Editing Tony Awards (section)

==Details of the Tony Awards==
''Source: Tony Awards Official Site, Rules<ref name=rulesandreg>Staff (undated). [http://www.tonyawards.com/en_US/about/rules.html "Rules & Voting"]. tonyawards.com. Retrieved September 13, 2013.</ref>''

===Rules for a new play or musical===
For the purposes of the award, a new play or musical is one that has not previously been produced on Broadway and is not "determined… to be a 'classic' or in the historical or popular repertoire", as determined by the Administration Committee (per Section (2g) of the Rules and Regulations).<ref name=rules/> The rule about "classic" productions was instituted by the Tony Award Administration Committee in 2002, and stated (in summary) "A play or musical that is determined ... to be a 'classic' or in the historical or popular repertoire shall not be eligible for an award in the Best Play or Best Musical Category but may be eligible in that appropriate Best Revival category."<ref>Gans, Andrew; Simonson, Robert (September 19, 2002). [http://www.playbill.com/news/article/72186-New-Tony-Awards-Ruling-on-Classic-Texts-May-Affect-Current-and-Upcoming-Shows "New Tony Awards Ruling on Classic Texts May Affect Current and Upcoming Shows"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928024548/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/72186-New-Tony-Awards-Ruling-on-Classic-Texts-May-Affect-Current-and-Upcoming-Shows |date=September 28, 2013 }}.  ''[[Playbill]]''.  Retrieved September 13, 2013.</ref> Shows transferred from [[Off-Broadway]] or the [[West End theatre|West End]] are eligible as "new", as are productions based closely on films.

This rule has been the subject of some controversy, as some shows, such as ''[[Hedwig and the Angry Inch (musical)|Hedwig and the Angry Inch]]'' and ''[[Violet (musical)|Violet]]'',<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2014/04/tonys-hedwig-violet-ineligible-best-musical-category-720036/|title=Tony Bosses Declare Broadway Debutantes 'Violet' & 'Hedwig' Ineligible For Best Musical Category|last=Gerard|first=Jeremy|date=April 25, 2014 |website=Deadline |language= en}}</ref> have been ruled ineligible for the "new" category, meaning that their authors did not have a chance to win the important awards of Best Play or Best Musical (or Best Score or Best Book for musicals). On the other hand, some people{{Who|date=April 2011}} feel that allowing plays and musicals that have been frequently produced to be eligible as "new" gives them an unfair advantage because they will have benefited from additional development time as well as additional familiarity with the Tony voters.

===Committees and voters===
The Tony Awards Administration Committee has twenty-four members: ten designated by the American Theatre Wing, ten by The Broadway League, and one each by the Dramatists Guild, Actors' Equity Association, United Scenic Artists and the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers. This committee, among other duties, determines eligibility for nominations in all awards categories.<ref>Gans, Andrew. [http://www.playbill.com/news/article/190384-Tony-Administration-Committee-Convenes-for-Final-Meeting-of-the-Season-April-25 "Tony Administration Committee Convenes for Final Meeting of the Season April 25"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140426104049/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/190384-Tony-Administration-Committee-Convenes-for-Final-Meeting-of-the-Season-April-25 |date=April 26, 2014 }} playbill.com, April 25, 2014</ref>

The Tony Awards Nominating Committee makes the nominations for the various categories. This rotating group of theatre professionals is selected by the Tony Awards Administration Committee. Nominators serve three-year terms and are asked to see every new Broadway production.<ref name=nomin>Gans, Andrew. [http://www.playbill.com/news/article/192264-50-Member-Tony-Awards-Nominating-Committee-Announced-for-2014-15-Season 50-Member Tony Awards Nominating Committee Announced for 2014–15 Season"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140613070757/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/192264-50-Member-Tony-Awards-Nominating-Committee-Announced-for-2014-15-Season |date=June 13, 2014 }} playbill.com, June 11, 2014</ref> The Nominating Committee for the 2012–13 Broadway season (named in June 2012) had 42 members;<ref>Jones, Kenneth (June 18, 2012). [https://archive.today/20130131134310/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/167162-Mark-Brokaw-Cheyenne-Jackson-Liza-Gennaro-Adam-Guettel-and-More-Join-Tony-Nominating-Committee-for-2012-13 "Mark Brokaw, Cheyenne Jackson, Liza Gennaro, Adam Guettel and More Join Tony Nominating Committee for 2012–13"]. ''[[Playbill]]''.  Retrieved September 13, 2013.</ref> the Nominating Committee for the 2014–2015 season has 50 members and was appointed in June 2014.<ref name=nomin/>

There are approximately 868 eligible Tony Award voters (as of 2014),<ref name=rulesandreg/> a number that changes slightly from year to year. The number was decreased in 2009 when the first-night critics were excluded as voters.<ref>{{registration required|date=September 2013}} Healy, Patrick (July 15, 2009). [https://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/16/theater/theaterspecial/16tony.html?_r=1&8dpc "Tony Awards Committee Trims List of Voters, Citing Conflicts"]. ''[[The New York Times]]''.  Retrieved July 15, 2009.</ref><ref>Gans, Andrew. [http://www.playbill.com/news/article/131109-First-Nighters-Lose-Tony-Voting-Privilege "First-Nighters Lose Tony-Voting Privilege"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714171547/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/131109-First-Nighters-Lose-Tony-Voting-Privilege |date=July 14, 2014 }} playbill.com, July 14, 2009</ref> That decision was changed, and members of the [[New York Drama Critics' Circle]] were invited to be Tony voters beginning in the 2010–2011 season.<ref>Gans, Andrew. [http://www.playbill.com/news/article/138184-Tony-Awards-Extend-Votes-to-Members-of-New-York-Drama-Critics-Circle "Tony Awards Extend Votes to Members of New York Drama Critics' Circle"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714154742/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/138184-Tony-Awards-Extend-Votes-to-Members-of-New-York-Drama-Critics-Circle |date=July 14, 2014 }} playbill.com, March 25, 2010</ref>

The eligible Tony voters include the board of directors and designated members of the advisory committee of the American Theatre Wing, members of the governing boards of Actors' Equity Association, the Dramatists Guild, the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers, United Scenic Artists, and the Association of Theatrical Press Agents and Managers, members of the Theatrical Council of the Casting Society of America and voting members of The Broadway League (in 2000, what was then The League of American Theaters and Producers changed membership eligibility and Tony voting status from a lifetime honor to all above-the-title producers, to ones who had been active in the previous 10 years. This action disenfranchised scores of Tony voters, including [[Gail Berman]], [[Harve Brosten]], [[Dick Button]], [[Tony Lo Bianco]], and [[Raymond Serra]]).

===Eligibility date (Season)===
To be eligible for Tony Award consideration, a production must have officially opened on Broadway by the eligibility date that the Management Committee establishes each year. For example, the cut-off date for eligibility the 2013–2014 season was April 24, 2014.<ref>Gans, Andrew. [http://www.playbill.com/news/article/183019-68th-Annual-Tony-Awards-Will-Be-Broadcast-Live-from-Radio-City-Music-Hall?tsrc=hph "68th Annual Tony Awards Will Be Broadcast Live from Radio City Music Hall"], Playbill, October 9, 2013. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222211111/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/183019-68th-Annual-Tony-Awards-Will-Be-Broadcast-Live-from-Radio-City-Music-Hall?tsrc=hph |date=February 22, 2014 }}.</ref> The season for Tony Award eligibility is defined in the Rules and Regulations.

In 2020, the 74th Annual Tony Awards were postponed due to the [[COVID-19]] pandemic.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/major-events-cancelled-or-postponed-due-to-the-coronavirus-2020|title=Here is the latest major events that have been canceled or postponed because of the coronavirus outbreak, including the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the Cannes Film Festival, and the 74th Annual Tony Awards|last1=Casado|first2=Joey |last2=Hadden |first1=Laura |date=Apr 10, 2020 |website=Business Insider|access-date=April 2, 2020}}</ref> On August 21, 2020, it was announced that the 74th Annual Tony Awards would take place digitally later in 2020.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://playbill.com/article/the-2020-tony-awards-to-be-held-digitally-this-fall|title=The 2020 Tony Awards to Be Held Digitally This Fall|last=McPhee|first=Ryan|website=Playbill|date=August 21, 2020|access-date=August 21, 2020}}</ref>

===Broadway theatre===
A Broadway theatre is defined as having 500 or more seats, among other requirements. While the rules define a Broadway theatre in terms of its size, not its geographical location, the list of Broadway theatres is determined solely by the Tony Awards Administration Committee. As of the 2016–2017 season, the list consisted solely of 41 theaters: 40 located in the vicinity of [[Times Square]] in New York City and [[Lincoln Center]]'s [[Vivian Beaumont Theater]].<ref>Pincus-Roth, Zachary (February 7, 2008). [http://www.playbill.com/news/article/114923.html "Ask Playbill.com: Broadway or Off-Broadway{{spaced ndash}} Part I"]. ''[[Playbill]]''.  Retrieved September 13, 2013.</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/02/theater/hudson-theater-broadway.html|title=The Hudson Theater Is Back on Broadway|work=The New York Times |date=February 2, 2017 |access-date=September 4, 2018 |last1=Piepenburg |first1=Erik }}</ref>