From Wicked to The 25th Annual Putnam county Spelling Bee: From Goliath to David!

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David and Goliath

In an article in the Sunday New York Times("How Do You Spell Smackdown" by Jesse McKinley The New York Times, Sunday, May 22, 2005) the drama for best new musical was described as a David and Goliath showdown.

According to the article:

For a while, it was all so simple: the big-money musical almost always won big at the Tony Awards. Then came "Avenue Q". For those not steeped in Broadway legend, about this time last year, Tony watchers were convinced that "Wicked", a $14 million crowd pleaseer with $1 million a week in sales was going to win best musical. But in a furry little heartbeat, there was a surprise: "Avenue Q", a quirky Off-Broadway puppet musical that had jumped to Broadway, won. It was an upset that thrilled anyone who ever rooted for an underdog, and perhaps more important, it changed the way people look at the Tony game.

Hmm...I thought Avenue Q went straight to Broadway, but maybe I'm wrong...

Anyways, the big brute this year is Spamalot "the brand name with the $27 million advance" and the little guy is another(?) little Off-Broadway musical that made its way to the big time:The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. The interesting angle here is that David Stone, one of the leading producers of last year's Goliath, Wicked, is "back in the race with this year's potential David, Spelling Bee.

The article goes on to say:

"A lot of people think David Stone got robbed last year", (BB Editor: Not to mention Stephen Schwartz!) said one major Broadway producer, who has no money in either show but would not allow his name to be used because he doesn't want to offend either camp. "And I think that feeds a Spamalot backlash".

Oh, the intrigue...the s-u-s-p-e-n-s-e!

By Suzy Conn on May 26, 2005 10:47 PM | | Comments (0)


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