The Performer Life
The Tony Awards
The Online Award Show
The Tony Awards is the biggest award show for theater professionals and lovers alike. I look forward to watching them every year. Even though 2020 has been different, The Tony Awards show must go on! Online that is!
On Oct. 15, The Tony Award nominees for 2020 were announced live on The Tony Award’s YouTube channel. Even though the 2019–2020 season was cut short due to COVID, the Broadway League has decided to honor the great performances of this past year. Check out the full list of nominees here!
My favorite category is Best Musical since there is always a lot of anticipation and excitement around it. This year, I’m definitely routing for Moulin Rouge for Best Musical. I saw the show in Nov. 2019 and loved it! The dancing was amazing and I loved the performance as a whole. While there were less shows open this year than originally expected, the Broadway League decided to celebrate the shows that were able to open before the shutdown.
The Missed Opportunities
This year, there has been a huge call for more inclusion and diversity on Broadway. While I don’t think that the Tony Award nominations could fix these deep routed problems, I do think they could have displayed more diverse thinking in their nominations. A blog post from “The Ensemblist” really got me thinking on how the Broadway League truly missed the mark in a year that could have been full of change.
One bizarre occurrence in the nominations this year is that there is only one nominee for Best Actor in a Musical. This is an important category, but because of COVID stopping productions, there was only one eligible actor. Many people think this would have been a great year to eliminate gender restrictions and have one category for Best Actor in a musical. This would be more inclusive of nonbinary people and show that gender does not define what makes a performance great. Any person should be able to play any role.
For years, there has been a push to include a Best Ensemble category into the Tony Awards. This would show inclusivity and appreciation for the show as a whole, not just the leads. As a dancer, I am often cast in the ensemble, where I am expected to sing, dance and act at the same level of the leads. I think the ensemble category is long overdue. Ensemble members have to wear so many different hats in a show and work hard to make sure the overall result is effective and smooth. Their effort has gone unnoticed for too long and I think the Broadway League needs to reevaluate their categories to show appreciation for all members of the cast.
Be sure to read the article posted by The Ensemblist here. I think the writer, Mo Brady, makes amazing points as to why the Tony Awards need to start embracing change to fit the times.
The Meaning
Receiving a Tony Award is arguably the highest honor in the theater community. While I agree with the need for change, I for one am still happy they are still hosting an award show this year. Even though the season was cut short, the theater industry is desperately in need of some happiness. I think the Tonys will remind theater professionals why we do what we do. I hope they raise awareness for art funding so that the world can see why we need to support the arts now more than ever.
How do you feel about the online Tony Awards this year? Do you agree that categories should be changed and added to foster more inclusivity in the business? Get the conversation going in the comments below!
