I have been searching for Tony Awards performances and come across the 1990 performance from City of Angels:


The acting is kind of horrible! I cannot believe that James Naughton got a Tony instead of the incredible David Carroll! I don't feel the tension between the leads at all during You're Nothing Without Me. And they are adequate singers at best. Any thoughts?

I don't know if I'd agree with that. I can't see anything particularly wrong with Naughton's acting, he's a bit hammy, but the script almost calls for it. True that neither of them is as blessed in the voice department as David Carroll, but he was one in a million and I'd say that both of them are better than adequate. I've heard people say that Carroll wasn't as good an actor as he was a singer either.

I love City of Angels though. Brilliant and unusual music and some of Broadway's sharpest lyrics from David Zippel (who never seems to have matched up to the potential that he showed in his work here). I do prefer the London recording to the Broadway one though.

I'm kind of pressed for time now, so I'll watch the video later, but I've always really liked City of Angels. A brilliant score, and what I understand to be a sharp book. I'll always slightly prefer Grand Hotel, which would have been an inspired Best Musical winner, but City of Angels is far from a bad choice.
I've only heard the OBC, though, Moci, I'll have to check out the London recording.

I don't agree, I think, being a tony peformance, this isn't actually giving you enough insight to the show or performances of the actors. But I think the performance was certainly very good and the voices fantastic. Very good show, and terrific cast.