THE LIFE OF A TONY AWARDS® VOTER
May 31, 2019 / Blog
Ever watched seven Broadway shows in one week? That’s what Tom Gabbard’s agenda called for recently, including one rare midnight performance, specially created to accommodate the schedules of Tony Award® voters hustling to see shows before ballots are due for Broadway’s biggest night. This year, the 73rd Annual Tony Awards® will take place on June 9.
Since 1997, Gabbard, Blumenthal’s CEO, has been part of the select group of industry professionals charged with picking Broadway’s best shows and artists.
“It’s a great honor,” says Gabbard. “It’s a limited number of us given that privilege so it’s important that we take it seriously.”
About half of the eligible voters, including Gabbard, received their credentials through full membership in The Broadway League, the national trade association for the commercial theater industry. Other voting slots are reserved for representatives of the American Theatre Wing, Actor’s Equity Association, the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers, and various other guilds.
In a typical season, Gabbard sees 35 - 45 Broadway shows. As an out of town voter with an already jam-packed calendar, fitting in all of these shows is like solving an elaborate scheduling puzzle. He keeps a detailed spreadsheet listing all the possible windows when Tony voters are invited to view a new production. Technically he is only required to see shows that are nominated for an award but in practice it’s more complicated: some productions open early in the season and quickly close or have limited runs that end before nominations come out near the end of April. “I pretty much have to see everything,” he says.
ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN
And sometimes there are unexpected hiccups along the way: like the time Kristin Chenoweth, the star of ON THE TWENTIETH CENTURY, got sick and Gabbard learned last minute that an understudy was going on in her place. (He ended up seeing the show twice so he could also catch her performance.) Or that time when the sprinkler system malfunctioned at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre before a performance of CAROLINE, OR CHANGE and the stage flooded, cancelling that night’s show. In these types of situations, the Company Manager—who is responsible for the day-to-day administrative aspects of any show—calls Tony® voters who are affected to explain what’s going on and offer alternatives.
This is live theater after all, so anything can happen. That’s the case for award recipients too. No nominee’s victory is ever a sure thing.
Gabbard recalls the 2003 - ‘04 season, for example, when everyone expected the phenomenally popular (pun intended) WICKED to sweep the Best Musical award. AVENUE Q, with its cast of puppets and people, famously launched an all out political-style campaign (including a song!) urging Tony voters to “Vote Your Heart.” The show even hosted a giant pizza party for members of the theater community at John’s Pizzeria, a Times Square haunt, all decked out in red, white and blue bunting and balloons. Cast members performed a parody tribute to the current Broadway season, all the while trying to sway voters in their direction. To everyone’s surprise, AVENUE Q ended up taking home the award.
Most years, however, any “healthy campaigning” that takes place is more likely to come in the form of shows providing voters with advanced copies of scripts or cast recordings for musicals. Gabbard also often has the chance to meet directors and writers, in a small group setting, to hear more about a production.
“I guess you could call it politicking but I consider it creating insight and understanding that goes beyond the show,” he says.
BROADWAY’S MORE THAN A STREET IN NYC
That’s an experience he tries to bring to others too. Gabbard, who is on the Board of Governors of The Broadway League, is proud that he created a series of half-hour Creative Conversations that are now part of that organization’s Annual Spring Road Conference in New York, an event which draws theater professionals from organizations around the country. Creative Conversations are talk-backs with the artists involved in current Broadway productions that are likely to tour. They are intended to help marketing teams gain a deeper understanding of shows but they are part of a political process too, says Gabbard. Shows undoubtedly hope those in attendance could influence their boss, who may be a Tony® voter.
The road represents an important block of voters. Gabbard estimates about ⅛ of them are based in a local market, not counting others in New York, such as press agents and booking agents, who have a focus on touring shows. “The road constitutes about 50% of the Broadway business when you look at dollars and attendance,” says Gabbard. “There’s no question that it’s really linked. People want to see shows succeed in New York but also as a launching place for shows on the road.”
Gabbard tries to be as objective as he can when he votes but his role as a presenter and producer are also always top of mind. “I really do honestly try to look at a show on its own merits,” he says. “...but I’m a roadie and I want to see these shows succeed beyond Broadway.”
THE TONY AWARDS CEREMONY
Gabbard attends the black tie Tony Awards® ceremony in New York every year, where he says there is always a great sense of camaraderie and community despite the cavernous size of Radio City Music Hall. (It seats almost 6,000 people.) “There’s plenty of spontaneity,” says Gabbard, which he attributes to the wonderful personalities of people who are part of the industry.
He’s also had the chance to see that massive crowd from the vantage point of the stage, accepting multiple awards on behalf of Blumenthal, which has helped produce 10 Tony Award®-winning shows through its work with the Independent Presenters Network. “And fingers crossed we’ll be adding to it this season,” says Gabbard.
THREE MORE REASONS TO WATCH THIS YEAR
- Catch the ceremony on the big screen at Blumenthal’s 15th Annual Tony Awards® Viewing Party, featuring prize giveaways and light refreshments. You can also pose for a picture holding a real Tony Award! (McGlohon Theater @ Spirit Square, Doors Open at 7pm)
- Eva Noblezada, a former student at Northwest School of the Arts and a 2013 Blumey Awards winner, is a Tony® nominee for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical for HADESTOWN! (This is her second Tony® nomination in three years.)
- Blumenthal is also vying for awards as a producer of Best Musical nominees TOOTSIE, THE PROM, AIN'T TOO PROUD and HADESTOWN and for Best Revival of a Musical nominee OKLAHOMA.
