Tony nomination trivia

[mikem]

Posted: 6/12/08 at 11:39am

Here is some Tony nomination trivia that I posted on a different board. Please tell me if I've made any errors, and please add your own!

All of the nominees for Best Featured Actor in a Play are in shows that have closed.

All of the Tony-eligible musicals this year were nominated in at least one category, and all 11 are still open. I don't think this has ever happened before.

Only one acting nominee in the musical categories is the sole acting nominee from his/her show -- Kerry Butler from "Xanadu." 13 of the 20 musical acting nominees are in only 4 shows -- South Pacific, Gypsy, In the Heights, and Passing Strange.

Only 1 show was nominated solely in tech categories -- Cyrano de Bergerac for costumes. That show closed before nominations were announced. The same thing happened last year -- the only show nominated solely in tech categories (High Fidelity for scenic design) was closed before nominations were announced.

Only 2 of the 21 shows this year that were open on the nomination announcement day did not get any nominations -- Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and The Country Girl. Conversely, 6 of the 13 shows that had closed got no nominations.

Phylicia Rashad appeared in 2 Broadway shows this season (Cymbeline and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof), and neither got any nominations. Boyd Gaines and Harriet Harris also appeared in 2 shows this season, with one show getting nominated and the other show getting blanked.

Conor McPherson (The Seafarer, director and author), Lin-Manuel Miranda (In the Heights, score and actor), Heidi Rodewald (Passing Strange, score and orchestrations), and Peter McKintosh (The 39 Steps, costume and scenic design) all received 2 nominations this year.

Stew (Passing Strange, actor, score, book, orchestrations) received 4 for a single show, a feat only achieved previously by Elizabeth Swados (Runaways) and Anthony Newley (Stop the World - I Want to Get Off). Hopefully, he will do better than his predecessors -- both of them lost in every category.

Assuming South Pacific was not eligible in orchestrations because it used the original orchestrations, it received a nomination in every category for which it was eligible. (Has this ever happened before?)

All 9 actors nominated for musical revivals are playing roles for which the original performer was also nominated.

Rob Ashford (choreographer - Cry-Baby, Curtains, The Wedding Singer), and Natasha Katz (The Little Mermaid, The Coast of Utopia, and Tarzan) are nominated for the 3rd year in a row, while Catherine Zuber (costume designer - South Pacific, Coast of Utopia, Awake and Sing! Seascape, and The Light in the Piazza) has now made it 4 years in a row. Zuber has won the last three years, and Katz won last year. (Has anyone else ever won 3 years in a row?)

Updated On: 6/12/08 at 11:39 AM

[Patash]

Posted: 6/12/08 at 11:45am

Some very interesting observations. Thanks for posting this.

[Weez]

Posted: 6/12/08 at 12:26pm

My favourite piece of trivia is the one from last year, where four of the five ladies nominated for Best Actress in a Musical had already picked up Drama Desk awards for their Tony-nominated roles. Sucks to be Laura Bell Bundy, huh?

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 6/12/08 at 12:29pm

I don't recall Debra Monk winning for CURTAINS.

[wonderfulwizard11]

Posted: 6/12/08 at 12:31pm

Debra Monk won the Featured Actress Drama Desk for her role in CURTAINS.

[mikem]

Posted: 6/13/08 at 8:17am

Here is one I read someplace else: Arthur Laurents at age 89 is one of the oldest, if not the oldest, nominee ever.

[SgtDonut]

Posted: 6/13/08 at 8:21am

Oh hell naw. Don't even BRING UP Laura Bell Bundy.