Why was Victor/Victoria shut out of the Tony Awards?

I recently watched the pro shot of Victor/Victoria with Julie Andrews and couldn't understand why the show got no love from the tony awards besides Julie's nomination. I thought Rachel York almost stole the show and there are other great performances and set designs in the show. I didn't think the songs were good besides Le Jazz Hot but there were other worthy aspects of the show that should have been nominated.

Updated On: 4/20/23 at 09:55 AM

It really wasn't a good show.

There were also only 4 slots in each category back then and you had 2 highly acclaimed new musicals (Rent and Bring in da Noise, Bring in da Funk) and 2 highly acclaimed revivals (King and I and Forum). Plus weird decisions like Rodgers and Hammerstein being eligible for Score. So there just wasn't a lot of room for Victor / Victoria to land.

Broadway61004 said: "There were also only 4 slots in each category back then and you had 2 highly acclaimed new musicals (Rent and Bring in da Noise, Bring in da Funk) and 2 highly acclaimed revivals (King and I and Forum). Plus weird decisions like Rodgers and Hammerstein being eligible for Score. So there just wasn't a lot of room for Victor / Victoria to land."

Wait. King and I was eligible for Score??

IMO the show was lousy. Andrews was excellent, to me Rachel York’s performance was embarrassing it was so over the top. The score had a few decent songs from the movie…nothing original made any impression. I don’t remember the other nominees for sets…it might have been hurt there, but it was nothing particularly special. Anthony Roberts paled next to Robert Preston.

I had the misfortune to see it a second time on the road (part of a subscription series. Without Andrews, it was even worse.

NOWaWarning said: "BJR said: “Wait. King and I was eligible for Score??"

No, State Fair"

Sorry, should have clarified--yes, that was the same year as State Fair, which they were nominated for (even though most of the songs were written 30 years prior).

I think the show is a hoot and I agree that it should have probably received nominations for scenery and costumes as well as a nomination for Rachel York, and in a weaker season, maybe even a nomination for Gregory Jbara in the featured actor category. Victor/Victoria has the advantage of having been filmed so it's easier to watch it on blu-ray and look back and wonder what the voters were thinking. Having said that I don't think the additional nominations would have helped the show run longer and I think The King and I would have still won the design awards even if Victor/Victoria had been in the race.

Another thing to remember is that the design awards weren’t separated between musicals and plays at the time, so competition was even tighter for those categories and just being the biggest or flashiest wasn’t enough to ensure a nomination.

''it still seems surprising that Victor/Victoria (and Big) were both passed over for Swinging on a Star and Chronicle of a Death Foretold (obviously Rent and Da Funk were shoo-ins). Seems like a blatant rejection of them.''

Couldn't agree more. When this same topic about ''Victor/Victoria'' and the Tonys recently popped on Talkin' Broadway's All That Chat, someone posted: ''It turned out there WAS collusion between nominating committee members to make sure that both 'Victor/Victoria' and 'Big' were not nominated for Best Musical.''

I'd love to see a substantiated source for that, but I can say: ''Victor/Victoria'' and ''Big'' might not have been perfect shows, but they certainly were worthier of a Best Musical nomination than ''Chronicle of a Death Foretold'' and ''Swinging on a Star.'' The former was a dour dance-drama that ran only 37 performances, and the latter was a flop cabaret-type revue that lasted only 96 performances, and its only Tony nomination was Best Musical (as if it were only there to fill out the category).

Meantime, I still think the Tonys are overdue to give a Lifetime Achievement award to Julie Andrews, now 87. She originated the iconic roles of Eliza in ''My Fair Lady'' and Guinevere in ''Camelot.'' Next year marks the 70th anniversary of her Broadway debut in ''The Boyfriend,'' and she is still known worldwide by filmgoers as Maria von Trapp of ''The Sound of Music'' and the title star of ''Mary Poppins.''

Updated On: 4/20/23 at 06:58 PM

I find it odd that the nominating committee is only 50 people. Is that right? That seems very small. Doesn't the Oscars have hundreds of people who vote on who to nominate?



Regarding the Victor/Victoria sets, having the design categories not be split between play/musical, makes a bit more sense why victor/victoria didn't get in.

''Regarding the Victor/Victoria sets, having the design categories not be split between play/musical, makes a bit more sense why victor/victoria didn't get in.''

I looked up the 1996 Tonys to see the nominees for Best Set Design (''The King and I,'' ''A Delicate Balance,'' ''Seven Guitars,'' ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' ) and Best Costume Design (''The King and I,'' ''A Delicate Balance,'' ''Buried Child,'' ''Bring in da' Noise'' ). ''The King and I'' was the favorite to win because of the opulence and striking look of the production. But I'm really baffled by the nominations for ''A Delicate Balance.'' Its set looked like a standard living room, and I once heard that the contemporary costumes (or some of them) were bought off the rack. To me, that can't compare to the various sets that Robin Wagner created to evoke 1930s Paris or Willa Kim's wonderfully colorful costumes in ''Victor/Victoria.'' (I'm also sorta surprised that ''Rent'' didn't score a costume nomination for its iconic look.)

I'm glad that the Tonys finally created separate design categories for musicals and plays in 2005, because musicals always had such a decided advantage: They generally feature many more sets and costumes. During the '90s, musicals won 9 of the 10 Tonys for set design and all 10 Tonys for costumes.

Updated On: 4/21/23 at 02:28 AM

''Beside Andrews, I'm glad no one back then felt the need to throw it a bone''

For the record, ''Victor/Victoria'' did get some awards recognition elsewhere. Andrews won Best Actress in a Musical from both the Drama Desk and the Outer Critics Circle. Rachel York won the Drama Desk for Best Featured Actress in a Musical, and Robin Wagner was nominated for Best Scenic Design.

And the Outer Critics Circle named ''Victor/Victoria'' Best Broadway Musical. They chose ''Rent'' as Best Off-Broadway Musical over ''Bring in da' Noise.''

Updated On: 4/21/23 at 02:55 AM

I saw VICTOR/VICTORIA in Chicago during its tryout run. I enjoyed the show very much plus I was delighted to see Julie Andrews perform in person. She was wonderful. It did go through various changes prior to Broadway, which is typical during a tryout period. I remember being impressed with the overall look of the show (sets, lighting, costumes) and was surprised that they were ignored by the Tony voters. I also thought that Rachel York did a great job. She may have been considered "over-the-top" but that's the type of character Norma was.

Perhaps the reason for its lack of Tony recognition was that Blake Edwards was considered "too Hollywood" and, therefore, was disregarded by the Broadway community and, in particular, the nominating committee.

Updated On: 5/4/23 at 08:09 AM