How did the Band's Visit win so many Tony's???

[Broadway Flash]

There's barely anything happening in this musical, theres a bunch of pauses, and nothing remarkable happening. I'm most shocked that they won three acting awards. They barely have anything to do especially the featured actor! Can someone explain this to me?

[ljay889]

Stop trolling. 

[BenElliott]

One of the best musicals of the century. It's just beautiful and revolutionary in form.

[NOWaWarning]

And, not to discredit any of its wins, it had very little competition.

[WhizzerMarvin]

How did the win so many of Tony’s what? Did he lose them in a game of craps?

[Nycat63]

Not to feed into this too much but I felt it deserved every award it won. Don’t need to elaborate on why bc our opinions are subjective. Only one that puzzled and disappointed me a bit was Ari’el over Norbert but I’m incredibly partial to anything Norbert does.

[EthelMae]

I won the Lottery one night. Rear orchestra on the side but full view. I thought it was perfectly fine but I was disappointed. I didn’t understand the great feelings most seem to have for his show. But that’s theatregoing for you. Most of the shows I returned to time and time again were not shared by most.

 

 

[Robert16]

Soooo boring - glad to see it close

[TheSassySam]

Nycat63 said: "Not to feed into this too much but I felt it deserved every award it won. Don’t need to elaborate on why bc our opinions are subjective. Only one that puzzled and disappointed me a bit was Ari’el over Norbert but I’m incredibly partial to anything Norbert does."

There's no way Tony deserved it over Ethan. 

[qolbinau]

I just wonder if you needed to sit in the first couple of rows to really enjoy the show. I only saw it once, and I thought it was a remarkable show - everything about it, the character development, the acting, score, direction. I was riveted for the entire 90 minutes. I miss it dearly and consider it one of the truly great theatre experiences I've had. 

[GeorgeandDot]

But... Ethan wasn't good. He was kind of creepy and grating. His character was 1 dimensional and certainly wasn't the standout. Tony created a brilliant, layered human being with an elaborate emotional journey. He definitely deserved it.

Also,  I sat in the Mezz/balcony and loved it.  I don't think where you sit really has anything to do with the enjoyment of the show.

[Nycat63]

Tony's win was well deserved, and while Ethan had a far more physically demanding role, I agree with the above poster that it was one-note and frankly grating (though so is Sponge Bob so he was doing his job).  Tony is one of the most subtle, "quietest" actors I have ever seen. You can see it in TBV as well as on TV (Monk, Maisel in which he is incredible, etc.)  He can do more with a facial expression or just a simple hand gesture than most actors can do with words and their entire bodies. His role wasn't flashy and didn't have to showcase the vocal and physical ability that Ethan had, but what he did (and continues to do in other roles) with even the quietest and most introspective moments was beyond. When I watched Mrs. Maisel this season I paid particular attention to his hands and other blink and you miss them moments - he's brilliant.  And he delivers every line to perfection to boot.

[Someone in a Tree2]

I'll actually concur a bit with qolbinau: we sat in front mezzanine center and from that vantage point, I felt this was a pleasant 90 minutes with about 3 lovely songs that never got closer than arms length to me. Not a filling meal by any stretch.

Then we saw the Tonys performance which was all TV closeups-- and I finally understood a little of the magic of the piece for the first time. Proximity to eyeballs made all the difference.

[BrodyFosse123]

I live in NYC. I see pretty much everything. This is one musical I have no interest in seeing whatsoever. Nothing about it sparks my interest. The performance on the Tony Awards is the most exposure I’ve had with this musical and that pretty much added to my disinterest.

[disneybroadwayfan22]

I do agree on it with Best Musical, Best Orchestrations and Best Actress, but I still scratch my head on the other wins. I feel like the other wins happened because the voters didn't want to give Spongebob or Mean Girls anything. As for the actors: Even if they didn't want to give "Spongebob" or "Squidward" Tony Awards, they had other people who did great performances. I missed Tony by a week, but I loved Joshua's Billy and Harry was charismatic as Higgins. Ari'el was good in the show, but I felt like most of the other contenders (Alex Newell should have been nominated over Alex from Carousel) had a lot more to work with.  

This wasn't the best show I've seen, but it was indeed lovely.

[JBroadway]

It's kind of hilarious how easy it is to prompt people on this board to re-hash old debates. Doesn't matter how many opportunities we've all gotten in the past to put in your two cents - if a random thread comes along that re-opens the can of worms, people will jump at the chance to leave their stamp on it. 

[haterobics]

Easy:

• It was good
• It got nominated for Tonys
• More people voted for it than they did other things
• When the presenters opened envelopes up at the Tony Awards, their assorted names were inside of the envelopes.
• They were then handed their awards.

Hmm, so I guess all the people whom I thought weirdly bolded their posts were actually just using bullets, which don't seem to work.

[Miles2Go2]

I have seen (and loved) it twice. First in November 2017 right after it opened. I had called Telecharge and moved my seat up (for $20) from front mezz to second row center orchestra and was riveted the entire 90 minutes with tears streaming down my face at the end.

I saw it again last month and was a little nervous about whether magic would happen again for me with this show since my Audience Rewards ticket was located further back on the aisle in right orchestra. Then I discovered that the understudies were on for Katrina Lenk and Ari’el Stachel. I needn’t have worried. I was equally if not more spellbound by the show and sobbed when Dina and Tewfiq said goodbye.

It’s certainly a quiet, intimate show and for those more accustomed to big, splashy musicals, its subtle moments may be lost on them. I was even better to appreciate its quiet themes on a second trip. Place me fully in the camp that believes it deserved every one of its Tony wins.

[WayTooBroadway]

Thank you, haterobics!

[John Adams]

Broadway Flash said: "There's barely anything happening in this musical, theres a bunch of pauses, and nothing remarkable happening. I'm most shocked that they won three acting awards. They barely have anything to do especially the featured actor! Can someone explain this to me?"

Admittedly, I am prejudiced because I have a professional connection to Katrina Lenk (and think the world of her talent). 

However -

Your observation, "theres a bunch of pauses, and nothing remarkable happening" is EXACTLY (IMO) an essential key as to why this show is so well created. I would also underline Someone in a Tree2's observation: "Then we saw the Tonys performance which was all TV closeups-- and I finally understood a little of the magic of the piece for the first time. Proximity to eyeballs made all the difference."

When I (or perhaps, you) keep that notion that "there's [...] nothing remarkable happening" at the forefront, almost EVERY aspect of this work makes exceptionally artistic sense.

I'm including frustrating occurrences of songs that seem "incomplete", or unfinished, and melodies that are merely chromatic exercises demonstrating overly-simplistic downward movement, and (IMO) the most beautiful song in the score (Answer Me) that replicates Ravel's "Bolero" in being so strictly repetitious, yet demonstrating an emotional "build". 

Also (IMO), the lyrics tell you exactly why the show was constructed in this way.

It did help (for me) to see the movie. What is not visible from a far distance (from stage to audience) was filled in (as an audience member) by what I knew from the movie (to Someone in a Tree2's point).

I (and perhaps, maybe, not you) can appreciate the construction of this show. On the other hand, after seeing the Chicago, pre-Broadway run, and after the passage of time since I saw the show, Tootsie is not good.

...There. I said it in boldface type.

 

[woeisme3]

I saw it in the rear mezz and was absolutely swept away. It’s so nice to see small, intimate, original shows like this succeed. I think the Tony voters have sort of shifted more towards art and actual acting performances rather than flashiness in recent year (Once beating Newsies, Gentleman’s Guide beating Beautiful, Fun Home beating An American In Paris) and I think The Band’s Visit sweep is representative in that. In the early 2000s where more flashy shows were winning, I think Ethan Slater would be a Tony winner and Mean Girls would probably be best musical.

[Jeffrey Karasarides]

If you recall last year's New York Times survey of Tony voters, nearly 80% of them voted for The Band's Visit as a protest against commodity musicals.

[John Adams]

Jeffrey Karasarides said: "If you recall last year's New York Times survey of Tony voters, nearly 80% of them voted forThe Band's Visit  as a protest against commodity musicals."

Don't believe everything you read.

[Impossible2]

Because it's a masterpiece x

[BrodyFosse123]