Hunter Foster creates "Give the Tonys back to BROADWAY" campaign — Page 3

I have to say, I understand where your passion is coming from.

But you're opening up a larger issue. You're seeing the Tony Awards ceremony and its blatant backseat approach to theatre in the name of celebrating pop culture as a symbolic sign of the state of Broadway in general.

I won't disagree with you. Broadway is currently in an unhealthy codependent love affair with pop culture. And it was obvious on the Tonys.

But (again) Hunter was talking about the awards show only. Not everything that's "wrong" with Broadway today. You're reading a lot more into it, because it's a hot subject around here.

But to add in comments he never made and then disagree and argue with them is a little weird. He never made those remarks.

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I blame everything on Michael Douglas.

Even the oil leak.

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I used to like Catherine Zeta Jones until the Tonys.

And I'd much rather have Green Day perform than Lea Michele screaming at me again.

Perhaps they Tonys could just be a small, untelevised luncheon. Then the focus could REALLY be on theatre (I mean, showing theatre on tv isn't really theatre, is it? It's kind of like how the Amish feel about putting faces on dolls). The acceptance speeches could be as long as the speakers liked and then everyone would be happy. That would really be giving them back to Broadway, no?

There's a difference between "inclusive" and "sacrificial."

You don't invite all these outside pop influences while the very community you're honoring takes a backseat. How clumsy is that?!

"Inclusive" is about striking a balance with everyone, certainly without overshadowing the focus of the celebration. And the balance and focus were really off this year.

I wouldn't want to see an NAACP Image Awards ceremony dominated by famous white movie stars who happened to appear in a black film that year, and have all of them introduced by associating their more famous "white" films. The reason for the celebration should never be overshadowed by a pathetic attempt to attract a larger audience.

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Updated On: 6/17/10 at 09:59 AM

Well, I highly doubt many people tuned in JUST to see Mark Sanchez. But he made for a good talking point.

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That would keep it all about the work and the artists. And THE THEATAH!

Guh. I hate how theatre tries to be inclusive and then a bunch of people start sniping and trying to stay insular.

You said it. Can't have it both ways. What makes people think that Bravo or Lifetime, or even PBS would want to air them if CBS dropped them? They could well end up like the Olivier Awards - untelevised.

And, like it or not, the real point of the Tony telecast is to try and get people interested in theater. It is the New York theater community's only chance to reach out to people beyond the Tri-State area. And that is why they try and bring in more well known celebrities - so that they will (hopefully) extol the virtues of theater to an audience that may not be very familiar with it. And it it helps to create a few new theater lovers, then IMO it's done it's job.

Or they cave to pressure and include no movie, TV, music, or sports stars - only actors whom no one outside of Manhattan has ever heard of. It may please theater purists, but I don't know how many people they would reach, and how long such an awards show would last on CBS.



EDIT: I also think that most of the blame for the quality, or lack thereof, of the Tony Awards show this year rests with the producers of the show than the people who attended it.

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Updated On: 6/17/10 at 10:05 AM

Lizzie, one of the comments re: Mark Sanchez that annoyed me the most was someone I follow on Twitter saying that "we people don't do sports." Speak for yourself, but I was a four year swim team member in high school and follow baseball pretty avidly. People are allowed to like more than one thing, even if it's sports and theatre.

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I personally think it's great to have mainstream stars come on to the Tony's. However, I was annoyed this year, not because of the stars, but because of the self-loathing attitude Tony producers seem to have. As mentioned before, the horrible opening act was essentially saying "Look how great Broadway is...as long as it uses mainstream pop music". And in regard to Green Day, I understand the motive behind it and its necessity to bring in some viewers, but there was NO need to give them a 2 song set.

I know it's not a universal favorite, but IMO last year's opening (tech issues aside) was pretty damn good/effective. It actually celebrated Broadway for being Broadway and accomplished the Tonys goal...it made me interested to see some of those shows in NYC. Not to mention, it demonstrated how to properly insert a pop act(Poison) without it becoming the star of the evening.

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"Broadway is currently in an unhealthy codependent love affair with pop culture. And it was obvious on the Tonys."

AMEN!

It was also disheartening to see so many headlines like: "Broadway Goes Hollywood At The Tony Awards", "Hollywood Takes Over Tonys" and "In New York, Tony Awards Red Carpet Looks Alot Like Hollywood". Le sigh.

I do understand and appreciate, however, the very delicate balance regarding this whole situation. We want exposure outside of New York, but without losing the integrity of the work we're trying to honor and celebrate. Perhaps with the change of venue for next year, there's an opportunity to re-examine the show as a whole - especially considering the ratings being down 8% despite the huge Hollywood influence.

"Leslie Kritzer Hey guys! I say we take it to PBS where it truly belongs. Where people appreciate love and respect the arts."

These people are hilarious. If they did win a Tony and it was aired on PBS, watch them be pissed because only a limited audience saw them accept the award.