As we get ready to celebrate the Tonys, it is always important to look at the rules that govern the awards and what they mean. This season three major changes to the Tony rules and a lot of minor ones became public. The public version of the Tony rules has been stagnant (with one exception, discussed later) since prior to the pandemic, so these changes were pretty big news as far as these things go.

First, some may remember that prior to the 2005-2006 season, you could send nominators or voters anything. Then, during the 2005-2006 season, there were restrictions placed on what you could send. Those restrictions were suspended during the 2014-2015 season and eventually eliminated. This season, restrictions were reinstated in terms of what could be sent to nominators only. Voters still can get big swag. Nominators can only get: “(1) a souvenir book; (2) a script; (3) an audio and/or video cast recording that replicates the on-stage performance of the eligible production in whole or substantial part, including commercials or snippets; (Commercially available recordings that may separately contain additional materials are acceptable) and (4) one set of selected reviews regarding the eligible production. A cast album or sampler may be sent separately, unless available at the time of distribution of item(s) above.”

However, after the nominations, I meet with producers. And the main topic of conversation was how Alicia Keys sent a voice note to nominators. Some thought it was within the rules but just thirsty. Some thought it was against the rules, given this new rule—however, it was apparently in fact approved by the relevant people in Tony world. So it was deemed kosher.

Now, it is unclear why it is cool under the rules. Some argued to me it is because the rules covers distributions and not communications. Keys is a producer of Hell’s Kitchen, so if a producer could send a letter or voice note accompanying the package to nominators, it makes sense that such a communication from her would be legit (as it would be from any producer). But that seems generally to be an odd workaround for the current rule. I asked the Tony spokesperson if additional communications to nominators are allowed, but I received no response. (Voters also received a voice note, but as there is no restriction on materials that can go to voters, that was not curious.)

Second, a longtime Tony requirement is that, in order to vote in a specific category, you have to see all the nominees in that category. The Tonys even increased verification methods some years back. In February 2022, we were notified of a temporary revision of the requirement. The amended rule read: “For the 2022-2023 season only, a voter will have the ability to vote in each category where the voter has not viewed up to one (1) performance of each production, and up to one (1) creative element which has been nominated for an Award, and up to one (1) performance by each performer who has been nominated for an Award.” I followed up with the Tony spokesperson and I was told repeatedly the revision was only for last season because “due to circumstances beyond the control of the voter or production” many voters did not see everything. But this season the specific rule that a voter needs to “certif[y] to the Tony Awards Administration Committee that, with respect to each category in which the voter has voted, the voter has seen a performance of each production which has been nominated for an Award…” is completely gone. However, since the elimination of the rule was reported, the ballots rolled out and did in fact require voters to certify that they had seen all the nominated entries. So, the eliminated rule ended up having no practical impact. But it’s still odd.

Third, the rule that a performer needs to perform on opening night to be eligible is now completely changed. That led to the absurd Into the Woods post hoc opening night change last season, which I wrote about on BroadwayWorld, so Brian d’Arcy James could be eligible. The new rule states: “The actor or actress who is on contract to perform the role, as of the opening date, will be the actor or actress who is eligible.” In other words, if a performer is out of the show opening night, that person can still be eligible (if all the other requirements are met).

There are a few other interesting changes. If a show opens prior to April 15, producers now need to offer many more performances to Tony voters than they previously were required to. It used to be (technically) that authors who substantially re-worked a play or musical eligible in a Best Revival category would be eligible alongside producers regardless of whether they were alive or dead, now that person needs to be alive at the time of the determination. An anti-bias training has been added as a voter requirement. Additionally, the rule regarding the Lifetime Achieve in the Theatre Tony has been changed to say the Administration Committee may only give it to “an individual,” as opposed to the old rule of “to one or more individuals.” I could not get an answer from a Tony spokesperson on what that change means; more than one person received it this year, so it’s possible it just means that a group cannot get it. However, with the Tony spokesperson not responding, it’s unclear.

And, with that, it’s on with the show!

A final note: Tony Awards spokesperson Joseph Schneider of R&CPMK claimed an earlier version of this story I wrote, with less facts, contained “numerous inaccuracies.” However, Schneider identified not a single one. I asked repeatedly for him to identify those inaccuracies or change his statement, but he declined. I have fact-checked and not identified any factual errors. I have asked two members of the Tony Awards Administration Committee to read both this and the prior story and they have not identified any errors. Therefore, I believe this piece to be factually correct. However, as a disclaimer, the Tony Awards official statement is that there are numerous inaccuracies in this story.