WHO ARE THESE TONY VOTERS!!!!!!!!!- Page 3

[Merrydothe]

Posted: 6/11/06 at 11:47pm

I think the entire audience of Mama Mia makes up the Tony voters...haha.

[ne2mo]

Posted: 6/11/06 at 11:50pm

Ok, I don't think you can compare the two productions of "Sweeney Todd". The incredible brilliance of the original is in no way diminished by the rethinking of the revival. It just proved even more clearly the excellance of the show. Pared down and performed by such unbelievably gifted musician/actors, the production was undoubtedly the finest of this and many other season's to come.

[neomystyk29]

Posted: 6/11/06 at 11:51pm

"I like to think of Best Book as a consolation prize to the loser of Best Musical. Honestly, I thought Drowsy would win, and I'd have been alright with that - it isn't my favorite, but I understand. "

First of all, just no. No Tony award can be considered a "consolation" prize. Best Book is not an award to the loser of best musical saying, nice try...here's something for your troubles. It goes to the show with the BEST BOOK. Just as Best Score goes to the show with the best score....ORIGINAL score. Drowsy got both of those PLUS I think it executed both BETTER than Jersey Boys. Therefore it deserved the top prize more. Did it win? No. Politics.

[bjh2114]

Posted: 6/11/06 at 11:54pm

"Sweeney is clearly superior! That kind of risky and raw direction is so rare and was passed over."

Ummm...in your opinion. I enjoyed PG much more. Also, sure the the direction was risky and raw (which, by the way, is why it won BEST DIRECTION), but that doesn't necessarily make the show good.

""The Pajama Game"???? I'm sure it's real pretty and fun and about as deep as a west Texas puddle. Sweeney was THEATRE."

Um, pretty sure it's ALL theatre. And Pajama Game was very well done and got rave reviews too. Just because your favorite musical didn't win doesn't mean that it was robbed. It's not that surprising, especially since the whole thing now is the "death of the classic American musical". This is an attempt at bringing it back.
Updated On: 6/12/06 at 11:54 PM

[Kevinoes]

Posted: 6/11/06 at 11:54pm

This is rather embarassing reading these posts. Oprah/Patti LuPone must be pissed. Brother!

1) Oprah is making better money elsewhere and she won't be crying if the show closes...which won't be anytime soon.
2) All these posts of how "SWEENEY WAS ROBBED!" or "UP YOURS,TONY VOTERS!" What are we? 12? Alright, you have an opinion. Don't make it seem like your god damn opinion is the source of all reason and meaning.

Amen.

*goes to sleep*

[bwayboi4life42]

Posted: 6/11/06 at 11:54pm

I really don't think there is any point to the Tonys anymore. I don't know what they're giving awards for, but it certainly isn't artistry. And in the long run I don't think their opinions are going to matter. I think everyone is going to remember "Drowsy Chaperone" and "Color Purple" from this season and "Light in the Piazza" from last year's season. I mean, it's only been about seven years, and nobody's talking about "Fosse". The show they remember from the 1999 Tonys is "Parade." And I know the show that everyone is going to remember from this season is "Sweeney Todd." And if I was Antoinette Perry, personally I wouldn't want some of the crap that's won recently to be associated with an award in my name!!!

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 6/11/06 at 11:54pm

By the way, Jersey Boys is not a "jukebox musical", a term coined for musicals using catalogue songs whose lyrics are incorporated into the plot. But even if it were a "jukebox musical", it would still be a "real show". Any musical produced for the stage is a "real show", regardless of whether or not the songs were originally written for the stage, even those absent of a book, such as a revue.

"Sweeney is clearly superior! That kind of risky and raw direction is so rare and was passed over."

Actually, the direction was awarded the Tony.

[ne2mo]

Posted: 6/11/06 at 11:54pm

I hear you sister. I'm shaking too. But now I'm gonna get over it and shut up. Obviously, the Tony voters don't know their as* from a hole in the groung, as my dear departed grandmother would have said.

[Marguerite Chauvelin]

Posted: 6/11/06 at 11:57pm

The Tony Awards as conducted by me:

-Sweeney wins in every catergory it was nominated for.
-Drowsy Chaperone takes home best musical.
-Will Chase is included in the nominations for best featured actor (although Manoel still wins).
-There is a replacement actor catergory, Jonathan Pryce wins.
- Hugh Jackman hosts (or co-hosts with every actor I personally have a crush on. This includes Manoel, Cerveris, Will Chase, T. Mann, Greg Jbara, and even arrested guy (Barbour could host via satellite)).

I see big ratings :).

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 6/11/06 at 11:58pm

"The show they remember from the 1999 Tonys is 'Parade.'"

It depends who you mean by "they". If you mean the general public, the only show "they" might remember from 1999 is either Fosse because it was released on DVD or Annie Get Your Gun because it starred Bernadette Peters. But most likely, "they" won't remember anything from that season.

[Derangedactor]

Posted: 6/11/06 at 11:58pm

The Sweeney Todd revival made some REALLY gutsy choices and they wonderfully. Those choices stick out and the voters either hated them or loved them
Sweeney Todd probably should have won..but i dont think pajama game is bad by any means.. I found it just a hair more entertaining then this new Sweeney Todd
idk..it's all how you look at things..

[Hoof]

Posted: 6/12/06 at 12:01am

Oh please, I'm not actually serious about Oprah being angry. Pretty sure she's not clubbing the cast over the head for sucking, since they clearly don't. I just think it's ironic with all of the hype, and actually quite funny to think about.

And obviously it's my opinion that Sweeney Todd is better than the Pajama Game. That's why it's my opinion, sillies, not that my sole authority and taste should decide the Tonys, I just thought this was a place I could voice that opinion. A Tony only means so much these days, so I don't think anything was robbed. It's Broadway. Shows are generally fantastic. And as far as sales go, they're all winners.

[JohnBoy2]

Posted: 6/12/06 at 12:03am

I couldn't detest SWEENY TODD more, if there was money to be made from hating it, so I was thrilled that THE PAJAMA GAME won. Other than the mediocre leading lady, it was one of the best productions of a show I've seen in a long, long time. And, JERSEY BOYS was the other show that was really enjoyable. I'm glad both of them won. From my entertainment perspective, they were the two best musicals. I've no issue with the Awards this evening.

[ne2mo]

Posted: 6/12/06 at 12:06am

Um, pretty sure it's ALL theatre. And Pajama Game was very well done and got rave reviews too. Just because your favorite musical didn't win doesn't mean that it was robbed. It's not that surprising, especially since the whole thing no is the "death of the classic American musical". This is an attempt at bringing it back.

Um, actually, um, some of it's just, um, theater. Sweeney Todd was THEATRE. Note caps and, um, spelling.

[CurtainUp]

Posted: 6/12/06 at 12:07am

I have all the respect in the world for Jersey Boys being successful. It looks like a great show. BUT...the music is not original!!! I am NOT saying that makes it a worse show, but logically, less energy was put into it. NONE into the music. No, Drowsy's music is not a phenomenon. But neither is the Boyfriend's or any other twenties musicals! Drowsy captures it PERFECTLY. Original music, lines and a heart that makes mine melt...

Sweeney - while I ddin't see it - I understand the loss. Pajama Game is "safer" - just like how Marisa Jaret Winokur's role was "Safer" than Bernadette's. Now, I ddin't see any of these shows. But, while some considered Sweeney ingenious, it probably rubbed some the COMPLETELY wrong way, as creative theatre tends to do. Just like some people adored Bernadette's interpretation, some thought she was completely wrong for the role. It's probably more difficult to do a risky version of Pajama Game tahn it is Sweeney, or Threepenny.

[erinrebecca]

Posted: 6/12/06 at 12:08am

Anyone who thinks that JB is not a real show, or did not deserve its win, has got to be deaf, dumb, and blind. I'm curious how many of you who have such strong opinions actually SAW all the nominated shows. My guess is very few of you.

It's the Tonys. There's controversy every year. Some people are thrilled and others aren't. It's not that big a deal. Those of you who are crying, sobbing, and shaking, really need to get yourselves some help, if this is what an awards show does to you. Seriously.
Updated On: 6/12/06 at 12:08 AM

[bjh2114]

Posted: 6/12/06 at 12:10am

Yo, Nemo, what's the deal?? I didn't spell anything incorrectly, and I stated my opinion clearly without attacking anyone. So wanna be a little more bitter?

[JohnBoy2]

Posted: 6/12/06 at 12:10am

Safer? THE PAJAMA GAME is better.
Edit: I saw every nominated musical and revival this year.
Updated On: 6/12/06 at 12:10 AM

[bjh2114]

Posted: 6/12/06 at 12:13am

Amen, JohnBoy. I also saw every nominated musical and revival this year, and there is no reason to speak poorly of the winning shows. It's fine to be disappointed, but PG and JB deserved to win.

[ne2mo]

Posted: 6/12/06 at 12:19am

You must not have seen the same show's I did. Artisticly, there was no comparison between PJ and ST. I thought that was what the Tony's were awarded for - not entertainment value.

[JohnBoy2]

Posted: 6/12/06 at 12:21am

Well, I guess you were wrong to think that.

[Character Actor]

Posted: 6/12/06 at 12:21am

Am I the only person who thought "The Wedding Singer" was robbed for Best Coreography?

[Hoof]

Posted: 6/12/06 at 12:23am

Can't say if it was robbed or not because I didn't see it. . .but that dancing routine they did was brilliantly hilarious.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 6/12/06 at 12:23am

1) There are roughly 760 voters (not sure this year's exact number -- I've seen 3 different figures) consisting of actors, directors, designers, playwrights, composers, stage managers and crew, choreographers, producers and road presenters and their associates (who apparently make up about 20% of the total) and other theatre professionals.

2) As I said in another thread, while voters may respect and admire what Doyle did with this rethinking of Sweeney Todd, the final vote tally indicates to me that they actually had a better time and more fun at Pajama Game and voted that preference. This is not a comparison of the quality of the underlying shows themselves -- many of those who voted for PJ would certainly agree that Sweeney is the superior work of art (although it's never been a particularly popular one except to musical afficionados) -- it's a comparison of the respective productions. And for a plurality of the voters, they decided they enjoyed a bright, splashy, well-produced production that blew the dust off of an old chestnut like PJ to a dark, somber, minimalist, unsettling take on Sweeney (not to mention, I've heard many, including some Tony voters, express their preference for the more epic Prince original version to this stripped down one). And let's not forget that as acclaimed as Sweeney was critically, Pajama Game did get across the board enthusiastic raves when it opened. It winning really shouldn't be that much of a surprise.

3) The sooner you get the notion that the Tonys are solely about pure artistic merit, the better off you'll be. They NEVER have been (at least since 1967 when they started being televised) and never will be.

Updated On: 6/12/06 at 12:23 AM

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 6/12/06 at 12:24am

This is rather embarassing reading these posts.

Amen. You all are being *extremely* immature about this. Sweeney and Mano and Oprah and the Drowsy Chaperone and Natasha Katz are all most likely taking their loses tonight MUCH better than your ridiculous reactions. Calling for the end of the Tonys just because the show you liked didn't win? Grow up. The American Theatre Wing, not a bunch of drama queens on a message board, is the one that chooses who deserves the Tonys. If you don't their decisions, then don't watch and spare the rest of us from your tantrums.