City of Angels would have lost Best Musical to Assassins. Meet Me in St. Louis would not have been nominated. Sondheim and Weidman would have taken their respective prizes for Score and Book. I honestly believe that. Okay, maybe not book. But everything would have remained the same.
I don't really think City of Angels would have lost. It won 6 Tonys. I don't think Assassins would've changed much. It was the year for City of Angels.
Things wouldn't have changed much. Even if ASSASSINS had opened on Broadway, it would have still opened to an unreceptive audience, given the Cold War situation.
No, CITY OF ANGELS would have still taken the prize - especially for its book. There was no way the book was going to lose.
"Y'know, I think Bertolt Brecht was rolling in his grave."
-Nellie McKay on the 2006 Broadway production of The Threepenny Opera, in which she played Polly Peachum
I think Assassins woulda won score and maybe an acting prize but that's pretty much it. Most critics (kinda unfairly) gave much of ANgels success to its book, not score, so it woulda kept that prize
Angels isn't in my top three Coleman scores and Assassins is probably just outside my top three SOndheim scores so for me it has the edge--but I think you're right, it woulda been the main competiton *for sure*. I just think, from the critics at the time, that the score was severely underappreciated and even taken for granted and never got its props so I wouldn't have been too surprised if that woulda been the same at the Awards
Ugh, CITY OF ANGELS is one of my least favorite Tony-winning scores. I know I'm in the minority here but I would have given the Best Score Tony to GRAND HOTEL over both CITY OF ANGELS and ASSASSINS.
"Some people can thrive and bloom living life in a living room, that's perfect for some people of one hundred and five. But I at least gotta try, when I think of all the sights that I gotta see, all the places I gotta play, all the things that I gotta be at"
To be fair, I don't know the "Grand Hotel" score at all (just the famous quote about being in pictures), but I think Best Score would have been very close between "Assassins" and "City of Angels." A true toss-up. Like Joanna Gleason vs. Patti LuPone!
Well, LJay, SEESAW and SWEET CHARITY are two of my favorite Broadway scores so it really isn't anything against Mr.Coleman, I just passionately dislike the CITY OF ANGELS score.
"Some people can thrive and bloom living life in a living room, that's perfect for some people of one hundred and five. But I at least gotta try, when I think of all the sights that I gotta see, all the places I gotta play, all the things that I gotta be at"
ASSASSINS played at Playwrights Horizons in January 1991 ... so IF it had transferred to Broadway it would NOT have been up against CITY OF ANGELS, GRAND HOTEL, MEET ME IN ST LOUIS and ASPECTS OF LOVE which were in the 1989/90 season.
If it opened on Broadway in the spring of 1991 it would have competed against MISS SAIGON, THE WILL ROGERS FOLLIES, THE SECRET GARDEN and ONCE ON THIS ISLAND. (Season 1990/91.)
SO the question really is: Do you thing ASSASSINS would have beat WILL ROGERS FOLLIES to win Best Musical in 1991?
(And what lamebrain posted the question with ASSASSINS in the wrong season? Look at the opening dates in the CD booklets!!)
Cast albums are NOT "soundtracks." Live theatre does not use a "soundtrack." If it did, it wouldn't be live theatre!
I host a weekly one-hour radio program featuring cast album selections as well as songs by cabaret, jazz and theatre artists. The program, FRONT ROW CENTRE is heard Sundays 9 to 10 am and also Saturdays from 8 to 9 am (eastern times) on www.proudfm.com
Well, ASSASSINS is far superior to all of those shows, IMO. I more or less enjoy WILL ROGERS FOLLIES but I think it's not Coleman's best achievement and well, THE SECRET GARDEN is yet another one of my least favorite Broadway scores, I consider the cast recording to be a snooze-fest.
"Some people can thrive and bloom living life in a living room, that's perfect for some people of one hundred and five. But I at least gotta try, when I think of all the sights that I gotta see, all the places I gotta play, all the things that I gotta be at"
Well, in that case, ASSASSINS would have given the voters the perfect excuse to snub MISS SAIGON and not feel bad.
"Y'know, I think Bertolt Brecht was rolling in his grave."
-Nellie McKay on the 2006 Broadway production of The Threepenny Opera, in which she played Polly Peachum
Wow. I don't know why I posted 1990. I knew it was 1991, but for some reason posted 1990 and let the idea run like that. On the bus I even thought about Will Rogers Follies and Miss Saigon But, hell, my screwup was kinda fun.
(p.s. It really was just a simple mistake.)
"You mean what was the best picture of the year or what did they pick as the best picture of the year?" - California Suite
Had Assassins competed against Miss Sagion, Will Rodgers, Secret Garden and Once on This Island, it wouldn't have been competing against Miss Saigon. It would have taken its spot and would have won Best Musical. I think so at least.