This year’s Tony Award nominations will be delayed by nearly a week, administrators of the awards said Friday, because enough actors have been out with coronavirus cases that it has become difficult for awards nominators to see all the eligible performances.
The Broadway League and the American Theater Wing, who present the awards, said nominations would now be announced on May 9, instead of May 3. The awards ceremony itself will remain, as scheduled, on June 12.
The change reflects the extraordinary disruption the coronavirus pandemic has caused to this theater season. Multiple shows — on Broadway, Off Broadway, around the country, and in Britain, Canada and elsewhere — have been forced to cancel performances and shift schedules because of coronavirus cases.
On Broadway several shows have been scrambling to open before the eligibility deadline, which was scheduled to be April 28, but will now be May 4. Four new shows — “Paradise Square,” “Macbeth,” “Plaza Suite” and “A Strange Loop” — canceled multiple performances because of coronavirus cases. (Among those testing positive were the “Macbeth” star Daniel Craig and the “Plaza Suite” stars Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick.)
Even now, when all shows are running, some actors are still out. That has made it hard for the nominators to see all the eligible shows with all eligible performers onstage.
There are six shows scheduled to open next week, including “Funny Girl,” “The Skin of Our Teeth,” “A Strange Loop,” “POTUS,” “Mr. Saturday Night” and “Macbeth.”
