TONYA WAS ROBBED- Page 2

[LarryD2]

Posted: 8/7/20 at 10:39am

Donna Murphy was thought to be the favorite going into the Tonys. She won the Outer Critics Circle and Drama Desk Awards -- however, those awards are given by critics' organizations, whose members by and large saw Murphy at press performances early in the run, when she was in spectacular form. Because Murphy missed so many performances throughout her run, some Tony voters didn't even get to see her, and others were not sympathetic to her frequent absences. (The real reason for her absenteeism was not public knowledge at the time.) There was also popular opinion that Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel would "cancel each other out," or that if one was going to win, it would be Chenoweth. I do think Idina's win was an upset in many ways. Of the five nominees, I would have voted for Pinkins in a heartbeat -- hers remains one of the most incredible performances I've ever seen, in nearly 40 years of attending Broadway theater.

[orlikethecolorpurple]

Posted: 8/7/20 at 11:46am

As someone who watched the ceremony with friends who didn’t follow Broadway, Idina’s unfortunate performance that night coupled with her win was a head-scratcher for the group. “No...she didn’t sound like that when I saw her, I promise.”

Tonya was robbed.

[BJR]

Posted: 8/7/20 at 11:52am

^That's exactly right.

Donna got raves but her attendance issues were having an affect. Add to that Tonya received a big NYTimes profile talking about her struggles and being on welfare just a few years prior. Those profiles always felt like they were bestowed on a fav in the category (see: Raul in '07). And while Cheno got raves (namely from Brantley), it was though she had just won and she and Idina would split.

No one was predicting an Idina win. But then, no one was predicting the Ave Q wins either.

To this day, Tonya losing that night bugs me. But eh, awards - what ya gonna do?