The Avenue Q Tonys?- Page 3

[Phantom2]

Posted: 1/4/04 at 8:38pm

And the Tony goes to...
Hugh Jackman, The Boy From Oz
Stephanie J. Block, The Boy From Oz

[Elphie]

Posted: 1/4/04 at 8:40pm

The music is very good though...may be they will warm up. The music of Wicked has its flaws so I dont think that will win, Avenue Q- who knows what the Tony board will take of that??, and Boy From Oz- My CD has not yet come in the mail so I'm not sure, but I heard the music isnt too rememberable. I think John Tartaglia will be a close second for Best Actor this year, but Hugh Jackman I heard basically holds Boy from Oz together. I cant wait to get out to see him. My next three shows on my list to see are Boy from Oz, Wonderful Town, Taboo, and Anna in the Tropics.
Still gotta get to Movin Out and Hairspray.

[wickedfan]

Posted: 1/4/04 at 8:45pm

mvin out is great, and hairspray, well, its a crowd pleaser but i was a bit dissapointed. The thing is 'Wicked' has its flaws and thats why it wont win. nominated definatley but it wont win. avenue q is the score everyone is talking about. boy from oz is all peter allen songs so, enough said. And we also have to consider Bombay dreams, and caroline or change if it comes. Otherwise, it doesn't look like a great race for score this year

[BroadwayBaby3]

Posted: 1/4/04 at 8:47pm

i think and i HOPE Wicked wins best new musical.

[Elphie]

Posted: 1/4/04 at 8:55pm

I dont know if it will. A lot of attention has been drawn to Avenue Q- Its going to be a battle between those 2 (Wicked & Q). This year's Tony awards is going to be unpredictable. We can all say what we want but with everything I say I'm unsure if it will really win, just what I think should win. This is going to be a lot like Urinetown vs. Millie. I have yet to see Millie, which I'm seeing in January, but I saw Urinetwon and till this day can not see how it lost. May be I will understand after Millie- Cant wait to see Sutton for the first time ever!!

[cbrown828]

Posted: 1/4/04 at 11:36pm

it will without a doubt be nominated for best musical. i think against wicked, boy from oz and hopefully taboo. its definitly the funniest show i've seen since hairspray. i hope the cast is nominated they were a lot of great performances in this show. john tartaglia and stephanie d'abruzzo should be nominated best actor and actress in a musical and natalie v. belcon best featured actress. and i loved christmas eve!

[MasterLcZ]

Posted: 1/5/04 at 10:06am

I am a totally devoted Q-head who like many of the posters, want AVENUE Q to get everything it is nominated for (Musical, score, etc. etc. etc.) but I also have a feeling of dread that there is a good chance it may get totally shafted as well.

I have not seen CAROLINE OR CHANGE, yet so I can't judge it, but it is the real cat among the pigeons here. Brantley & Heilpern love it and Tonya Perkins (they are unusual in not even considering AVENUE Q in their Best of 2003 lists), and despite the Kristin & Indina contingent, Perkins & Murphy (whom I doubt will win, but will take enough votes away from K &I to possibly cancel each other out) will make the Best Musical Actress Tony far to close to call. Votes will be all over the place. And though most critics adore the score, it may be judged (wrongly, IMHO) too much to be of the jokey-pastiche-campy school that has won in the last few seasons, and influential critics may want to reward CorC for its seriousness.

John & Stephanie's best chances are in supporting noms. But you knew that already.

(Seeing AVENUE Q again next week!)

[tpdc]

Posted: 1/5/04 at 12:28pm

Brantley did not love CAROLINE OR CHANGE. Frank Rich seemed to like it a lot. Brantley's review was politely middle ground. He seemed to be trying not to pan it. It wasn't even as favorable as one of those old Walter Kerr "I admire it but I don't like it" reviews that he used to give Sondheim shows. Whether that was because Rich loves Kushner or because Brantley didn't want to further the impression that he pans any new serious musical (which I think he does), I don't know.

[MasterLcZ]

Posted: 1/5/04 at 12:52pm

I just read the Brantley /Weber dialogue in the December 28 NY TIMES, and the comments are very interesting. There, he likes AVENUE Q a great deal. He does cite Perkins in his "Great Performances" list and back-pedals a wee bit on his love affair with Melanie, (who features as number ten on his list), nothing that while she demonstrates that it is possible to dominate a musical while not being able to sing or dance, "let's hope this isn't a trend".

Updated On: 1/5/04 at 12:52 PM

[TheatreBoy127]

Posted: 1/6/04 at 5:07am

wicked will probably get best musical because it's the big one...but it had a lot of flaws in its book and its score- i love the show but the story is really strange (the book's plotline was better) and the music was great but there were some less-than-great moments. hopefully avenue q will get score and book...and i think kristen will get best actress, considering half the reviews say that she carries the show. the same with hugh jackman, i mean, they're planning on shutting down the show temporarily whenever he goes on vacation because there isn't anyone good enough to replace him...featured will be up in the air, depending on whether the avenue q people are nominated for featured or leading. best revival will most likely go to wonderful town...it would be fun if it went to little shop, but that is only possible if they cheat and let it have the nomination (come on, it really isn't a revival). i dunno what else to predict, except that i certainly hope either natalie v. belcon or ann harada (gary colman or christmas eve) gets a nom for best featured actress, as they were both HILARIOUS and WONDERFUL!

[Elphie]

Posted: 1/6/04 at 4:12pm

Kristen def. should not win over Idina. Kristen is amazing and funny, but Idina completely stands out. Shes amazing. Kristen only carries 1 full song completely by herself while Idina carries about 3 (Well 4 because Defying Gravity is her song no matter if Kristen is featured in it) demanding vocal show stoppers. Idina's acting is superb and you really feel for Elphaba. The story is called "Wicked," which is suppose to be originally all about the Wicked Witch of the West with Galinda as a supporting role, not "Perky: The Glinda Story." Tony for Idina!

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 1/6/04 at 4:39pm

tpdc - "As much as I liked PASSION, its win was mostly to stick it to Disney for bringing a theme park show to Broadway and for not playing by Broadway's rules."

What are Broadway's rules?

"Sadly, I don't think PASSION would have won best musical opposite AIDA or LION KING."

Maybe not Lion King due to its popularity and grandeur, but it most likely would have beat Aida. Sondheim's name still weighs quite a bit nowadays and though Passion is highly unconventional, it is still a masterful book and score and paved the way for composers like Brown and LaChiusa to get produced on Broadway. Aida simply rides on the names of Disney and Elton John without really offering anything else. The sets and costumes are less spectacular than the other two Disney shows. The book is very weak and the score is an Elton John pop album that I felt was much weaker than both the LaChiusa scores that were nominated the same year. I'm hoping LaChiusa will finally get the recognition he deserves.

Here's my question: The songs of Avenue Q definitely make me laugh, but get a bit tiring after a while. It seems to be mostly a one-joke sort of show. I really like it, but I'm not convinced it's a Tony-worthy book or score. But then, I don't think Wicked is, either. Whether or not critics liked the show, they all praised the score for Taboo, so it could be a good bet for Best Score. And if Caroline or Change opens, with a heavyweight like Kushner, it could win Best Book while Wicked is most definite for Best Musical. It could be the first three-way split since 1974 (musical-Raisin, book-Candide, score-Gigi).

[tpdc]

Posted: 1/6/04 at 4:52pm

I remember there was a lot of talk when BEAUTY opened about the fear going around that it was going to be a blockbuster and Disney would take over Broadway. They would bring in all their theme park people and experienced Broadway talents would find it tough to work on their subsequent blockbusters. Disney didn't join all the producers groups. It doesn't usually participate in things like Broadway on Broadway. So there was a feeling before the Tonys that PASSION would win best musical as a shot at Disney.

It's apparent that Tony voters, if not Tony nominators, like AIDA a lot. I think if PASSION and AIDA were nominated for best musical along with THE WILD PARTY and THE DEAD (supposing that CONTACT had not been in the category but recognized in the yet to be created special event category where it belonged), AIDA would have won.

AIDA is by far my favorite of the Disney shows and I like it's design better than LION KING or the cheap tour of BEAUTY that I saw.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 1/6/04 at 5:29pm

The design for the cheap tour of Beauty and the Broadway design of Beauty are two different things.

To quote one of the Tony voters (he was my boss): "I didn't like Aida, but it was the only show this season with a score." He hates all LaChiusa works and didn't consider The Dead a musical, so it was the only show he could vote for.

Aida had some nice lighting, but I'm still confused about it winning the scenic design. The only nifty design was the swimming pool. The rest was really nothing that interesting or new. The prison backdrop was especially awful.

"They would bring in all their theme park people and experienced Broadway talents would find it tough to work on their subsequent blockbusters."

Which they didn't do, but shame on them if their decisions are influenced by Disney's refusal to play in the same sandbox. Far be it for someone to do something different on Broadway (gasp).

I just feel that the complexity of Passion's book and score far outweigh that of Aida (based on the children's picture book by Leontyne Price). Maybe its just me, but I think Passion is one of Sondheim's greatest (and possibly most underrated) achievements. When I saw Aida, I liked Sherie, but that was about it. Heather mumbled her way through the dialogue. Adam was simply miscast altogether. The book, score, staging and design seemed as if none of the creative staff met until opening night.

[MasterLcZ]

Posted: 1/6/04 at 6:00pm

Mister Matt, I have to respectfully disagree about the qualities of AVENUE Q being a one-joke score. Yes, much of the score is funny and cheerfully raw and snarky. Yet I think the more one listens to it, one is struck by the honesty and directness, and yes, the POWER of the sentiments expressed in it as a whole.

For instance, I don't know anyone who hasn't had a visceral reaction to "A Fine, Fine Line". One friend I know broke down during Stephanie's (Kates) rendition of it. "I was having a very 'Fine Fine Line Time' with someone I was dating", he ruefully told me later, "And EVERY STANZA of that damn song cut through me."

And the bittersweet finale "For Now", is pretty unexpected. It's offers not a nicely-tied-with-a ribbon happy conclusion, but a Sondheimian rueful acceptance that while we can't have happy all the time, we can't be miserable all the time either. It's almost a Zen acceptance of the messiness of the human condition.

[LouW95]

Posted: 1/6/04 at 6:13pm

Thank goodness for Disney! Ask all the employed actors, stagehands, theater management people, etc who are still working thanks to Disney and their three LONG RUNNING shows.

[Elphie]

Posted: 1/6/04 at 6:32pm

Who do you think will get nominated for Best Actress in a Musical?
Here are mine:
Idina Menzel, WICKED
Kristen Chenoweth, WICKED
Donna Murphey, WONDERFUL TOWN
Stephanie D'Abruzzo, AVENUE Q

[tpdc]

Posted: 1/6/04 at 9:54pm

Mister Matt, I don't think AIDA is a better musical than PASSION. I just think a lot of voters voted against Disney instead of for PASSION. Though it could be that some of them found BEAUTY just too weak to vote for. And maybe you saw Headley on a bad night, for she was excellent throughout when I saw her. If you thought Pascal was miscast you should have seen the talented but really miscast Jeremy Kushnier on tour. Sherie was the best thing about the show for me as well.

The actors from AVENUE Q will all be in the featured category.

Posted: 1/6/04 at 10:51pm

We must not shun BOMBAY DREAMS.
Many people enjoyed the show in London and it does speak volumes of the way musicals are done now a days.
The idea of the all american musical is being over taken by this bazillion dollar industry that turns out musical upon musical. And I must add many are completely enjoyable.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 1/7/04 at 10:36am

tpdc - I did see Jeremy on the Aida tour and I thought he was better than Adam.

Master - I do appreciate the poignancy of Fine Fine Line and think it is a wonderful song, but I was hoping the score would be a little more balanced with more songs like it. The finale "For Now", to me plays more hopeful than bittersweet, stating that the bad times are "only for now". And then it jumps back into the jokes with stuff like "George Bush!" I think most of the songs are quite funny, but I get a bit tired by the time we get to the strip sequence, Schadenfreude, or the You Can Make as Much Noise as You Want numbers. I think it's one I need to see to really appreciate, but I don't know if I would give it Best Score just yet.

[JohnPopa]

Posted: 1/7/04 at 10:45am

The book for 'Wicked' has gotten very strong marks, in fact many reviews said the book is what carries the piece despite what they saw as a weak or uninspired score. I wouldn't be surprised to see 'Wicked' get Best Book and Best Musical, 'Taboo' to get Best Score and 'Avenue Q' to get not much. That's not a slam on 'Avenue Q' but while it has its charm, it's not so well-written in either individual category to stand heads-and-shoulders above this year's other offerings.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 1/7/04 at 10:56am

Bombay Dreams could run off with choreography if the dancing is more original than Never Gonna Dance (which I hear looks very uninspired).

[MasterLcZ]

Posted: 1/7/04 at 10:59am

Mr. Matt, It makes much more sense if you see AVENUE Q. There are loits of snappy visual bits of staging that one keeps in ones mind as one listens to the CD.

[tpdc]

Posted: 1/7/04 at 12:41pm

Mister Matt, maybe you saw an off performance of AIDA on Broadway. Headley was quite fine when I saw it. I liked Pascal in RENT and AIDA. There are better actors and singers, but he does have an original presence. The most appealing thing about AIDA in NY for me was that it seemed like a MGM Hollywood romance and it was cast with three performers able to give old fashioned star performances. Paulette Ivory in the tour was uncharismatic. Lisa Brescia was a fine Amneris, much different than Sherie. But Kushnier, who I have liked a lot in other roles, seemed very miscast to me. The scene where he throws off his shirt and demands Aida wash him was laughable. Not because he can't act, but because he is a boyish performer and the moment was tailored to Pascal's strengths, which include his buff chest and not Kushnier's skinny one.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 1/7/04 at 12:53pm

tpdc - "...the moment was tailored to Pascal's strengths, which include his buff chest and not Kushnier's skinny one"

Not what I consider a "strength" in a performer. It's a physical attribute, for sure, but nothing that requires any talent or skill.

"The most appealing thing about AIDA in NY for me was that it seemed like a MGM Hollywood romance and it was cast with three performers able to give old fashioned star performances."

I didn't see anything that resembled anything old-fashioned at all and the only strong performance I witnessed was Sherie. Adam simply sang and used the exact same persona as Roger from Rent (I did like him in Rent). Heather's singing was fantastic (as it was in The Lion King), but I saw both her and Adam making some very immature acting choices. They reminded me of college students on the "main stage" for the first time. But I fault the director for that. Jeremy provided a performance that was more based on character than style. He was more "theatre" while Adam was more "rock".