Winning the "Best" Production Tony But Nothing Else?
Winning the "Best" Production Tony But Nothing Else?
BroadwayConcierge
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/24/15
#1Winning the "Best" Production Tony But Nothing Else?
Posted: 6/13/18 at 8:55am
It keeps striking me as slightly odd that Once on This Island is this year's winner for Best Revival of a Musical—but it took home no other award.
How many other productions in recent memory have won Best Musical/Play/Musical Revival/Play Revival, but only that award?
WaffleOnWheels
Stand-by Joined: 6/2/17
#2Winning the "Best" Production Tony But Nothing Else?
Posted: 6/13/18 at 8:58am
Jitney last year comes to mind, having won best revival of a play, but nothing else.
dramamama611
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/4/07
#3Winning the "Best" Production Tony But Nothing Else?
Posted: 6/13/18 at 8:59am
Can't answer that question, but to add to it: How does a show get nominated as "best" with NO other nominations?
Leap of Faith (2012) is always a head scratcher for me.
If we're not having fun, then why are we doing it?
These are DISCUSSION boards, not mutual admiration boards. Discussion only occurs when we are willing to hear what others are thinking, regardless of whether it is alignment to our own thoughts.
#4Winning the "Best" Production Tony But Nothing Else?
Posted: 6/13/18 at 9:02am
Best Play:
Clybourne Park
Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike
Best Revival of a Musical:
Company
Hair
Best Revival of a Play:
Journey's End
The Norman Conquests
Skylight
Jitney
#5Winning the "Best" Production Tony But Nothing Else?
Posted: 6/13/18 at 10:03am
I don't believe this has ever happened with Best Musical. Although some have only won the top award and one other.
"Oh look at the time, three more intelligent plays just closed and THE ADDAMS FAMILY made another million dollars" -Jackie Hoffman, Broadway.com Audience Awards
Elegance101
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/24/17
#6Winning the "Best" Production Tony But Nothing Else?
Posted: 6/13/18 at 10:07am
dramamama611 said: "Can't answer that question, but to add to it: How does a show get nominated as "best" with NO other nominations?
Leap of Faith (2012) is always a head scratcher for me."
This has happened a lot. Was the last time Annie in 2013?
dumphim
Chorus Member Joined: 5/14/18
#7Winning the "Best" Production Tony But Nothing Else?
Posted: 6/13/18 at 10:28am
WaffleOnWheels said: "Jitney last year comes to mind, having won best revival of a play, but nothing else."
I don't understand enough about the technical awards to really judge, but I was shocked when Rubin Santiago-Hudson didn't get Best Direction for Jitney
Chorus Member Joined: 12/31/69
#8Winning the "Best" Production Tony But Nothing Else?
Posted: 6/13/18 at 11:24am
Elegance101 said: "dramamama611 said: "Can't answer that question, but to add to it: How does a show get nominated as "best" with NO other nominations?
Leap of Faith (2012) is always a head scratcher for me."
The 2007 revival of Grease only received a Best Revival of a Musical nomination.
#9Winning the "Best" Production Tony But Nothing Else?
Posted: 6/13/18 at 11:27amThis is going back a bit, but in 1998, Art won Best Play but no other awards.
Jarethan
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/10/11
#10Winning the "Best" Production Tony But Nothing Else?
Posted: 6/13/18 at 11:31am
Elegance101 said: "dramamama611 said: "Can't answer that question, but to add to it: How does a show get nominated as "best" with NO other nominations?
Leap of Faith (2012) is always a head scratcher for me."
This has happened a lot. Was the last time Annie in 2013?"
It has happened a lot when slots had to be filled in seasons which were either or low in quality and / or low in number of productions. Leap of Faith as example was only nominated to fill a needed slot. The Tonys IMO have a long history of really mediocre shows receiving unjustified nominations in order to fill a minimum number of slots.
#11Winning the "Best" Production Tony But Nothing Else?
Posted: 6/13/18 at 11:47am
Elegance101 said: "dramamama611 said: "Can't answer that question, but to add to it: How does a show get nominated as "best" with NO other nominations?
Leap of Faith (2012) is always a head scratcher for me."
This has happened a lot. Was the last time Annie in 2013?"
Actually, Disgraced only received one Tony nomination in 2015, which was for Best Play. The same thing happened with Latin History for Morons this year.
#12Winning the "Best" Production Tony But Nothing Else?
Posted: 6/13/18 at 12:46pm
I think the Best Play category is different, as it is mostly awarding the script, whereas Best Musical is more about all of the elements combined.
Also, I get the impression that OOTI won mostly because the other two revivals are very white and some believe, misogynistic. It was a political move, as were many of the awards this year.
Broadway61004
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/14/11
#13Winning the "Best" Production Tony But Nothing Else?
Posted: 6/13/18 at 12:52pm
adamgreer said: "This is going back a bit, but in 1998, Art won Best Play but no other awards. "
I've never understood this one. "Beauty Queen of Lenane" wins 3 acting awards AND Best Director, but "Art" is Best Play? Not even saying one was more deserving than the other, but how does one win virtually every play award (this was pre-splitting design awards) and then another be called the best production?
Broadway61004
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/14/11
#14Winning the "Best" Production Tony But Nothing Else?
Posted: 6/13/18 at 12:55pm
The Distinctive Baritone said: "I think the Best Play category is different, as it is mostly awarding the script, whereas Best Musical is more about all of the elements combined.
Also, I get the impression that OOTI won mostly because the other two revivals are very white and some believe, misogynistic. It was a political move, as were many of the awards this year."
I think it's more that the other 2 cancel each other out as the same type of voters would vote for each one. Let's say, just for instance, that 60% of the voters like big classic revivals and 40% like more modern shows that are remagined. That means 30% vote for Carousel, 30% for My Fair Lady and 40% for Once on this Island (Not at all saying these percentages are accurate, but just an example of how the vote splitting very well may have happened)
ScottyDoesn'tKnow2
Broadway Legend Joined: 1/22/14
#15Winning the
Posted: 6/13/18 at 1:03pm
The Distinctive Baritone said: "Also, I get the impression that OOTI won mostly because the other two revivals are very white and some believe, misogynistic. It was a political move, as were many of the awards this year."
I mean if we want to attack Carousel and MFL for having some misogyny, then there's plenty to critique OoTI for. OoTI did enter this season relatively unscathed compared to what the PR the other two shows had to do. Carousel didn't do a really good job of it, but I believe MFL's team tackled it head on and embraced the criticism.
#16Winning the "Best" Production Tony But Nothing Else?
Posted: 6/13/18 at 1:04pm
Other shows that won the top prize but nothing else:
THE GOAT, OR WHO IS SYLVIA? (2002)
THE LAST NIGHT OF BALLYHOO (1997)
THE SHADOW BOX (1977)
"You travel alone because other people are only there to remind you how much that hook hurts that we all bit down on. Wait for that one day we can bite free and get back out there in space where we belong, sail back over water, over skies, into space, the hook finally out of our mouths and we wander back out there in space spawning to other planets never to return hurrah to earth and we'll look back and can't even see these lives here anymore. Only the taste of blood to remind us we ever existed. The earth is small. We're gone. We're dead. We're safe."
-John Guare, Landscape of the Body
#17Winning the "Best" Production Tony But Nothing Else?
Posted: 6/13/18 at 1:16pmMFL and especially Carousel were more divisive than a lot of people think. I imagine this was close between MFL and OOTI, but the fact is OOTI was a great production of an okay show and MFL was a very good production of a great show, and that probably is what gave it the edge.
"...everyone finally shut up, and the audience could enjoy the beginning of the Anatevka Pogram in peace."
SomethingPeculiar
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/15/14
#18Winning the "Best" Production Tony But Nothing Else?
Posted: 6/13/18 at 1:30pm
I wonder what the fewest number of nominations has been for a Best Play or Best Musical winner? If I recall, All the Way only got 2 nominations (Best Play and Brian Cranston for Best Actor) and it won both of them.
#19Winning the "Best" Production Tony But Nothing Else?
Posted: 6/13/18 at 4:54pm
This phenomenon is not that surprising when you consider that pool for the other categories will always be bigger. If a show is nominated for (or wins) Best Revival of a Musical, it is only competing against the other musical revivals. But in every other possible category, they are also competing against the new musicals.
Wayman_Wong
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/22/04
#20Winning the
Posted: 6/13/18 at 5:08pm
''Leap of Faith (2012) is always a head scratcher for me.''
Sometimes, the Tonys don't nominate FOR something; they nominate against the alternatives. To me, the lackluster ''Leap of Faith'' got the fourth slot for Best Musical simply by default.
They could have nominated ''Bonnie and Clyde,'' which was up for Best Actress and Score, or ''Ghost,'' nominated for Featured Actress, Sets and Lighting, and ''Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark,'' nominated for Costumes and Sets. I really thought that fourth slot should've gone to ''Bonnie and Clyde,'' but maybe they decided to throw a bone to ''Leap of Faith''' since it was still running. Ironically, ''Leap'' would announce its closing shortly after the nominations.
#21Winning the
Posted: 6/13/18 at 6:35pm
OMG, Bonnie and Clyde, Spider-Man, and Ghost were all in the same season. I totally forgot about that. No wonder Leap of Faith looked fantastic by comparison!
For the record, I found it decently enjoyable and the other three abominable.
Esther Blodgett
Understudy Joined: 7/15/15
#22Winning the
Posted: 6/13/18 at 9:09pm
1970 Best Play: Borstal Boy
Yet "Child's Play" won 5:
Best Actor Fritz Weaver
Featured Actor Ken Howard
Director Joseph Hardy
Scenery +
Lighting (the first year this category was awarded) both won by Jo Mielziner
Go figure.
ScottyDoesn'tKnow2
Broadway Legend Joined: 1/22/14
#23Winning the
Posted: 6/13/18 at 9:20pm
Maybe they should be more daring and not always use four slots even if the pool is large enough to have four musicals nominated.
Wayman_Wong
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/22/04
#24Winning the
Posted: 6/14/18 at 1:53am
I like the tradition of 4 slots for Best Musical. If only 4 new musicals had opened this season, I'd be willing to go down to 3. But the Tony nominators did have 7 new musicals to choose from.
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