Biggest Tony Award Snubs Ever

[BeingAlive44Ever]

Posted: 10/7/23 at 4:44pm

I've seen this discussed before, people who didn't get awards or nominations that really deserved them

I only have three I'm passionate about 

1: I think Raul Esparza should've won the 2007 Tony for Best Leading Actor (though honestly having as many nominations as him is basically the same as having a win or two)

2: Anthony Rosenthal in Falsettos deserved a nomination in 2017 for Best Featured Actor. I know that'd be three featured actor nominations but honestly the show wasn't gonna win anything anyways, no matter how much I love it, so I just wish he was nominated 

3: Mary Bond Davis for Hairspray should've at least been nominated for the 2003 Tony Awards for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. Honestly I think she totally could've won. I think that the committee just realized that Hairspray would've won every performance award if Mary Bond Davis were nominated. I love Hairspray, but even I'll admit that it won a disproportionate amount of awards. 

Oh and there's another that is a bit unspecific 

Just

Anthony Rapp. 

I really think that, with everything he's done for literally his whole life, he deserved at least a nomination for some Tony Award at some point. I don't think he would've won anything, but sometimes that happens.

What are all of you guys' opinions on Tony Award Snubs?

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 10/7/23 at 4:49pm

Matilda losing to Kinky Boots is something I will never get over until the day I die.

[seaweedjstubbs]

Posted: 10/7/23 at 4:52pm

Patrick Vaill getting snubbed for his Jud Fry is something I just don’t understand. Such an incredible performance.

[KevinKlawitter]

Posted: 10/7/23 at 4:56pm

I've only been following the Tonys for few years, but as much as I love Tony Shalloub, his winning Best Actor in a Musical over Ethan Slater is pretty damn egregious.  I'm not even a fan of Spongebob as a franchise, but Slater gave the sort of remarkable performance that can only happen on stage.

[Theatrefanboy1]

Posted: 10/7/23 at 5:10pm

Julie. Andrews.  
 

I do at the very least home they honor her with an honorary Tony 

[uncageg]

Posted: 10/7/23 at 5:17pm

Caroline or Change for Best Musical and Tonya Pinkins for Best Leading Actress in a Musical. I suspect one or both of these will be mentioned here several times.

OP, if you do a search, I am sure you will find a few threads on this subject that are worth reading through.

[yankeefan7]

Posted: 10/7/23 at 5:22pm

Robert Cuccioli (Jekyll&Hyde) losing to James Naughton (Chicago) for "Best Performance by Leading Actor in A Musical." Cucciloi's role was much more demanding and vocally challenging than "Billy Flynn" and his performance of "Confrontation" should have been enough to give him the win.

[uncageg]

Posted: 10/7/23 at 5:29pm

yankeefan7 said: "Robert Cuccioli (Jekyll&Hyde) losing to James Naughton (Chicago) for "Best Performance by Leading Actor in A Musical." Cucciloi's role was much more demanding and vocally challenging than "Billy Flynn" and his performance of "Confrontation" should have been enough to give him the win."

 

So sorry I didn't see Cuccioli in the role. I saw the pre-Broadway National tour in Denver. Word was that Cuccioli did not follow the instructions sent to the production before it arrived for dealing with the altitude. I think he did the first show and was out for most of the run here. I think I saw Rob Evan, who was fantastic.

 

[RUkiddingme]

Posted: 10/7/23 at 6:55pm

Ann Harada in Avenue Q should have won.

The fact that she wasn't even nominated is just wrong.

 

[Melissa25]

Posted: 10/7/23 at 7:07pm

It was an utter sin that Steven Pasquale was not nominated for Bridges. 

[binau]

Posted: 10/7/23 at 7:30pm

Marin Mazzie should have won for something. I don’t know what, when and against who but she was just so talented that she belongs in the Tony winner club. 

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 10/7/23 at 7:42pm

uncageg said: "Caroline or Change for Best Musical and Tonya Pinkins for Best Leading Actress in a Musical. I suspect one or both of these will be mentioned here several times."

 

These are the only “snubs” I truly care about and will be vocal about until the end of time. I’ll never understand the show and Pinkins not winning, no matter how long I live.

 

[Broadway61004]

Posted: 10/7/23 at 8:01pm

binau said: "Marin Mazzie should have won for something. I don’t know what, when and against who but she was just so talented that she belongs in the Tony winner club."

She really had the worst luck ever as to who she was up against. Her 3 losses were to Audra in Carousel, Natasha Richardson in Cabaret, and Heather Headley in Aida. Each time she gave an absolutely incredible performance that just lost to a slightly more absolutely incredible performance. Almost any other year and she'd have 3 Tonys.

[WldKingdomHM]

Posted: 10/7/23 at 8:11pm

 Raul Esparza for Company 

100 percent 

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 10/7/23 at 9:06pm

I have to state that I can’t get behind the idea of someone getting nominated but not winning (ala Esparza in 2007) a snub. A snub would be not getting nominated at all.

That being said, I look forward to the inevitable “Alex Brightman was snubbed” threads that are going to pop up next spring that ignore the fact he will almost certainly not be eligible for Spamalot. (Yes, there is an off chance the producers may petition to have him considered, but I don’t think the odds of it being granted are very good at all)

[Robbie2]

Posted: 10/7/23 at 9:09pm

bwayphreak234 said: "Matilda losing to Kinky Boots is something I will never get over until the day I die."

 

100% Kinky Boots did not deserve that WIN!

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 10/7/23 at 9:12pm

AEA AGMA SM said: "That being said, I look forward to the inevitable “Alex Brightman was snubbed” threads that are going to pop up next spring that ignore the fact he will almost certainly not be eligible forSpamalot.(Yes, there is an off chance the producers may petition to have him considered, but I don’t think the odds of it being granted are very good at all)"


And they’ll probably blame Hugh Jackman for it. 

[George in DC]

Posted: 10/7/23 at 9:43pm

Robbie2 said: "bwayphreak234 said: "Matilda losing to Kinky Boots is something I will never get over until the day I die."



100% Kinky Boots did not deserve that WIN!"

 

But it won , Blanche. It won the Tony award. And the voters and myself think it deserved to win.

 

Updated On: 10/7/23 at 09:43 PM

[NOWaWarning]

Posted: 10/7/23 at 10:01pm

I’ve never understood how Sherie Rene Scott was not nominated for AIDA.

[ManOfLaMuncha]

Posted: 10/7/23 at 10:07pm

Geraldine Page for anything!

[ijest22]

Posted: 10/7/23 at 10:11pm

Radcliffe for How to Succeed. That made no sense. 

[yyys]

Posted: 10/7/23 at 11:23pm

Also snubbed at the Olivier for the London production.

seaweedjstubbs said: "Patrick Vaill getting snubbed for his Jud Fry is something I just don’t understand. Such an incredible performance."

 

[BeingAlive44Ever]

Posted: 10/7/23 at 11:56pm

AEA AGMA SM said: "I have to state that I can’t get behind the idea of someone getting nominated but not winning (ala Esparza in 2007) a snub. A snub would be not getting nominated at all."

I understand why you'd say that and I can't fully disagree but there really are some times when it feels frankly bizarre for a production or an actor to not have won for something

Another that I'm less passionate about is Brent Carver for Parade

I think that Brent Carver in Parade might be one of the best performances ever on a Broadway stage and I hear people regularly saying they like Ben Platt in the role better and it really makes me think

bwayphreak234 said: "Matilda losing to Kinky Boots is something I will never get over until the day I die."

This is one I have a lot to say about

So I'm conflicted

I do like Kinky Boots a good deal and I acknowledge its importance

But Matilda is one of my favorite musicals and Tim Minchin really is a genius 

Honestly I would've redistributed the awards a bit 

Keep in mind that I'm biased to different parts of both shows because Harvey Fierstein is one of my favorite writers and performers on Broadway (and for that matter I think he deserved a nomination for at least a Drama Desk Award for his performance in A Catered Affair)

But I would've given Matilda Best Musical and Best Score

And Kinky Boots Best Book 

I mean actually I have trouble saying that 

I'm conflicted on which one should take Best Book. 

And even more than that-- 

Billy Porter verses Bertie Carvel 

I really have no idea who I would give the award between these two 

I think Bertie Carvel as The Trunchbull is the best drag role on Broadway since Harvey Fierstein as Edna 

Probably the only one since then that manages to not only be a convincing portrayal of the opposite sex while also being an actual genuine performance with so much behind it

Matilda is similar to Hairspray for me in a lot of ways, actually

It tells a lot of stories in many ways, the protagonist manages to not be an everyman and yet still be extremely relatable, and they both have show stealing drag roles that different sources fight over whether they're even lead roles

I mean I think that Matilda deserved almost every award for the whole season 

But I also appreciate that Kinky Boots won some 

But man imagine Tim Minchin's career now if he'd won that Tony Award

I really think Groundhog Day would've been more of a success then 

And I think that it'd totally change the course of Broadway for a while there

Sorry for this long message but I just had so much to say about it

Also to be clear I don't think that Kinky Boots didn't deserve the Tony Award or anything 

What I really mean is that I just like Matilda better and I feel like Tim Minchin and Dennis Kelly would've benefited more from a Tony than Cindy Lauper and Harvey Fierstein just because those two are already super famous and have long successful careers

[Dylan Smith4]

Posted: 10/8/23 at 12:18am

Never will I forget the moment Ethan Slater was robbed in 2018 along with Mean Girls entirely! Also, who could forget Katrina Lenk not even getting nominated for Company? That one hurt! Probably the biggest snub for me was the whole debacle with Hedwig being a "revival" on Broadway even though it never was on Broadway before! That surely would have won Best Musical along with Book and Score!

[The Bittersweets]

Posted: 10/8/23 at 12:58am

My most passionately held belief is that The Drowsy Chaperone (or The Color Purple, take your pick) deserved Best Musical over Jersey Boys. I blame Jersey Boys’ win for the huge uptick in jukebox musicals coming down the pipeline these days.
 

Beyond that, Two Gentleman of Verona somehow beating both Grease and FOLLIES for Best Musical is a bit of a head scratcher. I’ve always wondered what the Tony voters were thinking that year.