Posted: 5/20/15 at 1:10pm
Posted: 5/20/15 at 1:11pm
I don't think Kristin or any host assumes taking on the role of host will sway votes their way. If Kristin wins the award it's for the wonderful performance she's giving in OTTC.
Last year, The Hollywood Reporter had an article on Kelli O'Hara's chances of winning since her show had closed. They did a breakdown of who has gone on to win after the closing of a show - very few performers. The link: Tonys: Will Broadway's Golden Girl Kelli O'Hara Finally Take Home the Gold This Year?
I'm pulling for Kelli because I love her portrayal of Anna. A great range of emotions along with that fantastic voice are on that stage each night. She's created a funny, smart and caring character and then showed a great deal of anger when that was necessary. I think she's giving an award worthy performance.
Posted: 5/20/15 at 1:14pm
"Yes; in that instance, it's unlikely a plurality of Tony voters were able to get into Ragtime or Finian's Rainbow. In a perfect world, of course, all voters should be seeing an eligible production as soon as possible after opening. "
Right. And it's exactly that reasoning (sorry to threadjack a moment) that makes me FAR less convinced than everyone else that Annaleigh Ashford is poised to take home the Tony in the Featured Actress in a Play category. I loved her, but I get the feeling that the majority of voters didn't see her performance before the show closed. I'd almost be surprised if she won at this point.
Posted: 5/20/15 at 1:30pm
A few things about the voting process:
-Isn't there a note somewhere that says a voter should refrain from voting in a category if they haven't seen all of the nominees? This should in theory give equal chance to performers whose shows closed early...assuming people can be intelligent and reach into their memory bank.
-Regarding the "honoring a show in X way" issue: Remember that there is no formal group deliberation among voters (whereas there actually is with nominations). The voters just check off their choices on a ballot and send them in. Then it comes down to numbers. So if one person decides to "honor" one show with best show and one with a performer, that's only one vote out of 100+...so little impact could be made with that mindset.
Posted: 5/20/15 at 1:36pm
"-Isn't there a note somewhere that says a voter should refrain from voting in a category if they haven't seen all of the nominees? This should in theory give equal chance to performers whose shows closed early...assuming people can be intelligent and reach into their memory bank."
There IS, but that doesn't mean people follow the rule. If you're a voter, you're voting in all of the categories whether you've seen the shows or not (not that I agree with this mindset). But let's put it this way. If I didn't get to see Annaleigh Ashford or Patricia Clarkson because their shows had closed but did get to see the other 3 and Lydia Leonard left me in awe... I might think "WOW that's a Tony deserving performance." Now, perhaps it wasn't the best of the 5 since I didn't see 2 of them, but if I personally feel that, competition aside, Lydia is giving a Tony-winning performance, should I not honor her by voting for her in hopes that she might win the award?
That's the mindset a lot of voters have. It sucks for the nominees whose shows have closed, but the performers in open shows shouldn't be punished either by having voters abstain if they're giving really great performances.
Posted: 5/20/15 at 1:42pm
Posted: 5/20/15 at 1:52pm
"There IS, but that doesn't mean people follow the rule....
That's the mindset a lot of voters have. It sucks for the nominees whose shows have closed, but the performers in open shows shouldn't be punished either by having voters abstain if they're giving really great performances."
Agreed, obviously people will bend this rule. I guess I like to think people have integrity 
I still think it would be the most fair thing to abstain from voting though. Surely many performers are giving Tony-worthy performances (which is why this Kristin/Kelly/Chita chain is so fascinating because they're all deserving), but the award should go to the performer who gave the MOST Tony-worthy performance with knowledge of all the nominees.
Posted: 5/20/15 at 4:10pm
Well, I'm sure if O'Hara doesn't win, they'll be a new "rumor" from somewhere explaining why she lost (outside having people vote for someone else for performance-related reasons), and it'll get repeated enough times that people will take it as gospel . . . like how she lost last year because voters knew she'd be in the King and I this year.
Posted: 5/20/15 at 4:15pm
http://www.goldderby.com/stats/experts/tony-awards-2015/actress-(musical).html
Posted: 5/20/15 at 4:47pm
Disclaimer: I don't intend for this to come off as snarky. I'm a big fan of Kristin Chenoweth and I think she's a genuine, gracious person. But I was thinking about how she was talking a fair amount about her illness in past weeks and I wonder if it was, even subconsciously, an attempt to let people (voters) know that she had a reason if they caught her on a not perfect day? I'm not even being critical it's just an observation.
Consider the promotional aspect of a Tony campaign, another observation would be that there's what I feel is a very unfortunate Kelli O'Hara quote about the King and I that thankfully for her probably won't gain traction. There's a thread on here that picked up little interest.
I asked six-time Tony nominee Kelli O’Hara if Anna in The King and I is the singing-est role she’s done so far. “It’s one of the least, I think,” she said. “It was written for a non singer [Gertrude Lawrence], It’s about an octave range. Last year, I did The Bridges of Madison County and sang 12 to 14 songs of an operatic nature. This is a fun play with music.” http://www.out.com/michael-musto/2015/5/18/10-things-every-gay-male-needs-do-now
I'm guessing the quote was spliced a bit and the sentiment is probably not what she intended, but it comes out sounding like The King and I is an easy role.
Posted: 5/20/15 at 5:32pm
Let’s give the Tony voters some credit here. They are, by and large, very savvy theatergoers. They are not going to vote for someone simply because she is hosting the telecast or has been overlooked before or because she’s a legend of a certain age. They will vote for whoever they thought gave the best performance, period.
Posted: 5/20/15 at 6:08pm
That "rumor" of saving votes for next year has no basis and sounds ridiculously silly. I don't know why people on message boards came up with that theory. Mueller had more of a narrative that season and she embraced and it campaigned for it. When Kelli O'Hara was at Tony press events, she failed to really work the room to try and charm anyone. It was like she had ceded the Tony to Mueller already in her mind. While this isn't the Oscars in terms of campaigns and precursors, you still have to put yourself out there and let them know you want it. It isn't "pointless" to award a performer from a closed show (just ask Tracey Letts), but you have to let them know you want it. We will see how much she wants it this year.
Posted: 5/20/15 at 6:39pm
MayAudraBlessYou - I don't quite understand what you mean by "campaigning" for the Tony. Almost all Tony award press is limited to a few minutes per actor per press outlet and is dependent on the questions asked by the interviewer. What could Kelli have done to promote her show that had already received its closing notice?
Last year, Kelli made it a point to mention in several different interviews how grateful she was to play Francesca, how much the character and story meant to her, and how the piece was specifically written for her voice. One example is this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vmwce8t_D2U Kelli says that she's waited her entire career to play Francesca and talks about how rewarding the experience was. How else was she supposed to "campaign"?
Posted: 5/20/15 at 7:55pm
"
http://www.goldderby.com/stats/experts/tony-awards-2015/actress-(musical).html
"
Wow this chart is fascinating, especially when you compare the "editor picks" (Chita favored to win) compared to "users" (Kelli O'Hara favored). The experts say it is Kristin all the way. Now I'm even more fascinated!
Posted: 5/20/15 at 8:12pm
I'm saddened by how little Chita Rivera seems to be on the radar for the Tony at this point, despite giving what is arguably the best performance of her career. (Seems to me that "The Visit" not being a hit show is keeping her in the shadows behind Kristin and Kelli.)
It's fascinating to me that she is essentially no longer part of this conversation, despite just having won the Distinguished Performance Award from the Drama League. You know, the one where she was in competition with dozens of other performances from both actors and actresses in both featured and lead roles. Yet, she does not have a shot when up against only the other leading ladies? Odd.
Posted: 5/20/15 at 8:37pm
Updated On: 5/20/15 at 08:37 PM
Posted: 5/20/15 at 8:39pm
http://www.goldderby.com/stats/editors/tony-awards-2015/actress-(musical).html
Posted: 5/20/15 at 11:25pm
I also believe the Tony voters are savvy enough to refrain from voting for someone just because they're "overdue," etc. Even if you did want to suggest that, it's been a long time since KC got her Tony. So she's still only one ahead of KO. It's not like she's Audra McDonald when it comes to nominations and wins. 
In the end it should be for the performance at hand. The overall performance.
I will admit that I was a little surprised by O'hara's quote when I read it too. But maybe she's just being honest. Which is great. I had mentioned something similar on another thread, having noted that I've seen TKAI numerous times and think it's a fantastic musical with amazing music.
But after seeing Chenoweth in OTTC, her role just seems a lot more complex to me.
True that Anna has to be played by a great actress. And KO is exactly that.
But so does Lily.
Add to Lily…comic timing, and a great voice.
Interesting how it's the latter of which that KO plays down a bit in the quote relating to her character.
What a season! Great actresses. Many things to consider.
I still wonder if we don't see the Tony going to Chenoweth, with revival going to TKAI. Sharing the wealth a bit.
Posted: 5/20/15 at 11:41pm
I still think the Tony's are political- Maybe less so then the Oscars, but not by much. There are political reasons why any of these three women could win and whichever one has the most impact will probably be the winner. It's just how awards work. Of course the performance matters, we wouldn't be having this discussion if it didn't. And sometimes the person with the best performance does win. But there have been and there will be many times when it doesn't in any kind of awards show.
Updated On: 8/1/23 at 11:41 PM
Posted: 5/21/15 at 12:18am
True ^^^.
And I agree it's especially prevalent in Hollywood. Hopefully not so much in the theater.
Posted: 5/21/15 at 12:39am
Agreed. Politics and emotions (the same thing?) will always factor in. All the judges can do is try to be as objective as possible.
It's well known that King and I was written expressly for Gertrude Lawrence and at her request (after Cole Porter turned her down). And it's well known that Lawrence had a limited vocal range and Rodgers wrote her songs accordingly.
If Kelli O'Hara has the capacity to be bitter, then she would be bitter that the most important production of her career was rejected by audience and critics. Her remarks about the lightweight vocals of The King and I would be aimed at reminding people of what she had accomplished the year before.
Personally, she was mostly immune from the rejection. Although we know that the next criticism of Kelli made by Ben Brantley will be his first criticism, this is a Tony worthy review:
I am happy to say that Ms. O’Hara more than keeps the promises made by her interpretation of that first song, one of many sumptuous pieces that feel as if they had been written specifically for her by the show’s composer, Jason Robert Brown. She also confirms her position as one of the most exquisitely expressive stars in musical theater. Her Francesca, a questioning farmer’s wife who briefly discovers a love with all the answers, brings a rich and varied topography to what might have been strictly flat corn country.
Posted: 5/21/15 at 4:23am
Updated On: 7/22/20 at 04:23 AM
Posted: 5/21/15 at 8:42am
"I spoke with two Tony voters today. One said they were voting for Beth, and the other said they were voting for Kelli.
It's truly a race to the end."
Wow, I know this might rude, but I thought Beth had no chance, based on Kristin. This has to be the most exciting race in years
Posted: 5/21/15 at 9:58am
Calm down. It's one vote. Do you really expect Beth and Leanne to get literally 0 votes?
Posted: 5/21/15 at 11:38am
Well, pretty much every year you hear some Tony voters say 'Yes, I agree that's gonna win, but I'm gonna vote for something else' which might as well have played into the surprise victory for A Raisin in the Sun last year.
Updated On: 5/21/15 at 11:38 AM
