Jayne Houdyshell or Terri White: Who deserved that Tony nom more?

[Will42]

To my great regret I haven't seen the Broadway revival so I obviously have no say in it, but I'm interested in others opinion. Judging only by YouTube clips Jayne Houdyshell is a wonderful Hattie, but I just can't stop watching Who's That Woman? number. Terri White is so organic and makes it look so easy. Really happy for her success after what she's been through.

[Dollypop]

Marian Seldes

[Musicaldudepeter]

I honestly thought ELAINE PAIGE was a shoo-in for a nomination this year. Just because it's Elaine Paige. But alas it wasn't to be.

[Will42]

And the point is?...

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

I saw Linda Lavin, so I can't speak for Houdyshell, but I just don't think that Stella is a Tony-baiting role. Yes, she has Who's That Woman, but that's as much a group number as it is hers, and she's got virtually nothing else to do in the entire show. And White, good as she was, was just good in what's kind of an actor-proof role.

[Kad]

I agree... "Who's That Woman?" is always going to be a crowd pleaser.

The fact that Houdyshell was so memorable and managed to steal the spotlight with a role that is so small is really a triumph, I think. It was a testament to her abilities that she was able to do so much with so little.

[BroadwayFan12]

I LOVED everything about Terri White's performance, but Houdyshell's performance was more award-worthy, IMO. I think Elaine Paige deserved it most.

[bdn223]

When i saw follies i was like whats with jane's character..she kind of annoying, but she remained that way throughout the entire show and was always interrupting the action...meaning Jane was always in character...terri on the other hand was rarly on stage except for "whose that woman?"

[IThespis]

Jayne deserved the nom ... returning the role to the original concept. She is just bigger than Ethel Shutta was. It's not a song for a star-turn, or lots of jumping up and down and shouting; in the show it's part of a medley.

[Playbilly]

Both. And Paige.

[HBP]

1. Elaine Paige
2. Rachel Potter
3. Jayne Houdyshell
4. Terri White

in that order.

[adamgreer]

I'm sure in 10 years Terri White will tell people that she was in fact nominated for a Tony for Follies, just like she claimed to be for Barnum.

[ljay889]

It was actually the NY Times article that said she was nominated for a Tony. Then they made the correction. Granted she could have given them that info herself.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/27/nyregion/27bigcity.html

Anyway, Houdyshell did a lot with such a tiny role. She never failed to stop the show. It's a pleasant surprise to see her nominated, but I also wanted to see Paige nominated.

[broadwayboy222]

Im kinda mixed on this i absolutely LOVED Terri, Jayne, and Elaine in the show! Considering their ages, for them to be up there singing and dancing like crazy imo is just AMAZING!!

[broadwaydevil]

Terri White stopped the show but Stella is a very small role. Still, she made Who's that Woman one of the more exciting moments of the show. I'm a huge Terri fan but I would never say she should replace one of her costars as a nominee.

[E.Davis]

See the thing is "Who's that Woman" is tailored to be a show stopper, it is just the kind of song it is. On the other hand you really have to have a great actress and singer to pull off "Broadway Baby". As much as I loved Terri White in the role, in those three minutes Jayne had you in the palm of her hand and she was not giving you back.

[Kad]

Not only that, but she managed to remain a strong presence onstage during the party scenes, with what little dialogue she had.

[AC126748]

Rosalind Elias.

[E.Davis]

I tip my hat to the Rosalind Elias comment. Wow, what a impact.

[macnyc]

Now I want to fly out to Los Angeles!!!

I loved both Terri White and Houdyshell. Such moving performances, both.

God, I love that show.

[henrikegerman]

They were both great. But it would have seemed JUST SO WRONG to me if Jayne hadn't gotten the nomination, and I'm not having quite the same feeling about Terri's not being nominated. They are both cameo-size roles, but you can't take your eyes off of Jayne when she's on that stage. Next to Danny, she was my favorite thing in the show.

[madbrian]

I would have chosen Terri White, but I have to admit that my opinion is impacted by the fact that I'm not over her not being nominated for Finian's Rainbow.

[followspot]

1. Rosalind Elias
2. Jayne Houdyshell
(big space)
3. Elaine Paige
4. Terri White

[kevin5]

Let me start by saying Terri White was very good and I enjoied her performance and the last time I saw the show before it closed Terry actually stopped the shopw and got a standing ovation after the mirror num ber, BUT I would gove the tony to Jayne Houdyshell, she deserves it, she gave a great performance for how small her role was.

[dreaming]

Elaine Paige.

[lupone76]

They actually should be nominated and win as a three way tie between Houdyshell, White and Paige. All three were fabulous in the small roles they had.