Posted: 8/7/20 at 10:39am
Donna Murphy was thought to be the favorite going into the Tonys. She won the Outer Critics Circle and Drama Desk Awards -- however, those awards are given by critics' organizations, whose members by and large saw Murphy at press performances early in the run, when she was in spectacular form. Because Murphy missed so many performances throughout her run, some Tony voters didn't even get to see her, and others were not sympathetic to her frequent absences. (The real reason for her absenteeism was not public knowledge at the time.) There was also popular opinion that Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel would "cancel each other out," or that if one was going to win, it would be Chenoweth. I do think Idina's win was an upset in many ways. Of the five nominees, I would have voted for Pinkins in a heartbeat -- hers remains one of the most incredible performances I've ever seen, in nearly 40 years of attending Broadway theater.
