Maria as Featured Actress?

[PiraguaGuy2]

Posted: 1/30/09 at 2:50pm

So, I was noodling around on IBDB, and dug up something interesting.
Both times that the actress playing "Maria" in West Side Story has been nominated for a Tony, it was in the "Featured" Actress category. Why is this? She's definitely the lead. Could Josefina Scaglione be nominated this way for the upcoming revival?

[Pianolin717]

Posted: 1/30/09 at 2:51pm

I'd hope she would be nominated Lead... Maria is DEF a lead.. and then Karen should be nominated for Supporting, but yeah.. Maria is a lead, IMO

[jasonf]

Posted: 1/30/09 at 3:00pm

Maria has two full songs where she's the lead (I Feel Pretty and I Have a Love), duets in two(One Hand One Heart and Tonight), and is in the quintet, right? If I'm not mistaken, isn't that one more than Tony has (since he only has Something's Coming as a solo?). It doesn't seem right that she would be a featured role...

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 1/30/09 at 3:02pm

wasn't there a rule about having to be billed above the title to be considered leading? isn't that how Tom Bosley won a Featured Actor Tony for playing the title role in Fiorello!?

[Pianolin717]

Posted: 1/30/09 at 3:05pm

I thought the rule was, if you are billed above you are considered Lead, but the committee can decide whether to include people not billed above the Title, but don't count on my word completely

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 1/30/09 at 3:10pm

It was more cut and dry back in the day, which is also why Willaim Daniels regected his nomination for 1776 as supporting actor.

Things started to change in the 80s. Colm Wilkinson would've been considered supporting by the old rules.

[PiraguaGuy2]

Posted: 1/30/09 at 3:14pm

Well, the committe makes rulings now. For example, Graham Phillips will be considered lead for "13" even though he's not above the title, and I'm sure Brian D'Arcy James, the Billy Elliot boys, and Alliosn Janney will all be ruled lead.

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 1/30/09 at 3:15pm

LuPone wasn't billed above the title for Evita, and she won Best Leading Actress, so I'd say a little earlier than the 80s is when things were changing.

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 1/30/09 at 4:07pm

I doubt the Billy Elliot boys who only perform 2-3 shows a week will be deemed eligible.

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 1/30/09 at 4:09pm

well, but like doodlenyc said: it was previously pretty cut and dry. now the Tony committee can at least look at different shows and decide what's best and fair.

although I honestly don't know what I think should be done about the Billys.

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 1/30/09 at 4:20pm

Daisy Eagan won a Tony when she was 10 years old, because she was playing eight shows a week. The least amount of performances any actor has ever played weekly and been eligible for an acting award has been six (with a matinee alternate).

Not to mention that BILLY ELLIOT is going to run for a long time and these boys are just the beginning of a long series of replacements (one of the boys is already being replaced next month).

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 1/30/09 at 4:27pm

Daisy Eagan actually only did six shows a week; she had an alternate for Wednesday matinees and Thursday evenings. but yes, that's definitely not the same as doing only 2 or 3 shows a week. it'd be a shame for the boys to not get some recognition, since they are wonderful, but I do think that nominating them together is rewarding the role instead of the actor.

wasn't there a thread a while ago talking about actors who won Tonys playing less than eight shows a week? I can only think of Eagan (Featured) and Lea Salonga and Patti LuPone (Leading).

do Philip Seymour Hoffman and John C. Reilly count for being nominated for playing less than eight shows a week?

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 1/30/09 at 4:38pm

Thanks for the correction on the number of weekly performances by Eagan.

I think the recognition that these boys and every boy that is going to play this role get is going to be in the form of performing a lead role on Broadway 2-3 times a week at such a young age, being cheered on by the audience on the nights they perform, and getting a paycheck for their work. Also, having this role on their resumes will mean a lot for their future careers.

[PiraguaGuy2]

Posted: 1/30/09 at 4:57pm

I think they should give them a special Tony. They each do 2 performances a week, and they'd basically be nominating the "role".

Although the consesus was that they would nominate all three together, so...

[Pianolin717]

Posted: 1/30/09 at 5:00pm

as long as they only nominate them together... ill be fine.. if they all WIN.. well that will be a different story, but go ahead and nominate them, but by no means should they win

[PiraguaGuy2]

Posted: 1/30/09 at 5:26pm

Givesmevoice, Philip and John did 8 performances a week, but while switching roles.

[insertclevernamehere]

Posted: 1/30/09 at 6:02pm

"wasn't there a thread a while ago talking about actors who won Tonys playing less than eight shows a week? I can only think of Eagan (Featured) and Lea Salonga and Patti LuPone (Leading)."

I've never heard this. How many shows a week did they do and who were their alternates?

[WishingOnlyWounds2]

Posted: 1/30/09 at 6:09pm

(one of the boys is already being replaced next month).
He's not being replaced, they're adding a fourth one.

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 1/30/09 at 6:35pm

Daisy Eagan performed the role of Mary in The Secret Garden six times a week, due to the fact that she was 10. Patti played Eva at six shows also, because that's how it was done in London with Elaine Paige. Lea Salonga played Kim in, I believe, seven shows a week. I'm not sure if this was an age thing or a matter of how demanding the role was, though.

Lea and Daisy won their Tonys in the same year, too.

Updated On: 1/30/09 at 06:35 PM

[Byron Abens]

Posted: 1/30/09 at 8:16pm

The committee only considers moving an actor into a different category if the producer of the show submits a request to do so. They do not take action on their own. However, in cases of revivals, they do also consider precedent. As there have been two previous productions in which Maria was nominated as a featured actress they will take that into account when making a ruling, should the producers petition to have her considered for best actress rather than featured actress.

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 1/30/09 at 11:47pm

No they won't. Charlotte d'Amboise was nominated for Featured Actress for playing Cassie in the CHORUS LINE revival because she was below the title. Donna McKechnie won the Tony for playing the same role in the duplicate original production in the Leading Actress category. McKechnie was petitioned for Leading even though she was below the title, and the committee accepted it. The producers of the revival made no such request, and d'Amboise was consider for Featured. Done deal. They don't consider what categories the roles were placed in for past productions.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 1/30/09 at 11:53pm

If the Billy Elliot boys aren't the "sure" winners this year, then I don't know who is. I love James in "Shrek," but he's by no means the best of the year. His voice is great, but he doesn't have much to work with.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 1/31/09 at 12:05am

Officially, any actor billed above the title is a lead, anyone below is featured. In order for the committee to consider an alternate placement for a performer, the producers must petition the committee. This is how below the title performers can end up in the leading actor/actress category, and above the title performers can end up in featured.

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 1/31/09 at 10:30am

I wouldn't be surprised if the producers petitioned for Josefina in the lead category so as not to risk splitting the votes with Karen- who has a much better shot at winning.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 1/31/09 at 12:00pm

If I'm not mistaken, isn't that one more than Tony has (since he only has Something's Coming as a solo?).

Actually, Tony has 2 solos: Something's Coming and Maria. But the category is defined by billing, not the size of the role. It's how Christine Ebersole won a Tony as a Lead for 42nd Street (personally, I think it should have gone to Nancy Opel) while Kate Levering was nominated as Featured.