TONY AWARD disgrace!!!- Page 5

[InfiniteTheaterFrenzy]

Posted: 2/4/05 at 10:25pm

I do love me some Nine, but Dreamgirls should've won. Hands down.

Alan Cumming was brilliant, but Brian Stokes Mitchell just broke my heart into a million pieces as Coalhouse. I choke up just thinking about it.

And Jeff McCarthy was wonderfully hilarious, and definitely deserved more recognition.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 2/4/05 at 11:01pm

While there might have been a slight element of a Sondheim dig in Herman's statement, I think that MAINLY he was trying to say how happy he was that he and his style of "hummable" showtune writing was back and welcomed again by audiences and the Tonys. Remember he had had flop after flop since his last success with Mame, almost two decades before and conventional wisdom was that he was washed up and that his style of writing was too old-fashioned for the 80s. It wasn't just about Sondeim, it was that the Broadway of the 80s was a very different place that the Broadway of his heyday and he had been very depressed for years at the rejections he'd received in the late 60s, 70s and 80s because it seemed like he'd lost "it" and would never be a success again.

He really wondered whether time had passed him by and when he won for La Cage, it as, to him, a welcoming back by the theatre community after several years wandering the wilderness. He had and has no vendetta against Sondheim. Why should he? He could always take solace in the fact that his shows have also won Tonys and have run longer than anything Sondheim has ever written. His Tony speech had nothing to do with SITPWG and and everything to do with him being grateful that his style of writing was being honored and accepted again for the first time in many years.

Updated On: 2/4/05 at 11:01 PM

[InfiniteTheaterFrenzy]

Posted: 2/4/05 at 11:27pm

Thank you, Margo. I understand quite a bit better now.

It's just a shame that the score for Mack and Mabel wasn't even NOMINATED. It's by far his most brilliant score, in my opinion.

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 2/4/05 at 11:31pm

InfiniteTheatre, I disagree - I think NINE is one of the most brilliant shows and definitely deserved it's wins.

[Sumofallthings]

Posted: 2/4/05 at 11:40pm

Margo makes an excellent point, Herman and Sondheim are the same kingdom but different species.

[InfiniteTheaterFrenzy]

Posted: 2/4/05 at 11:59pm

Munk... I don't feel like Nine winning was a disgrace on any level, don't get me wrong... I just think Dreamgirls is more deserving, but not by TOO much.

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 2/5/05 at 12:02am

They are both amazing, and if I were voting that year I would have had to think about it for days...DREAMGIRLS needs a revival, but we all know that.

[InfiniteTheaterFrenzy]

Posted: 2/5/05 at 12:09am

I agree.

This thread has gotten me thinking about all the years that there was EXCITING competition. Even though more amazing people lose, it's SO great for the state of our favorite art!

Here's to hoping this season shapes up to be very competitive!!

(no matter what it means for our dear Norbert, Sherie, Raul, Sutton, etc...)

[CastAlbumFan]

Posted: 2/5/05 at 7:11am

IIRC, DREAMGIRLS might have lost the Best Musical Tony because many Tony voters were angry at the Shuberts, sponsor of the show. Seems the Shuberts approved of the demolishion of the Morosco, Bijou, and the original Helen Hayes theatres to make way for the Marriot Marquis Hotel. The theatre community DESPERATELY wanted to keep those theatres open. Since then laws have been passed, making most of the older theatres in New York historical landmarks, thus ineligable for demolishion.

Can Margo, Mr. Roxy, Jose or someone else confirm me on this?

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 2/5/05 at 9:05am

Re the politics of why a show does or does not win, I cannot address here

In 1974, while living in Astoria, a small group of citizens (including yours truly) banded together to try & have a 3100 seat picture palace designated as a Landmark. I will not get into specific politics other than the party in power went out of its way to see the vote of Landmarks to preserve it was overturned & they sided with the developer. The theater was demolished & the community suffered. I was also involved in a similar effort in Flushing with the RKO Keiths. When I saw the same public official again siding with the developer, I walked away & soured on politics.

The moral of the story: If the theaters are in Manhattan & you have the right people behind you great. Anywhere else & without friends in high places, you are wasting your time. There was too much money to be made by knocking the theaters down so the hell with art & culture etc. Their is always a silver lining. The rest of the theaters are landmarked although developers can always find a way to get what they want. Penn Station was pounded to dust but as a result we got the Landmarks law & saved Grand Central

Updated On: 2/5/05 at 09:05 AM

[Albin]

Posted: 2/5/05 at 9:09am

La cage over SITPWG...blah blah blah. It's been 21 years. Get over it already...and thank you Margo for you analysis of Jerry Herman's acceptance. He seems like such a charming man and it would be hard to believe that the speech was an intentional dig at Sondheim.

[WISHIHADATONY]

Posted: 2/5/05 at 1:28pm

Sondheim's no nomination for the score of A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM (it did win for Best Musical!)

Jerry Herman's non nomination for MACK and MABEL

Debbie Allen's no nomination for RAISIN

Elaine Stritch's no nomination for SHOW BOAT (her role was rather ungrand, but there were, in the end, only two nominees for Best Actress in a musical that year) It was simply embarassing and cruel for the Tony committee not to nominate her that year, as well as Megan Mullaly from HOW TO SUCCEED....

the non nomination of the young Peter Allen (can't recall the boy's name) from THE BOY FROM OZ

THE SINGULAR WORST TONY DISGRACE??? well there are so many! WHEN THEY NOMINATE TWO PEOPLE TOGETHER! HOW MORONIC IS THAT?
They couldn't tell the performances apart from Ripley and Skinner in SIDESHOW so they nominated them together? They nominated the stars of SIZWE BANZI IS DEAD (sp?) as a "team" also and they won a joint best actor Tony. Was it, at the time, because they were black, or young? Or was the Tony commitee too lame to tell the performances apart. The double noms are simply moronic.

Lastly, when Mary Tyler Moore (I love the woman to pieces) replaced Tom Conti on Broadway in WHO'S LIFE IS IT ANYWAY the Tony commitee deemed that she WAS eligible for a Best Actress in a play nomination. She was not nominated. The Tony commitee awarded her a "special Tony" for "taking the ultimate theatrical risk." Huh???

[WISHIHADATONY]

Posted: 2/5/05 at 1:35pm

I think SITWG was mortally wounded by the dreadful work of James Lapine. I hope Sondheim is finally rid of the gentleman. I did like Lapine's work in FALSETTOS, but he did Sondheim no favors in any of their collaborations.

As Arthur Laurents mentions in his recent memoir, the second act of SITWG is a disaster and Laurents to this day scolds Sondheim for not making it less of an embarassment. "You still haven't fixed that second act," Mr. Laurents constantly tells Sondheim.

Additionally, in the first act, the "Southern chubby American Couple" eating ice cream cones, I think it is. The creators of this show thought that scene was actually funny or interesting or something? How very lame, it was embarassing to watch.

Like much of the brilliant Sondheim career, SITWG is muuuuuuuuch better on the recording than on stage.

[WISHIHADATONY]

Posted: 2/5/05 at 1:38pm

GODSPELL was an off Broadway production wasn't it. Perhaps at one time it moved to Broadway for a brief period. Was it ever Tony eligible?

[WISHIHADATONY]

Posted: 2/5/05 at 1:46pm

Carole Bishop cleeeeeeeeeeeeearly deserved that Tony over Priscilla, not even close. She stole every moment she was front and center and often when she was not.

It is a shame how she tarnished her career forever for actually QUITTING THE SHOW MID PERFORMANCE!!!!!!! I was very close with the Shubert box office manager who's family was at that performance. Of course the other cast members covered and the audience all thought it was part of the show.

I believe she received a very high financial fine from Equity and was not allowed to appear in an Equity production for many years. Shortly after winning the Tony Carole became Kelly Bishop. After "walking out mid performance of A CHORUS LINE" I believe Ms. Bishop's next appearance in a New York Equity Production was in SIX DEGREES OF SEPERATION. She was great! If memory serves me correctly, Kelly Bishop took over the lead role when Stockard Channing departed.

At Tony time that year many folks thought Lopez would win cause she had "the songs." But the Bishop performance was magnificent and her Tony richly deserved.

[WISHIHADATONY]

Posted: 2/5/05 at 1:47pm

Sarah Brightman did not receive a Tony nomination for Phantom.

[WISHIHADATONY]

Posted: 2/5/05 at 1:50pm

DREAMGIRLS losing to NINE is one of the greatest disgraces in Tony history. How absurd! Perhaps the Tony voters were still so sleepy from the dreadful and boring NINE that they thought they were marking their ballots for the remarkable DREAMGIRLS?!

Also, the year of 1776, HAIR and PROMISES, PROMISES........I would voted for PROMISES, PROMISES and secondly HAIR. Awarding 1776 a Tony for Best musical was very generous.

[Derek]

Posted: 2/5/05 at 1:50pm

Yes, Godspell was off broadway, but transfered to Broadway and remained for over a year. It must have been eligible, it was nominated for best score...but thats all

[WISHIHADATONY]

Posted: 2/5/05 at 2:04pm

Cy Coleman's brilliant I LOVE MY WIFE losing best musical to ANNIE was pretty ridiculous.

Want a special treat younger members? The I LOVE MY WIFE cd is highly addictive. The original Broadway production with Naughton, Gleason, Baker was incredible and I also saw it when it opened in London's West End.

ANNIE is not in a class with I LOVE MY WIFE. I suspect there were not enough cast members on stage in I LOVE MY WIFE to please Tony voters? How foolish.

[MTVMANN]

Posted: 2/5/05 at 2:09pm

thanks for the information about A Chorus Line....indeed my coment was basically just off of the songs....

[dry2olives]

Posted: 2/5/05 at 2:15pm

This thread had gone 5 pages without a mention of Ethel Merman in Gypsy losing to Mary Martin in The Sound of Music.

Personaly, I think it's a disgrace whenever a show wins Best Book and Best Score but loses Best Musical. You got no show without the material.

[WISHIHADATONY]

Posted: 2/5/05 at 2:29pm

dry2olives,,,,,,,,weird stuff happens..........DRIVING MISS DAISY won the Best Picture Oscar without the director even being nominated for Best Director, simply absurd.

[morosco]

Posted: 2/5/05 at 2:37pm

CONTACT being awarded the Best Musical award was a disgrace.

[touchmeinthemorning]

Posted: 2/5/05 at 2:43pm

Heather Headley winning was HARDLY a disgrace. For those of us that saw the performance, we understand without a doubt why she could beat out those other talented girls.

If we wanna talk absurd recent stuff...how did John Lithgow win over Gavin Creel, John Collum, Patrick Wilson, and John McMartin?

[magruder]

Posted: 2/5/05 at 3:01pm

I Love My Wife is a pretty ramshackle piece of construction. It's a bright, pleasant score, and has some very funny material, but Annie is 10 times the show that I Love My Wife is.