The reason I think "Spring Awakening" won for Choreography

Eh. I just think that Tony voters confused the brilliant direction with choreography, not knowing where to draw the line. Musical staging vs. choreography... that whole deal.

1. They swept everything, so it's no surprise that it won.

2. The choreography in Spring Awakening is far from brilliant (hell, everything about that show is far from brilliant). But what it did have going for it was that it was pretty damn eye-catching, from one of the best modern dance choreographers since Alvin Ailey. Plus, compared to the other nominees (Matthew Bourne's unimpressive Mary Poppins, standard Jerry Mitchell fare in Legally Blonde, and traditional-with-a-capital "T" musical theater dancing from Rob Ashford in Curtans, they awarded it to the most daring dancing.

^ Exactly. The choreography is all copyrighted for WSS.

That's certainly an interesting take on the award. Thank you very much

"Exactly. The choreography is all copyrighted for WSS."

And thank ****ing goodness for that!

Mark, I'm surprised you didn't know that. I mentioned it in our WSS thread, explaining that choreographers aren't interested in being hit with lawsuits (in response to someone saying choreographers aren't interested in doing new choreography for WSS, that's what I meant.

And thank goodness you explained that WSS' choreography is far superior, but I still don't think I can handle the choreography for Spring Awakening and West Side Story being mentioned in the same sentence. Blah.

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<< Mark, I'm surprised you didn't know that. I mentioned it in our WSS thread, explaining that choreographers aren't interested in being hit with lawsuits (in response to someone saying choreographers aren't interested in doing new choreography for WSS, that's what I meant. >>

Oh, I thought that was a joke :)

I still, personally, think that anything other than Spring Awakening should have won for Choreography. All I see is them jumping around and sitting in a chair jumping and pounding their feet on the floor. Anybody can do that. And don't say what they do is unique, because it's not. And I agree with Yankeefan, the other shows might not have the best dancing, but at least they dance in the other shows nominated.

IMO, it deserved the award...but is yet another thread on the subject necessary?

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I'd like to go back to the original point of this thread: why Mark Rascati believed 'Spring Awakening' won the Tony for choreography (not why it shouldn't have): Bill T. Jones found a way to choreograph movement that captured the rebelliousness and energy of these teenagers. It would've looked ridiculous if these school kids suddenly started doing time steps or shuffle-ball-changes. Jones worked with the props at hand, so he has the boys jumping about the chairs. The choreography in 'SA' is organic to those characters; he even captures the anarchy and joy of 'Totally F*CKed.' For me, his work is exciting & live.

There's terrific work in the other Tony nominees: 'Curtains,' 'Legally Blonde' and 'Mary Poppins.' And to be frank, I expected 'Mary Poppins' to win because it's got giant ensemble numbers - often a favorite with Tony voters. A number of Tony pundits picked 'Mary Poppins' to win, too, so Jones' win was a surprise to many. So why 'SA'? Yes, it picked up many Tonys, but not ALL of them (not sets and not costumes). I guessing that 'Curtains,' 'LB' and 'MP' represented more traditional show dancing. And more traditionally flashier, too. What Jones does is arguably more original and subtle.

One more thing: Bourne, Ashford and Mitchell are all previous Tony winners. By giving a Tony to Jones, the voters got to recognize one of modern dance's premier choreographers.

At any rate, Jones won the Tony. Case closed.

Updated On: 6/21/07 at 03:17 PM

Yes, thank you, wayman.

you know ... i still dont understand the "book" award .... like what criteria is used to decide who should win it.