Officials feared a live telecast would be doomed by the threat of a picket line, which members of the creative community were expected to honor. Without big names, the telecast would have been awkward at best.
The Tonys have long been a prestigious event for CBS, but the show itself is more important to Broadway producers, who rely on the exposure on the national network to market their productions. The televised ceremony doubles as a widely seen advertisement for what’s currently playing; oftentimes, productions struggling to fill seats will stay open in hopes that a win, or even exposure via a notable musical number, will boost ticket sales.
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