Remember When Bernadette Peters Lost the Tony to Marissa Jaret Winokur...

[binau]

Posted: 5/25/10 at 2:10am

Let's talk about it. There's nothing good on TV tonight :)

Updated On: 5/25/10 at 02:10 AM

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 5/25/10 at 2:14am

It was a little embarrassing. Especially after Bernadette gave one helluva Tony performance.

~Steven

[jewishboy]

Posted: 5/25/10 at 9:01am

I thought Marissa deserved it. Not to say that Peters' performance was bad...

[alterego]

Posted: 5/25/10 at 9:22am

Oh God, let's not bring this up again.

[Here I Am]

Posted: 5/28/10 at 2:26pm

I know it's old news, but I'm glad it was brought up because I was just complaining about this the other day. To me, it was the biggest joke in Tony history.

[JP2]

Posted: 5/28/10 at 2:30pm

"To me, it was the biggest joke in Tony history."

Bite your tongue! Say something like that, and next thing you know Montego Glover beats out Zeta Jones and Sherie Rene Scott.

[Here I Am]

Posted: 5/28/10 at 2:33pm

True! I'm knocking on wood here! Believe me, I WANT Sherie to win that Tony SOOO bad! And I haven't seen Catherine Zeta-Jones yet, but I love her so I would be happy if she won as well.

[dry2olives]

Posted: 5/28/10 at 3:29pm

Bernadette Peters developed a respiratory infection during Gypsy previews and kept performing while sick. (I believe she missed only one performance during that time.) Since Gypsy opened just before the Tony deadline it's likely that all the voters saw her perform while she was sick.

[Ed_Mottershead]

Posted: 5/28/10 at 10:28pm

I saw that production shortly after it opened. IMO, Bernadette was disappointing in the first act, but got better by the second. I felt it was a good stab at the part, but it didn't erase memories of Merman (who could?), Lansbury, or Daly. And then Patti comes along and brings it up to the Merman level again. I guess what I'm saying is that Peters was the least satisfacrory of the Mama Roses I've seen on stage without being bad -- I felt she was giving it her all. Under those circumstances, I didn't have a real problem with Marissa winning.

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 5/28/10 at 10:38pm

I always likened it to Peters wearing a dress that had been designed for someone else. They could alter it to fit her but it was never quite right.

I felt the same way about ANNIE GET YOUR GUN...she handled the ballds superbly but the more raucus numbers required a Mermanesue belt.

[madbrian]

Posted: 5/28/10 at 10:57pm

Peters paled in comparison to prior, and subsequent, Roses. Winokur deserved the Tony. To me, the worst Tony decision was awarding Best Musical to Spamalot, when it was inferior to all three other nominees (Piazza, Scoundrels, Spelling Bee).

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 5/28/10 at 11:08pm

madbrian, what pissed me off even more about SPAMALOT winning the award was afterwards, Eric Idol gave an interview somewhere where he made a statement like "See, you CAN buy a Tony award!"

That winning and Tonya Pinkins losing were the two greatest fvck ups in the past decade as far as those awards go in my opinion.

[strummergirl]

Posted: 5/28/10 at 11:26pm

Spamalot fan (though I loved the performances in Piazza more than the story, liked but did not love Spelling Bee, and my only experience with DRS was a bad one) who while watching the Tonys was actually thinking that the night was not going for the show. Sara won, that near a given, but nothing until Best Musical. I give Mike Nichols credit for at least acknowledging their non-acting category nominees.

Bernadette's performance at the Tony's literally made me stop what I was doing. I cannot say how she compares to other Roses, but that was beautiful and memorable. That said I loved Hairspray's number, but that was an ensemble effort, but the show just had all the momentum going in their favor that night. MJW won the other previous awards earlier so maybe it was not a shock. It was like a boxing match when the once prized fighter faces the new kid on the block with all the new accolades but then the veteran shows they still got it and has the crowd on their side. Okay that may be pushing the sports analogy a bit.

[James885]

Posted: 5/28/10 at 11:37pm

I thought Bernadette was an amazing Rose. Granted, I saw her later in the run about a month before the show closed so that may not have been the same performance that she gave to the Tony voters, but she blew me away when I saw her. I loved how she played a more sexy, petite, seductive, and somewhat fragile Rose instead of the hardened battle-ax of a woman that many others have portrayed her (and I don't mean that in a negative way). Like someone else said, you could clearly see why Herbie would choose to stick around for so many years.

Updated On: 5/29/10 at 11:37 PM

[slmlbl]

Posted: 5/29/10 at 1:04am

I love BP in GYPSy. still mark it as one of my fave b'way performances ive seen. couldnt take my eyes off her or Tammy B

[Spacedog78]

Posted: 5/29/10 at 12:51pm

I remember I laughed and clapped!!!

[alterego]

Posted: 5/29/10 at 10:56pm

Ah, the old " I have a respiratory infection" line. Many have used that to great effect.

[rjm516]

Posted: 5/30/10 at 11:53am

I still can't believe Spamalot beat Piazza, Spelling Bee, and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. But more than that, I can't believe how this season's nominees/contenders compare to past seasons. So much great theatre in that year, just as one example, and this year there is such a dearth.

[gypsy4]

Posted: 5/30/10 at 4:36pm

Marissa deserved that award even over bernadette. I remeber that moment I was jumping out of my seat and my love for Hairspray was ectsatic that year.
Updated On: 5/30/10 at 04:36 PM

[sally1112]

Posted: 5/30/10 at 5:09pm

"To me, it was the biggest joke in Tony history."

really? You must not have heard the one about Patti LuPone loosing for her role in Sweeney Todd to...what's her name.

[DAME]

Posted: 5/31/10 at 12:49pm

"Bernadette Peters developed a respiratory infection during Gypsy previews and kept performing while sick. (I believe she missed only one performance during that time.) Since Gypsy opened just before the Tony deadline it's likely that all the voters saw her perform while she was sick."

Oh please.. they were saying the same thing during Song and Dance, Sunday, Goodbye Girl, and then Gypsy. She sucked in the show. Totally miscast and it was a awful production. The shocker would have been if she would have won.

[philcrosby]

Posted: 5/31/10 at 4:03pm

Bernie lost the Tony?

[Kalimba]

Posted: 5/31/10 at 4:15pm

Remember when Bernadette Peters won for Annie Get Your Gun? What a joke, especially since that production was hideous.

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 5/31/10 at 4:17pm

I saw Bernadette and thought she was OKAY... Just ok.

Marissa deserved it. The country was so depressed over 9-11 and HAIRSPRAY was the perfect prescription for that.

[binau]

Posted: 5/31/10 at 5:46pm

hahah youguys.