Ben Brantley Thinks Beautiful Will Win!

[BobNC]

Posted: 5/11/14 at 12:08pm

To all of the "Beautiful," Jessie, and Carole fans out there in the universe -

check this out: http://nyti.ms/1iso9t8

[haterobics]

Posted: 5/11/14 at 12:42pm

This thread could also be called Isherwood thinks Gentleman's Guide Will Win!

[yankeefan7]

Posted: 5/11/14 at 1:31pm

That is nice but let's remember he thought "Matilda" would win last year.

[dreaming]

Posted: 5/11/14 at 1:43pm

yankeefan-You beat me to it. Brantley seemed to think Matilda had it last year. (And we all know how that turned out.)

I think After Midnight stands a better shot than Beautiful, but do believe Gentleman's Guide will win.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 5/11/14 at 4:11pm

"yankeefan-You beat me to it. Brantley seemed to think Matilda had it last year. (And we all know how that turned out.)"

Well I think A LOT of people thought Matilda had it last year... and, quite frankly, it SHOULD have. I will never be able to wrap my head around Kinky Boots walking away with so many awards last year, but it is what it is.

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 5/11/14 at 4:23pm

"Well I think A LOT of people thought Matilda had it last year... and, quite frankly, it SHOULD have. I will never be able to wrap my head around Kinky Boots walking away with so many awards last year, but it is what it is"

Please get off the crack pipe.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 5/11/14 at 4:54pm

^ ... You of all people saying that. Ha.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 5/11/14 at 4:54pm

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Updated On: 5/11/14 at 04:54 PM

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 5/11/14 at 4:54pm

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Updated On: 5/11/14 at 04:54 PM

[JoseLee_]

Posted: 5/11/14 at 7:09pm

I hope Beautiful wins. Gentleman's Guide is so boring to me.

[avyrocks]

Posted: 5/11/14 at 7:10pm

^ I thought the opposite. I liked Gentlemen's Guide. I thought Beautiful was one of the most boring shows of the season.

[NotTheComfyChair]

Posted: 5/11/14 at 7:42pm

The critics go for who they think is the best show. Who actually wins seems to come down to how the shows promote themselves between now and end of voting. Nobody seems to be getting aggressive unlike last years race.
Kinky Boots won, in my opinion, not by necessarily being better the Matilda but because it had a much much better TONY promotion campaign. Fierstein and Lauper were everywhere. The KB team even managed to gloss over the dispute between Fierstein and Porter about Lola being straight which could have torpedoed them. Matilda's producers came across as arrogant and mounted a weak campaign. From what I read, the RSC upset a lot of people who could be TONY voters over their negotiations over investing in the show.
Lots of critics thought Matilda should win. That it didn't is not down to poor judgement on their part.

[HogansHero]

Posted: 5/11/14 at 7:53pm

Critics have no reason to have insight into what will win. It's preposterous that we care what they think. The reality is, almost no one has any insight into the Tony odds, unless it's beyond obvious. No one is capable of doing the research required to prognosticate-not even Riedel. Folks here may enjoy guessing, but that's just a game. The only awards that can seriously be handicapped is the Drama Critics Circle.

[Joviedamian]

Posted: 5/11/14 at 8:16pm

I think he could be right. It is a show that looks good on the road and could sell a lot of tickets to equity road house (on tour). So most tony voters who want BEAUTIFUL at their theater will vote for it.

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 5/11/14 at 10:01pm

Darling, don't talk about me as if you knew me, because you don't.

Anyways, regardless of anything we can talk about, Kinky Boots won. So let's move on!

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 5/11/14 at 10:22pm

Who cares what he thinks

Beautiful is deserving as is Gentlemens Guide. After Brantley gave a generally favorable review of the dreadful Heathers, any slight respect I might have had for him has vanished. It was slight to begin with but after Heathers it has totally vanished.

[jemjeb2]

Posted: 5/12/14 at 12:11am

Brantley has no more insight than anyone here unless he's been canvassing Tony voters. So, yeah, who cares what he thinks?

[homeimp]

Posted: 5/12/14 at 12:42am

I'm fairly certain Gentleman's Guide will win. Not because it's a great show,(it's not) but because it is perceived by the critics as being the best of what they call a weak bunch. I may not agree, but that's the way it appears to play out. 20 years from now somebody will try GG again and the reviews will wonder how could the NYC critics of the time have thought this, and how could the Tony voters have gone along.

I think that Gentleman's Guide would have had a lot more zip to the lyrics and a lot more zing to the music if Gilbert & Sullivan had got their hands on that material.

I just don't see how GG fits in the pantheon of great classic musicals or how it will have any influence on the development of musical theater.

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 5/12/14 at 8:55am

I just don't see how GG fits in the pantheon of great classic musicals or how it will have any influence on the development of musical theater.

You mean like Memphis? Or even one of my personal favorites, Big River?

[HogansHero]

Posted: 5/12/14 at 9:36am

@homeimp-why would what the critics said about GG make you "fairly certain" of anything vis-a-vis the Tonys? Tony voters and critics are in unconnected circles on the Venn diagram, and what motivates most Tony voters has nothing to do with what motivates most critics.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 5/12/14 at 12:18pm

Well I think A LOT of people thought Matilda had it last year... and, quite frankly, it SHOULD have. I will never be able to wrap my head around Kinky Boots walking away with so many awards last year, but it is what it is

Agreed.

I do believe the race will be between Gentleman's Guide and Beautiful. After Midnight has had such little buzz and seems to have lost steam. Aladdin will go the same route as Newsies and Mary Poppins...decent reviews and a respectable run, but nothing about it seems to credit the show with as particularly interesting or winning. Beautiful's grosses are impressive for a show title that doesn't really reveal anything to general public, but the song list and Carole King's name will keep the show running and do well on the road. Gentleman's Guide is the nominee for the critics and academics. While in stronger seasons, the more academic shows tend to lose out to the smash hits (especially if they are more serious works like Light in the Piazza or Caroline, or Change), a clever inventive comedy with a memorable leading performance could come out on top.

Personally, I'd put my money on Gentleman's Guide this year simply because I don't think even Aladdin or Beautiful have been big enough to command attention in the way we've seen from their predecessors like Lion King or Jersey Boys and honestly, After Midnight received strong reviews, but it hasn't given the show hardly any traction, buzz or press. All of which are much-needed for a revue to win the top prize.