Well, the committtee announced today that "Little Shop" is a revival, even though it was never produced on Broadway before.
Now the question will be, what precedent will that give to "Assasins"? I think it would be quite strange for Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx to be nominated against Stephens Sondheim amd Schwartz. Thrilling for them, no doubt, but... strange. Probably good that "Little Shop" is ineligible, because throwing Menken and Ashman into that mix would just have been too much.
Still, it's a weird weird season we're in. And, for some reason, I have not yet mentioned the fact that I have been privy to two of the more "special" moments of the 2003 Fall theatre season.
1: I was AT the ill-fated performance of "The Violet Hour" where Jasmine Guy left at intermission. Dude, what kind of drugs was that girl on? She sucked. It was astonishing -- her understudy went on with, essentially, no rehearsal for the second act -- and was still better than Jasmine Guy had been in the first act.
2: I saw Mary Tyler Moore in "Rose's Dilemma." Obviously, MTM's dilemma was "How do I get out of this piece of crap?" It was really a terrible show. Neil Simon has really gone down the toilet.
I saw a bunch of other stuff, too, from "Avenue Q," of course, to the overblown, overdone, ridiculous production of "Little Shop," to the star vehicle aka train wreck that is "The Boy from Oz." I still need to hit "Never Gonna Dance" and "Wicked." It'll happen.
Posted by Jon at January 8, 2004 07:28 PM | TrackBackAlthough the Tony Committee has never been known for consistency, I would guess that ASSASSINS would also fit the bill as a classic part of the theatre repertory (or however that phrase is worded). In the 13 years since its off-Broadway premiere, it has been produced all over the country in theatres small and large. It has been published and produced a cast recording. I can't imagine the committee saying with a straight face that ASSASSINS is a new work.
Not to mention that it would be patently unfair to the other shows that are genuinely new. I wonder what THE BOY FROM OZ or TABOO might be like if the creators had another 13 years to think about them and rework?
Posted by: Jere at January 9, 2004 03:13 PM