Stage Writes
The Official Stage Rights Blog
How Does Broadway Cast Its Deciding Votes for the Tony Awards?
We break down the complex system behind awarding the theatre’s highest honor.
Actor and actress nominees with host James Corden at the 2016 Tony Awards (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions)
The Antoinette Perry Awards—what we know today as the Tony Awards—are presented each June in recognition of distinguished artistic achievement on Broadway.
Created by the American Theatre Wing in 1947, the Tony Awards are now administered in a joint agreement between the Wing and The Broadway League, a partnership that began in 1967—the first year the ceremony was broadcast on national television. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the first Tony Awards telecast.
Here is how the nominees are chosen and how the voting takes place.
Each Broadway season runs roughly from June 1 to May 31, but the Tony eligibility is offset from that by about a month. Broadway shows eligible for the 2017 Tony Awards must have opened between April 29, 2016, and April 27, 2017.
Click here for the full article published on Playbill.com by Robert Viagas on June 8, 2017.