The awards ceremony will honor plays and musicals that debuted during a pandemic shortened eligibility period – April 26, 2019 to February 19, 2020. Only 18 shows were eligible for awards – about half less than usual – and only 15 scored nominations.
The most nominated shows are the musicals “Jagged Little Pill”, with 15, “Moulin Rouge!” The Musical “, with 14, and” Tina – The Tina Turner Musical “, with 12, as well as” Slave Play “, which at 12 is the most nominated piece in Tony’s history.
The ceremony, originally scheduled for June 2020, has been repeatedly delayed and redesigned; the nominations, chosen by 41 theater experts who saw each eligible show, were announced last October, and electronic voting, by 778 producers, performers and other industry insiders, took place in March. The ballots were kept by the accounting firm Deloitte & Touche LLP, which has managed to keep them secret ever since.
There are several unusual aspects to the Tonys’ race this season.
All the nominees for the highest score are plays – a strange situation caused by the fact that three of the four musicals opened before the pandemic were jukebox musicals, meaning they had no original scores, and the fourth was excluded by the nominators.
In one category, best lead actor in a musical, there is only one nominee, Aaron Tveit of “Moulin Rouge!” He will win if he gets a positive vote of 60% of those who voted in that race.
A starred concert will dominate the televised part of the evening.
The Broadway League and the American Theater Wing, the two organizations that present the Tony Awards, have decided, in discussions with CBS, that the part of the evening with the greatest reach, that is, on television in network, would be mainly a concert.
The goal is to showcase Broadway talent and remind viewers of the pleasures of live theater, with the hope that some of them will then purchase tickets to a show as the New York theaters (and around the world) seek to rebuild their audiences.