The worst Tony Winning Performance You Have Seen- Page 3

[philly03]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 7:45pm

Agreed with Titanic taking "Best Musical" in 1997. (I'm still upset over the no Jekyll & Hyde nomination!) Titanic is just .. .. .

Second, The Woman in White's losing in Best Score to The Drowsy Chaperone. ?!?!?! I don't care that WiW's run was short, but to Drowsy Chaperone?

[lakezurich]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 7:46pm

Drowsy is phenom!

[bjh2114]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 7:55pm

It's a tie between Idina and LaChanze.

[broadwayboy101]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 8:02pm

It sounds like the roles are winning Tonys now, not the performers acting them out.

[bwayguy22089]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 8:04pm

Just putting it out there that Idina was very very sick at the Tony's. Even her performance in the musical itself around that time wasn't very good. I think it may have been a night or two after the Tony's where she didn't go on for the second act. I saw her three times...all at different points during her run...I thought she was great. And I've seen a number of Broadway musicals. All the actresses were great that year. I think Idina was very good in a very good role. 'Tis all

[Looney]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 8:14pm

I still don't know why Lansbury won for Sweeney... she was awful.

*huge eyeroll* Oh, puh-leeze... there are opinions, then there is just utter nonsense...

[nealb1]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 8:17pm

I would have to say Tyne Daly in "Gypsy." Saw the show here in LA in the summer of 89, before it went to Broadway. She was beyond dreadful!

[misschung]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 8:25pm

I forgot about Titanic - I take back what I said. The performances weren't bad at all when I saw it, but the overall show was just...a really bad idea?

[SirNotAppearing]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 8:54pm

Idina was awwwwful at the Tonys, but I'm guessing maybe she was super-emotional because she probably just won...but she barely sung at the end, just shrieked-and her facial contortions don't translate well to TV. Especially the very end.
She looks rabid.

[bwayguy22089]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 9:01pm

She sung before she won...but like I said...she was very sick. Probably the sickest she was during the run. I think her acting greatly improved when she went to London.

[broadwaywriter]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 9:05pm

I don't think that she had just won her title as Best Actress because they usually announce those at the end (after the big show performances) so I don't think she was shocked. I think she was really nervous. Idina has a wonderful voice when she is down lower (and quieter) and I like it when she keeps her voice open. You can hear how great her voice sounds on her new album. However, when she seems to strain when she hits the higher notes and starts to scream. The Tony's were probably the most painful example of that, however I will give her credit for sounding MUCH better on her day-to-day performances on Broadway + in London.

To reflect, I actually find Spring Awakening to have the worst live performance. I'm surprised no one has mentioned it yet. Even though the actors are young kids and they have AH-MAZING talents for their age, I felt their performance was weak and did not represent the show (or their true singing abilities) in the performance. It looked rather messy and since I had not seen the show yet, I was very disappointed they had taken most of the awards. After I saw the show, I was fine with the awards they won and agreed with most of the choices made, however the performance at the Tony's really did not make the show look good.

[alsal]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 9:09pm

I agree with some points you made about Spring Awakening. I definitely didn't like the medley choice that they decided to go with and it definitely didn't show the talent the cast really has. Plus, the changing of the lyrics is just really annoying..and having Jonathan Groff take up half of the Bitch of Living solo.

[whatever2]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 9:14pm

a little surprised we're on page three of this thread and no one's mentioned the word "spamalot" yet ...

[Izzie2]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 9:51pm

...Idina Menzel is ok. She's not awful, she's not some sort of worshippable being.

ANGELA LANSBURY on the other hand. I care. She's awesome.

[IdinaBellFoster]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 9:53pm

I don't see how anyone could say that Titanic was a bad idea.

The score alone makes the show worthwhile.

[bundy5000]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 10:01pm

What it was then and what it now

Mamma Mia they even messed the script up

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 10:22pm

Ok, go ahead and call me a hyporcite, but Idina does not transfer well on film. In the theatre, she gave a phenomenal performance as Elphaba...but every TV appearance, kinda blah. Film, kinda blah. I think it's a presence thing that just doesn't transfer well.

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 10:54pm

Not necessarily "worst", but a handful of performances that I don't feel are award worthy:


Dan Fogler, ...SPELLING BEE
Dick Latessa, HAIRSPRAY
Gary Beach, THE PRODUCERS
David Hyde Pierce, CURTAINS
Cady Huffman, THE PRODUCERS
La Chanze, THE COLOR PURPLE
Idina Menzel, WICKED
Heather Headley, AIDA

[BDavis0092]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 11:52pm

David Hyde Pierce - Curtains....

[Roscoe]

Posted: 4/15/08 at 8:52am

Oh, yeah, Dick Latessa did pick up a Tony for that "performance" in HAIRSPRAY. Ick.

And Betty Buckley won for walking across the stage, "singing" (although shrieking is a more precise description) one song, and then walking back across the stage. Wow.

[madbrian]

Posted: 4/15/08 at 9:23am

In my opinion, Spamalot was inferior to the other three nominated musicals the year it won. The others were Piazza, Spelling Bee, and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.

[IdinaBellFoster]

Posted: 4/15/08 at 10:10am

I agree completely. The Tony should have gone to Piazza.

[whatever2]

Posted: 4/15/08 at 10:11am

my point.

ramirez was a hoot, but that show was (is) tofu.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 4/15/08 at 10:12am

I don't see how anyone could say that Titanic was a bad idea.

The score alone makes the show worthwhile.

I can understand how someone would think Titanic was a bad idea if they never saw the show, heard the score, or knew anything about the concept. I can also understand how some were put off by the staging (though I was not). But the score is most definitely one of the strongest of the entire decade and of that season, the show's only real competition was The Life, which to me, just didn't work. And there was NO WAY J&H could have been nominated for Best Musical. Perhaps had the original version been staged, it could have stood a chance (but probably only if it had opened 5 or 6 years earlier as it should have before everyone's expectations were raised to unscalable heights), but what opened on Broadway was quite embarrassing.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 4/15/08 at 12:21pm

The choreography for Spring Awakening.

Curtains should have won.