Slim Pickins: Tony categories that barely fill the quota?

Best Score last year only had four eligible shows, and two were plays.

---

For the 1985 Tonys, there were no awards for Best Actor or Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical or Best Choreography.

From the wiki article
"The award for best actress, musical was eliminated this season because there was only one eligible candidate. The nominating committee declined to give nominations in the leading actor in a musical and choreography categories because they did not consider any of the performances or choreography outstanding or excellent."

---

In 2006 there were only 3 revivals (Pajama Game, Sweeney Todd, and Threepenny Opera).

I too would like to know who the eligible actress in 1985 was. I noticed that Mary Beth Peil was nominated as a featured actress for playing Anna in The King and I. Was she moved there, or was she just below the title?

It's hard to believe they actually eliminated whole categories in 1985, while other years they nominated critically-panned shows that had closed months earlier.

Can anyone clarify a post I saw somewhere else, which said that the acting categories can only nominate 5 performers if there are at least 7 eligible in a season? I hadn't heard that anywhere else, but it would seem pertinent this season with only half a dozen eligible leading actresses.

Updated On: 4/30/11 at 08:53 PM

In 1985 Dinah Manoff (Leader of the Pack), Mary Beth Peil (The King and I) and Leilani Jones (Grind) could have been considered leads. For the men, Patrick Cassidy (Leader of the Pack), Ben Vereen (Grind), Timothy Nolen (Grind) and Daniel Jenkins (Big River) could have been in the leading category. However, it was determined that not enough of them were worthy of nomination so everyone got bumped to Featured.

OurTime - here's section from the rules that you're referring to. It's on page 6:

"There shall be no more than four nominees in each category; provided, that if there are at least seven eligible candidates for nomination in a Best Performance category, then there shall be five nominees in that category; and provided, further, that the Tony Awards Administration Committee shall also have the sole
discretion to reduce the number of nominees to fewer than four (or five), but, in no event, fewer than two, in a particular category for the current season or to delegate this discretion to the Nominating Committee."

http://www.tonyawards.com/en_US/about/Rules-2010-2011FINAL.pdf

Sunset Bouelvard was the only eligible score in 1995.

And let us not forget 1968. And 1989.