June 13, 2010
When a Broadway musical like "Fela!" — dynamic, inventive, ambitious — loses to a Broadway musical like "Memphis" — infantile, predictable, tedious — you know the Tony Awards no longer have anything re motely to do with "excellence in the theater." Last night, the ground-breaking musical about Fela Kuti, the Nigerian song writer and polit ical activist who created Afro-Beat and defied oil com panies and to talitarian govern ments, lost the Tony to a feel-good show about an oppressively cute white disc jockey who likes black people and promotes their music. If the year were 1955, I'd say bravo to "Memphis."But, 60 years past the civil-rights movement, Broadway and its 700 mummified Tony voters still think a musical about integrating the high-school dance is cutting edge.
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What's really going on here is the corruption of the Tony Award, which once upon a time really did stand for American theater at its best.
"Fela!" would have won the Tony had critics and theater reporters, who have supported the show since it opened on Off-Broadway two years ago, been allowed to vote for it.
But last year, the critics and the press were stripped of their voting privileges by cynical producers who want to make pots of money sending out harmless musicals to hick audiences around the country.
As a result of the decision, touring producers now hold sway over the Tonys, and they don't want anything like "Fela!" — political, edgy, tough, authentically black — challenging mainstream audiences.
Far better to have "Memphis — which challenges, what, I don't know, the last vestige of the Ku Klux Klan, I guess — play your markets.
Even "American Idiot," a flawed but strong anti-war punk musical, didn't make an impression on the Tony voters. It only got two awards, for sets and lighting.
When it comes to musicals, the Tony is not about great theater. It's about being a marketing tool for feel-good shows with lots of happy dancing.
On a positive note, it was nice to see some major Hollywood stars recognized for their theatrical chops.
Catherine Zeta-Jones won for Best Actress in a Musical for her fine and moving performance in "A Little Night Music."
Denzel Washington took home the Tony for his powerful portrayal of a bitter, ex-baseball player in August Wilson's great play "Fences."
And Scarlett Johansson pulled off the upset of the night, winning for Best Featured Actress in the revival of Arthur Miller's "A View From the Bridge."
As for plays, it was a lackluster season, with only two contenders — "Red" and "Next Fall" — still running.
"Red," which is about the painter Mark Rothko, won the award, but, unlike Rothko's work, it's no masterpiece.
Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/theater/more_tony_baloney_2gIuPLUHE9FLH820o0WMHN#ixzz0qqH6iGYT
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