The Writers Guild of America is denying a waiver requested by Broadway officials that would have allowed the Tony Awards ceremony to be televised live on June 11, two people with knowledge of the decision said Friday night.
The denial, described by people who were granted anonymity to reveal confidential conversations, jeopardizes one of Broadway’s biggest nights – a key marketing opportunity that’s even more important in the fragile post-closure theater economy. Industry leaders say several of the latest musicals are likely to be shelved if they fail to reach the mainstream audiences who watch a Tony Awards broadcast.
Broadway supporters are still hoping that the writing community could be persuaded to rethink this weekend. However, industry leaders acknowledge that such a reversal appears unlikely. Broadcasting the ceremony live is virtually impossible without a special permit from the writers’ association, as much of Broadway, including the nominees and presenters, would refuse to cross a picket line.
The Tony Awards’ Administrative Committee, the group tasked with overseeing the broadcast, has called an emergency meeting for Monday to discuss how to proceed. The most likely alternatives seem to be to postpone the entire event until the strike is over, or to present the awards in June in a non-televised manner and then some kind of sensational broadcast event with lots of singing and Dance to organize after the end of the strike.
Neither party commented on Friday night’s transcript, but several people involved in the discussions gave updates after reported that the waiver had been denied.
For Hollywood, the Tony Awards aren’t a big deal – it’s a niche ceremony that was watched by 3.9 million people last year, down from other awards shows like the Oscars (18.7 million) or the Grammys (12 ,5 million).
But the stakes are huge for Broadway. The Tony Awards are the industry’s biggest marketing moment – an opportunity to introduce viewers to shows they’ve never heard of and remind them of the joys of musical theater – and that kind of reach is especially important now that the Broadway Visitor numbers have not yet reached prepandemic levels. Four of the five Best New Musical nominees don’t sell enough tickets to cover their running costs for many weeks, and all could use the box office boost that a win or even a well-performed number at the awards show often brings.
“The Tony Awards is the biggest commercial in the industry overall and for a show like mine, which is unbranded and is at a stage where we’re finally starting to see some heart and soul, it would be devastating not to be there of it,” said Mike Bosner, the lead producer of “Shucked,” one of five shows vying for the coveted Best New Musical award before the cancellation was announced.
“Our entire schedule for opening the show was based around being a part of the preparations for awards season when the show gets a lot of attention and national attention,” he said.
It is not clear what will happen next.
Even before news of the WGA’s decision to deny distribution of the exemption, some producers were pessimistic. “I suspect it won’t air,” said Robert Greenblatt, co-producer of Some Like It Hot, which is also a Best New Musical nominee. Greenblatt is familiar with all sides of the subject — not only is he a frequent Broadway producer, but he’s also a former chairman of NBC Entertainment and WarnerMedia.
If the Tonys are delayed or cancelled, it will hurt a lot of shows. “Especially this season, while we are still recovering from the Corona crisis, it would be particularly devastating not to have this opportunity – to not be able to show how many great and diverse plays and musicals are on Broadway right now,” said Eva Price, a principal producer of & Juliet, another Best New Musical nominee.
The WGA strike has already impacted one awards show – last weekend’s MTV Movie & TV Awards. The host, Drew Barrymore, resigned in solidarity with the union and the ceremony became a prepared affair after the WGA announced it would be picketing.
On Wednesday, faced with the prospect of hundreds of protesters marching to picket lines, Netflix abruptly announced that it would cancel a major in-person show in Manhattan it would be hosting next week for advertisers, turning it into a virtual event instead.
Netflix co-head Ted Sarandos also said he will not be attending the upcoming PEN America Literary Gala at the American Museum of Natural History, a celebratory event for the literary world planned in his honor. In a statement, Mr Sarandos said it was for the best if he resigned “given the risk of disrupting this wonderful evening”.
In 2008, when the writers went on strike for the last time, organizers of the Golden Globes were forced to cancel the awards show after the WGA actively organized demonstrations and actors said they would not go on picket lines. The winners were instead announced at a press conference. However, during this strike, the WGA granted exceptions to some televised ceremonies, including the Screen Actors Guild Awards.
The organizations that bestow the Tony Awards, the Broadway League and the American Theater Wing, declined to comment; They are supposed to monitor the situation closely, but do not know how to proceed. Officials from the WGA and CBS, the Tonys’ longtime broadcaster, also declined to comment.