NY Times Tony Voter Poll- Page 3

[Lot666]

Posted: 6/9/17 at 11:14am

Kad said: "I do not think my choice not winning an award is a farce and, conversely, I do not personally share in the victory if it were to win and I lose nothing if it were to lose."

I've been trying to make this point to football (and some other sports) fans all my life. It's perfectly naturally to root for something you feel an affinity for, but it's also important to recognize that the outcome of such competitions (unless you are on/own the team or created/produced the show) are completely irrelevant to your own existence. A win or loss by your favorite will not change your paycheck, so why kick the television, vandalize cars, loot stores, or post nasty stuff on internet discussion boards? You can still love and enjoy your team or your show tomorrow, even if they didn't win.

Updated On: 6/9/17 at 11:14 AM

[BroadwayRox3588]

Posted: 6/9/17 at 11:43am

Lot666 said: "Kad said: "I do not think my choice not winning an award is a farce and, conversely, I do not personally share in the victory if it were to win and I lose nothing if it were to lose."

I've been trying to make this point to football (and some other sports) fans all my life. It's perfectly naturally to root for something you feel an affinity for, but it's also important to recognize that the outcome of such competitions (unless you are on/own the team or created/produced the show) are completely irrelevant to your own existence. A win or loss by your favorite will not change your paycheck, so why kick the television, vandalize cars, loot stores, or post nasty stuff on internet discussion boards? You can still love and enjoy your team or your show tomorrow, even if they didn't win.

 

"

As a Buffalo Bills fan, I fully endorse this message. I have a pretty good life, despite watching my team crash and burn every fall.

[musikman]

Posted: 6/9/17 at 11:45am

Count me in as another person who is flabbergasted by all the CFA accolades.  Sure, it's uplifting and has a lovely story that we can all be cheery about in this turbulent time, but the show is 85% narration (so I went to the pub and then THIS happened!) and has one of the most mediocre scores and books of the last umpteen years.  It's riding purely on a wave of goodwill from its story.   I feel terrible saying bad things about the show because it makes me look like such a curmudgeonly grouch, but I just couldn't get past the really weak construction of the piece   

Why Best Musical isn't between Dear Evan Hansen and Great Comet is beyond me.  Dear Evan Hansen is certainly flawed, but it packs an emotional wallop and has some brilliantly staged numbers and performances   Great Comet is by far the most ingenious and consistent of all the nominees, but I've accepted the fact that it's hardly everyone's cup of tea      

 Going off what Kad said, my enjoyment of either show will obviously not be diminished if they don't win the top prize, but it does annoy  me when the TONYs or the Oscars award mediocrity.  

Dfferent strokes, I guess. 

Updated On: 6/9/17 at 11:45 AM

[dianamorales]

Posted: 6/9/17 at 11:57am

Gensho said: "Why is Great Comet groundbreaking? 

 

"The music, the sets,and the concept are unlike anything I've ever known to be on broadway. It's incredibly ingenuitive.

 

[coreman009]

Posted: 6/9/17 at 12:31pm

Because Dear Evan Hansen and Come From Away at their root are excellent musicals. The Great Comet isn't, it's a great experience. The story isn't much, the music is erratic and strange. I give massive credit to the staging, lighting, etc., but it's just not a great musical like Dear Evan Hansen and Come From Away are. 

[Kad]

Posted: 6/9/17 at 12:49pm

I personally think the Great Comet score stands up entirely on its own; it is a cohesive, complex musical vision, full of rich lyricism, intricate storytelling through music, and savvy adaptation. Malloy completely sidesteps the creaky BMI model of musical theatre and cleanly asserts his own voice as an artist in a way that I don't think the people behind DEH or CFA do.

I think Dear Evan Hansen is a very good example of a model musical. I just don't find it particularly engaging, inventive, or forward-thinking, though I can admire its craftsmanship. I've heard it all before, just with varying quality. I think it has the advantage of creating a character people easily see themselves as, bolstered by songs that speak to more general emotion than a very specific circumstance. People pour themselves into Evan Hansen. Whether or not that is a positive or negative is up to you. I agree that Great Comet does not share that quality.

[froote]

Posted: 6/9/17 at 1:03pm

Agreed Kad. The fact that so many people see themselves in Evan Hansen to me is evidence that the show rarely commits to specific emotions that best suit the character. Rather the character is used as a way to reflect generalized emotional cliches to the audience, almost like an inspirational quotes Instagram packaged in an anxiety-ridden boy. You will be found, no one deserves to be forgotten, on the outside always looking in etc etc etc. The truth is the vast majority of people will have had experiences in their life where they have felt like that, you certainly don't need social anxiety to. It's why So Big/So Small to me is the most emotionally effective part of the show, because it takes a specific situation (his dad leaving) that not everyone experiences in life and the lyrics genuinely feel like what Evan's mom would be feeling in that moment, rather than just singing a cliche back to the audience that almost anybody could understand or relate to.

Updated On: 6/9/17 at 01:03 PM

[wonderfulwizard11]

Posted: 6/9/17 at 1:03pm

Kad, I agree. The staging of Great Comet is astounding, but I've had the album on repeat recently and I'm still struck by how much is in that score. There are some moments that aren't my favorite for sure, but the moments of greatness (and for me, there's a lot) are far beyond any piece of writing I've heard this year. No One Else, Dust and Ashes, Charming, Sonya Alone, and the title number all stand up with some of the best musical theatre writing in recent memory. It's not the only show I enjoyed this season at all, but Dave Malloy is working on such a different level than almost anyone else writing contemporary musical theatre. 

[BroadwayConcierge]

Posted: 6/9/17 at 1:04pm

Chiming in to wholeheartedly agree with Kad, wonderfulwizard, and froote.

[10086Sundays]

Posted: 6/9/17 at 1:29pm

I think Dear Evan Hansen tapped into the same magic as Rent. It is the right show at the right time with the right cast.  The fans of the show are made up of equal parts those who have lived Evan's life in someway and those who fantasize about living his life. They also see the actors as not just the characters, but their friends. There's an added element of, I don't just love the show, I want to be in it, with these specific people. 

I'm not sure I'm explaining this clearly, and I do not in anyway mean it as an insult to the show or its fans. 

Think of all the Rent fans who were wealthy, suburban teens/young adults that loved pretending to be starving artists battling discrimination and the AIDS epidemic in the slums of NYC. I think the same goes for DEH, in that it's given those are found a chance to pretend not be. Somehow it's become cool to not to be cool.

Add in the allure of internet, viral video notoriety and you have the perfect storm. A show that connects via experience and emotion, as well by capturing the current zeitgeist. 

Updated On: 6/9/17 at 01:29 PM

[Robbie2]

Posted: 6/9/17 at 10:43pm