Tony Awards Committee Announces 2 New Categories- Page 3

[JustAGuy]

Posted: 6/20/07 at 12:09am

"The sound designer's job is to make sure the mics work and the lyrics are intelligible, come up with a decent mix and maybe throw in a nice sound effect or two."

So just anyone can do that huh? You left out the part about how they have to deal with surly musicians who don't want to play into the mics, or think they know all there is to know about what it takes to design a show.

[best12bars]

Posted: 6/20/07 at 12:17am

I didn't mean to lash out at you, mikem.

You would KNOW if a sound design sucked. Sound design starts with audibility and intelligibility but it does NOT end there. Yes, they add in an "effect" or two, just like a costume designer throws a sequin or two on a gown, or puts a feathered hat on somebody once in a while. Such a FLIP attitude from some who don't understand the effort.

These people are ARTISTS. They can make or break a show.

I remember being so impressed with the sound design for "Ragtime" for example. So many subtle sounds coming from all around the theatre... immersing me in that environment. Pulling me into the story and the era in ways that lights and sets CANNOT do alone.

I remember the sound design for "Doubt." Subtle, but brilliant, and used very effectively throughout the play.

I remember the voice of Agnes in "Agnes of God" circling around the theatre when she sang "with the voice of an angel." And the same with the Phantom's ethereal, unsettling voice in Phantom of the Opera. The sound design was as much a part of that character as Michael Crawford's acting talents. The fact that many don't understand what is involved in conceiving and executing such artistry is more of an indication of ignorance than anything else. But the designers are there doing their job, and have been ever since the first mic was worn by the first actor on Broadway.

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 6/20/07 at 12:35am

b12b, you're being absolutely ridiculous.

You can sit down and listen to a score, and immediately recognize whether it's good or not.

How would you sit there and say "Oh, that musical direction was better than THAT OTHER musical direction?" Shows like BROOKLYN and ALL SHOOK UP had great musical direction (what musical on Broadway has poor musical direction?) but how on earth could one say that ONE musical director was better than the next?

You cannot compare it to "Best Score" or "Best Actor" because those are things that you can sit down, look at, and determine. There is no way on EARTH that you could say "Oh, Paul Gemignani's musical direction of 110 IN THE SHADE was superb, but Kim Grigsby of SPRING AWAKENING really did the best job."

PLEASE. And this is coming from someone who IS a musical director.

[mikem]

Posted: 6/20/07 at 12:38am

best12bars, thank you for saying that. I can imagine how frustrating it must be to feel that expertise and excellence is not being adequately appreciated.

I think I have been lucky in that I only remember two Broadway shows where the sound design became noticeable for negative reasons. The first was Jersey Boys, where I sat house left on the center aisle, and the voices all seemed to be coming from the speaker to the left of me while the actors were all to the right of me -- it was really disconcerting. The second was Journey's End, where there is some wonderful use of sound effects but I thought there were weird pockets on stage where people walking around seemed to have sound quality differences as they were walking through different places, and there was great inconsistency in the audibility of "pouring," when sometimes you could really hear liquid being poured into a glass (like when Hugh Dancy is pouring and pouring his whiskey in Act I) and other times you couldn't hear it at all (like when people are pouring coffee a few scenes later).

[best12bars]

Posted: 6/20/07 at 12:43am

Munk, your excuse is WEAK. You could say the exact same thing about a show's director.

How would you know that it wasn't the ACTOR'S choice to pause before that line? Or how would you know that it wasn't the AUTHOR who decided to have the character cry at that moment?

I'm not buying your reasoning for one minute.

And this is from someone who has ALSO been a musical director.

[JustAGuy]

Posted: 6/20/07 at 12:45am

"You cannot compare it to "Best Score" or "Best Actor" because those are things that you can sit down, look at, and determine."

That is obviously so not true...look at this year's winner in the Best Actor in Musical Category. There were a number of people who thought the outcome should have been very different.

Like I said in an earlier post...ALL these awards are subjective. Best Musical Director...Best Actor...Best Sound Design... Best Direction they all fall into the same category when it comes to voting, it's a matter of the voters taste and personal opinion. Nothing more.

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 6/20/07 at 12:49am

You're missing the point.

Having a category for Best Musical Direction would be like having a category for Best Stage Technician, or Best Stage Manager. How on EARTH would you judge that?

B12, you keep telling me that my reasons are stupid, but I'm missing where you offer up a suggestion as to how you could POSSIBLY judge musical direction.

And to say that you can't judge the direction of a piece is horrendous. Of course you can.

[Mistress_Spouzic]

Posted: 6/20/07 at 12:59am

As happy as I am for these added categories, there are more still that could be added...

Mary Poppins did have an awesome set (and I wanted it to win) but it was really the *special effects* that made it awesome, no? Even the MTV Video Music Awards have a special effects category.

And maybe every show doesnt have amazing wigs like Hairspray but if voters look at it as somehow within the scope of costume design, then perhaps the award should be renamed or given to all parties contributing to the overall 'look' of the characters.

[BroadwayEnthusiast2]

Posted: 6/20/07 at 1:07am

I was just thinking that, Mistress. If wig design could somehow be a part of costume design, I think it would be a great award.

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 6/20/07 at 1:54am

It's going overboard now...

[Ourtime992]

Posted: 6/20/07 at 2:13am

I think the best way to address these difficulties would be to move toward the voting system used by the Oscars, and have artists and technicians from within a discipline determine who gets nominated and awarded.

[Ourtime992]

Posted: 6/20/07 at 2:14am

Also, I'd like to see an award for best playbill wall display made in Microsoft Paint.

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 6/20/07 at 4:53am

I am a musical director as well, and I think it is clear when a show has good musical direction or not. I mean, I listen out for this kind of stuff and I think it's much more distinct than sound design or stage management. I am a fan on Spring Awakening, but I certainly would not have voted for it for Best Musical Direction (I would have probably chosen Company; the cleanest singing was definitely coming from that show, and all that without a conductor? Completely impressive). I'm not sure if I'd let just anyone vote for that category, though, since not everyone knows what musical direction is (just like sound design). The Oscars has a system where only "experts" of certain fields would vote for certain categories, like sound editing and sound mixing. Perhaps if the Tonys implemented something like that, a category like Musical Direction could work. I usually agree with the results of the Orchestration category, so I think people are smart enough to know what good orchestrations are.

~Steven

[TechEverlasting]

Posted: 6/20/07 at 7:10am

best12bars, you are completely missing my point. Yes, Broadway's sound guys do great, creative work. There are also dozens of other designers who do brilliant, innovative work on Broadway shows, and it is not possible to give every single one of them an award without making the Tony broadcast much longer and even more boring. Clearly this new award is just going to go the "flavor of the month" show, just like the orchestration award does now. What I would suggest instead is a "technical innovation" award, to recognize those making strides in the use of projection, sound effects, automation and all the other unsung heroes who add so much to the theater going experience.

"I suppose all actors are PIGS too, so we should just do away with those categories, right?
Good God. "

Oh God, My God. Omigod! Unlike sound design, theater goers and TV viewers actually care about the actor categories. The fact that actors are PIGS is irrelevant. (Yes, I have seen them eat.)

They don't just "make sure the mics work." That comment alone shows you have no idea what you're talking about.

Okay, you've got me there. Very often they don't make the mics work.

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 6/20/07 at 7:19am

Yes, Broadway sound designers (also known as "soundmen" anywhere else in the world) are all good at what they do, but they are also stuck-up enough already without now getting Tony awards. I'm dreading those speeches.

You are so laughably transparent, TechEverlasting. If it displeases you so much to see others take pride in getting rewarded for their work, then you're the stuck-up one. It's as though you're saying, "If I can't get a Tony Award, NOBODY can get a Tony Award!" Get over yourself.

[TechEverlasting]

Posted: 6/20/07 at 3:59pm

Foster, what are you talking about?

As recent events have shown the Tony awards are a critical part of marketing theater. Broadway audiences take these awards very seriously, and anyone who is interested in theater should take them seriously as well. Adding nonsense categories like "best sound design for a play" won't do anything to celebrate and further excellence in theater. Voters will just shrug and give the vote to whatever show they voted for in the other categories. Viewers won't even pay attention, and whatever show wins will just have one more award to brag about in its ads.

A "technical innovation" award would help to promote and reward the great progress all sorts of technicians are making in musical theater, not just the sound guys.

Does anyone doubt for a second that Spring Awakening would have won the "Best Sound Design For a Musical" award this year, regardless of how its sound design compared to other shows?

Updated On: 6/20/07 at 03:59 PM

[Gypsy9]

Posted: 6/20/07 at 5:06pm

If "Best Sound Design" has the effect of sound designers making sure that the sound is not distorted or over amplified and sounds like it is coming from the actors' mouths, then I am all for such a Tony. When I saw RAGTIME, Audra McDonald's voice was over amplified and distorted, and this from such an accomplished singer. At intermission, I complained to the man from the soundbooth at the rear of the orchestra. Things were marginally better in Act Two.

In the 1950's and 1960's there WAS a Tony category for Best Conductor and Musical Director. In addition to conducting the pit orchestra, the musical director typically arranges and conducts the vocals for any chorus of singers on stage. It IS possible to recognize excellence in this category. Aren't conductors of major orchestras around the world recognized for their expertise as musical director? Take Leonard Bernstein as an example. He was able to get his musicians to play magnificently, no matter what orchestra he was conducting. His charismatic presence had its effect on the orchestra.

There was a Broadway conductor and musical director named Lehman Engel who was a highly regarded leader in his field in the 1950's into the 1970's.(He also founded the BMI Workshops, which is still in existence). I would go to musicals that he was conducting and watch him as much as I would the actors on stage. To me he was mesmerizing, conducting with such care and enthusiasm and eliciting good performances from the cast.(This was back when you could see the conductor from your seat). He won the Tony Award(one of several) for conducting the OBC of WONDERFUL TOWN(1953). Rosalind Russell, the star of the show, once said that she would be standing in the wings, waiting to go on and saying to herself, "How am I going to do this show again tonight?" Then she would be on stage, look down at Lehman Engel's encouraging and smiling face, and know that all would be well.

I have no idea why this category was dropped in the mid 1960's. It should be re-instated.