Tony Awards: Reveal of Nominating Committee Members May Explain Annual Hollywood Star Boycott

Now that the theater season is over. a new one must begin. And so the Tony Awards have announced the members of the nominating committee for 2016-17. New members include humorist and screenwriter Paul Rudnick, and writer-director Peter Hedges.

Funny: the actors on the committee are people you’ve never heard of– Adrian Bailey, Harvey Evans, Jessica Stone, Jessica Molaskey. The only one who’s got name recognition is Debra Monk. No wonder Hollywood names do so poorly at nominating time. Where are all the big Broadway stars? Why aren’t they on this list? With Sally Field and a boat load of new Hollywooders coming this fall and next winter, this should be interesting. 

The next announcement will be the name of William Ivey Long’s successor as head of the American Theater Wing.

The 2016-2017 Nominating Committee includes:

• Adrian Bailey – Actor
• Victoria Bailey – Executive Director, Theatre Development Fund
• Luis Castro – Media and Entertainment Executive/Producer**
• Hope Clarke – Choreographer
• Paul Cremo – Dramaturg/Director of Opera Commissioning Program, The Metropolitan Opera
• Patricia Cruz – Executive Director, Harlem Stage/Aaron Davis Hall, Inc.**
• Trip Cullman – Director
• Edgar Dobie – Executive Producer, Arena Stage – Washington, DC**
• Scott Elliott – Director/Artistic Director, The New Group**
• Harvey Evans – Actor
• Sean Patrick Flahaven – Writer/ Composer/Orchestrator/ Conductor/Producer
• Paul Gallo – Lighting Designer
• Jenny Gersten – Former Executive Director, Friends of the High Line
• Daniel Goldfarb – Playwright, Bookwriter
• Sam Gonzalez – Dir. of Operations, Pfizer Medical/Board of Trustees, Playwrights Horizons
• Adam Gwon – Composer/Lyricist
• Roy Harris – Production Stage Manager
• Peter Hedges – Writer**
• Jack Hofsiss – Theatre, Film, Television Director
• Mara Isaacs – Founder and Director, Octopus Theatricals, LLC**
• Lou Jacob – Director at the New School for Drama
• Anne Keefe – Associate Artist, Westport Country Playhouse**
• Tom Kitt – Composer, Lyricist, Bookwriter
• Fran Kumin – Consultant, Perf. Arts Organizations/Foundations/University Theatre Programs
• Michael John LaChiusa – Composer, Lyricist, Librettist**
• Kate Levin – Cultural Assets Management Principal, Bloomberg Associates
• Reynold Levy – Former President of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
• Patricia Marx – American Humorist and Writer, Former Television Writer
• Jim McLaughlin – Former Producer, CBS News/TV Feature and Documentary Producer
• Tony Meola – Sound Designer**
• Jessica Molaskey – Actor**
• Debra Monk – Actor
• Roger Morgan – Lighting Designer, Theatre Designer
• Laurence O’Keefe – Composer
• Katherine Oliver – Media and Technology Principal, Bloomberg Associates
• Christian Parker – Chair, Graduate Theatre Program, Columbia University
• Paige Price – Actor/1^st Vice President of AEA/Executive Artistic Director, Theatre Aspen
• Ravi S. Rajan – Dean, School of the Arts – SUNY Purchase
• Paul Rudnick – Playwright, Novelist, Screenwriter, Essayist**
• Susan H. Schulman – Director/President, Stage Directors and Choreographers
• Mikki Shepard – Executive Producer, The Apollo Theatre**
• Warner Shook – Director
• Ellen Sorrin – Director, The George Balanchine Trust**
• Jessica Stone – Actor/ Director**
• Edward Strong – Producer
• Wynn Thomas – Production Designer
• Jose Antonio Vargas – Journalist/Filmmaker/Founder of Define American **
• Jennifer von Mayrhauser – Costume Designer
• Tom Watson – Retired Executive, Television Advertising
• Preston Whiteway – Executive Director, The Eugene O’Neill Theater Center
• Evan Yionoulis – Director**

**Denotes new Nominating Committee Member