The Tony Awards Administration Committee has announced its first round of eligibility rulings for this Broadway season, determining some of the trickier potential nominees and their respective categories.
Both co-stars of The Collaboration – Paul Bettany and Jeremy Pope – will be considered eligible in the Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play, rather than split up into leading and featured slots. Ohio State Murders, written by Adrienne Kennedy in 1991 and performed regionally but never on Broadway until this season, will be considered a revival in keeping with similar rulings in recent years about Broadway debuts of older shows such as The Boys in The Band.
Perhaps among the more surprising rulings is for Sharon D Clarke, who played Linda Loman opposite Wendell Pierce’s Willy Loman in Miranda Cromwell’s Death of a Salesman revival. Clarke will be eligible as a Featured Actress rather than Leading.
Also, the committee ruled that for the 2022-23 season only, Tony voters will have the ability to vote in each category where the voter has not viewed up to one performance of each production, and up to one creative element which has been nominated for an Award, and up to one performance by each performer who has been nominated for an Award. In the past, voters had to see all nominated elements in order to vote in those categories. Possible reason: The fall season was marked by several high-profile early closings – KPOP, Ain’t No Mo’, Gabriel Byrne’s Walking With Ghosts – that might not have been around long enough to accommodate all voters.
The 76th Annual Tony Awards will air live from United Palace Theatre, in New York City, on Sunday, June 11, on CBS and available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+. The Tony Awards eligibility cut-off date for the 2022-2023 season is Thursday, April 27, and nominations will be announced on Tuesday, May 2.
Here is the list of eligibility determinations announced today (additional rulings are expected later in the season):
- Gavin Creel, Joshua Henry and Phillipa Soo will be considered eligible in the Best Performance by an Actor/Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical categories for their respective performances in Into the Woods.
- Amir Arison will be considered eligible in the Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play category for his performance in The Kite Runner.
- Crystal Lucas-Perry will be considered eligible in the Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical category for her performance in 1776.
- Sharon D Clarke will be considered eligible in the Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play category for her performance in Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman.
- Samuel L. Jackson and Danielle Brooks will be considered eligible in the Best Performance by an Actor/Actress in a Featured Role in a Play categories for their respective performances in August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson.
- Casey Likes will be considered eligible in the Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical category for his performance in Almost Famous.
- Victoria Clark will be considered eligible in the Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical category for her performance in Kimberly Akimbo.
- A Christmas Carol will be considered eligible in the Best Play category. Jefferson Mays, Susan Lyons and Michael Arden will be considered eligible as authors for the adaptation.
- Jefferson Mays will be considered eligible in the Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play category for his performance in A Christmas Carol.
- Dane Laffrey and Lucy Mackinnon will be considered jointly eligible in the Best Scenic Design of a Play category for their work on A Christmas Carol.
- Lorna Courtney will be considered eligible in the Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical category for her performance in & Juliet.
- Soutra Gilmour and Andrzej Goulding will be considered jointly eligible in the Best Scenic Design of a Musical category for their work on & Juliet.
- Luna will be considered eligible in the Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical category for her performance in KPOP.
- Gabriel Hainer Evansohn and Peter Nigrini will be considered jointly eligible in the Best Scenic Design of a Musical category for their work on KPOP.
- Will Swenson will be considered eligible in the Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical category for his performance in A Beautiful Noise, The Neil Diamond Musical.
- Ohio State Murders will be considered eligible in the Best Revival of a Play category. Adrienne Kennedy will be considered eligible as author.
- Beowulf Boritt and Jeff Sugg will be considered jointly eligible in the Best Scenic Design of a Play category for their work on Ohio State Murders.
- Christian Borle, J. Harrison Ghee and Adrianna Hicks will be considered eligible in the Best Performance by an Actor/Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical categories for their respective performances in Some Like it Hot.
- Paul Bettany and Jeremy Pope will be considered eligible in the Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play category for their respective performances in The Collaboration.
- Ben Stanton and Duncan McLean will be considered jointly eligible in the Best Lighting Design of a Play category for their work on The Collaboration.