Many of this year’s top Tony Awards nominations were unpredictable in light of a new rule that could have allowed up to five shows to be nominated in the fields of best musical, play, musical revival and play revival.
Below are some of the most noticeable snubs:
“Cabaret”
Although the Roundabout’s current production is just a shameless recreation of its 1998 revival (which won the Tony for Best Musical Revival that year), it was still eligible to be nominated again in the same category. And since only four musical revivals opened on Broadway this year, it was assumed that “Cabaret” would be nominated again by default. The nominators, however, went out of their way to exclude “Cabaret,” nominating only “Les Miserables,” “Violet” and “Hedwig and the Angry Inch.” Michelle Williams, who plays Sally Bowles, was snubbed for Best Actress. Alan Cumming was ineligible for nomination since he won Best Actor in a Musical for the same role in 1998.
Daniel Radcliffe
This marked the former “Harry Potter” star’s third Broadway outing following “Equus” and “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.” It is now also the third time he has been snubbed for a Tony nomination. This is especially surprising considering that he received critical acclaim for his moving performance as a physically deformed dreamer living in an Irish island community in the 1930s.
“Of Mice and Men”
This strongly-acted revival of the rarely-seen stage adaptation of John Steinbeck’s timeless novella was passed up in the category of Best Play Revival in light of it being an especially crowded category, although Chris O’Dowd was rightfully nominated for his exceptional performance as the mentally challenged Lenny.
“The Realistic Joneses”
Will Eno’s strange, experimental comedy, which receive a huge rave from the New York Times but far less enthusiastic responses from others (including myself), did not receive any Tony nominations. Even its starry cast (Toni Collette, Michael C. Hall, Marisa Tomei and Tracy Letts) was shut out.
