THEATER TALK Features Tony Awards Recap, Emanuel Azenberg This Weekend

By: Jun. 14, 2012
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THEATER TALK dices and dissects the recent Tony Awards and CBS telecast with panelists Patrick Pacheco of the Los Angeles Times, Michael Musto of The Village Voice, and Jesse Green of New York Magazine joining series co-hosts Michael Riedel of the New York Post and producer Susan Haskins the day after the annual event.

Then veteran Broadway producer Emanuel Azenberg, honored with a Tony for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, weighs in on Broadway’s future, all in Tony Wrap-Up 2012, premiering Friday, June 15 (2012) at 1:30 AM on Thirteen (early Saturday morning), followed by airings on CUNY TV* Saturday 6/16 (8:30 PM), Sunday 6/17 (12:30 PM) and Monday 6/18 (7:30 AM, 1:30 PM, and 7:30 PM). The show will be available for online viewing following the broadcasts at www.cuny.tv.

The panel reviews its own predictions, televised last month on THEATER TALK, with Pacheco emerging as the most prophetic by predicting key winners Once (Best Musical) and Steve Kazee (Best Actor in a Musical).

All discuss Riedel’s premise that the awards were a snub to Stephen Sondheim for criticizing The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess (Best Revival of a Musical) before it opened. Other hot topics include the live Hairspray number from a ship at sea, Audra McDonald’s acceptance speech, and the quality of the awards and TV show overall. “And I’ll never forget Patti LuPone with a lawn mower,” adds Musto. “I’m still haunted by it.”

Producer Azenberg talks of his early years working for theatrical giants like David Merrick and how the business of theatre has changed. Short, star-studded runs with record-high premium ticket prices discourage young people from attending shows, he says, and becomes “ultimately unsustainable.”



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