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

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 6/2/04 at 10:37am

ActionChild, I hate to point out a flaw in your argument especially given your deft use of quotation marks to dismiss something, but Nicole Kidman has performed on Broadway and the West End. Have "you?"

[JohnPopa]

Posted: 6/2/04 at 10:59am

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.

[wally]

Posted: 6/2/04 at 11:00am

"Wally, I will be looking forward to the Tonys this year... but I don't look forward to CBS's take on the Tonys"

Yeah, that's essentially what I am bothered by, what CBS is doing to make it a "big show". I still have no idea who this Scarlett person is, didn't see that movie. I know Nicole Kidman "sang" and she was on Broadway. I just said that I hope she doesn't sing on the Tonys.

[Plum]

Posted: 6/2/04 at 2:11pm

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

[JohnPopa]

Posted: 6/2/04 at 2:17pm

As for Nicole singing ... there are still PLAYS on Broadway right? Not every aspect of the Tony's is there to feed the musicals that are nominated.

[ActionBoy]

Posted: 6/2/04 at 3:07pm

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."

[BroadwayBoy2005]

Posted: 6/2/04 at 4:49pm

This is also sort of off-topic, but the commercials I've seen for the Tony's are quite good. Hugh Jackman says something that's hardly memorable, but the clips from other shows in the background make it all worth while.

[jo]

Posted: 6/2/04 at 8:56pm

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

[Daisy Head Maisy]

Posted: 6/2/04 at 9:17pm

TO all the Hugh Jackman haters, I have no complaints of watching him host. I think hes charismatic and energetic....not to mention cute if we are being superficial. And anything that helps open the theatre community to more people if okay by me

[newyorkuniq]

Posted: 6/2/04 at 9:20pm

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

[Menken Fan]

Posted: 6/2/04 at 11:37pm

I'm transferring my Tony tapes to DVD and just watched those horrible mid-80's shows, with Susan Anton, Tom Wopat, Stephanie Powers, Leslie Uggams, Dick Van Dyke and Nell Carter performing horrible medleys and tributes. Cheeeesy!

This year's show can't be worse than those.

[feinstein9]

Posted: 6/3/04 at 3:38am

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.

[SamIAm]

Posted: 6/3/04 at 11:45am

With Nicole and all the other stunt doubles they got to try to attract more of the mainstream audience (and they won't watch anyway if they don't like theater).

Oh well, I'll be in my usual spot, in front of the TV with my popcorn and seltzer...waiting for a few crumbs like the song from Assassins!

Sam...who will probably watch 2 mins of the Lakers game (the final 2 of course) as well.

[gravitydefying]

Posted: 6/3/04 at 2:20pm

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