Matthew Broderick - Articles: 2001

Matthew Broderick: From Here To Infinity

June 1, 2001

Broderick, Lane: Will they make Tony TV magic?

Pair aim to stop the slide of viewers on Sunday night telecast of Broadway's best

By Michael Kuchwara, Associated Press

NEW YORK - Can Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane accomplish what Rosie O'Donnell and Lane were unable to do last year - halt the slide in viewers of the annual Tony Awards telecast? The 2000 Tony Awards show on CBS was the lowest rated ever, with an audience estimated at 8.5 million, down from the 13 million who watched the Tonys in 1997, the first year O'Donnell took over as host of the theater's premier awards ceremony.

BUT THEN LAST year's best musical winner was "Contact," a dance show with no stars and not much name recognition beyond the dedicated band of theatergoers who follow Broadway. This year, things are a little different.

Broderick and Lane happen to be the stars of "The Producers," the smash Mel Brooks musical that even folks whose television viewing habits don't extend much beyond "Temptation Island" might know. Not since "Cats" has a musical permeated the consciousness of an American public that rarely thinks of theater.

No wonder the powers behind the two-hour telecast were eager to get Broderick and Lane for the show, which airs Sunday from Radio City Music Hall at 9 p.m. ET on CBS, preceded by an hour on PBS.

"They basically said we want you to do it and if you don't want to, you have to call Mel (Brooks) and Stro ("The Producers" director and choreographer Susan Stroman). It would have been fairly dramatic to say 'no,'" Broderick says with a laugh. "Nathan has been writing our material and we will look at it together. Hopefully, it will end up reasonably bearable."

JUST HELLO AND GOOD-BYE

"The co-hosting part made it a little less daunting," Broderick adds. "We are going to introduce the show and wave good-bye. We're not going to do a lot of running-the-thing-along stuff."

The duo will also be introducing the PBS portion of the awards ceremony, which will include 10 awards. The rest of the prizes will be presented during the CBS hours, interspersed with numbers from the nominated musical revivals - "42nd Street," "Follies," "Bells Are Ringing" and "The Rocky Horror Show" - and the nominated new musicals - "A Class Act," "Jane Eyre," "The Full Monty" and, of course, "The Producers."

And the best-play nominees, both new and revivals, will be represented, too, although the exact format has not yet been worked out, according to Tony spokesman Keith Sherman.

TOMLIN, CLOSE AS PRESENTERS

Chitchat between awards will be kept to a minimum by using only single presenters, largely women. Among those scheduled to appear are Glenn Close, Lily Tomlin, Audra McDonald, Sigourney Weaver, Henry Winkler, Reba McEntire, Gina Gershon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Julie Harris, Heather Headley and Sarah Jessica Parker, Broderick's wife.

Both Broderick and Lane are past Tony winners - Broderick for "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" and Lane for "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum." Both are competing against each other this year, with Lane the likely winner in the more showier role.

But then, too, Lane is a veteran of hosting the show. Sunday's telecast is his fourth appearance on the podium. Lane will be at ease, and so will Broderick; the duo have been working together since late last year.

"Right from rehearsal on, we had a pretty easy communication," Broderick says. "We both make each other laugh - which is useful. As for the Tony show itself, I am hoping somehow the show business gods will make it all work out."