What defines a “Broadway” show?
Interestingly, the definition doesn’t depend on location; rather, it depends on size. A production must be produced in a theatre that has 500 or more seats. It’s coincidental that pretty much all of those theatres are in Times Square or around Lincoln Center.

What defines a “new” play or musical?
A couple of things make up the definition: It can’t have been produced on Broadway before, and it can’t be a classic or part of the “historic or popular repertoire.” Naturally, there’s been some quibbling over this, e.g., can a show still be considered “new” if it’s had a couple of out-of-town try-out productions or if it’s a transfer of an Off-Broadway show; but ah well. Someone’s always going to be unhappy.

When does a production have to be open by in order to be eligible for nomination?
An “eligibility date” is set by the Management Committee each year. By the time that date has come around, productions must have officially opened in order to be eligible for nominations. For example, the eligibility date for the 2008-09 season was April 30, 2009. Shows that opened after that date were not eligible for the Tonys that year; however, they WERE eligible for for the 2009-10 season.

Who chooses the nominees?
There are two tiers of decision-making, the first of which is the Administration Committee. This committee is responsible for selecting the second tier, the Nomination Committee. The Nomination Committee rotates every three years and consists of up to 30 theatre professionals. These 30 people are asked to see every new Broadway production over the course of the season and meet after the eligibility date detailed above. They vote for their selection of the nominees via secret ballot, and the results are announced the following morning.

How does the actual voting of the awards work?
Back in 1947– the year of the very first Tony Awards– the voting pool was limited to the members of the American Theatre Wing, which was responsible for creating the Tony Awards in the first place. The pool was expanded in 1954 to include a whole bunch of other theatre professionals, and these days, there roughly 700 voters each year, give or take. Besides the American Theatre Wing and the Tony Nomination Committee, voters can come from the boards of any number of places: The Broadway Leagues, the New York Drama Critics’ Circle, the Association of Theatrical Press Agents and Managers, the different labor unions for actors, directors, playwrights, and choreographers (yes, we all have unions; they’re what give us health insurance, among other things), and so on. Voters are required to see any and all nominated productions, though if they don’t quite manage that, they’re not allowed to vote in any category in which they haven’t seen all of the nominees. As with the selection of the nominees, voting for winners happens through a secret ballot in the weeks leading up to the awards ceremony. The winners are known only by a chosen few, and they’re kept under lock and key until the ceremony.

Can there be ties?
Yep; in 2009, for instance, Billy Elliot and Next to Normal tied for Best Orchestrations

May the best plays win!

Related posts:

• Video Gallery: Neil Patrick Harris and Other Awesome Hosts of the Tony Awards
• 5 Things You Didn’t Know About the Tony Awards
• Video: Lea Michele And Matthew Morrison’s Powerful Tony Awards Performance
• Countdown to the Tony Awards: Tonys By Numbers

Post from: Crushable

Apparently, facial scarring is an ancient Sudanese custom. These bumps are a sign of bravery in men, and beauty in women. But here’s the part that really rubs me the wrong way:

“In the south, women sometimes have their entire bodies scarred in patterns that reveal their marital status and the number of children they have had.”

That’s pretty disturbing. Here’s another woman with facial scars that display what tribe she is part of:

What do you think? Am I overreacting? Because I don’t really see the upside in scarring women according to how many children they’ve had.

Post from: Crushable

Sadly, despite the best efforts of people like Lindsay, the public vote on Prop 8 was a “Yes” in California (a 52% majority). So there is now a ban on gay marriage. How horrible! Feels like Obama was a step forward, but this was a step back.

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Here is a video of Lindsay Lohan at the polls – to cast her vote for Obama and to vote ‘No’ on Prop 8 (the ban on gay marriage):

And what’s that Lindsay’s carrying?! A new movie script, it looks like!!

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Lindsay also reminds everyone in the US that tomorrow is an important date – and that every vote counts.

“The future of our country depends on it. Just one vote can make such a difference… Vote-because your thoughts are worth it..VOTE-because YOU can make this country a better place…VOTE-because you can.”

Lindsay Lohan will be voting for Obama – will you vote?

Lindsay ends her blog post with “RIP Max” for Samantha. Do you think that was perhaps Sam’s dog? If so, that’s so sad! Well, sad no matter who Max was!

Here are some other celebrities speaking up to get you to vote:

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