Tony Awards administrators have decided to hold an online ceremony this fall to honor shows that opened before the coronavirus pandemic shuttered Broadway.
The American Theater Wing and the Broadway League — the two organizations that present the awards — announced the decision Friday morning.
It was not immediately clear how many shows would be eligible for consideration. Twenty plays and musicals opened during the abbreviated 2019-20 season, but a few might be deemed ineligible because they were open for such a short period of time that not enough Tony nominators or voters got a chance to see them.
The awards administrators said in a statement that they would determine eligibility “in the coming days.” But it is widely expected that “Girl From the North Country” and “West Side Story” will not be eligible to compete because they opened too close to the shutdown.
“Though unprecedented events cut the 2019-2020 Broadway season short, it was a year full of extraordinary work that deserves to be recognized,” Charlotte St. Martin, the Broadway League president, and Heather Hitchens, the American Theater Wing president, said in a joint statement. “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 theater 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.”
The decision comes after months of uncertainty over whether and how to recognize the work that was staged on Broadway between May 2019, when a revival of “Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune” opened starring Audra McDonald and Michael Shannon; and March 2020, when the pandemic forced all 41 Broadway theaters (along with most others across the country) to close.
There were 16 plays and musicals scheduled to open between March 12, when Broadway shut down and April 23, which was the scheduled eligibility cut-off date.
The Tony Awards were established in 1947, and had been broadcast on CBS since 1978. This year’s ceremony was originally scheduled to take place on June 7 at Radio City Music Hall.
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