Tony Administrators Rule on Eligibility of Spring Awakening, Mary Poppins & More

The Tony Award Administration Committee met on January 18 to decide the eligibility of nine Broadway productions for the 2007 Tony Awards. It was their third meeting of the 2006-2007 season; they will meet two more times to discuss eligibility before the May 9 cutoff date. Tony nominations will be announced on May 15 and the Tony Awards will be broadcast on CBS in a live three-hour ceremony from Radio City Music Hall on June 10.

The following decisions were announced regarding five shows:

Jonathan Groff and Lea Michele will be considered in the Lead Actor and Actress in a Musical categories for their performances in Spring Awakening.

Alexander Gemignani and Norm Lewis will be considered in the Lead Actor in a Musical category for their performances in Les Miserables.

Ashley Brown and Gavin Lee will be considered in the Lead Actor and Actress in a Musical categories for their performances in Mary Poppins. The score of Mary Poppins, which includes a combination of songs that appeared in the 1964 film and songs written especially for the stage show, was deemed eligible in the category of Best Score.

Will Chase will be considered in the Lead Actor in a Musical category for his performance in High Fidelity.

Marc Kudisch will be considered in the Featured Actor in a Musical for his performance in The Apple Tree.

All other decisions were consistent with the opening night credits, which are the usual method of determining which category actors will be placed in for Tony consideration.

The most notable result of the January 18 decisions was in positioning the young cast of Spring Awakening for Tony consideration. All actors had billing below the title, but bumping up romantic leads Groff and Michele lets them avoid competition with other Spring Awakening cast members such as Groff's co-star John Gallagher Jr.. However, it puts Michele in competition with Christine Ebersole's widely acclaimed performance in Grey Gardens.