All tagged Once On This Island

The Best Musical Tony Award Debate: 1991

After taking a short hiatus and some much needed rest and relaxation, Theatreguy is back to continue write about Broadway musicals of the past, present, and the future. One of the new additions I am making to my writing is a weekly series called The Best Musical Tony Debate. Each week, I will take a look at the musicals nominated for Best Musical in one Tony Season, discuss and debate the contenders, theorize why the winner won, and offer my personal opinions on whether or not the voters got it right. 

For our first season of discussion, I have chosen 1991. It was a contentious year, with four terrific musicals vying for the prize, each with their ardent supporters:  The Will Rogers FolliesMiss SaigonThe Secret Garden, and Once on This Island. All of these musicals have proven to have a healthy shelf-life, and each of them had plenty of great components that made them worthy of their nominations. Ultimately, the winner was The Will Rogers Follies. Did the voters get it right? Let’s take a look at each of the musicals individually before playing them against each other.

Best Musical Theater Album - The Grammys

The Grammy Awards are set to air this Sunday, February 10th, and with all the pop superstars about to take center stage to receive accolades on national television, I thought it might be nice to recognize the nominee for “Best Musical Theater Album”. A category that both pertains to our musical theatre interests and one that will not be awarded on the network broadcast, “Best Musical Theater Album” has some strong nominees this year. All five of them are great albums, but only one can be named the victor. Here are my thoughts on each nominee.

2018 Tony Award Predictions: A Feeble Effort at Best

Every year, I try to predict the Tony Award winners, and I do a pretty good job getting most of them right. This year, however, may very well be my downfall. I suspect that the Tony Awards are going to be spilt over several shows, and that there are not many locks in most of the categories. This season has been underwhelming for me in some ways, with only a few standouts in my mind. I am most likely in the minority on this feeling, as it has been a blockbuster year in ticket sales and everyone else seems to be very excited about the Tonys.  I think that is great (anytime theatre is well-attended and celebrated, that is great), so I am not going to try to rain on everyone else’s parade. Let us get on to business. 

The Gods Be Praised! Reviewing the New Cast Recording of Once On This Island

I thought it would be impossible for Broadway Records to top the sensational job they did recording the Broadway revival of The Color Purple, an album that was so alive with energy and pristine clarity that it made its way to a Grammy Award win. Well, hold onto your hats because a new hurricane is blowing in the Caribbean with the new cast recording of Once On This Island, and the gods be praised: Broadway Records has outdone itself.