The Huffington Post: "Why the Tony Awards are Flopping on TV" — Page 2

like i said......they should let all the new musicals perform not just the nominated ones.

The Jersey Boys our performing and they arent nominated.

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I adored the Tony's in the 90's. They showed clips of all the shows on Broadway, nominated or not, play or musical. Then they showed behind the scenes interviews for almost every award and Rosie did one of her "let's speak on pitch to a tune from an old show" thing in the beginning. And they would also have it in a broadway theater, like Patti LuPone says, she also thinks Radio City is too overblown (look it up, Manoel Felciano's behind the scenes peek at sweeney on broadway.com)

The problem with the Tonys is that it's an award that celebrates an art form that most of mainstream America hasn't been able to experience for themselves, so if anyone is interested in theatre, they need to do their own research and find sites like Broadwayworld.com to get all of their information. It also hurts that most media outlet never covers Broadway because Broadway isn't that popular anymore.

The Tonys will NEVER be mainstream, no matter how hard CBS tries. I agree with those who say that the Tonys should just be about theatre and about putting on a big show that celebrates that season in Broadway and theater in general. CBS should give it to PBS or another network that is willing to take the Tonys for what they are.

Not to be snarky, but why do people believe that Legally Blonde will boost ratings for the Tonys? It's not as if Legally Blonde is that much of a hot commodity that tweens and teens around the country will mark their calendar and have to watch just because Legally Blonde performs.

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Radio City is absolutely the wrong venue for the show. This is not like the Grammys or even the Daytime Emmys. Even though the camera is right on top of the performers, it's a quandry for the actors, playing to an airplane hanger and a lens in their face. Every show is configured for a radically smaller space, and when you see the numbers floating in the midst of that stage -- Bernadette's "Rose's Turn" comes to mind, among many others -- the shows themselves look flimsy. I remember the HAIRSPRAY finale, well-performed, looking cheesy. And farther back, the opening, truncated sequence from TITANIC, which seemed to be performed in a tunnel. Back to Broadway, where the scale serves every aspect of the show, and the camera can comfortably catch it.

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It would be better to have them in a Broadway house and it would be better to move them to a network that will give them the airtime to actually feature numerous performances. (I would say PBS, but there would have to be some requirement that it be carried around the country that night -- for people not in NY, there are few things as annoying as searching through the schedule to see that your local channel either decided not to air it at all or is airing it two weeks later in the middle of the night).

One thing that was right is that more than just the Best Musical (and Musical Revival) nominees should be featured. Think about the Oscars. Yes, people get up and go to the bathroom during many of the technical awards but you pick in your office pools based on your knowledge of and interest in the film -- people would care about more awards if they could see something of what the show is and have something to root for.

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The Tony Awards need to decide if they are a show or an awards ceremony. They can't be both. If they are a show, then they need to remain on a big network channel and need to make it exciting, lots of razzle dazzle. If it's an awards ceremony, then they need to shuffle it off to PBS or one of the cable channels and treat it like Inside the Actor's Studio.

One of the points of the Tony Awards is publicity. It is supposed to get Middle America excited about Broadway. It is supposed to whip up in the hearts of Ma & Pa Kettle a desire to see a Broadway show, and if they can't get to Broadway, then see a show when it comes to their city on a tour.

One of the things that the Tony Awards does is act as a lifeline to those in communities that don't have culture. To be able to tune into the Tony Awards and watch five minute clips of a Broadway show is like water in the desert to some young teenager. It paints a vision for them to go along with their Broadway cast album.

Finally, one thing the Tony Awards can't do is showcase Broadway shows where the talent is mediocre. Past shows have been exciting because Broadway had excellent talent. Now, the talent is very mediocre, acting, directing, writing. If you don't believe me, ask any person who saw the 1980 broadcast. When the Evita cast performed "A New Argentina" it was like a bolt of lightning. Unfortunately, after that, producers tried to become clever and pre-tape segments or mix too much material or not spotlight high points in the show.

Ask anyone that saw the 1980 broadcast. That moment from Evita was magical and has never been repeated.

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Are you sure? I thought they were presenting.

Yes, I talked to Daniel Reichard.

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Maybe if Broadway shows were broadcast on Network television or had DVD releases this "show" might gain an audience.

While I can see how broadcasting Broadway shows on TV or releasing them to DVD may make some people want to see them live, there will be just as many (if not more) people who think, "I saw that on TV (or DVD), so I don't need to go to New York and pay $100+ to see it again."

Updated On: 6/7/07 at 02:11 PM

I think the success of movie musicals directly disputes the argument that people won't go to the theater if they've seen the show on DVD.

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People don't make that distinction. They think they are seeing the movie onstage. It's all about familiarity - knowing they'll get something they already know they like for their overpriced theater ticket, airfare, hotel, and meals.

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Personally, I think 7 million viewers (that's about what they usually get) for the Tony awards is pretty decent. Not everyone has access to Broadway so the Tony awards aren't going to get ratings as good as the Emmy's, Grammy's, Oscars etc. Plus, the stars of broadway sometimes aren't as "known" as stars of TV, film and music because it is limited to NY in most cases. Plus, the tony's don't get half the publicity as the other awards shows, usually the week leading up to the emmy's grammy and Oscars (especially) promotion hits full force every single entertainment news and news media is talking about it, which equals promotion, which equals more viewers.

Also, some have said that the Tony's have asked Fantasia to perform for "ratings" further proof that isn't the case. I saw a Tony commercial just yesterday and there is no mention of Fantasia performing at all, I think if she was the "ratings" ploy they'd at least promote it on their commercial.

Seriously.

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