Randi Graff not nominated for fantine,but Anne wins?

Sorry, but I really disliked Randi's performance. I remember being very disappointed that Lupone wasn't coming to Bway to do Les Mis. Two completely different performances and yes, I saw both.

Randi was supposed to come to Bway in the cancelled revival of Funny Girl as Fanny's mom.

I don't think Anne's Fantine is iconic, but then again I don't give out the oscars. To me, her fantine was "cry". Every scene, every time you open your mouth cry. On mass, people see that an actor who cries as amazing. She is also very pretty and made herself ugly. Oscars love that (Halle Berry, Charlize, and Nicole Kidman). Don't get me started on Anne's singing. If you want a Fantine who can cry watch Debra Bryne. She at least adds subtext and singing ability

For Randy, She is by far not my favorite Fantine. Though I did enjoy her in Damn Yankees. In '87, there were only 3 nominees for lead actress. It seems they consciously left her out if she would've been considered a "lead". If not a lead, she would have been up against Frances and Judy in featured. The other two nominees were from Me and My Girl. At that time, there seemed to be a cap at 4 nominees per category. Imagine if they had nominated Randi, Frances, and Judy and only one from Me and My Girl. There may have been backlash. Her and David Bryant were the only ones of the main cast, exluding thenardiers, that were not nominated.

Updated On: 3/19/13 at 01:21 PM

I can't imagine anyone playing Fantine being put in the lead category for an award. Terrence Mann was nominated for the lead actor Tony but that was a real stretch.

"On mass, people see that an actor who cries as amazing."

I think you mean en masse, but you have a very good point. Crying has come to be seen as the ne plus ultra of acting, when it's little more than a relatively easy trick like a somersault.

Let the waterworks start flowing, though, and it seems herds of folks start kvelling about "truth" and "realness of emotion."

newintown--thanks for correcting me and giving me a new phrase. i knew it sounded weird. just couldn't figure out why.

Let's fantasize for bit. Let's say Patti did play Fantine on Bway. Do you think:
1) She would have been nominated? and for which (lead/featured)
2) Would she have won?

Updated On: 3/19/13 at 04:27 PM

Thank you Chinto for saying exactly how I felt about Annes' performance-plus--Debra Byrne shows suffering without the histrionics[?]-it's all there in the voice[listen to her Norma Desmond to be convinced].

Updated On: 3/19/13 at 05:13 PM

if anyone has not seen randy with seth on playbill's obsessed. it's a good watch.

Randy was fine in the role on Broadway. I saw the full OBC four days after it opened. There was a big disappointment that LuPone wasn't recreating her role from the London production.

So it was more like:

"In the role of Fantine .... not Patti LuPone."

And who is going to nominate the actress known as "Not Patti LuPone?"

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I'm sure I'm in the minority, but I never liked Fantine as a character, the 3 times I saw LES MIZ on stage. I always waited for her to die so we could get to "Confrontation." For me, the character worked a lot better on the big screen. For the first time, I actually felt for her and her plight.

I loved Randy Graff in CITY OF ANGELS.

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The question to ponder though is if Patti had done Les Miserables on Broadway would she have been available for Anything Goes, which began previews only six months after the opening of Les Mis. Does anybody know if Anything Goes was built around Patti, or would Lincoln Center have simply cast somebody else and moved on if she had been unavailable or uninterested due to being in Les Mis at the time?

Frank Rich panned Randy Graff. Tony people seemed to stick pretty close to his review excluding David Bryant and Randy Graff from nominations in favor of Michael McGuire and Judy Kuhn in smaller roles.

It shows you how powerful (and feared/hated) Rich was back in the day. (even if the Tony nominating committee was only subconsciously influenced by his review.)
Frank Rich on Les Miserables