First of the season, from playbill.com:

Among the committee's determinations:

Max Crumm and Laura Osnes will be considered in the Leading Actor and Actress in a Musical categories for their performances in Grease.

Rosie Perez will be considered in the Featured Actress in a Play category for her performance in The Ritz.

Boyd Gaines and Jay O. Sanders will both be considered in the Featured Actor in a Play category for their performances in Pygmalion.

Daniel Sunjata will be considered in the Featured Actor in a Play category for his role in Cyrano de Bergerac.

Brian Cox and Rufus Sewell will both be considered in the Leading Actor in a Play category for their performances in Rock 'n' Roll.

Roger Bart will be considered in the Leading Actor in a Musical category for his performance in Young Frankenstein.

Martha Plimpton will be considered in the Leading Actress in a Play category for her performance in Cymbeline.

Deanna Dunagan and Amy Morton will both be considered in the Leading Actress in a Play category for their performances in August: Osage County.

Norbert Leo Butz will be considered in the Leading Actor in a Play category for his performance in Is He Dead?

Raúl Esparza, Michael McKean, James Frain and Gareth Saxe will all be considered in the Featured Actor in a Play category for their performances in The Homecoming.


Morton in Leading is something of a surprise; and it also closes the book on Sutton Foster's status in Young Frankenstein, which was somewhat in question.

I have not seen August:Osage County, but apparently Morton's part is as big if not bigger than Dunagan's, although not as showy. I personally think that one of them should have moved down, in which case they would have been prohibitive favorites to win in both categories, but now the possibility of vote-splitting really exists. The earliest buzz focused on Dunagan, but more recently, I think the tide has turned towards Morton, whom I think is the frontrunner at this point. In any event, they are both almost certainly going to be nominated, with the other three slots most likely taken by S Epatha Merkerson, Frances McDormand, and Laura Linney.

Rosie Perez in Featured is a good strategic move. She has a legitimate shot at a nomination in that category, while I would say she had no chance in Lead with that competition.

I assume having Raul Esparza in Featured is also strategic -- he and Ian McShane seem to have roughly the same size part. My personal feeling is that David Morse should have been moved to Lead as well as Raul Esparza. I also think that Alison Pill and Bobby Cannavale should be Leads as well.

I'm a little surprised that neither Sutton Foster nor Megan Mullaly got moved up to Lead.

Does anyone know if there was a ruling as to whether A Bronx Tale is a new Play, a Revival, or a Special Event?

There hasn't been any news that any of the placements were because producers petitioned to have an actor placed as such. Almost always we know that such action is being taken when it happens. As far as we know, these are 100% the committee's rulings, thus there's nothing strategic about them.

I think it would've been absurd if Mullaly had been declared leading; with Foster there's a case to be made but Mullaly is definitely featured -- she's only in 1 scene in Act 1.

It's a good question re The Bronx Tale. I'm assuming it's going to be a revival. It might be a special event, but definitely not a new play...

I always thought that petitions were extremely common and not newsworthy, but I don't know that much about it. Certainly there are so many actors above the title in some productions, it would seem absurd to consider them all to be leads. The Homecoming is the worst I've ever seen in that respect, with all 6 actors above the title, even though some of the parts are pretty small. If these aren't strategic/petitioned decisions, some of them don't make a lot of sense to me. In particular, I would be hard pressed to say that Rosie Perez and Alison Pill weren't leads in their shows. I guess the committee disagrees!

I have not seen Young Frankenstein, but I had heard rumors that they were going to try to get Foster and Mullaly in separate categories. Of course, given the reviews, it doesn't seem likely that either of them are getting nominated anyway!

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So finally having seen "August", it's absolutely true that Amy Morton's role is bigger than Deanna Dunagan's and the placement in lead for both of them is correct.

Morton benefits from having more one-liners than Dunagan (it's a more comedic role overall) and she's far more sympathetic. The way she loses it at the end of Act II is utterly magnificent and the way she gradually transforms into a version of her mother by the end of the play is terrifying.

But Dunagan gets to play addiction, lash out, verbally assault, and breakdown consistently throughout. Her role is limited in Act III but her presence is huge when she's onstage.

It's gonna be a really close race. One of them will edge out the other.

R2684, I'm headed to NYC over Memorial Day with my partner again this year, and we've got one slot left to fill. I read just today that "August: Osage County" is moving to the Music Box and opening there on April 29. I'm assuming it will still be open one month later. Should we see this? Everything I've heard about it has been fantastic. Then again, Patti LuPone is getting ready to play Mama in "Gypsy". It's a tough choice.

There are also a handful of other shows we're considering for that last slot: Xanadu, Straight Up with a Twist (Off-Bway), and Alan Palmer's Fabulous Divas of Broadway (Off-Bway).

Any opinions on any of these shows?
THANKS!

You MUST see "Xanadu". It's the most fun you'll EVER have on Broadway... A hilarious and brilliant show.

YoungRestlessOne-

"August" will almost certainly be open until the Tonys in June, at least. I know that the cast's contracts run until June (except for Amy Morton, who is up in May and is reportedly in heated negotiations) so this was always foreseen that it could run until summer. Absolutely get tickets for it. It's major. You don't want to miss it.

I haven't seen any of the others you mention. Patti got good reviews and I'll probably go see it but I gotta admit I'm a little "Gypsy" revival-weary.

I've heard such different things about "Xanadu", none of them all-out raves; pretty much everything from it's fun to it's dull.

South Pacific will also be open then. I'm sure it'll be worth seeing; Lincoln Center knows what a big deal this is: the first-ever revival of the show.

It's all about the play this season on Broadway. Seafarer, Is He Dead, Homecoming, Rock N Roll and 39 Steps are all on my list right now.

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Raul Esparza, Michael McKean, James Frain and Gareth Saxe were placed in the featured category for "The Homecoming". Eve Best wasn't mentioned, so her placement is consistent with her opening night credit. Does this mean she will compete in the leading category? Was she billed above the title?

She was - and unless some other announcement is made, which I'm assuming it won't be, since the petition probably needed to be in before the committee met - Eve Best will compete in the leading category.

It could be bad news. Leading Actress is packed this year. She's in danger of perhaps not making the cut. In Featured, she would've been the presumptive frontrunner.

"In the Heights" was among the productions which were discussed in the recent meeting of the administration committee. Does this mean that "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" was also reviewed? It opened a few days earlier but there is no mention of it in the press release. Were James Earl Jones and Phylicia Rashad credited above the title?