What was the most shocking Tony Win/loss ever?

Is there like an equivalent to Marisa Tomei winning the Oscar?

"Avenue Q" beating "Wicked" for Best Musical and score.

Totally agree. Though I was in Camp Q it was shocking when it won. I remember that in the very top corner of the telecast that the screen announcing the winner quickly flashed up Wicked then switched. It was a night to be online with a big bowl of popcorn as the rabid lovers and haters of the show either posted outage or glee.. Sigh... the good old days ..

Within recent memory:

John Larroquette as Best Featured Actor for How To Succeed

I wish that it was possible for Steve Kazee and Danny Burstein to have both won. But it maybe should have been Danny's

Clybourne Park as Best Play

And poor Raul...

Updated On: 3/16/13 at 08:07 AM

"Avenue Q" beating "Wicked" for Best Musical and score.

Why is that so strange?

I think Avenue Q is a much better musical and has a better score.
Wicked is just a whole lot of cliche's and uninspiring music. And the story is annoying.

Updated On: 3/16/13 at 08:12 AM

It's a battle between a smart, arguably one-note score vs. a soapy, but sentimental score. I prefer the former.

The Avenue Q win was surprising if you didn't know the campaign they were running. The producers invested a lot of resources into a great PR campaign and it paid off. I was split between Avenue Q and Caroline, or Change that year for most of the categories, wished Taboo had been a bigger player, and was just happy that so many shows that I enjoyed (musicals and plays) were nominated and talked about.

I'm trying to think of the last time I was shocked. I really didn't think Memphis would have won so many of its nominations but it wasn't exactly a banner year for original book musicals. Nomination wise, I imagine it was quite shocking when they put Alice Ripley and Emily Skinner as a single nominee for Side Show.

For me it was Idina beating Tonya Pinkins.

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Marisa Tomei's oscar for My Cousin Vinnie was much deserved; the performance is great and gets dismissed merely because it's broadly comic; as if broad comedy done well is "easy" - hah!

Still it was shocking.

Avenue Q beating Wicked was also shocking; which says a great deal more about the Tony's more frequently valuing what's big and highly marketed over what's smaller and well done than it does about anything else.

My vote goes to Julie White's win for The Little Dog Laughed over Swoosie Kurtz, Vanessa Redgrave, Angela Lansbury and Eve Best. And, in that instance, less was not more. I found White's performance not only a surprising tony win given the competition, but also to be disrespectful of her character, on-the-nose in portraying her character's shallowness, overacted, screechy, shrei-y and annoying, and to not serve the play which deserved better and which I actually enjoyed. (an unpopular opinion I admit).

Updated On: 3/16/13 at 10:33 AM

Jerry Herman not even being nominated for Best Score for his wonderful music in Mack and Mabel. The show, while a flop, garnered eight nominations, but not best score, even though it is widely considered to be brilliant. It contains two of my all time favorites, "I Won't Send Roses" and "Time Heals Everything."

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I think many will also say Raul (Company) losing to David Hyde Pierce (Curtains).

i thought James Naughton (Chicago) beating Robert Cuccioli (Jekyll & Hyde) for Leading Actor in a musical (1997) was quite shocking. First, Mr. Cuccioli's role was so much more demanding than playing Billy Flynn. Second, Mr. Cuccioli won the Drama Desk Award and the Outer Critics Circle Award for that role.

Updated On: 3/16/13 at 11:33 AM

It was hands down when Patti Lupone lost for Sweeney Todd the year Oprah bought the Tony for the young lady in The Color Purple.