2021-22 Tony Award Eligibility Rulings

Part 1: https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Tony-Awards-Administration-Committee-Makes-First-Eligibility-Rulings-of-the-Season-on-SIX-CAROLINE-OR-CHANGE-and-More-20211209?fbclid=IwAR3BmpPl5t2zXd1BTXlFAIX_OkeSuK82vEByQfwgLDZvxdnPIul-H6mrE_k

They put all the girls from SIX in Leading? That’s…a choice.

I knew they wouldn’t be considered jointly because Billy Elliot prevented that from ever happening again but this kind of seals that none of them could possibly win given the strength of other performances for the category of Lead.

To be honest, the only one I could even remotely see getting recognized is Adrianna Hicks.

CPannullo said: "The article says that rulings for the Tony’s were made for Caroline or Change but I’m not seeing any mention of the possibility of a tony nom for them. Am I missing something?"

Announcements like these are mostly based on any open-ended questions that wouldn’t already be predetermined or coincide with their opening night billing. So Jeanna, for example is not above the title so they had to announce the decision to rule her as leading for Diana. Sharon Clarke is above the title in the billing and marketing, so there was no need to make that ruling. That’s my interpretation of the lack of announcement, at least.

quizking101 said: "They put all the girls from SIX in Leading? That’s…a choice.

I knew they wouldn’t be considered jointly because Billy Elliot prevented that from ever happening again but this kind of seals that none of them could possibly win given the strength of other performances for the category of Lead.

To be honest, the only one I could even remotely see getting recognized is Adrianna Hicks."

It's a terrible choice and will cost some of these ladies Tony nominations. I could have saw 2 getting into the featured category but feels unlikely that even 1 would get into lead because....who do you choose? None of those parts are truly lead roles. Brittney Mack has been my choice since the beginning but it's definitely not a lead part. So no.

Ebony Marshall-Oliver was absolutely the stand out of Chicken and Biscuits for me. I was hoping to see her in featured actress...but the role is really not as large as most of the women who will compete for that category (Deidre O'Connell, Emily Davis, Mary Louise Parker, Debra Messing, Sarah Jessica Parker...) so I'm worried she just lost her chance at a nomination.

And like...HOW do voters choose from the SIX women? I fear none of them will make it in either.

That category already includes Sharon D. Clarke, Katrina Lenk, Beanie Feldstein, JoaquinaKalukango, Sutton Foster, Jeanna De Waal, Mare Winningham, andCarmen Cusack. We could still get another new musical (such as Kimberly Akimbo) this season, though that looks less likely by the day."

With the 8 women you listed, and now all 6 from Six, could this be the most eligible women in the Leading Actress category ever? There's also Chilina Kennedy from Paradise Square that could go leading as well. If there ever was a year to expand the categories, this would be it!

Updated On: 12/9/21 at 11:09 AM

MayAudraBlessYou2 said: "Ebony Marshall-Oliver was absolutely the stand out of Chicken and Biscuits for me. I was hoping to see her in featured actress...but the role is really not as large as most of the women who will compete for that category (Deidre O'Connell, Emily Davis, Mary Louise Parker, Debra Messing, Sarah Jessica Parker...) so I'm worried she just lost her chance at a nomination."

Agreed. And don't forget about LaChanze!!

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "I would be shocked if any of the SIX ladies get in, unless the production or nominators rally to push for just one. It's hard to distinguish any of them as the "best." Givingthem a Special Award would open a whole can of worms and set tricky precedents that the Tonys will not want to get into.

That category already includes Sharon D. Clarke, Katrina Lenk, Beanie Feldstein, JoaquinaKalukango, Sutton Foster, Jeanna De Waal, Mare Winningham, andCarmen Cusack. We could still get another new musical (such as Kimberly Akimbo) this season, though that looks less likely by the day."

We know they'll lose to the other heavy-hitters, whether in Leading or Featured. But now by putting them in Leading, I don't know if any will even get a nomination.

Actually, I wonder if they'll even want to submit themselves for consideration. Considering the conceit of the show is them realizing they shouldn't have to compete...maybe they won't even compete! Really should just give them an honorary group Tony.

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "An honorary Tony would be a very dangerous precedent to start, seeing as they're not doubled, they're merely an ensemble of principal actors. It would lead to other shows trying to argue that "well, the 4 leads of Follies pull equal weight and should be recognized as a core" or "the whole cast of this British import should be jointly recognized." I get why people are saying it for SIX, but I would be SHOCKED if it happened. This is not a Matilda situation, nor is it a special event situation like Springsteen. The Billy Elliott & Side Show situations were unique and the Tonys –– currently –– does not operate under those rules."



Respectfully, I can't say I agree with any part of this assessment.

Firstly, there's already precedent for awarding special Tonys to ensembles (the 2002 revival of La Boheme, for example).

Secondly, the Special Tony goes wherever the committee wants. There's no need to be concerned with what precedent it will set, because the committee is under no obligation to follow up-on that precedent. True, it might cause people to say "hey, they awarded Six, so why not award [so-and-so future ensemble]" and the simple answer will be "They didn't feel like it." The special Tony is designed to award excellence wherever they see it.

And yes, it's common to award work that isn't eligible in regular competition, but not necessarily. For example, they recently gave John Leguizamo a special Tony for his run of "Latin History for Morons," even though he was eligible for Best Actor and Best Play - and he even got nominated for the latter, despite also receiving the special Tony the same year! But they felt comfortable doing it because they knew, presumably, that the show was unlikely to be considered a viable winner for Best Play, despite being excellent in its own unique way.

And I think that same logic can apply here; even though the 6 actors are eligible to be nominated, the committee will certainly be aware of how difficult and unusual the situation is, especially given the point of the show. So it seems totally plausible that they'd choose to award them a special Tony.

The one disclaimer I should add is: I haven't seen this cast, so I can't actually say whether I think they DESERVE a Special Tony for their work. I'm just making a case that they fit the bill in theory.

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "The SIX ladies (and anyone mentioned in the press release today) are already in consideration. It's not like the Emmys where one can submit themself."

I'm pretty sure if they wanted to, and ensure that they couldn't hurt the nomination chances of the rest of the production, they could withdraw from the competition. Look at the revival of Sunday in the Park with George, they asked to not be considered eligible. Yes that was before they were officially given their eligibility status, but it's not like anyone is voting yet.

everythingtaboo said: "I'm pretty sure if they wanted to, and ensure that they couldn't hurt the nomination chances of the rest of the production, they could withdraw from the competition. Look at the revival of Sunday in the Park with George, they asked to not be considered eligible. Yes that was before they were officially given their eligibility status, but it's not like anyone is voting yet."

SUNDAY made its determination before it started previews, because it didn't want to take up seats for voters/nominators for an ultra-limited run. I don't know how it all works after the eligibility ruling, especially since the production already submitted its requests to the committee, which likely included petitioning them for Lead Actress. (See pages 8-12 of the rules)

What would be different is a situation like Julie Andrews declining her Victor/Victoria nomination, or Santo Loquasto having his nom for the RAGTIME revival taken away. The ladies of SIX could of course release a statement saying "none of us want to be considered for noms," but sometimes these things can backfire...Remember when One Man Two Guvnors hilariously wanted to be considered a Revival instead of new play, and then the Tony committee said "f u" and didn't nominate it for Best Play?

This conversation seems to be much ado about nothing. But I guess we'll find out in May :)

Sauja said: "I truly don't know how I think Lenk will be received by the critics tonight."

Even if Katrina Lenk divides critics, I can see her following a similar trajectory to Ken Watanabe for The King & I back in 2015. A performance that divided people during previews as well as critics when the revival opened. Yet, because of how strong of a contender that production was, he still managed to get recognized by the Tonys as a coattail nomination.

Updated On: 12/9/21 at 05:29 PM

IIRC, people disliked Watanabe mostly because they found it difficult to understand him through his real-life accent. For my money, I thought his performance was excellent in all other regards.

I sometimes had trouble understanding him, particularly at the beginnings of sentences - by the time he reached the middle/end of a sentence, I was usually able to retroactively infer what he had said without much difficulty. It required a bit of active listening, and maybe some effort to understand, but isn't that what The King and I is really about?

In any case, I guess enough of the nominators agreed with me, and they were more likely to already be familiar with the text going in - and thereby have less difficulty understanding him.