George Salazar Calls Out Tony Awards on Twitter

[Alex Kulak2]

Posted: 6/28/20 at 3:01pm

https://twitter.com/georgesalazar/status/1276987524368359424

"Ok... Remember when they said there wouldn’t be time in the telecast for me to perform “Michael in the Bathroom,” but then they did a three and a half minute parody of it with four white people? I do."

I was mad when the telecast didn't let Be More Chill perform but instead did an un-credited parody of their most famous song, but I never thought about it like this.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 6/28/20 at 3:08pm

I'm pretty sure "they" would have been fine with Be More Chill performing on the telecast if the Be More Chill producers had put up the money for the performance. Am I wrong?

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 6/28/20 at 3:09pm

I think there was a lot of debate on this last year. Basically, some said they didn't need to give them any credit and some said it would have been nice to give them a shout out. But, this line from his tweet just broke my heart. He is absolutely right.

"I sang that song hundreds of times before we even got the show to NYC and watching it get such blatant whitewash treatment felt like they were speaking to me through the tv and letting me know I’m not welcome to the fanciest night on Broadway."

[sparksatmidnight]

Posted: 6/28/20 at 3:10pm

is he still salty? man your show flopped hard and closed a long time ago, move on (and yes people are way more interested in James Corden doing literally anything than your show, which is why they couldn't and shouldn't move other things for you, regardless of your sense of self-importance - I also mourn for the day where parodies need to be allowed)

[DiscoCrows]

Posted: 6/28/20 at 3:19pm

CATSNYrevival said: "I'm pretty sure "they" would have been fine with Be More Chill performing on the telecast if the Be More Chill producers had put up the money for the performance. Am I wrong?"

How much credibility is there behind the idea that the producers just objectively didn't have enough to pay for it? Is that something that is known for certain or is it just being assumed based on how the show's weekly grosses or etc. were doing?

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 6/28/20 at 3:51pm

I didn't even like BMC (and he was out the day I went), but I feel for him. He's perfectly in his right to be salty (and actually addresses this in another tweet.)

https://twitter.com/georgesalazar/status/1276990361215225856

[itsjustmejonhotmailcom]

Posted: 6/28/20 at 5:53pm

DiscoCrows said: "CATSNYrevival said: "I'm pretty sure "they" would have been fine with Be More Chill performing on the telecast if the Be More Chill producers had put up the money for the performance. Am I wrong?"

How much credibility is there behind the idea that the producers just objectively didn't have enough to pay for it? Is that something that is known for certain or is it just being assumed based on how the show's weekly grosses or etc. were doing?"

I don't think it's certain but I think it's credible. They weren't selling well since they opened, announced closing less than two weeks after the Tonys, and were closed two months later. I'd heard from several people that they were looking for priority loans. It's very possible they could have come up with the money to perform on the Tonys. And it's very possible they didn't have enough cash to perform.

[CT2NYC]

Posted: 6/28/20 at 6:36pm

I know that people were upset about it last year, but was the issue of race brought up at all before yesterday? I get that it was a disappointing situation, but is “blatant whitewash treatment” really applicable in this case? It was a parody about hosting the Tonys, performed by 4 previous hosts, all of whom happened to be white. Sour grapes are understandable, but making it about race a year later seems like a stretch. 

Updated On: 6/28/20 at 06:36 PM

[SoCalDirector]

Posted: 6/28/20 at 7:26pm

He needs to get over it and himself. I listened to the score and I’d liked to couple of the songs. I did enjoy Michael in the Bathroom. I was in New York I had a slot left open for show. There were only small discounts for Be More Chill in advance . I got in the TKTS line for the first time in probably 10 years. I got a half-price center orchestra seat in the sixth row so I thought I would go. Not only did I not care for the show I considered George Salazar’s performance the least appealing one I’ve seen ever on Broadway and I’ve been going since the 70s. It was like he was a high school play and he thought he was really good. I had a friend who is a Little Shop with him in Pasadena but I couldn’t even bring myself to buy a ticket because I didn’t want to chance seeing him again.

[uncageg]

Posted: 6/28/20 at 7:43pm

CT2NYC said: "I know that people were upset about it last year, but was the issue of race brought up at all before yesterday? I get that it was a disappointing situation, but is “blatant whitewash treatment”really applicable in this case? It was a parody about hosting the Tonys, performed by 4 previous hosts, all of whom happened to be white. Sour grapes are understandable, but making it about race a year later seems like a stretch."

Thank you. I totally agree with you.

 

[bk]

Posted: 6/28/20 at 8:17pm

SoCalDirector said: "He needs to get over it and himself. I listened to the score and I’d liked to couple of the songs. I did enjoy Michael in the Bathroom. I was in New York I had a slot left open for show. There were only small discounts for Be More Chill in advance . I got in the TKTS line for the first time in probably 10 years. I got a half-price center orchestra seat in the sixth row so I thought I would go. Not only did I not care for the show I considered George Salazar’s performance the least appealing one I’ve seen ever on Broadway and I’ve been going since the 70s. It was like he was a high school play and he thought he was really good. I had a friend who is a Little Shop with him in Pasadena but I couldn’t even bring myself to buy a ticket because I didn’t want to chance seeing him again."

He "hosted" the Ovation Awards last year - he was AWFUL.

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 6/28/20 at 8:22pm

I saw him in Little Shop, and I thought he was great in the part. Vulnerable, great voice, perfectly cast. BMC was trash, but he has every right to be pissed off about this. 

[RippedMan]

Posted: 6/28/20 at 8:23pm

I think more people were offended by that they didn't give the show a shoutout or mention. 

[Alex Kulak2]

Posted: 6/28/20 at 9:49pm

RippedMan said: "I think more people were offended by that they didn't give the show a shoutout or mention."

It was the only nominated musical that evening that didn't get an official performance. Even King-Kong got a short spot with Danny Burstein riding on the puppet's back.

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 6/28/20 at 9:55pm

I get that it sucks BMC didn't get to perform at the Tonys, but claiming racism in this instance seems inaccurate and opportunistic. Hadestown, Kiss Me Kate, Ain't Too Proud and Choir Boy all featured performances from POC, and Ain't Too Proud and Choir Boy were Own Voices works, unlike the cis het white man who wrote Be More Chill.

ETA: King Kong for 3 nominations and a Special Tony for the animatronics company that made King Kong. Be More Chill got 1.

Updated On: 6/28/20 at 09:55 PM

[CT2NYC]

Posted: 6/28/20 at 10:02pm

Alex Kulak2 said: "RippedMan said: "I think more people were offended by that they didn't give the show a shoutout or mention."

It was theonlynominated musical that evening that didn't get an official performance. EvenKing-Konggot a short spot with Danny Burstein riding on the puppet's back."

Yes, the show and Joe Iconis were snubbed just as much as he was, but he just made it all about him by bringing race into it, which is both egotistical and irresponsible. 

[PipingHotPiccolo]

Posted: 6/28/20 at 10:24pm

uncageg said: "CT2NYC said: "I know that people were upset about it last year, but was the issue of race brought up at all before yesterday? I get that it was a disappointing situation, but is “blatant whitewash treatment”really applicable in this case? It was a parody about hosting the Tonys, performed by 4 previous hosts, all of whom happened to be white. Sour grapes are understandable, but making it about race a year later seems like a stretch."

Thank you. I totally agree with you.
"

I was one of those who thought Be More Chill got a very raw deal that year- not because I liked the show, but because it did have a catchy tune that the Tonys used without giving the slightest bit of credit to the production. However, as said above, injecting race into this is poor form. In lieu of BMC, we saw a number of very diverse casts perform.

 

[sparksatmidnight]

Posted: 6/29/20 at 2:49am

CT2NYC said: "Alex Kulak2 said: "RippedMan said: "I think more people were offended by that they didn't give the show a shoutout or mention."

It was theonlynominated musical that evening that didn't get an official performance. EvenKing-Konggot a short spot with Danny Burstein riding on the puppet's back."

Yes, the show and Joe Iconis were snubbed just as much as he was, but he just made it all about him by bringing race into it, which is bothegotistical and irresponsible."

 

No one was snubbed. They should be more than grateful for the one nomination they got as it was way more generous than that show deserves.

 

[bear88]

Posted: 6/29/20 at 3:35am

I never saw Be More Chill but even its many detractors liked "Michael in the Bathroom." I don't have a dog in this fight, but here's an example where the Tony Awards could have featured a Filipino-Ecuadorian performer in a catchy song and chose to make a joke of it with four white current and former co-hosts in a mediocre skit - without ever mentioning it was an actual song from a Broadway show.

I've got nothing against parody, but parody only works if the viewing audience knows what's being parodied. I imagine many people thought a writer just came up with that song for the telecast.

It felt like punching down at the time, as Be More Chill was struggling badly, even though I doubt there was any nefarious intent. But aren't we supposed to be looking now at how "Broadway" can sometimes snub POC artists? This happened a little over a year ago on the Tony Awards. We all saw it. We don't have to speculate about how people behaved behind the scenes. And the guy who was snubbed is still a little pissed. Perhaps he shouldn't be dismissed so quickly as a whiner.

[toottoot]

Posted: 6/29/20 at 4:09am

bear88 said: "I never saw Be More Chill but even its many detractors liked "Michael in the Bathroom." I don't have a dog in this fight, but here's an example where the Tony Awards could have featured a Filipino-Ecuadorian performer in a catchy song and chose to make a joke of it with four white current and former co-hosts in a mediocre skit - without ever mentioning it was an actual song from a Broadway show.

I've got nothing against parody, but parody only works if the viewing audience knows what's being parodied. I imagine many people thought a writerjust came up with that song for the telecast.

It felt like punching down at the time, as Be More Chill was struggling badly, even though I doubt there was any nefarious intent. But aren't we supposed to be looking nowat how "Broadway"can sometimes snub POC artists? This happened a little over a year ago on the Tony Awards. We all saw it. We don't have to speculate about how people behaved behind the scenes. And the guy who was snubbed isstill a little pissed. Perhaps he shouldn't be dismissed so quickly as a whiner."

Spot on! Love every last word of this. Thank you for this! 

Updated On: 6/29/20 at 04:09 AM

[LightsOut90]

Posted: 6/29/20 at 4:11am

Dude meanwhile got to play Seymour in a major regional production of Little Shop across from a trans-black audrey and a black female audrey two.

he needs to take the wins and get over the loses.... 

[joevitus]

Posted: 6/29/20 at 5:27am

Love Be More Chill, but not crazy about the re-design for off-Broadway nor the revisions for Broadway. Glossing up the show did nothing but amplify the more amateurish aspects of the staging/choreography. Maybe keeping it a cast of nine who were required to be triple threats but weren't was the problem?

Hard to say anything specific was a mistake, considering it sold like hotcakes off-Broadway, so it would seem like everything was a go for Broadway. Looking back, had they stayed where they were, they wouldn't have been up for Tony accolades, but they might have wound up with a longer run, and been considered a success.

Totally agree with Salazar, though. Because there's no way for that parody to come across as anything but hateful when the show it's parodying isn't a part of the ceremony. It comes across as punching down. 

[JuneJune]

Posted: 6/29/20 at 7:19am

As someone who doesn't like BMC (the recording, never saw it in person), I was on Salazar's side until he brought race into it. As someone said above, it wasn't a whitewash thing as much as it was a "hosts of the Tony Awards" thing.

Regardless, it was still a crass move to cover the song without any kind of credit, knowing the show's current state. Were they obligated to? Not at all. But just because they didn't have to doesn't mean that they shouldn't have.

Toottoot put it into words perfectly about how parodies don't work properly without context, so it was a snub in its own way. But if I'm being honest, I don't think a performance on the Tony's would've saved them either; it was really more for the representation (of the show).

[disneybroadwayfan22]

Posted: 6/29/20 at 8:46am

BMC wasn't my favorite show, but I feel for BMC and George here. George has every single right to be upset about the Tony Awards. "Michael in the Bathroom" was the reason why BMC became viral and went on Broadway. George Salazar's performance was one of the reasons why the song was a hit. The Tony producers took advantage of the fame of the song by not crediting the show, but they could had at least ask the original performer of the song to join them.  

[Broadway61004]

Posted: 6/29/20 at 9:21am

Let's just think about the 2019 Tony Awards for a second here: Best Musical went to a show with an incredibly diverse cast written and directed by women.  Best Play went to an ethnically diverse cast (no, not black and white, but Irish, British, American, etc.) with a British playwright and director.  Best Revival of a Play went to a play that centered around a group of gay men.  Best Revival of a Musical went to a non-traditionally cast and diverse staging of what has typically been a mostly white-cast show.  The Tonys for the first time recognized a performer who uses a wheelchair, they included performances from Ain't Too Proud and Choir Boy, featuring mostly POC, and also included another performance whose climax was too women (including one POC) kissing.  But the only reason they had four past Tony hosts, all of whom are well-known and included two past Tony winners, perform a parody of a song from a non-Best Musical nominee was because they were white.

Look, here's the bottom line: Racism is a MAJOR issue in the theatre and there are countless instances of people not getting roles because of race or not being recognized on awards shows because of race or not getting the same opportunities to audition because of race, etc.  And it's still a major issue.  But by calling out things like this that are CLEARLY not race-related in any way, all we're doing is distracting from those actual major issues that are happening.  George Salazar has every right to be disappointed that he didn't get to perform on the Tonys and that his producers didn't put up the money for it and that his show and his performance weren't recognized more than they were (and yes, his point that they should have at least said what the parody was of is 100% accurate and James Corden has even come out and apologized for not saying it).  But going out and blaming this on race is just distracting from the actual fight against racial injustice that we're all trying to win right now.

Updated On: 6/29/20 at 09:21 AM