A Boring and Mediocre Show

I'm so glad you started this thread! Because there's no other thread talking about this subject on BWW.

So thanks!

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I said it on another board, but this was the worst Tony awards show that I've EVER seen -- and I go back to before Alexander Cohen started to do it (sometimes they were broadcast on local TV, sometimes not). Neil Patrick Harris was okay and more than okay in spots. But WHY did they pick the I Believe number to showcase BOM? While not being a BOM fanatic, there was merit in the show and there certainly were better numbers that also showcased some of the other nominated cast members. Catch Me If You Can certainly picked the right number -- it's by far the best in the show and I suspect will attract some out-of-towners.

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I think you guys are crazy! It was hugely better than SO many previous awards shows, including Emmys and Oscars. The Jackman/NPH duet alone made it worth watching. And most importantly, the caliber of theater this year made it actually more competitive than many other years...

My only complaint was that BOM should have been showcased better re: musical numbers but censorship probably made that impossible; and they sure don't need the PR to sell more tix anyhow!

I taped the show and will watch it tonight; I always skip through the dull spots, which I suspect will be in abundance.

I am sorry but there is more to life than three hours of watching gay men congratulate themselves over the overrated crap they have written, produced, etc.

And yes one of the two creators of Book of Mormon/South Park is in the closet. :)

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Because everyone here thinks Sondheim was the last person capable of writing a good show.

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wow fflagg makes yet another nasty gay comment SHOCKING

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Boring? Mediocre? How many Tony Awards telecasts have you actually seen??

I agree many of the speeches went on too long (Winners: No One cares about your grade school teachers, your brothers/sisters or any of your childhood friends. Prepare your speech and tell funny, fascinating stories about your show or your path to the Tony Awards. Your business is entertainment, you should know how to put together an entertaining 60-second speech!)

I found Harris to be an entertaining host, and he kept the introductions short (always a plus...some hosts don't realize that the show isn't a showcase for them) but the producers have to find better ways of showcasing the nominees for Best Play (and while we're at it, the Best Revival of a Play award: BORN YESTERDAY has a couple of great scenes - the Gin game for one - that could be isolated and shown to great effect. Of course, Not every play has sequence like this that will work out for context.)

Yes, many of the winners were foregone conclusions which took away from the suspense of the evening - but ONLY if you read these message boards and some of the theatre blogs ahead of time. And there is always the chance of an upset victory.
More casual viewers likely did not know what show was the front-runner and part of the excitement for them is generated when you sense a "sweep" in the making (think back to when THE PRODUCERS swept the 2001 Tony awards, and all the buzz that generated both at the Tony Awards and in the days that followed.)

It is very tough to make an entertaining awards show that stays focused on the genre those particular awards celebrate. Given the limitations of the current crop of Broadway shows, I felt that producer (Neil Patrick Harris) did a decent job of keeping the program rooted on Broadway and only bringing in film and Tv celebrities when appropriate. (And, thankfully, no cross-over Pop artists warbling show tunes.)

My suggestions for improving the program:

1. The opening number should be from one of the nominated shows..."Anything goes" would have worked well as a lead song - it is bright, snappy and familiar (to most people.) Harris' opening number ("Broadway is not just for gays anymore") could have been a great comic closing number (and he could have set it up all through the evening, with the title phrase.)

2. Eliminate all Thank You speeches...the nominees can pre-record their laundry lists of friends and family they wish to thank and that can be shown on the Tony website for anyone interested. Winners could be best showcased by showing short clip of their award winning work.

2. Going into the breaks have shots of the theatre district in action - Not just show marquees but also line ups of theatre goers waiting to enter or buy tickets - maybe even a few post-show man-on-the street type interviews gleaning some favourable comments about each show by satisfied theatre-goers.
Use this to remind viewers beyond the NYC area that Broadway is a fun and exciting place.

3. Make better use of the Times Square crowd watching the awards. Show them more, talk to them, get some good comments: Local newscasts can do that at events why not the Tony Awards?

4. The Tony announcer should NOT be giving long lists of what's coming up...just what will be showcased in the next segment. The pitch going into a commercial break should always exhort viewers to stick around for something special, after the break.

5. It's fine to bring back numbers from popular, older shows, but be a little more creative in selecting the show and production. In 1973 the theme of the program was "The Wide World of Broadway" and they inserted short segments of international productions of hit musicals (including a number from an Italian musical called CIAO, RUDY - which was said to be headed to Broadway but didn't make it) and foreign language productions of THE KING AND I, WEST SIDE STORY and others. Rex Harrison introduced a fascinating segment showcasing a high school production of MY FAIR LADY. Do remotes from theaters across the U.S.A. (and Canada) - check out regional productions and current touring editions. We would have all loved to see a segment of the Kennedy Center's FOLLIES last night, right? Theatre is more than just 17 Blocks along Broadway.


The biggest hurdle Tony Awards broadcast producers face is making the program interesting and relevant to both ardent theatre fans and more casual viewers who never travel to New York. Unlike the Oscars (where one can go to their neighborhood cinema or video rental store and see the films that won the day after the awards) anyone wanting to see WAR HORSE or BOOK OR MORMON now must plan a major trip to New York... or wait for a tour to come to a city near them. So the relevance for most people is already lost.

I can easily see non-theatre fan finding last night's broadcast "boring" or "mediocre" because there were many inside jokes and a lot of music that would be unfamiliar to the general public. You need MAMMA MIA, WICKED and JERSEY BOYS to balance out the new and less familiar material.

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This year was so much fun compared to last year!

Last year was SUPER LAME with Million Dollar Quartet, AI, FELA and Memphis all performing less interesting numbers than all of this year's nominees... except Scottsboro Boys LOL, which IMO did the least interesting performance of the night.

No, I think ALL award shows should do this. Just that The Tony Awards should be the first to implement it.

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"I am sorry but there is more to life than three hours of watching gay men congratulate themselves over the overrated crap they have written, produced, etc"

But, you still taped it.

Are you a nasty hater for any particular reason, fflagg?

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I thought last night's Tony Awards was one of the most entertaining I've seen in years. Neil Patrick Harris is a perfect host, he's so polished. How about that flawless rap delivery to close the show, probably written backstage on the fly.

Opening number was terrific, duet with Hugh Jackman and NPH was top notch. There was a nice flow throughout the night and well balanced between presenters and production numbers.

The Tony Awards is hands down the most enjoyable of any awards show. The Oscars used to do a few production numbers but, recently they have cut it down to the bare bones and it is an utter bore.

The Beacon Theater worked really nicely too, great night all around.

Updated On: 6/13/11 at 02:02 PM

The Tony Awards are not about theatre, not even New York theatre, but about one specific thing - Broadway. Sure, it's this amazing community of talented, gifted people, some self-involved, others more gracious than others, that bring happiness and joy and wonder to many from around the world, but it's a small, insular community.

We all bring our own experiences to every performances and each of them is different. Makes me sad when people don't have the same emotional experience I might have when the lights go down, but to each his own and there are times when I just don't get it when someone raves about a show I didn't care for. Such is life. And so it goes with the Tony telecast.

But last night's show was one of the best in many, many years thanks in part to a super season. The opening number was priceless. I'm happy Broadway doesn't seem to be taking itself so seriously, able to laugh at itself and revel in the joke. If I had been producing the show, I probably wouldn't have had such a lengthy John Leguizamo segment and the inclusion of 2010 'Best Musical' MEMPHIS just reminded me of the tepid previous season and although I love seeing the new faces of the Great White Way, I'm always hunger to great names of the past whether it be Angela Lansbury or Carol Channing, Hal Prince, Stephen Sondheim and Neil Simon.

The show was the perfect ending to a super season. I wasn't bored for one moment.

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