AND THE TONY GOES TO...

We are just ten days away from my version of the Super Bowl:

THE TONY AWARDS! 

It's my favorite time of year in the theatre district. The energy on the sidewalks that line our theaters is palpable. From the moment the nominations are announced in early May, marquees and advertisements spring forth from many a marketing meeting in midtown. Luncheons and press performances are lined up. The audiences swell with theatre lovers clamoring for a glimpse at potential Tony winners. All leading up to the fateful night where careers will be changed, 'thank you's and tears will spew forth, and theatre kids all over America will be envisioning their future acceptance speeches as they clutch that coveted silver medallion statue. 

The Tony Awards is a wonderful way to acknowledge the hard work and artistry of our industry across its many categories. But with the amount of individuals that must come together to create each performance, I've been thinking a lot about the artists who aren't eligible for a Tony Award based on their occupation.

Sure, there's a category honoring the Best Score of a Musical. But what about a Tony Award for Best Conductor? (If it were me, I'd give it to Joel Fram who is defying gravity with his musicians in the upper "bedroom" on the set of the revival of Merrily We Roll Along!) 

Sure, there's a category for Best Revival of a Play. But what about a Tony Award for Best Marketing? After all, the genius marketing teams on Broadway are the ones who forecast the message of each show out to the masses. (If it were me, I’d give this one to the team at Water For Elephants who tirelessly produced videos at the Imperial Theatre during the technical rehearsals, illuminating the nuts and bolts of mounting a physical production on Broadway.)

And sure, there’s a category for Best Costume Design of a Musical, but what about a Tony Award for the Best Merchandise? (This one would be a no-brainer this season: the team at Creative Goods created a box of branded tissues to help sop up all of the waterworks gushing forth from many an audience member’s face at The Notebook!)

A telecast of the Tonys that honored each sector of our industry would be an untenable seven hours in length - but still - I wish there was a way to honor all the departments who play an integral role in bringing a show to fruition: the hair and make-up team, the treasurers, the ushers, the porters, the lawyers, the copyists, the musicians, and more. The list goes on and on! 

And while the Best Conductor category did actually exist in the past, perhaps my favorite category that I wish the Tony Awards Powers-That-Be would reinstate is the Best Technician Award. That’s right, for fifteen years our colleagues backstage were eligible! From flying Mary Martin through the air in Peter Pan, to creating the props for the original Cat On a Hot Tin Roof, technical achievements got their rewards.But if it’s possible to have a favorite Tony Award Winner for Best Stage Technician, it would have to be Abe Kurnit. The Great-Great-Uncle to Tony-winning Director Rachel Chavkin, Kurnit was awarded his Tony in 1952 for installing a working swimming pool into the stage of the Imperial Theatre for the musical Wish You Were Here. That’s right: an actual POOL! As part of legendary set design Jo Mielziner’s vision for the summer camp setting of the show, Kurnit engineered the installation of a $15,000 swimming pool that took months to complete. And when it was finished, those waters featured the likes of Florence Henderson and Phyllis Newman in their Broadway debuts! 

On awards night we’ll be thinking of all those artists in departments that aren’t awarded and cheers-ing to their glorious contributions as well! 

(And, of course, I’ll be toasting to Abe’s swimming pool at the Imperial Theatre too!)

P.S. When I found out that the original sketches from Jo Mielziner and Abe Kurnit were preserved at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, I just knew that I had to see them in person.