On Feb. 1, the Tony Awards Administration Committee announced its determinations of eligibility for 20 productions in the 2022-2023 Broadway season, following the committee’s first meeting of the year. The group has also revised a key voting rule for this season only.
From an eligibility standpoint, the productions discussed were “Into the Woods,” “The Kite Runner,” “Leopoldstadt,” “Cost of Living,” “1776,” “Death of a Salesman,” “The Piano Lesson,” “Topdog/Underdog,” “Walking with Ghosts,” “Almost Famous,” “Kimberly Akimbo,” “Mike Birbiglia: The Old Man & the Pool,” “& Juliet,” “A Christmas Carol,” “KPOP,” “Ain’t No Mo’,” “A Beautiful Noise, The Neil Diamond Musical,” “Ohio State Murders,” “Some Like It Hot” and “The Collaboration.”
For “Into the Woods,” 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 “The Kite Runner,” Amir Arison will be considered eligible in the Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in Play category.
For “1776,” Crystal Lucas-Perry will be considered eligible in the Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical category.
For “Death of a Salesman,” Sharon D. Clarke will be considered eligible in the Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play category.
For “The Piano Lesson,” 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 “Almost Famous,” Casey Likes will be considered eligible in the Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical category.
For “Kimberly Akimbo,” Victoria Clark will be considered eligible in the Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical category.
For “A Christmas Carol,” Jefferson Mays, Susan Lyons and Michael Arden will be considered eligible as authors in the Best Play category for their adaptation of Charles Dickens’ original work. Additionally, Mays will be considered eligible in the Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play category. Scenic designer Dane Laffrey and projection designer Lucy Mackinnon will be considered jointly eligible in the Best Scenic Design of a Play category.
For “& Juliet,” Lorna Courtney will be considered eligible in the Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical category. Scenic designer Soutra Gilmour and video designer Andrzej Goulding will be considered jointly eligible in the Best Scenic Design of a Musical category.
For “KPOP,” Luna will be considered eligible in the Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical category. Scenic designer Gabriel Hainer Evansohn and projection designer Peter Nigrini will be considered jointly eligible in the Best Scenic Design of a Musical category.
For “A Beautiful Noise,” Will Swenson will be considered eligible in the Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical category.
For “Ohio State Murders,” Adrienne Kennedy will be considered eligible as the play’s author in the Best Revival of a Play category. Though the 2022 production marked the 1991 play’s Broadway debut, it is considered a part of the historical repertoire per the Tonys’ “classics” rule and is therefore being deemed a revival. Additionally, the production’s scenic designer Beowulf Boritt and projection designer Jeff Sugg will be considered jointly eligible in the Best Scenic Design of a Play category.
For “Some Like It Hot,” 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. Ghee, who is nonbinary, will be considered in the Actor category.
For “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 category. Lighting designer Ben Stanton and projection designer Duncan McLean will be considered jointly eligible in the Best Lighting Design of a Play category.
All other eligibility will be consistent with opening night credits for each respective production, meaning that performers appearing above the title will be eligible in lead acting categories while those listed below the title will be considered for featured acting categories.
The newly announced Tony Awards rule change reads as follows: “For the 2022-2023 season only, a voter will have the ability to vote in each category where the voter has not viewed up to one (1) performance of each production, and up to one (1) creative element which has been nominated for an Award, and up to one (1) performance by each performer who has been nominated for an Award. Write-in votes shall not be permitted.”
In the rules for the 2021-2022 season, all voters were required to have seen “a performance of each production which has been nominated for an Award and a performance by each performer who has been nominated in the production with respect to which such performer has been nominated.” The change in rule is presumably due to last-minute performance cancellations and performer absences which have continued since Broadway’s reopening after the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown.
The Tony Awards Administration Committee is comprised of 24 members. All votes are taken by secret ballot. A Rules Committee — consisting of three members of the Wing and three members of the League chosen from the Administration Committee — is responsible for making recommendations for rule changes. All actions, including the enactment of a rule change, must receive the affirmative vote of two-third of the full Administration Committee.
As previously announced, the 76th annual Tony Awards will take place June 11 at the United Palace Theatre. The eligibility cutoff date is April 27; nominations will be announced on May 2. The Tonys are presented by the Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing.
