Posted: 5/9/17 at 7:55am
I do know several Tony voters, but that's neither here nor there. For me, the one stand out in Comet, in addition to the set, direction and staging, was Lucas Steele. I would be very happy to see him win, though Gavin Creel is always a favorite.
Posted: 5/9/17 at 8:04am
I think DEH is more likely to win score, though it pains me as its score is bland and mediocre at best
Posted: 5/9/17 at 8:06am
Yes but several Tony voters doesn't equal the 900 or so there are.
Posted: 5/9/17 at 9:46am
Best score, like all music (and all art, for that matter), is incredibly subjective.
When I saw DEH, I was so caught up in the story and in Platt's performance that the music sort of passed me by. I knew that there were songs in it that I liked, but the music was not the highlight of the show for me. However, because I thought the show was so good I downloaded the cast recording, and the more I listened the more addicted I became to the music, and now it's one of my favorite scores.
I thought that the music in Comet was inconsistent. Some of it was truly exciting, e.g. the Russian dances, and many of the arias were beautiful. But, the rest of the music was, to me at least, dull. I understand that it's recitative, but because of that it's not a score I'd listen to over and over again.
So for me, it's DEH. Many will disagree and that's fine.
Posted: 5/9/17 at 10:05am
Great Comet is a score that I love listening to and, even after having the original off-Broadway cast recording now for years, I still find new things to discover and cherish. It's a rich, complex work that rewards those who wish to come to it. It's innovative, fusing various styles and techniques to inform character and set atmosphere. It has lovely recurring themes that sneak up and strengthen numbers. The adaptation of Tolstoy's text- expanded upon by Malloy as needed but never supplanted- was a great creative choice, in my opinion, as well, as it creates a lovely distancing illuminates both the original text and the theatrical work.
DEH is perfectly fine, but certainly not substantially different than any number of musical theatre pop scores. It lets its top-notch performers sing their faces off and feel lots of feelings while being general enough that pretty much anyone can relate to it. But at the end of the day, I feel like I've heard it before and have been hearing it for years and will hear something like it again.
Posted: 5/9/17 at 11:05am
I've spoke to about 11 Tony Voters, this is what I got from them. More people voted for Comet Score than DEH. Just amongst those 11 more voted for Karl for performance, however most voted for DEH as Best Musical. Book seems to be CFA
Posted: 5/9/17 at 11:07am
11 is not a really great sample size.
Posted: 5/9/17 at 11:08am
Just saying what I know.
Posted: 5/9/17 at 11:14am
I've come around a LOT on Great Comet as a show, but I can't remember the last time I hated a score so much. There are moments that I really like (most of the Prologue, No One Else, the choral parts of Dust & Ashes and Great Comet of 1812) but for the most part I find the whole thing really grating, not to mention wildly inconsistent. "The Private and Intimate Life of the House" is literally painful.
Can't stop listening to DEH and Groundhog Day, though.
To each his or her own.
Posted: 5/9/17 at 11:28am
Tony voters are explicitly asked not to discuss who they plan to vote for.
Updated On: 5/9/17 at 11:28 AM
Posted: 5/9/17 at 5:27pm
JudyDenmark said: "I've come around a LOT on Great Comet as a show, but I can't remember the last time I hated a score so much. There are moments that I really like (most of the Prologue, No One Else, the choral parts of Dust & Ashes and Great Comet of 1812) but for the most part I find the whole thing really grating, not to mention wildly inconsistent. "The Private and Intimate Life of the House" is literally painful.
Funny. I find "The Private and Intimate Life of the House" to be a heartbreaking song. Beneath all that screeching and yelling is just an awful situation for the characters and it's acted perfectly. The "they're there upon his head" moment is just profoundly sad to me.
Posted: 5/9/17 at 5:33pm
Whenever I hear that someone has some inside info from their "Tony voter friends," I immediately assume that they are probably lying.
The Tonys are actually very serious about their voters not discussing who they plan to vote for, so you are either lying or your 11 friends need to, frankly, shut their mouths.
Posted: 5/9/17 at 6:37pm
They just released "The Ball".
I have to say, I'm LOVING the mixing on this album
https://youtu.be/M9MgyjixIf0
Posted: 5/9/17 at 6:46pm
PaulWom said: "They just released "The Ball".
I have to say, I'm LOVING the mixing on this album
https://youtu.be/M9MgyjixIf0
"
Right? Each time a new song comes out I go back and listen to the original version and I'm amazed by all the additions (mostly to the orchestrations and back-up vocals, I'm assuming bc of the larger amount of musicians and ensemble members) the OBC version is peppering in.
The last forty-five seconds of this, with the new back-up vocals killed me. I literally shivered. And I love the new orchestrations they added at the very end!
Posted: 5/9/17 at 7:20pm
Agreed, I really love the added backup vocals on that number, they give me chills. I'm torn on the extended button on the end, I always loved the short, clean ending from Off-Broadway.
Posted: 5/9/17 at 7:31pm
I love Pasek and Paul but I just wasn't super impressed by DEH's score. Meanwhile, Great Comet has one of the most interesting and complex scores I've heard in a long time. I hope it gets Best Score. I can't judge Best Musical because I haven't seen either show live.
If this were, say, Dogfight instead of DEH, this would be a lot more difficult to decide for me.
Posted: 5/9/17 at 7:57pm
Yeah I definitely prefer Dogfight's score to DEH's.
Posted: 5/9/17 at 8:09pm
I like several aspects of the DEH score (especially Waving Through a Window and Sincerely Me) but that baseball glove song ties only with Dinosaurs from War Pain as the worst song this season. I can't believe they kept it for Broadway.
Posted: 5/9/17 at 8:23pm
Please don't call me a liar, I know plenty of people who are on the voting comitee and we talk, sorry.
Posted: 5/9/17 at 10:48pm
Set & Lighting most def!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_Mlt0779OA
Posted: 5/9/17 at 11:36pm
"The Ball" sounds effing awesome. So hoping Comet gets Score. It manages to sound fresh and new each time I listen to it.
Posted: 5/10/17 at 12:44am
Every year, The New York Times releases a fairly comprehensive survey of Tony voters to project the winners (171 participated last year, for example). The results are aggregated and obviously anonymous, but a large set of voters clearly have no qualms about revealing who they voted for on their official ballots. The idea that no real Tony voter would discuss who they either intend to vote for or did ultimately pick is therefore just factually inaccurate...
Posted: 5/10/17 at 9:35am
pupscotch said: "I sure hope it will! Dave Malloy has been releasing daily playlists of his inspiration for every song, and it's really amazing how he melded so many elements and different styles of music to make it as authentic as possible, and it paid off tremendously. Malloy has achieved something incredible with this score, and I truly believe he deserves this award."
Where has Dave Malloy been releasing his playlists? Would love to hear what inspired each song.
Posted: 5/10/17 at 10:13am
The playlists are on Spotify and he tweets each one out.
Posted: 5/17/17 at 3:32am
My guess is that Great Comet won't win, because there are plenty of songs that are jarring. I can't imagine there aren't plenty of Tony voters, like JudyDenmark, who hate most of it and find it as "grating" as she did - even as she enjoyed the show overall the second time. If Dear Evan Hansen is the lead competitor, I can easily see it winning. The DEH score works well in the context of the musical, and there are a few genuinely good songs. My critique of the score, overall, is that there aren't enough good songs. Some of the more memorable songs in the show aren't memorable because the songs are so great, but because the performers, especially Platt and Jones, do such a fantastic job on stage.
But the Great Comet score is just so much more interesting and complex. Its best songs are more compelling to me, and as with much about the show, I admire its ambition and range. My best test is that I enjoy listening to songs from Great Comet since seeing the musical. I get bored listening to most of Dear Evan Hansen. But it's a matter of personal preference.
