AUTHORPALOOZA GUEST POST & GIVEAWAY - RUBY PRESTON "BEHIND THE SCENES AT THE TONYS"

This giveaway is now closed!  Congratulations to Bridget O'Neill, the lucky winner of Ruby Preston's novel SHOWBIZ!


I love being a Broadway producer.  In addition to getting to pull back the curtain on the exciting world of Broadway through my Scarlett Savoy novels, I also get to live and breathe musical theater every day.

The Tony Awards - Broadway's biggest night of the year, is coming up this Sunday.  I'll be there and I hope you all will be watching on TV.

My favorite part of the Tonys are the show-stopping Broadway production numbers.  Since there aren't nearly enough dressing rooms at the Tony theater to fit the cast members of all the shows, the actors have to get ready in their own dressing rooms at their regular Broadway theaters.  Until last year the Tonys were held nearby at Radio City.  On Tony evening you could see a parade of Broadway stars in full costume walking down the street from their stage doors.

Since the elaborate stage sets for these Tony performances have to be built specifically to fit on the Tony stage, the musicals can't use their regular scenery.  They have to build a whole separate set for their three minute Tony appearance!  The day after the Tonys you can see the beautiful sets dismantled and piled up out on the street waiting to be thrown away or recycled.  I'm always tempted to redecorate my apartment with fun set pieces but I don't think they'd fit in my studio.

Tony season is a highly political affair on Broadway.  The Tony Voters are comprised of industry veterans, tour presenters from around the country, past award winners, and major producers.  Instead of a panel of unbiased voters, it's a collection of people who are all highly biased.  The hope is that the biases cancel each other out.  People vote for their own shows, their friends' shows, shows they think will do well in their regional market, or they vote against the shows of their enemies.  It can be a ruthless business and a Tony award has been known to make or break a show.

Voting season can be a lot of fun though, since the top contending productions shower the voters with gifts, parties and celebrity appearances.  Just last week I met Angela Lansbury, Meryl Steep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ricky Martin, Matthew Broderick, and more.  I know, I have a pretty cool job (when the stress of it isn't keeping me up nights).

This year’s Tonys will be hosted by the incomparable and hilarious Neil Patrick Harris and the TV broadcast promises to be thrilling.  I'm excited to be celebrating a fantastic Broadway season and I think you'll enjoy the stunning production numbers from "Evita," "Once," "Porgy & Bess," "Newsies," and more.  Will you be watching?

Leave a comment below telling me what your favorite movie musical or Broadway show is and you'll be entered to win an e-book copy of Ruby Preston's Broadway-themed novel SHOWBIZ. Don't forget to leave your e-mail address so that I can contact you if you win!  Contest is open to US residents only!  Drawing will take place on Thursday, June 14th, so get your comments in by midnight on Wednesday, June 15th.


Book blurb:
After four years in Manhattan, slaving away as the under-appreciated apprentice to the brilliant but ruthless “King of Broadway,” Scarlett Savoy is finally on her way to becoming a Broadway producer in her own right.  But then, a shocking suicide turns Broadway on its head.  Scarlett finds herself at the center of the storm as everything she thought she knew about the business of Broadway begins to unravel.  A chance meeting with an influential gossip columnist sparks romance – but can he be trusted?  Scarlett is forced to decide to what lengths she’ll go, who she’s willing to become, and what she’ll sacrifice, to achieve her Broadway dreams.

“This page-turner is packed with Broadway gossip, opening night intrigue, backstage romance, and the colorful characters that inhabit American musical theater.” 

Ruby Preston is a young Broadway producer currently working on several new musicals on the Great White Way.  She couldn’t be more thrilled to be living her dreams in the Times Square trenches of Manhattan.

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