# Tony Awards/Bret Michaels



## mbenonis (Jun 7, 2009)

So did anyone watch the Tony's tonight. Two words: SOUND FAIL.


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## derekleffew (Jun 8, 2009)

The cyc had big, ugly WRINKLES during _WSS Mambo_.


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## Clifford (Jun 8, 2009)

Was it just me or were there people not in the light?


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## LightingPenguin (Jun 8, 2009)

*The Tony Awards Impressions*

So, what did you guys think? Anyone see something that caught their eye? Or did you all simply hate it?


And on another note. I find it simply amazing that CBS has decided to not air the artistic design awards. The designs are an integral part of a show, and they all deserve the same recognition as the actors receive. Every award deserves air time. Period.


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## jwl868 (Jun 8, 2009)

*Re: The Tony Awards Impressions*


LightingPenguin said:


> So, what did you guys think? Anyone see something that caught their eye? Or did you all simply hate it?
> 
> 
> And on another note. I find it simply amazing that CBS has decided to not air the artistic design awards. The designs are an integral part of a show, and they all deserve the same recognition as the actors receive. Every award deserves air time. Period.




They did take about 2 minutes to run through the best lighting, sound, scenic, and costume design awards for Plays and Musicals. Not the full treatment as the other awards, but for the Tonys on prime time, that's what's paying the bills.

What I thought was bad presentation was how the camera didn't frame the full picture and caption of the artists that passed away in the past year. For a few people, you couldn't read their name or their expertise.


Joe


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## TheatreImage (Jun 8, 2009)

*Re: The Tony Awards Impressions*


jwl868 said:


> What I thought was bad presentation was how the camera didn't frame the full picture and caption of the artists that passed away in the past year. For a few people, you couldn't read their name or their expertise.
> 
> 
> Joe



That bugged me quite a bit as well


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## Eboy87 (Jun 8, 2009)

*Re: The Tony Awards Impressions*


LightingPenguin said:


> Anyone see something that caught their eye?



Well, the scenery caught Bret Michaels' head, does that count?

There definitely were some audio gaffs; mics on backstage that shouldn't have been. I loved when I forgot who's mic went out mid sentence. Our TV feed had someone say "I'm going!" and they ran a new mic out there. We kept getting a lot of comm feed on our broadcast feed for some reason. The pit overpowered a few presentations too; I couldn't hear a word over it.

The show was decent. A few numbers made me go WTF? I'm sure they're much better in the context of the entire show (Billy Elliot anyone?). Loved the Jersey Boy's segment; cool seeing all the different show's on stage.


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## DaveySimps (Jun 8, 2009)

I thought it was a pretty bad presentation. Lots of sound issues from not being able to hear leads in teh mix to missed mics. The lighting was less than stellar, with lots of fancy concert style lighting effects, and a lack of face light in many spots. It really bugged me too the way you could not read about a third of the slides for those who had passed. They seemed to be way to worried about fancy camera pans and such, that they missed the whole point of that segment.

~Dave


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## gafftapegreenia (Jun 8, 2009)

At least it was hosted by NPH.


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## MyWifeIsAnActress (Jun 8, 2009)

I saw a lot of problems, but they seemed to catch them eventually. My biggest issues were with the memorial segment, but they at least seemed to get somewhat better. It's unfortunate that they lost the first third or so, though.

I tuned in late, so I didn't get to see the drop out during Guys and Dolls, but I did see the clip on YouTube. Quickly handled, but poorly. The stagehand was too hesitant and questioned too much, rather than getting confirmation and acting without the talk. Maybe a few words, but the "I'm going, I'm going" was completely unnecessary.


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## JackMVHS (Jun 8, 2009)

*Re: The Tony Awards Impressions*


Eboy87 said:


> Well, the scenery caught Bret Michaels' head, does that count?
> 
> There definitely were some audio gaffs; mics on backstage that shouldn't have been. I loved when I forgot who's mic went out mid sentence. Our TV feed had someone say "I'm going!" and they ran a new mic out there. We kept getting a lot of comm feed on our broadcast feed for some reason. The pit overpowered a few presentations too; I couldn't hear a word over it.
> 
> The show was decent. A few numbers made me go WTF? I'm sure they're much better in the context of the entire show (Billy Elliot anyone?). Loved the Jersey Boy's segment; cool seeing all the different show's on stage.



Heres the video...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JocPcYBCN18


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## Les (Jun 8, 2009)

I love how people think it's staged...


No, actually I hate it. Who in their right mind would think professionals would plan a stunt so potentially dangerous?

Gotta love the ones who think they know everything about everything!


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## JackMVHS (Jun 8, 2009)

Les said:


> I love how people think it's staged...
> 
> 
> No, actually I hate it. Who in their right mind would think professionals would plan a stunt so potentially dangerous?
> ...



I totally agree, I was looking up the video on YouTube and there were millions of comments talking about how funny it was, or how it was rigged, or that he deserved it. I just kept thinking, that could have been so much worse, he could have been killed, oh and someone probably just lost their job.


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## derekleffew (Jun 8, 2009)

Les said:


> ...Gotta love the ones who think they know everything about everything!


On another discussion forum, an experienced stagehand said something to the effect of "never trust automation." Funny thing is, it's almost certain that the scenic piece was flown via one of RCMH's counterweight fly system battens. Another poster thought that Bret Michaels did not attend rehearsal, which is likely why he was out of place and in danger. That, and the cowboy hat, obstructing his upward vision.


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## rochem (Jun 8, 2009)

derekleffew said:


> On another discussion forum, an experienced stagehand said something to the effect of "never trust automation." Funny thing is, it's almost certain that the scenic piece was flown via one of RCMH's counterweight fly system battens. Another poster thought that Bret Michaels did not attend rehearsal, which is likely why he was out of place and in danger. That, and the cowboy hat, obstructing his upward vision.



There's really no excuse here for not watching the stage if you were the one flying that piece in. You have performers who rarely if ever perform in a theatre space and aren't used to having things moving over their heads. Also, even if they did attend rehearsal, they probably had very little time to get used to it. From what I can tell, the piece didn't look like it was slowing down at all before it made contact. He could have easily been crushed under the piece, depending on how long it took the stagehand to notice and bring the piece back up. Although the fault does rest with the performer, the flyman and Stage Manager should have never let anything like this happen.


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## PeytonJr (Jun 8, 2009)

*Brett Michaels - hit by a drop*

look closely as the drop is about 6' off the stage - he gets whacked pretty hard.


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## gafftaper (Jun 8, 2009)

> (Brett Michaels)...suffered a fractured nose and a contusion to his lip after being hit in the head by a descending set piece at the Tonys, and that he's undergoing a CAT scan as a precautionary measure, since he's had a previous neck injury.


 From MTV's website. 

Yeah he's lucky he didn't get killed. 

Looked to me like a lack of rehearsal or perhaps the fly person couldn't see the whole stage. Everyone else safely crosses the line on time and jumps up on the stage but Brett is quite a distance down stage still. Perhaps the fly man couldn't see he wasn't in place because of the other acts or set pieces. I would love to hear a tape of the S.M.'s call to the fly rail to know if the S.M tried to call it off or not.


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## Sony (Jun 9, 2009)

*I would never have imagined the Tony's to make such a mistake...*

Apparently at the Tony Awards Bret Michaels of Poison got clotheslined by an incoming piece of scenery.

Video Here: 
Both the Stage Manager and the Fly Operator or Spotter should have cleared the deck before flying in the pipe. That is kind of inexcusable that it actually hit him in the face....if should have never been that close. 

I was thoroughly unimpressed with this years Tony Awards sadly, that incident along with the consistently poor sound quality through the entire show made me cringe. 

I was however ecstatic that Billy Elliot: The Musical won 10 Tony Awards including Best Musical! It is currently my favorite show on Broadway right now, everyone should go see it!


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## Eboy87 (Jun 9, 2009)

*Re: I would never have imagined the Tony's to make such a mistake...*


Sony said:


> Apparently at the Tony Awards Bret Michaels of Poison got clotheslined by an incoming piece of scenery.
> 
> Video Here:
> Both the Stage Manager and the Fly Operator or Spotter should have cleared the deck before flying in the pipe. That is kind of inexcusable that it actually hit him in the face....if should have never been that close...



While I agree that this sort of thing shouldn't happen, I do have a problem with people throwing blame around willy-nilly. While it should have been caught, the blame doesn't solely rest with the flyman and SM. Bret Michaels was off his mark and not really paying attention (from what I infer from seeing it from a few thousand miles away). I think (again, pure speculation) that by the time it was caught, especially in a hectic, very quick changeover, it was already too late to stop it. 

Inertia is a cruel mistress. Still, as mentioned in the thread in the audio forum, I would like to hear the comm from that moment.


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## Stookeybrd (Jun 9, 2009)

First: Bret Michaels, this isn't a rock show, there isn't time for you to milk the applause. 

Second: RF issues and bad programming aside(I presume a wrong VCA or scene was up) BAD mixing is inexcusable. For all of the acts, except for Guys and Dolls who had the exact opposite problem, the chorus drowned out the leads. Hair(a show I am closely involved with) had a the wrong leads at the top of the mix at wrong times.


Why don't they bring in the engineers from the houses? They're all dark, so why not walk them in one door, mix the bit, and walk them out?


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## DHSLXOP (Jun 9, 2009)

You cannot blame the stage manager or the fly man for hitting him. If you watch rehearsal videos (which there are plenty of on Youtube) of the opening and compare them to the actual awards show, you can tell that the fly Q is called at the same time in both. The difference between the two is that in the rehearsal, Bret Michaels is already on the band platform (upstage of the flying set) as it comes in, while in the actual performance, he turns around back to the audience and starts waving, and is NO WHERE near the band platform. If he had moved at the same time he did in rehearsal, he would have been fine. 

So I think that its Bret Michaels's fault, not the stage manager or fly man - like Eboy87 said, they would have not had the time to stop its movement.


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## rochem (Jun 9, 2009)

DHSLXOP said:


> You cannot blame the stage manager or the fly man for hitting him. If you watch rehearsal videos (which there are plenty of on Youtube) of the opening and compare them to the actual awards show, you can tell that the fly Q is called at the same time in both. The difference between the two is that in the rehearsal, Bret Michaels is already on the band platform (upstage of the flying set) as it comes in, while in the actual performance, he turns around back to the audience and starts waving, and is NO WHERE near the band platform. If he had moved at the same time he did in rehearsal, he would have been fine.
> 
> So I think that its Bret Michaels's fault, not the stage manager or fly man - like Eboy87 said, they would have not had the time to stop its movement.



True, Bret Michaels is definitely at fault. If he had stuck to his original blocking and found his spot, this never would have happened. However, it's the job of the SM and the flyman to watch whats going on. From my training as a SM, and from what I've heard from the professional SMs I've talked to, you should ALWAYS look up at the stage right after a cue is called to make sure it's right, particularly for fly cues for obvious reasons. I watched one of the rehearsal videos on youtube, and you're right, the fly cue comes at the same time. However, as soon as the SM/flyman saw that Bret Michaels wasnt' where he was supposed to be and was screwing up his blocking, they should have been stopping that sign until he was back where he was supposed to be. This especially true since he is not a broadway actor like everyone else there, and so is not used to strict blocking and having to watch out for flying scenery. I'm not trying to pin the blame on the SM/flyman, but they definitely should have been watching the stage to prevent this from happening.

EDIT: After comparing one rehearsal video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRK4eJfy5PQ) with the actual broadcast (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cr6h5fFEjI), it appears that Bret Michael was off his blocking even before the cue was called, or at least a good amount of time before he was hit. In the rehearsal video, it appears that he is back on the platform right on that big flash of light when the flames (or whatever they are) flash up. On the broadcast, you can see that the other two members of the band who are still on the deck rush right up onto the platform, while Bret Michaels is still downstage. Right here the SM should have seen that he was not following his blocking and at least tried to stop the cue. Again, I'm not trying to say it was entirely the fault of the SM/flyman, but they should have at least noticed his mistake and tried to stop the cue.


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## ship (Jun 12, 2009)

*Tony Awards Hitting a Singer with Scenery*

Once on closing night hit a dancer atop the head that had over a period of a week in production in spefically holding a darpe for him mid-way in coming in not hitting him, and also over that week him constantly warned about how far to travel by way of his boss's and me upstage he constantly violated in him continuing to do so anyway. Constant thing I would have to catch the scrim coming in with speed at head height or hit him I would not do. My job to watch the scrim as it came in, than yell afterwards if the talent violated his blocking as detrement to the show my bringing in the scrim was a part of the show and fast.

About the extent of my hitting talent experience on the pin-rail for hitting talent - after a few days and as supported by the production, one might wish more than 1/2" Sch. 40 pipe as scrim bottom weight to hit him when in the way - and me knowing he was in the way and specifically hitting him anyway on closing night following lots of warning and and no damage or help to him done.

So I hear about the Tony Awards, and a Brett Michaels "talent on stage" hit by scenery - no dobut after a rehearsal and as professoinal to talent warning... Talent that wound up with a broken nose following a talent verses flown in scenery incident live on TV. Seemes his PR people are demanding those that flew in the scenery on his nose should be fired.

I would tend to agree with this. No matter if fork truck driver that just run his forks thru a $10K+ moving light in causing damage (union or not) or that person that flew in the scenery that crushed the face of the talent he just brought scenery onto the face of, there for a job and responsible for what they do no less than Pyro tech out for a smoke while people died in a club they set the pyro for in burning down.

Such people there that don't properly perform the safety of gear charged with or people part of their job ensured it is safe on site but it was not should be fired. Yes, one on even live TV should stop the scenery from coming in should someone be at chance of becoming crushed by it at some point - what you were not looking?

Even if not some pin-rail person lowering scenery and a stage manager directing him or her, say some hoist system lowering it in... E-Stop has many places to hit it from and many that could have shut down the lift before it crushed the talent's face.

No excuse in my opinion for scenery injuring someone - you gone in agreeing with that from the talent's managers. This no matter if the talent was at fault for being at the wrong place at the wrong time - you don't hit the talent with scenery especially following normally one rehersal with something that will really injure the talent.


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## derekleffew (Jun 12, 2009)

BRET MICHAELS OFFICIAL STATEMENT AFTER THE TONYS INCIDENT 
on his website, here. 

I like this part:

> I feel for the actors and actresses who put in so much time and hard work on or off Broadway to get to the Tonys. This is their moment and I am sorry that some of it may have gotten overshadowed by my thick rocker cranium being struck by a stage prop. On a high note I hear it was the highest rated Tonys they have had in years. However, I was bummed that I did not get to see any of the acts perform during the Tonys as I have never seen a play on Broadway before, probably would have enjoyed it, and even more bummed that I did not get to attend the after parties, cuz rumor has it Anne Hathaway was going to be there and she is hot.


*

*


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## Clifford (Jun 13, 2009)

And there you have it, ladies and gentlemen.


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## photoatdv (Jul 2, 2009)

I read some of the comments on different celeb websites (and wrote a scathing reply on one!) and they are crazy. Half the people think the flyman did it intentionally. Seriously NO flyman would intentionally hit somebody with a hard piece of scenery. I mean I could see like tapping them with a curtain or something harmless (I'll admit I did that once after warning the actor like 20 times (no pipe or anything at the bottom and I slowed it and eased it to where it barely touched them) to scare them into paying attention. Not sure I'd still do that, but wasn't going to hurt anyone. Besides who would intentionally mess up a live broadcast to get at a performer.

These people are just stupid... obviously they couldn't stop a counterweight line instantly!


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## Les (Jul 2, 2009)

photoatdv said:


> I read some of the comments on different celeb websites (and wrote a scathing reply on one!) and they are crazy. Half the people think the flyman did it intentionally. Seriously NO flyman would intentionally hit somebody with a hard piece of scenery. I mean I could see like tapping them with a curtain or something harmless (I'll admit I did that once after warning the actor like 20 times (no pipe or anything at the bottom and I slowed it and eased it to where it barely touched them) to scare them into paying attention. Not sure I'd still do that, but wasn't going to hurt anyone. Besides who would intentionally mess up a live broadcast to get at a performer.
> 
> These people are just stupid... obviously they couldn't stop a counterweight line instantly!



Yep, as I said earlier, some people think they know everything. Those same people also think everyone else is as immature as they are. I liked the comments where they said "SO FAKE!". Why do people not realize that accidents happen?!


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## tech2000 (Jul 9, 2009)

Yeah, and from looking at the broadcast it seemed like there wouldn't have been enough time to stop it without at least tapping him on the head...it's true accidents happen, and when they happen they happen fast.


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## TimMiller (Jul 23, 2009)

unfortuantely accidents do happen, and there is always a group on you tube that says everything is fake. Good news is no one seriously got hurt it could have been much worse. Reminds me, last week i got a call from one of our techs out on the road telling me that one of the trailers loaded with gear flipped. I was happy to find out it was just the trailer that flipped and no one was hurt. My poor CD-80 doesnt look to good, it decided to go through the wall of the trailer when they were flipping it back over. I was told the skid marks from the trailer were over 100 feet long. Which reminds me i need to call and get all of our crank towers recertified and checked out now......

Remember in this business every single cue we execute, from lighting to sound, to staging, there is a chance of something really bad happening. Its the nature of the business and by being in it you accept that risk. Just like they say on event tickets by being a part of the show you accept a risk that something could happen. Accidents happen; gear, buildings, sets can be replaced, unfortuately people cannot.


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## Esoteric (Aug 4, 2009)

For those saying the flyman should have stopped it, do we know that he had a view of the stage or the piece? Did he have his back turned because of the weight of the piece?

Mike


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