| re: It's time for the Tonys to give Julie Andrews her Lifetime Achievement Award | |
| Posted by: ablankpage 02:01 pm EDT 03/29/24 | |
| In reply to: re: It's time for the Tonys to give Julie Andrews her Lifetime Achievement Award - MockingbirdGirl 10:45 am EDT 03/29/24 | |
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| I can understand that justification for Chronicle of a Death Foretold, which was an adventurous dance piece based on the novel that many questioned being a musical at all (similar to the conversation around Contact and presumably what we'll see with Illinoise). It ran for only two months and closed in July 1995—almost a year before the 1996 Tonys. It was also nominated for best book and best choreography that season, so one of those rare instances where voter memories where long and they pulled something from early in the season to be recognized. Swinging on a Star was a cutesy and very odd review/jukebox musical based on the songs of lyricist Johnny Burke who even in 1995 was from a very different era of song. It didn't get great reviews, it played to under 50% houses almost every week (bottoming out at 20% in one of its final weeks), and closed in January after limping along for 3 months. It received only one nomination that season: Best Musical. Nothing else. Big opened in April to better reviews, stronger box office, and landed nominations for book, score, actress, actor, and choreography with a Best Musical nomination conspicuously missing from that list. Obviously nothing was going to stop Rent and Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in 'da Funk, the two mega hits of the season. The only other new musical to open that season was Victor/Victoria, which was seen as a somewhat patchy stage adaptation lifted by the buoyant performances of not only Julie Andrews but also Tony Roberts, Michael Nouri, Drama Desk winner Rachel York, and Rob Marshall's clever choreography. There was a lot of buzz around the production, it had killer box office, and it was the old-fashioned grown-up musical tonic to the downtown musicals ruling over Broadway that season. So out of six options, two were long-closed and four were enjoying healthy runs at the time of nominations. I think there is a case to be made for Chronicle of a Death Foretold being an artistic "best" decision, I do not think so for Swinging on a Star. |
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| Previous: | re: It's time for the Tonys to give Julie Andrews her Lifetime Achievement Award - MockingbirdGirl 10:45 am EDT 03/29/24 |
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