Hunter Foster creates "Give the Tonys back to BROADWAY" campaign- Page 6
Hunter Foster creates "Give the Tonys back to BROADWAY" campaign
#125Hunter Foster Whines with other non Hollywood actors
Posted: 6/17/10 at 1:11pmI joined. I hated this year's ceremony. I thought it was ill concieved and stupid. But my main concern is that in three hours, they (whoever they is) can't find time to honor those who design, orchestrate, compose and write.
#126Hunter Foster Whines with other non Hollywood actors
Posted: 6/17/10 at 1:12pmI realize, ljay, but as someone who supports Night Music as much as you do with all of the people bashing Catherine and the show, I would think that you would be sensitive to it. People make fun of performers all the time for specific reasons (people who come to mind include Lea Michele, Idina, Alice Ripley, etc.). But Kate has never done anything in the public eye to deserve a comment about her being bitter. Say what you want about her performance, but to paint her negatively as a person just seems silly.
Phyllis Rogers Stone
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/16/07
#127Hunter Foster Whines with other non Hollywood actors
Posted: 6/17/10 at 1:16pm
I don't know. I have always found Hunter Foster to be somewhat ferretty and officious in performance.
Heh. I felt like the revival of Little Shop of Horrors was about two mentally retarded people finding love, as that's how both of the leads played their roles.
Dolly_Levi
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/8/04
#128Hunter Foster Whines with other non Hollywood actors
Posted: 6/17/10 at 1:18pm
I am curious if the movement will attarct any producers. Aren't they the ones driving the content, not only of the Tony telecast, but of the show's that come to Broadway?
Also, who produced this year's telecast? Was it the same person as previosu years? Or new? Could that be what 'felt' different?
Laughter is much more important than applause. Applause is almost a duty. Laughter is a reward.
Carol Channing
#129Hunter Foster Whines with other non Hollywood actors
Posted: 6/17/10 at 1:20pmPhyllis I hope that comment was referring to Hunter and Alice and not Hunter and Kerry. You know what happens to negative comments about Miss Butler...
#130Hunter Foster Whines with other non Hollywood actors
Posted: 6/17/10 at 1:21pm
But Kate has never done anything in the public eye to deserve a comment about her being bitter. Say what you want about her performance, but to paint her negatively as a person just seems silly.
I am not going to argue with you. It was one comment, and it was a joke. Look what I dealt with for supporting Karen Olivo. People can be extremely cruel on here, but I meant no harm with my comment about Kate.
Updated On: 6/17/10 at 01:21 PM
Dolly_Levi
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/8/04
#131Hunter Foster Whines with other non Hollywood actors
Posted: 6/17/10 at 1:21pm
Chenoweth also weighed in on the movie stars receiving honors at this year's Tonys: "There's a lot of talk about Hollywood, and people winning and not being nominated. The thing is, we're all actors. She continued, "I don't want to go into another community and not be accepted into something. I'm an actor. If someone's deserving of it, and it's certainly Denzel Washington, Scarlett Johanson and Catherine Zeta; then fine."
Link
Laughter is much more important than applause. Applause is almost a duty. Laughter is a reward.
Carol Channing
Updated On: 6/17/10 at 01:21 PM
Phyllis Rogers Stone
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/16/07
#132Hunter Foster Whines with other non Hollywood actors
Posted: 6/17/10 at 1:22pmLord, people are oversensitive. If Kate has a problem with his comment, she can Facebook about it!
#133Hunter Foster Whines with other non Hollywood actors
Posted: 6/17/10 at 1:23pm
So, who will decide if a star is too Hollywood for Broadway?
It'll be like Palin's death panels, only gayer and with more at stake.
....but the world goes 'round
#134Hunter Foster Whines with other non Hollywood actors
Posted: 6/17/10 at 1:24pmDolly_Levi, where did she say that?
"This thread reads like a series of White House memos." — Mister Matt
iluvtheatertrash
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/9/04
#135Hunter Foster Whines with other non Hollywood actors
Posted: 6/17/10 at 1:24pmApologies if my Kate Baldwin joining comment caused a stir. I've been away from the computer. I merely said it to point out which actors and actresses were joining the campaign.
"I know now that theatre saved my life." - Susan Stroman
#137Hunter Foster Whines with other non Hollywood actors
Posted: 6/17/10 at 1:25pmHaha, well-played Phyllis.
#138Hunter Foster Whines with other non Hollywood actors
Posted: 6/17/10 at 1:27pmTaz, I would like to see Sarah Palin host next years awards.
Phyllis Rogers Stone
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/16/07
#139Hunter Foster Whines with other non Hollywood actors
Posted: 6/17/10 at 1:34pm
Thanks, bj!
Do Bravo or TNT, et al, even WANT the Tonys? For that matter, do the Tonys want to go to a cable network?
Borstalboy
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/9/04
#140Hunter Foster Whines with other non Hollywood actors
Posted: 6/17/10 at 1:34pmThe Betty White stuff notwithstanding, do any of these Facebook "camapaigns" have ramifications outside of preaching-to-the-choir wankery?
"Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they've been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It's an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It's a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing.”
~ Muhammad Ali
#141Hunter Foster Whines with other non Hollywood actors
Posted: 6/17/10 at 1:34pm
Extrapolate beyond the stated. What I think hunter is saying is that theatre should not need mark sanchez to bring it credibility. It should not need CZJ or ScarJo to put buts in the seats. And it certainly should not need a 7 min green day performance to make it more accessible and more appealing to the masses. It should stand alone as its own entity. And if the broadcasting company chosen to present the biggest night of theatre cannot see this, then maybe its time we find one that will. Screw the trickery/stunts to get ratings. Keep it about the art!
I get it! And i agree.
THAT BEING SAID...this is the world we live in. It is sad to think it, but to keep dollars rolling in, butts in the seats, and ratings up, theatre does need it.
Give theatre back to the theatre actors...(i paraphrase) is a tough statement to stomach. But i understand it. If you eliminate broadways biggest stars from presenting, in favor of Hollywoods brightest (In attendance), youre missing the point of the evening. Because the idea becomes... "Harry Potter will get the tween girls watching" and not... "Bryan Stokes and Audra presenting the revival performance of Ragtime would drive theatre folks wild!" The show HAS been given over to trying to get new people to watch... and repeat watchers are feeling left out.
Its the same for casting shows... its all about stunts and less about proper casting. Im not saying that Scarjo doesnt give a great performance... but is there a theatre girl who could have given a better performance...probably. I'm GUESSING that Hunter and those theatre folks who have joined the group are starting to get sick of all the stunts. When the art form starts to suffer, then are the stunts worth it?
I can see Hunters frustration. And i can also see how people can misconstrue what he is getting at. I also see that commercial theatre is headed down a busted road with the juke box musical at the helm.
Updated On: 6/17/10 at 01:34 PM
#142Hunter Foster Whines with other non Hollywood actors
Posted: 6/17/10 at 1:39pm
Matt, the funny thing is that a lot of people look at theatre that way.
Actually, I was speaking specifically about Broadway, not theatre in general. I think people try and use the terms interchangeably as a way to hold Broadway up to some universally agreed-upon, yet silent and undefined standard. With the exception of a couple of not-for-profit groups, Broadway is a theatrical shopping mall which can be made up of a variety of vendors, styles, and products with no restrictions placed on what may be sold to the general public or by whom. And the public will choose which products they choose to purchase, which will result in the continued presence of a shop for as long as it continues to profit from the public. If nobody likes the product, the shop closes quickly and another opens in its place. Some vendors choose to market their products using celebrity endorsements, hoping to ride the wave on the popularity of a personality that may prove both beneficial to their product and to their profit margin. This is business. Broadway is business. While theatre can be art or business, Broadway is business first. It can produce some lovely art, but it is still business and it relies heavily on tourism and the general public, not the minority of devoted fans, cast album collectors and historians.
"What can you expect from a bunch of seitan worshippers?" - Reginald Tresilian
#143Hunter Foster Whines with other non Hollywood actors
Posted: 6/17/10 at 1:41pmThere is only one flower I would like to throw into this bouquet, even though it's only tangentially related, and it's this: A year ago today Scarlet Johannson almost certainly would never have given the names Arthur Miller or Marian Seldes a second though, if an initial thought at all.
2010
Feb. 28 - Looped, Feb. 28 - Next to Normal, March 4 - Hair, March 11 - A Little Night Music, March 24 - Time Stands Still, April 6 - La Cage Aux Folles, April 10 - Anyone Can Whistle (City Center), April 10 - Looped, May 9 - Enron, May 15 - A Little Night Music, May 15 - A Behanding In Spokane, May 30 - A Behanding In Spokane, May 30 - A Little Night Music, June 20 - A Little Night Music, June 23 - Red, June 23 - Sondheim on Sondheim, July 13 - A Little Night Music, July 18 - The Grand Manner (Lincoln Center)
Borstalboy
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/9/04
#144Hunter Foster Whines with other non Hollywood actors
Posted: 6/17/10 at 1:43pmWell that's very crystal ball of you.
"Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they've been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It's an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It's a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing.”
~ Muhammad Ali
Stage Door Sally
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/4/09
#145Hunter Foster Whines with other non Hollywood actors
Posted: 6/17/10 at 1:45pmWhat I meant by the kumbaya, "we are one" comment is this broadcast emphasized how Hollywood actors embraced Broadway by flocking to it, and how Broadway returned the favor by nominating and handing them the awards. While there may not be an "actual" lovefest going on, it certainly had that appearance.
#146Hunter Foster Whines with other non Hollywood actors
Posted: 6/17/10 at 1:49pm
Matt, I was actually referring to Broadway also. Along with theatre in general.
Just give the world Love.
Updated On: 6/17/10 at 01:49 PM
Gothampc
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/20/03
#147Hunter Foster Whines with other non Hollywood actors
Posted: 6/17/10 at 1:58pm
Another issue:
It seems Broadway and the Tony Awards want to be "solidarity and togetherness" when it's a force coming from outside, but what about internally? For years musicals have always been highlighted over non-musicals. And the argument is always you can perform a song out of its context, but you can't perform a scene out of its context (despite that being done everyday in acting schools all over the world). Of course this year, they devoted time to the actors explaining their plays, but that's not the same as seeing a scene. If Broadway is fighting to remain "only theater" then it has to begin doing more to promote non-musicals.
If anyone ever tells you that you put too much Parmesan cheese on your pasta, stop talking to them. You don't need that kind of negativity in your life.
Dolly_Levi
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/8/04
#148Hunter Foster Whines with other non Hollywood actors
Posted: 6/17/10 at 2:02pm
According to Todd Haimes, the artistic director of the Roundabout, the Van Dyke-Rivera strategy — casting a couple of talented no-names and crossing your fingers — is really a second choice these days. “Your first choice,” he said, “is to get a star who’s also great.”
Above is the quote I was looking for earlier - I think this mentality from producers (not to mention that Haimes heads a not-for-profit) is what is frustrating Foster and many of the other actors that have joined his FB group. This is something looming just a bt larger than the TONY telecast alone, methinks.
Link
Laughter is much more important than applause. Applause is almost a duty. Laughter is a reward.
Carol Channing
#149Hunter Foster Whines with other non Hollywood actors
Posted: 6/17/10 at 2:06pmi agree dolly-levi.
