Breaking News: Final 2014 Tony Awards Eligibility from LADY DAY to CABARET!- Page 3

[Kad]

Posted: 4/25/14 at 4:03pm

I do find it unusual that they did not say something about Aladdin, one way or another.

[NYC4Life]

Posted: 4/25/14 at 4:09pm

Hollywood Reporters article about Audra and the Tonys

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/will-audra-mcdonald-pull-a-698963

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 4/25/14 at 4:21pm

There's no rule that only the new songs in a score are eligible. The entire score is eligible if any of it is eligible. Are you confused with the Oscars?

I guess we're just assuming that since they didn't saying anything about Aladdin that it is eligible.

[skyboy]

Posted: 4/25/14 at 4:33pm

They ruled ONCE's ineligibility & that score was only like 10% new, so if ALADDIN had been ineligible they would have said so.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 4/25/14 at 5:11pm

I'm very surprised Mazzie is not in Leading position. She IS the Leading Lady of the piece. Maybe she'll do better in Featured over Yorke's annoying one-note performance. But that category is already overstuffed, even before the ROCKY decision. (She should be in leading also). IMO. I still think there could be some upsetting due to Williams mixed reception, with Bridget Davis strong performance.

[theatregeek6]

Posted: 4/25/14 at 7:48pm

Curtainpulldowner

It is up to the producers to petition for Mazzie. She is below the title (as is everyone on Bullets) and defaults to featured

Considering the leading category it was a good call on their part. Evenore so with Seibert who may take it.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 4/25/14 at 8:00pm

How many Actresses are vying for a slot in Featured?

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 4/25/14 at 8:14pm

The committee can deny producers' wishes of leaving certain actors in the featured category based on billing. The NY Times article says the producers of Les Miz wanted to keep Will Swenson in the featured category, but the committee bumped him up to leading.

[theatregeek6]

Posted: 4/25/14 at 8:30pm

Mrmusic

Are you saying seine can be billed below the title and the committee can still insist they are lead? Or that the producers can request someone above the title be featured and the committee can deny it?

[tazber]

Posted: 4/25/14 at 8:33pm

I had forgotten that the "certain songs" rule was changed to the "50%" rule.

Thanks for the correction theaterguy.

But it didn't seem like 50% of the score was written specifically for the theatrical show.

[skyboy]

Posted: 4/25/14 at 8:44pm

The Playbill.com article on the committee rulings confirms that ALADDIN is indeed eligible for best score.

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 4/25/14 at 8:53pm

No one is above the title in Les Miz. According to the recent NY Times article, the producers petitioned for only Ramin to be considered in the leading category, presumably to put Ramin and Will Swenson out of direct competition. However, the Tony committee bumped up Will into the leading category.

I assume producers of Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike wanted to keep Kristine Nielsen in the featured category where she would have been a slam-dunk win. She was nominated in the leading category, however, and lost to Cicely Tyson.

I think it's silly to think of the entire score of Aladdin as original since one of its main contributors has been deceased for 23 years and another seems to have not been involved in the production at all.

[Joviedamian]

Posted: 4/25/14 at 9:18pm

So, even if CABARET is eligible for best revival, does that really mean it's going to get nominated?

[ACL2006]

Posted: 4/25/14 at 9:20pm

Still no word on whether we'll see 5 nominated shows for Best New Musical(or Play). But after the Outer Critics Circle & Drama Desk noms, I'll go ahead and say:

BEST NEW MUSICAL:
Gentleman's Guide..
Aladdin
Beautiful
After Midnight
5th: Bridges of Madison County

[Jonwo]

Posted: 4/25/14 at 10:55pm

Tim Rice came into Aladdin the movie pretty late in in process since Howard Ashman was very ill and since Chad Beguelin became the new lyricist for the stage adaptation, he wasn't really needed, in the Seattle tryout they did have one of his cut songs Why Me, but that replaced with Diamond in the Rough.

I wonder if the fact that some of the songs were slightly rewritten or expanded was a factor in why Aladdin's score is eligible in addition to the four new songs,

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 4/25/14 at 11:31pm

It's been discussed here before, sounds a bit cynical but probably true. DISNEY and Menken know the rules, and they make sure there are exactly enough notes to qualify for the TONY rules for New Score.

[SongandDance2]

Posted: 4/26/14 at 12:00am

I'm not sure anyone is looking that close in the case of Aladdin. The committee probably took it on faith based on how ever much 'new' material Disney is claiming is in the show. Otherwise they'd rule that there are only 4 new songs (plus a few reprises) that would be considered written for the stage. Between the movie songs and 'cut' movie songs included in the show, there are 8 old songs and 2 or 3 reprises. Can't imagine how that would qualify. Since the 50% rule was made, I've gotta believe this is the least amount of material that has qualified for an original score nomination. I agree with CurtainPullDowner - the power of Disney!

[Mr. Nowack]

Posted: 4/26/14 at 12:38am

How did the "certain songs" rule work way back when? It sounds like a very strange system.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 4/26/14 at 12:41am

I think you have to go back to R&H's STATE FAIR and David Merrick?

[bobs3]

Posted: 4/26/14 at 1:21am

The administration usually defers to producers requests for which categories performers are placed in but not always. They will sometimes deny a request for a bump from featured to lead and they will sometimes bump an actor from featured to lead even though the producers preferred that performer in the featured category (Kristine Nielsen comes to mind).

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 4/26/14 at 10:16am

From an article the year of STATE FAIR (which was nominated) The TONY commitee added this note to the STATE FAIR nomination. "When considering the score of STATE FAIR please consider only the following songs written for the Theatre as following: DRIVING AT NIGHT, YOU NEVER HAD IT SO GOOD,WHEN I GO WALKING WITH MY BABY, BOYS AND GIRLS LIKE YOU AND ME."

Kinda strange.
And then we had the TOMMY DECISION.

[hundredsofhats]

Posted: 4/26/14 at 3:30pm

[I wonder if the fact that some of the songs were slightly rewritten or expanded was a factor in why Aladdin's score is eligible in addition to the four new songs,]

"Arabian Nights" has 20 seconds of new lyrics. "Prince Ali" has some of Howard Ashman's lyrics back in. And "Friend Like Me" is 8 minutes long.

[Mr. Nowack]

Posted: 4/27/14 at 2:52am

So they were supposedly meant to judge only 4 songs against entire scores like BIG and RENT? That seems very strange. The percentage rule makes much more sense.

Was the "certain songs" rule ever used anywhere else?