Tony Awards Eligibility 2023-2024- Page 3

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 4/19/24 at 5:33pm

I don't see the Mendez thing being a factor at all. The voters will not attend if she's out, as they must certify that they attended a performance when she was in. Illness or conflict happens.

How many perfs did she miss in 2023 (because some people here seem to be tracking her attendance to a creepy level)? Most of the voters would have attended in 2023, shortly after it opened, and they've probably been invited back to see it again.

[hearthemsing22]

Posted: 4/19/24 at 5:43pm

Anyone who has seen Heart of Rock and Roll...do you think it could be the surprise of the season? 

[quizking101]

Posted: 4/19/24 at 5:46pm

Frost’s issues were happening with still a wide gap of time until the Tonys so he was able to recover in time for voters to see him. Spivey was not so lucky, with respiratory issues taking him out most of what was considered the voting period. I still think Spivey would’ve won if his health didn’t fail him at that time 

[Falsettolands]

Posted: 4/19/24 at 5:54pm

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "I don't see the Mendez thing being a factor at all. The voters will not attend if she's out, as theymustcertify that they attended a performance when she was in. Illness or conflict happens.

How many perfs did she miss in 2023 (because some people here seem to be tracking her attendance to a creepy level)? Most of the voters would have attended in 2023, shortly after it opened, and they've probably been invited back to see it again."

So just so I’m understanding the rules correctly and that they need to certify they saw Mendez, by what you’re saying above means that Spivey didn’t lose for Strange Loop because voters HAD to see him in the show, and would not be allowed to see the show if he was absent at the performance they were attending?

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 4/19/24 at 6:01pm

I don't know how this applied to specific actors, but I believe Tony voters could still vote in categories where they had missed one of the shows in the category (this was a recent change, but I think it was in effect during the MJ/Strange Loop year?).  Some people also seemed to imply that voters would get annoyed if they had to reschedule too much around an illness but I'm not sure how much of that is actually true or just people making assumptions.

re: Heart of Rock and Roll, I was more negative about it than other posters on this board but I could definitely see it getting in for choreography and maybe lighting, and a slim (but nonzero) chance for a Best Musical nomination

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 4/19/24 at 6:28pm

Last year, you could miss one nominee in a given category and still vote. I imagine that’s not the case again this year; last year was still riddled by covid and also unexpectedly short runs. Voters are told in advance if a principal actor is out and are given the option to change dates. I don’t see Lindsay’s absences being a factor at all. Days of Wine and Roses being closed also doesn’t really discount Kelli or Brian. It would have been closed by the Tonys anyway.

I think Plunkett and Harewood would have been formidable in the featured categories, but alas.

[Jeff Tupolski]

Posted: 4/19/24 at 7:09pm

I don’t think this really hurts Plunkett much at all. Mendez and Neuwirth looked like stronger competition than any of the lead actresses to me. It’s a pretty open field where nobody seems to check all of the right boxes yet. That includes Plunkett given how little she sings and her show’s mixed reviews, but I still see more of a path for her right now than if she competed in Featured.

Harewood might have been set back here though. It feels like there’s four safe actors in lead (Groff, Redmayne, d’Arcy James, Zien), and I think Harewood could be the fifth. However, I’m guessing Ricky Ubeda gets categorized there too and would be ahead of him.

[RUkiddingme]

Posted: 4/19/24 at 7:27pm

hearthemsing22 said: "Anyone who has seen Heart of Rock and Roll...do you think it could be the surprise of the season?"

Yeah - surprised it even opened.

[Robbie2]

Posted: 4/19/24 at 7:47pm

kurtal said: "yyys said: "Wrong move especially for Plunkett."

I don't know...I could see this going any variety of ways, and I think Maryann could surprise with a win. Lempicka's poor reviews and reports of Eden's pitch problems have lowered her stock. Gayle Rankinis fantastic, but her Sally could be divisive. Kelli was excellent, but her show is closed. I think it's a wide open race among the four front-runners. And you've got Maleah Joi Moon, Shaina Taub, Arielle Jacobs, and Eva Noblezada who all could sneak in to a fifth or sixth slot.

This race is going to be very exciting."

Very interesting and feel Plunkett in this category just bumped Eden Espinosa out of the top 5 as per the above! I had her in Best Featured Actress Musical.

Best Actress Musical 

• Maleah Joi Moon (Hell's Kitchen)
• Kelli O'Hara (Days of Wine and Roses)
• Gayle Rankin (Cabaret)
• Shaina Taub (Suffs
• Maryann Plunkett (The Notebook)

Question is, could we have a 6th slot? I doubt it unless Eva Noblezada (The Great Gatsby) gets raves or could possibly take Shaina's spot?

I do think the Tony will go to Maleah Joi Moon. 

Updated On: 4/20/24 at 07:47 PM

[Mr. Wormwood]

Posted: 4/19/24 at 7:54pm

I think the move from Featured to Lead helps Plunkett's chances to win and hurts Harewood's chances of being nominated 

[Robbie2]

Posted: 4/20/24 at 12:56am

Mr. Wormwood said: "I think the move from Featured to Lead helps Plunkett's chances to win and hurts Harewood's chances of being nominated"

Harewood won't be nominated over Ali Louis Bourzgui (The Who's Tommy) or possibly Brody Grant (The Outsiders) unless Jeremy Jordan (The Great Gatsby) gets raves it could take it!

[dramamama611]

Posted: 4/20/24 at 9:05am

Plunkett was the best thing about the notebook, by far. I thought she had a chance in supporting...but not as lead. 

 

I'm confused about the ruling for Des McAnuff. I thought you couldn't be nominated for the exact same thing if you've already won? (Director of Tommy) Does that only apply to actors? Or am I totally not understanding that caveat? Or even just delusional about any rules about this? 

[Jeffrey Karasarides]

Posted: 4/20/24 at 10:09am

dramamama611 said: "I'm confused about the ruling for Des McAnuff. I thought you couldn't be nominated for the exact same thing if you've already won? (Director of Tommy) Does that only apply to actors? Or am I totally not understanding that caveat? Or even just delusional about any rules about this?"

Since this revival of The Who’s Tommy is not a remounting of the original production and has completely different staging, that’s likely why he’s eligible.

 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 4/20/24 at 11:06am

The Des ruling situation is similar to Scott Ellis for SHE LOVES ME (also directed the 90s revival) and Arthur Laurents for LuPone GYPSY (also directed the Lansbury and Daly revivals). As long as the production isn't a recreation of what was done previously, the Tonys will be pretty lenient. Hiring a different choreographer and set designer is basically enough to say "it's not a carbon copy!"

[BCfitasafiddle]

Posted: 4/20/24 at 11:51am

I could see Taub gaining momentum for leading actress. 

As for featured, I feel about Bebe winning for Cabaret the same way I felt about Patti winning for Company. It's just a no-brainer for a great lady of the stage playing an iconic role to win their third Tony in a role that has never won before. 

That being said, featured categories are always going to have some unexpected people thrown in.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 4/20/24 at 11:57am

Looking at all the shows from this season, my money is on Neuwirth taking the award. 

[kiymyers37]

Posted: 4/20/24 at 12:30pm

Great!

[Wayman_Wong]

Posted: 4/20/24 at 4:21pm

Maryann Plunkett got the best notices of ''The Notebook'' cast, and she's a past Tony winner (and it seems like Tony nominators like to lean into that). I assumed Plunkett was a slam-dunk for a Featured Actress nomination, but ''The Notebook'' calculation might be that bumping her to Leading, opens a slot in Featured and improves the chances for her co-star, like Joy Woods as Middle Allie, who sings ''If This Is Love,'' to make the cut.

This year's Leading Actress in a Musical hasn't seemed to have a front-runner yet ... unlike next year, which already seems to have one in Nicole Scherzinger in ''Sunset Boulevard.'' I'd assumed that the slam-dunks for this season are Kelli O'Hara (''Days of Wine and Roses'' ) and Gayle Rankin (''Cabaret'' ). And now Plunkett. Does the fourth slot go to two-time Tony nominee Eva Noblezada (''The Great Gatsby'' )? If it does, that only leaves one more slot for Eden Espinoza (''Lempicka'' ), Shaina Taub (''Suffs'' ), Nichelle Lewis (''The Wiz'' ), Isabelle McCalla (''Water for Elephants'' ) or Maleah Joi Moon (''Hell's Kitchen'' ), etc.

As a champion of ''Here Lies Love,'' I'm rooting for Arielle Jacobs, who was so phenomenal and fierce as the iron butterfly that was Imelda Marcos. I loved her singing of the title tune and her Cinderella rise from pretty, poor peasant girl to betrayed rich wife (''Why Don't You Love Me?'' ). Jacobs also had one of the most physical and exhausting roles of the season: She had to traverse back and forth from the front of the proscenium to the back of the orchestra, sometimes climbing up and down stairs to the mezzanine, all the while singing and acting. And amid the obstacle course, Jacobs was ducking in and out, making 18 costume changes during the 90-minute show. If there were a Tony for Best Cardio Workout, she definitely deserves it.

If Noblezada and Jacobs are both nominated, it'll mark only the second time two Asian/Asian-American women have been both up for Leading Actress in a Musical in Tony's 76-year history. The first time was 1991, with June Angela (''Shogun'' ) and Lea Salonga (''Miss Saigon'' ), who won.

Updated On: 4/20/24 at 04:21 PM

[dramamama611]

Posted: 4/20/24 at 4:54pm

Thanks for the responses to my query about Des, your thoughts are helpful and certainly make sense. 

 

 

[Jarethan]

Posted: 4/20/24 at 5:13pm

baritonewithtenortendencies said: "Jeffrey Karasarides said: "Here's something else to think about:If the acting categories were degendered last season, only Victoria Clark or J. Harrison Ghee would’ve won Best Lead Performance in a Musical. Had Ghee won, it would’ve been at the expense of Clark winning for what is sure to go down as a legendary performance. Had Clark won, it would’ve been at the expense of Ghee’s history-making win. I doubt anyone would've really wanted either scenario to happen."

Well I do agree but you must keep in mind that most awards shows give out two awards for best performance and it winds up just being a Best Actor and Best Actress thing anyways

Like they never give it to two male actors or two females

The Tonys somehow seem like they would though"

This is ancient history, I'll admit, but in 1964 Carol Channing won for Dolly and Bert Lahr won for Foxy, a 10 week flop.  I can imagine no scenario in which the co-winners would not have been Channing and Streisand.  This may be an extreme case, but I also have no doubt that if I spent a little time, I could come up with a lot of other scenarios in which one category was so much stronger than the other.   

[Broadway61004]

Posted: 4/21/24 at 11:33am

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "The Des ruling situation is similar to Scott Ellis for SHE LOVES ME (also directed the 90s revival) andArthur Laurents for LuPone GYPSY (also directed the Lansbury and Daly revivals). As long as the production isn't a recreation of what was done previously, the Tonys will be pretty lenient. Hiring a different choreographer and set designer is basically enough to say "it's not a carbon copy!""

The one difference with Ellis and Laurents, though, is that neither of them had won for directing those previous productions. That's typically been a distinction in the past for actors. For instance, Glenn Close being ineligible for a completely separate staging of Sunset but Cathy Rigby being eligible (and nominated) twice for basically the same Peter Pans.

So I agree Des SHOULD be eligible since it's a whole new staging, but it does slightly break their trend.

Updated On: 4/21/24 at 11:33 AM

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 4/26/24 at 5:27pm

https://playbill.com/article/tony-awards-admin-committee-releases-final-rulings-of-2023-2024-season

[JoeW4]

Posted: 4/26/24 at 5:33pm

Ah sorry for the duplicate thread. Forgot we were doing a combined eligibility thread. Copy-pasted:

2 notable things right off the bat: 

--William Jackson Harper is considered Lead for Uncle Vanya. And for my money, his just became the best performance in the category.

--Solidified by today's ruling, my earlier speculation about the number of eligible performers in Lead Actress in a Play became confirmed. There are only 8 eligible contenders, meaning there will only be 4 nominees barring any close margins. 

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 4/26/24 at 5:51pm

Also of note that Ricky Ubeda in Illinoise was not considered a lead, so he'd be competing in featured.

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 4/26/24 at 5:55pm

I really don’t get how Astrov is considered a leading role but Sonia and Yelena are not. Aside from his long monologue about trees his part is the same size as the other principals’.