Diva/Mensch pair for Aug 19, 2026
- ladiesvoices
- 1 day ago
- 1 min read
Oh was there drama at the Tonys in 1984! The two shows leading the pack for Best Musical were La Cage aux Folles and Sunday in the Park with George.
Diva: La Cage
Mensch: Sunday
La Cage is a splashy musical about a drag queen and his partner trying to put one over on their son's prospective in-laws. You've seen The Birdcage, it's the same story. Lots of feathers and sequins, I doubt any show with such heaping portions of those could be mistaken for a Mensch. It won the Tony.
Sunday is an intellectual examination of the price we pay as artists. The story centers on Georges Seurat and dramatizes him painting his masterpiece "Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte." It's sadder but wiser, lovely lyrical show. No razzle and no dazzle. It didn't win the Tony but it did win the Pulitzer!
Jerry Herman and Stephen Sondheim were longtime rivals. It seems to me that Sondheim resented Herman's shows (Hello, Dolly! and Mame in particular) being such strong box office and having absurdly long runs. Herman resented Sondheim's shows being hits with the critics when they don't really have much in the area of catchy tunes.
Herman apparently couldn't resist getting in a little dig at Sondheim when he accepted the Tony for Best Score. Frosty shade.
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