Worst Best Musical? — Page 5

That's right, Piazza won for score and something else besides Victoria Clark, was it orchestration?

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Piazza won Score, Actress, Orchestrations, Sets, Lighting and Set design.

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For me, "undeserved" or "overrated" and "worst" are very different things. For example, I don't think Millie is a "bad" show, but there was no reason discernible why it edged out Urinetown. I loved Contact, but as stated before, it simply was not a musical and should never have been nominated. If a category did not exist, then a special prize should have been awarded. For "worst" best musicals, I would have to say:

Fosse
Applause
Hallelujah, Baby!

Fosse takes the prize for absolute worst musical to win. It had some great dancing and featured Fosse's amazing choreography by stripping it of all character, intent and meaning, on which every move was created. Fosse was known for stylizing every nuance of every character no matter how small, yet this show created a uniform monchromatic "concept" (all-black, how unique and creative!) that brought nothing out in Fosse's choreography, but rather muted and quenched the individuality of Fosse's creations. The tempos dragged and the orchestrations were abysmal. I can only assume the voters wanted to pay tribute to Fosse, but I wish it could have been a more fitting tribute than that particular show.

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I saw "The Mystery of Edwin Drood" twice. I first saw it just before opening night, and it was fantastic. A funny, bawdy, moody "music hall" experience, that also managed to feel modern (probably due to the score, which mixed idioms successfully).

Then I saw it about a year later, when they'd shortened the title to "Drood." It was dreary and dull and muddled... despite having George Rose and Howard McGillin still in the cast. Rose, in particular, walked through his Tony-winning part. As much as I love Karen Morrow, she was no Cleo Laine (mostly due to delivering the Music Hall style of performance without a fitting stage personality). Drood was now played by Donna Murphy, who (as much as I love her) came no where near the focused, sharp performance that Betty Buckley had given. And I sorely missed Patti Cohenhour as Rosabud (who IMO was robbed of the Featured Actress Tony that year, sorry Bebe Neuwirth).

Basically, it depended on when you saw it. Early in the run, it deserved its praise and accolades. A year later, I would agree that it was far less than memorable.

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Updated On: 11/7/05 at 01:59 PM

I think I'm the only one on the face of the earth that loves CATS...

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Munk... You're not alone.

It was one of the best theatrical experiences I've ever had. I saw the full original cast about 2 months after it opened, from the 4th row of the Winter Garden.

The reason I haven't counted it as "best?" Even as I was sitting there in total awe, I knew that a huge part of that reason was the incredibly focused cast I was experiencing. It's hard even to describe the level they rose to. It was a magical, low key energy that all the performers shared, without exception. Without this "sublime intensity," and the level of talent this cast had... I thought the show could easily fall apart completely.

I promised myself I would NEVER see the show again, because it was a perfect experience from start to finish. Those are so rare to find.

Admittedly, I own the filmed DVD, and while I enjoy seeing it and remembering the experience from 2 decades ago, it doesn't come close to that special night on Broadway.

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Tell your friend, he did himself proud. And people out there still remember.

And -3 years old? Ugh. Let me get out my cane now.

EDIT: And "Cats" is an extremely daring musical. A one-of-a-kind show. Experimental theatre like that rarely turns up on a Broadway stage. Most people are hard-pressed to find the truth in that kind of a show... and honestly, I can't say I blame them. Many people say they hate this show very loudly, and I don't think it's all "peer pressure" as a reason.

But, yeah, I got the message and the heart of the show. It came through with fascinating, flying colors. And I'll never forget how it impacted me.

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Updated On: 11/7/05 at 03:15 PM

I think it isnt cool to admit that you loved Cats back in the early 80s. It certainly was not a bad enough to be added to these lists, IMO.

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I admit, I used to like Cats. Now I look back at that time and I hide my head in shame. Haha. I just see it is silly now. But whatever, feel free to like it. I'm not a hater.

~Steven