Tony Awards Set For Broadway’s Reopening; Voting Begins In March

By Greg Evans

Greg Evans Associate Editor/Broadway Critic
@GregEvans5

The curtain’s inching up on the Tony Awards: A ceremony will be held on an as-yet-undetermined date in coordination with Broadway’s eventual reopening, but voters will finally be able to make their selections beginning March 1

Nominees for the 74th Annual Tony Awards were announced last October, with the 18 eligible productions reflecting the pandemic-shortened 2019-20 season (the count usually numbers in the 30s). The 2020 Tony ceremony and CBS broadcast had originally been set for June 7 at New York’s Radio City Musical Hall, but of course was scuttled due to the Covid shutdown.

The voting period will run from March 1 to March 15. Although Broadway remains officially closed until June, most insiders don’t expect any stagings before fall at the earliest, with timing contingent on widespread Covid-19 vaccinations.

The March 12 theater closure preceded the official end of the Broadway season and the traditional late-April/early-May announcement of nominees, leaving open the question of whether the 18 productions that opened pre-pandemic would get their own awards ceremony or be melded into the following season’s nominations. In October, the Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing announced the standalone roster of 2019-20 nominations (see the complete list below).

Nominated for Best Play are Slave Play, Sea Wall/A Life, Grand Horizons, The Inheritance and The Sound Inside, with Moulin Rouge!, Jagged Little Pill and Tina: The Tina Turner Musical up for Best Musical. In the Best Revival of a Play category, Betrayal will compete with Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune and A Soldier’s Play.

The abbreviated season also resulted in one of the odder nominations in Tony history: Aaron Tveit of Moulin Rouge! The Musical  is the sole entry in the Leading Actor in a Musical category.

When theaters went dark, three productions – the musicals Six, West Side Story and Girl from the North Country – had already begun performances but were not around long enough to accommodate the required number of Tony voters.

Among the scheduled productions that had not officially opened prior to the shutdown, and so are not eligible this year, were Tracy Letts’ The Minutes; the musical adaptation of Mrs. Doubtfire; director Sam Mendes’ The Lehman Trilogy; the Princess Di musical Diana; Company, the gender-switched revival of the classic Sondheim musical starring Katrina Lenk and Patti LuPone; Plaza Suite starring Matthew Broderick and Sarah Jessica Parker; How I Learned To Drive, the Paula Vogel play starring Mary-Louise Parker and David Morse; David Mamet’s American Buffalo starring Laurence Fishburne, Sam Rockwell and Darren Criss; the Off Broadway transfer of New York Theatre Workshop’s musical Sing Street; the revival of Richard Greenberg’s Take Me Out starring Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Jesse Williams and Patrick J. Adams; the revival of the Jeanine Tesori-Tony Kushner musical Caroline, or Change; Birthday Candles, the Noah Haidle play starring Debra Messing; Martin McDonagh’s Hangmen and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? starring Laurie Metcalf and Rupert Everett.

Some of the scuttled shows were subsequently postponed, some canceled and some remain up in the air.

Two of the season’s most popular productions, Freestyle Love Supreme and David Byrne’s American Utopia, chose not to invite Tony voters, though both could be eligible for special awards.

The Tony Awards are presented by The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing.

Nominations for the 2020 American Theatre Wing’s Tony Awards:

Best Play

Grand Horizons
Author: Bess Wohl
Producers: Second Stage Theater, Carole Rothman, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Mandy Greenfield

The Inheritance
Author: Matthew López

Sea Wall/A Life
Author: Simon Stephens & Nick Payne

Slave Play
Author: Jeremy O. Harris

The Sound Inside
Author: Adam Rapp

Best Musical

Jagged Little Pill

Moulin Rouge! The Musical

Tina – The Tina Turner Musical

Best Revival of a Play

Betrayal

Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune
Author: Terrence McNally

A Soldier’s Play
Author: Charles Fuller

Best Book of a Musical

Jagged Little Pill
Diablo Cody

Moulin Rouge! The Musical
John Logan

Tina – The Tina Turner Musical
Katori Hall, Frank Ketelaar and Kees Prins

Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre

A Christmas Carol
Music: Christopher Nightingale

The Inheritance
Music: Paul Englishby

The Rose Tattoo
Music: Fitz Patton and Jason Michael Webb

Slave Play
Music: Lindsay Jones

The Sound Inside
Music: Daniel Kluger

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play

Ian Barford, Linda Vista
Andrew Burnap, The Inheritance
Jake Gyllenhaal, Sea Wall/A Life
Tom Hiddleston, Betrayal
Tom Sturridge, Sea Wall/A Life
Blair Underwood, A Soldier’s Play

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play

Joaquina Kalukango, Slave Play
Laura Linney, My Name is Lucy Barton
Audra McDonald, Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune
Mary-Louise Parker, The Sound Inside

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical

Aaron Tveit, Moulin Rouge! The Musical

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical

Karen Olivo, Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Elizabeth Stanley, Jagged Little Pill
Adrienne Warren, Tina – The Tina Turner Musical

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play

Ato Blankson-Wood, Slave Play
James Cusati-Moyer, Slave Play
David Alan Grier, A Soldier’s Play
John Benjamin Hickey, The Inheritance
Paul Hilton, The Inheritance

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play

Jane Alexander, Grand Horizons
Chalia La Tour, Slave Play
Annie McNamara, Slave Play
Lois Smith, The Inheritance
Cora Vander Broek, Linda Vista

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical

Danny Burstein, Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Derek Klena, Jagged Little Pill
Sean Allan Krill, Jagged Little Pill
Sahr Ngaujah, Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Daniel J. Watts, Tina – The Tina Turner Musical

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical

Kathryn Gallagher, Jagged Little Pill
Celia Rose Gooding, Jagged Little Pill
Robyn Hurder, Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Lauren Patten, Jagged Little Pill
Myra Lucretia Taylor, Tina – The Tina Turner Musical

Best Scenic Design of a Play

Bob Crowley, The Inheritance
Soutra Gilmour, Betrayal
Rob Howell, A Christmas Carol
Derek McLane, A Soldier’s Play
Clint Ramos, Slave Play

Best Scenic Design of a Musical

Riccardo Hernández and Lucy Mackinnon, Jagged Little Pill
Derek McLane, Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Mark Thompson and Jeff Sugg, Tina – The Tina Turner Musical

Best Costume Design of a Play

Dede Ayite, Slave Play
Dede Ayite, A Soldier’s Play
Bob Crowley, The Inheritance
Rob Howell, A Christmas Carol
Clint Ramos, The Rose Tattoo

Best Costume Design of a Musical

Emily Rebholz, Jagged Little Pill
Mark Thompson, Tina – The Tina Turner Musical
Catherine Zuber, Moulin Rouge! The Musical

Best Lighting Design of a Play

Jiyoun Chang, Slave Play
Jon Clark, The Inheritance
Heather Gilbert, The Sound Inside
Allen Lee Hughes, A Soldier’s Play
Hugh Vanstone, A Christmas Carol

Best Lighting Design of a Musical

Bruno Poet, Tina – The Tina Turner Musical
Justin Townsend, Jagged Little Pill
Justin Townsend, Moulin Rouge! The Musical

Best Sound Design of a Play

Paul Arditti & Christopher Reid, The Inheritance
Simon Baker, A Christmas Carol
Lindsay Jones, Slave Play
Daniel Kluger, Sea Wall/A Life
Daniel Kluger, The Sound Inside

Best Sound Design of a Musical

Jonathan Deans, Jagged Little Pill
Peter Hylenski, Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Nevin Steinberg, Tina – The Tina Turner Musical

Best Direction of a Play

David Cromer, The Sound Inside
Stephen Daldry, The Inheritance
Kenny Leon, A Soldier’s Play
Jamie Lloyd, Betrayal
Robert O’Hara, Slave Play

Best Direction of a Musical

Phyllida Lloyd, Tina – The Tina Turner Musical
Diane Paulus, Jagged Little Pill
Alex Timbers, Moulin Rouge! The Musical

Best Choreography

Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Jagged Little Pill
Sonya Tayeh, Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Anthony Van Laast, Tina – The Tina Turner Musical

Best Orchestrations

Tom Kitt, Jagged Little Pill
Katie Kresek, Charlie Rosen, Matt Stine and Justin Levine, Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Ethan Popp, Tina – The Tina Turner Musical

AGENDA*
(note all times Eastern Standard Time)

FRIDAY | NOVEMBER 13, 2020 

1:00 PM WELCOME to ATCA 2020: The Next Normal

ATCA chair Martha Wade Steketee and conference committee co-chair Lou Harry

SESSION: Conversation with Oskar Eustis and Soraya Nadia McDonald 

2:30 PM SESSION: Arts & Activism: Covering Social Justice Theater 

Kelundra Smith in conversation with:

Murielle Borst-Tarrant, Kuna/ Rappahannock Nations; author and activist.

Snehal Desai, artistic director, East West Players

Rohan Preston, theater critic at the Minneapolis Star Tribune

Diany Rodriguez, co-founder of IDEA ATL

Kinan Valdez, producing artistic director, El Teatro Campesino

4:00 PM SESSION: Musicals Reinventing Form

Michael R. Jackson, playwright, composer, lyricist, "A Strange Loop" with Jiles King

5:00 PM PERSPECTIVES IN CRITICISM: Maya Phillips, arts critic fellow, The New York Times

7:00 PM SCREENING: Horton Foote: The Road to Home

2020 documentary screening followed by director Anne Rapp, daughters Hallie Foote and Daisy Foote, and friend and colleague Michael Wilson in conversation with Michael Barnes. View the trailer here.

LATE NIGHT: post-show chat

SATURDAY | NOVEMBER 14, 2020

12:00 PM GENERAL MEETING ATCA 2020

ATCA Chair Martha Wade Steketee and ATCA leaders welcome old and new members, and report on 2020 member survey, the new website, professional issues, and ATCA future plans.

1:30 PM SESSION: Meeting the Moment: Regional theaters rethink work amid pandemic and push for equity

Elizabeth Kramer in conversation with:

Robert Barry Fleming, artistic director, Actors Theatre of Louisville

Jacob G. Padrón, artistic director, Long Wharf Theatre, New Haven, Conn.

Stephanie Ybarra, artistic director, Baltimore Center Stage 

3:00 PM SESSION: The Future of Broadway: Producers on what's next for shuttered shows

Frank Rizzo in conversation with: 

Mara Isaacs, producer, "Hadestown"

Brian Moreland, producer, "The Lifespan of a Fact," "Blue" at the Apollo Theater

Jeffrey Seller, producer, "RENT," "Hamilton" 

4:30 PM SESSION: Prize-winning playwrights

Kerry Reid in conversation with:

Lee Edward Colston II, “The First Deep Breath”

Chandler Hubbard, “Animal Control”

E.M. Lewis, “How the Light Gets In”

Dan McCabe, “The Purists”

Stephanie Alison Walker, “The Madres”

6:00 PM DINNER BREAK: Conference Cocktails with Brian Bartels and Lindsay Christians

7:00 PM Theater Trivia with Beneva Fruitville

SUNDAY | NOVEMBER 15, 2020

12:00 PM SESSION: Animals on Stage with Bill Berloni and Frank Rizzo

1:00 PM Q&A: Self-care for Journalists with Laura DeSantis, licensed psychotherapist

2:00 PM SESSION: Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens 

Jay Handelman talks with composers of “Ragtime” and “Anastasia” about openings overseas, working through the pandemic and the state of theater 

3:15 PM SESSION: New Book Hour

Misha Berson in conversation with:

Michael Reidel, "Singular Sensation: The Triumph of Broadway"

Howard Sherman, "Another Day's Begun: Thornton Wilder's Our Town in the 21st Century"

Richard Wesley, "It's Always Loud in the Balcony: A Life in Black Theater, From Harlem to Hollywood and Back"

4:30 PM FAREWELL to ATCA 2020: The Next Normal

Lou Harry hosts special guest [to be announced]

* All sessions conducted via Zoom. Subject to change and availability of invited guests.