Will the TONY show be more appealing this year? — Page 2

Weren't Nathan Lane and Bernadette Peters hosts the same years they won Tony's?

It's not the deepest pool of possible hosts -- someone who gives a squirt about Broadway but might be recognizable outside this insulated and forgotten community.

And, no, the show this year will be as forgettable as any other year.

Oy. As everyone has already pointed out, Jackman's hosting is hardly tasteless. Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick co-hosted the year The Producers was up for every award. Was it tasteless then? Or did it just become tasteless when the nominated host also happened to be a movie star, ActionBoy?

I agree that CBS' attempts to boost ratings with famous presenters probably won't work. And it shows a total lack of creativity on their part. Didn't they try the famous presenters thing last year? How well did that work? Ratings were actually slightly down, but with an increase in the coveted youth demographic that could probably be attributed to X-Man Jackman rather than Barbara Walters.

Famous presenters aren't going to do it. Nothing is going to do it except an increased interest in Broadway theater. End. of. Story.

And I will gladly eat my words if rating mysteriously skyrocket this year, I promise. :)

Updated On: 6/2/04 at 02:11 PM

Oh, Wally, I wasn't _defending_ CBS's decision to pull in big name Hollywood stars to present at the Tony's. I hope Kidman doesn't sing, either. Namo, I know that she's been on Broadway and West End but my point was that she's not KNOWN for her theatre works. Except for something called MOULIN ROUGE, perhaps; hence the term "musical."

It seems like this NYTimes article addresses our subject
squarely

"With the Mob as Competition, the Tonys Go for the Glamour"

https://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/03/theater/newsandfeatures/03TONY.html?ex=1086840000&en=fb0737277f105fab&ei=5062&partner=GOOGLE

https://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/03/theater/newsandfeatures/03TONY.html?ex=1086840000&en=fb0737277f105fab&ei=5062&partner=GOOGLE>https://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/03/theater/newsandfeatures/03TONY.html?ex=1086840000&en=fb0737277f105fab&ei=5062&partner=GOOGLE

Updated On: 6/2/04 at 08:56 PM

Hugh's kinds boring. I used to like Rosie as a host.

wrote: "...and devote time to THEATRICAL celebrities like Barbara Cook, Elaine Stritch, Julie Harris et al.... In other words, the Tonys could actually be a real celebration of Broadway and its amazing history (like it used to be not so many years ago) rather than a lame three hour parade of second tier celebrities, rushed musical numbers and endless categories that only a few thousand people in the entire world care about the outcome of."

will everyone now join me in a rendition of god bless america?
...thank you. i'm glad there are folks out there who realize the show doesn't *have* to be lame just because it *has* been lame.

hahaha oh PAUL CHAMBERLAIN....found you.:)
Wally, yes, i agree. If Nicole sings, all hell breaks loose.