Should the 3 Billys Have Won the Tony Award?- Page 4

[into_the_woods2]

Posted: 6/14/09 at 9:50am

1) i understand that Billy is an extremely taxing role, but who is to say that it is harder than playing Shrek? Perhaps it is a bit more physically demanding, but I think that 8 times a week still trumps the 2 times a week that the Billys perform.

2) i don't think that they should have won...I'm not bashing them, but the award is for best leading ACTOR in a musical, and it is hard to believe that 14 and 13 year old boys have the acting skills possessed by the other adults in the category

[Tom's Cat]

Posted: 6/14/09 at 10:11am

A 'bit' more?

Perhaps it would help to remember that the members of the Tony nominating committee - none of whom are exactly ignorant of the subject of live theatre - saw ALL the performances, including Shrek, and agreed that the demands of this one role exceeded - EXCEEDED - that of any other role. The voters (again - professionals all) then saw - one assumes - all the nominated performances and AGREED. Those of you who admit (and those who won't admit) that you haven't seen the performances must be hearing that little voice in the back of your head whispering "YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT!"

... and before you say that the voters didn't see the performers, then that's a problem you should take up with them. They obviously saw at least one performance of each show and they AGREED.

[into_the_woods2]

Posted: 6/14/09 at 1:41pm

I have seen both shows. While Billy is more physically demanding per one performance, each "billy" only performs twice a week. At the end of the week, all of the other actors, who are putting in 8 performances a week, have definitely worked as hard if not harder than the billys.

[ljay889]

Posted: 6/14/09 at 1:48pm

There was no way a trio of 14 year olds were going to lose the award. Best performance(s) or not, they were not going to lose. The voters would have looked like bastards, if the children lost.

[alightinthedark23]

Posted: 6/15/09 at 5:53pm

In my personal opinion i thought J. Robert Spencer deserved the Tony. He is phenomenal as Dan in 'Next to Normal'. However, I can understand why the 3 Billy's won the Tony. It certainly isn't an easy role to be performed let alone by 14-15 year old children. It calls for high difficulties of a variety of dancing. I do think the Tony voters were caught in a Catch22 because had they not voted for the Billy's they would of looked like terrible people. It is what it is.

[EponineAmneris]

Posted: 6/15/09 at 6:35pm

Yes yes yes!!!

[dramamama611]

Posted: 6/15/09 at 6:43pm

Well, I'm sure they didn't ALL agree. And the Tony Awards certainly love to award youngsters. They only need ONE more vote than the 2nd place finsher.


And yes, to ljay and alightinthedark. Which is why they should have been considered for a 'special tony award' for their performance.

[lolabeanz]

Posted: 6/15/09 at 6:57pm

Yes!!! but the only other performance I saw besides David's Billy was Gavin Creel in Hair who I also thought was great, but Davids dancing won me over!