Could Aida have won Best Musical...

[Jay94]

if it was nominated?

Hear me out because I know many of you don't think it was a good show.

While it is clear that the Tony nominating committee were not fans of it, the voters seemed to really like it. It won 4 out of 5 Tony nominations, including the important Best Score and Actress categories. Moreover, the controversy over Contact not being a musical could have given Aida a chance (the road producers would have also liked that it was a huge hit).

[theaterfan862]

I am still surprised it wasn't nominated. I really like the score and the show on a whole is very entertaining. Looking at the nominees for that year I think it could have easily been nominated. Granted the only other show I am familiar with is Contact because I was really young when they came out.

[CurtainPullDowner]

If it coulda won, it woulda won.

[LuVin'thaLuPone]

"If it coulda won, it woulda won." and that's showbusiness.... I guess I really did do it for me.

[adamgreer]

If it had been nominated, I think it would have, yes.

[RaisedOnMusicals]

So I read this post and said to myself, really, Aida wasn't nominated, wow, it must have been a strong year. So I looked up the nominations and I'm still in shock. "The Dead"??? "Wild Party"?!?!?!?! What the F is Wild Party?

So why wasn't "Aida" nominated? It had to be political, right? Anti Lloyd Weber, maybe?

[adamgreer]

So why wasn't "Aida" nominated? It had to be political, right? Anti Lloyd Weber, maybe?

Andrew Lloyd Webber had nothing to do with Aida. Elton John wrote the score (and won the Tony).

The only politicking might have been anti-Disney sentiment. The Wild Party, incidentally, was a very good show. Better than the winner that year (Contact).

[JohnPopa]

"Anti Lloyd Weber, maybe?"

Given that Lloyd Webber has nothing to do with 'AIDA,' I'm guessing no :)

An argument could probably be generated that there was an anti-Disney sentiment, at the time.

[Jordan Catalano]

"The Dead"??? "Wild Party"?!?!?!?! What the F is Wild Party?"

Oh, Lord. "RaisedOnMusicals", is your screen name? Guess they didn't do a very good job.


Anyways, yes I think it would have won and the fact it wasn't nominated is laughable at this point considering the ridiculous "Disney backlash" Broadway was experiencing. But I would have been happy with AIDA winning or THE WILD PARTY (one of the most shocking and inventive musicals I'd ever seen) or THE DEAD, still one of the all-time greatest theatrical experiences of my entire life.

[adamgreer]

And, see, I found The Dead to be one of the most heinously boring experiences I've ever had to endure, despite the wonderful cast.

[AC126748]

AIDA wasn't particularly well-reviewed, aside from Headley's performance, and it didn't seem to have a lot of love from the industry at the time.

[RaisedOnMusicals]

Thanks for correcting my colossal blunder. I can only atribute it to the state of shock I was in. Of course I knew it was Sir Elton, perhaps it was the "Sirs" I confused, plus, of course, the lyricist was Tim Rice who did collaborate with ALW. But no excuses other than a haste to post.

[Jordan Catalano]

Really, adamgreer? REALLY??? No, I mean REALLY??????

[adamgreer]

Sorry, Jordan. I was in tech when I saw The Dead so my mind was on other things.

[trentsketch]

I actually liked all of the Best Musical nominees that year. It was a strong season for really tight and focused shows that didn't necessarily appeal to a wide demographic. Marie Christine came out that season, too. I would give the win to James Joyce's The Dead. I'm a big Joyce fan and I loved the intimate party conceit.

With all of that said, if Aida was nominated, I think it would have won. The crowds ate that show up and it was arguably the most traditional of the book musicals that year. I'm not opposed to Contact's win, but I think a more accessible singing and dancing musical would have beaten it if nominated. Aida was that show. The Dead was small and Marie Christine and The Wild Party were really out there.

[dramamama611]

I love you people.

[ljay889]

"Wild Party"?!?!?!?! What the F is Wild Party?

Are you kidding me? Are you in middle school?

[blaxx]

"Wild Party"?!?!?!?! What the F is Wild Party?

Are you kidding me? Are you in middle school?

I would sue whoever "raised him on musicals".

The Tony goes to the best production of the year, not to the score or the book. Whoever questions Contact's win either wasn't around or was too young. It was the must see show of the season. There was huge praise for the swing number, Ziemba, Gaines and the "girl in the yellow dress". To many it was fresh and different - Aida didn't have that kind of reception.

As much as you worship the Aida cast and score, Wild Party and The Dead were just better productions and that was one of the last years in recent memory when blockbusters were left out of the running and shows that took risks and had more substance were the ones considered.

[Mister Matt]

I saw Aida and I got why it wasn't nominated for Best Musical. I thought it was a brightly colored mess. And I totally disagreed with it winning for Actress and Score. I would have given Actress to Audra and score to Wild Party.

I saw a regional production of The Dead and I thought it was a gorgeous show

[Melissa25]

Aida is one of my favorites. Sherie Rene Scott and Heather Headley were terrific. I play this one in the car all the time. When will Elton come back to Bway?

[Jordan Catalano]

Elton is busy writing the score to a musical version of THE BETTY BRODERICK STORY.

[finebydesign]

Aida won the following:

Best Original Musical Score
Best Actress in a Musical
Best Scenic Design
Best Lighting Design

Nom: Costume

At the time it was shocking it was not at least in the running. Contact wasn't a "traditional" musical and that was controversial. It was very well received and people were talking about that yellow dress.

While I don't think Aida should have won it should have been nominated (given it's noms and wins). Would love to hear how often it happens it gets those kind of wins without a Best Musical nom.

It's kinda crazy though, Aida got mostly mixed reviews, but went on despite these losses to be a hit on Broadway and a bigger hit regionally.

[JoeKv99]

Perhaps the best example ever of the nominating committee manipulating things for reasons of their own. And of course, there is no reason to choose an arbitrary number to limit the category to; They have done years where the field only warrants 2 nominees- why not allow 5 or 6 or however many deserve to be nominated?

[RainbowJude]

RaisedOnMusicals wrote: WILD PARTY?!?!?!?! What the F is WILD PARTY?
ljay889 wrote:Are you kidding me? Are you in middle school?

Not possible - it must be something else. Middle schoolers are all gaga for the Lippa version of THE WILD PARTY and will all tell you how much better it is than LaChiusa's.

blaxx wrote: Whoever questions Contact's win either wasn't around or was too young. It was the must see show of the season.

Yeah, the only problem with CONTACT's win was that is was not a musical and had no business being nominated in that category in the first place. A fine show that deserved recognition? Yes. A musical? Not by any means.

THE WILD PARTY should have taken the award home that year. And one of the spots taken up by CONTACT and SWING should have been filled with MARIE CHRISTINE.

[Mister Matt]

Contact had to be nominated for either Musical or Play. There was no other category and given the use of music and the choreography, it fell into the Musical category, which isn't unsurprising. The show was a hit and one of Broadway' biggest events of the season, so it was going to be nominated and that was the ONLY category it could fall into. Therefore, it did have business being nominated for Best Musical because at the time, that was the only logical choice.