marin Mazzie.

i did not see Bridges, but could see her in the role. I have never liked Kiss Me, Kate, but thought she could not compare with Mazzie in the earlier revival, this despite the fact that I never considered myself a Marin Mazzie fan.

I just don’t see her as being in the same league as Foster, Murphy, Lupone, Peters, MacDonald, or Clark…or, based on only one show, Michele."

 

She is more subtle, definitely. That’s not everybody’s thing and I personally get a little annoyed with some people who always say subtlety is better than more dramatic acting but I love Kelli’s work, she’s a great actress. 
 

I love all of those actresses too although to be blunt Clark’s dialect bothers me like hell in The Light in the Piazza, it just feels unnecessary. Sutton has incredible presence/persona as a performer but the thing with her is her nasality, she really needs to tone that down a little. Lupone is great and Peters is wonderful too. McDonald is one of my all time favorites along with Kelli and Kristin Chenoweth. Murphy is someone I am less familiar with but she is absolutely incredible in Passion and was wonderful in Tangled. Mazzie was a great talent, it’s a shame she is gone. 
 

 

 

[Jarethan]

Posted: 12/26/22 at 12:50pm

Soaring29 said: "Jarethan said: "I have always felt that she had a beautiful voice, but lacks charisma on stage. I thought she deserved the Tony for Piazza hands down, but did not feel she deserved a win for anything else. I thought Donna Murphy and Faith Prince were more charismatic Anna’s, as was Marin Mazzie.

i did not see Bridges, but could see her in the role. I have never liked Kiss Me, Kate, but thought she could not compare with Mazzie in the earlier revival, this despite the fact that I never considered myself a Marin Mazzie fan.

I just don’t see her as being in the same league as Foster, Murphy, Lupone, Peters, MacDonald, or Clark…or, based on only one show, Michele."



She is more subtle, definitely. That’s not everybody’s thing and I personally get a little annoyed with some people who always say subtlety is better than more dramatic acting but I love Kelli’s work, she’s a great actress.


I love all of those actresses too although to be blunt Clark’s dialect bothers me like hell in The Light in the Piazza, it just feels unnecessary. Sutton has incredible presence/persona as a performer but the thing with her is her nasality, she really needs to tone that down a little. Lupone is great and Peters is wonderful too. McDonald is one of my all time favorites along with Kelli and Kristin Chenoweth. Murphy is someone I am less familiar with but she is absolutely incredible in Passion and was wonderful in Tangled. Mazzie was a great talent, it’s a shame she is gone.


I figure that I have seen a dozen Dolly's, and I really think that Murphy was the best.  I know that is going to be controversial, but she sang it better than any of them and was excellent at the pathos and the comedy.  I also think she was the best Phyllis of the 7 - 8 I saw over the years in Follies.  I also thought that she was the best Anna of the 7 - 8 I saw.  Just incredibly versatile.  The next tinme she is on stage, make an effort to see her. 
 

 

[OlBlueEyes]

Posted: 12/28/22 at 11:06am

South Pacific, Bridges, Piazza. All winners. She was fine in King & I, but so was Donna Murphy. The production was fine, but not much of a stretch for Kelli.

I really enjoyed On The Twentieth Century and was sorry to see it sink out of sight so quickly. Peter Galllager got no credit. A shame because Broadway can use a few screwball comedies to keep it varied.

I admired Kristin's performance in that show. It is, they tell me, a demanding roll vocally and physically, and Kristin was still suffering from her injury. She said that she had to "live like a nun." But Kristin has spent long periods of time doing television, while Kelli has been just a hard-working actress who moves from one production to another. So her win was fine for me.

Nice Work was the silliest thing she did. "Someone to Watch Over Me" is Gershwin's most covered ballad. O'Hara didn't seem as if she would add much to the collection of them when she sang the song while holding a shotgun.

O'Hara seems a little bit out of place in New York civilization. She never has a bad word to say about anybody and despite her busy life she never turns turn a request for her time if the cause is good. Well, never is going a little too far probably. Lately she has begun to get a little political, but graciously so.

Has Kelli ever gotten a negative review? Now it she is conquering the opera world. This review of The Hours in Classical Review is pretty impressive.

O’Hara is a different kind of singer, her musical theater-style soprano not full in the operatic sense but gliding over the top of the music. Her extensive acting experience gave her a stage presence above and beyond the rest of the cast and out of the ordinary for what one sees at the Met. Her ability to hold attention, even while sitting still, was an intense part of the dramatic experience.

No one ever pays attention to me when I'm just sitting still, and I'm good at sitting.

[Soaring29]

Posted: 12/28/22 at 11:42am

Yep. She has gotten a few bad notices for opera. Opera audiences are very tough and it’s true that she has been away from it for awhile so she is not going to sound the same as the others. But I think her voice is stunning in The Hours, not perfect in parts(sometimes the upper high notes can lack warmth which I believe is the cause of too much breath pressure, you could hear the difference between the opening night radio broadcast and the Met Live broadcast a few weeks later) but she was glorious. The whole show was stunning, it had way too short of a run which is partly why the Met announced they are bringing it back next season since it sold out multiple nights. 

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 12/28/22 at 4:54pm

If anyone missed her in Kiss me, Kate. You missed out, her best performance by far. I also I suggest not to comment on a performance you haven't seen live. Apples and oranges.

[Wayman_Wong]

Posted: 12/28/22 at 7:53pm

I imagine Kelli O'Hara is grateful she won a Tony for ''The King and I,'' but I once read an interview where she frankly admitted that she hoped she had won for ''The Bridges of Madison County'' instead. Creating that role apparently was very close to her heart. Had Kelli won for ''Bridges,'' I doubt she would've won for ''The King and I.'' That Tony would've gone (rightfully) to Kristin Chenoweth, who won that season's Outer Critics Circle and Drama Desk prizes. (Oddly, the Drama Desk didn't even NOMINATE O'Hara for ''The King and I..' ) Instead, O'Hara was perceived as overdue to win, and it was her 6th Tony nomination, so she prevailed. (Kristin had a Featured Tony for ''You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown,'' but that was 1999! )

Updated On: 12/28/22 at 07:53 PM

[Soaring29]

Posted: 12/29/22 at 12:26am

Yep, she has more or less said that she feels Bridges was her best work although she is grateful for her win like you said. 
 

Kristin is heavily overdue for a second. It’s a shame she had to compete with O’Hara when this would have been a such an easy win for her in another year. 

[OlBlueEyes]

Posted: 12/29/22 at 12:58am

Jarethan said: "I have always felt that she had a beautiful voice, but lacks charisma on stage. I thought she deserved the Tony for Piazza hands down, but did not feel she deserved a win for anything else. I thought Donna Murphy and Faith Prince were more charismatic Anna’s, as was Marin Mazzie.

i did not see Bridges, but could see her in the role. I have never liked Kiss Me, Kate, but thought she could not compare with Mazzie in the earlier revival, this despite the fact that I never considered myself a Marin Mazzie fan.

I just don’t see her as being in the same league as Foster, Murphy, Lupone, Peters, MacDonald, or Clark…or, based on only one show, Michele."

I agree with you on Kiss Me, Kate. There is very little to it, as evidenced by the great importance given to the spanking scene. Cole Porter's score and perhaps the colorful costumes keep bringing it back. I did not see the Marin Mazzie / Brian Stokes Mitchell production, but I fell in love with the back-to-back "Wunderbar" and "So in Love" and one day just tweeted Marin that I loved her performance. 

Flinging opinions is  pretty pointless, especially when there has been no preparation, but I love Sutton Foster and you love Sutton Foster and Joel Grey loves Sutton Foster but the roles of Millie and Reno Sweeney do not approach the role of Nellie Forbush in difficulty. No acting is required. I can't see Sutton moving an audience to tears. Or even moving Alan Alda to tears, which isn't difficult. Yes, you have seen her in many other roles.

To me South Pacific is a masterpiece that will continue to be produced through the centuries, or until the end of our civilization, whichever comes first. And right now it's not looking too good for our civilization. In the last century we invented new weapons that can easily destroy all of us, but we did not invent any new people who realized that war was no longer an option except upon imminent threat of death or enslavement.

If you have never seen or heard Bridges, check out the recording sessions on YouTube. A half million have listened to this recording of a new show that ran only a few months and contains no tunes likely to be successfully covered. Many of the comments are memorable.

[Jeffrey Karasarides]

Posted: 12/29/22 at 6:56am

Wayman_Wong said: "I imagine Kelli O'Hara is grateful she won a Tony for ''The King and I,'' but I once read an interview where she frankly admitted that she hoped she had won for ''The Bridges of Madison County'' instead. Creating that role apparently was very close to her heart. Had Kelli won for ''Bridges,'' I doubt she would've won for ''The King and I.'''

I'm someone who believes that awards should be given to the best performances of the season, NOT the performances of someone's particular careers. Although I do understand sentiments people have regarding that. As legendary actress Katharine Hepburn once said, "The right actors win Oscars, but for the wrong roles." To this day, I continue to see a number of people on the internet complaining about how actors win for a certain movie despite it possibly being their worst nomination. Common examples they’ve used are Paul Newman in The Color of Money and Al Pacino in Scent of a Woman.

I will say that had Kelli O'Hara won for The Bridges of Madison County, then Jessie Mueller would eventually become overdue herself at this point. There was no way she was ever gonna win for Waitress up against Cynthia Erivo in The Color Purple. I don't think she would've prevailed for Carousel up against Katrina Lenk given how strong The Band's Visit was with Tony voters.

[Blockhead24]

Posted: 12/29/22 at 10:39am

I'm still so salty that she didn't win for Bridges 

[OlBlueEyes]

Posted: 12/31/22 at 1:54am

Jessie Mueller. Played Carole King in a juke box musical. 

Vocal difficulty:  Had to sound like Carole King.

Acting difficulty: Had to sound like Carole King.

Look, I had my vinyl copy of Tapestry. It is a pop classic.

King even gets sole songwriting credit for all the songs. Gerry Goffin fell into a sewer and was written out of her life.

About 599,000 less people have watched the recording of the title tune to Beautiful than watched the recording of One Second and a Million Miles from Bridges, with their jaws dropped.

I believe in respecting one's opinion, but this is a little --  provocative?

I just don’t see her as being in the same league as Foster, Murphy, Lupone, Peters, MacDonald, or Clark…or, based on only one show, Michele."

And Kelli hasn't had her shot playing Rose yet. That's an automatic nomination with a 50% chance of a win.

Be careful you don't find yourself at a bar late at night sitting next to Ben Brantley.

[Jarethan]

Posted: 1/1/23 at 2:08am

OlBlueEyes said: "Jarethan said: "I have always felt that she had a beautiful voice, but lacks charisma on stage. I thought she deserved the Tony for Piazza hands down, but did not feel she deserved a win for anything else. I thought Donna Murphy and Faith Prince were more charismatic Anna’s, as was Marin Mazzie.

I just don’t see her as being in the same league as Foster, Murphy, Lupone, Peters, MacDonald, or Clark…or, based on only one show, Michele."

I agree with you on Kiss Me, Kate. There is very little to it, as evidenced by the great importance given to the spanking scene. Cole Porter's score and perhaps the colorful costumes keep bringing it back. I did not see the Marin Mazzie / Brian Stokes Mitchell production, but I fell in love with the back-to-back "Wunderbar" and "So in Love" and one day just tweeted Marin that I loved her performance.

Flinging opinions is pretty pointless, especially when there has been no preparation, but I love Sutton Foster and you love Sutton Foster and Joel Grey loves Sutton Foster but the roles of Millie and Reno Sweeney do not approach the role of Nellie Forbush in difficulty. No acting is required. I can't see Sutton moving an audience to tears. Or even moving Alan Alda to tears, which isn't difficult. Yes, you have seen her in many other 

Two points:

1.  I assume you did not see Sutton Foster in Violet…she gave a heartbreaking performance in a small production produced by Roundabout 5 or 7 years ago.  I also thought she gave a terrific dramatic performance in the mediocre Little Women production.

2.  I am not an actor so I ultimately don’t know which role is harder; I actually would assume that the Reno Sweeney role Sutton executed was at least as difficult a role as Nellie Forbush, which always seemed to me a pretty straightforward role.   I can’t remember the exact words, but there is some expression about the difficulty of comedy being underappreciated.