Reflecting on Alex Newell not getting the Tony nom — Page 2

I have mentioned this before, but when I saw the show two or three weeks ago Alex not only was vocally struggling, but only barely came alive during his song. The rest of the show when he didnt have to walk around was him going to his little table and drinking water. Lea Salonga and Kenita Miller were in the moment the whole time and gave beautiful performances.

When I saw him early in the run he was a standout and I personally would have nominated him. We will never know why the nominators do or dont nominate a performer. I will point out, for those who have said he was vocally struggling or not as engaged lately, that he has had 2 bouts of strep throat during the past couple months. There have been a couple sicknesses that have spread through the OOTI cast, and from social media it seems Alex caught it twice. Since vocal power is a huge part of the role, a shaky vocal performance due to being sick could have affected his chances if any nominators saw him during those periods.

I was a little surprised when he wasn't nominated because at least he HAD a song. Gemignani was good, but all of his material was practically cut. What about him is better exactly?

We'll never know, but Alex was on fire every single show earlier in the run. I feel like if OOTI had opened in the spring, his voice would've been still strong and maybe he could've been nominated. He might've overestimated what he could sustain for many months.

I disagree with anyone who says "one song can't get you a Tony" (paraphrased) because most featured performances have that: one song. They are present throughout, but get one big moment. Without "I'm Not a Loser" would Gavin be nominated? Probably not. Of course there are exceptions (I feel like Grey Henson is one), but many Tony-nominated or -winning performances come from an outstanding performance of one specific song.

Elegance101 said: "We'll never know, but Alex was on fire every single show earlier in the run."

Eh, I disagree. I saw the show twice in December, and then again in March, and while he was totally checked out in March, I thought he was already pretty checked out in December too. It's like he forgot he needs to be present throughout the whole show and can't just growl and belt through one song and call it a day. People will go crazy over Mama Will Provide no matter what he does or doesn't do - that's just the nature of that song. I think his lack of energy/commitment just sticks out a lot because the rest is so on point and focused from the minute they walk out on stage. (I mean, watch Kenita Miller in the second half when she's playing a background ensemble member holding up a mirror. She still draws you in.)

Either way, if he's having vocal problems it is what it is, but that means that an actor needs to double down on the, well, acting. And I definitely don't think he's doing that. It's a shame, because I just don't think he realized what he was getting himself into.

Tl;dr - I'm not surprised that he didn't get a nomination, but I don't think it has anything to do with his gender or the amount of material he has... it's just a relatively uninspired and textbook performance compared to others this season.

(Though if we're complaining about people being nominated for tiny roles... I still can't wrap my head around Diana Rigg getting a nod in place of someone like Barrett Wilbert Weed or Kate Rockwell this year. Those two put so much energy into their roles throughout the entire show! No disrespect to Ms. Rigg. But come on. Also, FWIW, I don't know Carousel well at all, so went in pretty blind and had no idea what was or wasn't cut, and Gemignani was one of the standouts to me.)

Even before he got sick he still had bad vocal habits. Being sick has probably magnified everything. To me he should have taken more time off. When your sick (coughing, strep etc) your vocal cords usually get swollen. And singing on swollen chords can be extremely dangerous unless you have really great technique. When I saw the show he growled the entire song and dodged the high notes at the end. If your sick and vocally struggling the LAST thing you should do is growl to get sound out. Growling constricts.

Newell didn’t deserve a Tony nomination. He brought nothing new to the role, the performance I saw he vamped and over acted to the point of being a distraction.

A strong vocal does not always make for a TONY.

He sings the living hell out of his moment, but it's a cardboard character. It was never meat to be more than that, no matter how they dress it up.

This would be like if people questioned why Lynette Perry wasn't nominated for the OBC of Ragtime.

Scarlet Leigh said: ...he was not something totally groundbreaking in the role..."

And Alexander Gemignani was? Lmao.