Best Replacement Tony Award is No More

Back in September 2005, the Tony Awards Administration created a new Tony category: the Best Performance by an Actor or Actress in a Recreated Role. Less than a year later the category, which was never awarded, is gone, according to The New York Post.

This year was the first year any performer was eligible to win the Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actor or Actress in a Recreated Role. The category was instituted on a trial basis, only to be in effect the 2005-2006, 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 seasons unless adopted permanently. The award was to be chosen by the Tony Awards Administration Committee a group comprised of 24 members and winners were required to obtain a minimum of 16 votes to pick up the prize. Fiddler on the Roof's Harvey Fierstein and Dirty Rotten Scoundrel's Jonathan Pryce were contenders, but neither received the necessary votes. Thus, in a controversial move, the Tony Awards Administration opted not to give the award. Pryce publicly stated his displeasure with the process.

The Administration Committee voted unanimous to abandon the category last week. It is possible in future years there could be special awards given to replacements, but there is no longer an official category in which they fit.