Tony's Best Musicals---Part Three
Redhead is something of a special case. As a piece of writing, the 1959 winner is pretty negligible and has had little value beyond its original production. But with Bob Fosse in charge of direction and choreography and with leading lady Gwen Verdon's talents enshrined, Redhead was quite an evening. And it did boast the novelty of being a murder-mystery musical.
Still, Redhead was entirely dependent on its original production and star, and only existed as a vehicle for Verdon. Yet Redhead was not a default winner. It beat Flower Drum Song, a more lasting and seemingly worthier piece. Perhaps voters had tired of honoring Rodgers and Hammerstein. Or perhaps Verdon and Fosse were simply more dazzling than anything in Flower Drum Song.
By the time it won the 1968 Best Musical prize, Hallelujah, Baby! had already closed its commercially unsuccessful run. Concerned with race relations in America, Hallelujah, Baby! was an enjoyable show, introducing Leslie Uggams as a bewitching new leading lady. But it received very mixed reviews and, in another season, would not have taken the prize. Its competition included two very weak shows, Illya, Darling and How Now, Dow Jones, and a respectable one, The Happy Time. The fact that The Happy Time was still running at Tony time might have given it an edge, but Hallelujah, Baby! was deemed the better of the only two decent titles.
Applause 1970 was a winner dependent on its star and its time. Lauren Bacall triumphed as Margo Channing in this musical version of All About Eve, and while others Anne Baxter, Arlene Dahl, Eleanor Parker, Eva Gabor, Patrice Munsel, Stefanie Powers would later attempt the role, Applause was Bacall's show. With its musical number set in a gay bar, Margo's gay hairdresser-confidante, and its contemporary show-biz background, Applause was fashionably of the moment, and even a mediocre score couldn't hurt it.
Perhaps even more of its time was Two Gentlemen of Verona, a multi-racial spree loosely derived from Shakespeare that was quite entertaining in 1971 but isn't likely ever to see a major revival. As you are probably aware, Verona is the musical that many resent for having beaten Follies for the Best Musical prize. Surprising as that may now seem, it was not unexpected at the time. Still, the passage of time has rendered Verona obsolete, while Follies, however problematic, continues to get produced. In terms of popularity, that season's real classics were not Verona and Follies but rather Grease and Jesus Christ Superstar, the latter not even nominated for Best Musical.
As the current Broadway revival demonstrates, Lorraine Hansberry's play A Raisin in the Sun holds up beautifully. The play failed to win a Tony--it lost to The Miracle Worker--but a musical version, called Raisin, did take the Tony. Raisin was probably about the best musical that could have been made from A Raisin in the Sun, with many of its lyrics taken directly from the play's dialogue. But the songs don't really add a great deal to the play, and the piece will continue to revive perfectly well in its original, non-musical form.
Many admire Big River more than this writer. Still, the acclaim won by last summer's Broadway revival was due to a unique production concept rather than the strength of the work itself. The original Big River came along at the end of a dismal season for new musicals, and Leader of the Pack, Quilters, and the fascinating but unworkable Grind posed virtually no competition.
The same is true of the delightful The Mystery of Edwin Drood, which, while generally well reviewed, might not have won in a stronger season, and was lucky to compete against Song and Dance, Tango Argentino, and Big Deal.
Few would argue that Jerome Robbins' Broadway wasn't a worthwhile event. But this compilation show, recreating outstanding numbers from the career of a great director-choreographer, hardly qualified as a new musical, and was allowed to compete as such because the season's other new musicals had been so dire.
The Will Rogers Follies was most notable for Tommy Tune's inventive staging and Keith Carradine's star performance. Even with a bright score, the material of Will Rogers is merely serviceable. Interestingly enough, Will Rogers competed against three worthy titles, The Secret Garden, Once on This Island, and Miss Saigon, any one of which might have taken the prize. But Secret Garden was controversial, Island was small-scale, and Saigon was a victim of pop-opera backlash. So the all-American Will Rogers took the prize.
Stephen Sondheim's Passion has both its fans and its detractors. An undeniably intriguing if not wholly convincing piece, Passion was certainly not unworthy of a Tony. Still, it opened to mixed reviews and might not have won had its competition not been two negligible entries-the flop Cyrano and the Rodgers and Hammerstein revue A Grand Night for Singing--and Beauty and the Beast. The Broadway community couldn't see its way clear to rewarding Disney just yet, particularly for a less-than-inspired stage transcription of an animated musical film. Of course, Beauty and the Beast is still here a decade later, while Passion was unable to last a year. But Passion would never have made it through a nine-month run had it not won the Tony.
As I treasured both, I would have liked to elevate the next two titles to one of our earlier categories. But both probably belong here. I loved Sunset Boulevard for its diva parade and for much of its score, but it might not have taken the Best Musical prize had it had any competition beyond the song-catalogue revue Smokey Joe's Cafe. Indeed, Sunset Boulevard won as the unopposed, single entry in the book and score Tony categories. I doubt we'll ever again see a Broadway season like 1994-1995, which featured only two eligible musicals, one of them consisting of pre-existing songs.
I also treasured Titanic, but it received mostly unfavorable reviews and might not have won with stronger competition than The Life, Steel Pier, and Juan Darien. Like Jerome Robbins' Broadway, Fosse wasn't a musical at all but simply a revue recreating numbers from the work of a major director-choreographer. It was the default winner against Parade, It Ain't Nothin' But the Blues, and The Civil War.
On the other hand, Contact received raves, but it would prove to be a controversial winner, one that, with its lack of singing and original or even live music, may look even worse in retrospect. And then there's Thoroughly Modern Millie, which received mixed reviews but arrived at just the right moment to take a prize it might not have won in many another season. Even with the Tony, Millie never became a hot-ticket smash.
Which brings us to this year's apparent front runner, Wicked. With its mixed reviews, Wicked may take its place on our third list. But while Wicked possesses an extremely valuable Oz connection, it also features a wholly original score, and its source is a dense novel unfamiliar to most audiences. So Wicked at least earns points as a more original project than the many recent musicals based on celebrated film titles or featuring pre-existing music.
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