Best Score - 2015

[mattporter17]

Posted: 5/26/15 at 11:07pm

So, FUN HOME is most definitely winning Best Score, right? I think it's certainly the strongest score in the past few years, since Book of Mormon and Next to Normal. I know Something Rotten! has the show-stoppers, but it really depends on how they vote.

I hope it wins because of Jeanine Tesori. She's written the score for some really incredible shows: Violet, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Caroline Or Change, and even Shrek, which had it moments! She really deserves it, so I'm really rooting for her and Fun Home

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 5/26/15 at 11:08pm

Yes. Fun Home will win.

[mattporter17]

Posted: 5/26/15 at 11:14pm

"Yes. Fun Home will win."

 I think Ring of Keys can single handedly win Jeanine Tesori and Sydney Lucas a Tony lol

[willep]

Posted: 5/26/15 at 11:33pm

I'm seeing Fun Home tomorrow and have avoided listening to any of the music beforehand, so this may very well change, but so far my favorite score is The Last Ship. I thought Something Rotten was a very forgettable score.

[mattporter17]

Posted: 5/26/15 at 11:35pm

"I'm seeing Fun Home tomorrow and have avoided listening to any of the music beforehand, so this may very well change, but so far my favorite score is The Last Ship. I thought Something Rotten was a very forgettable score."

 The FH score blew my mind. Such deep, compassionate, heartfelt, and also really catchy music! Jeanine Tesori hit it out of the park yet again!! I've only heard the publicized  songs from SR like A Musical or I Hate Shakespeare and it sounds good, so I pre-ordered the cast album! I have faith that it'll be good!

Updated On: 5/27/15 at 11:35 PM

[JayG 2]

Posted: 5/27/15 at 7:32am

The Last Ship deserves it. Hands down the best score of this season (and the best musical, but when you open and close in the first half of the season that negates any possibility of being honored. Maybe the powers that be should rename the awards Best Plays and Musicals of Spring 2015.).

 

[tazber]

Posted: 5/27/15 at 8:03am

The Visit is the best score of the season, no contest.

But Fun Home has Ring of Keys and the momentum so yes, it will probably win.

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 5/27/15 at 10:51am

My favorite score of the season is The Last Ship, but that's not what this thread is about. This thread is about what will win, and Fun Home will win.

[Fantod]

Posted: 5/27/15 at 11:48am

The Visit's score is not just the best of this year, but one of the strongest I have ever heard. That being said, the fabulous Scottsboro Boys score lost to the mediocre Book of Mormon one, so I highly doubt The Visit will actually win. Fun Home will probably sweep, which is not bad either.

[RingOfKeys2]

Posted: 5/27/15 at 11:56am

Jeanine Tesori is long overdue for a Tony and Fun Home is her best work to date. So I think it's inevitable. 

[Kad]

Posted: 5/27/15 at 12:02pm

While I don't think Fun Home is Tesori's career best (that still belongs to Caroline, or Change), I feel it is stronger than the other nominees and that Tesori is long overdue.

[JoseLee_]

Posted: 5/27/15 at 12:03pm

I do want Fun Home to win best score but I don't agree with "I think it's certainly the strongest score in the past few years" it's not something I can sing along to everyday.. so I don't think it's like a BIG thing. It's good but it's not "OMG I listen to this all the time" It's just annoying when people say "it's the best since ___" No it's not. Kinky Boots and The Bridges of Madison County get more airtime than Fun Home from me.

[wickedfan]

Posted: 5/27/15 at 12:16pm

Thank you for that clarification on what defines a "best" score, JoseLee

 

Let's not talk about craft at all, or the skill that went into a score. Not how seamlessly it transitions in and out of its book or how well it shapes a character's arc or the beauty and intelligence of its lyrics or the dramatic structure of a song. It's just how listenable it is. How many times a day you listen to it in the car or the gym.

 

By that definition, because I mindlessly listen to Heathers or Legally Blonde at the gym from time to time, they are the best scores of the past decade. 

Updated On: 5/27/15 at 12:16 PM

[jv92]

Posted: 5/27/15 at 12:36pm

The award is for the BEST THEATER SCORE. Not the most "hummable" (whatever THAT means) or the one that makes you want to get up and dance or do another ten minutes on the treadmill. 

For my money, the only two nominees that fall into this category are THE VISIT and FUN HOME because they are actual theater scores. They do what wickedfan says-- 

"...craft at all on the skill that went into a score. ...seamlessly it transitions in and out of its book ...shapes a character's arc or the beauty and intelligence of its lyrics or the dramatic structure of a song" 

THE LAST SHIP, as pretty as some of the songs are, is a pleasantly bland collection of pop tunes. It's a nice song cycle in a funny sort of way. It's not a theater score. And SOMETHING ROTTEN is a  series of self-referential, loud jokes and endlessly diatonic. 

So if we're talking about the Best Score, I think it's FUN HOME, too. And I think the award will go to FUN HOME. There's a lot about THE VISIT I love, and I worship Kander and Ebb, but aside from the fact that it's Tesori's "time" in the eyes of some people (whatever that means, again), it's really dazzlingly crafted, full of surprise, and even...hummable. Not that THE VISIT isn't, but I wasn't as enamored with the Schoolmaster's song as some people. 

 

[Fantod]

Posted: 5/27/15 at 12:52pm

I don't love the schoolmaster's song. I think it's the weakest in the score. Same with You, You, You. Winter and We Would Never Leave You (is that the title?) are my favorite songs in the show. I also love the song where Claire recounts all of her husbands and anything else with the eunuchs. Rich and black, the score is unparalleled for my money in 50 years.

[jv92]

Posted: 5/27/15 at 12:55pm

A lot of people did like the Schoolmaster's song. You can't go wrong with Jason Danieley's voice, but it's just not the best of K&E. 

Now, I liked THE VISIT's score and all, but Fantod, to call it the best score in fifty years is a little TOO hyperbolic. And I like hyperbole, too. 

 

[tazber]

Posted: 5/27/15 at 12:59pm

The Only One (Daniely's song) is my favorite!

I found that scene to be profoundly moving.

I Would Never Leave You is classic K&E, and it's probably the creepiest showstopper ever.

(in a good way)

[JoseLee_]

Posted: 5/27/15 at 1:00pm

Every year someone says "this is best score in ___ years"... like NO.

[jv92]

Posted: 5/27/15 at 1:06pm

"I Would Never Leave You is classic K&E, and it's probably the creepiest showstopper ever.
(in a good way)"

I find that number weirdly out of place now. I still like the song itself, but for me, it worked better in Arlington (and I guess in Chicago, where I didn't see THE VISIT). Now, it feels less like an integrated number and more like a HELLO, DOLLY-esque paean to Chita. There were more servants/entourage members prior to this production, which made the number work better for me. 

But it's a nice diva-worship moment, in a strange way. 

 

 

 

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 5/27/15 at 1:21pm

Not liking a score does not mean it's not a score.  It just means it's a score you don't like.

I haven't seen all the shows or heard all the scores, so I'll reserve judgment.  I thought The Last Ship was bland and forgettable.  I haven't seen or heard the new Visit production, but from the Goodman production, the only songs I found memorable were Yellow Shoes and You, You, You.  I remember walking out thinking it was second tier Kander & Ebb, which is not a bad thing.  I haven't listened to Something Rotten and I doubt I'll get a chance to see it unless it tours, but I haven't been terribly enthused about it.  I haven't listened to Fun Home because I'm seeing the show in July and I really want to wait and take it all in then.  But if I had to place a bet, I'd put my money on Fun Home.

[RaiseYouUp]

Posted: 5/27/15 at 1:27pm

Yeah probably Fun Home. Although, I will say that I was very impressed with the score for Something Rotten!! 

[Phillypinto]

Posted: 5/27/15 at 1:42pm

FUN HOME!!! Jeanine is finally gonna get her Tony!

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 5/27/15 at 1:44pm

"FUN HOME!!! Jeanine is finally gonna get her Tony!"

 Sad thing, is that the whole acceptance speech/announcement won't air during the actual telecast.

[HogansHero]

Posted: 5/27/15 at 1:45pm

It's between FH and TLS, but I'd give the edge to TLS as it seems to have the mojo. It's also my should win choice.

[Phillypinto]

Posted: 5/27/15 at 1:49pm

you are CRAZYYYYYY FUN HOME IS A MASTERPIECE