Compared to most awards shows, there are four that receive slightly more scrutiny. The four shows that make up the EGOT have always been anticipatory occasions where each provides a different form of entertainment. Who doesn’t want to see celebrities gather to celebrate their accomplishments and welcome new faces into their clubs? During the pandemic, most of them actually flourished. The Emmys especially benefited from a society growing addicted to streaming series like Ted Lasso, finding any way to escape the doldrums of the new normal. Elsewhere there was The Grammys who were producing some of the most intimate and personal music in a young COVID-19 society. Even The Oscars were somewhat interesting with the question of what a potential post-theater ceremony COULD look like.
The only one who really suffered at that time was The Tonys. Whereas the other three benefited from prerecording and editing, there was something antithetical to Broadway’s biggest night. Sometimes, there is no better rhetoric to go by than “you had to be there.” Most times theater flourishes in front of an audience experiencing something communal. Given that Coronavirus made everything around this a bit more antithetical, one of life’s greatest uncertainties was when Broadway would open again. Prior to vaccinations and a sense of control around health protocols, there wasn’t anything to predict when people would be able to come back and take in the beauty of those glorious, glorious theaters. Many tried to create a new form of theater via Zoom, but rarely did they work as more than novelty.
To be completely honest, it makes sense why The 74th Annual Tony Awards were delayed. Besides the fact that everyone in 2020 was socially distancing digitally, there was an incomplete 2019-2020 season to account for. Many of the biggest names that could dominate awards season had failed to open. Others, like 2022’s nominees The Girl from the North Country, Diana the Musical, and Mrs. Doubtfire, were either in previews or failed to meet the requirements for eligibility. Given that the ceremony also benefits from live pageantry, it makes sense that they would postpone until they could proudly declare that “Broadway is Back!”
The annals of history may have an asterisk that declares 2020 a year without The Tonys, but it was so much more painful to live through. Outside of a night celebrating Broadway that helped introduce the world to Diana the Musical as a third act enticement, there wasn’t much in the way of great new entertainment to mull through. The gap between The 73rd Annual Tony Awards on June 9, 2019, and The 74th on September 26, 2021, was painfully long. While theater had begun to open by Mid-2021, The Tonys had the added difficulty of trying to remind audiences of the power of live entertainment at a time when most were still skeptical. While it’s true that the majority of viewers probably hadn’t seen the Best Musical winners in person usually by that night, it felt like more than usual audiences struggled to care. Why should they go back when the world had become a scary place?
This article isn’t so much a commentary on the winners and losers. If one was to judge the ceremony based on what was shown, there’s a great chance that one could call this year a success. However, for viewers like me, there was some skepticism going into The 75th Annual Tony Awards this year. There was something very specific that made us feel burned by everything. Where we go to watch nights of new entertainment that will soon fill our schedule, the people at CBS decided that what was necessary was a mix-up that was controversial and, in my opinion, very offensive and cynical. It’s true that Broadway deserves to be transparent about their desperate need for audiences and a song and dance production is the best way to achieve it, but the way that they handled the complete four hour package was extremely annoying.
A common complaint about contemporary Tony ceremonies is that they don’t give enough time for every acceptance speech. Many of the craft categories are often turned into montages or sidebars of information. Die-hards note that Broadway’s big night when they get to publicize their achievements would be diminished to fit a conventional structure. The majority of awards shows have come up against this issue, especially those that balloon into several subdivisions and fields like The Grammys. How does one keep the audience’s attention while doing due diligence? It’s plenty controversial and, as The Oscars learned in 2022, there’s no pleasing everyone if the hope is to compact the show to its essence instead of allowing for something best exhibited as a self-indulgent evening.
The Tonys had to figure out a way to appeal to so much in one evening. Having already postponed one year that featured airing a Grease (1978) singalong during its time slot, the pressure to make everyone care was definitely bigger than normal. In a year where Best Musical only had three nominees that weren’t also in Best Original Score (they were all plays), it was slim pickings and certain sacrifices had to be made. Unless one cared about Jagged Little Pill, Tina the Tina Turner Musical, or Moulin Rouge! The Musical, what was there to entice viewers?
Another unfortunate overlap was that CBS was in the midst of trying to launch Paramount+. In a previous life it was called CBS Access, but now was doing what it could to compete with AppleTV+, Disney+, and every streamer that had come in the past 10+ years. At the time, one could argue that it lacked anything worth signing up for outside of legacy series and a handful of new but not necessarily great movies like A Quiet Place Part II (2021) and The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run (2021). They also had exclusive rights to air certain sporting events. While Paramount+ in 2022 looks a lot more promising, by September 2021 the partnership with The Tonys seemed like a cynical cash-grab that was ruining the institution’s sanctity.
Defenders will be quick to suggest that there wasn’t any financial burden. There was a free trial run that everyone could opt into. Those wanting to watch the first half of the ceremony could see it and then cancel before a subscription is put into place. Even then, it reads a lot like confusing extortion when considering that The Tonys poorly advertised the exclusivity and that it was separate from a primetime event called “Broadway is Back!” that would feature the announcement of the big categories. If you were on the east coast, it would be a haven of four hours straight of Broadway goodness. If you were anywhere else, it gets a bit more complicated.
To break it down, the actual ceremony hosted by Audra McDonald would air on Paramount+ while everything else would be on CBS. The good part of this is that everyone got to give as thorough of a speech as they wanted. Nobody would be rushed and deserved credit would be given. An issue remained that this wasn’t a complete ceremony. Outside of having to wait an additional 2-4 hours for many nationwide who didn’t want to just jump on the internet for spoilers, it lacked the here and now. The show opened with a rather fitting rendition of Hairspray’s “You Can’t Stop the Beat,” but unfortunately wouldn’t feature performances by any of the hot new properties (the other performances featured music from A Chorus Line, Anyone Can Whistle, and Dreamgirls). You had to wait for the “Broadway is Back!” portion hosted by Leslie Odom Jr., which wasn’t so much designed as an award show but a celebration of the musical side of theater.
That is definitely a conflict theater faced even in safer times of knowing how to celebrate plays and musicals equally. Both are crucial to the stage, and yet musicals have an easier way of marketing. The songs become timeless. It is less likely that any two actors will emerge on a CBS broadcast to perform seven minutes of The Inheritance. As gripping as it may be, the general audience may see it as boring. This isn’t to say that “Broadway is Back!” didn’t recognize plays, but it was far more infrequent than the 17 performances scattered throughout the broadcast.
To be completely honest, “Broadway is Back!” was nice, but it was also a tad pointless to those wanting a Tony ceremony to cap off one of the most harrowing moments in modern history. There is a need to celebrate the artists who taught us to dance and think creatively. More importantly, the ones who made the shows that are new and vibrant. IF you were to make a celebration of live theater, maybe even introduce audiences to the new line-up of shows that would be present in the upcoming season. It was a great night of seeing amazing singers duet, but it wasn’t The Tonys. It was a special Frankensteined into a more conventional and interesting broadcast.
It made sense that the ratings were down. On the one hand, the interest wasn’t there because of how exclusive live theater remains. It was much worse in a pandemic when most venues had reduced seating. Given that none of the shows were necessarily the most enticing to general audiences, excuses can be made as to why people didn’t care. The Tonys had a thankless task and came up with two great ideas. The idea of stapling them together was ultimately a boneheaded, cynical approach that cost them certain respect.
Did it give Paramount+ the press it deserved? Not necessarily. As mentioned, most could easily unsubscribe once everything was over. They lacked a back catalog worth sticking around for. I’m sure many have stuck around because of The Tonys, but those who simply wanted to watch a broadcast usually offered for free on one of the most accessible TV networks had good reason to be annoyed. Most of the commercial breaks were redundant, playing the same three or four ads for series and films that have largely been forgotten since. While one could argue that Paramount+ would fare better in 2022 thanks to many promising partnerships, it’s still a bad omen of what the future of awards shows would look like that they’re hidden behind a paywall that also doesn’t benefit from potential technical glitches and delays. As mentioned, many wanting to watch “Broadway is Back!” also had to wait 2-4 hours after the Paramount+ portion to see the grand finale where Moulin Rouge! took home the top prize. When there’s so much time between the first and last category, the momentum goes from being a special night of live theater to an endurance test, where the accessibility of the ceremony was undeservedly difficult.
I should clarify that I am someone who loves awards shows and am actually in favor of broadcasting bigger, longer, and uncut. While many could complain that they drag on, they’re missing the appeal of these shows, which promote new shows to audiences and make them appreciate the art form. This is a problem that The Oscars also faced when they failed to present every category live, though they at least featured every speech in some form. The idea of shortening these programs never made sense other than to make something designed as very special into something minor and conventional. This isn’t a night to be another dull TV show. It’s time to recognize the art that inspires audiences and creatives alike.
It's why I have an issue with reviews that claim that the Paramount+/CBS airing was an unmitigated success. Again, I loved everything that they did, but hate the approach with which they achieved it. On the one hand, I’m for giving everyone credit, but having them swept under a rug in favor of yet another rendition of West Side Story’s “Somewhere” feels unnecessary. This is a night where everyone matters, and for most audiences with only access to CBS, it was greatly ignored. Sure, there’s value in archiving it on the service, but as a live event it makes no sense not airing where the most people could see it. This is on par for theater fans to only airing the first half of The Super Bowl on TV and having to tune into Peacock to see how things wind up. It’s an incomplete tapestry, and one that feels condescending and lacks trust in the audience to care.
To be completely honest, there’s no way that the ceremony in 2021 would’ve been flawless. The Tonys had a difficult task and they got enough right to not be an embarrassing mess. However, their choice to celebrate theater’s return mid-ceremony was misguided and I’m mostly glad it’s over. There’s a lot to look forward to this upcoming Sunday and I can hope it’s back to basics with many discovering what’s so great about A Strange Loop and Paradise Square. Plans are to air it coast to coast live for the first time, and that would honestly be great. As a west coast viewer, I’m curious to see how it plays out. So long as it doesn’t involve having to forge another fake account to do a Paramount+ trial run, I’ll be happy. It’s one of my favorite nights of the year, and one that I’ll have a calendar in hand, waiting to mark off things to watch out for. I hope that you do too.
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