Who deserved it more?

[Jshan05]

Posted: 3/10/16 at 5:54pm

I just read a comment about Marissa vs. Bernadette and it got me thinking about winners who might not have deserved their Tony. Now before people start getting annoyed, I wanted to hear some lesser known battles people enjoyed discussing from any year (aka please don't start in again on Kelli vs. Kristin, Leslie vs. Danny, Jessie vs. Kelli, etc. as I feel though have been talked about in great detail on other threads.) Anyways, what other losers do you guys think deserved the Tony? 

[Jessetenny]

Posted: 3/10/16 at 6:02pm

Idina for both RENT and If/Then

[bwayalltheway]

Posted: 3/10/16 at 6:15pm

Having seen both Raul Espaza in Company and David Hyde Pierce in Curtains, it was a true shame that Esparza did not win the award that year. 

[Jeffrey Karasarides]

Posted: 3/10/16 at 6:18pm

With no disrespect to the people who did win, I'll say that the people who I would've voted for are:

Danny Burstein-Fiddler on the Roof

Andre de Shields-The Full Monty

Robert Fairchild-An American in Paris

Jeremy Jordan-Newsies

Laura Osnes-Cinderella

Updated On: 3/19/17 at 06:18 PM

[After Eight]

Posted: 3/10/16 at 6:23pm

Musical- All other nominees over Sweeney Todd, Passion, Once, Fun Home, Hamilton.

 

Score- All other nominees over Sweeney Todd, Passion, Fun Home, Hamilton.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 3/10/16 at 6:28pm

Everybody here believes you saw them all.  Very much. Completely.  Because why would anybody doubt you?

[Scarywarhol]

Posted: 3/10/16 at 6:31pm

Yes, Sweeney Todd really stole that Tony from Ballroom. 

Also, I love how you can't even wait for the Tonys to whine about Hamilton's win. 

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 3/10/16 at 6:36pm

It's because of his automatic Cranky Old Man Quote generator.  Anybody can do what AfterEight does, without ever leaving his doily and cut glass hard candy dish in the shape of a hen mothball smelling studio.

[woeisme3]

Posted: 3/10/16 at 6:58pm

Even though she wasn't particularly a contender, I would've liked to see Stephanie J Block win for The Mystery of Edwin Drood. I also would've loved to see Sutton Foster win for Violet, but that year was stacked.

[gleek4114]

Posted: 3/10/16 at 9:18pm

woeisme3 said: "Even though she wasn't particularly a contender, I would've liked to see Stephanie J Block win for The Mystery of Edwin Drood. I also would've loved to see Sutton Foster win for Violet, but that year was stacked.

 

"

I would have loved to see Carolee win. That role was a BEAST and she conquered it every night. However, as you said that year really was stacked. I would have been happy no matter who won, but I love Carolee and thought that really was a Tony winning role. 

 

[lucillefrank]

Posted: 3/11/16 at 12:49am

I will always be bitter about Jefferson Mays not winning for GGLAM.

[funhamilton_rent]

Posted: 3/11/16 at 10:51am

Heidi Blickenstaff in Something Rotten! (I know she wasn't nominated but she deserved it)

Kristin Chenoweth in On the 20th Century

Jonathan Groff in Spring Awakening

Sutton Foster in Violet

Jeremy Jordan in Newsies

Matthew Morrison in A Light in the Piazza

 

(Revival) On the 20th Century

(Scenic Design) On the 20th Century

 

[Cupid Boy2]

Posted: 3/11/16 at 11:08am

I still wish the Follies revival would have received more love at the awards in 2012. Danny Burstein turned in a truly remarkable performance, and it was easily my favorite of that season. I know statistically speaking it would've been incredibly unlikely, but I wish Audra and Jan Maxwell could've tied. I felt they were both so deserving of the recognition. As for the award for revival itself, I know voters favor productions currently running at the time, but the craftsmanship behind Follies was leaps and bounds beyond what its opponent turned in. 

Updated On: 3/11/16 at 11:08 AM

[Jshan05]

Posted: 3/11/16 at 3:19pm

Love hearing everybody's thoughts. I haven't seen half of these shows people are discussing, so I feel like I can't specifically comment on most of them! The love for the Follies revival above is making me want to watch it at the NYPL when I come up in a couple of weeks. Maybe I will add it to my list(which currently has Patti Lupone's 'Evita' at the top...) Thanks, guys!

[PianoMann]

Posted: 3/11/16 at 3:26pm

Cupid Boy2 said: "I still wish the Follies revival would have received more love at the awards in 2012. Danny Burstein turned in a truly remarkable performance, and it was easily my favorite of that season. I know statistically speaking it would've been incredibly unlikely, but I wish Audra and Jan Maxwell could've tied. I felt they were both so deserving of the recognition. As for the award for revival itself, I know voters favor productions currently running at the time, but the craftsmanship behind Follies was leaps and bounds beyond what its opponent turned in. 

 

"

Wholeheartedly agree! I would have voted for Danny, Jan, and Follies. I saw Steve, Audra, and Porgy and Bess and enjoyed them all, but this revival of Follies deserved much more than its one (very deserving) win for Costume Design - it's one of my most cherished theatrical memories.

Posted: 3/11/16 at 4:58pm

A couple stick out to me in the last 16 years I've been part of the nyc theater scene.....

 

Best Score for 2001: David Yazbek's score for The Full Monty was far smarter and tuneful than Mel Brooks' for The Producers.

 

Best Featured Actress in a Musical 2001: I still think this should have gone to the grumpily hilarious Kathleen Freeman in the Full Monty instead of Cady Huffman in The Producers

 

Best Musical in 2002: Urinetown: The Musical was smarter, funnier, and had a much clearer vision than Thoroughly Modern Millie.  It was also ahead of the curve in terms of spoofing musicals in a musical which everyone does now because of this landmark show.

 

Best Actress in a Musical in 2004: as endearing as Idina Menzel was in Wicked I think it should have gone to the heartbreaking performance of Tonya Pinkins, a serious masterclass in musical theater performance.  Donna Murphy was WONDERFUL in Wonderful Town that year too.

 

Best Score in 2004: I still say that Avenue Q deserved Best Musical over Wicked that year, but it's hard to believe the score from Wicked wasn't awarded over Avenue Q. It's got melodies that are so infectious they are now part of the standard musical cannon, up there with a Gershwin tune. Plus the lyrics are much smarter and beautiful then they get credit for.

 

Best Featured Actress in a Musical 2005: As funny as Sara Ramirez was, Kelli O'Hara was unforgettable as Clara in The Light in the Piazza that year, and that voice.

 

Best Musial 2005: Honesty this one should have gone to two of the other nominees before giving it to Monty Python's Spamalot. The Light in the Piazza and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee were both far superior musicals. And I have to say, even though I adore him, this is in my opinion Mike Nichols worst work.  Bartlet Sher deserved that directing award in 2005 for his supreme romantic work with The Light in the Piazza

 

Best Featured Actor in a Musical 2006: Danny Burstein gave one of the funniest performances in modern Broadway History in the Drowsy Chaperone. He deserved it over Christian Hoff in The Jersey Boys

 

Best Musical 2006: The Jersey Boys would have played without the Tony Award based on the popularity the music alone...the Best Musical of that year was The Drowsy Chaperone. 

 

Best Actor in Musical 2007: Raul Esparza gave the performance of his career in the revival of Company. David Hyde Pierce has yet to give his in the theater.

 

Best Actor in a Musical 2010: Sahr Ngauiah gave the most lived in, complicated, sexy charged, passionate performance I have ever seen. It really should have gone to him over Douglas Hodge (a talented actor who changed that role forever in La Caux...it just didnt trump Sahr's performance for me)

 

Best Actress in a Musical 2010: Anyone besides Katherine Zeta Jones....Bernadette Peters stepped in as a replacement and basically proved to everyone she should have been cast in the first place. Sherie Rene Scott was hilarious, heartbreatking, strange, and on her best voice in Everyday Rapture.

 

Best Featured Actor in a Musical 2011: Rory O'Malley in the book of Morman was far fresher and memorable a choice then John Larroquette for How to Succeed

 

Best Actor in a Musical 2011: It should have gone to anyone in that category besides Norbert Leo Butz...the mormon boys, the scottsboro boys, the queens of the desert, anybody.

 

But that's just my opinion, lol.

 

 

 

Updated On: 3/11/16 at 04:58 PM

[cuz-i-can]

Posted: 3/11/16 at 5:02pm

I'm sure this is a unpopular opinion but I felt Tonya Pinkins should've gotten best actress in a musical for Caroline or Change over Idina Menzel for Wicked

[Princeton Returns]

Posted: 3/11/16 at 5:05pm

Kristen chenowith for on the 20th century

Andy Karl for On the 20th century

[wonkit]

Posted: 3/11/16 at 5:17pm

Have to agree with the earlier post about Raul Esparza and David Hyde Pierce. The depth and subtlety of Bobby was so much more of an achievement than the "it's me in the raincoat singing quite ordinary songs" of the part Pierce played. A total mystery to me - and I saw both performances. Pleasant should hardly be considered comparable to fascinating.

Updated On: 3/13/16 at 05:17 PM

[Jarethan]

Posted: 3/11/16 at 5:29pm

I have never been a Patti Lupone zealot, but I have always considered it ludicrous that her performance of Reno Sweeney in Anything Goes lost to Joanna Gleason in what was to me a featured role.

Others:

-- Angela Lansbury losing to Katie Finneran (who did not compare to Marian Mercer)

-- David Dukes in Bent vs. David Rounds in Mornings at Seven

-- Donna McKechnie beating Gwen Verdon, Chita Rivera or Christine Andreas.  She was terrific, but is was a featured role

-- A Chorus Line losing all those wards to Chicago

-- Raisin in the Sun revival losing to The glass Menagerie

-- 2 Gentlemen over Follies... The most ridiculous of all

-- Phantom score losing to Into The Woods....I admit that I intensely dislike to score to ITW, even though I  love most Sondheim scores

-- Agree strongly re Bernadette and Marissa

-- Lauren Bacall beating Katherine Hepburn, who gave a wonderful performance

-- Purlie losing to Applause

-- 

 

 

Updated On: 3/11/16 at 05:29 PM

[The Other One]

Posted: 3/11/16 at 8:27pm

I didn't like Raul Esparza in Company and am not at all sorry he didn't win.  

Purlie was indeed a much better musical than Applause.  Follies also deserved it in spades over Two Gentlemen of Verona.

Even back in 1975 I thought Chicago was a much better show than A Chorus Line.  At the very least, Chita and Kander & Ebb should have won Tony Awards for it.

Funny as Spamalot was, The Light In The Piazza, Bart Sher, Kelli O'Hara and Matthew Morrison should have won their respective Tonys that year.

I like Norbert Leo Butz much more than Andrew Rannells on most occasions, but Andrew should have won for The Book of Mormon.

Patti LuPone should have won for Anything Goes.  Tony Yazbeck should have won for On The Town.

Stockard Channing should have won for Six Degrees of Separation over Mercedes Ruehl in Lost in Yonkers.  Tough, tough choice!

Joe Turner's Come and Gone should have won over M. Butterfly.  I would like to have seen Delroy Lindo win for Joe Turner...somehow, but I can't argue with B.D. Wong's win for M. Butterfly.

I wish Celia Keenan-Bolger had won for The Glass Menagerie over Sophie Okenodo in A Raisin In The Sun, though I have to admit I never saw Sophie.

Great as Denzel was in the 2010 revival of Fences, and he truly was, I wanted that Tony to go to Alfred Molina for Red.  Molina was the only one of Red's nominees not to win, and that just seemed wrong, wrong, wrong.  

 

Updated On: 3/12/16 at 08:27 PM

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 3/11/16 at 8:29pm

I think anyone who ended up the tony deserved it, because that's what professionals voted.

[Jarethan]

Posted: 3/11/16 at 10:40pm

Call_me_jorge said: "I think anyone who ended up the tony deserved it, because that's what professionals voted.

That is such Bologna, and I am not sure whether you are kidding or not, so I will assume you are serious.

 

A lot of shows have lost just because they opened early in the season vs later in the season.  The Glass Menagerie, for example, was closed at the same time A Raisin in the Sun was selling out due solely to Denzel's star power.  Raisin was a solid, but unremarkable, by the numbers production, whereas Glass was a remarkably inventive production that received much better reviews than Raisin.  So Raisin wins for director!!!!!!! And revival.  That was about timing.  Another example...X years back, the Seagull got incredible reviews, particularly for Kristen Scott Thomas, who I assumed would WIN based on the reviews ...unfortunately, it was long closed by the time the nominations came out, and was ignored.

 

Also, how many times has this very site held discussions concluding that there have been a number of occasions when shows have won simply because out of town voters with vested interests in road tours voted for them, rather than the deserving ones.

"

 

[binau]

Posted: 3/11/16 at 10:49pm

Bernadette should have been nominated for FOLLIES. It's the one thing I'll never let go, and I'll never remove my shrine. 

[Jeffrey Karasarides]

Posted: 3/11/16 at 10:51pm

The Other One said: "I wish Celia Keenan-Bolger had won for The Glass Menagerie over Anika Noni Rose in A Raisin In The Sun, though I have to admit I never saw Anika."

 

That was Sophie Okonedo who won, not Anika Noni Rose.