And the Tony Doesn’t Go to . . .

And the Winner Was: Two Gentlemen of Verona
Pro and Con: This shows the danger of getting swept up in the present. Two Gentlemen is perfectly enjoyable, but it’s anti-war message carried it over the top. And Tony voters missed what is now acknowledged as a flawed but great work in Follies. Hindsight is you-know-what, but who today would make that choice?
Outrage Factor: High. OK, I admitted Follies is flawed, but really now, when was the last time someone talked of Two Gentleman’s important place in Broadway history?

And the Winner Was: Two Gentlemen of Verona
Pro and Con: I’m not meaning to beat up on Two Gentlemen, but you’re telling me this musical was better than Follies and Grease? I don’t buy it. Grease was among the first creative works to re-interpret the ‘50s through the non-nostalgic mindset of the late ‘60s and early '70s. In that, it was as timely as anything. And it was fresh and funny and outrageous. Still is, when done well.
Outrage Factor: High, but not as high as with Follies. The entertainment value alone should have won Best Musical votes.

And the Winner Was: A Tie - The Sound of Music and Fiorello!
Pro and Con: So, Fiorello! won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and The Sound of Music is, well, The Sound of Music. But it is Gypsy that today is considered the best of the three, through the defining role of Momma Rose. I think the “test of time” test favors Gypsy
Outrage Factor: High, actually. How could you have a tie for Best Musical and one of the two not be Gypsy?

And the Winner Was: The Lion King
Pro and Con: Wicked’s, Stephen Schwartz, calls Ragtime “the best American musical of the past 25 years.” But The Lion King was a spectacle (in the good sense of the word) that just hadn’t been seen on Broadway. Not only the puppet menagerie, that’s what Disney does, but the bold re-imagining of the movie as an African folk tale set the musical apart.
Outrage Factor: High. Despite The Lion King’s many positives, Ragtime won Tonys for Best Book, Best Score and Best Orchestrations. How does a show do that and not win Best Musical? (You'll soon be able to judge for yourself. Ragtime returns to Broadway in October 2009.)

And the Winner Was: Jersey Boys
Pro and Con: Jersey Boys is a worldwide phenomenon. Running in three countries. Selling out everywhere. And it’s a good show. I went to The Color Purple very late in its run. (It hadn’t won the Tony. How good could it be, right?) That’s the power of and the problem with the Tonys. Jersey Boys has no songs written for the stage. The Color Purple has all songs written for the stage. Both tell good stories. But Purple added to Broadway diversity. I’m rambling. This was a tough year.
Outrage Factor: Low. Jersey Boys is a very slick show. Very well done. A good musical. The Color Purple told a transcendent story of redeeming, transforming, enduring love. Could a tie have been possible? Maybe.

And the Winner Was: Jersey Boys
Pro and Con: I know what you’re thinking. Am I really comparing The Drowsy Chaperone to Jersey Boys? Well, it might not be so far fetched. Did you know which 2006 musical won the Tony for Best Book? How about Best Score? Best Actor? Featured Actress? You guessed it, The Drowsy Chaperone. I confess to seeing it five times. I’d go again today. It was funny, touching, insightful, and did I mention funny? I’m not saying it was a clear winner. I am saying it could have won.
Outrage Factor: Low. We’re talking a year with Drowsy, The Color Purple and Jersey Boys. Makes me glad I’m not a Tony voter.

And the Winner Was: Spamalot
Pro and Con: The thing about Spamalot was that its cast - led by David Hyde Pierce, Hank Azaria and Tim Curry - had so much fun, it was hard for the audience not to have fun, too. It was like being with a roomful of college buddies watching reruns of Monty Python. But Tony voters, you did see The Light in the Piazza didn’t you? Was Spamalot really a better musical? Better book? Better score?
Outrage Factor: High. I liked Spamalot. It was fun, a slightly guilty pleasure. It tickled the same funny bone that The Producers did, although not quite as well. But we’re all agreeing it was better than The Light in the Piazza, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee AND Dirty Rotten Scoundrels? I don’t think so.

And the Winner Was: Spamalot
Pro and Con: I’m coming dangerously close to curmudgeon-status here, but Spamalot was fun, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee was good. There’s a reason Rachel Sheinkin won the Tony for Best Book. Yes, I know Spamalot was insanely enjoyable. I grew up on Monty Python. But was it really a better musical than Spelling Bee? I don’t know.
Outrage Factor: OK, it’s pretty high. Again, I liked Spamalot, but it would have been my last choice against the competition in 2005.

And the Winner Was: The Music Man
Pro and Con: Admittedly, this is a tough one for me. I love The Music Man and revere Merideth Wilson, who wrote it at age 55. Plus it was produced by the great Frank Loesser, he of Guys and Dolls and How to Succeed in Business . . . At the same time, West Side Story made my list of 10 Musicals That Changed Broadway. It was groundbreaking. It was Sondheim, Bernstein and Robbins.
Outrage Factor: Low. Any show with “Trouble” in it, among the best musical theater songs ever written, deserves to win. Any show with Robbins’ dancing, Bernstein’s music and Sondheim’s lyrics to “Tonight,” “Something’s Coming,” “Maria,” “One Hand, One Heart” and “America” in it, deserves to win. Let’s call it a photo finish.

And the Winner Was: Avenue Q
Pro and Con: Avenue Q was fresh, inventive, irreverent and very funny. Wicked is a good-old Great Big Broadway Show. To me, this is like asking which is better, beer or champagne? (The answer is “Yes.”) Seriously, they’re both great, but they’re different. Wicked wasn’t warmly received by critics, but it so clearly touches something deep in audiences.
Outrage Factor: Low. Is there some Stephen Schwartz bias out there? Is there commercial success bias out there? I don’t know. Pippin changed my life. And Avenue Q was a commercial success. Both of these are good musicals.