Posted: 4/5/22 at 7:32am
I don't know if anyone has started a thread on this subject yet, so I figured I’d do so myself. We’ve seen in the past that if you’re on Broadway in two major roles at different points in the same season, you’re likely going to end up receiving at least one Tony nomination.
Past examples of this include…
Judy Kuhn & Terrence Mann – They both opened (and closed) Rags in the fall of 1986, but then went on to open Les Misérables in the spring of 1987, where they both received their very first Tony nominations for the latter.
Blair Brown – She opened James Joyce’s The Dead in January of 2000, then left in March to open Copenhagen the following month, where she won the Tony for the latter.
Nathan Lane – He did The Man Who Came to Dinner in the summer/fall of 2000, then opened The Producers in the spring of 2001, where he won his second Tony for the latter.
Audra McDonald – She did Henry IV in the fall of 2003, then opened A Raisin in the Sun in the spring of 2004, where she won her fourth Tony for the latter.
Kelli O’Hara – She opened Dracula in the summer of 2004, closed that show in January of 2005, then opened The Light in the Piazza in the spring, where she received her very first Tony nomination for the latter.
John Cullum – He did How the Grinch Stole Christmas during the 2006 holiday season, then opened 110 in the Shade in the spring of 2007, and was Tony nominated for the latter.
Boyd Gaines – He did Pygmalion in the fall of 2007, then opened Gypsy in the spring of 2008, where he won his fourth Tony for the latter.
Beth Leavel – She did Elf during the 2010 holiday season, then opened Baby It’s You! in the spring of 2011, and was Tony nominated for the latter.
Mark Rylance – He did La Bête in the fall of 2010, then opened Jerusalem in the spring 0f 2011, where he won his second Tony for the latter.
Jeremy Jordan – He opened (and closed) Bonnie & Clyde in the fall of 2011, but then went on to open Newsies in the spring of 2012, and was Tony nominated for the latter.
Danny Burstein – He did The Snow Geese in the fall of 2013, then opened Cabaret in the spring of 2014, where he received his fifth Tony nomination for the latter.
Christian Borle – He did Falsettos in the fall of 2016, then opened Charlie & the Chocolate Factory in the spring of 2017, yet was Tony nominated for the former.
Jefferson Mays – He did The Front Page in the fall of 2016, then opened Oslo in the spring of 2017, and was Tony nominated for the latter.
Mary Beth Peil – She did Les Liaisons Dangereuses in the fall of 2016, then opened Anastasia in the spring of 2017, and was Tony nominated for the latter.
Not to mention that about six performers have managed to be nominated in two different categories in the same year. Among them are Amanda Plummer (A Taste of Honey and Agnes of God in 1982), Dana Ivey (Heartbreak House and Sunday in the Park with George in 1984), Kate Burton (Hedda Gabler and The Elephant Man in 2002), Jan Maxwell (The Royal Family and Lend Me a Tenor in 2010), the aforementioned Mark Rylance (Richard III and Twelfth Night in 2014), and Jeremy Pope (Choir Boy and Ain’t Too Proud in 2019).
Then again, J.K. Simmons had two major roles on Broadway during the 1991-92 theatre season. First as Captain Hook in a revival of Peter Pan starring Cathy Rigby, then as Benny Southstreet in the Jerry Zaks-helmed revival of Guys & Dolls. Yet, he was completely ignored by the Tonys that year.
Are there any other examples I seem to be missing?
