Dorothy Brock (Leading) and Peggy Sawyer (Featured) - ???

[Musicaldudepeter]

Tony rules (Billing - leading/featured etc.) aside, Why is Dorothy Brock considered a leading role and Peggy considered featured at the Tonys? Is the show not about Peggy becoming a star, etc.? Peggy certainly has more to do with the show than Brock... I don't know the show extremely well, I've only ever seen it once so I can't remember, but I was sure that Brock is a supporting role and Peggy should be considered leading? In 2001, Christine Ebersole won the Tony for leading actress and the actress playing Peggy was petitioned as featured.... Likewise, in the original production, the actress playing Peggy was considered featured. Baffles me...

[AEA AGMA SM]

"Tony rules (Billing - leading/featured etc.)"

You answered your own question right there.

[Broadway61004]

Also because it's normally the "name" star playing Dorothy (at least in Christine Ebersole's case). That naturally tends to make people think of her as leading, right or wrong.

[CurtainPullDowner]

And Tom Bosley won
Best Featured Actor playing
FIORELLO in FIORELLO!

[Matt2]

Same with Tammy Grimes winning Best Featured Actress for "The Unsinkable Molly Brown" playing Molly Brown!

[bigbelterbaby]

This happens a lot.

Like can someone tell me how Maria in West Side Story is a supporting role? Josefina Scaglione was the 1st to be nominated in lead.

The original Maria, Carol Lawrence and Josie de Guzman were nominated in supporting.

How about Carlin Glynn winning in supporting for Mona Stangly in The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas?

Then Dee Hoty was nominated in Lead for playing Mona in The Best Little Whorehouse Goes Public.

[CurtainPullDowner]

There was a simpler time when Rules were Rules,
if your name wasn't "big" enough to be above the title, you were Featured.

When did petitioning begin?

[tazber]

When producers realized their star had better award prospects in a different category.

[best12bars]

"Like can someone tell me how Maria in West Side Story is a supporting role?"

It isn't. It's a "featured" role in that particular production, because she didn't have star billing.

As much as everyone wants to equate "featured" with "supporting," they aren't the same thing.

All of this petitioning and jockeying of potential nominees in categories is done to win recognition. Just as all the campaigning for the Oscars may "suggest" a leading role in a supporting category or vice-versa.

But everyone should be clear that in Tonyland, "featured" does not equal "supporting."

[morosco]

I always found it odd that the actress playing Peggy doesn't usually get the last bow during the curtain call.

[MTVMANN]

Do you still have to have star billing to be nominated for leading?

[CurtainPullDowner]

If you are not billed above the title than a decision is made to put you in Lead.

[best12bars]

"Do you still have to have star billing to be nominated for leading?"

You can be petitioned into the leading category without star billing, as was the case with Donna McKechnie and she won.

And star-billed actors can be petitioned into the "featured" category, like Angela Lansbury recently or Audra McDonald in Ragtime.

It's all a game of chess.

The whole "petitioning" thing started not long after William Daniels refused his "featured" nomination for "1776," back in 1969. By 1975, Donna was billed exactly as Daniels (alphabetically with the entire cast) and won a leading award for A Chorus Line.

[HeyMrMusic]

...and then Charlotte d'Amboise was nominated in the featured category for the same role in the revival of A Chorus Line.

Star billing aside, there is such a thing as category fraud, something that comes up each year in the Oscar race. Who would consider the King in The King and I, Marian in The Music Man, Albert in Bye Bye Birdie, Sarah in Guys and Dolls, or Mary Lennox in The Secret Garden featured roles? And yet this is the category where Yul Brynner, Barbara Cook, Dick Van Dyke, Isabel Bigley, and Daisy Eagan won a Tony for their lead performances. Also, Jerry Orbach was nominated in this category for playing Sky Masterson, Mark Baker and Bill Hutton were nominated as the title characters in Candide and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat respectively, Chita was nominated as Rosie in Bye Bye Birdie, Mary Beth Piel was nominated as Anna in The King and I, Alyson Reed was nominated as Sally Bowles in Cabaret, Daniel Jenkins was nominated as Huck Finn in Big River, and LaChanze was nominated as TiMoune in Once on This Island. Huh? Quite strange, and yet it's technicality and politics.

Perhaps it should go both ways: The producers can petition for an actor or actress to be considered leading/featured despite billing and also the nominating committee can decide to bump someone to leading or featured when they nominate. At the Oscars, there is no distinction and people nominate where they see fit, sometimes ignoring "for your consideration" ads. Isn't this what happened when Lynn Redgrave was nominated for Leading Actress in a Play for The Constant Wife despite already being determined eligible in the featured category?

[Matt2]

"As much as everyone wants to equate 'featured' with 'supporting,' they aren't the same thing."

You're right Besty, but Rita Moreno would disagree with you on that one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8nj-mNKApQ

"The only thing I support is my beads!"

[Leadingplayer]

I don't think anybody petitioned to move McKecnie. I think the comittee just did it.

[Leadingplayer]

I bet we'll see Ricky Martin nominated for lead this year ecen though Patinkin was in featured.

[dramamama611]

I believe someone explained here on the last thread about this something "like": it was originally coined as these characters for leading ACTOR and not leading PERFORMANCE. In other words, you were competing amongst other actors of your caliber/experience.

Is it time for that to change? I think so, and I agree that the nominating committee should be able to make the decision regardless of whether the producers bring it to their attention or not. I do think that TODAY, it is usually "right" where folks get nominated.

[The Distinctive Baritone]

I could be wrong, but sometimes the Tony committee will just make their own category decisions, despite billing, petitioning, etc.