2020 Tony Awards

[Greg]

There were actually 18 eligible plays.

ETA: No there weren't, there were 18 eligible productions overall. Nine plays

So, it is much more difficult to get something to open on Broadway than it is to win a Tony after it opens on Broadway.

[Big Magilla]

Reactions from Aaron Tveit, Danny Burstein, Lois Smith and more.

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/2 ... t-20201015

[Big Magilla]

Danny Burstein finally winning a Tony would be a popular choice, but I believe his health would work against even a remote acceptance.

His health is OK now, but his wife Rebecca Luker's is steadily deteriorating from ALS diagnosed during her bout with Covid-19. Unless things have changed in the last two months, he is her only caretaker.

[Okri]

I'm not remembering; were there any other original plays eligible, or did they give it the "everybody gets a car" treatment? Weirdly, since I feel like I never get to the theatre these days, I saw two of the nominated plays (The Sound Inside and Grand Horizons) and read a third (Slave Play).

There were actually 18 eligible plays.

ETA: No there weren't, there were 18 eligible productions overall. Nine plays


While it's amusing to see best score go to plays, I think even in an average year, The Inheritance was gonna get that nomination. I actually have the soundtrack and it's a lovely piece of work. I kinda love it when plays get recognized for their music work.

Danny Burstein finally winning a Tony would be a popular choice, but I believe his health would work against even a remote acceptance.

I knew Burstein had health issues, but I didn't realize he was at that level.

re: Tveit

Yeah, they need to vote 60% "Yeah" to give him an award. I assume they'll do so, but what cringe if they don't.

[anonymous1980]

It seems to me kind of cruel to completely shut out The Lightning Thief. I know the reviews were bad but a lot of young people and especially the fans of the source material love it. They couldn't even give them a nomination for the two categories where they would've been just a default filler nominee: Lead Actor in a Musical and Original Score.

[Big Magilla]

I forgot about Sunset Boulevard, but that was handled differently.

There were no nominees for Best Book or Score of a Musical for 1995, those awards were given outright to Sunset Boulevard as it was the only original musical that opened on Broadway that season. The Tony database features a footnote that reflects this.

In the case of Best Actor in a Musical this year, the thing was handled very tackily. Both eligible actors should have been nominated even though it has been rather obvious that no one other than Tveit would win this year. Even so, it's still better than what they did in 1985 when they shoehorned all musical acting contenders into the featured categories.

[Mister Tee]

I'm not remembering; were there any other original plays eligible, or did they give it the "everybody gets a car" treatment? Weirdly, since I feel like I never get to the theatre these days, I saw two of the nominated plays (The Sound Inside and Grand Horizons) and read a third (Slave Play).

I'd guess it's between Slave Play and The Inheritance -- though, had The Lehman Trilogy opened as planned, it would have steamrollered over either.

The precedent for the Tveit nomination isn't an acting category, but book and score of a musical, both of which went to the unopposed Sunset Boulevard in 1995.

Far more ridiculous is nominating all those non-musicals for score this year, simply to avoid eliminating the category. (Yes, Greg: your take is correct.) I'm forgetting what else was scheduled to open that would have won otherwise.

Jagged Little Pill would probably be the critic's choice, but Moulin Rouge feels like the kind of big show that more often wins best musical.

Danny Burstein finally winning a Tony would be a popular choice, but I believe his health would work against even a remote acceptance.

[danfrank]

Kind of absurd that there are three original musicals that all got nominated in pretty much every possible category. It’s sort of like giving everyone a participation award.

[Greg]

Is the reason that all the Original Score nominees went to plays was that the only three musicals to get any nominations were two that were compilations of songs already written and one was a movie adaptation, so none of the nominated musicals had any original songs?

[Big Magilla]

Here is the full list of nominees:

https://www.eonline.com/ca/news/1198724 ... plete-list

No, there has never been a single nominee in an acting category.

I think what they did was as ridiculous as it may have been confusing. Voters were asked to give both Aaron Tveit and Chris McCarrell (The Lighting Thief) a "yes" or "no" vote for inclusion. Apparently Tveit's "yeses" outpolled the "nos" and McCarrell's votes went in the other direction.

I listened to the cast recordings of The Lightning Thief and Jagged Little Pill yesterday. I didn;t either was all that great, but neither were bad, either. The recording of The Lightning Thief was actually from the 2017 off-Broadway production in which McCarrell also starred. Some of the supporting roles had undergone a switch when the show came to Broadway two years after it closed off-Broadway.

In other years they might have elevated Daniel J. Watts who plays Ike Turner in Tina to the lead category to make it a more competitive three-way race, but they didn't.

I wonder if they're going to give voters a chance to say "yes" or "no" as to whether Tviet should be given the award itself or not.

No date has been set for the awards. Last I heard, they were shooting for sometime in early December.

[dws1982]

Has there ever been just one nominee in and acting category? They should have just eliminated the category this year. But I guess, you go, Aaron Tveit.

Seems kind of like intentional shade that they didn't nominate the other actor who was eligible, although that show was snubbed across the board.

When are the actually awards presented? Or will it just be a press-release type of thing, since doing big production numbers won't be feasible, even if it's done remotely from different theaters, and that's a big selling point of airing the awards on TV?

[flipp525]

I’m pretty shocked that Kyle Soller missed out on a lead nomination for The Inheritance to his co-star Andrew Burnap. I mean, Burnap was great but Soller was excellent and won the Olivier for his performance.

Paul Hinton and Lois Smith will most likely repeat their Drama Desk victories in featured actor/actress.

Has there ever been just one nominee in and acting category? They should have just eliminated the category this year. But I guess, you go, Aaron Tveit.

[Big Magilla]

Nominations will be announced at 12 pm EDT tomorrow 10/15.

https://www.tonyawards.com/