The Kristin/Kelli/Chita competition... — Page 7

Kristin is doing a fantastic job, but I have a gut feeling Kelli will walk away with the Tony. I think the feeling that this is her time will trump the degree of difficulty card that is the reason that people are predicting Kristin. Kristin is certainly overdue but is there enough passion for the show to put her ahead? I feel The King And I is making a much stronger impact right now and this is the period when it counts the most.

Updated On: 12/25/22 at 11:40 PM

Very well could happen.

TKAI has been done a lot on Broadway, but there seems to be a lot of sentiment surrounding it again this year.

If KO does haul in the Tony though, it will be most impressive. To overpower what Kristin is doing over there at American Airlines, KO, with a subdued, oft-done role would be quite an accomplishment.

I could still see KC pull out the Tony for actress (which I'm kind of hoping for), with TKAI taking revival. KO is long overdue, but KC has only won it once….and that was a long time ago.

But who knows? Anything could happen on this one.

Maybe Chita comes in and snatches it though. Which would be absolutely great too.

^^^Could happen. Or the Fun Home actress slips in and takes it. Can't count her out.

All I know is I hope The King and I is still open in September/October. I might be returning to the city at that time. Not sure what its run is supposed to be, or how long the leads are supposed to remain with the show (esp. KO; she's the one I really want to see).

I would love to see it.

Either way though I hear it's a gorgeous production.

A few people have mentioned Kristin's hosting duties as somehow helping her win the Tony. That should have no bearing on whether or not she wins and I certainly hope the voters aren't taking that into account. I know that when performances are seemingly equal and the race is as hotly contested as we presume it will be, other factors like nostalgia, being 0 for 5, role of a lifetime, etc come into play. But to me the fact that the person is hosting shouldn't be relevant.

Great theory, Iris! And that might happen.

Someone suggested that there could be a tie between Kristin and Kelli. And even though it won't happen, I wouldn't be surprised. To honor Kristin's great performance while finally giving Kelli a Tony (I know, I keep on saying that), as well while also honoring her own performance.

It always bugs me how voters spread things out to give recognition to different shows via acting awards, etc. If one show has ALL the best stuff, so be it. It shouldn't matter if they are taking multiple awards. Anyhow, I do believe that The King and I is superior to On the Twentieth Century and should win for Best Revival hands down.

Having seen Kristin, Kelli, Chita and Beth Malone (seeing An American in Paris next week), this is clearly a tough choice. Kristin's performance is amazingly energetic, comedic and great vocals. Something about Kelli's beautiful, seemingly effortless performance just stuck with me though. She has so much grace and makes it look easy. The subject matter is also much different though. I'm a fan of both ladies though my heart pulls more towards Kelli. At this point it's a toss up.

@Jeffrey Last year, Bridges purposefully stayed open through the Spring road conference so all the out of town voters saw it. That's why the show took 2 wins out of 4 nominations. The closed show argument only works when something didnt last long enough for voters to catch it, or it closed so early in the season its outta sight outta mind. O'Hara and Mueller went into the race on equal footing in that respect. But Mueller had the narrative that year.

O'Hara again enters on equal footing with Cheno, but I'd argue Cheno has the narrative this year. The issue being that O'Hara's narrative has been the same (overdue) for the past several seasons. There is (right or wrong) a higher level of perceived difficulty with OTTC. And yes, taking on hosting duties in addition to a highly physical and exhausting performance will win her votes.

I wish someone would actually do some data gathering on whether being in a show that closed prior to the Tony ceremony (closed after the nominations come out and the voters had a chance to see it). I just wonder if that logic was true then wouldn't it be true that actors and actresses in shows with a limited-engagement will also be at a disadvantage as well since voters could think why bother awarding him/her when the show is going to close a month from now? Plus, other than the producers of the show itself, why would voters care if they give a Tony to an actor/actress in a closed or closing show? I don't think most of them have any future interest or investment in the show.

Updated On: 5/20/15 at 12:07 PM

"For performance awards- it really, really just comes down to who people enjoyed more. That's it. That's all. "

Well... that and who voters saw. For example, in 2010 Chris Fitzgerald and Bobby Steggert (two of the best reviewed performances of the season, featured or otherwise) were at a SEVERE disadvantage with their shows having closed so early (January). Levi Kreis took the award for being the most enjoyable of the 3 nominees in open shows. But closing after Tony nominations but before the award ceremony shouldn't make a difference.