By Jennifer R Jones | Posted on June 12, 2014 2:33 PM
It was just announced who the Tony Award Nominating Committee will be for the 2014-5 season. This year, it includes 50 individuals, which is more than in years past.
Voters and Nominators
The Tony Awards are an immensely important event for the theatre community, distinguishing the top honors for shows and artists, making and sometimes breaking careers. Presently, there are approximately 700 Tony Voters – that is, people to whom free tickets are allotted for all Broadway shows in a given year, and who then get to place their vote for each category. It is expected that voters will attend all nominated productions so that they are able to make informed decisions. This group of individuals is made up of members of the Broadway League, which includes many Broadway producers, in addition to members of the governing boards of the Actors Equity Association, the Dramatists Guild, as well as unions and organizations of directors, choreographers, scenic designers, theatre press agents, and theatre casting agents.A Larger Group of Nominators Chosen for the 2014-5 Season
Though 700 people ultimately get to vote for the awards, it is alarming how few individuals get to decide who is nominated in the
Who Are These Esteemed Individuals?
The range of theatre professionals included in this group is impressive. It includes, for instance, the leadership of certain New York not-for-profit theatre institutions including Arin Arbus, the Associate Artistic Director of Theatre for a New Audience; Douglas Aibel, the Artistic Director of the Vineyard Theatre; Christian Parker, the Associate Artistic Director of the Atlantic Theater Company; Arlene Shuler, the President and CEO of New York City Center; and Preston Whiteway, the Executive Director of the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center. It also includes individuals affiliates with university arts programs, including Mark Brokaw, the Artistic Director of the Yale Institute for Musical Theatre (also a prominent director); Mary Schmidt Campbell, the Dean of Tisch School of the Arts at NYU; Kent Gash, the Founding Director of NYU Tisch School of the Arts’ New Studio on Broadway; and Ravi S. Rajan, the Dean of the School of the Arts at SUNY Purchase. This year’s group also includes journalists such as John Darnton, the former Cultural Editor of The New York Times; Corby Kummer, a Senior Editor at the Atlantic Magazine; and Jim McLaughlin, the Former Producer at CBS News/ TV Features.