Although we are five months into the year-long Tony Awards season, only one contender has opened — the first rialto revival of the 1983 Best Musical winner “Cats.” Another, Simon McBurney‘s one-man show “The Encounter,” is set to debut tonight. As you can see from the calendar below, a sizable number of the 28 productions confirmed for this season will make their Broadway bows in the weeks leading up to the end of the eligibility period on April 27, 2017. Nominations will be announced on May 2 and the 71st annual Tony Awards will be handed out in a three-hour ceremony telecast live on CBS on June 11.
While there will inevitably be additions to this roster, the current line-up consists of 9 musicals, 9 play revivals, 6 plays, and 4 musical revivals. Compare that to last season, which saw 36 Tony-eligible productions (11 musicals, 11 play revivals, 9 plays, and 5 musical revivals).
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Throughout the course of the season, the 24 members of the administration committee will attend each of these productions and determine their eligibility in specific categories, such as which of these will be deemed revivals. Although we can confidently bet on a show like “Hello, Dolly!” being considered a revival, no decision is final until committee issues its ruling.
Consider the case of “Jitney,” a play written by August Wilson back in 1979 that is making its Broadway debut this season. The committee may well regard it to be a “classic” because of its long legacy of regional and Off-Broadway productions and thus classify it as a revival. Likewise, “The Present” defies easy classification: Although it’s an adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s 1878 play “Platonov,” Andrew Upton has so updated the story that it may be different enough to be considered a new play.
In addition to this season’s 28 shows, several special events will have limited engagements, including “Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons On Broadway!” and “Kristin Chenoweth: My Love Letter to Broadway.” Although the Tonys eliminated the “Best Special Theatrical Event” category in 2010, these types of productions may be considered for a special award by the administration committee.
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July 2016
7/31: “Cats” (Musical Revival)
September 2016
9/29: “The Encounter” (Play)
October 2016
10/6: “Holiday Inn: The New Irving Berlin Musical” (Musical)
10/10: “Oh, Hello on Broadway” (Play)
10/13: “Heisenberg” (Play)
10/16: “The Cherry Orchard” (Play Revival)
10/20: “The Front Page” (Play Revival)
10/27: “Falsettos” (Musical Revival)
10/30: “Les Liaisons Dangereuses” (Play Revival)
November 2016
11/14: “Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812” (Musical)
December 2016
12/1: “A Bronx Tale” (Musical)
12/4: “Dear Evan Hansen” (Musical)
12/11: “In Transit” (Musical)
January 2017
1/8: “The Present” (Play)
1/19: “Jitney” (Play Revival)
March 2017
3/2: “Significant Other” (Play)
3/6: “Burn This” (Play Revival)
3/9: “The Glass Menagerie” (Play Revival)
3/12: “Come From Away” (Musical)
3/16: “The Price” (Play Revival)
3/23: “Miss Saigon” (Musical Revival)
April 2017
4/5: “Present Laughter” (Play Revival)
4/13: “Oslo” (Play)
4/17: “Groundhog Day” (Musical)
4/19: “The Little Foxes” (Play Revival)
4/20: “Hello, Dolly!” (Musical Revival)
4/23: “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” (Musical)
4/24: “Anastasia” (Musical)
