Tony winners- Page 2

[robbiej]

Posted: 11/2/04 at 3:35pm

Dottie,

Saying it's a new work doesn't mean it's harder to create a character.

What Mr. Cumming and Ms. Richardson managed to do was banish the ghosts of Joel Grey and Liza Minnelli. That is no small feat.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 11/2/04 at 5:02pm

Hmm lets guess what Im gonna say ...I dont think Avenue Q deserved the Tony and thats just my opinion so im begging you PLEASE DONT bash me for it!

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 11/2/04 at 5:09pm

Again, I know where all of you are coming from with regards to the performances of Alan Cumming and Natasha Richardson. They definitely succeeded in making the roles their own. Let's admit that both categories had strong contenders that year (which is good).

[sean martin]

Posted: 11/2/04 at 5:11pm

The scenic design for AVENUE Q should have won over WICKED. Thje latter may be real pretty to look at, but in terms of responding to the material and being an integral part of the production, it sucked big green ones.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 11/2/04 at 5:14pm

Not bashing---just stating what I thought---I thought that WICKED's scenic design was the best of the year by far...I mean it took you from Shiz to Elphaba's castle to The Ozdust Ballroom to the Emerald City to Elphie and Galinda's dorm and so much more seamlessly...I thought Eugene Lee did a phenomenal job working the set into the show and making it oddly fresh so one feels they are indeed "not in Kansas anymore"

[little_sally]

Posted: 11/2/04 at 9:55pm

I don't think Avenue Q deserved Best Score this year. That's just my opinion.

Also:
Idina Menzel over Tonya Pinkins or even Donna Murphy
Alan Cumming over Brian Stokes Mitchell
Natasha Richardson over Marin Mazzie
Anika Noni Rose over Isabel Keating
Harriet Harris over Spencer Kayden
Harvey Fierstein (who was fantastic and I adore him) over Antonio Banderas

[little_sally]

Posted: 11/2/04 at 9:55pm

sorry for the double post

Updated On: 11/2/04 at 09:55 PM

[broadwaystar2b]

Posted: 11/2/04 at 10:01pm

I was shocked Ann Harada wasn't even NOMINATED for a tony for her performance in Q

[Jon]

Posted: 11/3/04 at 12:42am

Let's go way back to 1991 - Will Rodgers Follies winning Best Score over The Secret Garden???

Cy Coleman had won the year before for City of Angels - which cleafrly deserved it. Will Rodgers, on the other hand, was musically boring and derivative.

[musicgal04]

Posted: 11/3/04 at 1:41am

Idina over Donna Murphy
Ann Harada should have been nominated
Lion King over Ragtime
Millie over Urinetown

[mbjts]

Posted: 11/3/04 at 1:52am

Going way back:

I was sad that "Crazy For You" won Best Musical over "Jelly's Last Jam"!

[broadway86]

Posted: 11/3/04 at 9:43am

"The Lion King" over "Ragtime"!!!! That one still bugs me. Grrrr....

[robbiej]

Posted: 11/3/04 at 10:50am

TLK/Ragtime debate has raged here forever! I'll not get into it again.

HOWEVER...I'm simply shocked that people think Natasha Richardson stole the award from Marin Mazzie.

Simply shocked.

[popcultureboy]

Posted: 11/3/04 at 10:55am

For once, My Little Pony, I agree with you. I saw Marin in Kiss Me Kate and while she was wonderful, it was hardly the jaw dropping career defining turn that Natasha Richardson gave as Sally Bowles.

[magruder]

Posted: 11/3/04 at 11:06am

Mazzie was up for a Tony for Ragtime, not Kiss Me, Kate, in 1998, when Richardson won for Cabaret.

[popcultureboy]

Posted: 11/3/04 at 11:40am

Oh. My opinion remains unchanged though.

[DickonDefysGravity]

Posted: 11/3/04 at 5:15pm

Personally, I would have given 2!!! Tonys' to Ms. Menzel....
I think her acting is superior to all the 2004 Actresses in the running. Don't get me started on why I don't think Tonya should have been there at all...

[BroadwayGirl107]

Posted: 11/3/04 at 5:29pm

I think people are quick to jump on Menzel's win because she is the thing of the moment and its just so much fun to criticize the most-loved actress of the moment. I'm not saying no one is entitled to this opinion...but I do find it hard to believe that one could find her among the LEAST worthy of her win. She's certainly Tony material and if any of you saw her recently, perhaps you'd change your mind.

Anyway Marissa Jaret Winokur over Bernadette Peters and Harvey Fierstein over Stokes of Antonio stick out in my mind.

[Ruth Sherwood]

Posted: 11/6/04 at 6:35pm

I am not trying to bash Idina, but I would like to know what was so spectacular about her acting that she deserved a Tony? I enjoyed her performance, but I do not see how her acting could have been better than Tonya Pinkins' or Donna Murphy's. While these women are far more experienced than Idina, as they are older, I still can not see the big deal. I would honestly love some detailed explanation as to why people think her acting was so amazing.

[Plum]

Posted: 11/6/04 at 7:07pm

I know this isn't what was asked for, but here's my reasons for backing Tonya Pinkins-

Caroline, for much of the show, is really, really unlikeable. I mean, really. She acts rude to everyone around her, refuses friendly overtures, slaps her daughter, and also acts harshly to adorable little Noah, who so obviously worships her. And yet...when she cries out in despair in Act II, the audience cries with her.

Pinkins manages to make Caroline compelling enough to be a solid center for this musical, a core around which all the other characters can spin, without having the usual tools- humor, charm, or good acts- that main characters are usually given to endear themselves to an audience. She does it through sheer force of will, presence, and acting. It's a remarkable feat, and one that definitely deserved a Tony in my opinion.

[BroadwayGirl107]

Posted: 11/6/04 at 8:02pm

Plum, I completely agree with what you said about Tonya's performance. I really did find it remarkable.

But clearly I found Menzel more astonishing. Why? I think her justification is more complex. To me, she's a master at realism. She seems to have lived the life of Elphaba, and by this I mean that--for example, when she's telling the story about her mother's death, it's not just "It's my fault my mom died and it's my fault." It's more complex than that. This moment deals with the bruises she feels from her father and maybe even her sister(or maybe its even wider than that), and the discomfort of revealing such things. And I think this all comes across on stage. She has a clear vision of the character's life, but not only that, it feels as though she's experienced the part of the character's life that we don't see on stage. The result is real emotion, natural reaction, and the real experience of the character in the situation, rather than what an actress thinks it should appear to be.

And all this is seen on stage. Her vocal and physical expression is exactly what pulls the realism together for the audience's eyes. Little minute details, like the way she walks in certain situations, has little fidgety things she does...I could go into such detail...but it all is natural (for reasons stated above) and I think it's brilliant characterization on her part. I always see posters on this board saying that she does all this awkward movement on stage and people immediately assume she's a great actress because she doesn't know what she's doing. That always makes me laugh, because she certainly had very different physical and vocal expressions in Rent and the Wild Party. It's all a matter of characterization.

Her interpretation of the role itself is fantastic. As I said, I think its complex, and I think for the first act, she found the perfect balance between the youthful optimism in the character, and the bitter, passionate, outsider. And I think the strength she gives the character in the Defying Gravity moment, and the way we can see the pressure close in on her character as the second act moves on is exactly what the show needed...I feel as though the script does not call for Elphaba to be as dark as she has made it, but to me it only makes the show better.

And lastly, I think it takes real talent and pure passion to resonate emotion with the power she can throughout a monster of a theatre that seats nearly 2000 people. Even in the hat scene--in a moment of silence--I could feel every one of her emotions boiling...while sitting in the second to last row in the mezzanine section. I think she pours more intensity and passion into her performance than any of the ther ladies nominated this year, without a doubt.

I feel like I am going to be attacked now. Updated On: 11/6/04 at 08:02 PM

[Ruth Sherwood]

Posted: 11/6/04 at 9:21pm

Thank you for the explanation. While I personally did not feel the same when I saw "Wicked," I now have a better understanding for why people believe Idina to be a fabulous actress (other than the explanation of "Idina Rocks!" or other phrases that are common on this board.)