Riedel says: Oprah not out of the question for TONY host- Page 2

[Crazy4Bway]

Posted: 5/3/06 at 1:26pm

Someone give these Tony people a Tony for "Best Suck Up" if they get Oprah to do this and rig it for TCP to win a tihng just for her. Just please do not allow Oprah to be the Tony host-we see enough of her face as it is-its past the point of being too much

[mejusthavingfun]

Posted: 5/3/06 at 1:26pm

they are lucky this show hasn't been cancelled yet. what a drag.

Posted: 5/3/06 at 2:01pm

"But it's such a slap in the face to the theater community to have to put this Hollywood garbage into our yearly celebration of the best of Broadway. No one's interested."


Oprah is from Chicago, not Hollywood.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 5/3/06 at 2:13pm

BroadwayBaby6,

Color Purple's reviews were NOT "mostly unfavorable." It got Mixed-to-Positive reviews with a couple of raves and a couple of pans. Its critical slate is certainly on a par with several previous Best Musical Tony winners (and better than Millie's, Titanic's, and a few others) and the fact that it's a major hit is going to help with the voters. Some examples of the positives:

Backstage:

"After a parade of mediocre songbook musicals and screen-to-stage tuners (think Footloose), Broadway should applaud long and loud over The Color Purple, based on the iconic Alice Walker novel and the 1985 Steven Spielberg film. As musical theatre, the piece has flaws -- the grating Act I imbalance between Marsha Norman's book and the songs, a sense of being too episodic -- yet its ambitions are blissfully noble. It is that rare bird: a serious, intelligent, crowd-pleasing Broadway musical. When Celie is reunited with Nettie, who became a missionary and raised Celie's children in Africa, there's not a dry eye in the house at the sight of these two women, whole and truly free. There are several moments like this in The Color Purple, which marks director Gary Griffin's Broadway debut. He paints beautiful stage pictures, but he does something else: He captures the dramatic color of great material ? and the hue and cry of joy. "


Broadway.com:

"Jukebox musicals and chamber pieces are fine and well. Ditto theme-park spectacles and ironic lampoons. But the new musical The Color Purple reminds us what Broadway's for, and all that Broadway can be: big-hearted, broad-stroked storytelling, with the epic emotional sweep only music can conjure. On its own terms, this deft, moving adaptation of Alice Walker's seminal feminist novel works like gangbusters; that's cause for rejoicing enough. We should also save some hallelujahs for what it represents: another alive-and-kicking incarnation of that seemingly endangered species, the straightfacedly serious book musical. They've made some choices we can quibble with, and, given the show's incendiary subject matter, even squabble over. But you'd have to have ice water in your veins not to be stirred by this unabashed paean to human resilience, and impressed by a production as masterfully executed as it is soulfully intended. "


NY Post:

"What in the final count carries the show, and what you carry out from the theater, is the commercially yet adroitly conceived music, the vibrant singing from the entire cast, and the individual performances that in many instances transcend the material. Finally, one cannot forget the choral, moral, comic threesome of Kimberly Ann Harris, Maia Nkenge Wilson and Virginia Ann Woodruff. Like this musical itself, this trio of ladies is neatly calculated, brashly obvious -- yet somehow, wickedly winning. "


Newsday:

"'The Color Purple," which opened last night at the Broadway Theatre with Oprah Winfrey's approving brand on the marquee, is a big, beautifully cast and produced, middle-of-the-road musical adaptation of Alice Walker's 1982 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. It also is awfully nicey-nice for an epic about racism and black-on-black sexual abuse in Georgia in the first half of the 20th century. The show loses its way in the second act and, ultimately, leaves no cliche unturned. But this is not merely the first new old-fashioned American musical of the season. It may well be built to last. And for all the obvious expense of this handsome production, Gary Griffin's direction and Donald Byrd's exuberantly lyrical choreography seldom feel hard-sell. For much of the evening, director Griffin - a Sondheim specialist from Chicago making his impressive Broadway debut - locates the perilous balance between the vitality and oppression that drove Walker's haunting story about the male-dominated, post-slavery African-American culture."


The AP:

"At the beginning of "The Color Purple," two young girls sit in a giant, gnarled tree that dominates the stage of the vast Broadway Theatre. It's a sweet-tempered image of sisterhood that haunts this respectful, occasionally roof-raising musical adaptation of Alice Walker's Pulitzer Prize-winning tale of female empowerment. Fans of Walker's novel most likely will not be disappointed in this reverent stage retelling and will embrace it heartily as a live souvenir of the original. Others may crave a little more theatrical excitement."


Nytheatre.com:

"The Color Purple, the exquisite new musical adapted from Alice Walker's novel and Steven Spielberg's film, is glorious. It's joyous and heartbreaking, funny and sad, exhilarating and serious, epic and scarringly intimate. It's a triumphant celebration of how one woman finds her voice by finding faith and power within herself. And it's a show that exults in letting its audience feel, be moved, and become part of its uplifting emotional spirit. The Color Purple, effusive and sprawling and full-hearted, is a welcome addition to Broadway. I hope it will stay there for a long, long time."


Theatremania:

"I suspect that many facets of The Color Purple -- not just LaChanze's performance -- will be remembered at Tony Awards time. I'd put my money on the charismatic Fields, who's making a marvelous Broadway debut, and Paul Tazewell's consistently terrific costumes. (Hair designer Charles G. LaPointe also deserves special mention.) Director Gary Griffin may have a tougher time getting to the podium; his ensemble work, in particular, seems uninspired. As for the show itself, it's too early in the season to tell if it will take home the blue ribbon. But all those involved -- and that includes you, Oprah! -- should consider themselves winners for bringing Walker's work to the stage so smartly."


Curtainup:

"Making this epic journey from despair to the discovery of love, independence, creativity and spiritual renewal into a musical that's fun and bright is a tough balancing act, but Ms. Norman and director Gary Griffin prove themselves to be adept jugglers. While there are plenty of get out your handkerchief moments, it is clear from the start that this is also a good time show. With songs running the gamot of blues, jazz, gospel and ballads, the composer-lyricists can't be faulted for lack of variety in musicalizing the story. "


NY1:

"The Color Purple is a complex work effectively combining the power of the novel with the magic of live stage. Director Gary Griffin and his choreographer Donald Byrd took some bold liberties that mostly paid off. As art, the show is flawed, but it's also so full of heart, the flaws don't seem to matter. The Color Purple sings to the soul. "

[musicalfandukie]

Posted: 5/3/06 at 2:25pm

"Mary Tyler Moore (who was in "Thoroughly Modern Millie") presented the award to...:gasp:...THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE."

wasn't Mary Tyler Moore only in the movie version of Thoroughly Modern millie and not the stage show??

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 5/3/06 at 2:28pm

Yes, she was only in the movie.

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 5/3/06 at 2:31pm

Joe Brooks should host.

[BroadwayBaby6]

Posted: 5/3/06 at 2:49pm

Margo, I guess you can look at the glass as either half-empty or half-full. I still am not sure whether you're willing to go out on a limb and say that Color Purple stands the best chance of winning best musical. Allow me to say that I enjoyed Color Purple- while I thought there was a lot wrong with it, I thought the principals were phenomenal (Felicia Fields, La Chanze, Elizabeth Mendes-Withers).

My personal choice for best musical would be Drowsy Chaperone. As much as I loved Jersey Boys, I don't feel that a jukebox musical should win Best Musical.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 5/3/06 at 3:03pm

I was only pointing out that The Color Purple's reviews were actually a lot better than some people seem to remember. There's a misconception for some reason that the critics panned it and that's just not true. There were maybe three reviews that I would call out-and-out negative, but the bulk were mixed-to positive, and even a few raves.

I would love for a couple of the performers to get recognized by the Tonys, as well as the design elements, but, I agree that Drowsy and Jersey Boys are the likely frontrunners for Best Musical. And yes, I think many people share your sentiment that a show like Drowsy with an original book and score should be favored over a jukebox show, no matter how well it's put together.

[FOAnatic]

Posted: 5/3/06 at 3:15pm

wasn't Mary Tyler Moore only in the movie version of Thoroughly Modern millie and not the stage show??

I never said MTM was in the stage show. That's why I put the movie title in quotations instead of capitalizing the title. I realize she was only in the movie but she still has a connection with the stage show.

That's what I was getting at.

[FOAnatic]

Posted: 5/3/06 at 3:17pm

As much as I loved Jersey Boys, I don't feel that a jukebox musical should win Best Musical.

Not if it's superior to the other nominated shows? That's kind of messed up logic.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 5/3/06 at 3:58pm

I think Oprah would bring in the most viewers. And if she really cares for the theater world, then she'd know that her hosting the Tonys would improve ratings. Esp if she plugged the show on her talk show. And on top of that, get Julia Roberts to present something, then ratings would be decent.

[JustABroadwaybaby2]

Posted: 5/3/06 at 4:26pm

"the ratings have been so low the last few years that it's almost charity for a major network to carry the broadcast. perhaps if they were on BRAVO instead, we could have marvelous, not so well known theater folk do the honors and have a great show instead of the frightening hugh/aretha duets, etc that we're subjected to"
and
"But it's such a slap in the face to the theater community to have to put this Hollywood garbage into our yearly celebration of the best of Broadway. No one's interested.

Personally, I think there should be no host. Just presenters. No performances except from the ones from nominated shows, and then those can be extended."
Those are two opinions i agree with. What happened to the Tony's? What happened to it's heart? And the ideals it once persued? The performances OF the musicals are too short, and the SHLOCK is too long! I wish someone who KNOWS theatre and a good all-around host should host, if there should even be a host. All I can say about Oprah hosting is... I can't see it happening, only if they can't find any other host, they might just pick hugh jackman again (eurgh.) or her. What about someone who hasn't been on the scene in a couple of years?

Updated On: 5/3/06 at 04:26 PM

[TonyaFanatic]

Posted: 5/3/06 at 5:50pm

I would like it if Rosie hosted agin. I always thought she was so much fun

[jo]

Posted: 5/3/06 at 10:05pm

Oprah and Hugh together could have worked!

Unfortunately, Hugh would not be available ( he's very busy on the media blitz for his movie "XMEN:The Last Stand"...including the premiere in Cannes towards the end of this month) - but he and Oprah could have made interesting co-hosts. There is a Hugh interview in the forthcoming issue of her magazine - so, maybe they had even discussed the possibility.

[Fan2]

Posted: 5/3/06 at 10:10pm

Hugh did say on Leno that they are celebrating his father's 70th birthday in Australia "in June" so perhaps that was the conflict. I don't think the conflict would be X-Men - the movie would be out a few weeks by the time the Tony Awards air.
Updated On: 5/3/06 at 10:10 PM

[emo_geek]

Posted: 5/3/06 at 10:53pm

I totally agree with margo about Angela hosting.

[ZONEACE]

Posted: 5/3/06 at 10:59pm

Ok I'm not really one to be offended but Margo "drama club queens" was rather uncalled for.

but i agree, there is no way to get the kids to watch unless they are involved with theatre. Cause frankly, who else gives a damn about NY theatre?

[jo]

Posted: 5/4/06 at 12:13am

Fan2,

If I remember right --

Hugh has mentioned that he was involved in putting together the show with the writers and the producers ( at least for the 2004 show), so it isn't always just a matter of being there for the rehearsals. I remember him saying that for a few weeks he was exchanging emails with Bruce Villanch re the 2004 show before it was totally put together.

Of course, there is always the possibility that his Dad's milestone birthday celebrations could be occurring right around TONY time.

Jo
Updated On: 5/4/06 at 12:13 AM

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 5/4/06 at 12:22am

As much as it should be "all about theatre" - lets be realistic. Theatre isn't the big deal it use to be. I'd rather the Tony's go Hollywood than to have them pulled off the air. Not many young people care about Lansbury, producers know that. The Tonys are a hard sell anyways with Letterman and Chris Rock calling it an awards show for gay people. it's going to be hard to get teens to watch it.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 5/4/06 at 12:33am

The Idea that TCP would win automatically if Oprah hosts sounds just ridiculous.
I know it's political but that makes no sense.
I agree with others that the Best musical this year is the Original
THE DROWSY CHAPERONE
The TONYs need A fun Host like Martin Short.