According to Variety and to The New York Post's Michael Riedel, Legally Blonde and LoveMusik - two Broadway musicals originally slated to perform at the Tony Awards on Sunday, June 10th at Radio City Music Hall - will no longer be featured in the ceremony.
Traditionally, only shows nominated as Best Musical are permitted to perform at the Tony Awards; this year's Best Musical nominees are Mary Poppins, Spring Awakening, Grey Gardens and Curtains. However, CBS - on which the Tonys will be broadcast live - believed that including numbers from the bright-hued, upbeat Legally Blonde and LoveMusik, with its famous Kurt Weill songs, would boost ratings for the telecast.
"From a broadcast perspective, the appeal of "Blonde" is clear. In a legit season in which two award faves (Spring Awakening, Grey Gardens) tend toward the dark and edgy, an upbeat number from "Blonde" could add a welcome dose of pep to the Tonycast. Add "Blonde" star Laura Bell Bundy, up for lead actress in a tuner, to Donna Murphy and Michael Cerveris, the two nommed leads of LoveMusik, and the Tony broadcast would feature perfs from every lead thesp nommed in musical categories," writes Variety. The Tony Awards - hosted by a variety of presenters rather than one single celebrity - will be up against particularly steep competition this year; it airs opposite the season finale of "The Sopranos."
The Tonys are annually presented by both the American Theatre Wing and the League of American Theatres and Producers. Howard Sherman, head of the American Theatre Wing, approved CBS' decision - to the delight of the Legally Blonde and LoveMusik producers and to the chagrin of the producers of the four Best Musical nominees. The latter group were joined by a number of producers who are on the Tony Awards management committee; this faction argued that allowing LoveMusik and Legally Blonde to perform would not only reduce the airtime of the four nominated shows, but would set a precedent for other musicals that are not nominated as Best Musical to perform during the Tony Awards in the future. They also made the claim that it would be unfair to allow Legally Blonde and LoveMusik to be featured in musical numbers, but not other recent Broadway musicals such as Les Miserables and The Pirate Queen.
Although those supporting CBS and the American Theatre Wing countered as to how several performers from LoveMusik and Legally Blonde are nominated (while no one from Les Miserables or The Pirate Queen is), the Tony nominating committee and producers succeeded in convincing CBS to withdraw its offer to LoveMusik and Legally Blonde.
Visit www.tonyawards.com for more information on the Tony Awards.
