1) Jen, where did you get this list of Tony rules? Other than in your own head, I mean. They do not exist elsewhere. Perhaps you haven't seen the Tonys. Remember when Juliet Prowse was one of the hosts back in the 80s? She must have gotten that job from her one-month stint in Eddie Fisher at the Winter Garden in 1962. She was FAMOUS for that!
2) Chris, perhaps security is tighter in NYC because it is NYC. The most popular terrorist target in both reality and in fiction in the US. I travel internationally several times a year and have never been searched or harassed by American customs agents at O'Hare in Chicago. And if you feel welcomed in every other country, I can assume you have never flown into London, Copenhagen, Paris, Madrid or Warsaw. Or have any sense on the Western European view of Americans in general, which can get pretty nasty. Of course, it could be that the Europeans look at your passport and are instantly relieved that you are only in their country temporarily while Americans are annoyed that they have to deal with you on a more permanent basis. It could be totally personal.
"What can you expect from a bunch of seitan worshippers?" - Reginald Tresilian