While things went smoothly on stage Sunday at the Tony Awards, the theater world is still upset about the show’s red carpet, which “was a mess,” as spies said — with security virtually checking Sarah Paulson’s body.
Even celebrities like Angelina Jolie were left waiting in a long line in the hot weather to be interviewed!
Several sources described the scene as “chaos” and many called it “the worst red carpet of their careers.”
We’re told that after attendees were waiting, organizers mysteriously closed the carpet early without giving a reason.
Adding to the drama, sources said Paulson — who won a Tony for “Appropriate” — nearly failed in the process.
“It was a muddled hole,” says one source. “The security person stood right in front of everyone and extended his arms to prevent anyone from moving and almost scanned Sarah Paulson’s body to yell, ‘The carpet is off!’ It was unnecessarily aggressive. No one was trying to be rude or out of line.”
Sources told Page Six that the night’s entire talent had to form a long line, with even Hollywood royalty Jolie — and her daughter Vivienne — waiting half an hour in her dress due to the heat, while others waited for an hour.
We hear Jolie was able to move on sooner because brothers Corey Cott — who currently stars in the Huey Lewis musical “The Heart of Rock and Roll” — and “Riverdale” star Casey Cott let her go ahead of them.
“We heard someone say he felt like he was on the Titanic,” says a source. “The propagandists were begging people to let the women and children go first.”
We hear that some stars, many of whom needed to get in to prepare for the shows, couldn’t even get on the red carpet. Another disgruntled source said: “It was a complete disaster.”
Once inside, we heard that the press had been given a “nominee package” that misidentified the Best Actress in a Musical nominee — “Lempikca” star Eden Espinosa — with a photo of Shoshana Penn from “Hairspray” in 2002.
On Friday, Page Six reported that several well-known members of the Broadway press were not invited to cover the carpet.
We hear most of the theatrical press an act They were eventually invited to cover – but were treated by publicists in a way that many felt was “condescending” and “dismissive”.
We hear that a publicist got into a “heated discussion” with a reporter.
This was the first time Rogers & Cowan PMK had worked with the Tonys. The company had no comment.
But the show must go on! The concert itself went smoothly with the stage crowd partying late into the night at the Carlyle, Pebble Bar and more.
Note: Paulson was seen at both ceremonies carrying her award, unharmed and having an explosion.
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