Tony Awards 2023

[ADMIN]

Tony Awards Will Not Be Televised on June 11 Due to WGA Strike

According to the Hollywood Reporter, the Tony Awards will not be televised on June 11. The committee submitted a WGA waiver for the Tony Awards to air on CBS and stream on Paramount+ on June 11, but it was denied.

full article here

OMG - I am totally bummed.

I understand the writers' concerns but wish they had granted the waiver.

[jo]

The sad part is the fate of quite a few shows ( which are supposed to be good but are not box office draws) are banking on national TV exposure to attract audiences. No exposure will not be good. Neither will delayed awards show until strike is resolved - they may not last that long.

Besides, the strike is with the film and Tv show producers, not for Broadway shows.

Sometimes, there is room for compromise if it is for the greater good.

JO

[ADMIN]

Yes. It's the "TV show" part that's the problem. I say, "go on with it" regardless.

I think they should hire a writer (or a few) to host the show and just let them "talk" their way through it.

Harvey Fierstein comes to mind . . . or, how about Hugh? He's not in the WGA and he's good "off the cuff" on stage. Harvey must be in the union and probably wouldn't cross the picket line. Can't fault him on that. If they hold the awards ceremony at all, I want to see it - at the very least, online somewhere.

[ADMIN]

Reprieve - YAY!

WGA Won't Picket Unscripted Tony Awards; Broadcast Set For June 11th

The Tony Awards will air as originally scheduled on June 11th, and WGA has agreed not to picket the broadcast, which will consist of non-scripted segments. What does this likely mean for the broadcast? You'll likely see performances from nominated shows, an in-memoriam segments, but not host-led banter or elaborate opening numbers.

In a statement released this evening, the WGA has agreed not to picket the broadcast due to alterations to the show made by Tony Awards Productions (a joint venture of the Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing) to conform with specific requests from the WGA.

Full article

[jo]

They will need hosts/someone to keep the show going who are good at hosting events like this...and are part of the theatre community. And can even be performers.

A pity Hugh will likely be in the UK for the filming start of the movie with Deadpool. His music tour has further enhanced his hosting and performing skills. He could have been someone who could keep the show interesting.

Or even an opening number with Benjamin Pajak ( most recently hailed in Oliver!, after his stint in The Music Man)? They can first double up in "When I Get My Name in Lights" ( Benjamin has sung that in a concert). They can then sing "Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better" and end up with "There's No Business Like Show Business" ( complete with some Rockettes - oops, this will not be at RCMH)... maybe joined by some high-kicking Bway performers from current shows?

Hey, the show must go on

Some triple-threats are great performers but hosting takes a different talent. Who else are available?

Jo

[JH4HJ]

I thought the show went quite well last night. I have seen worse awards shows *with* writers, that's for sure.

One puzzlement - what was with that Lifetime Achievement Award? They brought Joel Grey and John Kander out on stage and didn't even give them two seconds to say "Thanks" before whisking them off again. I found that bizarre.

Did anyone see the Oscar Levant show? I'm sorry this limited run did not wait for me to get there.

[mamaleh]

I saw and very much liked GOOD NIGHT, OSCAR. I know some of the chatterati on theater sites were complaining that they felt Hayes did not deserve the win, but for my money, he was amazing. Not only did he maintain Levant’s shleppy dourness but his throwaway witticisms spewed out hilariously in machine-gun rapidity. The icing on the cake was Hayes’s magnificent playing
of “Rhapsody in Blue.” (Hayes had trained as a classical pianist before becoming an actor.)

Of course, he doesn’t really resemble Levant facially. And I do remember what he looked like, even though I was a young child during his spate of Jack Paar appearances. (My grandparents were faithful Paar watchers and when I had sleepovers at their place, I was allowed to stay up late. Let’s hear it for grandparents!) But Hayes conveyed Levant’s mannerisms so deftly that physiognomy didn’t matter so much.

Ellen

[mamaleh]

As to the Lifetime Achievement Awards, what an outrage to relegate those two icons to the non-broadcasted, so-called Act 1 pre-show of the Tonys captured live one time only on Pluto TV. That’s why they reappeared only briefly during the main ceremony. But that’s where they should have been feted in the first place.

Ellen

[mamaleh]

Good news—Update on the Act 1 Tony awards preshow: I’ve just read that Pluto TV is going to stream the preliminary ceremonies in the next day or so. I’m looking forward to watching it again. Pluto TV, by the way, is free.

Ellen

[jo]

There is some discussion on BWW re the lack of acting awards for Sweeney Todd... and even makes a comment that just because Josh is famous ( in the same light as Hugh Jackman) he should not necessarily win the Tony.

jo
Send PM
Broadway Legend
Joined: 5/15/03

#10Why is it hard for other Sweeneys and Lovetts to win acting Tonys now?
Posted: 6/12/23 at 7:59pm

Listener said: "

Honestly, I'm relieved Groban (and Hugh before him) didn't win because it proves that Bway hasn't succumbed to the idea that a star deigning to appear on the boards is reason enough to give them a Tony. Let their performance be perfect and the casting be right regardless of their fame, and then give them a Tony."



Jackman has the theatre background (a graduate of dramatic theatre & professionally a former Olivier nominee and former Tony winner) who just happens to be a big film star as well. He was an Oscar nominee for Les Miserables and is now widely recognized in movies for his range & versatility ( this year, he has just concluded his Music Man Broadway run, released the heavy drama The Son for which he has a GGlobe nomination, & will be back as a superhero in his next movie). Why not watch his heavy drama movies (Prisoners/The Prestige/The Fountain), his dark comedy Bad Education & the recent familial drama on mental health in which he is the central character or the titular SON? He has done both musicals and drama on stage. If he wins , it is for his performance and not just because he is a big name. He has also been an accomplished host for the Oscars & the Tonys.

Interesting that he and theatre/film star Patrick Stewart once talked about reviving Sweeney Todd if they had the opportunity.

He thinks that Hugh and Josh are on the same professional level as actors??

[JH4HJ]

Jun 12, 2023 17:14:27 GMT -5 mamaleh said:

I saw and very much liked GOOD NIGHT, OSCAR. I know some of the chatterati on theater sites were complaining that they felt Hayes did not deserve the win, but for my money, he was amazing. Not only did he maintain Levant’s shleppy dourness but his throwaway witticisms spewed out hilariously in machine-gun rapidity. The icing on the cake was Hayes’s magnificent playing
of “Rhapsody in Blue.” (Hayes had trained as a classical pianist before becoming an actor.)

Of course, he doesn’t really resemble Levant facially. And I do remember what he looked like, even though I was a young child during his spate of Jack Paar appearances. (My grandparents were faithful Paar watchers and when I had sleepovers at their place, I was allowed to stay up late. Let’s hear it for grandparents!) But Hayes conveyed Levant’s mannerisms so deftly that physiognomy didn’t matter so much.

Thanks. Really sorry I missed this one. I too remember Oscar Levant from movies and talk shows, way back when.

Yes. If the actor truly "gets" the character, looks don't really matter all that much.

[That guy in Boy From OZ looks nothing like Peter Allen. ]

[JH4HJ]

Jun 12, 2023 17:26:29 GMT -5 mamaleh said:

As to the Lifetime Achievement Awards, what an outrage to relegate those two icons to the non-broadcasted, so-called Act 1 pre-show of the Tonys captured live one time only on Pluto TV. That’s why they reappeared only briefly during the main ceremony. But that’s where they should have been feted in the first place.

I appreciate the explanation. It was a truly incongruous moment for me last night. Don't bother at all or let them at least say "Thank you" but bring 'em out then immediately push them off made no sense at all.

[jo]

Postscript on original post on BWW --

jo
Send PM
Broadway Legend
Joined: 5/15/03

#11Why is it hard for other Sweeneys and Lovetts to win acting Tonys now?
Posted: 6/13/23 at 12:17am
Some people are unaware or forget that Hugh Jackman came from the theatre before he became a Hollywood film star. He stole the show as Gaston in Beauty&theBeast & played JoeGillis in Sunset Blvd. It was Trevor Nunn ( director of the Royal National Theatre &the Royal Shakespeare Company; also of acclaimed plays Les Miserables/SunsetBlvd/NicholasNickleby) who cast him in SunsetBlvd and brought him to the London revival of Oklahoma!. Before London, Hugh also won an acting award for his portrayal in a film adaptation of a play called Erskineville Kings - an inner city drama in Sydney. It was in Oklahoma! that XMen producer LSDonner discovered him & suggested his eventual casting as Wolverine. Early on, his versatility was already noted.

If people think he cannot handle savage scenes (such as the supposed throat-slicing scenes in Sweeney Todd) here is one of the most frightening scenes on screen, from the movie Prisoners ( which had an impeccable cast - with Jake Gyllenhaal/Viola Davis/Terence Howard/MelissaLeo/Paul Dano), where Hugh portrays an alpha male whose daughter went missing. He imprisons ( and hurts) the young man whom he suspected of kidnapping his daughter. A traumatic scene :



Hugh Jackman does not "deign to act in the theatre" -- he is an accomplished thespian ( his Broadway plays include A Steady Rain & Jez Butterworth's The River) and has been successful in musical theatre as well. Also, it was his film TheGreatestShowman( he is an uncredited producer & oversaw the project for 8 years) which helped reinvigorate the interest in movie musicals.

[jo]