How INTO THE WOODS Worked Around the Tony Rules for Brian d'Arcy James

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Brian d'Arcy James is Tony eligible this season for Best Actor in a Musical for his performance in INTO THE WOODS. But he didn't perform in INTO THE WOODS on what appeared to be the revival's opening night, July 10, as required by the Tony rules for eligibility. So how is he eligible? The Broadway League allowed the show to change its opening night after the fact.

While a spokesperson for the Broadway League did not know of any official definition of "opening night," there have traditionally been some constants. On a show's opening night on Broadway, previews end, the majority of major reviews come out and Tony eligibility kicks in. The Tony Award rules state: "In order to be eligible, an actor or actress must perform in the role on the production's opening night." There are times when openings are delayed because of absences. That happened this season with KPOP--the production delayed its opening by a week because of absences among the principal cast. INTO THE WOODS did not delay. It seemingly opened on July 10. Reviews came out. People Magazine ran a story about the understudy, Jason Forbach, who went on in James' place that night. Later press releases said: "INTO THE WOODS, the first Broadway show of the 2022/2023 season, opened to rave reviews on July 10 at the St. James Theatre."

But the last press release to have that opening date was sent on October 24; subsequent releases had no opening date. Somewhere between October 26 and November 17 (as per a search of the Internet Archive), two websites maintained by the Broadway League changed the INTO THE WOODS opening date to August 6. The amount of recorded previews changed to reflect this new date: INTO THE WOODS went from having 14 to 44 previews on its IBDB listing.

There was no announcement that August 6 was an opening or re-opening. All that happened on August 6 was that Gavin Creel returned to the show. On August 6, the entire principal cast that was supposed to be on the St. James stage on July 10 if not for James' illness, was on that stage. But it had no traditional signs of an opening because the press, the printing of the opening night Playbill, etc. had already occurred. However, a production spokesperson for INTO THE WOODS confirmed: "The performance on the matinee of Saturday, August 6, 2022 was the official opening night that the League recognized for eligibility."

Therefore, rather than ask for a one-year rule modification or an exception for James, INTO THE WOODS changed its opening date, on paper only. It is unclear the meaning of a rule pegged to opening if an opening date can later be changed to any day a producer desires, but that is apparently the situation.

Given this, the most interesting part of the eligibility decision announcement might be what it did not say, but other quick takeaways:

• On the revival vs. new play front, THE KITE RUNNER and COST OF LIVING are both new, with OHIO STATE MURDERS (possibly the least produced but oldest play) going into the revival category. BETWEEN RIVERSIDE AND CRAZY was punted to the next meeting, but, based on these rulings alone, it would appear THE THANKSGIVING PLAY has to be ruled a new play. Additionally, A CHRISTMAS CAROL being eligible as a new play adds another entry in the crowded field.

• As evidence of the increased role of projection design, four fall scenic/projection design teams will be eligible jointly in the Best Scenic Design races. (Read more about the eligible CHRISTMAS CAROL team here.)

• The modified rule allowing voters to not see all the nominated shows/performances comes five years after the Tonys took steps to ensure voters saw all productions. The rule modification likely came because of the quick closings we saw this season, but, even though it was announced for this season only, it is unclear why anything would be different in the future.