The exact date and format are still uncertain, but it’s been decided that this year’s long-delayed Tony Awards will be presented online in the fall.
Originally scheduled for 7 June 2020 with its customary presentation on network television, The Tonys, like everything in the realm of Broadway, were knocked askew by the Coronavirus pandemic. Government mandate shut down all Broadway theatres as of 12 March, and while some shows have set reopening dates in the fall, full-scale resumption seems quite clouded.
Although 20 plays and musicals opened on Broadway before the 2019-2020 season was cut short, only 18 of those productions – shows that had their official openings before 19 February – will be considered for the prestigious competition. The West Side Story revival, opened 20 February, and Girl from the North Country, which opened 5 March transferring from an Off-Broadway run, will not be in the running. The reasoning is that not enough Tony nominators and voters were able to see them before the shutdown.
It’s hoped that the event will happen in late October, but the specific date, like many other elements, is still to be decided.
With the elimination of Girl from North Country, the field for Best Musical will be a tight one. The eligible shows are: Moulin Rouge!; The Lightning Thief; Tina: The Tina Turner Musical; and Jagged Little Pill. And with West Side Story eliminated, there are no candidates at all for Best Musical Revival.
Things, of course, would have been much different had the season continued to its original Tony cut-off date in April. New musicals scheduled to open after the March shutdown included: Six; Diana; Mrs. Doubtfire; Flying Over Sunset; and Sing Street. Two musical revivals were also on the schedule: Company, and Caroline, or Change.
The decision to go digital was announced by the two governing associations of the Tony Awards: the Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing.
“Though unprecedented events cut the 2019-2020 Broadway season short, it was a year full of extraordinary work that deserves to be recognised,” said Charlotte St. Martin, president of the Broadway League, and Heather Hitchens, president and chief executive officer of the American Theatre Wing.
“We are thrilled not only to have found a way to properly celebrate our artists’ incredible achievements this season, but also to be able to uplift the entire theatre community and show the world what makes our Broadway family so special at this difficult time. The show must go on, no matter what – and it will.”
Ron Cohen
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