So is Bertie Carvel featured?- Page 2

[bjh2114]

Posted: 3/31/13 at 12:07pm

Rob McClure, while wonderful, doesn't stand an ice cube's chance in hell of winning. When are people going to learn that 9 times out of 10, actors from closed shows don't win if there are other good performances currently open. Case in point: Danny Burstein/Steve Kazee last year.

And I can think of several cases from recent years where a large featured part was ruled leading simply because it was the biggest part in the show for a person of that gender. Debra Monk in Curtains, Sutton Foster in Drowsy Chaperone, Kara Lindsay in Newsies (though that didn't work out too well for her...), and Gavin Lee for Mary Poppins all spring to mind immediately. So don't be surprised if Bertie is ruled leading so that he doesn't have to compete against the actor playing Mr. Wormwood.

[wonderfulwizard11]

Posted: 3/31/13 at 2:05pm

Will the actor playing Mr. Wormwood really be competition though? I have not seen the Broadway production of Matilda, but I didn't think the role in London was any kind of a stand-out. Trunchbull is by far the flashier role, especially among the men.

[Musicaldudepeter]

Posted: 3/31/13 at 2:09pm

The Mr. Wormwood was nominated - Paul Kaye - for an Olivier Award for Supporting Performance in a Musical, and actually many thought he was going to win, but Nigel Harman won for his Lord Farquaad in Shrek.

[mikey2573]

Posted: 3/31/13 at 2:47pm

I agree that John Bolton should have gone into Featured Actor in a Musical. He was terrific in A CHRISTMAS STORY and created a very real character. And Johnny Rabbe should also be up for a Tony --I wonder of they petitioned him for a Leading nomination? He was on stage for most of the show and the story revolved entirely around his character. If he were to win he would be the youngest Tony winner in a leading role. (The current youngest Tony winner remains Frankie Michaels for MAME, but he won for featured actor).
Bertie Carvel was good playing a character "type" but didn't really seem to be portraying a character.

[HenryTDobson]

Posted: 3/31/13 at 2:53pm

bgh is right. As much as I love Rob McClure and thought he was incredible in Chaplin, he stands no chance at winning, and may even have a hard time getting nominated (which would be ridiculous, yet not too surprising).

[CapnHook]

Posted: 3/31/13 at 10:42pm

The producers of KINKY BOOTS would be extremely foolish to petition the Administration Committee to place Billy Porter in the Leading category. He would not win and stands lesser a chance to be nominated -- especially since Stark Sands is sure to be placed there, regardless of Porter's placement.

The competition in the Featured category is quite small. The only two stand-outs are Bertie Carvel and Billy Porter. Other nominees could be Gabriel Ebert, Will Chase, and 1 or more from HANDS ON A HARDBODY. I doubt anyone from ANNIE, SCANDALOUS, MOTOWN, CINDERELLA, CHAPLIN, BRING IT ON, or A CHRISTMAS STORY will get a nom here. I'm unfamiliar with JEKYLL & HYDE and PIPPIN, perhaps they have contenders that I am not factoring in.

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 3/31/13 at 10:48pm

What are you talking about CapnHook? Porter would have a hell of a chance in Lead if Carvel was in Featured. Who would beat him?

bjh2114, you're in the severe minority on thinking Porter was "horrendous" in KINKY BOOTS. He got rapturous reviews in Chicago and is sure to repeat that same praise here in New York when the show opens this week.

Updated On: 3/31/13 at 10:48 PM

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 3/31/13 at 11:01pm

He would not win and stands lesser a chance to be nominated -- especially since Stark Sands is sure to be placed there, regardless of Porter's placement.

Porter has the flashier, meatier role. If any one person from KINKY BOOTS is a "lock" for a nomination, it is him. Updated On: 3/31/13 at 11:01 PM

[CapnHook]

Posted: 3/31/13 at 11:01pm

John Bolton, Brandon Victor Dixon, Santino Fontana, Constantine Maroulis, Rob McClure, Jim Norton, Johnny Rabe, Stark Sands, Matthew James Thomas, Anthony Warlow. And maybe Hunter Foster.

Not that any of these people would beat Porter (that's way too soon to predict), but this list suggests much stronger competition than the Featured category.

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 3/31/13 at 11:35pm

Not a single person on that list has material anywhere near as flashy or meaty as Porter's.

[Cheetos Rivera]

Posted: 3/31/13 at 11:39pm

"Not a single person on that list has material anywhere near as flashy or meaty as Porter's."

Meat flashes don't necessarily win you Tonys.

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 3/31/13 at 11:44pm

The two on Katie Finneran's mantle beg to differ.

[CapnHook]

Posted: 3/31/13 at 11:47pm

somethingwicked -- To my point, it does not matter. My point is that Porter stands a better chance of winning in Featured.

Let's play out the following scenarios of assuming the nominations will land as follows:

LEADING:
Brandon Victor Dixon
Rob McClure
Billy Porter
Matthew James Thomas
Anthony Warlow

or

FEATURED:
Bertie Carvel
Will Chase
Gabriel Ebert
Dan Lauria
Billy Porter

In Leading, it's Porter versus 4. In Featured, it's Porter versus 1.

And also to my point that the Producers will want Porter in the Featured category: if Sands and Porter both are up for Leading, it's probable that only one of them will get the nomination (probably Porter). But if Sands goes Leading and Porter goes Featured, then the show is much more likely to get the two nominations.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 3/31/13 at 11:48pm

I'm rooting for Annaleigh Ashford to get a Nom for features actress.

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 3/31/13 at 11:52pm

It doesn't matter how many people are a potential threat to Porter if the four opposite him have no chance of winning and the one opposite him does. Bertie Carvel has a hell of a chance wherever he is, so Porter's best bet is in the opposing category. Sands and Porter will both be nominated in Leading. There's no way Anthony Warlow is getting in, let alone the committee agreeing to bump Porter or Sands down to Featured. It's very clear in the show that they're the co-leads. They split the last bow, for god's sake. When's the last time that happened and someone went Featured?

Every facet of your argument could be replaced with the scenario involing Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth the year of WICKED, and we all know how that placement went. The role comparison is identical to the situation with Porter and Sands in KINKY BOOTS.

Updated On: 3/31/13 at 11:52 PM

[CapnHook]

Posted: 4/1/13 at 12:20am

PRISCILLA: QUEEN OF THE DESERT comes to mind. All three are leads in my opinion, but that's not how it ended up.

A role's "size" or "meatiness" or "flashiness" has little impact on the placement of the category in which they will be eligible for a Tony. Billing is the ultimate determination, but the Administration Committee has the right to determine an actor's placement the opposite of their billing on their own volition.

If the producers want Porter to be Featured, they have a strong argument to keep him there. I don't think the Committee will rule against billing.

And I think Warlow is a lock. Not sure why you say "no way he's getting in."

[wonderfulwizard11]

Posted: 4/1/13 at 1:44am

Why exactly do you think it would be smarter for Billy Porter to be in Featured, potentially against Bertie Carvel, rather than in leading? You really think that he wouldn't beat out someone like Rob McClure, who was wonderful in a show that no one really saw and closed months ago? Seriously, there's very little true competition in the Leading category, and Porter would have a much better chance there, especially if he isn't up against Carvel.

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 4/1/13 at 10:07am

All of the arguments seem to hinge on which category Carvel ultimately gets placed in. As previously pointed out he was considered leading for the Olivier Awards in London so the producers could easily be planning to petition for him to be there for the Tonys as well. And since the eligibilities for Matilda and Kinky Boots will be discussed at the same meeting the producers of each are going to have to guess what the other will be doing, if they care, and I doubt that they are willing to tell each other what petitions they are planning on making.

[bjh2114]

Posted: 4/1/13 at 12:18pm

Let's put it this way. Bertie Carvel is going to win a Tony, whether it's in the featured or leading category remains to be seen. He is stronger than all eligible contenders in both categories. So if you are looking for Billy Porter to win, he needs to be in whatever category Bertie is not in. But I don't see the producers of either show allowing either of them to be in the featured category. Billy will be nominated for the role, which is flashy but ultimately hollow (the Whitney Houston wannabe song towards the end goes absolutely nowhere), but he will lose if he's up against Carvel.