Putting Broadway in perspective

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 6/12/09 at 5:16am

Found this article on Variety's website.

While I don't think that 2008/2009 will go down as one of the more memorable seasons (as the article points out, time will tell) it does give some perspective.

Certainly 75/76 was a great year. I wish I ahd a copy of that year's Tony telecast. I remember watching as CHORUS LINE made history. CHICAGO was not well-represented and PACIFIC OVERTURES was mystifying, but a few months later all 3 cast albums became frequently played favourites.

Other memorable seasons:

81/82 - NINE, DREAMGIRLS and NICHOLAS NICKLEBY

83/84 - LA CAGE AUX FOLLES, SUNDAY IN THE PARK, BABY, THE RINK, THE TAP DANCE KID, and THE REAL THING

96/96 - TITANIC, STEEL PIER, THE LIFE, JEKYLL & HYDE plus revivals of CHICAGO, CANDIDE, ANNIE and ONCE UPON A MATTRESS. (They Tony broadcast fit in numbers from all 8 plus 12 awards into a 2-hour timeslot!)

For the record, my choice as the worst Tony season of the past 40 years: 1994/95 when the truly awful SUNSET BLVD won Best Musical only because there was no other new musical to compete against it. I wish they had altered the rules to allow SHOW BOAT to compete as a new show that season to prevent this travesty.

Broadway & the test of time

Updated On: 6/12/09 at 05:16 AM

[binau]

Posted: 6/12/09 at 6:41am

Couldn't you just get any season and apply the same analogy this article does to any show that had bad reviews?

Also, I'm not sure why we should be thanking Sondheim for N2N, since he didn't write the book for or even initiate the development of most of his show :-/.

[wonkit]

Posted: 6/12/09 at 9:58am

Sondheim broke the mold for musical subject matter (cannibalism, art or foreign affairs anyone?) - which makes a musical about bi-polar disorder possible.

[madbrian]

Posted: 6/12/09 at 10:08am

I think this was an outstanding year for non-musicals. If you think about the nominees for lead actress, Tovah Feldshuh, Jayne Atkinson, and Kristin Scott Thomas were all worthy candidates left off the list. And there was room for neither Blithe Spirit nor Equus in the Best Revival of a Play category.

[Kad]

Posted: 6/12/09 at 11:33am

I have to say that, in my opinion, one of the best seasons lately was 2004-2005. The four best musical nominees, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Light in the Piazza, Spelling Bee, and Spamalot, were all strong. And the way the major Tonys were spread amongst them reflected that.

[singtopher]

Posted: 6/12/09 at 11:53am

Agreed, KAD. That year sticks out in my memory as a great year for new musicals.

[AndAllThatJazz22]

Posted: 6/12/09 at 12:03pm

100% with Kad

[madbrian]

Posted: 6/12/09 at 12:32pm

While I agree that 2004-2005 was a great season, I'm now bummed by the fact that it's been four years, and I'm still not over the fact that Spamalot won Best Musical. For me, it was by far the weakest of the four nominees.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 6/12/09 at 12:38pm

SPAMALOT was by far the worst of the four nominees that year. By far.

PIAZZA, SPELLING BEE, and SOUNDRELS were all absolutely fantastic. SPAMALOT was elevated by a stellar cast but it was nowhere near as good as any of the other nominees. SCOUNDRELS was the best film-to-stage adaptation since HAIRSPRAY, PIAZZA was incredibly gorgeous and featured an unbelievably good performance from Clark, and SPELLING BEE was one of the funniest and most touching shows I'd seen in years. SPAMALOT was stupid fun that, without a cast as strong as the one they had (which Ramirez in a star-making turn), would have fallen completely flat.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 6/12/09 at 12:48pm

One man's trash, I guess, but the first and third seasons listed in the original post struck me as deadly dull as they happened and even deadlier duller in hindsight.

[binau]

Posted: 6/12/09 at 7:05pm

"Sondheim broke the mold for musical subject matter (cannibalism, art or foreign affairs anyone?) - which makes a musical about bi-polar disorder possible."

But as I said, he isn't responsible for this (ok maybe Cannibalism since Sweeney was one of his own) - all the work was brought to him. We should be thanking e.g. Pacific Overtures Hal Prince and John Weidman, as they initiated/wrote the book.

This is part of my "Sondheim-gets-too-much-credit" vendetta.

[Kad]

Posted: 6/12/09 at 7:17pm

I also forgot how 04/05 also was a great season for new plays: The Pillowman, Gem of the Ocean, Doubt, and Democracy. However, it suffered in the revival categories- the 3 nominated musical revivals were mediocre to poor, with the play revivals being mostly decent.

[alliez92092]

Posted: 6/12/09 at 7:37pm

The 2004-2005 seasons was one of the first things that came to my mind, just because it was the most recent of the strong years. And I agree with everyone here, Spamalot was the weakest of the 4 shows. The other 3 musicals were much stronger. When I went to New York that summer I was blown away by DRS, Spelling Bee, and Light in the Piazza, but completely underwhelmed by Spamalot.

1998 was a relatively strong year as well with The Lion King, Ragtime, Side Show, and The Scarlet Pimpernel.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 6/12/09 at 8:49pm

95/96? Boy, I guess you had to be there.