Can you think of any songs that single handedly won their performers Tonys?
Off the top of my head I can think of:
- Your Daddy's Son, Audra McDonald (Ragtime)
- Gimme Gimme / Forget About the Boy, Sutton Foster (Thoroughly Modern Millie)
- Sal Tlay Ka Stiti, Nikki M. James (Book of Mormon)
- James Monroe Iglehart, Friend Like Me (Aladdin)
Now, some of these are just such great moments that I'm sure they played a hand in them winning. Obviously one song isn't everything, but sometimes, if its that grand, it just might do the trick!
Are there any other obvious one's I'm missing? These are just off the top of my head so I'm probably missing some big one's
Katie Finneran - Promises, Promises - I'm not familiar with the show, but I thought I've heard that her character only really sings one song. Am I right?
Michael Cerveris - "The Ballad of Booth" - Assassins
Betty Buckley - "memory" - Cats
Donna McKechnie - "Music and the Mirror" - A Chorus Line
Also, I know this isn't quite the same, but I'd say Paul's monologue in A Chorus Line won Sammy Williams the Tony
I believe the role of elphaba is an endearing role, but I don't think it would be all to memorable without Defying Gravity in the shows so I believe Idina Menzel pretty much won just because I'd Defying Gravity.
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When Barbara Harris (who'd already played Eve, Barbera, and Ella) became "Passionella" in the song "Gorgeous", her Tony was secured. (And besting Mary Martin and Lotte Lenya was no mean feat.)
Linda Hopkins, in "Inner City"...choose your song.
Larry Blyden in "Forum".... First Act "I'm Calm" was riotous, but the Act Two reprise of "Lovely" with Phil Silvers [who also deserved his Tony if only for "Free"] was unforgettable.
Gwen Verdon - "Whatever Lola Wants"; Randy Graff - "You Can Always Count on Me"; Donna Murphy - "Hello, Young Lovers"; Faith Prince - "Adelaide's Lament" or "Sue Me"; Len Cariou - "Epiphany" (or pretty much anything in "Sweeney"; Angela Lansbury - "Mame" (Because even though she never sang a note, she knockout danced the Onna White stuff, and made EVERYONE onstage or in the audience realize the Mame was, indeed, the best of the best.)
Katie Finneran's only song in PROMISES PROMISES was A Fact Can Be A Beautiful Thing, but she was hilarious in not only the song but the scenes (I think two?) her character appeared in. I'm not sure it was just the song that did the trick.
Jennifer Holliday in DREAMGIRLS -- yes. Just "that song", with I Am Changing providing a little icing.
Ten minutes on stage was all Marilyn Cooper needed to win her Tony in WOMAN OF THE YEAR singing the comic gem "The Grass Is Always Greener" ...... clips on YouTube!
2016 These Paper Bullets (1/02) Our Mother's Brief Affair (1/06), Dragon Boat Racing (1/08), Howard - reading (1/28), Shear Madness (2/10), Fun Home (2/17), Women Without Men (2/18), Trip Of Love (2/21), The First Gentleman -reading (2/22), Southern Comfort (2/23), The Robber Bridegroom (2/24), She Loves Me (3/11), Shuffle Along (4/12), Shear Madness (4/14), Dear Evan Hansen (4/16), American Psycho (4/23), Tuck Everlasting (5/10), Indian Summer (5/15), Peer Gynt (5/18), Broadway's Rising Stars (7/11), Trip of Love (7/27), CATS (7/31), The Layover (8/17), An Act Of God (8/31), The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (8/24), Heisenberg (10/12), Fiddler On The Roof (11/02), Othello (11/23), Dear Evan Hansen (11/26), Les Liaisons Dangereuses (12/21) 2017 In Transit (2/01), Groundhog Day (4/04), Ring Twice For Miranda (4/07), Church And State (4/10), The Lucky One (4/19), Ernest Shackleton Loves Me (5/16), Building The Wall (5/19), Indecent (6/01), Six Degrees of Separation (6/09), Marvin's Room (6/28), A Doll's House Pt 2 (7/25) Curvy Widow (8/01)
Definitely agree with "Something Wonderful" for Ruthie. I listened to the cast recording just a few days before the Tonys, and it alone was almost enough to change camps from Judy to Ruthie. Also adding "Hold Me In Your Heart" for Billy Porter, "I Am What I Am" for both George Hearn and Douglas Hodge, and "Diva's Lament" for Sara Ramirez.