Should WICKED Have Won Best Musical Over AVENUE Q?

[BroadwayConcierge]

Posted: 12/8/16 at 4:02pm

I recognize that this is a highly prickly topic, but I wasn't remotely in the theatre world in the 2004-ish era when this conversation was happening in realtime.

I've seen both shows. Many times. I love them both. A friend of mine just returned home from a New York trip after seeing both, and lamented to me that Wicked was "clearly" the superior production. Obviously, Avenue Q is now off-Broadway, so to say the productions are comparable would be incorrect, but I've been thinking about the question all day...  

Looking back from the lens of 2016 now, should Wicked have won the Tony Award for Best Musical over Avenue Q? Or was the award rightfully given? What about Best Score? Book?

Updated On: 12/8/16 at 04:02 PM

[Cfried]

Posted: 12/8/16 at 4:04pm

I strongly feel WICKED deserved best musical. 

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 12/8/16 at 4:06pm

I love Wicked, but no. The right decision was made. Would we have gotten Mormon on Broadway had Avenue Q not won the Tony? Probably not.

[hork]

Posted: 12/8/16 at 4:08pm

Absolutely not. Avenue Q is vastly superior to Wicked in every way.

[ahhrealmonsters]

Posted: 12/8/16 at 4:09pm

Caroline, or Change

[Tag]

Posted: 12/8/16 at 4:10pm

^Ya but Mormon pales in comparison to Avenue Q, which is much smarter.  Both Wicked and Avenue Q are great shows, either one deserved to win.

[HogansHero]

Posted: 12/8/16 at 4:12pm

You might as well have just asked which show people like more, because you are not getting any answers that are any more intelligent than that. 

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 12/8/16 at 4:14pm

Caroline or Change deserved to win. That's not even a question. 

[BroadwayConcierge]

Posted: 12/8/16 at 4:16pm

Just interested in the discourse, HogansHero!

Oh, I would love a Caroline, or Change revival in the near future. So many people on here write about the show with such passion and fondness, and I'm sad to not have had the experience of seeing a production of it. I'd love it to come back sometime soon.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 12/8/16 at 4:21pm

It's the best show so far this century. And I wrote here a few months back that I spoke with Tesori and she said she's been talking to Tony Kushner about brining the show back. So here's hoping it happens soon!

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 12/8/16 at 4:21pm

God, I hate the word "discourse."

[HogansHero]

Posted: 12/8/16 at 4:23pm

BroadwayConcierge said: "Just interested in the discourse, HogansHero!"

Me too, which is why I am disappointed by what's been posted. 

Re CorC, that would be very nice, although I'm sure you understand why it is so unlikely.

[wonderfulwizard11]

Posted: 12/8/16 at 4:28pm

Avenue Q is a tighter and more cohesive show than Wicked, even if the jokes get stale the more you see it. Regardless, it deserved the win, and Caroline, or Change deserved it even more. 

[BroadwayConcierge]

Posted: 12/8/16 at 4:30pm

That would be lovely, Jordan! I'd be on top of tickets the day they went on sale.

And, Hogan, sorry if I'm totally missing something, but why do you say it's so unlikely?

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 12/8/16 at 4:38pm

Because it didn't make any money the first time?

[gypsy101]

Posted: 12/8/16 at 4:53pm

Avenue Q is a vastly better show.

[HogansHero]

Posted: 12/8/16 at 5:07pm

It transferred because a group of people that I respect greatly for what they sometimes do felt it should be seen on Broadway. And I agree with many here that it did. But that production proved beyond any doubt that the show is not commercially viable, and the motivation to produce it once does not extend to producing it again. And there is no non-profit that would consider doing it.

if every person on here who has said it could be revived chips in a million dollars, I will produce it for free.

[whatdoesntkillme]

Posted: 12/8/16 at 5:20pm

Why don't you think a nonprofit would consider it? It started at the Public, after all. 

[chewy5000]

Posted: 12/8/16 at 5:49pm

Assassins should have won - to hell with the classics rule.

[HogansHero]

Posted: 12/8/16 at 6:01pm

whatdoesntkillme said: "Why don't you think a nonprofit would consider it? It started at the Public, after all. "

The Public does not have a Broadway theatre and does not produce on Broadway itself. None of the non-profit theatres that do would consider doing it. At least not in the foreseeable future. (And that would be true of the Public as well.)

[rattleNwoolypenguin]

Posted: 12/8/16 at 6:18pm

I would say if Wicked was in another year it totally could've won.

 

Avenue Q is incredibly smartly written and I've never laughed harder in a musical ever. That being said I've always felt it would work even better as one act, and a little bit shorter.

[yankeefan7]

Posted: 12/8/16 at 7:42pm

Wicked is still running strong and Avenue Q closed on Broadway a long time ago. The musical score  of Wicked is superior IMO  and then add the combination of the great performances by Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenowith. 

[HogansHero]

Posted: 12/8/16 at 7:52pm

longevity does not correlate to awards

[Phantom of London]

Posted: 12/8/16 at 8:46pm

I agree with what hogan said, or going on that premises Mamma Mia would've walked away with a sackful.

Also Avenue Q was better received by the critics.

[whatdoesntkillme]

Posted: 12/8/16 at 9:13pm

I think we also need to consider that, in awards shows especially, "best" is totally subjective and open to interpretation--best can be best artistically, economically, politically, etc.