2020 Tony Awards Eligibility Meeting #2

[bwaybffs]

Posted: 1/30/20 at 5:41pm

According to playbill.com: "The Tony Award Administration Committee met for the second time in the 2019–2020 season January 30 to discuss eligibility for the latest slate of Broadway productions to open.

The 11 shows discussed were The Great Society, Slave Play, Linda Vista, The Rose Tattoo, The Lighting Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical, The Sound Inside, Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, The Inheritance, A Christmas Carol, Jagged Little Pill, and My Name is Lucy Barton."

Thoughts?? Is Elizabeth Stanley the only leading actor/actress in JLP?

[Wick3]

Posted: 1/30/20 at 5:46pm

What surprised me was CHRISTMAS CAROL will be categorized under BEST PLAY. I loved the production but would have thought it to be a revival given how almost everyone know the premise of the story.

[mailhandler777]

Posted: 1/30/20 at 6:00pm

bwaybffs said: "According to playbill.com: "The Tony Award Administration Committee met for the second time in the 2019–2020 season January 30 to discuss eligibility for the latest slate of Broadway productions to open.

The 11 shows discussed wereThe Great Society, Slave Play, Linda Vista, The Rose Tattoo, The Lighting Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical, The Sound Inside, Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, The Inheritance, A Christmas Carol, Jagged Little Pill,andMy Name is Lucy Barton."

Thoughts?? Is Elizabeth Stanley the only leading actor/actress in JLP?"

Yes she is. Lauren Patten will be featured if she gets a nomination. 

[little_sally]

Posted: 1/30/20 at 6:01pm

Shocked about the ruling for The Inheritance actors. 

[Hot Pants]

Posted: 1/30/20 at 6:06pm

I see that they’ve ruled Adrienne Warren as Lead Actress for Tina, but I don’t see anything for the actor playing Ike Turner. I know the person playing it in London won Lead Actor. For anyone who’s seen the show, would you say Ike Turner is more leading or supporting?

[little_sally]

Posted: 1/30/20 at 6:08pm

Hot Pants said: "I see that they’ve ruled Adrienne Warren as Lead Actress for Tina, but I don’t see anything for the actor playing Ike Turner. I know the person playing it in London won Lead Actor. For anyone who’s seen the show, would you say Ike Turner is more leading or supporting?"

Supporting, and I was pretty surprised he was considered Lead in London. The character is gone for most of act 2. 

[JBroadway]

Posted: 1/30/20 at 6:08pm

Some thoughts, and things to note:

First, Christmas Carol is eligible as a new play because it's a new adaptation by Jack Thorne. It's not a revival of any of the other previous adaptations. There was never any doubt as to this, and frankly I'm surprised they bothered including it as a ruling. 

 

Second, I'm also very surprised about The Inheritance actor ruling. I would have thought only Soller would be leading. I'm afraid they might have screwed themselves over, because they had the potential to really dominate the supporting actor category, but now they might get canceled out in the more stacked leading category. 

I would have put Kristin Stokes in supporting, but it doesn't really matter anyway. 

One thing to note:

Because of the lack of announcement, Will Hochman from The Sound Inside will be put in featured rather than leading, because he's below the title. 
 

EDIT: I’m also surprised that the daughter from Jagged Little Pill didn’t get bumped up to leading along with the mom. 

Updated On: 1/30/20 at 06:08 PM

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 1/30/20 at 6:09pm

little_sally said: "Shocked about the ruling for The Inheritance actors."

Yes. I figured Sam Levene would sweep the Featured Actor race. But now maybe that leaves a chance for Paul Hilton (or someone not from the show).

[AntV]

Posted: 1/30/20 at 6:09pm

So Freestyle Love Supreme, American Utopia, Harry Connick Jr Cole Porter, Derren Brown Secret and Slava's Snowshow all not eligible.

[JBroadway]

Posted: 1/30/20 at 6:39pm

Another thought regarding Christmas Carol:

By any interpretation of the established rules and precedent, there really shouldn’t have been any doubt that it would be considered a new play, so theoretically there’s no need to announce it as such.

So what I’m wondering is if the producers tried to petition it as a revival, and got denied. Similar to what Scott Rudin tried with Shuffle Along, and the producers of One Man Two Guvnors.

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 1/30/20 at 6:52pm

Therese Raquin was a similar situation as Christmas Carol: It was eligible as a New Play.

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 1/30/20 at 7:30pm

I’m surprised to see Joaquina Kalukango in the leading category.

Glad to see the orchestrations of A Christmas Carol eligible. Christopher Nightingale did stunning work and he deserves at least a nomination.

Updated On: 1/30/20 at 07:30 PM

[quizking101]

Posted: 1/30/20 at 8:49pm

AntV said: "So Freestyle Love Supreme, American Utopia, Harry Connick Jr Cole Porter, Derren Brown Secret and Slava's Snowshow all not eligible."

Unless they brought back the Special Theatrical Event category for some reason, then yes, none of these are eligible. (P.S Kristin Chenoweth’s concerts would be heaped into this pile.)

[Zion24]

Posted: 1/30/20 at 11:38pm

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "little_sally said: "Shocked about the ruling for The Inheritance actors."

Yes. I figured Sam Levene would sweep the Featured Actor race. But now maybe that leaves a chance for Paul Hilton (or someonenotfrom the show)."

Shocked to read this. I thought Levene's performance was palpably bad and by far the weakest link in the cast. On the other hand, i too thought almost all of them would be in supporting, and was sure Burnap would coast to a Tony. He was mesmerizing start to finish. 

Hard to see how this doesnt hurt his chances- only Soller was recognized in London, and I can think of many heavy hitters that make multiple lead nominations unlikely.

[MayAudraBlessYou2]

Posted: 1/31/20 at 9:48am

Thoughts:

I'm worried The Inheritance ruling will screw Andrew Burnap out of a nomination. Or they could all miss. Lead Actor in a Play is STACKED this year (Tracy Letts, Mark Addy, Ian Barford, the 3 Lehman actors, Sam Rockwell, David Morse, Rupert Everett, Jessie Williams, and about a dozen others). The silver lining is that Paul Hilton is more secure for Featured Actor (and his delivery of that gorgeous monologue makes him more than deserving), but I'm worried about Soller or Burnap getting crowded out.

Joaquina Kalukango could have won Featured Actress, even with a closed play. ...but I have a hard time seeing her winning Lead. The double whammy of Mary-Louise Parker is going to be difficult to beat, and Kalukango is in an ensemble piece whereas other lead actress contenders are the central characters in their plays.

I am also scratching my head at Kristin Stokes in Lead. I mean it wasnt going to go anywhere no matter which category, but Lightning Thief fans could have at least entertained some absolute shocker of a nom in featured. 

I take it that by not mentioning that the "special events" in the discussed shows, that they did not submit themselves for consideration. For some this makes sense (I knew Slava wasn't participating). But I was under the impression that Derren Brown Secret did submit for Tony consideration. Is it possible they were only seeking a special award and not the competitive ones? 

When are they going to get over themselves and add a projection design category? They can't even be consistent in terms of whether projection designers are considered with lighting or sets. It could be a combined category for plays and musicals, but it is blatantly obvious that this discipline has become a design staple on Broadway that should be considered on its own.

I also wish they would list if a play is eligible for Best Score in these decisions. They consistently fail to do that each year. I assume A Christmas Carol is b/c Christopher Nightingale is credited as composer.

[JBroadway]

Posted: 1/31/20 at 10:13am

MayAudraBlessYou2 said: "I assume A Christmas Carol is b/c Christopher Nightingale is credited as composer."

 

My guess is that it is not eligible. When I saw the show, I was very curious as to whether they might be eligible for best score (because of how empty the category is), so I listened very closely to all the music. From what I could tell, almost all of it was re-arranged versions of existing Christmas music. If there was any original music, it must have been in shorter, more fleeting moments, or maybe the pre-show? In any case, it wouldn't have reached the point of being 51% new music. 

 

[bjh2114]

Posted: 1/31/20 at 10:38am

HeyMrMusic said: "I’m surprised to see Joaquina Kalukango in the leading category."

This to me is the biggest shock of all of them. She had a real shot at a nomination in the featured category. She doesn't stand a chance in leading.

The Inheritance actor rulings don't surprise me. Paul Hilton is their best chance at winning a Tony, and now they've isolated him from potential vote splitting. I think it was the right call.

[TheSassySam]

Posted: 1/31/20 at 2:41pm

bjh2114 said: "HeyMrMusic said: "I’m surprised to see Joaquina Kalukango in the leading category."

This to me is the biggest shock of all of them. She had a real shot at a nomination in the featured category. She doesn't stand a chance in leading.

The Inheritance actor rulings don't surprise me. Paul Hilton is their best chance at winning a Tony, and now they've isolated him from potential vote splitting. I think it was the right call."

 

To be honest, I would think that Lois Smith is their best chance at an acting Tony. Though, I did love Paul Hilton. 

 

[bjh2114]

Posted: 1/31/20 at 5:41pm

I suppose I should have clarified that he has the best chance of winning a Tony of all of the men! Lois will obviously be in her own category and has a great chance of winning.

[persephone88]

Posted: 1/31/20 at 6:45pm

I'm also afraid that Soller and Burnap, both of whom were outstanding, will cancel each other out for a Tony, which is disappointing. I thought Burnap was a shoe in for Best Supporting, but now the lead actor field is way too crowded. 😕 Hope this play does not get overlooked in nominations or awards!

[msmp]

Posted: 2/1/20 at 1:56pm

bjh2114 said: "I suppose I should have clarified that he has the best chance of winning a Tony of all of the men! Lois will obviously be in her own category and has a great chance of winning."

Not having seen The Inheritance yet, how big is Lois Smith's role? Is it beefy enough that she could win the Best Actress in a Featured Role or is this going to (and I certainly hope not) be a situation where the nomination is seen as "enough" by the voters?

Also, it was surprising to me how many people (admittedly on Twitter) seemed to think these were the nomination announcements...

Posted: 2/2/20 at 9:36pm

Seems like a bad decision by inheritance producers. Tony’s rarely reward financially struggling shows, especially when they aren’t critically lauded (reviews were mixed at best). They probably won’t get any lead actor nods now.

[MayAudraBlessYou2]

Posted: 2/3/20 at 12:31am

msmp said: "bjh2114 said: "I suppose I should have clarified that he has the best chance of winning a Tony of all of the men! Lois will obviously be in her own category and has a great chance of winning."

Not having seenThe Inheritanceyet, how big is Lois Smith's role? Is it beefy enough that she could win the Best Actress in a Featured Role or is this going to (and I certainly hope not) be a situation where the nomination is seen as "enough" by the voters?

Also, it was surprising to me how many people (admittedly on Twitter) seemed to think thesewere the nomination announcements..."

Lois Smith doesn’t appear until close to the end, but she is absolutely phenomenal. Her role is mostly this one massive, gorgeous, heartbreaking monologue. She starts talking and then commands attention of the entire stage for the next 20 min. And yet she does so delicately and with great care, a natural and in the moment performance. The Featured Actress race was definitely going to be Lois Smith vs Kalukango. But with the later now eligible for Lead, it’s Smith's to lose. Unless a woman from the spring shows comes out swinging, (and they def could. The Minutes and Hangmen have several contenders. And there’s always Patsy aferran in Virginia Woolf) then it sets up Smith to win. 

[Zion24]

Posted: 2/3/20 at 12:40am

Lois Smith shows up at the tail end of a 6 hour enterprise and commands the stage in a 15ish minute monologue that is a punch in the gut. I sure hope she gets nominated, though hard to tell who the competition will be at this point.

i dont see how Burnap gets his well deserved Tony nod at this point, but Paul Hilton was outstanding and would be a fitting way for Tony voters to honor the show (i cant think of any others who would grab a Supporting Actor nom, since Goldwyn isnt eligible). 

[JBroadway]

Posted: 2/3/20 at 12:54am

Zion24 said: "(i cant think of any others who would grab a Supporting Actor nom, since Goldwyn isnt eligible)."

 

Tony Goldwyn isn't eligible, but John Benjamin Hickey is, and I think he and Hilton could both potentially get nominated. Personally though, I thought Hilton's performance was the primary standout of the supporting cast, and I'm glad to hear that others agree with me. 

As for Supporting Actress, right now I don't think Smith has any obvious competition, but it's still early, and I think some other major contenders will emerge as the rest of the shows open. Offhand, I'd think that her biggest competition might be Patsy Ferran in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf - I believe this will be Ferran's US stage debut, but she has been taking London theatre by storm, and she's a really exquisite actor.