2024 Tony Awards eligibility rulings (round 1): Daniel Radcliffe and Lindsay Mendez compete as featured actors

Sam Eckmann
·5 min read
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The Tony Awards Administration Committee met for the first time during the 2023-2024 Broadway season on November 30, to discuss eligibility of 10 productions for the 77th Annual Tony Awards in 2024.

The productions discussed were: “Grey House,” “Once Upon a One More Time,” “Here Lies Love,” “The Cottage,” “Back to the Future: The Musical,” “The Shark is Broken,” “Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch,” “Jaja’s African Hair Braiding,” “Merrily We Roll Along” and “Gutenberg! The Musical!”

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The following determinations were made:

Briga Heelan and Justin Guarini will be considered eligible in the Lead Actress/Actor in a Musical categories for their respective performances in “Once Upon a One More Time.”

Anna Fleischle (scenic design) and Sven Ortel (projection design) will be considered jointly eligible in the Best Scenic Design of a Musical category for their work on “Once Upon a One More Time.”

Arielle Jacobs will be considered eligible in the Lead Actress in a Musical category for her performance in “Here Lies Love.”

Eric McCormack and Laura Bell Bundy will be considered eligible in the Lead Actor/Actress in a a Play categories for their respective performances in “The Cottage.”

Casey Likes will be considered eligible in the Lead Actor in a Musical category for his performance in “Back to the Future: The Musical.”

Tim Hatley (scenic design) and Finn Ross (video design) will be considered jointly eligible in the Best Scenic Design of a Musical category for their work on “Back to the Future: The Musical.”

Duncan Henderson (scenic design) and Nina Dunn for PixelLux (video design) will be considered jointly eligible in the Best Scenic Design of a Play category for their work on “The Shark is Broken.”

Justin Ellington (sound design) and Stefania Bulbarella (video design) will be considered jointly eligible in the Best Sound Design of a Play category for their work on “Jaja’s African Hair Braiding.”

Daniel Radcliffe and Lindsay Mendez will be considered eligible in the Featured Actor/Actress in a Musical categories for their respective performances in “Merrily We Roll Along.”

All other eligibility will be consistent with the opening night credits.

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As a reminder: Tony eligibility aligns with a performer’s opening night billing in the Playbill. Actors listed above the title are considered Lead while those below the title are considered Featured, unless otherwise stated in a determination above.

Arguably the most significant announcement from this group of decisions is Daniel Radcliffe and Lindsay Mendez moving to the featured races for their above-the-title roles in the hottest ticket of the season, “Merrily We Roll Along.” Splitting up the main trio of actors ensures that the men won’t have to compete with each other, with Jonathan Groff as the only eligible lead performer from the revival.

There were no special announcements for the actors from “Grey House,” “The Shark is Broken,” “Purlie Victorious,” “JaJa’s African Hair Braiding,” or “Gutenberg! The Musical!” This means Laurie Metcalf, Tatiana Maslany, and Paul Sparks will all compete as leads for “Grey House.” Alex Brightman, Colin Donnell, and Ian Shaw will contend as featured actors for “The Shark is Broken.” Leslie Odom Jr. will be the sole lead of “Purlie Victorious.” The entire cast of “Jaja’s African Hair Braiding” is eligible in the featured categories. Comedic duo Josh Gad and Andrew Rannells will compete as lead actors for “Gutenberg! The Musical!”

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These determinations did not mention whether “Here Lies Love” and “Gutenberg! The Musical!” would compete as new musicals or revivals (both have had prior Off-Broadway runs and have been produced in other parts of the country). But a representative for the Tony Awards confirmed that “Here Lies Love” will be eligible for Best Musical, while “Gutenberg! The Musical” will be eligible for Revival of a Musical. This also means that David Byrne and Fatboy Slim will be eligible in Best Score for their catchy disco-pop tunes.

As previously announced, the upcoming ceremony will broadcast live from the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City on Sunday, June 16, 2024. It will be the first time in history that the Tonys will take place on the Lincoln Center campus. The eligibility cut-off date for the 2023-2024 season is Thursday, April 25, 2024. Broadway productions must host their opening nights by this date in order to compete. Nominations for the 2024 Tony Awards will be announced on Tuesday, April 30, 2024.

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