Broadway's record box office this year may have been driven largely by previous seasons' blockbusters, but art trounced commerce at Sunday's Tony Awards.
As expected, the top prizes went to "The Coast of Utopia," Tom Stoppard's three-part, nearly nine-hour epic about radical 19th century Russian intellectuals, and "Spring Awakening," Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater's musical adaptation of German playwright Frank Wedekind's expressionistic tale about societal repression and adolescent sexuality.
In the best revival categories, "Journey's End," R.C. Sherriff's musty yet still powerful expose of life and death in the World War I trenches, won for drama, and "Company," George Furth and Stephen Sondheim's unsentimental look at marriage and monogamy through the eyes of an inveterate bachelor, picked up the prize for musical.
The message: Fluff might sell, but seriousness (sorry, "Legally Blonde") is what the theater community stands by. Now if only art and commerce could join hands and turn out a show that's simultaneously -- and unqualifiedly -- a critical and popular hit. Then we'd all be smiling at revenue numbers that, despite their steady climb toward the billion-dollar mark, can't conceal such darker realities as a slew of multimillion-dollar flops (including "High Fidelity," "Coram Boy" and the soon-to-be shuttered "The Pirate Queen") and exorbitant ticket prices that have rendered Broadway a luxury item for the Zagat set.
No wonder producers are so eager for marquees to flaunt big-name Hollywood stars and movie titles from the Disney chain and the high-grossing non-animated world beyond. Even those Broadway browsers with money to burn want a little assurance that their dollars are going to purchase a few hours of fun. And in the theater, familiarity clearly breeds confidence more than contempt in prospective consumers.
Which is why we should all be pleased to hear that "Spring Awakening" has gained momentum at the box office after an uncertain start. Obviously, this critically acclaimed indie musical, which began off-Broadway, is unlikely ever to be another "Wicked" or "Jersey Boys," but the signs are good that it will earn a healthy-enough return to encourage producers to keep taking risks on fresh vision.
