On Sunday, the 2012 Tony Awards had a bit of an interruption during the show that some are saying should have been part of the commercials.
Famous Broadway Actor Harvey Fierstein came onto the stage two hours into the awards show that honors the best of Broadway Theater. Instead of the classic suit and tie, Fierstein was wearing an inflatable inner tube and a bathing suit, looking more ready for the beach than an awards show.
The getup was part of an introduction to a commercial segment for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines. Some may wonder what a cruise commercial would have to do with the Tony Awards, but as a sponsor of the show, Royal Caribbean paid for the feature, in which they switched to a live performance of one of their Caribbean cruise shows.
Some of Royal Caribbean's onboard entertainment includes full-length Broadway shows, so it seemed fitting that they showed their performers singing numbers from the former Broadway show, "Hairspray." Harvey Fierstein was once one of the original cast members of the Broadway show. The segment during the 66th Tony Awards lasted four-minutes, followed by a commercial featuring Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas line.
Live performances are put on throughout the Tony Awards as nominees give previews of the shows that are among the best from Broadway stages. Royal Caribbean's stunt was a recording from their show at sea. They are the only cruise line that offers full-length Broadway productions.
Some took to Twitter to criticize the stunt, saying it was tasteless to have a commercial or cruise promotion in the middle of the show, but others thought differently.
The Los Angeles Times reported Charlotte St. Martin, executive director of the Broadway League as saying, "We thought it worked. They are a sponsor, they paid us to do it, and we felt that it was a good fit for the Tony Awards. One of our goals is to spread the message about Broadway, and make theater more accessible to people."
In addition to "Hairspray" being performed on Royal Caribbean's 5,400-passenger Oasis of the Seas, the famous show "Chicago" is performed on the Allure of the Seas. Royal Caribbean also has ice-skating shows, shows in water, and original productions that entertain their passengers on board their ships.
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