The Tony Awards Administration Committee met yesterday in the third of their four Tony eligibility meetings, and while most of the decisions where the usual determinations about what category to place video designs and projections.
But one ruling stood out: The fine revival of David Mamet’s Glengarry Glen Ross will not compete in the important Lead Actor In A Play slot – Kieran Culkin, Bob Odenkirk and Bill Burr will each be considered eligible in the Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role, the Tony equivalent of a Supporting Actor Oscar.
The ruling is a bit surprising given that all three names are listed above the show title in the Playbill program’s Glengarry Glen Ross credits page, an indication of leading actor status. But the Administration Committee is empowered to deviate from that standard, often at the request of the production
The Committee does not discuss or explain its decisions. Deadline has reached out to a rep for the play.
Culkin, Odenkirk and Burr play the three main characters in the play: Richard Roma, Shelley Levine and Dave Moss, respectively. A fourth bold-name star of the show is Michael McKean, whose performance of sadsack George Aaronow is a below-the-title role so would would likely automatically go in the featured actor slot, with no input from the committee needed.
It’s certainly not without possibility that all four actors could be competing in the same featured actor category this year. Nominations for the 2025 Tony Awards will be announced on Thursday, May 1.
Among the other slightly curious rulings were for Operation Mincemeat, in which a five-person ensemble cast – all listed below the title in Playbill – play numerous characters. The committee decided that David Cumming and Natasha Hodgson will be considered in the leading performer/musical categories.
And one more thing: Oscar Wilde could win a Tony Award this year. His 1890 novel The Picture of Dorian Gray will be considered eligible in the Best Play category, and Wilde and the play’s adaptor Kip Williams will be considered jointly eligible as co-authors of the dazzling production starring Sarah Snookl.
The 78th Annual Tony Awards will take place Sunday, June 8 in New York’s Radio City Music Hall, airing live on CBS at 8 p.m./ET and 5 p.m.PT. The awards show will also stream on Paramount+ (live and on-demand for Paramount+ with Showtime subscribers, or on-demand for Paramount+ Essential subscribers the day after the special airs)
