The Tony Awards nominations were pushed back a week after a series of show cancellations disrupted nominators’ ability to see all the Broadway performances under consideration for the awards, the Broadway League said in a statement Friday.
Originally slated for May 3, the nomination announcement will be moved to May 9. The period when nominators can go see shows will be extended to May 4 instead of initially April 28.
“Due to the challenges that Broadway has faced in recent weeks, and in an effort to allow nominators to see Tony eligible shows, we have decided to extend the deadline for eligibility requirements,” said Charlotte St. Martin, president of the Broadway League and Heather Hitchens, president and CEO of the American Theatre Wing, in the statement.
The Broadway League is the Broadway trade association and organizes the Tonys with the American Theatre Wing, the nonprofit that founded the awards.
As the BA.2 subvariant continues to spread and cases rise, several Broadway plays were forced to cancel performances after cast contracted COVID-19. A revival of “Macbeth” was delayed after star Daniel Craig tested positive earlier in April. The comedy “Plaza Suite” also canceled shows when husband and wife co-stars Matthew Broderick and Sarah Jessica Parker tested positive.
On April 15, the Broadway League extended Broadway’s mask mandate for theatergoers through May 31.
The Tony Award’s 75th edition is scheduled to air June 12.