Should the Tonys invite off-Broadway?

I have to disagree with Bloomberg News writer Jeremy Gerard, who argues that the Tony Awards should expand to include off-Broadway plays and musicals.

I understand his point - the best theatre in New York City doesn't always take place from 41st to 54th Streets, with a quick detour to Lincoln Center. Over the past few years, I've seen terrific off-Broadway productions and some Broadway shows I could have missed.

But the Tonys, in addition to recognizing artistic achievement, are also a marketing tool, just like the Oscars, the Emmys and the Grammys.

People who tune in Sunday to watch the Tonys (8 p.m. CBS), including some of the tourists who buy 65 percent of the tickets to shows, are watching because they want to see "Broadway." No disrespect to the rest of New York theatre but I think that's pretty indisputable.

The Tonys and Broadway are inextricably linked in the public's mind. It's "Broadway's Biggest Night." And Broadway, for better or worse, has name recognition.

The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing have a stake in protecting the Tony Awards brand. Once the Tonys become a mix of Broadway and off-Broadway, you've diluted the brand in the eyes of the viewing and ticket-buying public.

Besides, even if off-Broadway shows were eligible, it still wouldn't make Gerard's last statement true:

"Off-Broadway has been playing the supporting role for way too long. It’s time for the Tony Awards to invite everyone into the tent and give real meaning to the phrase 'outstanding achievement in the theater.' ''

If you really want the awards to reflect outstanding achievement, then you would have to include all of the great work being done by theatre companies across the United States, not just give out one regional Tony per year.

All you would accomplish by including off-Broadway is to turn the Tony Awards into "outstanding achievement in New York City theatre." And I'm sorry but that doesn't sing quite like "Broadway."

Jonathan Salant, in profile

Indulge me while I do a little kvelling. Usually, reporters are the ones writing the profiles but in this case, it's the opposite.

My friend Jonathan Salant, a political reporter for Bloomberg News and former president of the National Press Club, is the subject of a profile in Washington Jewish Week.

The writer touches on the highlights of Jonathan's career, including his cameo in the movie Absence of Malice, as well as his passions - baseball, collecting political buttons and most of all, being a devoted single dad to his son Izzy.

Jonathan and I first met as colleagues in Syracuse, where he was the Albany reporter for the now-defunct Herald-Journal and later, the Syracuse Newspapers' Washington correspondent.

Over the years, he's been a mentor and friend and a gracious host. Jonathan and his late wife, Joan Friedenberg, were always wonderful about putting me up when I visited Washington, which I tried to do as often as I could because it's always been one of my favorite cities.

And without his example, I never would have visited Israel or ended up living there for a year. Talking to Jonathan about what he saw and how he felt after he made his first trip planted the idea in my mind that I should go, too.

Among Jonathan's areas of expertise is campaign finance, although he says in the profile that his favorite story was a feature he wrote on a group of Syracuse-area sixth-graders who lobbied successfully to have the apple muffin named New York State's official muffin.

I've always admired his tenacity and dedication and when Mario Cuomo was governor of New York, his ability to get him on the phone for a quote anytime, almost effortlessly.

Here's Jonathan on why he got into journalism. It says a lot about why he's so good at what he does:

"I grew up during the protests for civil rights and the Vietnam War and I saw what journalists were doing,'' he said, explaining that becoming a journalist was a "chance to make the world a better place."