Forget the Awards, What About the Airtime!
Riedel takes us behind the scenes today for yet more Tony Awards pre-show infighting--this time over a push to give more musicals--even those not nominated for Best--some of that precious free coast-to-coast advertising.
CBS pushed to include "Legally Blonde," a bouncy, middlebrow show, and the arty "LoveMusik," which features famous songs by Kurt Weill, because the network wants more musical numbers on the telecast.
Over the weekend, Howard Sherman, head of the Wing, signed off on CBS's decision.
Immediately, the producers of the nominated shows - "Mary Poppins," "Spring Awakening," "Grey Gardens" and "Curtains!" - cried foul.
So the offer was made, and then withdrawn due to pressure from the in-competition producers' block.
Remember while you're watching on June 10th, it's not an awards show, it's an infomercial.
Come to think of it... is that any worse than an awards show? Maybe they should give up the pretense altogether and just dazzle us for two hours with great performances. Much more fun than speeches from the American Theatre Wing and Oscar-reject jokes.
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