First Nighters Lose Tony-Voting Privilege

Good.

Now where's the announcement about requiring voters to see EVERY nominated show? It'd be EASY to do this. It's not like the Oscars where their voting members having HUNDREDS of movies to see and thousands of individuals to check up on. There were SEVEN HUNDRED AND FIFTY voting members and LESS THAN FIFTY shows to see SPREAD THROUGHOUT A YEAR!!

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I think each voter should have a stamp card & has to get it stamped by the house manager after the show. If they aren't all stamped when they go to vote then their votes get thrown out.

Anyone that voted for billy elliot to win anything but choreography should also lose their voting privileges.

Agreed. I don't understand why you wouldn't want the critics to vote; it seems like this is removing a significant -- informed -- portion of the vote, and I can't figure out why that's a good idea.

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Right, but, they're also -- love them or hate them -- a really important part of the business. I was going to say of the community, but I don't think that's exactly as realistically true as it is an idealism. Either way, though, critics are a part of the art, and are far more than just spectators. I think if they're afforded as much power as they are throughout the season, they should be able to weigh in for the top awards. Of course, this is coming from a possibly aspiring critic who also considers it one of her goals to attain a Tony vote.

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Thrilling.

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No, the critics are getting the boot. By spectator he meant the road voters.

No, I think he meant critics, because he basically said that critics are no more than audience members -- read: spectators -- and thus should not be Tony voters.

I also want to throw in that this assumption, that critics are no more than audience members, suggests that none of the critics have any sort of theatrical training, which is a poor, incorrect generalization. Sure, some of them just fell into this and aren't particularly trained for the field, but don't forget that a lot of critics working today are trained as directors, playwrights, dramaturgs and historians. How does that make them equivalent to the people for whom things like the Broadway.com Audience Awards are created? I understand that many people don't like the critics and find them to be bitchy and annoying, but that doesn't mean they should be relegated to the same level of importance as any thirteen year old or angry theater queen with an Internet port.

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I agree frogs and emcee, however, there is just one reason why I think it is a good idea. Because they have no involvement in the creation of theatrical productions. They are audience members who have their opinions read.

I can't agree with this in part because what you're saying is that an informed, but potentially objective set of voters is less valuable than voters who have more of a stake in seeing a particular show or cast win. Now I'm not saying that people in the industry can't be objective but I can't accept your premise that it's always better to have insiders voting for their own either.

And, yes, I am also concerned with the greater impact of "road voters" now.

Updated On: 7/14/09 at 11:26 PM

He's just now getting scared that his profession might be head to obsolescence? I mean, yeah, this is a big slap in the face, but people have been saying criticism is dying for years.

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In light of the quality of theatre criticism nowadays, I'd say that anything that reduces the critics' power is a good thing.

As far as Tony voters not seeing every play, this is one thing I've never understood. One would assume that a Tony voter would so love the theatre that he/she would WANT to see every show. If there are theatre buffs who try to see everything while paying, wouldn't one expect the same from presumed theatre lovers who get to see everything for free?

Does anyone think a petition to the entire committee/administration would even be worth a go, encouraging them to institute a system whereas all voters/shows are accounted for? Something along those lines and also stating the severe disappointment for those as patrons in the theatre...?