Should there be a Razzie type awards for Broadway shows?

[finebydesign]

Discuss:

[Jay Lerner-Z]

No.

[helloiamgarrett]

Nah. I've never been a fan of the Razzies. I fail to see the point in such "awards."

[egghumor]

Absolutely not, for numerous reasons. I'll give you two: 1) simply to be an actor on Broadway (in the majority of cases) requires that one have a very developed set of skills, and so no performer who has come that far should be subject to such ridicule; and 2) the sheer volume of movies released each year is much greater than Broadway, and those of us who follow Broadway closely are all too aware of what the bomb shows are each season. People outside this limited community could care less.

I think the Razzies (for film) are a response to lots of awful films that make lots of money despite what any film critic thinks about them.

[ChenoKahn]

If they were real I think they would just go to stars and it would bite Broadway in the butt.

[Anthony Fremont]

There's enough cattiness surrounding the "best" awards. Must we compound that?

[Ejm105989]

Nope.

[Matt2]

I thought there already was one: the Outer Critics Circle Awards.

[hyperbole_and_a_half]

I actually think it's a wonderful idea. Theatre fans tend to worship the worst of the worst flops and ironically good yet ultimately bad performances, so why not celebrate that? It couldn't do any more damage to business than an NYT pan, which most nominees would have certainly already received, but it could build up the notoriety of shows with short runs, perhaps making them more licensable, and give producers the opportunity to legitimately bill their show as "award winning". It could introduce humility to some of the larger egos out there, and provide pushback against trends the community has grown weary of (bad movie adaptations, bland jukebox garbage, etc.). Finally, recognizing certain ignoble talents with award after award could lead to those folks finding other lines of work *cough* Don Black *cough*. The first lifetime achievement award could go to Frank Wildhorn. What's not to love?

[Kad]

Despite the lamentations of many, there is actually not a lot of truly awful, terrible stuff that makes it to Broadway. There are hundreds and hundreds of films of year. There are several dozen in a Broadway season.

Very rarely is something really reviled by critics and audiences. That's what makes them special.

[Mister Matt]

If anything, Bonnie & Clyde and Lysistrata Jones deserve special recognition for making people so wacked out on this website. And Frank Wildhorn for sheer tenacity.