The Huffington Post: "Why the Tony Awards are Flopping on TV"

[BustopherPhantom]

Posted: 6/6/07 at 5:30pm

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-j-elisberg/why-the-tony-awards-are-f_b_50787.html

Sorry if this has already been posted - I did search.

Posted: 6/6/07 at 5:40pm

I'd be shocked if this was posted only once-- everyone should click anda read. It's dead on.

[Mother's Younger Brother]

Posted: 6/6/07 at 5:47pm

Interesting article, I thoroughly disagree.

The networks and producers of the Tony Awards have progressively tried harder and harder to gain a larger viewership by filling the show with more mainstream actors and presenters and performers, whether or not they've ever set foot on a Broadway stage. In doing so, they've committed two mistakes.

First, they're assuming that the Tony Awards has a mainstream audience. I've always maintained that it doesn't, simply for the reasons the author of the article pointed out -- the vast majority of the viewing public will never see/hear/read these shows. As a tv viewer, I know I won't watch an awards show for a genre I'm not interested in, no matter who's presenting an award (and therefore on screen for maybe 60 seconds).

The second mistake is that in their efforts to garner a larger mainstream audience, they're alienating the real theatre fans -- those of us who DO know who the Broadway actors are, and would rather see them perform and/or present than Tony Bennett and Usher. My friends and I are annoyed every year that no one gets to present an award unless they've also made a movie or been in a tv show.

I also don't agree that the Tony Awards is a "show." The Tony Awards is a "ceremony" that happens to be broadcast on tv. Put it on a network like Bravo or A&E -- a network that ostensibly caters to the arts and, therefore, that audience.
Updated On: 6/6/07 at 05:47 PM

[wonderfulwizard11]

Posted: 6/6/07 at 5:52pm

I think they should just move the Tonys to PBS.

[goofy108]

Posted: 6/6/07 at 5:55pm

if they want better ratings, then they should present it as a show. if they want to keep it as a ceremony, then they shouldn't compain.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 6/6/07 at 5:55pm

The Tonys on PBS is definitely the best venue for it

It will never be a big ratings grabber on CBS & just admit it now

[scott68]

Posted: 6/6/07 at 5:56pm

He makes many good points, but the bit about not living in the middle of nowhere and yet still not seeing the shows made me laugh. Yes, it's fantastic that he lives in the self-proclaimed "Entertainment Capital of the World" rather than Bumblefrick, USA, but is he not still about as far from New York as you can get in the contiguous 48 states?

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 6/6/07 at 6:01pm

The Tony Awards will never be a "big" show because the majority of people don't go to the theater anymore. It's as simple as that.

[BustopherPhantom]

Posted: 6/6/07 at 6:14pm

"The Tony Awards will never be a "big" show because the majority of people don't go to the theater anymore. It's as simple as that."

How depressing.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 6/6/07 at 6:15pm

Many can not go for economic reasons & that is depressing

Updated On: 6/6/07 at 06:15 PM

[ucjrdude902]

Posted: 6/6/07 at 6:16pm

like i said......they should let all the new musicals perform not just the nominated ones.

Posted: 6/6/07 at 6:51pm

Were the TOnys ever a huge ratings grabber in, say, middle America? I know they got much larger ratings but that was when you basically had the option of three networks on TV plus PBS... Times have changed.

E

[allofmylife]

Posted: 6/6/07 at 7:52pm

The Tonys were very big back in the 70s - for one thing because they ALWAYS ended right on time. To the second. People loved that. And of course back then big stars still did Broadway and Broadway still launched the songs that people sang in the shower. AND it was a great show. I say SHOW, not ceremony. A ceremony shouldn't be on CBS. It shouldn't be on TV at all. If they broadcast it on a network that charges for commercials it's a SHOW.

I am still fuming over the exclusion of "Legally Blonde". What a stupid stupid move - especially giving in to the whining of other producers who got nominated (and I suspect don't want the competition). The Tony show runs three hours plus. The nusical numbers take up what 25 minutes? THIS IS WHAT PEOPLE WHO DON'T NORMALLY GO TO BROADWAY TUNE IN FOR. Seeing the Legally Blonde number could seriously bring some new blood in. Far more that that musical about masturb---er, horny teenagers.

I know what I won't be doing on Sunday night.

Posted: 6/6/07 at 7:59pm

I'm not doubting you that they were big in the 70s but they alunched the songs people sang in the showers? I can think of What I did For Love and that's about it for 70s crossover songs (and that wasn't on the Tonys...) and why would audiences LOVE and be thrilled that they ended exactly on time? that's never been a reason I wanted to watch or not watch something... "Honey let's watch the Tonys! you know they'll end EXACTLY on time!"

I do agree with your other thoughts tho

[vfd88]

Posted: 6/6/07 at 8:05pm

The 1971 Tony Awards sounded thrilling.

I agree, a Legally Blonde performance would definetely have helped bring new audiences to Broadway. But so will Mary Poppins. Still, "Omigod You Guys" would take like what, 5 minutes? That would not substantially cut the running time.

[spiderdj82]

Posted: 6/6/07 at 8:11pm

"The Tony Awards will never be a "big" show because the majority of people don't go to the theater anymore. It's as simple as that."


Hasn't Broadway seen record numbers in the last couple of years?

Posted: 6/6/07 at 8:23pm

I still can't believe the 1971 awards though had NO Company performance (we were ****ed that way with all of the early prince/Sondheim shows--no Follies, no Night Music either)

E

[wonderfulwizard11]

Posted: 6/6/07 at 8:32pm

Well, at least Alexis Smith did Lucy and Jessie on another Tony Awards.

[jv92]

Posted: 6/6/07 at 9:07pm

Well, I think the first thing they should do is move it to a Broadway house. Radio City is too big. You lose the brilliance of the performances on that big stage. That could be a reason why.

[allofmylife]

Posted: 6/6/07 at 9:38pm

Eric, the on time thing was a joke, although it was a real bragging right for Broadway. I remember people remarking "they know how to run a show on Broadway so it ends on time". Seriously.

[TonyaFanatic]

Posted: 6/6/07 at 9:39pm

I definitely agree with the fact that since they are on CBS, they should be more of a show. Big stars, big production numbers. Stuff like they used to do. When Rosie would host and have tv stars who were on broadway sing from their shows, that was really nice. And I especially loved the part about performers nominated doing songs from their shows. great idea.

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 6/6/07 at 10:20pm

I totally agree. Having been away from NYC for almost 7 years, my interest in most Broadway shows is waning. I almost forgot that the Tony's are on this Sunday, and wouldn't be surprised if I don't tune in this year. This is something I've been watching religiously since 1979, but the author is right, they're getting less and less entertaining. I think the most abysmal year was the one hosted by the late Gregory Hines and Bernadette Peters. Their "production number" was downright embarassing.

[wickedrentq]

Posted: 6/6/07 at 10:22pm

I recently wrote something that kind of attempted to discuss the same things, though I guess a little more from a Broadway fanatic's perspective:

If you’re able to visit The Museum of Television and Radio on 52nd Street between 5th and 6th Avenues, you’ll find an array of Broadway-related television shows and specials to choose from. One of the most outstanding elements of their collection is the numerous Tony Awards broadcasts that they have available for viewing. I have had the pleasure of watching several of these past awards, mainly from the 70’s and 80’s. Here are some highlights of my viewings:

1971: The 25th Anniversary of the Tonys. A song was performed from every show that ever won the Tony for Best Musical, often by the original performers, many of whom were themselves Tony winners. Many of these performances have been featured on Broadway’s Lost Treasures . This was perhaps the most legendary Tony Awards broadcast of all time.

1972: Ethel Merman received a special achievement award, and so she sang a montage of songs from her most famous roles—Annie Oakley, Mama Rose, etc. This particular performance can be seen on Broadway’s Lost Treasures 3. Richard Rodgers also received a special award, and some of Broadway’s biggest stars performed some of his songs while he strummed them on the piano.

1976: In addition to the gift of seeing the original cast of A Chorus Line perform “I Hope I Get It,” and “One,” this broadcast focused on songs from great shows that somehow never won Tonys such as West Side Story (Don’t get me started on that one!). Additionally, special guest Richard Burton performed a scene from Hamlet.

1981: This broadcast focused on women's achievement in theatre and included Angela Lansbury performing “By The Sea” and Patti Lupone performing “Buenos Aires.”

1986: The 40th Anniversary of The Tonys. Once again songs from shows that have won the Best Musical Tony were performed, this time as more of a melody by a core set of star Broadway performers—Debbie Allen, Chita Rivera, Dorothy Loudon and Ben Vereen were among the bunch.

In fact, from about 1972 through at least 1986, each year the Tonys had one of these particular themes that featured performances from Broadway stars. One year, Gwen Verdon and Donna McKechnie danced together in the opening about “The Wide World of Broadway.” Themes ranged from famous screen stars that started in theatres to honoring understudies, to presenters and performers discussing the first time they ever saw live theatre.

There were many, many tributes to some of the great composers such as Stephen Sondheim, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Julie Styne, George Abbott, and Jerry Herman, Presentations for these theatre legends were not sung by people who had nothing to do with theatre like Aretha Franklin, but some of the best and brightest stars of Broadway, such as Gwen Verdon, Bernadette Peters, Mary Martin, Tony Randall, Angela Lansbury, Julie Andrews, and Robert Preston. Additionally, the Tony Awards of these years were co-hosted by 2 or several more of these legendary performers.

Moreover, many tributes were paid to historic Broadway theaters where that year’s particular Tony Awards ceremony was held, such as The Winter Garden Theater, or the Imperial Theater. A particularly memorable tribute occurred in 1983 to the Uris Theatre. That year’s Tonys celebrated the music of George Gershwin, and at the end of the ceremony, the theater was newly named the Gershwin Theater.

Certainly, those sort of tributes can no longer occur, at least a tribute to a theater while in that theatre, because since 1997, the Tony Awards were no longer held in Broadway theaters, but at Radio City Music Hall, a place that is not exactly as perfectly set to host Broadway performances, as recent broadcasts have shown.

The change in Tony broadcasts seemed to begin taking place in 1987, the first year that Alexander H. Cohen did not produce the Tonys. As the years have passed, efforts have been made to make the Tony Awards more mainstream, which inevitably means less of a total focus on Broadway and theatre, since in today’s society, that’s not exactly mainstream. In addition to moving the awards to Radio City Music Hall, performers and presenters became less people from the Broadway community and more recognizable screen actors and singers, such as Mary J. Blige, LL Cool J, and Roseanne.

Even when the Tonys do have performances by stars of Broadway, or at least stars who have recently performed on Broadway, the performances are at best substandard, such as Harry Connick Jr’s dull opening to last year’s Tony Awards.

Between that, the fact that the Tonys are given out at Radio City despite general agreement that performances from the nominated musicals do not hold up as well there as in Broadway theaters, and simply the fact that the spirit of the awards seem so different in the past broadcasts that I have watched at the Museum than the present broadcasts makes me wonder if the biggest difference in the Tonys comes from the general enthusiasm in the people who produce them.

Recent broadcasts lack the clear pride that the producers should take in Broadway. If, in addition to celebrating Broadway, the purpose of the Tonys is to promote Broadway, than the producers of the Tonys have done a terrible job of ensuring this promotion, as for the past couple of years the Tony Awards have been shown on a night of competitive television, and particularly this year when the Tony Awards will compete with the series finale of The Sopranos.

Maybe that’s what Alexander H. Cohen brought to the Tonys—not themes, performances, appearances, etc, but a general enthusiasm and passion for the theatre. Perhaps the key to improving the current state of the Tonys is to find someone to produce it with that same passion.

Until then, even if we have to sit through Roseanne singing the National Anthem, loyal theatre fans will be tuned into CBS the night of June 10, appreciating one of the very few times a national network dedicates 3 hours of programming to “celebrating” theatre.

[ben1986]

Posted: 6/6/07 at 10:33pm

He's right. Granted I really only care to see Company win on sunday night, other than that I could careless about the nominees. The reason I tune every year is to see the performances because that factors into what I'll see whil on summer vacation in NYC.

I understand the fairness argument, but the Tony's are about celebrating the past season on broadway. So why not celebrate the entire season, and not just the nominees?

[goofy108]

Posted: 6/6/07 at 11:02pm

another reason for low ratings: the lack of a host.