Your Personal Tony disappoinments- Page 3

[JumpJumpJumpSoHigh]

Posted: 6/11/07 at 7:37am

I didn't like Spring Awakening. I'm aware that I'm in the minority on this. And I was pretty much resigned to the fact that it'd take home a lot of awards, including Best Musical. But I did NOT think it deserved Choregraphy or Book. And I was particularly upset about it getting Featured Actor, since I thought that (and Featured Actress) were the two biggest chances that Legally Blonde had of getting anything at all. I don't like the score, but again, I'd already resigned myself to that.

I didn't like the mispronunciation of Nell Benjamin's name. Nellie? Come on, the name "Nell" is really not all that difficult.

And RAUL ESPARZA. Don't even get me started on that one.

~JJJ

[jhonaker]

Posted: 6/11/07 at 7:42am

So elaborate sets and costumes trumps all? Why not just declare Disney the winner of all future tonys and be done with it?

[ken8631]

Posted: 6/11/07 at 7:55am

I would have been happier (and less suprised) if Mr Groff won over Mr Pierce, but Raul was better than both.

[thesinger]

Posted: 6/11/07 at 8:15am

-Best Musical [should have been Grey Gardens].
-Best Choreography [should have been Poppins]
-Best Book [should have been Grey Gardens]
-Best Leading Male Actor in a Musical [should have been Esparza].

[violet72]

Posted: 6/11/07 at 8:34am

Thought that choreography should have went to curtains or mary poppins. Grey's should have gotten best book and I(and I think DHP) was shocked that Raul lost.His performance was just so moving

Updated On: 6/11/07 at 08:34 AM

[ken8631]

Posted: 6/11/07 at 8:47am

DHP looked shocked when he won. I was too!

[mortgageguy79]

Posted: 6/11/07 at 8:51am

DHP winning over Raul

Spring Awakening with choreography. Not that I didn't love the "movement" in SA, I just didn't feel it was the best choice.

[Night707]

Posted: 6/11/07 at 9:07am

I guess mine is stupid but:

Best Book: Spring Awakening (Wanted Grey Gardens)
Best Score: Spring Awakening (Wanted Curtains)

[ClumsyDude15]

Posted: 6/11/07 at 9:13am

Legally Blonde not winning choreography. [Jerry Mitchell worked his ass off with those dances.]

Other than that, I'm good on personal disappointments. I mean, I would have loved to see Raul take Lead Actor, but I'm happy for DHP. .

[avab802]

Posted: 6/11/07 at 9:25am

And actor. I just don't get. DHP was fun, but not deep. I feel like anyone could have pulled it off. The part is funny, the lines are good. It didnt take "Best Actor" quality to portray his character.

Comedy is actually much more difficult to do well than drama, generally speaking.

SA winning choreography is my "disappointment." I don't consider jumping up & down to be choreography.

[best12bars]

Posted: 6/11/07 at 9:32am

I thought this show/ceremony was one of the dullest ever. There were too many droning, uninspired, laundry-list speeches, "business-only" presenters, and not enough entertainment for TV audiences. Next time, hold it for yourselves and don't invite America to watch your party then. Otherwise, try to acknowledge you're doing the show on TELEVISION for entertainment value, and plan accordingly. The numbers they did do were too scaled down (with one or two exceptions) and far too brief.

I miss the days when we got the ENTIRE "It's All Over/And I'm Tellin' You..." from Dreamgirls. Now I have to listen to 17 producers thank everyone in the room instead, and (what felt like) 30 seconds each of the nominated shows. Dull, dull, dull.

I loved Christine Ebersole in Grey Gardens, but her Tony performance came off as lackluster and forgettable. It was a bad choice of a number to begin with. I know she was sick, but it definitely hurt her performance.

I'll probably get stoned for saying this, but Raul Esparza sounded TERRIBLE on Being Alive. What's with all that "bleating" like a goat? And off pitch, and swallowed tone in the back of this throat too. He's a singer? It might be the worst rendition I've heard of that song yet. I DON'T get all the fuss about him after seeing this, and would pass on seeing him do the entire show if that's as good as it gets.

Mary Poppins looked as slapped-together and light-weight as it does in the theatre... and Spring Awakening was a censored mess of a medley, with the kids jumping around not really saying or doing anything. "Totally..." nothing, for me.

The Jersey Boys (for that musical intro) really tanked. Pitch and choreography problems throughout their little moment. And bad lighting. They all looked like they were 50 years old at a Nebraska county fair reunion concert.

On the positive side, "Curtains" and Audra's number from "110" came off really well. So did Fantasia's tamed-down, dressed-up performance from Color Purple. They were the entertainment highlights for me, regardless of how good the shows are comparatively in the theatre. For their "little moment to shine" they at least DID, where others failed.

As for the awards themselves, no big surprises at all. Like others have said here, I think Grey Gardens should have won a few more trophies, but I wasn't stunned that it didn't.

Let's hope next year puts a little more magic and entertainment back into the Tonys and the Broadway season as a whole.

Updated On: 6/11/07 at 09:32 AM

[jordangirl]

Posted: 6/11/07 at 9:50am

Besides all the previously mentioned Spring Awakening horridness, my main two were:

Featured Actress in a Play ~ Granted, I hadn't seen Coast of Utopia, but I'd hoped that Xanthe would take it because she was amazing.

Lead Actress in a Play ~ I really prefer understated and gracious to loud and obnoxious, and Eve Best OWNED her part. I was really hoping she'd win. And after having to scramble for my remote control so I wouldn't bother the neighbors, I REALLY wished she had.

I'd said I'd be happy with Christine, Donna or Audra winning, and I was... But part of me hoped that it would have been Donna or Audra. Still happy for Christine, but as someone else pointed out, her lack of humility about it during the pre-show kind of turned me off.

[jg65662]

Posted: 6/11/07 at 9:57am

I was really only upset with Best Leading Actor in a Musical and Best Book, which I felt Grey Gardens really deserved. It just seemed like most tony voters picked Spring Awakenings for everything without really thinking if the deserved it.

[golfer727272]

Posted: 6/11/07 at 9:57am

Best12

You are dead on the mark with your list of telecast dissapointments...There is so much to celebrate, why such a bad offering? And it was not even produced in HD.

Come on folks...Its one time when broadway gets the attention of the entire country...Lets do it right...

[bwaysinger]

Posted: 6/11/07 at 10:00am

Personally, the biggest disappointment of the night was that they chose not to have a splitscreen shot going on during David Hyde Pierce's acceptance speech so the world could see Raul's reaction.

[Kringas]

Posted: 6/11/07 at 11:00am

I thought the "Curtains" number was terrible. There was nothing about it that would make me want to see the show.

[tabbynyc]

Posted: 6/11/07 at 11:00am

Best Musical...wanted "Grey Gardens"
Best Choreography.... wanted "Curtains"

And most of the awards "Spring Awakening" won...totally overrated show!!

[Andante]

Posted: 6/11/07 at 11:19am

Best Musical- wanted Grey Gardens
everything Spring Awakening won for- snub it
Best Supporting Actress in a Musical- I was really hoping that Orfeh would win this. She was so incredibly funny in Legally Blonde, not to mention that HUGE voice she's got.

[SarahBeth]

Posted: 6/11/07 at 11:25am

Legally Blonde not winning choreography and costumes. I was content with everything else. I was rooting for DHP to win after seeing the performances.

[hiltyfied]

Posted: 6/11/07 at 11:32am

Best Book - Spring Awakening... are you kidding me?

Best Choreography - I would really have liked to see Legally Blonde or Mary Poppins, but I think Broadway was happy that Bill T choreographed a show and rewarded him for it.

Best Actor - More surprised than disappointed. Maybe Michael Cerveris and Raul split the votes, allowing DHP to win. I almost jumped out of my seat when I heard it, though (shock, not happiness).

Best Musical - I knew Spring Awakening would win but I was hoping for Grey Gardens. To me, Spring Awakening has good music but is very heavy handed and didactic. There is no subtlety in the performances. A good musical has to have a strong score, of course, but the other components (acting, book, etc.) are equally as important.

Re Christine's performance, I thought it was good (not as good as Revolutionary Costume at the Sunday matinee), but she seemed nervous. Did anybody else find Mary Louise's speech hilarious?
Updated On: 6/11/07 at 11:32 AM

[bwaygal1]

Posted: 6/11/07 at 11:40am

Yes, I loved MLW's speech. It was so funny! She was so right, though. Definitely her time had come. No one was there to take it last night, thank gawd.

My major disappointment was Raul losing. I loved his perf. even though I don't really love Company.

[AlanAntonio]

Posted: 6/11/07 at 12:09pm

Puhleeeeeeeeeeeez!

Raul Esparza's loss to David Hyde Pierce is ridiculous, unbelievable and laughable!!!!!! What the F&$%! No offense to the latter, but Raul's masterful performance in Company will go down in Broadway history as a phenomenal achievement. As for DHP's, well, I don't think it's worth writing about.

[americanboy99]

Posted: 6/11/07 at 12:09pm

LEGALLY BLONDE deserved atleast one Tony award... CHOREOGRAPHY!!!

[gymdudeva]

Posted: 6/11/07 at 12:16pm

Biggest personal disappointment: That former cutie Tom Hulce now looks like Jabba the Hut.

[springo]

Posted: 6/12/07 at 10:30am

Grey Gardens Best Musical. The shows is much better than Spring Awakening, with excellent acting, music and lyrics.

Eve Best, Best Actress. She received excellent reviews for A Moon For The Misgotten, and is a brillant actress. I hope it wasn't a backlash against Kevin Spacey who is very low profile with his private life.