Back in this item, we talked about a new category that was being added to the Tony Awards — Best Performance by an Actor or Actress in a Recreated Role. The idea here is to honor someone who steps into a role that they did not do on opening night but who does outstanding work. It would or could go to someone who played Max Bialystock in The Producers after Nathan Lane or The Phantom in The Phantom of the Opera after Michael Crawford.
The Tony nominations were announced the other day and you may be wondering who was nominated in this new category. Answer: No one. They decided not to give out the award this year.
Because there are so few Broadway shows — compared, say, to the number of TV shows eligible each year for Emmys or motion pictures that could garner an Oscar — the Tony rules allow for this. Some years in some categories, they decide there just aren't enough contenders so they skip it. This past season, there seemed to be only two possible entries for Special Theatrical Event, an award which usually goes to a one-man or one-woman show. The possibles were Bridge and Tunnel, which stars Sarah Jones and is a critical and maybe a financial success…and The Blonde in the Thunderbird, an autobiographical presentation by Suzanne Somers that opened to withering reviews and closed a week later. Rather than give Ms. Somers a Tony nomination, they're dropping the category and awarding a special Tony to Sarah Jones.
They're not even doing that with the "Recreated Role" award. There were a couple of actors who might have qualified…Jonathan Pryce in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and (if the judges bent the rules on the dates a bit) Harvey Fierstein in Fiddler on the Roof. But it turns out there's a loophole in the rule book. Tony regulations require that all 24 members of the award's Administration Committee see a performance and that 16 of them vote it worthy of a nomination. While all or most of the committee members see shows when they first open, many do not get around to seeing the replacements…so it's hard to muster 16 votes. Someone needs to work on this idea.