Welcome back to 'Tonys Flashback', where I take a deep dive into all of the nominees from any previous acting race at the Tony Awards. While I'm sure a lot of you theater buffs did your best to find a substitute for this year's telecast which was suppose to take place last night, I've now got something for you all. Today, we'll be taking a look back at what ended up being a hotly contested race from 2004. So for each of the five nominees, let's go in order of who was (probably) last place to first place, shall we?
5. Stephanie D'Abruzzo-Avenue Q
In this original musical by Jeff Whitty, Robert Lopez, and Jeff Marx, Stephanie D'Abruzzo played two different roles. Her primary character, Kate Monster, is a nonhuman kindergarten teaching assistant who has dreams of opening up her own school for monsters. Her secondary character, Lucy the Slut, is a prostitute with a dangerous edge.
This was the first and only Tony nomination for Stephanie D'Abruzzo. She had started out working as a puppeteer for some children's television shows before getting involved with developmental readings of Avenue Q. Leading up to the 2004 ceremony, Stephanie was nominated by the Drama Desk Awards (for the Off-Broadway production the year before) and was also one of 12 recipients of the Theatre World Award that season for her debut.
According to a profile for each of the five nominees that year from the New York Times, "If the actual performances weren't factored into the equation, Ms. D'Abruzzo would win on the strength of her star-is-born personal story. A bright-eyed gamine, Ms. D'Abruzzo is making her Broadway debut -- she hadn't acted in the theater since college -- and she almost never leaves the stage during Avenue Q, playing both the heroine of the show (Kate Monster) and the bad girl (Lucy the Slut)." An informal survey of Tony voters suggested that she was pretty much the Dennis Kucinich of this campaign. Voters at the time even said that on balance, the odds of her winning against such stiff competition were very long indeed. Given how fierce the competition ended up being, I think it's safe to say that for Stephanie, the nomination was the award.
4. Kristin Chenoweth-Wicked
This was the first and only Tony nomination for Stephanie D'Abruzzo. She had started out working as a puppeteer for some children's television shows before getting involved with developmental readings of Avenue Q. Leading up to the 2004 ceremony, Stephanie was nominated by the Drama Desk Awards (for the Off-Broadway production the year before) and was also one of 12 recipients of the Theatre World Award that season for her debut.
According to a profile for each of the five nominees that year from the New York Times, "If the actual performances weren't factored into the equation, Ms. D'Abruzzo would win on the strength of her star-is-born personal story. A bright-eyed gamine, Ms. D'Abruzzo is making her Broadway debut -- she hadn't acted in the theater since college -- and she almost never leaves the stage during Avenue Q, playing both the heroine of the show (Kate Monster) and the bad girl (Lucy the Slut)." An informal survey of Tony voters suggested that she was pretty much the Dennis Kucinich of this campaign. Voters at the time even said that on balance, the odds of her winning against such stiff competition were very long indeed. Given how fierce the competition ended up being, I think it's safe to say that for Stephanie, the nomination was the award.
4. Kristin Chenoweth-Wicked
In this stage musical adaptation of Gregory Maguire's 1995 novel, Kristin Chenoweth played Glinda, a young girl who was descended from the Upper Uplands of Gillikin County in the fantasy land of Oz. Though originally snobbish and superficial, she is also intelligent enough to be accepted to Shiz University, where she is assigned to share a room with a young green girl named Elphaba. After a long period of mutual loathing, the two of them later become close friends.
This was the second of three Tony nominations for Kristin Chenoweth. At that point, she was already a previous winner from 1999 for her featured performance as Sally in the Broadway revival of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown. She'd go on to receive an additional bid for her starring role as Lily Garland in the 2015 Broadway revival of On the Twentieth Century. Leading up to the 2004 Tonys, Kristin had nominations from the Outer Critics Circle, Drama League, and Drama Desk Awards.
According to the Times, "Ms. Chenoweth has been a critical and industry darling since Charlie Brown and has gotten equally good reviews for Wicked, in which she plays the delightfully shallow Glinda, the not-so-nice witch. Writing in The New York Times, Ben Brantley credited her with giving ''jaw-dropping demonstrations of the science of show-biz aeronautics.'' Other critics followed suit. The problem, however, is that she isn't really the leading character in the musical -- she isn't the motor of the plot, though she has two solo numbers, 'Popular' and 'Thank Goodness', and several duets. And she may not be ready for a second Tony on her mantel, some say. Her film career, after all, is starting to take off, and she has also missed performances sporadically during the show's run." At the time, it was probably too soon for Kristin to win a second Tony.
3. Donna Murphy-Wonderful Town
This was the second of three Tony nominations for Kristin Chenoweth. At that point, she was already a previous winner from 1999 for her featured performance as Sally in the Broadway revival of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown. She'd go on to receive an additional bid for her starring role as Lily Garland in the 2015 Broadway revival of On the Twentieth Century. Leading up to the 2004 Tonys, Kristin had nominations from the Outer Critics Circle, Drama League, and Drama Desk Awards.
According to the Times, "Ms. Chenoweth has been a critical and industry darling since Charlie Brown and has gotten equally good reviews for Wicked, in which she plays the delightfully shallow Glinda, the not-so-nice witch. Writing in The New York Times, Ben Brantley credited her with giving ''jaw-dropping demonstrations of the science of show-biz aeronautics.'' Other critics followed suit. The problem, however, is that she isn't really the leading character in the musical -- she isn't the motor of the plot, though she has two solo numbers, 'Popular' and 'Thank Goodness', and several duets. And she may not be ready for a second Tony on her mantel, some say. Her film career, after all, is starting to take off, and she has also missed performances sporadically during the show's run." At the time, it was probably too soon for Kristin to win a second Tony.
3. Donna Murphy-Wonderful Town
In the first Broadway revival of Joseph A. Fields, Jerome Chodorov, Leonard Bernstein, Betty Comden, & Adolph Green's 1953 classic, Donna Murphy played Ruth Sherwood, an aspiring writer who leaves rural Ohio with her sister, Eileen, who's an aspiring actress and dancer, to find success in New York City. Due to their limited budget, the sisters wind up sharing a less-than ideal basement apartment in Greenwich Village. Together and individually, they pursue their dreams, overcome heartbreak, encounter a motley assortment of colorful characters, and ultimately find love.
This was the third of five Tony nominations for Donna Murphy. At that point, she had already won twice before. First in 1994 for her performance as Fosca in the original Broadway production of Stephen Sondheim & James Lapine's Passion, and then for starring as Anna Leonowens in the 1996 revival of Rodgers & Hammerstein's The King & I. She'd later receive two additional bids for her performances as Lotte Lenya in LoveMusik (2007) and Bubbie/Raisel in The People in the Picture (2011). Leading up to the 2004 Tonys, Donna had wins from the Outer Critics Circle and Drama Desk Awards as well as a nomination for Distinguished Performance from the Drama League.
According to the Times, "Ms. Murphy carries the show in Wonderful Town and has since the beginning of the musical's run last fall. She got great reviews and gained some momentum last Sunday when she won the Drama Desk Award for best actress in a musical. She's also loved in the Broadway community, though some feel that she hurt her chances by missing a dozen or so performances early in the run because of illness, and several more performances in early May. 'If Donna would stop being sick, she would get it,' said one press agent. Ms. Murphy has also won twice before, which may work against her. So too may the failure of her show to translate great reviews into huge box-office success. In short, because Wonderful Town hasn't become a hit -- it played to a little more than half capacity in the first two weeks of May -- that fact may have hurt a candidacy that once seemed like a sure win." Yet, according to the New York Times' survey that year, some voters thought that she may have rallied late in the season. Even though my deciding factor for the runners-up in these Tony races are usually based on if the production/performer won both the Outer Critics Circle and Drama Desk, all the press Donna got for missing a number of performances pretty much moved her down to third place.
2. Tonya Pinkins-Caroline, or Change
This was the third of five Tony nominations for Donna Murphy. At that point, she had already won twice before. First in 1994 for her performance as Fosca in the original Broadway production of Stephen Sondheim & James Lapine's Passion, and then for starring as Anna Leonowens in the 1996 revival of Rodgers & Hammerstein's The King & I. She'd later receive two additional bids for her performances as Lotte Lenya in LoveMusik (2007) and Bubbie/Raisel in The People in the Picture (2011). Leading up to the 2004 Tonys, Donna had wins from the Outer Critics Circle and Drama Desk Awards as well as a nomination for Distinguished Performance from the Drama League.
According to the Times, "Ms. Murphy carries the show in Wonderful Town and has since the beginning of the musical's run last fall. She got great reviews and gained some momentum last Sunday when she won the Drama Desk Award for best actress in a musical. She's also loved in the Broadway community, though some feel that she hurt her chances by missing a dozen or so performances early in the run because of illness, and several more performances in early May. 'If Donna would stop being sick, she would get it,' said one press agent. Ms. Murphy has also won twice before, which may work against her. So too may the failure of her show to translate great reviews into huge box-office success. In short, because Wonderful Town hasn't become a hit -- it played to a little more than half capacity in the first two weeks of May -- that fact may have hurt a candidacy that once seemed like a sure win." Yet, according to the New York Times' survey that year, some voters thought that she may have rallied late in the season. Even though my deciding factor for the runners-up in these Tony races are usually based on if the production/performer won both the Outer Critics Circle and Drama Desk, all the press Donna got for missing a number of performances pretty much moved her down to third place.
2. Tonya Pinkins-Caroline, or Change
In this original musical by Jeanine Tesori & Tony Kushner, Tonya Pinkins played Caroline Thibodeaux, a 39-year-old African-American maid who is drifting through life as a single mother of four working in a service job for the Gellmans, a white middle-class Jewish family in Louisiana back in 1963. Over the course of the musical, a fragile, yet beautiful friendship develops between the young Gellman son, Noah, and Caroline. Noah’s stepmother, Rose, who is unable to offer a raise, tells Caroline that she may keep the money that Noah leaves in his pockets. Caroline balks and refuses to take money from a child but her own children desperately need food, clothing and shoes.
This was the third of three Tony nominations for Tonya Pinkins. She was already a previous winner from 1992 for her featured role as Anita in Jelly's Last Jam. She was later nominated again in 1997 for her lead performance as Lady Liv in Play On!. Leading up to the 2004 Tonys, Tonya had nominations from the Outer Critics Circle, Drama League, and Drama Desk Awards. Not to mention that she was the predicted frontruner going into the night.
According to the Times, "Low profile has not been a problem for Caroline, or Change, or for Ms. Pinkins, who plays the embittered maid at the heart of the show and has the most compelling personal story of any of the nominees. During the weeks leading up to the musical's opening on Broadway in early May, Ms. Pinkins's travails, which included a prolonged custody battle, loss of her home, brushes with bankruptcy and a stint on public assistance, were outlined in several publications. A Tony, many feel, would be the perfect acknowledgment of a woman who went from Broadway to welfare and back again. That, it would seem, is the very definition of deserving it. Also adding momentum to her cause is the fact that she has received fantastic notices. Some also suggest that Tony voters -- white and liberal, by and large -- are especially fond of her performance as a black woman standing up to the stresses of a white world in the early 1960s. Still, there are factors that work against Ms. Pinkins, including an impression among some on Broadway that the show's transfer there was just posturing on the part of producers. Just as in Ms. Murphy's case, feelings about the show may hurt feelings about the performer." According to the Times' survey, voters did give her the tiniest of leads in this race. Not only was Tonya giving such a powerhouse performance, but the narrative regarding her personal life made her a sentimental favorite.
1. Idina Menzel-Wicked
This was the third of three Tony nominations for Tonya Pinkins. She was already a previous winner from 1992 for her featured role as Anita in Jelly's Last Jam. She was later nominated again in 1997 for her lead performance as Lady Liv in Play On!. Leading up to the 2004 Tonys, Tonya had nominations from the Outer Critics Circle, Drama League, and Drama Desk Awards. Not to mention that she was the predicted frontruner going into the night.
According to the Times, "Low profile has not been a problem for Caroline, or Change, or for Ms. Pinkins, who plays the embittered maid at the heart of the show and has the most compelling personal story of any of the nominees. During the weeks leading up to the musical's opening on Broadway in early May, Ms. Pinkins's travails, which included a prolonged custody battle, loss of her home, brushes with bankruptcy and a stint on public assistance, were outlined in several publications. A Tony, many feel, would be the perfect acknowledgment of a woman who went from Broadway to welfare and back again. That, it would seem, is the very definition of deserving it. Also adding momentum to her cause is the fact that she has received fantastic notices. Some also suggest that Tony voters -- white and liberal, by and large -- are especially fond of her performance as a black woman standing up to the stresses of a white world in the early 1960s. Still, there are factors that work against Ms. Pinkins, including an impression among some on Broadway that the show's transfer there was just posturing on the part of producers. Just as in Ms. Murphy's case, feelings about the show may hurt feelings about the performer." According to the Times' survey, voters did give her the tiniest of leads in this race. Not only was Tonya giving such a powerhouse performance, but the narrative regarding her personal life made her a sentimental favorite.
1. Idina Menzel-Wicked
In Wicked, Idina Menzel played Elphaba, a girl born with green skin due to her mother having drank a green elixir before being seduced by her biological father. Over the course of the musical, she and her college roommate, Glinda, struggle through opposing personalities and viewpoints, rivalry over the same love-interest, and reactions to the Wizard's corrupt government, Not to mention that Elphaba's indescribable powers eventually turns many citizens of Oz against her, even giving her the title of The Wicked Witch of the West.
This was the second of three Tony nominations for Idina Menzel. At that point, she was already a previous nominee for Best Featured Actress in a Musical from 1996 for originating the role of Maureen Johnson in Rent. She'd later receive an additional bid in 2014 for originating the role of Elizabeth in Tom Kitt & Brian Yorkey's If/Then. Leading up to the 2004 Tonys, Idina had nominations from the Outer Critics Circle, Drama League, and Drama Desk Awards.
So How Did Idina Menzel Win?: According to the Times, "A nominee for Rent in 1996, Ms. Menzel has earned the respect of many Broadway pros with her good nature and strong work ethic. She doesn't miss many shows or industry events -- in fact, she showed up at the post-nomination Tony brunch but Ms. Chenoweth, her co-star and fellow nominee, did not. She and her husband, Taye Diggs, also created some steamy scenes when he filled in as her character's love interest in Wicked, after the original actor, Norbert Leo Butz, injured his back." Idina may have also benefitted from lowered expectations. A producer told the Times: "Donna gives a great performance, but you expect it. Kristin gives a great performance, but people expect it. People don't expect it from Idina. People are surprised by how good Idina is." Though not everyone felt that way. The major case against her at the time was that her reviews weren't as unanimously glowing as that other Wicked witch.
Whether any of you reading this may or may not know (nor remember), Wicked was the predicted frontrunner for Best Musical that year. Prior to the telecast, Wicked won Tonys for Best Scenic Design and Best Costume Design. Yet, as the evening went on, things weren't looking good for the show. It ended up losing both awards for Book (which it was predicted to win) and Score to Avenue Q. By the time Best Lead Actress in a Musical was presented, Tonya Pinkins was expected to take it, but then Rob Marshall & Renée Zellweger announced the winner (@0:54)....
This was the second of three Tony nominations for Idina Menzel. At that point, she was already a previous nominee for Best Featured Actress in a Musical from 1996 for originating the role of Maureen Johnson in Rent. She'd later receive an additional bid in 2014 for originating the role of Elizabeth in Tom Kitt & Brian Yorkey's If/Then. Leading up to the 2004 Tonys, Idina had nominations from the Outer Critics Circle, Drama League, and Drama Desk Awards.
So How Did Idina Menzel Win?: According to the Times, "A nominee for Rent in 1996, Ms. Menzel has earned the respect of many Broadway pros with her good nature and strong work ethic. She doesn't miss many shows or industry events -- in fact, she showed up at the post-nomination Tony brunch but Ms. Chenoweth, her co-star and fellow nominee, did not. She and her husband, Taye Diggs, also created some steamy scenes when he filled in as her character's love interest in Wicked, after the original actor, Norbert Leo Butz, injured his back." Idina may have also benefitted from lowered expectations. A producer told the Times: "Donna gives a great performance, but you expect it. Kristin gives a great performance, but people expect it. People don't expect it from Idina. People are surprised by how good Idina is." Though not everyone felt that way. The major case against her at the time was that her reviews weren't as unanimously glowing as that other Wicked witch.
Whether any of you reading this may or may not know (nor remember), Wicked was the predicted frontrunner for Best Musical that year. Prior to the telecast, Wicked won Tonys for Best Scenic Design and Best Costume Design. Yet, as the evening went on, things weren't looking good for the show. It ended up losing both awards for Book (which it was predicted to win) and Score to Avenue Q. By the time Best Lead Actress in a Musical was presented, Tonya Pinkins was expected to take it, but then Rob Marshall & Renée Zellweger announced the winner (@0:54)....
When Idina won, things were suddenly looking better for Wicked's chances in Best Musical. However, Avenue Q ended up pulling off one of the biggest upsets in Tony history (which you can read more about here). While I'm sure not every single voter ended up thinking like this, my guess is that those who voted Avenue Q for Best Musical probably wanted to find some place to award Wicked that was not a below-the-line category. If they were the same people who also voted for Anika Noni Rose in Best Featured Actress in a Musical, then they probably felt they already had Caroline, or Change taken care of so that they didn't need to award Tonya Pinkins in lead. Not to mention that the role of Elphaba in Wicked is pretty much the heart and soul of that show, and has also proven to be quite a beast of a role. Just ask the countless actresses from all over the world who've played it since.
In a field that already included three previous winners, Idina Mezel's victory meant that four of the Lead Actress in a Musical nominees that year have Tonys by now. While Stephanie D'Abruzzo has kept working on stage and screen in the years since Avenue Q, she still hasn't been in another Broadway show. Though she should consider herself really lucky that the one production she did on the main stem not only earned her a Tony nomination, but also put her in the company of four big heavyweights. Meanwhile, almost a decade after getting her big break as an original cast member of Rent, Idina became a bonafide Broadway star thanks to Wicked. Though just another decade later, she became a global superstar thanks to voicing Elsa in Disney's animated Frozen franchise.
In a field that already included three previous winners, Idina Mezel's victory meant that four of the Lead Actress in a Musical nominees that year have Tonys by now. While Stephanie D'Abruzzo has kept working on stage and screen in the years since Avenue Q, she still hasn't been in another Broadway show. Though she should consider herself really lucky that the one production she did on the main stem not only earned her a Tony nomination, but also put her in the company of four big heavyweights. Meanwhile, almost a decade after getting her big break as an original cast member of Rent, Idina became a bonafide Broadway star thanks to Wicked. Though just another decade later, she became a global superstar thanks to voicing Elsa in Disney's animated Frozen franchise.