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