Quick: list the names of five plays on the Great White Way right now, and no, they cannot be random Shakespeare titles. How many could you name? Not many, right?
Now, name five musicals on the Silver Screen that have come out in the past year. Not that many, right?
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You see, the thing is, the Tony's and the Oscars are opposites, not only in the fact that one is for stage and one is for movies. At the Tony's, the musicals are what it is all about. It is where they get a majority of their revenue and profit and fame. The Oscars' focus is on what would be considered a straight play on stage. No music, just acting. That is where they get a majority of their profit and what they churn out the most.
As a result, the Tony's tend to gloss over plays like the Oscars gloss over musicals. It is not what people are watching for. You know when you watch the Oscars, "Pitch Perfect 2" and other Anna Kendrick musicals are not going to be nominated, but movies that are for the upper-class and limited releases that a majority of the public has never heard of will be nominated and win, otherwise known as "Oscar-bait".
The Tony's, on the other hand, make the musical and major public interest the main spectacle, because those are often still playing and gain the most from being featured, whereas most movies are out of theaters and on the shelves at Walmart in DVD cases ready to be bought and don't really contribute to the box office profit. It is seriously not where the money is at and makes no sense to feature your lowest profit at your biggest ad of the year.
So unless there was a major celebrity in a starring role in a play, expect not to know that it was even playing or even a concept before the nominations and the descriptions are given during the show. Unless you're a crazy play nerd - in that case, props to you!
