Article: "Phony Tony Voting"

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Article: "Phony Tony Voting"

Posted: 6/11/08 at 8:29am

May be old news to many, but I was unaware of the rule specifics as well as the statistics.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=ac8.ou87G9zw

re: Article: 'Phony Tony Voting'

Posted: 6/11/08 at 9:23am

This isn't really surprising. Around Oscar time you always hear reports of Academy members who don't bother to see every nominated movie, or those who just give their ballot to a friend or relative and tell them to vote.

So it's not a shock that there are many Tony voters who don't see every nominated show. It is very sad though.

"You drank a charm to kill John Proctor's wife! You drank a charm to kill Goody Proctor!" - Betty Parris to Abigail Williams in Arthur Miller's The Crucible

re: Article: 'Phony Tony Voting'

Posted: 6/11/08 at 9:28am

Thanks for posting this article. It goes to show the Tonys are just a popularity contest. They should have the decency to see all the shows. And show some respect to the nominees. Why be a voter and show no love for the theatre. This just reinforces how I've felt for years. I'd rather watch the NBA Finals that night. Tape the show and just watch the performances. It's the same old story.

Updated On: 6/11/08 at 09:28 AM

re: Article: 'Phony Tony Voting'

Posted: 6/11/08 at 9:32am

It goes to show the Tonys are just a popularity contest.

As are all award shows.

Updated On: 6/11/08 at 09:32 AM

re: Article: 'Phony Tony Voting'

Posted: 6/11/08 at 9:43am

At least the other awards shows garner some ratings. The NBA Finals will trounce them in ratings that evening.

re: Article: 'Phony Tony Voting'

Posted: 6/11/08 at 9:46am

Well, even if the awards were "fair," that's not going to affect the ratings in the slightest.

Updated On: 6/11/08 at 09:46 AM

re: Article: 'Phony Tony Voting'

Posted: 6/11/08 at 9:56am

Phyllis, I agree with you on that. But I would be more inclined to watch something that is fair. Than something that is turning out to be a big joke. I just feel bad for the nominees and shows. And this is how it ends , SAD.

re: Article: 'Phony Tony Voting'

Posted: 6/11/08 at 10:15am

true!

re: Article: 'Phony Tony Voting'

Posted: 6/11/08 at 10:17am

Who in their right mind would:

A) pass up free tickets to every Broadway show
B) lie for such a "prestigious" event

I used to think it there was a reason behind each vote, nomination, and choice for a winner. Now I know that it's just a bunch of bitter old theatre queens who never made it on Broadway themselves.

#10

re: Article: 'Phony Tony Voting'

Posted: 6/11/08 at 11:01am

Voting is... rigged?!

"Y'know, I think Bertolt Brecht was rolling in his grave."
-Nellie McKay on the 2006 Broadway production of The Threepenny Opera, in which she played Polly Peachum

#11

re: Article: 'Phony Tony Voting'

Posted: 6/11/08 at 11:06am

[i]A) pass up free tickets to every Broadway show
B) lie for such a "prestigious" event [/i]

This baffles me as well. The only thing I can see is a show gets terrible reviews, you decide not to see it, it closes, and it ends up getting a nomination for featured actor or set or another small category.

For anything else, there's really no excuse. You probably get great seats whenever you want as well.

If any of these people don't enjoy the privilege, I'd be welcome to relieve them of it.

#12

re: Article: 'Phony Tony Voting'

Posted: 6/11/08 at 12:03pm

And, really, it's not that difficult to make it to every Broadway production. Plenty of BWW posters (myself included) do it, and our tickets aren't even free.

#13

re: Article: 'Phony Tony Voting'

Posted: 6/11/08 at 12:19pm

It's depressing to think that a theatre goer like me who lives over a thousand miles away from New York has probably seen more shows on Broadway than a lot of the Tony voters.

#14

re: Article: 'Phony Tony Voting'

Posted: 6/11/08 at 12:42pm

If less than 400 voters went to see The Homecoming before it closed (out of 797 voters), then The Homecoming will have a very slim chance of winning anything at all. August, on the other hand, I assume the majority of the 797 voters went to see, has a chance of winning everything it was nominated for. Not saying that it won't deserve it because it does, but The Homecoming, or any other play should have the same chance as August.

Should the Tony Awards be held in such high regard? I'm still gonna be watching Sunday night. It's my first Tony Awards, so I'm kinda excited about it, and honestly, I won't be able to help being happy if the nominees I'm rooting for wins, even though I know the voting system is flawed.

Even if the voters are biased, I wouldn't mind as much if they at least saw every show nominated. Those who haven't seen every nomination should not be eligible to vote.

Updated On: 6/11/08 at 12:42 PM

#15

re: Article: 'Phony Tony Voting'

Posted: 6/11/08 at 12:53pm

Then again, we elect our president and every other political office through many voters that have no idea who the nominees are nor what they stand for. And the winner of an election is much more important than the winner of an award.

The situations aren't very dissimilar at all. I bet if you quizzed voters on where major candidates stood on the issues, at least 75% wouldn't have "seen the show."

#16

re: Article: 'Phony Tony Voting'

Posted: 6/11/08 at 1:12pm

Honestly, I think anyone who holds the Tony Awards in an especially high regard in terms of rewarding the empirical best achievement on Broadway is closing his/her eyes to the realities of how awards shows work, even without the issue of the Tony vote.

Aside from that, and I'm not saying that the fact that people vote in categories with shows they haven't seen is okay, because it most certainly isn't, but if the Tonys were to start checking in on who's seen what shows, who exactly would be assigned to do it? Which of the coproducers of the Tonys, or would it be the theaters themselves? Where would their salary come from? Though in terms of moral superiority, it would be great if that happened, the actual implementation of the rule seems to not present any benefits for the people doing the implementing?

"Why, I make more money than... than... than Calvin Coolidge! PUT TOGETHER!"
~Lina Lamont

My name wasn't, isn't, and will never be Scott.

#17

re: Article: 'Phony Tony Voting'

Posted: 6/11/08 at 1:27pm

Scott, how about the people who tally the ballots? Ticket stubs, and/or phone calls to the box office can prove that the voter has seen the show. Voters can be required to submit ticket stubs to the 20-something shows that were nominated along with his/her ballot. That doesn't sound too extreme.

#18

re: Article: 'Phony Tony Voting'

Posted: 6/11/08 at 1:56pm

I think that someone needs to type this up and petition the American Theatre Wing, as well as keeping this thread going.

#19

re: Article: 'Phony Tony Voting'

Posted: 6/11/08 at 5:55pm

verynewyork - that would seem like such an obvious easy solution... but I suppose the thing about common sense is it's not so common.

#20

re: Article: 'Phony Tony Voting'

Posted: 6/11/08 at 6:00pm

The same thing has been going on at the Oscars, Emmys, and Grammys for years. It's bad, but it's by no means exclusive to the Great White Way.

#21

re: Article: 'Phony Tony Voting'

Posted: 6/11/08 at 6:03pm

Each qualified voter should have to pick up a little "voucher" card at each box office when he sees a show. Those cards should then be required to be sent in with the votes.

#22

re: Article: 'Phony Tony Voting'

Posted: 6/11/08 at 6:08pm

Well, it could be too easy to pick up vouchers for others (unless they're personalized). It seems like most theaters keep track which Tony voters have visited. Can't they ask the theaters?

#23

re: Article: 'Phony Tony Voting'

Posted: 6/12/08 at 8:44pm

Surely, this can't that difficult to keep track of, especially now that tickets are scanned, not just ripped.

#24

re: Article: 'Phony Tony Voting'

Posted: 6/12/08 at 11:19pm

The same thing has been going on at the Oscars, Emmys, and Grammys for years. It's bad, but it's by no means exclusive to the Great White Way.

Yeah, but there's no way to keep track of whether someone has watched a DVD or a videotape.

There is a way to tell whether these people show up to a theatre and see the live show they are voting for.

The whole thing is absurd.

"Winning a Tony this year is like winning Best Attendance in third grade: no one will care but the winner and their mom."
-Kad

"I have also met him in person, and I find him to be quite funny actually. Arrogant and often misinformed, but still funny."
-bjh2114 (on Michael Riedel)

#25

re: Article: 'Phony Tony Voting'

Posted: 6/13/08 at 1:23am

The outcome might change completely if the voters who didn't see all the shows nominated were not eligible. They don't have to be ineligible to vote for every category, just the ones with nominees they did not see. That's the way it should be.

I seriously feel for The Homecoming, a play that less than half of the TONY voters saw. BOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

How are TONY voters chosen? Are any of the voters critics?

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