Friday, May 8, 2009

Who should host the Tonys?

Okay, it probably doesn't matter all that much who hosts the Tony Awards, which air at 8 p.m. June 7 on CBS. I figure if people are interested in the theatre and in Broadway, they'll watch the show. If they're not, they won't, regardless of who's hosting.

But hey, it's Tony season and the Los Angeles Times blog Culture Monster is engaging in a little fun speculation about who should host. I haven't seen many of the nominated performances this year, so I figure I need something to speculate about.

Some of the names on their wish list are clearly meant to be funny: hunky Cheyenne Jackson, hirsute Jack Black. (He did star in Prop. 8 - The Musical!) The fishy Jeremy Piven. Also, Will Ferrell, Nathan Lane, Jane Fonda and Michelle Obama.

And apparently the New York Post's Michael Riedel is pitching Dolly Parton. (He also has a funny column today on actors supposedly campaigning for the Tony. Really? I'm shocked, shocked.

I'd like to see the cute and talented Neil Patrick Harris. Or, someone in the comments suggested Daniel Radcliffe, to make up for his being snubbed in the Best Actor in a Play category for Equus. And what about Kevin Spacey? The Old Vic Theatre, where Kevin is artistic director, originally produced The Norman Conquests. He'd be great.

I guess former Tony and Oscar host Hugh Jackman is probably busy. Too bad. I wonder if anyone has ever hosted more than one major awards show in the same year?

6 comments:

Vance said...

NPH would be Legen-song and dance number-dary!

I also liked the idea of Dolly or Cheyenne!

Steve On Broadway (SOB) said...

I like the idea of Dolly Parton, too. Or team her up with one current Broadway performer (Jane Fonda) and one frequent performer (Lily Tomlin) and it could be sublime!

Sarah B. Roberts said...

I don't get why it would be funny if Cheyenne or Nathan hosted - either would be terrific. In fact, it should be Nathan given his constancy on the boards and Lord knows, he's a funny man. And Cheyenne doesn't really have enough shows under his belt (no pun intended). I would still love to have Hugh back though - he's wonderful. I love watching the broadcasts of yesteryear though and for my money, Angela was the best host ever and she hosted the Tonys more than any other performer.

Esther said...

Well, I didn't really mean to include Nathan Lane in the funny part. I was just trying to get across that some of the names on the L.A. Times list were included with a little tongue-in-cheek. Like the rationale for picking Cheyenne was his looks, his acting talent and then his looks again! And I don't think they were really serious about Jack Black or Michelle Obama. ;-)

Of course any of the people you and SOB and Vance mentioned would be wonderful but I'd still like to see Kevin. ;-) He's an Oscar winner, a Tony winner and he's devoted to the theatre.

Dale said...

I vote for me and that way they'll have to fly me in and I'll see the show way up close! It really shouldn't matter that I have no hosting skills or connection to the theatre apart from thousands spent enjoying it, should it?

Esther said...

Dale, you are a very personable person and I think you'd be great! As a fallback position, you could always get a really big-screen tv!