Stephanie Mills, why no Tony?- Page 2
Stephanie Mills, why no Tony?
purpleprince101
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/19/06
#25re: Stephanie Mills, why no Tony?
Posted: 2/5/07 at 3:34pmi saw the flop revival at the lunt and stephane was fantastic!
MargoChanning
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/5/04
#26re: Stephanie Mills, why no Tony?
Posted: 2/5/07 at 4:24pm
I was very young at the time, but I do have very fond memories of THE WIZ. Mills had an amazing voice (still does), but she only came alive as a performer when she opened her mouth to sing. Her renditions of "Be A Lion" and "Home" gave goosebumps and received enormous ovations (I can remember applause breaking out during both numbers), but all of that charisma and personality would disappear during the book scenes. She basically spent the entire night being upstaged by Ted Ross, Tiger Haynes, Mabel King and the rest. Part of the problem was the book which made Dorothy into a rather bland cipher who did little more than stand there and smile while everyone else got all the laugh lines and hammed it up to the hilt. I suppose that's why Mills didn't get a nomination.
In hindsight I'm a bit puzzled why Dee Dee Bridgewater got the Tony while Mabel King didn't even get a nomination. While Bridgewater was stunningly beautiful, had a great entrance (very funny) and a beautiful song, King stopped the show with "No Bad News" the night I saw it. King gave the kind of larger-than-life scenery chewing performance that normally makes someone a shoo-in for a Tony nod, if not a win, so it's strange she was overlooked -- funny that at the Drama Desks, King got the nomination while Bridgewater was overlooked.
"What a story........ everything but the bloodhounds snappin' at her rear end." -- Birdie
[http://margochanning.broadwayworld.com/]
"The Devil Be Hittin' Me" -- Whitney
#27re: Stephanie Mills, why no Tony?
Posted: 2/5/07 at 4:55pm
"funny that at the Drama Desks, King got the nomination while Bridgewater was overlooked."
Yes, and Donna Theodore won..."Freedom aint a state like Maine or Virginia..."
makes you wonder if the Drama Desks have it right more than the Tonys.
"Carson has combined his passion for helping children with his love for one of Cincinnati's favorite past times - cornhole - to create a unique and exciting event perfect for a corporate outing, entertaining clients or family fun."
"In Oz, the verb is douchifizzation." PRS
"In Oz, the verb is douchifizzation." PRS
#28re: Stephanie Mills, why no Tony?
Posted: 2/5/07 at 9:03pm
Apparently, some people at the time thought that the Tony committee confused Bridgewater and Mabel King - and that they really meant to nominate King. I do find that story unlikely, as they are so completely different.
I think Bridgewater got the nomination (and the win) because she was, during the run of THE WIZ, also receiving a lot of fantastic press for her very celebrated club act.
Videos