Why AVENUE Q Won the Tonys...

[AnothaPartofMe]

Posted: 5/10/05 at 3:11pm

Now since all this year's TONY buzz is about now, maybe it's time to leak some interesting news from last year's awards...

According to a source close to TWO Tony voters: AVENUE Q was given Best Musical because it was said to be an easy and great out-of-town and tour theatre sell... and then Q sticks to it's guns and only sets up in Vegas and screws them all over. Way cool.

Believe what you will... but this comes from two direct sources.

[Corine2]

Posted: 5/10/05 at 3:15pm

Why must people discuss this almost a year later.
Q WON and it deserved to win.
Enough already.
YEESH!

[Thesbijean]

Posted: 5/10/05 at 3:16pm

It actually won because it got the most votes. I am good friends with 3 Tony Voters, and 2 voted for Q, one for Wicked. All three told me they voted for the show they thought was the best overall production. Interesting huh...

[Thenardier]

Posted: 5/10/05 at 3:18pm

Isn't this old news - like Jurrasic Age old?

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 5/10/05 at 3:18pm

we know this already. it's very old, old news. wicked did not deserve to win anyway. who cares if Q went back on their campaign promise. what else is new?

[Corine2]

Posted: 5/10/05 at 3:18pm

It also won three TONYS.
Not one!
WOO HOO.
If only Stephanie won. She was my choice. Ah well!

[MagicToDo82]

Posted: 5/10/05 at 3:19pm

Because Wicked isn't really the second coming?

[Fosse76]

Posted: 5/10/05 at 3:23pm

Personally, I had more fun seeing Avenue Q than seeing "Wicked" though I loved both shows. However, many Tony voters are road presenters, and voted for Avenue Q (which had announced a tour) because "Q" is a harder sell than "Wicked". (Even on Broadway, "Wicked is sold-out every show, yet you can generally get tickets to Avenue Q, which is in a much smaller venue). It was a marketing ploy, because Avenue Q had already been in negotiations to have a sit-down in Vegas before they even announced a National Tour, so I think they defrauded the Tony voters. Now, that DOESN'T mean it didn't deserve to win. But there was a lot of underhandedness on the producers part with regards to the Tony's. "Wicked" is doing just fine without a Tony, and road presenters knew that a Tony would be good for marketing Avenue Q, which has a limited appeal (since it's not really a family show). Now Avenue Q is screwed...should it tour (which won't be for YEARS) it's novlety will be gone.

[Corine2]

Posted: 5/10/05 at 3:26pm

The novelty will never be gone.
But everything is only for now.
LOL.
Q will always remain "SPECIAL" in my eyes.
Updated On: 5/10/05 at 03:26 PM

[Chitty]

Posted: 5/10/05 at 3:59pm

Oh gawd..not this again.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 5/10/05 at 4:55pm

Here is my question: What do the VOTERS get out of a Best Musical that does/does not tour? I still don't understand how this would influence their vote unless they are somehow rewarded. So Ave Q doesn't tour. That hurts the voters how?

[ShuQ]

Posted: 5/10/05 at 4:57pm

Same thing I was wondering Matt, that hit the nail on the head. PLUS, who says that Avenue Q has to tour the minute it comes out. Many shows run on Broadway for a while before touring. Nobody said Avenue Q was NEVER touring.

[UptownGirl]

Posted: 5/10/05 at 5:00pm

Talk about beating a dead horse...

Posted: 5/10/05 at 5:02pm

I think the Tony campaign that Q ran is more the reason than the "Road show" factor. I can't recall a "Vote for me!" campaign for the Tonys before Avenue Q. I was amazed at the amount of money spent to urge people to "Vote their heart" and give Q a Tony.

I will be interested to see if anyone runs a similar campaign this year.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 5/10/05 at 5:02pm

It's been a year - what does it matter why or how they won? It happened, it's over, get on with your life.

[Mimi Imfurst]

Posted: 5/10/05 at 5:02pm

if a show is the "best new musical" their houses will sell better in middle america. believe me it means alot. Q was savy and smart with their advertising and really sold the show based on its heart.

wicked would sell none the less- its safe. and the voters knew that. they needed q to win, to be able to sell it.

[Plum]

Posted: 5/10/05 at 5:14pm

I cannot believe anyone is portraying the Tony voters as victims here. They're supposed to vote for the "Best Musical," not the "Musical Most Likely To Make Money On the Road." If they voted their wallets, they're just as amoral as the Avenue Q producers were for deceiving them.

Besides, if you ask me, the show that got screwed last year wasn't the mediocre Wicked, but Caroline, or Change. Take that and chew on it.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 5/10/05 at 5:22pm

It's a scandal! It's an outrage!

Tony Voters DEFRAUDED! DE-FRAUD-ED!!

Poor Tony voters...! Poor, poor Tony voters...!

Bottom line: If one or two Tony voters voted for Avenue Q for the wrong reasons, they deserve what they got. I believe the majority voted for what they felt was the best show.

[Corine2]

Posted: 5/10/05 at 5:26pm

VOTE YOUR HEART.
Now if John would only release Rod's Turn.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 5/10/05 at 5:27pm

Among working theatrical professionals in NYC, AVENUE Q was far and away the favorite. Talking to Tony voters last year, it was cross the board one of those "Wicked will win, but I voted for AVENUE Q" situations.

I actually think the pledge-to-tour promise wasn't much of a factor. It was always a given that WICKED would tour and that it would make more money than Q. If road producers were looking to make money, they obviously realized a vote for WICKED would be a better investment.

But they were sidetracked by the "vote your heart" campaign -- one of the most brilliant ever waged in the history of the Tony Awards.

[robbiej]

Posted: 5/10/05 at 5:34pm

And, in the end, CAROLINE, OR CHANGE will be the show that stands as the towering musical achievement of the beginning of the Twenty-First Century.

That, and AMERICAN IDIOT.

[Plum]

Posted: 5/10/05 at 5:36pm

I think it's a little early in the century to determine that, but I like the sentiment behind it , robbie. :)

[Fosse76]

Posted: 5/10/05 at 5:36pm

That's not really the point. Awards, essentially, are marketing tools (aside from self-indulgent gratitude). Last year, the award was between "Wicked" and "Avenue Q". Really, either could have won. Road presenters most likely voted for "Avenue Q" for two reasons: 1) it was worthy of a Tony and 2) a Tony Award would help market the show. "Wicked" didn't need it. Let's say you have two shows you can't decide to vote for. They are both, in your opinion, equal. Both are EXTREMELY popular on Broadway, but one is a FAMILY show (well, family-friendly) and the other is more teen/adult oriented. One was panned and is sold-out, the other was raved about but not always sold-out. They both announce a tour, one you know will sell very well, the other you're not sure about. Everything else being equal, you vote for the underdog, "Avenue Q" because you think it's Tony-worthy and 2) it'll help sell tickets. Then after it wins, it decides not to tour after all. Whether or not that changes the outcome we'll never know, but Tony's aren't always about merit, and "Avenue Q" is the only show that campaigned to win by taking out ads and having multiple events. Avenue Q really made a big deal about touring, which is why it was a scandal. Whether or not the touring had an impact the vote we'll never know, but I'm sure it was a determining factor. But one thing is for sure...they knew WELL in advance that they weren't go to tour. The theatre was being built specifically for the show in Vegas, which means plans had to be drafted, and those can take months to design.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 5/10/05 at 5:55pm

Fosse -- As I said earlier, I personally don't think the touring was that much of a factor, but I agree completely that one of the reasons Q won is that it was the only show that actually campaigned for a Tony.

Now in Hollywood, for years the studios have fought vigorous Oscar campaigns, because winning a major Oscar means a major box office boost.

I'm frankly surprised that Broadway Producers haven't jumped on this bandwagon and done more to "woo" Tony voters, but perhaps the cost of additional advertising doesn't always parlay into much added profit at the Broadway box office following a Tony win.

Updated On: 5/10/05 at 05:55 PM

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 5/10/05 at 6:01pm

And the good news is that the Wicked producer who probably felt burned by The Little-Q-That-Could is one of the producers on The Little-Bee-That-Might! At least that's what I'm rooting for!