Belated Tony Lessons

The Tonys are over. Rock of Love's nose has begun to heal, the sound designer's fired, and the non-winner's closing notices are up. But what did we learn from this year's Tony Awards Ceremony?

1) Actually, Broadway is NOT just about New York. There was much hullaballoo about creative awards being shunned to a cybercast to make room for performances from touring productions of MAMMA MIA, LEGALLY BLONDE, and JERSEY BOYS. But the point was made--Broadway is about theater for a national--and international--audience. Yes, the shows START in New York, but if they become hits (and win Tonys) they take to the road, so the rest of the nation can watch. And them what run these roadhouses are Tony voters. Which is why NEXT TO NORMAL (which seems to have more limited touring potential) really didn't stand a chance of pulling an AVE Q-style upset. The purpose of televising the TONY Awards isn't really to get people to come to New York and see shows after all. It's to get them excited about next year's Broadway Series at the Cleveland Palace. Perhaps New Yorkers feeling territorial about their theatrical experiences should invest more in making Off-Broadway, which (with some notable exceptions) is more geared towards a predominately local crowd, a fiscally strong creature.

2) Being "Well Written" doesn't make you "Great" (and it certainly doesn't make you popular). BILLY ELLIOT really isn't a very good musical, but it's a great musical. It's faults: There are major inconsistencies in tone amounting to what is more or less an identity crisis (Bawdy musical hall? Lis Miz-esque Popera? Hal Prince-esque political metaphor? Sean O'Casey drama? Flashdance?). It's over-long and light on plot and music. The "central" conflict of the miner strike, is explained either through a cop-out video, and note in the program, or not at all. (I'm still unclear as to why the strike breaking was a bad thing or why it broke in the first place). Many plot devices and entire characters were shoe-horned for cheap tears (Grandma, dead mum). But the moment Billy does his first perfect ballet move is a fantastic moment in the theater. The very essence of theater (especially musical theater) lies in an unpredictable live, emotional connection and response between the material, the artisans onstage, and the audience. So yes, I could--and have--pick apart BILLY for every inconstancy, pointless plot point, and cheap lyric, but the fact of the matter is, what it offers (a little boy achieving his dream, improbably as both the achieving and the dream itself may be) is inherently moving and wonderful, and to be against it would make me as bad as Maggie Thatcher.

3) Nice guys don't always finish last, or, If at first you don't succeed... There are plenty of Tony Winning composers who have also had shows that closed 10 days (or less) after they opened. But the Tony part usually comes first...unless you're Tom Kitt. What was most impressive was not the fact Mr. Kitt managed to turn his luck around, but that he did it with a show that seemed perhaps MORE doomed for ridicule and scorn. Take risky/tricky subject matter, add mixed (at best) reviews Off-Broadway, throw in a seemingly hasty Broadway transfer from a generally well received regional theater that nonetheless hastily laid a rotten egg on Broadway (GLORY DAYS) the previous summer, bake in an economic crisis and win. And, to top it all off, the powers that be actually saw fit to TELEVISE his award? It makes me all warm and fuzzy just to think about it.

And now we have a whole year see what will happen next...