Riedel on the Tony Nominations — Page 2

Although I hate the play, TALK RADIO is a strong production. To me, it deserves the nod over the horrendously long and strangely misfired production of HEARTBREAK HOUSE.

I am seeing LEGALLY BLONDE tonight, but I sure as hell hope that the 4th slot goes to LOVEMUSIK.

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I'm kind of suprised that Lovemusik will get a nod. The show itself didn't recieve the best reviews, and I'd say most people would want to sit through Blonde then they would want to sit through Lovemusik. It's sort of like Grey Gardens where the performances make the show look better than it is.

No, I'm going off reviews, not the actual show. Which I'm sure is how some of the people vote considering I doubt all of the people have seen all of the shows.

out of all the new musicals, Spring Awakening is the only one where the show itself got the best reviews, right? Everything else seemed to praise the performances rather than the show, right?

The show is excellent itself. I love the music and book tremendously. It is a touching story and the acting is superior.
However, the material is very strong, too.

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Grey Gardens is one of my favorite musicals of all time. and i'm not prone to say that about many musicals. seriously, there hasn't been anything this good on Broadway (in my opinion) since Ragtime.

He focuses in on the performances, but doesn't say TOO much about the show itself and the score.

Though you did only quote one half of a sentence, where he goes on to say that the show is much improved from off-Broadway.

and he made it a NYTimes critics' pic. Not common.

But, by and large, the reviews for GREY GARDENS were positive and enthusiastic.

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Did you see the docu?

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I was asking Mr. Music.

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no i don't think so. though i was obsessed with the documentary for quite sometime before seeing the show itself. when i saw the Broadway show i was really amazed by how my little Edie was walking around right in front of me.

it also fleshed out a lot of the things they bicker about in the documentary by the fictional Act 1. my roommate, however, claims he would've never enjoyed it had he have not been as obsessed with the documentary too

right but unless you've seen both LoveMusik and Legally Blonde, you can't compare the two. LoveMusik is visually stunning. it may be rickety and have more blackouts than a community college theatre production but the vocals and staging are GORGEOUS.

Legally Blonde looks cookie cutter and the score is dreck.

"If the Tony's were honestly honoring excellence in Artistic Merit - LOVEMUSIK gets the 4th slot, no questions asked."

I disagree. I found "LoveMusik" to be nothing more than a cold, hollow frame showcasing two brilliantly blinding performances. If you go back and read the reviews, almost every critic raved about Murphy and Cerveris but acknowledged that they aren't working in a show worthy of their performances.

For me, though "Legally Blonde" has many faults and a very hit and miss score, I would give it the final nomination. Jerry Mitchell managed to bring all the enjoyable things about the film to the stage in a way that is (most of the time) pretty smart (though I could have done without the hundreth reprise of the opening number.)

In regards to the "road potential" theory-- I really don't see why the producers have already decided to bring "Spring Awakening" out on tour. I can't fathom that show succeeding financially in most towns across the country. Perhaps if they nab Best Musical they'll have a better chance at promoting it as high art, but though it is really pretty spectacular... I just don't see it making it on the road.

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