Riedel: "AWARDS BRING OUT B'WAY'S NASTY SIDE"

[BustopherPhantom]

Posted: 4/30/08 at 7:27am

http://www.nypost.com/seven/04302008/entertainment/theater/weak_in_the_nominees_108756.htm

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 4/30/08 at 7:32am

"Sierra Boggess [DD nominee]? I'm not even sure who she is, and I saw 'Little Mermaid.' Well, the first act. Was she in the first act?"

[LuPonatic]

Posted: 4/30/08 at 7:38am

I really love his column (even though he likes to dis on my favorite show this season)

[keen on kean]

Posted: 4/30/08 at 7:53am

Since one of my best friends had polio in the 1950's, the crippled husband discussion was unbelievably tasteless and hurtful. C'mon, Reidel - draw the line somewhere.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 4/30/08 at 8:19am

That one article makes my night's worth of "internet outage" somewhat forgivable.

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 4/30/08 at 9:00am

I think its time to trot out a little Pansy Division:


He thinks he's Oscar Wilde, but he's Paul Lynde
Can't say anything good about anything
He flips his cigarette with disdain
You've failed to live up to his standards again
He's a negative queen, he's a negative queen

He reads all the latest magazines
He's quick to follow, but thinks he's in the lead
He was there and you weren't
You're out of it, you're not current
He's a negative queen, he's a negative queen

He drips disdain, he's lacking tact
He's popular in a scene
Where being nice is a radical act

Everything's got to be just so
If it's not, he'll let you know
Don't put up posters on Castro Street
He'll rip them down so he can shop in peace
He's a negative queen, he's a negative queen

He struts into a bar with swagger
Stumbles out later with a stagger
Spent half his life in a bar
Now he looks so haggard
No sympathy for a braggart

Everything's got to be just so
If it's not, he'll let you now
Darling, you simply haven't lived
Unless you've lived like him
He's a negative queen, he's a negative queen

[tazber]

Posted: 4/30/08 at 9:27am

That was the best Riedel column in ages.

Some of those comments were just awful. (but funny)

[Corine2]

Posted: 4/30/08 at 9:51am

YIKES. I will respond with my favorite line from PASSING STRANGE:
"WHAT'S INSIDE IS JUST A LIE"
Isn't there anything more exciting to write about?
PS I LOVED A CATERED AFFAIR. Not one snore in my row.
Updated On: 4/30/08 at 09:51 AM

[JRybka]

Posted: 4/30/08 at 9:51am

Keen on Kean.. I think he was saying that he thought it was in bad taste too... It was not his opinion just what he heard....
But I could be wrong.

[Anakela]

Posted: 4/30/08 at 10:19am

Skipping over the nasty side for a sec- does anyone else agree with his prediction that YF is going to get *two* of the five featured actress slots? (Andrea Martin and Sutton Foster)

[tazber]

Posted: 4/30/08 at 10:38am

I think Martin and Mulallay will, not Foster.

[BreeDaniel]

Posted: 4/30/08 at 10:58am

I wouldn't bet on Mulally but on the other hand, we all know how starry eyed the nominating committee can be. In other words, she's not giving a nomination worthy performance IMO.

[dented146]

Posted: 4/30/08 at 11:22am

I liked A Catered Affair as well. But in all seriousness, if I had gone to the performance on a weekday night after a long day at work, it would have seemed a totally show.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 4/30/08 at 12:26pm

His point seemed to be that the comments made by the producers/press agents/etc were more vicious than even he would dare to be. Don't know.
The Sierra comment was pretty funny though.

[stagescreen]

Posted: 4/30/08 at 1:04pm

@Borstalboy: Thanks for the Pansy Division lyrics. How apropos!

[singingbackup]

Posted: 4/30/08 at 1:06pm

Looks like just an excuse to brag about hanging with Nathan Lane.

[Not Barker, Todd.]

Posted: 4/30/08 at 1:19pm

I think he's pointing out how nasty and awful everyone gets at this time. Not laughing at polio jokes.

[blaxx]

Posted: 4/30/08 at 2:15pm

The reason they're called the Outer Critics is because you want to keep them out of the theater!

[harris007]

Posted: 4/30/08 at 2:33pm

hey borstal

hang on to that song, we're gonna need it for the tony nom's


also can we get it printed on shirts to hand out?

[JRybka]

Posted: 4/30/08 at 3:22pm

I have to say that after watching The Little Mermaid.. it was really the Ariel/Ursula show.... How about the two of them do SIDE SHOW?

[fflagg]

Posted: 4/30/08 at 3:36pm

Stop being so PC! I love his column.

The bottom line is winning a Tony does not mean sh*t anymore. Even if/when Patti L. wins the Tony for "Gypsy" what will it do her? She is not going to star in any film remake of it. She should be smart and try to get a gig like Angela Bassett on an A-level drama for a season, like "Boston Legal" or one of the "CSIs".

[BrianS]

Posted: 4/30/08 at 4:41pm

"The bottom line is winning a Tony..."

There are a lot of us who see our very talented friends work very hard. When their peers acknowledge that with a Tony nomination or a win, it means a lot to us because we know how much work went into that achievement.

By your definition, the Pulitzer Prize is also a waste of an award because it won't land you a 7 figure salary.

btw, unlike a lot of the bashers, I actually saw Little Mermaid and if you saw how well Sierra performed "Beyond My Wildest Dreams" and elevate a pretty mediocre book with some pretty solid acting I think her nomination makes a lot more sense.

Flame away.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 4/30/08 at 7:19pm

From what my friends have told me, I'm not sure why Sutton has so much hoopla about her. She seems to just be doing her same ol' same ol' just in a different show. My friends raved about Mulallay though.

[keen on kean]

Posted: 4/30/08 at 9:31pm

My point is that by including those remarks he takes a casual stupid remark and memorializes it. I would feel just as offended if the remark was racist, or sexist. He is participating in the behavior that he seems to be criticizing.