What Tony award season.... — Page 2

Al Dente, I agree with you about Sherrie Rene Scott. I think her performance helped AIDA be a hit as much as Headley's. Karen Ziemba won the Tony not yates, right?

Robbie, I know you weren't saying anything disparaging about Vanessa...I was just simply explaining to you why I liked Vanessa out of conversation. Anyway, I actually enjoyed the revival quite a bit. But I do think it was too soon for it. And I also agree on your opinions on the function of the Witch in the show. It IS an ensemble show. However, it is obvious some characters have more of a function than others. It is so funny that the Baker and his Wife are supposed to be the central characters, but the Witch always seems to upstage those two characters in every production I have seen done of this show. Odd.


I also agree about Millie beating Urinetown for best musical. That was just ridiculous. Obviously some sort of politics were involved in that. Also, I was infuriated that Kerry Butler wasn't nominated for her supporting role in Hairspay, and that she should have won. I still can't get over that Jane Krakowski won the Tony for her performance in Nine. Although she was very good, I believe that Mary Stuart Masterson, and Tammy Blanchard definitely had more to offer than she did within that category, and Chita, is just....well, Chita.

Cheers,
The Balladeer

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Updated On: 10/9/03 at 12:36 PM

Tpdc, they were both nominated in the supporting category. It was the 2000 Tony season. If you check Broadway.com's archives, it gives a complete list. Alot of (imo) egregious mistakes.

Tonyawards.com has an archive of nominees and winners up and running as well.

Well tp, that logic they had is flawed, because that only makes the witch MORE likeable. Especially with Bernadette Peters, although it was quite obvious that with her portrayal of the Witch, she was supposed to be very forceful, determined, and no-nonsense in Act II especially, for me, it was hard to take her seriously after she was somewhat goofing up and playing up the schtick in Act I. When it was time for the Witch to actually be more intimidating than before in the second act, it just seemed that the Witch was more cranky, rather than pissed off and intimidating. This wasn't the case with Vanessa. She didn't play up the comedy in Act I, her Witch just seemed very mysterious, and determined to get what she wanted in Act I, and you could also get that this was not a woman you would want to mess with. After this has been set up, in Act II, when it was time for Last Midnight, you really got a chill when she finally tried to intimidate/reprimand the other characters for their actions to get their wishes filled. Just my opinion. I wish I could have seen Betty Buckley as the Witch. Now THAT would have been interesting.

Cheers,
The Balladeer

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That's what makes horse races, tpdc. I think Urinetown achieves everything it sets out to do, and does so in spades. But as far as a happy, fluffy, tap dancey evening, if you compare the productions of Millie, with the current 42nd Street, for example ... does Millie come close to the style and delirium that 42nd Street generates? It didn't for me, though I know it does for others here.

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You liked the non-sensical plot and overdone songs of "Crazy For You"? Ugh...that is one of my LEAST favorite musicals. I think Millie definitely had more to offer than Crazy For You. BIG time.

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robbiej, I too loved Crazy For You.

It was certainly the most exciting live presentation of Gershwin music I have seen in my lifetime:)

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just want to check...do people really prefer MISS SAIGON over LES MIZ or even PHANTOM ("best of the Brit invasion")?!?! i mean, there are some nice melodies, and there were incredible original performances (haven't seen it since the West End opening week), but there are weak moments too ("The American Dream", etcetera). i just think the whole business of comparing shows is so subjective...some folks like apple peel better, some swear by orange rind. i've always sort of wished that award categories would take in all work by a person in a season...like the Brit Academy Awards do. i guess that's impractical, though.

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Yes...I like Miss Saigon better than Les Miz.

As for Lion King v. Ragtime, remember the award is for the best production of a musical...where all the elements come together to form a whole. In that respect, I preferred the entire production of LK much for than I did Ragtime.

That said, I would choose Ragtime over LK as the cd I would choose to listen to.

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I'd rather see 'Saigon' than 'Les Mis' even though 'Saigon' has more flaws. But I thought 'Les Mis' was just flat-out dull in points (especially as staged on Broadway) whereas 'Saigon' was at least cleverly staged and exciting to watch. I'd probably sit through 'Phantom' over 'Les Mis' but after 'Music of the Night' I'm going to the lobby until Act II.

Marla Schaffel getting beaten by Christine Ebersole.
Robert Cuciolli getting beaten by James Naughten.