pupscotch, your logic may apply when it comes to voting on the actual awards after nominations come out (though I completely disagree with it since I assure you Tony voters have seen HAMILTON and remember it well--based on your logic, Annaleigh Ashford would have lost last year because her show had closed), but the nominations are decided by the Tony committee who is in charge of seeing every show early on before it closes or the original performers leave the show. Groff's performance is very likely to be remembered come nominations morning; if he doesn't make it onto the list--which I highly doubt--it will not be because the committee did not see him in the performance. I'd actually consider him for the win if it weren't for the fact that Diggs has far more stage time and is equally brilliant.
Jshan05, honestly, if it were up to me I'd give the award to the three HAMILTON men. It's hard for me to say that one was better than the other. But in terms of predictions, I'm sticking with Diggs. Of course surprises always happen, last year many people were predicting Judy Kuhn and Sydney Lucas for Featured Actress and we see how that turned out. So who knows? Maybe Jackson or Groff will manage a win.
"Some people can thrive and bloom living life in a living room, that's perfect for some people of one hundred and five. But I at least gotta try, when I think of all the sights that I gotta see, all the places I gotta play, all the things that I gotta be at"
ray-andallthatjazz86 said: "Jshan05, honestly, if it were up to me I'd give the award to the three HAMILTON men. It's hard for me to say that one was better than the other. But in terms of predictions, I'm sticking with Diggs. Of course surprises always happen, last year many people were predicting Judy Kuhn and Sydney Lucas for Featured Actress and we see how that turned out. So who knows? Maybe Jackson or Groff will manage a win."
That's so true. I forgot how crazy that was last year with featured actress. While I thought Ruthie Ann Miles was extraordinary in TKAI, I thought for sure it would have gone to either Lucas or Kuhn. While you might be right that Diggs will ultimately win, who knows what kinda crazy stuff happens this year! I love the Tonys season!
Actually not all Tony voters have seen Hamilton. When Groff announced his early departure, the production went into a mad dash to get in as many voters who hadn't seen it as possible. The cast did not have access to seats for about 3 weeks (they can normally purchase discounted house seats and standing room). So while there was a large effort to get most of them in during the summer, not all saw it at that time.
woeisme3 said: "I doubt Groff will be nominated- he's barely in the show."
The conversation about quantity vs. quality of on-stage time has been had a million times on this board. To be brief, please think about Andrea Martin's 2013 Tony win.
woeisme3 said: "I doubt Groff will be nominated- he's barely in the show."
That doesn't matter. He does a lot with the time he has, and becomes a scene-stealer. There is a great deal of precedence for nominations and wins for scene-stealers or one-scene wonders. In recent memory, Katie Finneran in Promises, Promises, Andrea Martin in Pippin, or Rory O'Malley for Book of Mormon- with the first two winning.
"...everyone finally shut up, and the audience could enjoy the beginning of the Anatevka Pogram in peace."
I remembered Andrea Martin for Pippin right after I posted! Regardless, Groff is great but in a small role, very overshadowed and in a tough year. I predict Jackson, Diggs, Creel, Fitzgerald, and Porter.
Kad said: "Are we so sure Porter will be Featured? He and Mitchell are essentially the male co-leads of Shuffle Along and both appear over the title."
I think it's too early to say. I'm fairly certain Josh Henry will be placed in featured, since to me he seemed to be the least-utilized of the 4 leading men. However, it seems like the other 3 men and Audra could all go either way.
Yeah, just because you keep saying he is "overshadowed" does not make ti true, especially when you are presented with evidence that shows there is a history of people who have nominated and won for similar small stage time. Groff is in the privileged position of having a song that stands out from everyone else in his show, looking different from everyone else in the show, and getting to play a note that is entirely different from the rest of the cast. Just read the New York Times' review. He nails "You'll Be Back"--the audience roared when he performed the song the night I saw it and just the mere sight of him when he shows up elicited laughter. Then he was hilarious in his other appearances later in the show. It truly was a spectacular performance, and it made me finally "get" Groff.
"Some people can thrive and bloom living life in a living room, that's perfect for some people of one hundred and five. But I at least gotta try, when I think of all the sights that I gotta see, all the places I gotta play, all the things that I gotta be at"
Personally, I think the issue in this situation is not whether or not a person with limited stage time can get a nomination, nor whether Groff is giving a nom-worthy performance. I think the issue is simply that the category is so competitive this year, not only from all the other shows, but even within Hamilton itself. I personally think Groff might still snag a nomination, but I see why people feel that he may be at a disadvantage to the other Hamilton men, who are giving powerhouse performances with more stage-time.
I do think Groff did a great job but I also think it's a fairly easy role to do a great job with. A lot of people have said Brian, Andrew and Rory were/are just as good. Whereas there are other actors in the show (particularly Leslie, Phillipa and Daveed for me) where I struggle to imagine most actors being able to capture those roles as perfectly.
I think he will get nominated though. I also think the win is Daveeds to lose.
I think for Featured Actor in a Musical it will be Diggs, Chris Jackson, and Groff from Hamilton with 2 other slots open. Is it possible to have 6 nominees in that category?
swanjewel said: "I think for Featured Actor in a Musical it will be Diggs, Chris Jackson, and Groff from Hamilton with 2 other slots open. Is it possible to have 6 nominees in that category?"
I believe so, if there is tied decision amongst nominators. That happened in the Featured Actor in a Play category last year.
"...everyone finally shut up, and the audience could enjoy the beginning of the Anatevka Pogram in peace."
little_sally said: "After seeing School of Rock, I really hope the Tony is Alex Brightman's to lose, especially since he'll probably be that show's only win."
The Lead Actor in a Musical category has been discussed at great length already, and most people seem to agree that it's either going to Leslie Odom Jr. or Danny Burstein. I highly doubt Brightman will win against those guys.
Brightman will absolutely get a nom and deserves all the accolades that come with it for his performance. Against the competition, though, a win? Likely not.
People seem to be underestimating the men from THE COLOR PURPLE in Featured Actor as well. Isaiah Johnson makes one of the roughest character transitions in a musical work so beautifully. I hope he surprises and gets in.
"Some people can thrive and bloom living life in a living room, that's perfect for some people of one hundred and five. But I at least gotta try, when I think of all the sights that I gotta see, all the places I gotta play, all the things that I gotta be at"
I'm wondering what musical number "Hamilton" will used if it's nominated for best musical. Everybody's so familiar with the opening number because they did it at the Grammys, so I don't think they'll use that one. But there aren't a whole lot of other numbers that use the whole cast, except maybe 'Non-Stop', but that's such a long number and really isn't the show-stopper you want a Tony number to be. Maybe "The Room Where it Happens"? "My Shot"? Hm...
The advantage with HAMILTON is that a lot of the cast is on stage for many of the numbers so there's a lot they can do (well, and just about every number from it is a showstopper). I figured they'd still perform the opening, with "My Shot" being a likely alternative. I'd be thrilled if they did "Room Where It Happens" or a medley that features "Satisfied," "Helpless," and "What'd I Miss?" but that's just because I want to see them do the entire show basically.
"Some people can thrive and bloom living life in a living room, that's perfect for some people of one hundred and five. But I at least gotta try, when I think of all the sights that I gotta see, all the places I gotta play, all the things that I gotta be at"
I don't think they will do the opening. Apparently they wanted to do The Schuyler Sisters for the Grammys but the Grammys asked if they would do the opening instead. I think a lot of people would whine if they did the opening again (and it doesn't do the best job of showing what all the hype is about in comparison to a lot of other songs in the show).