Referring back to the Great-Big
Summary Chart of the Major Awards of the 2000-2001 Season
we attempt to draw conclusions, some rather pointless, some not.
All conclusions are based on this year's five major awards (Drama
Desk, Drama League, NY Drama Critics Circle, Outer Critics Circle,Tony
Awards) and do not pretend to be predictions of future results.
Cluster Bomb
Unlike last year which saw nominations spread among the largest
number of different shows (67), invitations were sent to a more
select group of 57 -- more in keeping with years past (59 in 1999
and 54 in 1998). Of course most of these nominations went to a
single show, The Producers with 41 nominations (12% of
the total nominations); more astonishing is the fact that 33 out
of a total of 75 awards (44%) went to Mel and Co. Although each
managed a respectable showing in nominations, The Full Monty
(30 noms or 9%) and 42nd Street (26 noms, 8%) got left
at the gate in awards when The Producers hogged the field
(to The Full Monty's 1 award (1%) and 42nd Street's
5 (7%)).
All in the Title
- As we noted last year, don't expect to win a Tony if your
title begins with a letter further along in the alphabet than
"Q."
- If you've got royalty in your title, better make it kings
or better -- and spell it out to make it count: King Hedley
II's 13 noms and 4 wins vs. Princess Turandot's 0
for 1; Richard II is a king, but they didn't spell
it out so they went 0 for 4.
- An adjective in your title won't help you win any awards:
The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant (2 noms), Blithe
Spirit (1), The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon
Skin (6 ), A Class Act (10), Comic Potential
(5), The Full Monty (30), Lypsinka: The Boxed
Set (1), The Rocky Horror Show (12), The
Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe
(3), The Unexpected Man (7) -- with a single win
between all of them.
- If you've put a gender in the title, chances are very slightly
in favor of maturity helping with wins (although perhaps youth's
greater stamina helps with nominations): Bat Boy
(10 noms, 1 win), Boy Gets Girl (2
noms, 0 wins), The Bubbly Black Girl... (6 noms,
0 wins), Dead Eye Boy (2 noms, 0 wins), vs. The
Best Man (5 noms, 2 wins), Enter the Guardsman
(1 nom, 0 wins), The Man Who Came to
Dinner (3 noms, 0 wins), The Unexpected Man
(7 noms, 0 wins). Men: 16 noms/2 wins; Kids: 20 noms/1 win.
- Nature is bad news: The Butterfly Collection,
Dogeaters, The Rocky Horror Show,
Stones in His Pockets, The Syringa Tree,
Up Against the Wind had no wins. Unless you were
a play adapted from a book which had also been adapted to a movie:
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest went 4 for 6.
- Also unless you were a play adapted from a book which had
also been adapted into a movie, a really long title won't win
any awards: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The Bitter Tears
of Petra von Kant, The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon
Skin, The Man Who Came to Dinner, The Search for Signs of Intelligent
Life in the Universe, The Tale of the Allergist's Wife.
- And again, unless you were a PAFABWHABAIAM, animals in your
title won't make you a winner: Bat Boy, The
Butterfly Collection, Dogeaters, Juno and the Paycock,
.
- Nor will food: The Dinner Party, Dogeaters, The Man Who
Came to Dinner, Tabletop.
- Nor transportation: Jesus Hopped the A Train and Jitney.
- A one-word title is not a guarantee: Betrayal, Blast!,
Coriolanus, Dogeaters, Follies, Jitney, Newyorkers, Saved, Seussical,
Suburb, Tabletop and Urinetown! (a total of 1 win)
vs. Mnemonic and Proof (12 wins).
- Forget "location, location, location." Don't count
on help from a place name in your title. Yes, 42nd Street
had 5 wins (in 26 noms), but Judgment at Nuremberg, Newyorkers,
Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe, and
Urinetown! did not manage a single win between them.
- No points for punctuation: Blast! and Urinetown!
had no wins.
To be continued...
Our congratulations are extended to all the players. Win or
lose, remember it's all just one big crap shoot!
Click here for Part I - The Acting
Categories.
Click here for Part II - The Creative,
Show and Technical Categories.
Click here for Part III - Everything
Else That Didn't Fit.
Click here for Part IV - Out-of Town.
Part V - Beginning of the End.
Big Chart
Fun With Math
Jumping to Conclusions -
Pt. 2
If masochism runs in your genes, you may also browse awards
of years' past:
1997 Awards charts
1998 Awards charts
1999 Awards charts
2000 Awards charts
C U @ the Theatre!
Originally published at Suite101.com
Theatre,
3/20 - 8/12/01