castlestreet said: "
I'll start off by saying this is, and always will be my favorite show. It holds a very special place in my heart and I am leaping out my skin waiting for this Saturday to get here for me to finally see Glenn play this part.
I think we all tend to let our love for this show blind us to the fact that 20 plus years ago, this show was at the forefront of the theatrical news world, and entertainment news as a whole. The firings, the lying about the box offices receipts while Glenn was gone. There was also the fact, hate to admit it, that while I truly believe it is one of his best scores overall, the show on stage is VERY dependent on who is playing Norma. And the show can easily fall apart when the wrong woman dons the turban...
Let us also not forget the Tony voters who were upset that they didn't eliminate the Best Score category that year, and that the show won Best Musical, when there was only 1 show up against it. I'm not saying I agree with the discontent people have with this show and the whole 94/95 Broadway Season-but it's out there.
All that said, I am counting down the minutes till Saturday at 2 pm. Not really one bit surprised there was no Tony love today.
"
I think castlestreet hit the nail on the head. Which unfortunately hits a second point - the pettiness and politics of the Awards rather than on merit (I mean, the fact that they ignored Sunset and eliminated a 4th spot - smacks of a deliberate slight rather than "so many contenders/so few spots" (especially considering how lukewarm they were to Miss Saigon in comparison to the reviews Sunset received)
And you're completely correct about the hostility in 94/95... Sunset opened with the largest ever advance of $37.5 million which was only broken recently by Dolly (with some tickets going for almost double what Sunset charged back in the day) - with all the bruised egos, anger. animosity surrounding it, Sunset had an invincibility that scared some other productions from even wanting to open that year. They basically conceded the awards that year to Sunset - even allowing the telecast to be from the Minskoff Theatre where the set was able to be utilized both of Normas mansion and from Paramount for Close's As If We Never Said Goodbye.
Its sad that Close can't be eligible for best actress since she won in 1995 for the same role, but hostility from 23 years ago could still factor into obvious omissions this year.
That being said - I look forward to seeing how Close and company will respond. I don't expect anything nasty or petty - they're too classy for it. But they will rally to make sure this production ends on June 25th with it's head held high - slight or not...
