The Tony Admin Committee is Poised to Change the Tony Race

By the end of December, there has traditionally been one meeting of the Tony Awards Administration Committee to determine Tony eligibility. This season there has yet to be a meeting, leaving open a big question: which plays will be revivals and which will be new.

Since the 2002-2003 season, the Administration Committee can name something a "revival" even if it was never previously on Broadway. That season Terrence McNally's FRANKIE AND JOHNNY IN THE CLAIR DE LUNE was ruled eligible in the revival category and, years later, the same for his IT'S ONLY A PLAY. Martin McDonagh's THE CRIPPLE OF INISHMAAN is another play that was named a revival. His HANGMEN, on the other hand, was considered a new play last season, even though it premiered in London in 2015. HANGMEN's trajectory was unusual however -- its American premiere wasn't until 2018 and the pandemic thwarted its 2020 Broadway birth.

Producers answer whether the script they are producing has "been previously produced in any manner that would suggest that it has become a "classic" or has entered into the historical or popular repertoire." The Administration Committee then determines, "in its sole discretion," whether a play is "new" or a "revival." This season most think OHIO STATE MURDERS will be deemed revival and the other on-the-fence shows (THE KITE RUNNER, COST OF LIVING, BETWEEN RIVERSIDE AND CRAZY, THE THANKSGIVING PLAY) will be eligible as new plays. But does that make sense under the rule? Let's look.

THE KITE RUNNER

San Jose Repertory hosted the play's world premiere in 2009. THE KITE RUNNER then had several major American mountings, including at the Arizona Theatre Company, Actors Theatre of Louisville and Cleveland Play House. It has also played internationally, notably having West End runs and UK tours.

COST OF LIVING

After premiering at Williamstown in 2016, COST ran off-Broadway in 2017 and won the 2018 Pulitzer. A representative from Broadway Licensing stated it has been licensed "dozens of times." Many of the planned productions at major theaters were delayed because of the pandemic. The Broadway production was the off-Broadway production with two new cast members, making this mounting akin to a delayed transfer.

BETWEEN RIVERSIDE AND CRAZY

Another show that is a Pulitzer winner, has been licensed "dozens of times" according to Broadway Licensing and came to Broadway with its director and much of its cast from an off-Broadway mounting. But RIVERSIDE is older and better known than COST. The 2015 Second Stage production followed a 2014 Atlantic Theater run. Subsequently it has been mounted at such major regionals as Steppenwolf, Pittsburgh Public Theater and Cleveland Play House.

OHIO STATE MURDERS

This drama premiered at Cleveland's Great Lakes Theater Festival in 1992, so it is the oldest. It has been produced off-Broadway twice (at Signature and Theatre for a New Audience) and has had scattered other mountings, including at Washington University in St. Louis and The American Repertory Theatre. During the pandemic, a few companies presenting streaming versions of the piece. But Adrienne Kennedy's plays are famously taught more than produced and the question is whether a play was "produced in any manner" such that it should be considered a revival. (Caveat: Licensing companies always share specific numbers or general guidance as to the number of licenses. By sharing this semi-public information, the licensor can ensure accuracy and also spin the figure. Concord Theatricals oddly did not provide numerical guidance for this story, so the facts I'm providing about this play and THE THANKSGIVING PLAY are based solely on my own research.)

THE THANKSGIVING PLAY

This play premiered at the Artists Repertory Theatre in April 2018 and ran at Playwrights Horizons later that year. It was one of American Theatre's most produced plays of the 2019-2020 season and has been licensed at least forty times. Its mountings include runs at Cincinnati Playhouse, Geffen Theatre, and Lyric Stage Company. The Broadway production is not the off-Broadway production, so it cannot be considered a transfer.

The Administration Committee is expected to meet in January and determine eligibility for the first four of these plays.