Posted: 5/29/17 at 1:50pm
Hello, Dolly! will perform on the Tony Awards. The cast already knows what the performance will be but are strictly forbidden to reveal to anyone...you'll see! :)
Posted: 5/29/17 at 2:01pm
That certainly makes a lot more sense for all concerned. Dolly performs, but tries to keep everything a big secret as much as possible.
Posted: 5/29/17 at 4:22pm
A NYTimes article about this exact subject:
Bette Midler unlikely to perform
Posted: 5/29/17 at 4:39pm
Frankly, this kind of thing may be enough to sway the voters. I'm sure that the producers of the Tonys are pissed about this. Also, Midler is doing a fantastic job in the show, but she really is just playing herself. I wouldn't be surprised to see this sway some voters to turn to some of the other ladies. I know that I would be giving my vote elsewhere.
They need to stop with this exclusive bullsh!t. I mean, the cast album only had one picture and it was one of only like four pictures that anyone has ever seen of the show. The whole production just seems to have this massive ego. They need to get over it. No one is interested in seeing "Penny in my Pocket." We want to see Bette, but apparently it's too much for her to support and promote her own show and the producers feel that it's not important to share their show with anyone who can't cough up $500 for a ticket.
Posted: 5/29/17 at 4:41pm
Wow. I agree, this could certainly turn off some voters and pull them in other directions.
Posted: 5/29/17 at 4:43pm
I'd rather see the waiters gallop than penny in my pocket. Or why can't they showcase the other two nominees with It Only Takes A Moment?
Posted: 5/29/17 at 4:45pm
Call_me_jorge said: "I'd rather see the waiters gallop than penny in my pocket. Or why can't they showcase the other two nominees with It Only Takes A Moment?
"
I'm actually the most worried about how this might affect Gavin Creel's chances. If Rudin and co. don't want Bette to perform why not have a medley that showcases Creel and Baldwin? "Penny in my Pocket" is really a cheat. It's a tiny little song.
Posted: 5/29/17 at 4:47pm
Fire the publicity team or whoever is responsible for this. The fact that they are so desperate to keep Bette's performance a secret to the point of no Tony performance is ridiculous. If this is all Bette, she needs to seriously deflate her ego.
Posted: 5/29/17 at 4:48pm
But the big news is "Waving Through a Window." Yea.
Posted: 5/29/17 at 5:19pm
What a paradox. Penny on my pocket was cut from the original ahow because nobody cared about Horace, now that we all want A number lead by Dolly, we get Penny instead...
Posted: 5/29/17 at 5:22pm
If the New York Times story is correct, I guess that the Great Comet mash-up would be "Dust and Ashes" and "Balaga." Am I assuming too much? That seems weird, and I am pretty skeptical of combo platter Tony performances unless there's enough time (which there won't be). But I'm still curious how they would pull it off. Which song would go first?
The Dear Evan Hansen producers would be making the smart decision with "Waving Through a Window." It's a little on the nose, but it's the best standalone song in the musical and would reflect well both on Ben Platt and on the show itself.
As for Hello, Dolly, the producers really think they have more bargaining power than they actually do. Shoot, it's already clear - based on the discounts being offered on TodayTix - that without Bette Midler, nobody really cares about Dolly. Nobody is going to tune in to watch David Hyde Pierce sing a song nobody's ever heard of, that wasn't even in the original show. (No disrespect to David Hyde Pierce.)
Let's be real. Tony ratings are almost always weak, unless you have a powerhouse like Hamilton driving the ratings. They'll be weak with Midler. They'll have even less to promote without her.
Frankly, this sort of thing is what's wrong with Broadway. I didn't see Hello, Dolly on my recent trip to New York, but I would certainly have been curious to see Midler's performance in the biggest hit of this season that I've read many positive things about on these boards. Broadway can keep its little club small and exclusive, or it can try to reach new audiences. The Hamilton producers, who could have demanded all sorts of concessions last year, used the Tony Awards to promote their hot show and they are being rewarded with sellout crowds across the country. Hello, Dolly is afraid to expose its experienced performer to a national audience.
That's really lame.
Posted: 5/29/17 at 5:23pm
disneybroadwayfan22 said: "Fire the publicity team or whoever is responsible for this. The fact that they are so desperate to keep Bette's performance a secret to the point of no Tony performance is ridiculous. If this is all Bette, she needs to seriously deflate her ego.
"
I think you and I both know that this is all Rudin's doing. I understand he is just doing his job to the best of his ability, but now he's undermining Broadway's best chance to advertise itself nationally so he can make a quick buck.
If only he could be punished for such actions.
Posted: 5/29/17 at 5:35pm
I would've hoped they would do Put On Your Sunday Clothes if they didn't want to do the title song. Bette is still in it, but in a lesser role, and it highlights Gavin, another Tony nominee and likely win. It'd be hard to stage, sure, but it would have been wonderful.
Posted: 5/29/17 at 5:56pm
I have always liked the Hello Dolly/Pearl Bailey appearance on the Tony's. It's 6 minutes and 21 seconds of wonderful, starting with the full company in Put on Your Sunday Clothes and then allowing Miss Bailey to really wow with So Long Dearie. Would love to see the same this year.
Posted: 5/29/17 at 6:11pm
The article later goes on to say,
"But the musical’s producers said that they would perform the number only remotely, from their stage at the Shubert Theater, and not on the ceremony’s stage at Radio City Music Hall. They argued that the different configuration of the stage at Radio City — and, in particular, its passerelle — could pose a risk to leaping dancers and would not do the song justice. The awards show declined to allow “Hello, Dolly!” to perform remotely, concerned about setting a precedent. The Tonys have occasionally aired musical numbers remotely from other theaters, but in recent years the broadcast has ended that practice."
This makes 100% sense to me. So much of the number is about the passerelle and they want to do the number the right way. Trying to adjust the Radio City one is not comparable by any means. They're not trying to hide the number from us, but they want to do it at their theatre and do it right. There is the real issue at hand.
Posted: 5/29/17 at 6:14pm
It sounds like they want to do the number but just don't want to compromise the integrity of the number. I can see why they wouldn't want to restage it for a different set.
The Tonys should just let them perform remotely. Bette is the biggest star of the season and obviously a draw to audiences at home. What a dissapointment if she doesnt appear.
Hamilton did it at the Grammys.
Posted: 5/29/17 at 6:22pm
So the cast of Falsettos is going to perform? Yay!!!! Anyone know what song they will do?
Posted: 5/29/17 at 6:31pm
I don't get the point of any intention by Scott Rudin to keep Bette's performance 'secret' or up the profits...isn't the show already nearly sold out for its entire run (save the nights bette isn't performing). Besides, wouldn't her performing help sell more tickets, not the reverse? Of course. Especially if what they are looking to sell are the more expensive premium seats.
In any event, I expected DEH to sing Waving through a Window and am very glad they are. Like Cynthia Erivo 's performance last year of "I'm Here", WTAW is the show stopper (though it's at the beginning!) and nails Ben Platt's deserved best acting in a musical win (as I'm Here did for her).
Posted: 5/29/17 at 6:48pm
Nothing about COME FROM AWAY. makes me believe they haven't decided yet. I'm really hoping they do HEAVE AWAY/SCREECH IN.
Posted: 5/29/17 at 7:02pm
Channing and Co performed the title number in countless theatres, often for television. Go on YouTube and you'll see a phenomenal version without the runway. The number is staged so well it holds up in virtually any configuration.
Posted: 5/29/17 at 7:04pm
Why are the tony awards so against remote performances? I'm sure CBS executives will step in here and kindly ask tony producers to allow a performance from the shubert. I guess the only problem would be finding a way to get the nominated performers to and from the ceremony.
Posted: 5/29/17 at 7:12pm
Hello Dolly! has been extremely averse to doing any kind of publicity. Like they haven't done any morning talk show appearances, late night appearances, etc. I have to assume this is coming from the producers as Bette Midler has always been a favorite of talk shows. In 2014 she did this nice interview on The View:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGgpKAGHbx8
She even does some impromptu singing. This smells of producer interference.
Posted: 5/29/17 at 7:30pm
ACL2006 said: "Nothing about COME FROM AWAY. makes me believe they haven't decided yet. I'm really hoping they do HEAVE AWAY/SCREECH IN.
"
Wouldn't that mean giving away the most upbeat (Sp?) number? I think I would come across weird. I still wonder how the national audience would feel about the "9/11 musical" and seeing that happy number. I think Me and The Sky into Somewhere in the Middle of Nowhere would work and still make it appealing to those potential audiences?
Posted: 5/29/17 at 7:50pm
Call_me_jorge said: "Why are the tony awards so against remote performances? I'm sure CBS executives will step in here and kindly ask tony producers to allow a performance from the shubert. I guess the only problem would be finding a way to get the nominated performers to and from the ceremony."
The whole point about them being told "no" over the whole remote performance thing is that if they make the exception now for Dolly, they will have to do it again later for others until everyone wants to be performing remote from their own theatres. Then you have a nice big can of worms going on. How are they going to justify the Tony show without live performances in front of the fellow actors, producers, designers, community members, and the fans that pay to be in that room on that night? And the whole logistical issue of having that? Not just getting the performers to and from one location to another in the middle of NYC when who knows what could happen to delay someone from missing a cue in one place or the other but then you are putting up multi-cameras with multi-crews in multi-locations. It's already a massive undertaking when it's all under ONE roof, having it under more then one is unnecessary and overly complicates an already complicated show.
Shows have been making changes to their staging to fit the Tony stage for YEARS. Who the hell does this production think they are that exception should be made for them? I applaud the Tony producers for telling them no and not treating them like a spoiled child, giving them their way. I hope they stick to it. I would rather have a Bette-less show that shows the true nature of Scott Rudin and his team then see them get their way having the Tony producers bend to a bully at this point.
Suck it up and either make some alterations or pick another number that doesn't require the set so heavily, and DON'T try to make a big press deal about it to make the Tony awards look like the bad guy. They are not. They are being FAIR to the other shows. If others have to perform outside their element for publicity, so do you.
