What was the most shocking Tony Win/loss ever?- Page 3

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 3/16/13 at 6:40pm

So for this thread, I'm wondering why it's turned into another "Well, I think she should have won over the person who did" threads.

...same thing crossed my mind.

[Stage Door Sally]

Posted: 3/16/13 at 6:58pm

I can only speak as a non-professional Broadway fan. I was shocked Urinetown lost to Thoroughly Modern Millie. While I appreciated Sutton's star turn, I thought and still do, that Urinetown is vastly superior in every way. I still listen to the original cast recording of Urinetown. Millie, never.

[Playbilly]

Posted: 3/16/13 at 7:00pm

I may be the only one, but I was shocked when Frank Gorshin didn't get a nomination for Say Goodnight Gracie. The Tony voters may have just considered it an impressionist doing a shtick.

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 3/16/13 at 7:31pm

I've been thinking about the Fiorello!/Sound of Music/Gypsy Tony scenario since seeing Fiorello! at Encores last month. Is it possible that Gypsy was thought of as being too subversive (for lack of a better word)? I mean, Fiorello was about a beloved New York City mayor, who had been out of office less than 20 years when the show opened, and The Sound of Music was the swan song of Rodgers and Hammerstein. Gypsy is darker and explores some of the less than savory aspects of families and show business. Nothing about it now is really shocking, and we all recognize its brilliance, but maybe at the time, with that competition, it was a little too gritty for Tony voters.

Of course I could be totally off-base.

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 3/16/13 at 8:05pm

^ That's an excellent observation.

[AngelorPhantom1359]

Posted: 3/16/13 at 8:34pm

Not speaking from personal experience, but I would imagine that it surprised a lot of people back in '88 when Into the Woods won best score over Phantom. Not saying that Phantom is superior, I love both shows, but I imagine that to those expecting a Phantom sweep that year it was pretty surprising.

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 3/16/13 at 8:55pm

The "shockers" are when one show is expected to win and another show takes the prize.

Whenever this discussion pops up(And it pops up at least once a year) someone trots out the AVE Q/WICKED awards. What was teh shock? Almost every critic & theatre writer predicted AVE Q was going to win.

The campaign may have cinched it, but road presenters were not stupid: they knew that WICKED was already a smash hit in New York, was a big lavish musical and would draw crowds wherever it played...Tony award or not. Q as a smaller road show might be a harder sell without the Tony Award ballyhoo.

Still, the bitter resentment of the WICKED fans knows no limits. When AVE Q announced the Broadway production was closing so many of them posted messages here (and on other boards) full of happiness that "the enemy" show was finally gone. It was, if nothing else, very funny.

[Jonwo]

Posted: 3/16/13 at 9:22pm

Wicked did quite well from the Tonys, they didn't leave empty handed with three awards, its like Once winning over Newsies last year, Newsies won the two it was expected to win and while they probably would have liked to won Best Musical, it wasn't a huge loss as they still recouped and I imagine it'll do very well when it tours.

Didn't Funny Girl lose out to Hello Dolly at the Tonys?

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 3/16/13 at 9:32pm

I'm curious about reactions to some of the ties in Tony history, like Gwen Verdon/Thelma Ritter and Patricia Routledge/Leslie Uggams. I'm guessing they were surprises, since we rarely expect a tie, but were they SHOCKING?

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 3/16/13 at 9:38pm

To say that every single pundit thought AVE Q would win the Tony is ridiculous. It was absolutely a shocker. Has nothing to do with being "bitter." It's an award. Life goes on. As a fan of WICKED who realizes it has some severe flaws, I frankly couldn't care less ten years later. But the fact remains that it was absolutely a surprise win. The headlines the following day all referred to the win as an "upset" or as a "shock."

[OperaBwayLover]

Posted: 3/16/13 at 11:11pm

Not quite the most shocking, but I remember being shocked when The Pajama Game beat out Sweeney Todd for Best Revival.

[ratherbewhaling]

Posted: 3/16/13 at 11:38pm

David Hyde Pierce winning for Curtains, beating Raul Esparza

[Gothampc]

Posted: 3/17/13 at 1:07am

The most EGREGIOUS Tony Award ever given was in 2000

Contact for Best Musical

Contact beat out The Wild Party, Swing and James Joyce's The Dead.

And not nominated for Best Musical that year were: Aida, Marie Christine, Putting It Together (although this had played off-Broadway a few years before so maybe it belonged in the revival category?)

[Gothampc]

Posted: 3/17/13 at 1:35am

And the Oscar example should be Sissy Spacek winning Coal Miner's Daughter over Mary Tyler Moore's Ordinary People.

Spacek did a good imitation of Loretta Lynn, but it was just an imitation. Mary Tyler Moore turned in a shocking performance as the cold, detached mother in Ordinary People. Nobody knew MTM was capable of playing such a bitch. MTM deserved the Oscar.

[Leadingplayer]

Posted: 3/17/13 at 1:43am

"And the Oscar example should be Sissy Spacek winning Coal Miner's Daughter over Mary Tyler Moore's Ordinary People."


But that wasn't a shock Gothampc...that is just your preference...Spacek was the heavily predicted favorite whereas Tomei (as someone explained above) was not considered to have a chance at winning prior to the awards.

I'm looking for wins nobody saw coming. Even the Dreamgirls/Nine thing was a duel and some were predicting Nine and some Dreamgirls.

[Leadingplayer]

Posted: 3/17/13 at 1:44am

I think Patti Lupone losing to Joanna Gleason was kind of a shock....no? (or is that just to the Patti fans)

[Playbilly]

Posted: 3/17/13 at 1:45am

Writing about an Oscar win on this thread exposes that you don't know what you are talking about. Confirmed by your statement about Spacek. Loved MTM, but Spacek was deserved.

[Leadingplayer]

Posted: 3/17/13 at 1:46am

What about Kelly Bisop winning over Priscilla Lopez in A Chorus line? Was that a surprise at the time?

[Leadingplayer]

Posted: 3/17/13 at 1:50am

I got one...The Lion King beating Ragtime for Best Musical...I remember Nathan Lane was the presenter and looked totally shocked and a little annoyed when he opened the envelope.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 3/17/13 at 1:53am

"Loved MTM, but Spacek was deserved."

IMO, Spacek is the better actress, but she didn't deserve the win for playing Loretta Lynn. I've seen several imitations of Loretta Lynn, including a drag queen in Nashville, that were just as good as Spacek's.

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 3/17/13 at 1:56am

What about Kelly Bisop winning over Priscilla Lopez in A Chorus line? Was that a surprise at the time?

Michael Bennett told Kelly he thought Priscilla would (and should?) win, but he was always playing mind games with his cast, so.

[chrisampm2]

Posted: 3/17/13 at 1:59am

Your latest examples Leading Player were, like the ones you cited earlier, duels. Ragtime was not an overwhelming favorite before the ceremony. But as with Into the Woods and Urinetown, once it won Best Score and Best Book, many felt it would take Best Musical. Bishop was favored over Lopez and had won other awards. LuPone was favored by many but Gleason was seen as having a good chance. She'd won the Drama Desk in the featured category.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 3/17/13 at 2:01am

"What about Kelly Bisop winning over Priscilla Lopez in A Chorus line? Was that a surprise at the time?"

Kelly Bishop had better material to work with, thereby appearing to have created a better character. Morales has good songs, but you can't beat Sheila's bitchy comments.

[Leadingplayer]

Posted: 3/17/13 at 2:03am

What about my post on Raul Julia/Ben Harney and Anita Morris/ Lillianne Montevecchi?


Were they duels or shocks?

[Playbilly]

Posted: 3/17/13 at 2:06am

I've seen drag queens play Joan Crawford and they were better than MTM.

Now, back to theater bickering.