| re: Why was Victor/Victoria "egregiously overlooked" | |
| Posted by: Michael_212 10:07 am EDT 07/15/22 | |
| In reply to: Why was Victor/Victoria "egregiously overlooked" - bobby2 11:13 pm EDT 07/14/22 | |
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| For reasons that have nothing to do with artistic merit, Victor/Victoria was the type of show that typically would get a good number of Tony nominations. It was an old-school musical comedy, produced with competent Broadway show-biz slickness and was an immediate commercial smash as soon as it opened in October. Until Rent and Noise/Funk opened close to the Tony deadline, Victor/Victoria was the only new hit musical of the season. I have never been a Tony nominator nor Tony Voter, so please take it as unscientific observation over the decades that the impression I get is that nominators will lean towards recognizing artistic merit while voters as a whole will lean towards the shows with the best commercial prospects. That was the whole point of Avenue Q's Vote Your Heart campaign. Wicked is the type of show that normally gets the Best Musical Tony, but Avenue Q comically put themselves in the position of being the better show that normally wouldn't stand a chance to win. (The next year, when Spamalot won, I recall reading that Eric Idle advised a gathering of Tony Voters, "Vote your wallet!") So there are times when it appears that a commercial hit that likely would have won does not get a nomination in order for something more daring but less commercial might be honored. Brighton Beach Memoirs was a huge game-changer for Neil Simon, getting more personal with his writing than he had before, and it was shocking when this big popular hit wasn't nominated for a Tony and pretty much guaranteed that Torch Song Trilogy would win. I think Torch Song is a great play, but I think it's likely Brighton Beach would have won if it was nominated. It was the more commercial choice. For the same reason, I think Legally Blonde likely would have won Best Musical over Spring Awakening if nominated. And Aida over Contact, The Wild Party and The Dead. I hate using the word snub when it comes to nominations, but shutting out Victor/Victoria completely, except for the guaranteed win for Julie Andrews. made it look like a statement was being made. As big as Rent became, it was still risky at that time, and I think there's a good chance Victor/Victoria would have won Best Musical if nominated. It was the safe bet to be a big moneymaker. And perhaps the nominators wanted to make sure the two riskier, youth-oriented shows would be in the spotlight. |
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