Kimberly Akimbo vs Some Like it Hot Best Musical Tony — Page 2

It’ll be KA. This isn’t much of a race.

I think Kimberly Akimbo has it. I think NYNY, SLIH and Shucked all have about an equal chance to upset... which is not much of a chance at all. I agree that & Juliet will be the fifth nominee but with no chance to win. I'd be shocked if those five are not the five nominees.

Musical Revival is the one to watch though! I think that's a much closer race than Musical.

If reviews for New York, New York are mixed to negative, I honestly see KPOP sneaking in with a Best Musical nomination.

But the Tonys really should present Musical Revival last this year, instead of Best Musical. It’s a much closer race.

EDSOSLO858 said: "If reviews forNew York, New Yorkare mixed to negative, I honestly seeKPOPsneaking in with a Best Musical nomination.

But the Tonys really should present Musical Revival last this year, instead of Best Musical. It’s a much closer race."

Why would KPOP sneak in when it had almost universally negative reviews and whether the nominators even all got the chance to see it is an open question? It was only formally open for two weeks.

Updated On: 4/9/23 at 01:44 PM

Kad said: "EDSOSLO858 said: "If reviews forNew York, New Yorkare mixed to negative, I honestly seeKPOPsneaking in with a Best Musical nomination.

But the Tonys really should present Musical Revival last this year, instead of Best Musical. It’s a much closer race."

Why would KPOP sneak in when it had almost universally negative reviews and whether the nominators even all got the chance to see it is an open question? It was only formally open for two weeks."

If I recall, weren’t reviews mixed to positive, with only the NYT legitimately trashing it?

Kad said: "Why would KPOP sneak in when it had almost universally negative reviews and whether the nominators even all got the chance to see it is an open question? It was only formally open for two weeks."

The nominators are required to see every eligible production in a season. If they are unable to see even one, then they must recuse themselves and are thus no longer a nominator. (I think 5 people have recused themselves this season so far? I think it was in a BWW article that referenced us starting out with 50 people but we are now at 45). Generally speaking, nominators see things during press week or opening night. Unless they have a scheduling issue. So all 45 people who are still nominators have absolutely seen KPOP. The production would have rescheduled nominators tickets given the delayed opening the same way that they rescheduled press.

It's definitely not getting a Best Musical nomination though.

I think the most likely scenario for KA would be Best Musical, Book, and Actress. I think Score could go to either KA or SLIH, but I think SLIH's score is much stronger. KA's score is completely forgettable besides "Better", which I only remember exists when listen to the cast recording. I wouldn't be surprised if Shucked created an upset for Book, though.

I think Akimbo is SO SO SO SO much better than Some Like it Hot in every single way. Score, book, humor, performances, all of it.

HOWEVER, I REALLY fell in love with Akimbo on rewatches and REALLY fell in love with much more of the score upon listening to the cast recording. I really enjoyed my first viewing of Akimbo and I also really enjoyed Some Like it Hot. Walking out of SLIH and my first time at Akimbo, I probably only liked Akimbo a bit more.

The vast majority of Tony voters probably aren't seeing anything more than once and probably aren't listening to cast recordings. Will they still like Akimbo better? I don't know.

And I really would also look at historical precedent, which has held up remarkably well for the Tonys. Looking at the last decade, the only times I can think of where the biggest, flashiest show won Best Musical were Hamilton, which was, of course, SUCH a unique phenomenon, Moulin Rouge, which won mostly because of the lack of competition, and Kinky Boots, which I would consider the only example of the three in which a bigger, flashier show won during a truly competitive season.

TL;DR, I think Akimbo wins based on both quality and precedent, but the way that Tony voters experience shows (not a lot of time can be spent on a show because you have to see dozens of them) could hurt it.

Just cancel the Tony’s this year. Kumbrrly Akimbo is a cutesy bore with tuneless music.Some likes it hot has some great staging and great moments (Osgood and Sweet sue steal the show) but does not improve on thr original material movie notdoes not solve the character of Sugar problem z( definevthe character pleae and the music is not as good as Sugar-the other misical basrd on this material

For me both KA and SLIH should be also-rans behind NY NY for Best Musical. Just saw all three this past weekend and frankly KA was the weakest show of the 3. SLIH could well win for best score, and is a terrific throwback to the classic musical comedy golden age, but for my money, NY NY is the whole package, a spectacular production with a host of moving and varied songs telling a much bigger story than just one tale of boy meets girl. NYNY wrapped us in a giant bear hug, very much like An American in Paris of a few years back. I only pray Tony voters see it the same way.