IT’S TIME FOR THE TONYS; Whoopi Goldberg Hosts as Broadway's Best Take The Stage - 6/4/2008



When the 62nd Annual Tony Awards broadcast begins this Sunday, prepare to be thoroughly entertained. Viewers will see things that have never happened before on the Tonys, according to Charlotte St. Martin, Executive Director of The Broadway League. “After last year, we took a step back and started developing a plan to make this far more of an entertainment show while keeping to the standards of recognizing the best of Broadway,” explains St. Martin. Not only will Whoopi Goldberg host the Tonys for the first time, this year’s broadcast will have twice as many performances, surprise cast appearances and fun Broadway facts sprinkled throughout. “We have 13 numbers being performed as compared to seven last year,” says St. Martin. “There will be a song or performance or at least part of a song from every musical that was on Broadway this year and that’s never been done before.”


Goldberg, who has had numerous notable achievements in the world of entertainment, brings an added excitement to the show because of her worldwide name recognition. “Certainly she has a terrific reputation and it just makes sense (for her to host the Tonys) because she’s performed on Broadway, she’s won a Tony Award, been a (Broadway) producer and she just gets the theatre world,” says St. Martin. “She’s crazy about Broadway.”

Even with the additional entertainment elements, the primary focus will be on the actual Tony Awards handed out. According to St. Martin, the allure of winning a Tony draws actors of all genres to Broadway. “When you look at who performs on Broadway it’s obvious that being on Broadway and winning a Tony is the pinnacle of their career, not just for stage actors but for motion picture and television actors or why else why would they do it?” she explains. “Academy Award-winning actors come to Broadway to perform and they can make a lot more money doing a movie than they do on a Broadway show.”

This year’s Tony broadcast will also reflect the diversity of the shows that are currently playing on the Great White Way and as a result, the audiences attending. “There’s no question that Broadway is more diverse in all areas - in age, in color, in gender - than it’s ever been,” says St. Martin. A demographic survey done by The Broadway League in 2007 reveals that 26% of the Broadway audience was non-Caucasian which was a 17% increase from the previous season and a 56% increase from five seasons ago. “That was before this year and when you look at the eight or nine shows that have very diverse casts, I know it will be even greater next year,” explains St. Martin. It also brought in a record 1.42 million theatregoers under the age of 18. “There’s something for pre-teens, teens, 20-somethings and the rest of us,” claims St. Martin. “All of that is a great story that says Broadway is alive and well and relevant not only in New York but across the country.”

By: Beth Cox