Tom Cruise At Tony Awards Tomorrow?
Predictions and Possibilities for Tony Awards
News today from a report by the Federal Reserve “beige book” that attendance at Broadway shows has been down by 10%, and this is in a bumper crop of solid shows. The “beige book” is a compilation of anecdotal reports from businesses. Broadway is such a direct link to tourism and tourists that the Federal Reserve uses Broadway attendance figures as a barometer on the economy. The news is a bit discouraging both for Broadway and for the economy. According to the Fed report: “More recently, Broadway theaters report that both attendance and revenues were down more than 10 percent from a year ago in April; they recovered somewhat in May but were still down roughly 3 percent from a year earlier.”
That said, Broadway’s biggest commercial, The Tony Awards, are set to air on CBS tomorrow night. With the increase of live performances and inclusion of a couple of familiar show-stoppers (or rather channel surfing stoppers) like RENT and The Lion King, we’ll go on a limb to predict that this season’s broadcast will have the highest rating of any Tony broadcast since Oprah showed up. Here is our list of 12 questions and predictions for Sunday’s telecast. Tongue firmly in cheek.
1. Will Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise Show Up At The Tonys? No announcement has been made, but she is coming to Broadway this season, and her co-star John Lithgow will be on the telecast. A Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes appearance would be quite a surprise. Not expected, but a possible long shot.
2. Will Daniel Radcliffe show up as Harry Potter?He will show up according to pre-show press, but he’ll be just his regular celebrity self. He could very well find himself on the winning end of the award next season given the success he had in London with Equus.
3. Will Whoopi Goldberg say something shocking? Tough call, we’ll see. Hope so.
4. Will the ratings actually increase? Yes. No one thinks they will, but that could be the biggest surprise of a very surprising Tony night and a truly surprising Broadway season.
5. Will “Passing Strange” upset “In the Heights”? We predict the first mathematical tie in Tony Award history here.
6. Will “South Pacific” lose to “Gypsy”? Not for Best Revival of a Musical.
7. Who will win the most Tony Awards this season? It will be either “Passing Strange” or “South Pacific”. Runner-up will be “August: Osage County.”
8. Will Patrick Stewart win a Tony? Eventually, he will. However, not on Tony night. In fact, we’re predicting either Mark Rylance or Laurence Fishburne.
9. Will Stew win a Tony? Yes, and it will be on Sunday.
10. Will Stew do something candid and unusual? Yes, but it won’t be on Sunday night. At least it won’t be televised. Though we hope he’ll be his bohemian self.
11. What musical number will be the most talked about? Rob Ashford’s Cry-Baby number should steal the show, especially with the license plates. It could make a huge impact on ticket sales. “In The Heights” could do well too. All will be solid, of course.
12. What else might happen? Impossible to say, but worth a look for sure. Tune in and tell a friend, there are actually some surprising possibilities at the Tony Awards this year. We’ll see.
–Broadway Magazine, Broadway.tv
July 2nd, 2008 at 12:56 am
The Tony’s are not a popularity contest but rather a recognition to deep storytelling and powerful performance that not only entertain but provide audiences with an almost life changing experience. In the Heights absolutely deserves the award.
July 2nd, 2008 at 5:39 pm
Kelly, I agree with you on that…50 years from now, In The Heights will still be performed on Broadway…classic story. Probably a different cast for the run in 2058, though.