So, is MEMPHIS going to win BEST SCORE by default?- Page 3

[MEMPHIS10]

Posted: 4/17/10 at 1:17am

Fair enough...
Was not trying to write a poem...lol
I am just saying i find things and opinions
on here a little distorted and tends to skew toward the
negative...
anyway i am new here and yes thank you for welcoming me so warmly..
lol

[TheatreFan4]

Posted: 4/17/10 at 1:19am

MEMPHIS10, I really like Memphis, but you are not helping its case.

[MEMPHIS10]

Posted: 4/17/10 at 1:21am

Thank you for the reality check....theaterfan...you are right.
I am seeing ENRON tomorrow and can not wait...

[blaxx]

Posted: 4/17/10 at 3:05am

I just want to point out that if First Wives Club had opened this season , it would also had been nominated for score!

And not by "default", but because it's brilliant.

Thanks.

[Wayman_Wong]

Posted: 4/17/10 at 9:12am

I think this message board is no different than All That Chat, or any other. It's reflective of theater lovers (mostly New Yorkers, since they've seen the shows) who are very opinionated about what they like or don't like. I doubt it's reflective of tourists, who make up over 60% of Broadway audiences and keep long-running shows like 'Jersey Boys' and 'Wicked' going. Every show has its champions and detractors. Obviously, if you enjoy a certain show, you'll be more sensitive to any knocks.

Before 'Memphis' opened last fall, I remember reading postings about how some folks were anticipating a bloodbath, and then when the mostly positive reviews came out, they were disappointed. Sometimes it seems that some folks are more motivated to post about things that tick them off, than things they adore. And the anonymity of the Internet helps encourage the schadenfreude in this community. That doesn't mean people don't have legit gripes or criticisms of shows. It all comes down to your personal taste. No shows will satisfy everyone.

Ultimately, it's best to read everything with a grain of salt; respect others' opinions and hope the discourse stays civil.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 4/17/10 at 12:12pm

I'm not sure the fact AMERICAN IDIOT uses songs from other Green Day recordings will affect its eligibility that much, though I haven't seen the show or know any of Green Day's music so I don't know if it's a large percentage or not. However, shows like MARY POPPINS, STATE FAIR, LITTLE MERMAID, 9 TO 5 and others that used pre-existing songs were considered eligible as long as the songs not written for the stage show were not taken into consideration. A similar case could happen here. Again I haven't seen the show or know about it so someone else can probably give a more informed opinion about the matter.
I think it'd be absurd for either MEMPHIS or ADDAMS FAMILY to win Best Score, just as it was unfair for SUNSET BLVD to win. They should just do away with the category.

[B3TA07]

Posted: 4/17/10 at 1:00pm

I firmly believe that we all WANT to love and be impressed and excited about every new work that's produced commercially on Broadway. Even Roscoe.


It's not our fault that it "Memphis" isn't exactly the case all the time (if ever, lately).

[darquegk]

Posted: 4/17/10 at 1:33pm

Other than the encore of "Good Riddance," all the songs in the show are either from American Idiot or its "unofficial sequel," 21st Century Breakdown, which deals with the same town and similar (the same? not entirely sure) characters.

[winston89]

Posted: 4/17/10 at 5:30pm

darquegk, I know that Green Day compares themselves to The Who a lot so I am going to do the same. Saying that Green Day's two rock operas, American Idiot and 21st Century Breakdown are related is like saying that Tommy and Quadrophina are related.

[Wayman_Wong]

Posted: 4/18/10 at 1:21am

Whatever you think of the quality of the scores to 'The Addams Family' or 'Memphis,' they fully meet the criteria stated in the very title of the Tony Award: 'Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre.' The only reason we are even discussing the score of 'American Idiot' is that it consists of pre-existing material and doesn't appear to have been expressly written for the stage. One of Billie Armstrong's other quotes from his Entertainment Weekly interview is: 'I never thought we would end up actually doing a musical out of our record.' Seemingly, it was Michael Mayer's idea to stage it, and that came some years after the album was out.

If the Tonys are to recognize new work that actually is created for theater, 'Addams Family' and 'Memphis' qualify. They should not be penalized for the lack of original scores elsewhere on Broadway, by having the category dropped.

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 4/18/10 at 1:40am

Tonys are also meant to recognize "excellence in the theatre," so if nominators don't think either score is worthy, it's only right that the category should be dropped if there aren't enough qualified scores to fill it. I remember nominators having a stink when many didn't want The Threepenny Opera nominated, but it was nominated by default since there were only three musical revivals to open that year. If they felt it didn't deserve a nomination, the category should have only had two deserving nominees, not two deserving nominees and one default nominee.

~Steven

[Wayman_Wong]

Posted: 4/18/10 at 2:26am

HeyMrMusic, it's just a gut feeling, but I don't believe the nominators would rule that both scores are unqualified, especially 'Memphis,' which got a number of rave reviews (AP, N.Y. Post, Newsday, Hollywood Reporter, John Simon, etc.).

In Tony history, they've only dropped the Score category once (1989), so it's not something they do lightly. 1989 also was a strange year in which all of the possible scores came from flop shows: 'Starmites' (60 performances); 'Welcome to the Club' (12); 'Chu Chem' (68, and 'Legs Diamond' (64).

I do agree with you, however, that the Tonys should not have nominated 'Threepenny Opera' if the nominators didn't deem it qualified enough, but there they were overruled.


Updated On: 4/18/10 at 02:26 AM

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 4/18/10 at 2:51am

O I'm with you, Wayman. I don't think the category will be eliminated this year. I was just saying. :)

~Steven

[Brick]

Posted: 4/18/10 at 1:12pm

"One of Billie Armstrong's other quotes from his Entertainment Weekly interview is: 'I never thought we would end up actually doing a musical out of our record.' Seemingly, it was Michael Mayer's idea to stage it, and that came some years after the album was out. "

Exactly. It wasn't a concept album, like EVITA. It was an album, that Mayer thought should be on stage. (That is a common grad school directing project.) As superior as it is to ADDAMS and MEMPHIS, it shouldn't be eligible for Best Score.

And I agree they should have a rule, like the Oscars has for Best Animated Film, that if there are less than 3 nominees, they can elect not to have the category.

[ljay889]

Posted: 4/18/10 at 1:39pm

I am not a fan of either score, but why punish the writers of Memphis and Addams family by eliminating the category? That would be such an asinine decision.

[LaCageAuxFollesFan]

Posted: 4/18/10 at 1:47pm

Now that I've seen all the shows eligible this season, I think they best score nominations should be:

David Bryan and Joe DiPietro, MEMPHIS
Maury Yeston, THE ROYAL FAMILY
Andrew Lippa, THE ADDAMS FAMILY
Branford Marsalis, FENCES

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 4/18/10 at 2:25pm

How shocking/exciting it would be to see a play win for Best Score... That's why they have that "and/or" in the category title, right?

~Steven

[TheatreFan4]

Posted: 4/18/10 at 2:37pm

Question time. Is the music in plays prerecorded?

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 4/18/10 at 2:39pm

This is depressing.


Regardless of who they nominate, I really don't see a play winning. If it was up to me, ENRON would win simply by default (that's my personal opinion). But if IDIOT isn't eligible, then MEMPHIS will win. One of the major issues most critics ripped ADDAMS for was it's pedestrian lyrics and forgettable, un-fitting music.

I do think MEMPHIS will win. If IDIOT is eligible, it should win, but if not, and I had to vote for a musical, I guess I would vote MEMPHIS. I say that through clenched teeth.

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 4/18/10 at 2:46pm

TheatreFan, I'd assume most play music is prerecorded. But that doesn't really matter for the category since it's an award for music composition and/or lyric writing.

~Steven

[winston89]

Posted: 4/18/10 at 5:19pm

I don't think Idiot should be illegible for the nomination. Keep in mind that regardless of what Green Day's original intent was with the music and the story of American Idiot, it came out as an album first then went on to the stage. If it were written for and intended just for the stage, then the show would be full of their music but it would be all new and all stuff that was written just for their show alone.

The rule was changed after Tommy won for a reason. That reason was so that the score had to be an original theatrical composition. Something that American Idiot, no matter how you look at it, is not. And, for the record. I loved the show, I love the album and I am a fan of Green Day.

[Wayman_Wong]

Posted: 4/19/10 at 1:12am

Brick, thanks for your post, but can you clarify your point about the Oscar rule about Animated Films? I know they have a rule that if there are more than 15 eligible animated movies, they can have a field of 5 Oscar nominees. But if only fewer than 15 qualify, there will be only 3 Oscar nominees. Is that what you're referring to? Or has there been some year where they cancelled the category because there were only 3 films eligible (it's hard for me to imagine such a skimpy year).

[After Eight]

Posted: 4/19/10 at 9:05am

I didn't think the "Memphis" score was bad at all. I hope it wins, and if it does, it will be entirely deserving.

And frankly, when one sees that things like "Aida," "Parade," "The Light in the Piazza," and "Spring Awakening" won for best score, then "Memphis" is more than deserving of the award.

[phantom39]

Posted: 4/19/10 at 9:09am

I would not put The Light in the Piazza, or even Aida, in the same category as Memphis. While I didn't hate the score (of Memphis) at all, it is just not nearly as good as these two. Doesn't even come close.

[After Eight]

Posted: 4/19/10 at 9:17am

"I would not put The Light in the Piazza, or even Aida, in the same category as Memphis."


Neither would I. :)