What will happen to Tony Awards?- Page 2

[Zion24]

Posted: 3/12/20 at 6:43pm

my pearls aint clutched. theres plenty to discuss re shutting down broadway, the loss of so many jobs, and the fact that many shows will likely never premiere at all. anyone can talk about anything they want, its a free(ish) board but if youre suggesting I shouldnt join that conversation by pointing out how ridiculous it is, sorry. here i am.

being concerned that the big party in June might not happen strikes me as worrying about the orchestra as the titanic sinks. but youre right. worry away!

[A0326T]

Posted: 3/12/20 at 6:55pm

I love the Tony Awards and it will be unfortunate if they decide to skip this year. Has this happened before when Tony Awards came close to cancelling it?

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 3/12/20 at 6:55pm

People are allowed/able to have multiple thoughts at the same time and (this will shock you), that won’t have any impact on the actual closings or cause of them. So you do you but be careful not to get a nosebleed when you’re head is so high off the ground.

[ACL2006]

Posted: 3/12/20 at 7:07pm

Several shows may never open(Flying Over Sunset? Mrs. Doubtfire?) is this is extended. They may bunch this season into next season if they cancel this year's awards. A postponed Tony's is also possible depending on when this gets back up. Maybe mid-July?

[trpguyy]

Posted: 3/12/20 at 7:08pm

Robbie2 said: "BWAY Baby2 said: "Will they still go on? How will it impact the nominees?"

As for now due to our COVID19 outbreak - The Tonys will NOT happen this year.We don't know how long it will last- BROADWAY is shut for 4 weeks...possibly longer all depends???"

This is not true. Word from the League is that Tonys will happen, just later. 

[SmoothLover]

Posted: 3/12/20 at 7:14pm

This virus is going to be a day to day challenge.... I am sure that allowances will be made for the shows that were supposed to open before the Tony nomination deadline. Not to minimize the Tony awards but I think they will be low on the priority list as time passes. 

[PatrickDC]

Posted: 3/12/20 at 8:53pm

Could producers host performances exclusively for Tony voters?

[veronicamae]

Posted: 3/12/20 at 8:59pm

To those saying, "No one is worried [aka thinking about] the Tony Awards" - I can assure you: It was and will continue to be in the minds of those actively working in the industry and affected by said awards. It is part of the business, and everyone is thinking about how this will affect their business, both in the short- and long-term. If you have a stake in the industry, you have a stake in the Tonys. Even if it seems unimportant in what you think of as "the grand scheme of things."

No one is saying host an award show with 7,000 people in attendance. They're just wondering what will be different this year. You can let people wonder without insinuating they are insensitive.

[BWAY Baby2]

Posted: 3/12/20 at 9:17pm

Is this a frivolous topic? In the scheme of things- YES- and that is fine with me. I cannot just focus on death and disease 24/7- now for a fantasy Tony Awards show- hosted this year by Tom Hanks- who was nominated a few years back in that newspaperman show- which I didn't see- but he has been on the boards so it is entirely appropriate for him to host- as a fully recovered Carona person- that would be wonderful.

[ljay889]

Posted: 3/12/20 at 9:32pm

Lots of talk about the Tonys still happening in this article https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2020/03/broadway-closures-tony-awards?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=onsite-share&utm_brand=vanity-fair&utm_social-type=earned

[yankeefan7]

Posted: 3/12/20 at 9:40pm

"EXCEPT nearly HALF the season hasn't opened yet.  It would be like previous depressing Tony ceremonies like 1985 and 1993 when there would only be 2 or 3 nominees in many of the categories.  NOT to mention that the marketing value of the Tonys as the single biggest commercial for live theater – more badly needed than ever after this mess, I'm sure you'll agree – would be seriously undermined by either an undernourished half-'season', or obviously by doing it as a 'dinner' with no lavish TV broadcast.  (Especially when the shows will desperately need that TV exposure more than ever.)"

I understand your excellent points but I just have a feeling this may last more than a month, hope I am wrong.

[Scarlet Leigh]

Posted: 3/12/20 at 9:49pm

Here is the deal, postponing, yes, canceling... god I hope not many of these new shows already suffering will suffer even more. The reason that most of these shows are opening this late in the season is because they bank and depend on award season hype and their Tony performance to sell tickets. Example I bought up last night, Flying Over Sunset. Lots of buzz that this is going to be a big thing but not a strong seller. A large number of nominations and a killer Tony performance was/is something that they need to attract attention beside word of mouth. Same thing goes for Street Sing, Diana, and I would even say Caroline or Change even though it's a revival. At this point I would not be shocked if Street Sing is fully canceled and never opens.

Perhaps they will move the date if they can arrange it with Radio City and the network to move it, pushing the cut off dates a month. They COULD keep the date but that would either mean they have to eliminate the rules and allow any show that was meant to open for the nominations or push the cut off but keep the date thus allowing less of a window for voters to see the nominated shows. If they cancel what then? Would they simply just announce nominations and winners via press release? They couldn't possibly just skip giving the awards to this season and they would really mess up next season to combine this season and next. And shows this season might not survive long enough to see next Tonys.

Do we know that in the grand scheme of health this is not a priority, of course. But this is a place for discussion on matters just like this. This is an insane "what if" situation I don't think anyone on these boards ever imagined we would be in so it's an interesting situation and topic of discussion. Don't hate on those of use making conversation over the logistics of the biggest night of the season and what the business of Broadway is going to become because of this.

[castlestreet]

Posted: 3/12/20 at 10:06pm

I absolutely love that simply asking about the Tony Awards on a BROADWAY message board is too much for some of you to handle. It really is mid-March because I’m seeing all sorts of snowflakes melting...

[darreyl102]

Posted: 3/12/20 at 10:34pm

Seriously some people need to get off their high horses. The Tony awards are arguably the biggest event in the theater community every year , so of course people are going to be talking about it. You don't like people talking about it? find yourself some other business and get into it.

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 3/12/20 at 10:53pm

I think it will just be postponed a month or two. It's a huge celebration of the Broadway community and the hard work everyone puts in, I sincerely hope they get that opportunity. 

[SouthernCakes]

Posted: 3/12/20 at 11:29pm

I find this all so interesting! What’s going to happen?! None of us know! 

Updated On: 3/12/20 at 11:29 PM

[Robbie2]

Posted: 3/12/20 at 11:32pm

RCMH is booked in June - August

it's available Sept 13 or 20 Sunday then Josh Groban is back

Updated On: 3/12/20 at 11:32 PM

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 3/12/20 at 11:32pm

A0326T said: "I love the Tony Awards and it will be unfortunate if they decide to skip this year. Has this happened before when Tony Awards came close to cancelling it? "

I mean... isn’t CBS close to cancelling it every year?

[veronicamae]

Posted: 3/13/20 at 12:28am

Robbie2 said: "RCMH is booked in June - August

it's available Sept 13 or 20 Sundaythen Josh Groban is back"

So you're saying that RCMH is only available on two days over in what is basically a 4-month span? Hmm...

They have one (1) event listed for the month of July, according to MSG.com. Is something scheduled there as an extended run that they haven't announced? They also have multi-day/week-long breaks in August.

There are also other venues that can be used.

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 3/13/20 at 6:41am

Jordan Catalano said: "And this is a theatre message board - theatre related things are being discussed. If you’d like to scream to the heavens asking who will care about the children, then I’m sure you can find a message board more suited to your needing to feel superior."

Thank you. Some of us are stuck working from home and need a break from the panic and hysterics. There are other places to go to stay informed and talk about Covid-19. I'm on BWW trying to get a break from that to feel somewhat normal. 

Anyway, maybe they can postpone it for as long as necessary and just make a special exception that any show that was set to premiere within the original cut off will still be eligible. When/if it happens, I think this year's ceremony will be an important signal that it's safe to return to Broadway. 

[Kimbo]

Posted: 3/13/20 at 7:23am

Robbie2 said: "RCMH is booked in June - August

it's available Sept 13 or 20 Sundaythen Josh Groban is back"

This talk of RCMH is probably moot. Even though they’re (optimistically) forecasting/hoping that Broadway with their 500-1700-seat houses can go back to business as usual on April 13th, de Blasio and the city said we should prepare for an overall 6-month outbreak, clearly warning that LARGER venues (the ones 3000, 5000 and up, etc.) would probably be closed much longer.  From an article last night (I believe on Politico):

”He predicted some businesses would be forced to close down because of the capacity restrictions, and said it would likely be months before venues like Madison Square Garden, Radio City Music Hall and Barclays Center could reopen.”

They could go back to doing the Tonys in a Broadway theatre, as they did in the ‘70s and ‘80s. But given all the givens (not to mention the fact that the Tonys do not want to go up against the Olympics, which as of now looks more likely to be going ahead, especially since the outbreak in -China- seems to be getting under control, with fewer cases every day) - Given all of this, if it’s delayed (and if there -is- a Tonys this year), and given the time it takes to not just book a space but plan the event, I still suspect it’s a more likely scenario to do it in late summer/early fall -  Aug/Sept., just before the unofficial start of the ‘new fall season’. 

[kennedy_rose]

Posted: 3/13/20 at 7:52am

djoko84 said: "If you think Broadway will only be closed till April 12th, you're being naive. Most likely it will be longer than that. The Tonys will either be postponed a couple months or canceled altogether since many shows won't even get to open."

And think of all the drastically reduced stress and anxiety now that the ramp-up to the TONY Awards will be GONE!?!?! Plus, the added relief of not having to deal with performers with entitlement issues and inflated egos.

[BWAY Baby2]

Posted: 3/13/20 at 7:57am

Gimme a break....I would much rather things just back to normal than have the benefits of not hearing about entitlement issues.

[kennedy_rose]

Posted: 3/13/20 at 8:08am

BWAY Baby2 said: "Gimme a break....I would much rather things just back to normal than have the benefits of not hearing about entitlement issues."

Back to normal? You mean back to the daily dysfunction we all endure for a regular paycheck. You're getting a break, alright: a (perhaps) healthy 30 day pause should put things in perspective for you.

Updated On: 3/13/20 at 08:08 AM

[CapnHook]

Posted: 3/13/20 at 10:11am

The Tony Awards is an international television commercial that provides big boosts to the advances and awareness and interest in attending shows.

To not have the Tony's would be a death sentence to shows that are in an unprecedented state of jeopardy. The League and Awards committee will meet and hopefully come up with a solution that is fair and gives Broadway the boost that it needs.

All that being said, we don't know if this shutdown will extend past the 4 weeks. We don't know if coronavirus will be dominating the news, if the pandemic will get extremely worse, etc. It could be that the worse happens and the Tonys is a moot point. Only time will tell.

Hopefully this next 30 days will permit for an abrupt slowdown of the spread of this virus, and to allow time for a vaccine to be created. If this happens, our world, our country, our city and our industry will have a chance for a swift recovery. If this virus is not beat, well, then, things might stay like this for a while and we should prepare ourselves for that.

And yes, this is a theatre chatroom and is a proper forum to have the conversations and play out the scenarios. For some, it's a happy distraction.