June 12, 2006

What's Wrong With the Tony Awards

Now it's nice that Emperor Palpatine and Cynthia Nixon (Miranda!) won last night, but when it comes to the big prizes, the Tony Awards all too often go to the wrong shows. Witness last night's win by Jersey Boys for Best Musical. The only non-acting prize it won (other than the big one) was for lighting, and I haven't heard of a soul who thinks it deserved the top prize - yet it's win isn't at all surprising given the dynamics behind the voting. But those dynamics aren't logical and someone should wake up to that (actually lots of people should). As Nathaniel explains:

There can be general consensus that a show will be regarded as a classic and they'll still ignore it for a touristy moneymaker. It's the reason they gave the big prize to Spamalot! over Light in the Piazza last year and the reason Jersey Boys took the big prize from Drowsy Chaperone this year and Pajama Game beat Sweeney Todd, too. In all of those cases, it's a crying shame. The really puzzling thing about this voting trend is that you'll always hear that this happens due to the touring company voting block. They want the ability to advertise the blockbusters on the road as being "Best Musical" winners. That would make perfect sense if they needed that title. The truth is these blockbuster shows that they vote for don't need awards. They usually come ready made for mass public appeal. You can't tell me that a show about a beloved cult film and a jukebox musical about the Four Seasons can't be marketed without that Tony-winning hook. It's the real deal new musicals like Piazza and Chaperone that need this boost.
Posted by armand at June 12, 2006 11:52 AM | TrackBack | Posted to Culture


Comments

And what the hell was with that acceptance speech for best actor? Wow.

Posted by: binky at June 13, 2006 09:20 AM | PERMALINK
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