Questions About Tony Nominators and Nonbinary Performers Raised in Latest Admin Rulings

When last week's Tony eligibility decisions were announced, there was nothing terribly surprising in the announcements themselves. But there were some interesting tidbits not announced.

First, at the end of 2022, well-liked actress Liza Colón-Zayas left BETWEEN RIVERSIDE AND CRAZY early because of an unexpected scheduling conflict. This led to some Tony nominators missing her acclaimed performance, according to a source. The Tony Award rules read: "A Nominator must recuse himself/herself from the Nominating Committee for any year during their three-year term in the event that any of the following situations apply to him or her... Inability to view a performance of all Tony Award eligible Actors and/or Elements in a season[.]" In other words, under this rule, nominators must recuse themselves entirely if they are unable to see an eligible performance. If voters miss a show or performance, they can simply abstain from voting in the specific relevant category; this rule is more extreme.

But is she even Tony eligible? To be eligible you don't just need to open in a show, you need to be in it for at least eight performances in which Tony voters are invited. Tony voters are not necessarily invited in the busy holiday month of December--though limited runs at non-profits tend to invite early.

I emailed a Tony Awards spokesperson to confirm Colón-Zayas was eligible and, if so, if the nominators who did not see her performance had indeed recused themselves. (Seven nominators have recused themselves this year, but several of those recusals were because of stated conflicts with other eligible productions.) While BETWEEN RIVERSIDE AND CRAZY was generally dealt with at this last meeting, according to Tony Award Productions: "The eligibility confirmation on this issue will be determined at the April 28th meeting of the Administration Committee." Stay tuned.

Second, BroadwayWorld has confirmed that DANCIN' standout Kolton Krouse, who is nonbinary, will compete in the Featured Actor in a Musical category. Additionally, although SHUCKED was not dealt with this eligibility meeting, BroadwayWorld has confirmed that Alex Newell, who identifies as gender nonconforming and plays a woman in SHUCKED, has also requested to be considered in that category. "After consultation with Alex, the production submitted them for Featured Actor," a production spokesperson said. This comes after nonbinary & JULIET actor Justin David Sullivan withdrew from Tony consideration because the categories are gender divided. (As reported in February, SOME LIKE IT HOT's J. Harrison Ghee, another nonbinary performer, decided to go for Best Actor in a Musical.)

Third, BETWEEN RIVERSIDE AND CRAZY is being considered as a new play. At the beginning of the season, there were a host of announced shows that could have been deemed revivals because they are arguably in the "popular repertoire," but were never on Broadway. OHIO STATE MURDERS, the oldest but likely least-produced of the plays, was deemed revival. THE KITE RUNNER, COST OF LIVING and, now, BETWEEN RIVERSIDE AND CRAZY (which is the best-known of the entries) have all been ruled new plays. While THE THANKSGIVING PLAY will not be ruled on until the last meeting, it surely will be new.

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