Tonys hark back to history

[Ms Miranda Joyce Childe]

Posted: 6/12/18 at 3:42pm

As a former gypsy myself, I absolutely LOVED the way Bareilles and Grogan aimed the Tonys at performers and not at the theatre goers or TV viewers.Their song To the Losers, Why Eight Shows a Week,and other original works harmonized beautifully were a great big Thank You to those of us who have dedicated our lives to the joy and pain of the theatre.

Kudos to them! They could have made the show about themselves, like Neil Patrick Harris and Hugh Jackman, but they didn't. They chose to honor the theatrical tradition that the Theatre Wing embodies and returned to the original intention of The Antoinette Perry Award.

I applaud the decision of the show's producers, directors, choreographers, hosts and the myriad creative and courageous people involved who brought integrity to the wacko world of award shows. Don't get me wrong, Hugh Jackman and Neil Patrick Harris are paragons of talent, and their production numbers were a joy to see. However, what an unexpected pleasure to see the spotlight on the performers themselves.

My only question is this, and I would appreciate any and all opinions:

Will the home viewers and theatre goers who were not pandered to, as the have come to expect, feel cheated and closed out of what was essentially a pat on the back to all theatre people - the winners, losers, and hopefuls? Did we become too much of a clique, scaring away the humble non-performers?

I have read that Tony viewership has been declining steadily for the past few years. Perhaps this new theatre-centric approach will bring more people back. Everyone wants to feel like an insider...this may just be the formula that works. It's worth a try.I sincerely hope it does widen the audience, but how often does doing the right thing trump, (no not Him!) massive profits?

I am eager to hear your thoughts on this topic. I found no comments about this topic in all the post-game analyses on tv and print media. As expected, the #1 story was the DeNiro outburst; #2 was the Parkland shooting kids onstage. As if to prove my worst fears, these were the stories that would appeal to the largest audience and could best be exploited for political purposes!

This is the only forum I found where I could express myself fully and possibly, hopefully get a reaction from a cross-section of thinking people. Twitter is not for me! Thanks for the space to communicate.Excelcior!

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 6/12/18 at 5:31pm

It was definitely less cliquey this year.

Also, this is good: https://tv.avclub.com/sara-bareilles-and-josh-groban-lend-an-infectious-energ-1826721784

(Sorry it's not clickable.)