''They'll probably award Brian D'Arcy James his first Tony for playing Homer Simpson, just to make up for this.''
And yet the Tony voters passed up the chance to reward James for playing the title role of ''Shrek'' in 2009, even though he won Outstanding Actor in a Musical that season from the Outer Critics Circle and the Drama Desks. He lost to the boys from ''Billy Elliot,'' who (in my humble opinion) should've never been Tony-eligible as a trio for Leading Actor in a Musical. That ruling went against the Tonys' core belief that you should see all the performances before voting. However, the Tonys made an exception here and ruled that Tony voters only needed to see ONE of the Billys to vote for them. That seems to assume that all of the Billys were equally talented as actors, singers and dancers. (I saw all three; they were not.) But that's rewarding the role, not necessarily the actor. And it's not fair that adult actors who maintain their quality 8 shows a week have to compete with child actors, who do only 2-3 performances.
The Outer Critics Circle honored the 3 ''Billy Elliot'' boys with a Special Award. Which is what the Tonys should've done. And apparently the Tonys learned their lesson in 2013, when they gave a Tony Honor for Excellence in Theatre to the 4 girls in ''Matilda,'' rather than making them collectively eligible for Leading Actress in a Musical.
Alas, too late for James. He's one of Broadway's greatest leading men, who, after 5 nominations, remains Tony-less. In MY alternate universe, he would've never taken the role in ''Shrek'' and stuck with ''Next to Normal,'' a role he originated Off-Broadway. Then, he would've been Tony-eligible for Dan, and won (if the ''Billy'' boys weren't Tony-eligible).
Updated On: 6/8/25 at 09:52 AM