CBS: Tonys on warning

Michael Riedel has the scoop of the week: CBS ceo Les Moonves "loves the theatre"! Who knew.

Oh, and that the Tony telecast on said network is now getting extensive review.

He didn't expect high ratings - the man is not an idiot - but he did expect "an entertaining show, and we didn't deliver," says a Tony insider. "Les loves the Tonys and the theater, and he's the only reason we're still on CBS."

This year's bland telecast was the lowest-rated since the Tonys were first televised in the 1960s.

But there's an opportunity here that Riedel seems not to get, based on this closing dig:

If the League and the Wing don't get their act together, they'll find themselves passing out Tony Awards over lunch in the Belasco Room at Sardi's.

Uh, wouldn't that be a much, much better show? Let the nectar of Bacchus flow!