All I can think about is how different this Tonys season would be in Caroline or Change was a spring show!

[jkcohen626]

Posted: 5/16/22 at 10:27pm

Like seriously, Caissie Levy would have definitely been nominated, along with much more plausible paths for both Tamika Lawrence and Samantha Williams.

It also probably would have gotten more nominations in behind-the-scenes and technical categories.

There would be no debate about Sharon D. Clarke winning Best Actress in a Musical and it would have legitimate shots at a bunch of other awards.

It definitely gets you thinking about how much a season is shaped by when shows perform!

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 5/16/22 at 10:28pm

I actually don’t think it would have changed anything.

[spicemonkey]

Posted: 5/16/22 at 10:34pm

TotallyEffed said: "I actually don’t think it would have changed anything."

Agreed 

[BroadwayRox3588]

Posted: 5/16/22 at 10:35pm

It literally wouldn't have changed a thing.

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 5/16/22 at 10:37pm

jkcohen626 said: "There would be no debate about Sharon D. Clarke winning Best Actress in a Musical "

Who tf is debating this?? She's probably the easiest prediction of any acting award this year (possible exception MLP). I cannot see a road to a win from ANY other lady in that race.

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 5/16/22 at 10:38pm

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "jkcohen626 said: "There would be no debate about Sharon D. Clarke winning Best Actress in a Musical "

Who tf is debating this?? She's probably the easiest prediction of any acting award this year (possible exception MLP). I cannot see a road to a win from ANY other lady in that race."

LuPone is the easiest prediction, followed by ML Parker and Clarke.

Updated On: 5/16/22 at 10:38 PM

[MayAudraBlessYou2]

Posted: 5/16/22 at 10:38pm

I'm not sure a whole lot would change in terms of the nominations it got. It repeated the exact same 3 nominations that the revival got at the Olivier: Revival of a Musical, Lead actress for Sharon, and Costume Design. Maaaaybe Caissie Levy and Michael Longhurst might have benefitted if the show was open, but its hard to say. 

While there is certainly a "recency bias" when it comes to actually winning a Tony, its quite easy to be nominated for a closed show. The nominators see everything, after all. They do a good job at remembering what is closed.

[BroadwayRox3588]

Posted: 5/16/22 at 11:03pm

In the 2018-2019 season, The Boys in the Band won Best Revival of a Play, despite being the first show to open that season. The nominators have a good collective memory.

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 5/17/22 at 12:13am

I think Mare Winningham could be a dark horse and take the Tony. Girl From The North Country has a lot of momentum. 

[ATerrifyingAndImposingFigure]

Posted: 5/17/22 at 12:44am

I'd say LuPone is the biggest lock, then Morse and MLP.

Anyway, I actually was thinking earlier Levy might've benefited from a closer run to voting, but I agree otherwise, it probably would've done the same.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 5/17/22 at 1:43am

I mean, it didn't help Tonya Pinkins.

We say it's a sure thing, but had I seen the OBC cast of Wicked and Caroline, I would have thought Tonya was the shoo-in. 

[BroadwayRox3588]

Posted: 5/17/22 at 2:47am

Bettyboy72 said: "I think Mare Winningham could be a dark horse and take the Tony. Girl From The North Country has a lot of momentum."

I didn't like Girl from the North Country at all, but I thought Winningham's performance was award-worthy. In fact, I'd say her performance alone was worth heading to the Belasco in November.

This wouldn't surprise me at all.

Updated On: 5/17/22 at 02:47 AM

[Lavieboheme3090]

Posted: 5/17/22 at 7:42am

I think it’s totally plausible that Chip and Tamika could have gotten nominated if the show was in the spring. But alas, all we have are memories.

[quizking101]

Posted: 5/17/22 at 9:02am

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "jkcohen626 said: "There would be no debate about Sharon D. Clarke winning Best Actress in a Musical "

Who tf is debating this?? She's probably the easiest prediction of any acting award this year (possible exception MLP). I cannot see a road to a win from ANY other lady in that race."

LuPone is the only true lock, with Matt Doyle probably being the second closest lock.

I honestly could see Winningham taking this and it would be extremely deserved as it’s not a flashy role in a very big ensemble show, making it all the the more amazing for her to stand out as she does.

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 5/17/22 at 10:26am

Lavieboheme3090 said: "I think it’s totally plausible that Chip and Tamika could have gotten nominated if the show was in the spring. But alas, all we have are memories."

We do have a new cast album. I'm grateful for that. 

If Joaquina wins, I won't be thrilled, but I'll accept it. If Mare wins, I'll be furious. I'm still desperately hoping this is Sharon's award.

[Alexander Lamar]

Posted: 5/17/22 at 10:33am

Well if they were still open we’d probably be getting a Tonys performance. I would’ve loved to have seen Salty Teardrops as part of an opening medley. Still holding onto a shred of hope that Roundabout will for some reason pay to have Sharon perform Lot’s Wife. 

[Fosse76]

Posted: 5/17/22 at 10:55am

RippedMan said: "I mean, it didn't help Tonya Pinkins.

We say it's a sure thing, but had I seen the OBC cast of Wicked and Caroline, I would have thought Tonya was the shoo-in."

She was having vocal issues during that time, which could have contributed to her loss. 

[OhHiii]

Posted: 5/17/22 at 4:25pm

Fosse76 said: "RippedMan said: "I mean, it didn't help Tonya Pinkins.

We say it's a sure thing, but had I seen the OBC cast of Wicked and Caroline, I would have thought Tonya was the shoo-in."

She was having vocal issues during that time, which could have contributed to her loss."

Verrry much so vocal issues were a factor. But…the winner that year wasn’t particularly consistent either…

[OhHiii]

Posted: 5/17/22 at 4:25pm

Fosse76 said: "RippedMan said: "I mean, it didn't help Tonya Pinkins.

We say it's a sure thing, but had I seen the OBC cast of Wicked and Caroline, I would have thought Tonya was the shoo-in."

She was having vocal issues during that time, which could have contributed to her loss."

Verrry much so vocal issues were a factor. But…the winner that year wasn’t particularly consistent either…

[Jeffrey Karasarides]

Posted: 8/15/22 at 8:30am

It's so ironic reading some of these comments now. Most of the play categories at this year's Tony Awards were won by productions that ended their runs months beforehand. They all likely benefitted from the portal system voters must log. For those who don't know what I'm talking about, every voter must log their attendance of every nominated show in the portal. The portal takes this information and generates a ballot based on what you have seen. If you were not able to attend a nominated production, any category where it is nominated is automatically pulled from your ballot. However, all the musical categories were won by productions that were currently running during Tony season.

[BETTY22]

Posted: 8/15/22 at 7:28pm

A New York Times Critics Pix and the most amazing reviews of the season, yet it disappeared at the Tony Awards.

I think the same thing is going to happen this season with Kimberly Akimbo. It's advance is very weak - even with those amazing reviews.

I fear it's going to be long gone before the Tony awards. 

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 8/15/22 at 7:42pm

This still pisses me off. 

[Wayman_Wong]

Posted: 8/15/22 at 7:45pm

''It's so ironic reading some of these comments now. Most of the play categories at this year's Tony Awards were won by productions that ended their runs months beforehand. They all likely benefitted from the portal system voters must log.''

Jeffrey, that's a really interesting point. That certainly sounds better than the old days when it was all based on the honor system. But how foolproof is the Tony portal system? Is it possible for a Tony voter to pretend to have seen a show by punching in a likely date? Or does each Broadway show have someone going over the rolls of the Tony voters and double-checking the dates of their attendance? 

Why can't they create a special Tony voter card, much like a COVID vaccination card? Whenever a Tony voter went to a show, they'd have to present their Tony card and I.D. And the system would electronically track each voter's attendance.

Updated On: 8/15/22 at 07:45 PM

[spicemonkey]

Posted: 8/15/22 at 7:49pm

Jordan Catalano said: "This still pisses me off."

I hope Sharon D. Clarke win next year!!

Updated On: 8/15/22 at 07:49 PM

[Jeffrey Karasarides]

Posted: 8/15/22 at 10:15pm

Wayman_Wong said: "''It's so ironic reading some of these comments now. Most of the play categories at this year's Tony Awards were won by productions that ended their runs months beforehand. They all likely benefitted from the portal system voters must log.''

Jeffrey, that's a really interesting point. That certainly sounds better than the old days when it was all based on the honor system. But how foolproof is the Tony portal system? Is it possible for a Tony voter to pretend to have seen a show by punching in a likely date? Or does each Broadway show have someone going over the rolls of the Tony voters and double-checking the dates of their attendance?"

I don't know. I've only learned this from Sam Eckmann of Gold Derby. Although he also mentioned that the honor system comes into play with absent performers. Let’s say a voter saw Company in March and logs their date in the voter portal, but Patti LuPone was out with COVID. This particular voter didn’t reschedule their tickets and saw an understudy for Joanne. The portal would not automatically remove Featured Actress in a Musical from this voter’s ballot because it only reads if you saw the show or not (there is no data connected to this system about performer absences. Incorporating that would be a monumental task). Voters are simply asked to recuse themselves from voting in a category where they weren’t able to see a nominated performer. Some will follow that rule, but many will probably vote anyway if they’ve only missed one person because they want to have a say in the outcome.

Updated On: 8/15/22 at 10:15 PM