The Tony nominators are forbidden to speak to me or anyone else in the press under pain of being forced to sit through Will Eno’s “The Realistic Joneses” again.
But several brave souls risked that terrifying prospect and kindly gave me some insights into how and why the nominations shook down as they did Tuesday.
The process was especially long this year because of several ties. The meeting, which took place at the Broadway League, began Monday at 4:30 p.m. and didn’t let out until 11 p.m., at which point the nominators were ferried back to their homes in black sedans, so Tony officials could be sure nobody spilled the beans.
“You really feel like a captive when you enter the League,” one nominator said. “You can’t even go to the bathroom without an escort.”
As for the ties: Take heart, Denzel Washington. The nominators thought you were just fine in “A Raisin in the Sun.” But it seems you tied with Tony Shalhoub, whom everybody loved as George S. Kaufman in “Act One.” Shalhoub beat you out by a whisker, I’m told, in a second round of voting.
There was no ill will against Daniel Radcliffe, the star of “The Cripple of Inishmaan” — just disappointment that he didn’t make the cut. He didn’t tie with anyone, but there was a sense that he was probably edged out by another fine young British actor, Samuel Barnett, of “Twelfth Night.”
Marin Mazzie, as Helen Sinclair in “Bullets Over Broadway,” was in the mix for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. She was knocked out in a second round of voting by Adriane Lenox from “After Midnight.”
There were two ties for lighting, and the balloting became complicated. But with all due respect to the fine designers who were nominated, nobody cares about this category, so let’s move on.
A surprising omission for Best Musical was “If/Then,” the only musical this season that wasn’t an adaptation. The nominators didn’t hate it; they were just disappointed in it. Of the musical nominees, the most popular by far was “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder.” There was affection in the room for “Beautiful” and “After Midnight.” Some thought “After Midnight” would be left out because it was a revue, but as one nominator said, “It was an elegant, very enjoyable evening in the theater.”
“Aladdin” slipped in, I think, because people remember — and miss — the late great lyricist Howard Ashman.
As for plays, the clear favorite was “Act One,” despite its nearly three-hour running time. (James Lapine, who adapted and directed Moss Hart’s memoir, was left off the director’s list because he didn’t cut his own material.) Hatred is too weak a word to describe the reaction to “The Realistic Joneses.” The nominators loathed it. And that loathing turned to malice when they read my friend Charles Isherwood’s over-the-top rave for the play in the Times.
Said one nominator: “I nearly canceled my subscription to the paper when I read that.” Another said, “We’re not supposed to discuss anything, but when that play came up, people snorted.”
The nominators, by the way, are annoyed that they can’t debate or discuss anything. And some are going to press Tony officials to relax that rule next year. I agree. These are intelligent people. A little give-and-take would only enhance the nominating process. And I’d be happy to offer my services as recording secretary.
So now that the nominations are out, it’s time to anoint the favorites. They are: “Beautiful,” “Act One,” Bryan Cranston (“All the Way”), Neil Patrick Harris (“Hedwig and the Angry Inch”), Audra McDonald (“Lady Day”) and Jessie Mueller (“Beautiful”).
Now let’s see who gets knocked off the pedestal.