Broadway actors are aiming a familiar lament at Hollywood stars: They’re taking our jobs!
Reuters (“Hollywood stars at center of Broadway backlash“):
Every year, Hollywood celebrities head to Broadway where they get plenty of attention for their headlining efforts.
The Tony Awards, being presented on June 12, are the ultimate judge of the skills of any stage actor, famous or not, and many lesser-known performers worry that the value of the award diminishes as film stars continue to take them home.
Last year’s star-studded broadcast disheartened many New York actors, including Hunter Foster, who started the Facebook group Give the Tonys Back to Broadway!! in an effort to combat the Tinseltown effect. With the now almost 9,000-member group, Foster hopes to restore the ceremony as a beacon of hope for the next generation of stage performers.
Whether stage actors like his sister, Sutton Foster — nominated this year for her performance in “Anything Goes” — will disappear from Broadway’s future if the Tonys continue to focus on Hollywood stars is debatable. Many actors appearing on Broadway — including Al Pacino, a nominee this year for “The Merchant of Venice” — began their careers on stage, but their mass appeal comes from their films.
“I have worked my ass off to get to where I am, so I understand that strug
[...]
A star can be an economic necessity for a Broadway show, and Michael Riedel, New York Post theater columnist and host of PBS’s “Theater Talk,” does not think Hollywood stars take jobs away from New York actors. “If you didn’t have these celebrities, a lot of these shows wouldn’t be produced,” he said. “All of these shows have people in them who are not movie stars and they’re all working.”
A Tony represents the Holy Grail for a stage actor and can significantly boost a performer’s career, whereas film and television actors are already honored with awards like Oscars and Emmys. Having widely recognized actors swoop in and secure a Tony nomination can be upsetting to some, said Garrett Eisler of the blog The Playgoer, as there are limited spots.
According to Eisler, stars have driven Broadway ticket sales throughout history, but “what changed is the definition of who is a star.” In the 1950s and ’60s, the box office names were Robert Preston, Rex Harrison, and Zero Mostel, who had some fame from film but whose main medium was the stage. “A Broadway star could really be a star,” Eisler said, recognizing that Patti LuPone is one of the few who fits this bill today. “Now you can’t be a star unless you’re a Hollywood star.”
The Internet democratizes entertainment, and a stage performer will never receive the same size audience for a Broadway show that another actor will receive for a film or a television series. ”There’s been a generational shift,” Eisler explained, noting that today’s generation of young people is the first to come of age with the Internet. “Certain stars can’t become household names without appearing on multiple platforms.”
Tony winner and New York stage veteran Victoria Clark acknowledged her win for “The Light in the Piazza” in 2005 helped launch her career and turned her into more of a “known quantity.” Her role as Mother Superior in this year’s “Sister Act,” for which she is nominated, came to her in part because of her name and the connections she made through her past work. ”Jerry Zaks could have gone after anybody between the ages of 45 and 80 for this part,” she said, referring to the show’s director. “There’s a message to our directors: Support the people that supported you when you first started your career and go back to those people and give them a shot.”
Celebrities coming to Broadway take work away from New York theater actors, according to Clark, but she also says the industry should not separate actors into film, TV, and stage categories. “It’s our culture that segregates us,” she argued. “If we were actors in any other country, we’d all be doing everything, no questions asked.”
This is a bizarre lament. If actors who have gained fame in the movies are more able to attract an audience, why shouldn’t they headline Broadway plays? It would be one thing if their skills didn’t translate to the stage but nobody here is making that claim. Rather, people who have chosen to make their careers under the lights of Broadway are complaining that they’re not famous enough. That’s just too bad.
Bret Michaels really had me feeling badly for him, of course, after all of the laughter subsided. The poor guy performed at the Tony Awards and was unaware that a stage prop was descending onto his head. Thus, the singer got clipped in the face, and suffered a fractured nose and busted lip.
Now, we’ve heard this little tidbit and we don’t feel sorry for him, we just feel dumber having read it. Thanks a lot Bret!
It might be pretty common knowledge that Bret has suffered from diabetes, as evidenced on his “Rock Of Love” shows, but the idea that he withholds his insulin shots to better his sex life, just takes the whole enchilada.
When asked if his diabetes ever affects his sex life, he said:
The only time it will ever affect you in bed is if you have extremely low blood sugar and you go into insulin shock, at which point you won’t be standing up, let alone performing sex. However, I will sometimes hold off on the insulin, which will jack my blood sugar level up to the low 200 range. It’s like how a prizefighter will want to go into the ring with his blood sugar levels high. It gives you the stamina of a bull. So, yes, sometimes I will endanger my own life to pleasure a woman.”
That has got to be the dumbest thing I have ever heard. Why on Earth would you want to do this to yourself? I mean, sure, it’s selfless to want to make the sex better for one of the hoes he’s bangin’, but when it gets stupid like this, he just needs to quit.
When the set piece came down on Bret Michaels at the Tony Awards, it hit him like a ton of bricks. And now, he’s released a photo of the damage.
Representatives for the Tony Awards said that Bret was “fine” and that he “missed his mark”. They made no effort to release an apology or anything. His rep released a statement, subsequently, stating that if it had been Liza Minelli or Elton John getting hit in the head, that the Tony’s people would have made more of an effort and would’ve at least issued a letter of concern.
Bret has just released his official statement (after the jump, it’s long):
I am trying to remain very positive and somewhat humorous about the whole situation. I apologize that I did not make a statement earlier as I have been feeling pretty beat up over the last few days. The fact is I was honored to be asked to perform at the event. The entire “Rock of Ages†production were awesome and even though I was completely out of my element I was really enjoying myself prior to my injury. In fact all involved at the awards show treated me good.
I had a great time at the Tonys right up until I got blindsided, I must admit it was a little blurry after that. In hindsight, there is no doubt I got my bell rung, unfortunately it has been posted and perhaps funny to watch, but I can assure you it has been painful to experience. In all honesty I had absolutely no idea what struck my head. Upon impact I thought a piece of the lighting rig had fallen out of the ceiling and as I fell back it seemed like my head struck the stage and I blacked out for a second. When I opened my eyes I noticed a large set prop coming down straight for me. I immediately pushed myself out of the way and amidst the chaos I laid on the floor and asked “what the hell just happened?â€
My nose, mouth and the back of my head felt numb. I vaguely remember asking Big John, ‘do I have any teeth left in my mouth?’ I knew I could move my arms and legs and that was an instant relief. Somebody handed me a towel to wipe the blood from my face and in my dazed state I recall staring at what seemed to be Shrek, a talking goat head and several monkey like creatures.
Over the last few days a lot of speculation as to what happened and who is to blame have surfaced. I need to make clear at no point since the incident occurred do I feel like the accident was malicious in any way and I feel this will all work itself out. However I must state I found it a little strange that the only statement released by the Tony organization was that I missed my mark and that I was completely fine. First, I thought, ‘what mark?’ as there was no official mark, just a retracting drum riser and an overhead prop being rapidly lowered which was out of my view. Second, I think it was slightly irresponsible for them to report that I was fine without full knowledge of my condition, when a doctor hadn’t even looked at me yet and I surely don’t remember any X-Ray machines backstage. I am not looking for an apology, I only hoped that on a human level that the Tony organizations’ representative would have expressed some concern for injury in their statement or at the very least claim they would be looking into the matter.
Whether it was a miscommunication, missed cue or missed mark no matter what the situation was the prop should have been stopped or at least slowed for a few more seconds until I cleared the stage. I apparently had less than two seconds to avoid being hit. It was evident I was backing up and moving in the direction to exit the stage for at least 30 to 40 feet and it is plain to see I had no clue this prop was descending. For God sake, they have at least a five second delay to prevent the airing of unapproved expletives and nudity!
For the record never at any point during my Sunday morning rehearsal was I ever instructed that the piece was coming down and that I had very little time to get off the stage, otherwise believe me I would have stopped or at least ducked so as not to be knocked out at the Tonys. Trust me I never wanted any of this to happen. I was simply doing as I was told which was to exit the stage as Poison’s song “Nothin’ but a Good Time†came to a close.
I feel for the actors and actresses who put in so much time and hard work on or off Broadway to get to the Tonys. This is their moment and I am sorry that some of it may have gotten overshadowed by my thick rocker cranium being struck by a stage prop. On a high note I hear it was the highest rated Tonys they have had in years. However, I was bummed that I did not get to see any of the acts perform during the Tonys as I have never seen a play on Broadway before, probably would have enjoyed it, and even more bummed that I did not get to attend the after parties, cuz rumor has it Anne Hathaway was going to be there and she is hot.
I would like to personally thank Bobby and C.C., Mark Hogue, Larry Morand and my crew along with Liza Minnelli, Mark Indelicato and Carole Propp for rushing to my dressing room to check on my condition. In closing I truly appreciate everyone’s concern. I thank the Good Lord I have a thick skull and I have a feeling this may have been my first and final curtain call at the Tonys.
Sincerely,
Broadway Bret Michaels
You can see the video here:
Maybe he’ll stop with the “Rock Of Love” shows already? It was a sign from God, I tell ya!
