That's why we often advocate here for a new category of honoring groups. Actors' Equity, the national association representing actors and stage managers, goes further with an annual award for Broadway choruses. Of the 23 musicals that opened this season, 21 were worthy; The winner will be announced on June 15 – apparently, the day before the Tonys.
Women are at the forefront of the movement.
In the history of the awards, only 10 women have won prizes for directing, starting in 1998. That number is likely to rise this year, with seven out of 10 directing slots filled by women. Anne Kaufman, Lila Neugebauer, and Whitney White are nominated for best direction of a play, along with Maria Friedman, Lee Silverman, Jessica Stone, and Tanya Taymor (Julie Taymor's niece, the first woman to win for a musical score). Controversy for Best Direction of a Musical
Love, respect, ignore.
The Tony nomination committee said « I do » to two pairs of actors playing married characters: Brian D'Arcy James and Kelly O'Hara, and Marion Plunkett and Dorian Harewood as lovers abandoned by alcohol in « Days of Wine and Roses. » In « The Notebook, » an elderly couple struggles with dementia. But the shows didn't get the same love. « Days of Wine and Roses » received a nomination for the song and « The Notebook » for the book, but was not nominated for Best Composition. Guess you can't always have your wedding cake and eat it too.
A warm welcome to 'Cabaret'.
Rebecca Frecknall's crepuscular revival of Kander and Ebb's « Cabaret » was celebrated when it opened in the West End in 2021, eventually winning seven Olivier Awards. But its Broadway transfer received a more muted response. (« A misguided attempt to revive the show breaks its ribs, » wrote the New York Times.) So who cares? Not the Tony nominators, who recognized the show with a nomination for best revival of a musical, the cast — Eddie Redmayne, Gayle Rankin, Pep Neuwirth and Steven Scheibel — in all four categories.
'The Wiz' has no yellow brick road.
The highly-anticipated revival was one of the spring's early hits, but Tony nominees followed the lead of critics, not audiences, who had little to say about the show's look, script and performances. « The Wiz, » which won seven Tony Awards when it hit Broadway in 1975, didn't get a single nod this time around.
