Tony Awards should be renamed Popularity Awards

It seems that the Tony Awards are increasingly awarding the biggest star in each category, rather than the most worthy (talented) performers.
Do you think they are doing this to keep the theatre alive and well?

oh please.

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Exactly, Tazber.

Well, anyone nominated for a Tony is a "Broadway star" I'd say. And I knew all along CZJ would win. I think that Kate Baldwin and Montego Glover were more deserving of the award.

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Quick, muscle, without looking it up, name the nominees for Best Featured Actress in a Play in 2002.

You should know their names, since by virtue of their nominations, they're all "stars."

Denzel was incredible, and deserved to win. It was a close race for a reason. Liev or Alfred were equally deserving, but there can only be one winner at the end of the day. I actually think Denzel's work is slightly undervalued, because he is such a massive, super-duper movie star. If he was a nobody, there'd be less muttering about him beating out close competition. But facts is, he's also one of the best actors on the planet, despite being Mr Movie Star.

Besides, he'll probably win another Oscar when they do the movie version of Fences, and The Tonys will end up looking like soothsayers. It'll be seen as one of the canniest wins, if the movie version sweeps the Oscars. I'm sure Viola Davis will win an Oscar as well.

Johansson was the heavy favorite in a weak-ish category. Blame the Broadway stalwarts for not giving an undeniable enough performance to prevent some novice movie starlet from stealing their thunder. Johansson may not have been undeniably brilliant, but clearly nobody else stood out enough to kill her momentum.

Zeta-Jones is a musical theater pro. In hindsight, it's not a big suprise that she managed to deliver on stage.

Updated On: 6/14/10 at 04:08 PM

So...how do we explain all the Hollywood stars who don't win Tonys every year? Last I checked, there were more than three Hollywood actors on Broadway this last season and there were eight acting awards. The same eight acting awards every season which generally do not go to Hollywood actors. And why should Hollywood actors automatically be disqualified from Tony contention or even public opinion? Seems like anyone who performs on Broadway should be given the same consideration that people may simply enjoy their performances and vote for them.

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Sometimes the big stars are... that good.

And most of people nominated are popular. Unless the part is your big break, most of the nominees have had large parts before in some part of the industry, regardless if it was stage, movies, or tv. So basically everyone nominated is somewhat popular.

If it was all about popularity I don't think Memphis would have won, it would have been Fela! or Idiot

Since when is Daniel Craig not an A-lister?

Yes, he was... Check some posters of 'Defiance', 'Quantum Of Solace' and I think even 'Flashbacks Of A Fool'.

And I think a celebrity can be an A-lister without having been above the title on a movie poster. But that's just my opinion, I guess

It's not as if it was a year where there were powerhouse performances by new names to choose from...most of the performances were kind of lackluster that were nominated this year. I thought Jan Maxwell was a better choice than Scarlett Johansson in their category, but I often think a similar thought ("x was more deserving than y") whether it's Hollywood names or not.