Showbiz Sandbox 282: Broadway’s Not So Big Night at the Tony Awards

June 8, 2015

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A musical about family, sexuality and suicide along with a play about an adolescent with Aspberger’s syndrome won the top prizes at this year’s Tony Awards over the weekend. Based on Alison Bechdel’s graphic memoir, “Fun Home” was awarded Best Musical and “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” earned Best New Play. On paper, both could have been marginal longshots to win Tonys, which can at times go to more commercial productions.

We go over the list of this year’s Tony Award winners and choose a few highlights from a ceremony in which they were quite sparse. It was great to see Kelli O’Hara win a Tony for Best Actress In A Musical after she had been overlooked the last five times she was nominated. Yet, in a year which saw Broadway break box office records, the telecast flirted with all-time low ratings.

Meanwhile, as we record this episode Apple appears set to announce their streaming music service which some big record label executives see as a tipping point that could save the industry. That seems like a tall order given how late the company is getting to market, but it’s never a good idea to underestimate Apple.

Of course, we also cover the week’s top entertainment news stories including how Netflix is heading to Spain, Senator Chris Dodd is staying on as head of the MPAA and Showtime is going over the top with its new streaming service.

‘San Andreas’ Rumbles to $287.1M Worldwide
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/box-office-san-andreas-rumbles-800671

Top Theaters for San Andreas: Stunning 19 out of 20 in San Francisco, LA Area
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/top-theaters-san-andreas-stunning-799017

Cameron Crowe Apologizes for Emma Stone’s Asian Character in ‘Aloha’
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/aloha-cameron-crowe-emma-stone-799782

3-D Film About Twin Towers High-Wire Walk to Open New York Film Fest
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/06/04/3-d-film-about-twin-towers-high-wire-walk-to-open-new-york-film-fest/?_r=0

Tony Awards: ‘Fun Home’ Wins Best Musical and ‘Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time’ Best Play
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/08/theater/theaterspecial/curious-incident-captures-the-tony-for-best-play.html?_r=1

Ratings: Tony Awards Flirt With Record Lows Opposite Big NBA Finals
https://variety.com/2015/tv/news/ratings-tony-awards-cbs-nba-finals-abc-1201514469/

2015 Tony Awards: All the Winners! “Fun Home”, “Curious Incident” Lead Way
http://www.broadwayworld.com/article/2015-Tony-Awards-All-the-Winners–UPDATING-LIVE-20150607

Showtime to Launch Standalone Service on Roku, PlayStation in Addition to Apple Devices
https://variety.com/2015/digital/news/showtime-roku-playstation-apple-launch-1201514434/

Showtime Launching Stand-Alone Streaming Service in Mid-July
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/showtime-launching-stand-alone-streaming-799829

‘Sister Act’ Remake in the Works at Disney With ‘Cinderella’ Producer
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/sister-act-remake-works-at-799813

Hollywood Sex Abuse Accuser’s Lawyers Admit Filing “Totally Untrue” Claims
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/hollywood-sex-abuse-accusers-lawyers-800601

Sony Hack Movie in the Works from Oscar-Nominated Team
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/sony-hack-movie-works-oscar-799555

MPAA Extends CEO Chris Dodd’s Contract to 2018
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/mpaa-extends-ceo-chris-dodds-800390

Bruce Willis to Star in Chinese-Language Epic ‘The Bombing’
https://variety.com/2015/film/asia/bruce-willis-the-bombing-chinese-language-1201511464/

Dish Network in Merger Talks With T-Mobile
http://www.wsj.com/articles/dish-network-in-merger-talks-with-t-mobile-us-1433383285

‘Degrassi’ Ending This Summer After 14 Seasons
https://variety.com/2015/tv/news/degrassi-cancelled-series-ending-season-14-1201512504/

Netflix to launch in Spain in October 2015
http://www.rapidtvnews.com/2015060438576/netflix-sees-piracy-in-spain-as-an-opportunity.html

Sony Music CEO Confirms Launch of Apple’s Music Streaming Service Tomorrow
http://venturebeat.com/2015/06/07/sony-music-ceo-confirms-launch-of-apples-music-streaming-service-tomorrow/

Apple Takes On a Market Full of Streaming Service
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/04/technology/apples-foray-into-streaming-music-isnt-a-guaranteed-success.html

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