Tony winners

[edenespinosalover]

Posted: 11/2/04 at 9:57am

Who, in your mind, is the least deserving of their Tony win?

[Plum]

Posted: 11/2/04 at 12:48pm

Last year, quite possibly Anika Noni Rose. She was good, but I would have picked Veanne Cox or Ann Harada over her, and I'd say Isabel Keating is tied with her.

Oh, wait. Then there's Idina Menzel. Nevermind; she wins.

[broadway86]

Posted: 11/2/04 at 1:03pm

Keep in mind that I do not dislike any of these performances. I just prefer some over others...

Anika Noni Rose over Isabel Keating
Phylicia Rashad over Tovah Feldshuh
Marissa Jaret Winokur over Bernadette Peters
Brian Dennehy (LDJIN) over Eddie Izzard
Vanessa Redgrave over Fiona Shaw
Harvey Fierstein over Brian Stokes Mitchell or Antonio Banderas
Dick Latessa over Michael Cavanaugh
Jane Krakowski over Mary Stuart Masterson
Harriet Harris over Spencer Kayden
Alan Bates over Billy Crudup
Frank Langella over Sam Robards
Lindsay Duncan (while she was great) over Kate Burton (who was better)
Christine Ebersole (who was terrific) over Marla Schaffel
Cady Huffman over Kathleen Freeman or Polly Bergen
Richard Easton over Gary Sinise
Bernadette Peters over Sian Phillips
Brian Dennehy (DOAS) over Kevin Spacey (both were amazing, but I chose Kevin for some odd reason)
Boyd Gaines over Stephen Spinella
Karen Ziemba over Eartha Kitt
Heather Headley over Audra MacDonald
Alan Cumming over Brian Stokes Mitchell
James Naughton over Robert Cuccioli
Bebe Neuwirth and Karen Ziemba are tied for 1997

These are, of course, just my opinion. You could be wrong. :) Updated On: 11/2/04 at 01:03 PM

[DickonDefysGravity]

Posted: 11/2/04 at 1:52pm

Although both were amazing:

Johanna Gleason over Bernadette Peters

And I'm still bitter about Avenue Q....

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 11/2/04 at 1:55pm

I think Tovah Feldshuh should have won over Phylicia Rashad.

And having seen NEVER GONNA DANCE before the Tonys and then CAROLINE OR CHANGE after, I was shocked that Anika won over Ziemba.

And then of course, there's the Marissa/Bernadette thing. We all know how I feel about THAT one.

[bwaymyway]

Posted: 11/2/04 at 1:56pm

Hmm...definatly Idina Menzel over Kristin Chenoweth. Don't kill me people, but Idina just wasn't all that great live :-
<33

[brandonm]

Posted: 11/2/04 at 1:57pm

wicked should have won everything. at least best music.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 11/2/04 at 1:57pm

And Tonya Pinkins outclassed them both. Menzel and Chenoweth weren't in the same league.

[brandonm]

Posted: 11/2/04 at 1:59pm

true

[MATheaterLover]

Posted: 11/2/04 at 2:03pm

I can't believe anyone would ever think Fiona Shaw deserved the Tony over La Redgrave! Having seen both performances, I think Vanessa was so much more new, fresh, and intriguing - totally captivating - it really felt like we were seeing something totally new on stage. Fiona's performance was very thrilling, very emotional, and very deep - but I really think La Redgrave brought something new to the theater that night. What a special performance to behold.

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 11/2/04 at 2:05pm

Heather Hedley over Marin Mazzie (Kiss Me Kate)
Christine Ebersole over Marla Schaeffel
Alan Cumming over Brian Stokes Mitchell
?? from Cabaret over Marin Mazzie (Ragtime)
Lion King over Ragtime

[robbiej]

Posted: 11/2/04 at 2:17pm

Natasha Richardson deserved that Tony more than Marin Mazzie every day of the week and twice on Sunday.

It was, hands down, the best performance I've ever seen in a theatre.

As for Fiona Shaw...I HATED that Medea!!!!

[Ruth Sherwood]

Posted: 11/2/04 at 2:18pm

I agree about Marin Mazzie. She deserved a Tony for both "Ragtime" and "Kiss Me, Kate."

Idina Menzel did not deserve her Tony. She has a pleasant voice, but she is not a terribly gifted actress. The only reason she won was because she did not win for "Rent." Donna Murphy already has 2, Kristin Chenoweth has 1, and so does Tonya Pinkins. Stephanie D'Abruzzo didn't stand a chance. If these awards were truly about excellence in the Theatre, the Tony would have gone to Tonya Pinkins or Donna Murphy.
What angered me more about the 2004 Tonys, was the fact that Ann Harada was overlooked.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 11/2/04 at 2:23pm

I think I've seen Medea on stage five times, and Fiona Shaw's was the fifth best. A truly wrongheaded production. In contrast, Redgrave was utterly sublime.

And speaking of fifth best, Billy Crudup's Elephant Man, barely qualified as the fifth best performance in that category (he was simply awful). Alan Bates's performance in Fortune's Fool was the stuff of legend..

[robbiej]

Posted: 11/2/04 at 2:27pm

Margo,

Back when Broadway.com had a message board, I posted a blistering review of how awful I thought that production was. Everyone thought I was grandstanding and just trying to stir the **** up.

I just saw that the Emperor wasn't wearin' nuthin.

[popcultureboy]

Posted: 11/2/04 at 2:29pm

Yes robbie, we know you hated that Medea. Let it go already

[robbiej]

Posted: 11/2/04 at 2:31pm

NEVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

CIRCUS PONIES!!!!!!!!

[popcultureboy]

Posted: 11/2/04 at 2:34pm

Your nickname isn't Bulldog by any chance, is it?

[robbiej]

Posted: 11/2/04 at 2:35pm

You're just a big ole Brit bitch, aintcha?

[popcultureboy]

Posted: 11/2/04 at 2:37pm

Oh, how well you know me.

[BWayBoy88]

Posted: 11/2/04 at 3:09pm

I thought Anika Noni Rose was wonderful in Caroline or Change and completly deserved the Tony.

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 11/2/04 at 3:12pm

Thanks Robbiej, for the life of me I couldn't remember her name. I knew the last name was Richardson, but I almost typed Miranda.

[wickedfan]

Posted: 11/2/04 at 3:17pm

Alan Cumming over Brian Stokes Mitchell??!! EXCUSE ME!!?? I've seen videos of Stokes' performance and from what I say he was great. BUt Alan Cummming, like Richardson, deserved his Tony every night and day performance of the week and weekend.

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 11/2/04 at 3:23pm

I understand what you're saying about Cumming and Richardson, but Ragtime was a new work, though I realize the revival of Cabaret was a new take on the show. I still preferred Mitchell and Mazzie.

[wickedfan]

Posted: 11/2/04 at 3:26pm

Even if it is a new work, and you may prefer them that's fine, in my opinion those performances were some of the best to have graced the stage in years!