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Thursday, March 26, 2020
Tony Awards, Broadway’s biggest night, postponed because of virus’ spread
The Seattle Times: Citing concerns for “the health and safety of the Broadway community,” representatives of the Tony Awards announced Wednesday a postponement of the June 7 ceremony. They added that the event would be produced at some future date “when it is safe to do so.”
This indeed short and terse statement from the Tony award's press office is the continuation of struggle for theater across America. I feel very saddened by their decision to postpone the awards ceremony until further notice, especially since the original broadcast date was June 7th. June is almost 3 months away, but it seems as though the spread of the virus might continue for longer than expected. Broadway has already taken a huge hit by closing until (hopefully) April 13th. Many productions have been cancelled while other more robust ones were postponed until the fall. But the postponement of the awards ceremony that is the biggest event for theatre in the year, is an even bigger hit. According to the article, the awards ceremony boosts many plays and musicals that are nominated, while the broadcasting of the show increases many shows appeal to audiences and generates a lot of income for Broadway as a whole. It is very interesting that they decided not to announce a new date either, preferring to wait until the pandemic ends. That must be super stressful for the award producers, for CBS, and for the shows who wish to be nominated. It's stressful to me too, as I love to watch the Tony's and find it hard to wait, especially during these times.
I should have seen this announcement coming. With several productions slated to open this month which would have likely been nominated, it makes sense to postpone the Tonys until those shows can have some semblance of a run. It is also probably a safety concern, but I do not believe that it is the main reason considering how many theaters and other large gatherings for the summer are not yet canceled in hope that this will somehow blow over before then. I hope more than anything that there will be a reprieve from social distancing soon that will allow Broadway to return, but there is no way to know what will happen. I am also concerned about how many wonderful, but lesser known Broadway shows will go under due to this, and I hope that the Tonys will still nominate them if they are deserving of it. In the past, shows that were closing too close to the actual Tonys were not nominated or overlooked because they would not be able to make money from the promotion which I believe to be wrong. For instance, I will never let go of the fact that the Spring Awakening revival which used SIGN LANGUAGE lost to Hamilton for choreography.
Hearing this announcement, like many others right now, definitely brought on some sadness. Sad because it’s a program I look forward to the most every year, sad because it’s postponed recognition of highly deserving groups of creatives, sad that events that spark joy are getting pushed back in a time when we need them the most. But, that feeling is met with that of understanding, because at the end of the day, the most important thing is the safety of these people, so that they stay healthy and well. The unfortunate timing of all of this can’t be denied though, since (as the article pointed out), the season was just ramping up, with so many shows in previews. Two productions have already called off performances, and this is just so sad, considering the amount of work that has gone into them. They never got a full shot at presenting that to the world. Limbo is a very good way to describe the situation indeed.
I was surprised myself at how sad I felt when I saw the empty Times Square on the broad news. As a theatre lover ever since I can remember, I always had musical theatre in my mind. I don’t mean to sound too dramatic, but even in hard times, the fact that there are always musical theatres happening somewhere in this world lighted my life. Broadway is like the representation of all the theatres in the world, and the Tony Awards is the world festival. Incidentally, I think this news reveals how big the influence of the virus is. I think this news has a lot in common with the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics. Just like the Olympics are not only about what happens during the festival, but also about selections, Tony Awards is not only about the one night. As I commented on the post about the Tokyo Olympics, I hope the Tony Awards will serve as a symbol of recovery, especially for the artists who are currently in a difficult situation.
It’s sad to see the Tony Awards be postponed, but it was a smart move that had to be done. It’s a big collection of performers and crew members close to one another where germs can be easily spread. It would look bad if they didn’t postpone it. I want to say that it feels a bit early to call since the Tony Awards are not until June, but that’s impossible to really critique because there is no certainty to when the madness of this virus will die down. The unpredictable is only making things more stressful and difficult for everyone, so moving the awards was most definitely the smartest move. It’s upsetting because the awards give exposure to smaller shows. More exposure means more money. It will happen eventually, but it is frightening to see what the impacts of the theatre industry will be when this is all over.
With all of the craziness that has occurred regarding COVID - 19 and self-isolation, I think that this choice was inevitable that large events such as award shows, in this case, the Tony Awards, were to be postponed. It is so sad that this decision was made, however, I think the decision was necessary and on the bright side, they plan to reschedule the event. One thing that this article brings up, which I didn't consider, was the significance of the timing of the shutdown. This all fell when many new shows were opening for the 2020 season and the Tony awards as a whole give audience members a huge incentive to see shows, and then on top of that many of the shows perform on the awards show which further gauge interest. I hope that shows in this 2020 season do not get hit too hard with all of these temporary closures and that everything is back up to speed as soon as possible!
AHHHH! This is really sad. I feel like writing comments now, more than ever before, is so tedious as we scroll through article vs article about how the thing we love, theatre, is getting completely chewed up and spit out by the coronavirus. This is one of the cancellations that hit pretty close to home, since I have so many fond memories of watching the Tony Awards with my friends and family. Thinking back to last year's tony awards, I was with some people who I am no longer friends with, nut it still meant a lot. I was honestly really excited to share the Tony Awards with my CMU friends. I am glad that they plan on rescheduling it, because there are so many artists on Broadway right now who deserve to be recognized. If they were to completely shut them down, this year's Broadway season would be left completely unrecognized which would suck.
I have been waiting for this announcement for a few weeks. I truly have no idea how this industry is going to come out of this alive when even the big events like the Tonys are done for the time being. I mean like, every business (regardless of whether they are art-related or not) is going to have such severe economic damage that I am not sure if ANYONE will make it out of this on their feet. It is scary to see. Everything feels so uncertain. It is a weird dichotomy of like, “everything you care about is cancelled, sad” and “everything you care about CANNOT happen right now for the sake of people’s health, so you have to sit tight and be okay with it.” There’s this looming cloud of “what is going to happen when this is all over.” Things certainly cannot simply proceed as normal. I have tried to feel indifferent about all of these changes. There is no use being upset about them, because it just is what it is, so indifference is a good middle ground.
8 comments:
This indeed short and terse statement from the Tony award's press office is the continuation of struggle for theater across America. I feel very saddened by their decision to postpone the awards ceremony until further notice, especially since the original broadcast date was June 7th. June is almost 3 months away, but it seems as though the spread of the virus might continue for longer than expected. Broadway has already taken a huge hit by closing until (hopefully) April 13th. Many productions have been cancelled while other more robust ones were postponed until the fall. But the postponement of the awards ceremony that is the biggest event for theatre in the year, is an even bigger hit. According to the article, the awards ceremony boosts many plays and musicals that are nominated, while the broadcasting of the show increases many shows appeal to audiences and generates a lot of income for Broadway as a whole. It is very interesting that they decided not to announce a new date either, preferring to wait until the pandemic ends. That must be super stressful for the award producers, for CBS, and for the shows who wish to be nominated. It's stressful to me too, as I love to watch the Tony's and find it hard to wait, especially during these times.
I should have seen this announcement coming. With several productions slated to open this month which would have likely been nominated, it makes sense to postpone the Tonys until those shows can have some semblance of a run. It is also probably a safety concern, but I do not believe that it is the main reason considering how many theaters and other large gatherings for the summer are not yet canceled in hope that this will somehow blow over before then. I hope more than anything that there will be a reprieve from social distancing soon that will allow Broadway to return, but there is no way to know what will happen. I am also concerned about how many wonderful, but lesser known Broadway shows will go under due to this, and I hope that the Tonys will still nominate them if they are deserving of it. In the past, shows that were closing too close to the actual Tonys were not nominated or overlooked because they would not be able to make money from the promotion which I believe to be wrong. For instance, I will never let go of the fact that the Spring Awakening revival which used SIGN LANGUAGE lost to Hamilton for choreography.
Hearing this announcement, like many others right now, definitely brought on some sadness. Sad because it’s a program I look forward to the most every year, sad because it’s postponed recognition of highly deserving groups of creatives, sad that events that spark joy are getting pushed back in a time when we need them the most. But, that feeling is met with that of understanding, because at the end of the day, the most important thing is the safety of these people, so that they stay healthy and well. The unfortunate timing of all of this can’t be denied though, since (as the article pointed out), the season was just ramping up, with so many shows in previews. Two productions have already called off performances, and this is just so sad, considering the amount of work that has gone into them. They never got a full shot at presenting that to the world. Limbo is a very good way to describe the situation indeed.
I was surprised myself at how sad I felt when I saw the empty Times Square on the broad news. As a theatre lover ever since I can remember, I always had musical theatre in my mind. I don’t mean to sound too dramatic, but even in hard times, the fact that there are always musical theatres happening somewhere in this world lighted my life. Broadway is like the representation of all the theatres in the world, and the Tony Awards is the world festival. Incidentally, I think this news reveals how big the influence of the virus is. I think this news has a lot in common with the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics. Just like the Olympics are not only about what happens during the festival, but also about selections, Tony Awards is not only about the one night. As I commented on the post about the Tokyo Olympics, I hope the Tony Awards will serve as a symbol of recovery, especially for the artists who are currently in a difficult situation.
It’s sad to see the Tony Awards be postponed, but it was a smart move that had to be done. It’s a big collection of performers and crew members close to one another where germs can be easily spread. It would look bad if they didn’t postpone it. I want to say that it feels a bit early to call since the Tony Awards are not until June, but that’s impossible to really critique because there is no certainty to when the madness of this virus will die down. The unpredictable is only making things more stressful and difficult for everyone, so moving the awards was most definitely the smartest move. It’s upsetting because the awards give exposure to smaller shows. More exposure means more money. It will happen eventually, but it is frightening to see what the impacts of the theatre industry will be when this is all over.
With all of the craziness that has occurred regarding COVID - 19 and self-isolation, I think that this choice was inevitable that large events such as award shows, in this case, the Tony Awards, were to be postponed. It is so sad that this decision was made, however, I think the decision was necessary and on the bright side, they plan to reschedule the event. One thing that this article brings up, which I didn't consider, was the significance of the timing of the shutdown. This all fell when many new shows were opening for the 2020 season and the Tony awards as a whole give audience members a huge incentive to see shows, and then on top of that many of the shows perform on the awards show which further gauge interest. I hope that shows in this 2020 season do not get hit too hard with all of these temporary closures and that everything is back up to speed as soon as possible!
AHHHH! This is really sad. I feel like writing comments now, more than ever before, is so tedious as we scroll through article vs article about how the thing we love, theatre, is getting completely chewed up and spit out by the coronavirus. This is one of the cancellations that hit pretty close to home, since I have so many fond memories of watching the Tony Awards with my friends and family. Thinking back to last year's tony awards, I was with some people who I am no longer friends with, nut it still meant a lot. I was honestly really excited to share the Tony Awards with my CMU friends. I am glad that they plan on rescheduling it, because there are so many artists on Broadway right now who deserve to be recognized. If they were to completely shut them down, this year's Broadway season would be left completely unrecognized which would suck.
I have been waiting for this announcement for a few weeks. I truly have no idea how this industry is going to come out of this alive when even the big events like the Tonys are done for the time being. I mean like, every business (regardless of whether they are art-related or not) is going to have such severe economic damage that I am not sure if ANYONE will make it out of this on their feet. It is scary to see. Everything feels so uncertain. It is a weird dichotomy of like, “everything you care about is cancelled, sad” and “everything you care about CANNOT happen right now for the sake of people’s health, so you have to sit tight and be okay with it.” There’s this looming cloud of “what is going to happen when this is all over.” Things certainly cannot simply proceed as normal. I have tried to feel indifferent about all of these changes. There is no use being upset about them, because it just is what it is, so indifference is a good middle ground.
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