Posted: 6/8/15 at 12:00am
WOW! I knew Ruthie was the original shoo-in or whatever, but I thought Sydney or Judy were the ones to beat. I guess choosing between the 2 was too much. Congrats to Ruthie! And her speech was adorable.
Posted: 6/8/15 at 12:02am
Ruthie and Kelli were both very deserving of their awards. They gave very moving performances.
Posted: 6/8/15 at 12:04am
Three actors from the same show in the same category tend to cancel each other out, no?
Posted: 6/8/15 at 12:09am
I was so happy when they named Ruthie and Kelli, they both deserved it tonight. Her face when the tapping sounds were getting louder was priceless.
Posted: 6/8/15 at 1:09am
I don't buy into the "cancel each other out" theory. I don't believe voters go in thinking, "I'd really love to vote for one of the Fun Home gals but I just can't decide which one, so I'll vote for the K&I gal instead." I believe they vote for the performance they most admired.
Posted: 6/8/15 at 1:48am
By splitting the vote, the poster means some vote for Judy and some vote for Sydney but neither of them can get enough to win over Ruthie (and maybe some FUN HOME votes went to Emily Skeggs) - not that they vote for Ruthie simply because they can't choose between them.
Updated On: 6/8/15 at 01:48 AM
Posted: 6/8/15 at 1:50am
I sulked a little bit, because I thought Judy Kuhn A) Should have won and B) Had it in the bag. But...Ruthie Ann Miles was quite good, and I'm happy for her.
It's such a great night for musical theater anyway! Who cares? Good for her! Good for us!
Posted: 6/8/15 at 1:55am
I didn't expect her win at all (I mean, Fun Home had a 60% chance of winning!) but she was so adorable and obviously VERY deserving. How many Asian actors have won a Tony? Hurray for representation!
Posted: 6/8/15 at 2:55am
I believe 4: Yul Brynner, B.D. Wong, Lea Salonga, and now Ruthie Ann Miles. A very welcome addition. She reinvented the role of Lady Thiang.
Posted: 6/8/15 at 3:37am
I read that he was born in the East Asian part of Russia and had a Eurasian family lineage.
Posted: 6/8/15 at 8:07am
Go back to COMPANY: Stritch and Browning cancelled each other out, or so people thought. Last night certainly made that point again. It happens. (And Pamela Myers and Barbara Barrie were supporting; nobody from COMPANY won.)
Posted: 6/8/15 at 8:55am
^Odd to think of either Joanne or April as leading roles.
Updated On: 6/8/15 at 08:55 AM
Posted: 6/8/15 at 8:56am
She was better in Here Lies Love, but she was pretty damn amazing in the King and I, and I thought aside from Wantanabe (who I understood perfectly by the way, but maybe it's because I know a lot of people who speak with very heavy asian accents) was the best member of the cast.
Posted: 6/8/15 at 9:38am
She's a talent that deserves a lead. Here Lies Love proved that she can command a stage. I hope she gets some leads in the future.
Posted: 6/8/15 at 9:57am
The "cancel out" theory means that voters might go in loving one show over another. So the group that preferred Fun Home over King and I and Gigi might not have all preferred the same actress. So they split their vote.
Even if 50% of the voters chose Fun Home, if some voted for Judy, some for Sydney, and some for Emily, each of those women gets only a portion of the Fun Home voters. Maybe 30% of the voters wanted King and I. That smaller percentage is now LARGER than the portion of the 50% for the Fun Home actors.
If only Sydney had been nominated, the thinking is that Fun Home lovers would have ALL voted for her, and she would have won.
I was afraid this would happen. But the fact that 3 of the Fun Home cast members were nominated speaks to its specialness. Not to mention the best musical prize.
Posted: 6/8/15 at 10:37am
Yes, but it also goes to the theory many of us have been suggesting for the last month, which was promptly dismissed by FUN HOME fanatics: splitting the votes is real and it happens. Enough said.
Posted: 6/8/15 at 10:48am
I've posted this before, but Ruthie Ann Miles redefined a role in a way that was surprising and delightful for those of us who know the script and score by heart. In fact, she redefined a role that no one particularly thought would ever be redefined.
She played a younger and more savvy Lady Thiang than any of us have ever seen before. She has a fierce sense of pride in her place as First Wife in the king's household, so she is not jealous of his sexual relations with the other wives. Her manner with Tuptim was hard as nails. That much, we've seen before--it's in the writing.
But this Lady Thiang was also wise enough not to be jealous of the king's romantic attachment to Mrs. Anna. Not only was it something she was not jealous of, it was also something she wanted for him, because she knew he needed it to make him happy, and she was used to sharing him to make him happy.
Ruthie Ann Miles's performance was rich and complex and nuanced and brought a level of depth to the play and "Something Wonderful" that I've never seen before
That's exactly the kind of performance that SHOULD win Tonys.
Updated On: 6/8/15 at 10:48 AM
Posted: 6/8/15 at 10:50am
I was thrilled for her. Hopefully this means we'll definitely see more of her after she leaves this show, since I can't wait to see what else she can do. She's so fantastic.
Posted: 6/8/15 at 10:57am
No doubt she was amazing. She was definitely highlight of the show for me.
Well deserved.
Posted: 6/8/15 at 11:22am
I am pretty sure they raised the key of her song too. I didn't see the show, but I could tell from her singing it last night it was higher. Much higher. She my be wonderful in the show, but she seemed really distracted last night while she was singing. I prefer it in the lower, darker key. I think Judy Kuhn should have won. Not only for her wonderful performance in Fun Home but her body of work through the years.
Posted: 6/8/15 at 11:42am
Friday's NYTimes mini-poll reported THE KING & I would be the voters' cup of tea -- even the article's headline showcased it. They were certainly right & Ruthie's win might reveal the Tony's depth of support for this musical.
Posted: 6/8/15 at 11:53am
"I am pretty sure they raised the key of her song too. I didn't see the show, but I could tell from her singing it last night it was higher. Much higher. She my be wonderful in the show, but she seemed really distracted last night while she was singing. I prefer it in the lower, darker key. I think Judy Kuhn should have won. Not only for her wonderful performance in Fun Home but her body of work through the years."
Actually, Ruthie sings "Something Wonderful" a half step lower than the original key. Last night, she sang in the key she sings the song in the show.
Posted: 6/8/15 at 12:09pm
People end up winning awards for a whole lot of reasons, some more a reflection on their performance than others.
Miles, facing extraordinary competition, is an exceptional Lady Thiang. She's turning a role which usually fails to make a very strong impression into a tour de force. How?
Precise first-rate acting and absolutely gorgeous singing.
