Most New York City theater companies will now be eligible for the annual Tony Award honoring a regional American theater, a long-discussed change that widens the pool of candidates for an honor that can help with fundraising, marketing and ticket sales. The decision does not make Off Broadway productions eligible for the Tonys for best play, best musical or other catgeories, which would be a much more radical shift that some theater critics have championed but Tony organizers do not foresee.
The change was announced Thursday by a committee of Broadway theater executives and others who help oversee the Tonys; as customary, the announcement came without details about the committee’s private deliberations. But several committee members said in interviews that the previous rule - barring theaters in the five boroughs from the regional Tony award - has been debated on and off for more than a decade, given the desire to honor New York City theaters that have no shot at a Tony because their productions are not eligible. Only shows running in Broadway’s 40 houses are considered for the Tonys, the theater industry’s best-known honor.
No one theater company conspicuously lobbied for the change, the committee members said. But over the years, some leaders and board members of New York theaters have questioned the fairness of denying New York artists from an honor that can benefit the institution.
“There has been so much talk about this issue, and what was fair and right, but it never got resolved,†said Paul Libin, a committee member and executive vice president of Jujamcyn Theaters, which owns five Broadway houses. There wasn’t any particular reason the change came this year as opposed to last year, he added.
The award was first given in 1976 to Arena Stage, of Washington, D.C., and was originally seen as a way to honor theaters outside New York in the Tonys, given that the awards are focused on Broadway and honor many actors, producers, directors and designers who happen to live in the city. In past years the award has been presented to many of the top regional theaters in the country, including the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles, Steppenwolf Theater Company in Chicago, Alliance Theater in Atlanta and, at the Tonys ceremony on Sunday, the Huntington Theater Company in Boston. In the future theaters in New York City - like the Public, Second Stage, Atlantic, Signature, Theater for a New Audience, and many smaller troupes - will be eligible alongside other theaters nationwide.
“This is a wonderful decision, and a just decision, because Off Broadway and Off Off Broadway uphold the same artistic ideals as American regional theaters, and also contribute to staging new work and important classics,†said J.R. Sullivan, artistic director of the Pearl Theater Company, which focuses on producing revivals of classic plays. “This award can add real luster to a company, and also bring meaningful new attention to its work.â€
Mr. Libin and other committee members said they did not think this new change would open the door to future consideration of Off Broadway productions for the major Tony Awards like best play, best musical, and performance categories, because of an array of challenges - such as having the 20-odd Tony nominators see all Off Broadway shows (they now only have to see Broadway shows) and having Tony voters (868 this year) see nominated Off Broadway productions, which usually run in smaller theaters for briefer periods than Broadway shows.
New York City theater companies that have Broadway houses will not be eligible for the award; those are Lincoln Center Theater, Roundabout Theater Company and Manhattan Theater Club.
