MATILDA WAS ROBBED- Page 6
MATILDA WAS ROBBED
#125MATILDA WAS ROBBED
Posted: 6/10/13 at 2:55pm
Everybody say yeah is the Best song in the show? Not 'Land of Lola', 'Sex is in The Heel', 'Not My Father's Son', or 'Raise You Up'?
Someone saying Say Yeah is the best they have to offer is obviously coming from someone who has no idea about the other songs.
KathyNYC2
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/2/10
#126MATILDA WAS ROBBED
Posted: 6/10/13 at 3:29pm
It is certainly not the best song in the show. "Not my Father's Son" is beautiful and my personal favorite. And there are others.
But "Everybody Say Yeah" works the best if you want a big production number that 1) doesn't give away the finale and 2) doesn't scare off middle America before you get them in the theater.
That's not to say that I was convinced that Kinky Boots should have won best music. I was personally stunned that Cinderella did not win orchestrations. I was also fine with Matilda winning best book...as it's book is very strong. But for overall final production, I agree with the Tony committee for whatever reason they used to get there. I just didn't love the NY version of Matilda.
I am still mesmerized by the London clips of Matilda that are on the internet. But I didn't see much of that magic in NY. If you did, great. I just didn't.
#128MATILDA WAS ROBBED
Posted: 6/10/13 at 4:50pm
I didn't love either musical.
If I had to pick one, I'd pick Kinky over Matilda...
So it worked out well.
#129MATILDA WAS ROBBED
Posted: 6/10/13 at 6:33pm
A lot of times the lesser musical wins. For me, the only true robbery was West Side Story. All else pales in comparison. For me, Matilda was better in many ways. But Kinky Boys winning doesn't leave me bitter.
I wonder how much anyone will remember Once or Kinky Boots in 50 years? But West Side Story losing still leaves me cold.
#130MATILDA WAS ROBBED
Posted: 6/12/13 at 8:17am
I absolutely love these lyrics;
In the slip of a bolt, there's a tiny revolt.
The seeds of a war in the creak of a floorboard.
A storm can begin with the flap of a wing.
The tiniest mite packs the mightiest sting.
Every day starts with the tick of a clock.
All escapes start with the click of a lock.
If you're stuck in your story and want to get out,
You don't have to cry; you don't have to shout.
---
Everybody say yeah.
"You can't overrate Bernadette Peters. She is such a genius. There's a moment in "Too Many Mornings" and Bernadette doing 'I wore green the last time' - It's a voice that is just already given up - it is so sorrowful. Tragic. You can see from that moment the show is going to be headed into such dark territory and it hinges on this tiny throwaway moment of the voice." - Ben Brantley (2022)
"Bernadette's whole, stunning performance [as Rose in Gypsy] galvanized the actors capable of letting loose with her. Bernadette's Rose did take its rightful place, but too late, and unseen by too many who should have seen it" Arthur Laurents (2009)
"Sondheim's own favorite star performances? [Bernadette] Peters in ''Sunday in the Park,'' Lansbury in ''Sweeney Todd'' and ''obviously, Ethel was thrilling in 'Gypsy.'' Nytimes, 2000
Theater'sBestFriend
Featured Actor Joined: 3/5/13
#131MATILDA WAS ROBBED
Posted: 6/12/13 at 8:40am
"Everybody say yeah" is a refrain from a dance break. Cyndi Lauper is no dummy, your peevishly disingenuous contrast notwithstanding. She wrote some fantastic lyrics for Kinky Boots too, and she did it with a knowledge of singinging and audibility that is a critical skill for a lyricist. The show she wrote won Best Musical not only at the Tony's but with Drama League and Outer Critics, not to mention all the score & lyrics awards. The "analyses" of those explaining all these wins by the same "experts" who failed to foresee all her wins is hysterical. Matilda supporters acted entitled to the Tony, but it wasn't. It wasn't robbed, because you simply cannot rob a prize that no one owns.
If one likes Matilda, by all means praise it. But will you people ever stop your condescending whining? You lack of graciousness in losing is coming perilously close to matching your entitlement with churlishness.
#132MATILDA WAS ROBBED
Posted: 6/12/13 at 8:40am
^^Amen! What I'm REALLY angry is how this did NOT get Best Score! SERIOUSLY?! Did the voters listen to it???
The lyrics to Matilda are much more beautiful, clever, and more productive! Listen to When I Grow Up, School Song, and Naughty. Then, listen to any song from KB. Yes, they're great songs with nice music, but this does not hold a candle at all to Matilda.
I know this is so harsh, but they only won because of Cyndi Lauper and the fact that she would make history over her win. But, if it was another person who wrote the score and songs, I guarantee you that Matilda would have won.
Theater'sBestFriend
Featured Actor Joined: 3/5/13
#133MATILDA WAS ROBBED
Posted: 6/12/13 at 8:46amClever lyrics that cannot be heard when a real singer sings them deserve a poetry award, not a lyrics award.
#134MATILDA WAS ROBBED
Posted: 6/12/13 at 9:00am
Thank you disneybroadwayfan22. This is what is so puzzling to me, I cannot find a single song in KINKY BOOTS that can stand its ground next to those songs in Matilda. It really was Best Score that they were robbed of. When Cyndi won a lot of people seemed very please for her person and talked about how much they like her - so I agree it seems to be more about her popularity than her score. My issue is I just do not know what the Tony voters were thinking here. Maybe the issue is to do with not being able to understand the lyrics - I think a careful dialect coach or sound design is what's needed here. Children are just not that good at the job, particularly when they are as young as they are in Matilda. It's the same thing when you listen to them ramble in real life really (I don't actually like children very much). The Matilda on the cast recording is very, very clear.
Theater'sBestFriend, please find one line in Kinky Boots that is as elegant, witty and poetic as:
"Every day starts with the tick of a clock.
All escapes start with the click of a lock."
I just don't know how you could defend Kinky Boots' score with a straight face. Maybe the musical as a whole....
Everybody say yeah
"You can't overrate Bernadette Peters. She is such a genius. There's a moment in "Too Many Mornings" and Bernadette doing 'I wore green the last time' - It's a voice that is just already given up - it is so sorrowful. Tragic. You can see from that moment the show is going to be headed into such dark territory and it hinges on this tiny throwaway moment of the voice." - Ben Brantley (2022)
"Bernadette's whole, stunning performance [as Rose in Gypsy] galvanized the actors capable of letting loose with her. Bernadette's Rose did take its rightful place, but too late, and unseen by too many who should have seen it" Arthur Laurents (2009)
"Sondheim's own favorite star performances? [Bernadette] Peters in ''Sunday in the Park,'' Lansbury in ''Sweeney Todd'' and ''obviously, Ethel was thrilling in 'Gypsy.'' Nytimes, 2000
Updated On: 6/12/13 at 09:00 AM
Theater'sBestFriend
Featured Actor Joined: 3/5/13
#135MATILDA WAS ROBBED
Posted: 6/12/13 at 9:13am
"Theater'sBestFriend, please find one line in Kinky Boots etc..."
I would be happy to, but unfortunately don't have time. However, I can refer you to the show, or the CD. Unlike Matilda, you can hear it, and its lyrics do not need to be excerpted and read to be understood.
joe5
Broadway Star Joined: 5/17/06
#136MATILDA WAS ROBBED
Posted: 6/12/13 at 9:42am
Perhaps , But I still love Matilda .
As it does every year, ticket sales are up all around on Broadway as a result of the Sunday night's Tony Awards, with advance ticket sales for Best Musical winner Kinky Boots up to $10 million and up to $21 million for fellow nominee Matilda
Read more about KINKY BOOTS to Launch US Tour in September 2014 from Vegas; MATILDA Tour Still Undecided by null
Matilda will be here for years to come !!!!
dramamama611
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/4/07
#137MATILDA WAS ROBBED
Posted: 6/12/13 at 9:49am
People thought that about Billy Elliot, too.
I'm not predicting (or wishing) its demise, but nothing is certain.
If we're not having fun, then why are we doing it?
These are DISCUSSION boards, not mutual admiration boards. Discussion only occurs when we are willing to hear what others are thinking, regardless of whether it is alignment to our own thoughts.
#138MATILDA WAS ROBBED
Posted: 6/12/13 at 10:00am
Theatre, Best Score should NOT be determined over if you can hear it or not. If the voters couldn't understand a song, they have to look it up or listen to the CD.
If they really didn't do that, then they weren't trying to give it a chance to win.
Updated On: 6/12/13 at 10:00 AM
#139MATILDA WAS ROBBED
Posted: 6/12/13 at 10:11am
I have no trouble understanding the lyrics to Matilda. I think the children's diction is slightly better in the London cast (where the accents are native), but I can still understand the Broadway kids well enough in the televised performances.
As for Kinky Boots, I'm not going to bash it. I haven't heard anything of the score that makes me think it's as good as or better than Matilda's, but that doesn't mean it's bad. I hope to see the show when it tours.
Updated On: 6/12/13 at 10:11 AM
#140MATILDA WAS ROBBED
Posted: 6/12/13 at 10:18am
Best Score should NOT be determined over if you can hear it or not. If the voters couldn't understand a song, they have to look it up or listen to the CD. If they really didn't do that, then they weren't trying to give it a chance to win.
Actually, that's not true. Theater is a LIVE experience. All the Tony voters are required to do, ethically or morally, is see the show on stage. They are not required to watch videos, listen to CDs or MP3s or read the script.
dramamama611
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/4/07
#141MATILDA WAS ROBBED
Posted: 6/12/13 at 10:20am^This. x 1,000,000.
If we're not having fun, then why are we doing it?
These are DISCUSSION boards, not mutual admiration boards. Discussion only occurs when we are willing to hear what others are thinking, regardless of whether it is alignment to our own thoughts.
dreaming
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/24/09
#142MATILDA WAS ROBBED
Posted: 6/12/13 at 10:32am
@dramamama-I'll see your This x 1,000,000 and raise it another 1,000,000.
#143MATILDA WAS ROBBED
Posted: 6/12/13 at 11:18am
I can only add to the frustration here. Matilda is far superior to Kinky Boots in every way.
What I found funny (and bothersome) is the argument some make about not understanding the accents in Matilda. I had a hard time understanding the accents in Kinky Boots! Strange performances indeed.
#144MATILDA WAS ROBBED
Posted: 6/12/13 at 11:33am^^And I think Annaleigh's accent is a little too fake for me
DrowsyKaye
Understudy Joined: 8/27/12
#145MATILDA WAS ROBBED
Posted: 6/12/13 at 11:56am
Matilda is by far a more sophisticated, more clever, more heartfelt show than Kinky Boots (IMO). I don't think Kinky Boots is an awful show, it's very middle-of-the-road for me. I find the songs are actually better outside of the context of the show (Soul of a Man is a lovely song, but doesn't seem to jive with that point in the show, etc). My two main issues with Kinky Boots were...
1) Why set the show in England? Yes, I know that's where the story is set in the original film, but this is clearly an American story being told by American authors. The "Englishness" of the piece is only apparent in the (not-so-great) accents by the cast. This is clearly a very American piece wearing a British disguise for whatever reason.
2) I don't need a musical to literally YELL it's message right in my face at the end, with lyrics like...
"Just be who you wanna be,
Never let them tell you who you oughta be.
Just be with dignity
Celebrate your life triumphantly."
I'm all for messages of acceptance and equality in musical theatre, but they don't have to be screamed in my face.
Owen22
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/24/11
#147MATILDA WAS ROBBED
Posted: 6/12/13 at 1:09pm
"I'm all for messages of acceptance and equality in musical theatre, but they don't have to be screamed in my face."
On the other hand, if those messages ARE going to be screamed in my face, I at least wish I could understand the words to those messages!
#148MATILDA WAS ROBBED
Posted: 6/12/13 at 1:44pm
Theater is a LIVE experience. All the Tony voters are required to do, ethically or morally, is see the show on stage. They are not required to watch videos, listen to CDs or MP3s or read the script.
I guess it depends on the category and how the vote is determined. I mean, if it's difficult to understand the lyrics, wouldn't that be more of the fault on the sound design and/or musical direction than the lyricist?
"What can you expect from a bunch of seitan worshippers?" - Reginald Tresilian
dreaming
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/24/09
#149MATILDA WAS ROBBED
Posted: 6/12/13 at 1:55pmBut the award is for best production of a musical-the meeting of all those other elements. If I have to sit with the CD liner notes or a printout of the lyrics to understand it, there's a problem.
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