Your Personal TONY Winners Since 2000

[BrandoObsession Joined: Sep 25th, 2011 Topics: 3 Posts: 224 View Predictions]

#430533

Yeah, it was apparent something was lost in translation in the film version. Just needed someone to confirm it. 

I can see why Kimball’s performance divides. I kinda compare it to Johnny Depp in the ‘Pirates’ series. At first, you’re like… WTH? and then it grows on you and ended up maybe even liking it.  

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[CAROL-CHANNING Joined: Sep 30th, 2011 Topics: 1 Posts: 1491 View Predictions]

#430534

I seriously think I might be the only person who was not confused in the slightest by what Kimball was trying to achieve.  Everyone always says “Oh, what an interesting character choice.”  But, for me, it seemed like the obvious one to go with.  Plus, why shouldn’t he be over the top?  It’s not like Memphis is brimming with subtlety.  Everyone was over the top in the show.  I don’t know why everyone picks on Kimball.  While I still would have given Hodge the Tony that year, Kimball would have been an extremely worthy winner.  Musical theater nowadays has become so generic and unexciting, and his performance was anything but. 

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[ArtIsntEasy Joined: Dec 17th, 2011 Topics: 3 Posts: 1252 View Predictions]

#430535

I honestly feel “Memphis” was one of, if not THE, worst musical to win the Best Musical Tony….but a lot of that stems from the fact that it was quite possibly the worst season for original musicals in recent memory (thankfully, there were some great revivals that year). In my opinion, NONE of the nominated shows were even that worthy and my favorite musical that season was “Everyday Rapture”, which was very odd-ball but it got a nomination for Sherie Rene Scott and its Book and got very good reviews, particularly by Ben Brantley.

“Memphis” was a predictible show that seemed to take qualities of “Dreamgirls” and “Hairspray” and throw in more of a soul/southern flavor (the ending of the show is almost an exact copycat to that of “Dreamgirls”). I do think that the whole show was over-the-top but for me, Chad Kimball does deserve that flack because he gave one of the most unbearable performances I have witnessed in recent years. Montego Glover fared a lot better, but she is very inconsistent in all the footage and performances I have seen her in. The score is VERY forgettable, though catchy when you may hear it at times, but I have no desire to ever sit down and listen to it….ever. “Steal Your Rock and Roll” is good the first time you hear it but after a while, it gets old…and I was beyond furious when they got to perform on the Tonys a second time…and I was vidictively happy that it was a horrible performance.

I gave my personal vote to “American Idiot” with much reluctance, but I do like Green Day and the show had a lot of excitement and didn’t exactly get boring or tiresome, as “Memphis” did.

“Memphis” is very lucky as it came out in the only year where it would have had a chance to win (it may have had an outside chance in 2000 over “Contact”, but even then I would give it to “Contact” first), and in most years, I honestly think it wouldn’t even have been nominated. I said one of the worst at the beginning of my message but I have decided it IS the worst….even over “Cats”.

“The art of making art is putting it together...”

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[CAROL-CHANNING Joined: Sep 30th, 2011 Topics: 1 Posts: 1491 View Predictions]

#430536

Yeah, Memphis isn’t good.  I wouldn’t call it the worst, though.  Fosse winning is a bit of a head scratcher.  Same with Contact.  And I know that a lot of people think I’m crazy when I say this, but I hated Spamalot.  A lot.

2010 definitely was one of the worst years of theater ever.  Almost as bad as 1989 (when there were no new musicals, just musical reviews… but at least they were good productions).

And, to me, American Idiot was one of the most unbearable things I’ve witnessed in recent years.. but to each his own I guess. 

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[Karl William Joined: May 16th, 2011 Topics: 8 Posts: 520 View Predictions]

#430537

That was a bad year overall, but I really liked American Idiot. It was something unique and even though it failed in some places (where was the book?) it was still beautiful to look at and it was enjoyable. Also, random Comment that doesn’t pertain to anything right now, Ann Harada should be a tony winner, or at least nominee for avenue q. That is all.

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[ArtIsntEasy Joined: Dec 17th, 2011 Topics: 3 Posts: 1252 View Predictions]

#430538

As much as I think it was a very flawed show, I would have rather “The Addams Family” to have won Score and had it been nominated, even Best Musical….that is how much I hated “Memphis”. Though, I still say that “Everyday Rapture” was the best from that year and should have been nominated and won the Tony. I probably would have done it as follows.

BEST MUSICAL: Everyday Rapture

BEST MUSICAL REVIVAL: La Cage Aux Folles

BEST ACTOR: Douglas Hodge, La Cage Aux Folles

BEST ACTRESS: Sherie Rene Scott, Everyday Rapture

BEST DIRECTOR: This one is tough….all of the revivals were splendidly directed, though with “Ragtime”, I am still part of the group that doesn’t get why its original production was lambasted by some as being TOO grand and prefer that version….I think Terry Johnson did deserve his win.

BEST FEATURED ACTOR: Not an absolutely strong category, but I do feel Levi Kreis was the absolute weakest contender here and his win is one of the worst Tony wins ever…..I say Christopher Fitzgerald should have won.

BEST FEATURED ACTRESS: Katie Finneran, Promises Promises

BEST BOOK: Everyday Rapture

BEST SCORE: The Addams Family (okay, so the score was very inconsistent, especially lyrically and Lippa kept switching back in forth from quirky to rock from the adults to Wednesday/Lucas…but what it does have that Memphis’ score did not is that I found it memorable and that it had enough redeeming qualities while I couldn’t sing or hum even a single song from “Memphis” save for ‘Steal Your Rock and Roll’ and that is because at first I kind of liked the song but it keeps getting shoved down my throat either on the Tonys or by friends of mine who like playing the song and I remember ‘Colored Woman’ but mainly for Montego Glover’s strong performance of it and not the song itself….and I remember her character’s brother singing “Stay Away from my sister’….but other than that, The Addams Family achieved more despite being a rather inconsistent effort itself in an even more terrible year.                       

“The art of making art is putting it together...”

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[Jeffrey Kare Joined: Jan 23rd, 2013 Topics: 297 Posts: 5688 View Predictions]

#1202664728

Discovering this old thread now, I’m going to chime in with some of my personal choices. My opinions here will be based on a combination of whether I’ve actually seen the shows live, via bootleg, or only listened to the cast recordings.

Please note that with Best Musical, I’ve started with 2001 only because I’m not really familiar with the Best Musical contenders from the year 2000. With Best Revival of a Musical, there are some years where I’m not really familiar with a lot of the contenders, so I’ve only started with 2011.

Best Musical:
2001 – The Producers
2002 – Thoroughly Modern Millie
2003 – Hairspray*
2004 – Wicked*
2005 – Monty Python’s Spamalot*
2006 – Jersey Boys*
2007 – Spring Awakening
2008 – In the Heights*
2009 – Billy Elliot*
2010 – Memphis*
2011 – The Book of Mormon*
2012 – Once*
2013 – Matilda*
2014 – Beautiful: The Carole King Musical*
2015 – An American in Paris*
2016 – Hamilton*
2017 – Dear Evan Hansen
2018 – The Band’s Visit

*denotes that I have seen those musicals live.

Best Revival of a Musical:
2011 – Anything Goes*
2012 – Follies
2013 – Pippin*
2014 – Hedwig & the Angry Inch*
2015 – The King & I*
2016 – Fiddler on the Roof*
2017 – Hello, Dolly!*
2018 – My Fair Lady

*denotes that I have seen those specific productions live.

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