Unpromising

Tony Awards are tonight. Hard to get too excited since I haven't seen any of the shows and know next to nothing about all the new productions. There was a time when Broadway was America's entertainment, but it's become more rarefied than that.

Sean Hayes hosts. He's also nominated for Promises, Promises. The show wasn't even nominated for best musical revival, so the voters don't think much of it.

I just heard him Hayes interviewed on Fresh Air. Oddly, the host (filling in for Terry Gross) claimed the show produced two hits, the title number and "I Say A Little Prayer." While the latter has been interpolated into the present production, everyone knows the other hit is "I'll Never Fall In Love Again."

Bacharach and David were also interviewed. They were asked how they wrote "Promises, Promises" and they responded it was playwright Neil Simon's title (for a show based on The Apartment, which already had a famous theme) and produced David Merrick insisted on a title number. So there you have it.