At Sunday’s Tony Awards there is opportunity in losing.
With Broadway set to crown “Hamilton” the greatest show in the history of mankind, the also-rans are scrambling to make the most of their exposure on the CBS telecast.
The Tonys usually pull in about seven million viewers. But that number could soar to eight or nine million this year, fueled by “Hamilton” hype and the popularity of host James Corden, who’s on loan from “The Late Late Show.”
Shows nominated for Best Musical — besides “Hamilton,” there’s sure-losers “School of Rock,” “Shuffle Along,” “Bright Star” and “Waitress” — each get four minutes for a song and dance. History proves that a snappy segment often translates into a boom at the box office. But there’s more opportunity than ever this year, since most commoners can’t nab “Hamilton” tickets. Every show wants to be the one tourists from Tacoma settle for.
“Sixty million [visitors] are coming to New York this year. A lot of them are going to watch the Tonys,” says Broadway producer Tom Viertel. “I have no doubt the other shows are going to benefit.”
He should know. Viertel produced “Smokey Joe’s Cafe,” which was nominated for Best Musical in 1995. It lost to Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Sunset Boulevard,” but opened the telecast that year with the song “On Broadway.”
“We had two minutes at the top of the show and we were supposed to have another two minutes at the end, but [the last two] were cut because the telecast was running long,” Viertel recalls. “I screamed at [Tonys producer] Gary Smith. ‘You f - - ked us!’ He looked at me and said, ‘I just made your show.’ ”
The box office exploded and “Smokey Joe’s,” which had been struggling, became a hit.
Conventional wisdom is that ratings trail off as the three-hour telecast drags on — so producers are desperate to snag a slot in the first hour. Ratings will probably hold steady or increase this year as people tune in to see “Hamilton” scoop up all the big awards in the last hour. But that’s all the more reason to be first out of the gate: Once the “Hamilton” train revs up, it’s going to crush everything else.
“My advice would be to stay as far away from ‘Hamilton’ as possible,” says a top Broadway producer. “Get on first, do a great number, sell some tickets.”
It takes power to secure a first-hour sweet spot. “[Producers] Andrew Lloyd Webber and Scott Rudin are two of the most powerful people on Broadway,” says a source. “They have the clout to get the best placement” — and they use it.
Sunday’s telecast will open with an original number by Corden, penned by “The Late Late Show” writers. After that, the most coveted slot goes to Lloyd Webber’s “School of Rock.” Sources predict the show will be the big winner among the night’s big losers. A bunch of adorable kids doing the high-energy “You’re in the Band” is all but guaranteed to sell a lot of summer tickets.
Lloyd Webber himself will make an appearance on the telecast, says a source, “hamming it up” with Corden. I hear the bit will involve songs from his big shows: “Jesus Christ Superstar,” “Evita,” “Cats” and “The Phantom of the Opera.”
Also in the first hour is a performance from “Shuffle Along,” produced by Rudin, another wily Tony manipulator.
Director George C. Wolfe has been drilling the entire cast for a boisterous number that includes the show’s most famous song, “I’m Just Wild About Harry.”
The rest of the shows are slotted in the second and third hours. Sara Bareilles, who wrote the music for “Waitress,” will appear with leading lady Jessie Mueller to sing the show’s pop hit “She Used To Be Mine.” Of all the nominees, Steve Martin and Edie Brickell’s bluegrass musical “Bright Star” — which is hanging by a thread — could use the Tonys bounce the most. Insiders say that director Walter Bobbie is putting in a lot of time to make the number as slick and engaging as possible, as it’s probably the last hope they have.
Sculpting four perfect minutes is crucial to selling tickets. You can’t squander precious time on a dud song. Broadway insiders still scoff at Jennifer Hudson’s appearance a couple of years ago to promote Harvey Weinstein’s “Finding Neverland.” She sang a forgettable song while a small woman who vaguely resembled Sandy Duncan in “Peter Pan” hopped around the stage.
“You have to create something that is going to connect with the television audience,” says press agent Judy Jacksina, who worked on the Tony-winning shows “Nine” and “The Will Rogers Follies.”
“I want 1,500 people watching in Clearwater, Texas, cheering or sobbing, and then I want them to pick up the phone and buy tickets!”
The producers of “Hamilton,” which will have a performance late in the telecast, are being tight-lipped about their segment. What we do know is that it will feature some songs that have not been performed on television yet.
Producers of the also-rans may not be paying too much attention, however.
Says a cynical old Broadway hand: “I bet they duck out before the ‘Hamilton’ steamroller. They’ll want to know if they’re selling any tickets. For some of them, Sunday night is going to be life or death.”