Welcome back to 'Tonys Flashback', where I take a deep dive into all of the nominees of an acting category from any previous Tony Awards year. Today, we'll be taking a look back at what ended up being a very competitive race from 2012. So for each of the five nominees, let's go in order of who was (probably) last place to first place, shall we?
5. Ron Raines-Follies
5. Ron Raines-Follies
In the second Broadway revival of Stephen Sondheim & James Goldman's 1971 classic, Ron Raines played Benjamin Stone, a renowned philanthropist and politician bent on success from a young age who has achieved it and now realizes the toll it had on personal relationships. He attends a reunion of a musical revue titled Weismann's Follies along with his wife, Phyllis Rogers Stone. Although over the course of the story, Ben is so self-absorbed that Phyllis feels emotionally abandoned.
This was the first and only Tony nomination for Ron Raines. Prior to getting involved with the Kennedy Center's production of Follies in Washington, D.C. (where the revival originated), he was this journeyman character actor who had previously appeared on Broadway three times. First in a 1983 revival of Show Boat, then in a 1987 flop musical about Theodore Roosevelt's relationship with his daughter during his presidency titled Teddy & Alice, and in 2002 when he did a two-month stint as Billy Flynn in the long-running revival of Chicago. Not to mention that he also played Alan Spaulding for the last 15 years of the long-running television soap opera, Guiding Light, from 1994-2009, which earned him 3 Daytime Emmy nominations.
Leading up to the Tonys, Ron wasn't recognized by any of the precursors (Outer Critics Circle, Drama League, and Drama Desk Awards) at all. The New York Times' Tony voter survey that year said he had far less support compared to his competition as well as that the four men ahead of him in this race each had their share of passionate support. It seemed that of all 2012 nominees for Best Lead Actor in a Musical, Ron's performance/role was probably the least showy. What's also worth noting is that Benjamin Stone in Follies had previously gone unrecognized by the Tonys. John McMartin wasn't nominated for the original production in 1972, neither was Gregory Harrison for the first revival in 2001. So I think it's safe to say that Ron's nomination was the award.
4. Norm Lewis-Porgy & Bess
This was the first and only Tony nomination for Ron Raines. Prior to getting involved with the Kennedy Center's production of Follies in Washington, D.C. (where the revival originated), he was this journeyman character actor who had previously appeared on Broadway three times. First in a 1983 revival of Show Boat, then in a 1987 flop musical about Theodore Roosevelt's relationship with his daughter during his presidency titled Teddy & Alice, and in 2002 when he did a two-month stint as Billy Flynn in the long-running revival of Chicago. Not to mention that he also played Alan Spaulding for the last 15 years of the long-running television soap opera, Guiding Light, from 1994-2009, which earned him 3 Daytime Emmy nominations.
Leading up to the Tonys, Ron wasn't recognized by any of the precursors (Outer Critics Circle, Drama League, and Drama Desk Awards) at all. The New York Times' Tony voter survey that year said he had far less support compared to his competition as well as that the four men ahead of him in this race each had their share of passionate support. It seemed that of all 2012 nominees for Best Lead Actor in a Musical, Ron's performance/role was probably the least showy. What's also worth noting is that Benjamin Stone in Follies had previously gone unrecognized by the Tonys. John McMartin wasn't nominated for the original production in 1972, neither was Gregory Harrison for the first revival in 2001. So I think it's safe to say that Ron's nomination was the award.
4. Norm Lewis-Porgy & Bess
In the seventh Broadway revival of George & Ira Gershwin's classic 1935 American folk opera, Norm Lewis played Porgy, a disabled black street beggar living in the slums of Charleston, South Carolina. There, he meets Bess, a woman with a disreputable history, who is trying to break free from her brutish lover, Crown, after he becomes wanted for murder. Porgy is the only person who is willing to overlook her past and offer her shelter. Their relationship is threatened by the disapproval of the townspeople, the presence of Bess' old drug supplier Sportin' Life, and the return of Crown.
This was the first and only Tony nomination for Norm Lewis. Prior to getting involved with Porgy & Bess, he was this journeyman actor who previously appeared on Broadway in the original casts of The Who's Tommy, Side Show, The Wild Party, Amour, and The Little Mermaid. Not to mention that he also played classic roles on the main stem such as John in Miss Saigon, Billy Flynn in Chicago, and Javert in Les Misérables. In fact, when Norm first got invited to participate with this production of Porgy & Bess in particular, he assumed the creative team wanted him for the featured role of Sportin' Life as that character is usually played by a traditional musical theatre performer in the opera. However, they were crafting a version that would be more accessible to be performed by musical theatre talent. So he got to play the male lead of Porgy.
Leading up to the Tonys, Norm had nominations from the Outer Critics Circle, Drama League, and Drama Desk Awards. The Times' aforementioned survey mentioned that "Mr. Lewis is extolled by some voters for his restraint as Porgy in the Gershwin revival." The performances by him as well as his leading lady, Audra McDonald, reportedly "earned devotion among some Tony voters." The production did manage to win Best Revival of a Musical that year over the presumed frontrunner, Follies. Audra McDonald also prevailed in her category. In another year, Norm probably would've been a lot more competitive for the win. Yet, the top three contenders in this category seemed to have had more going for them in their favors. Though nonetheless, this nomination appeared to have opened a lot of doors for Norm Lewis as an actor. Following his run in Porgy & Bess, he went on to have a recurring role as Edison Davis on the Kerry Washington-led ABC drama series, Scandal, become the first African American to have ever played the title character in The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway, and had a supporting role in Spike Lee's 2020 Academy Award nominated Netflix film, Da 5 Bloods.
3. Jeremy Jordan-Newsies
This was the first and only Tony nomination for Norm Lewis. Prior to getting involved with Porgy & Bess, he was this journeyman actor who previously appeared on Broadway in the original casts of The Who's Tommy, Side Show, The Wild Party, Amour, and The Little Mermaid. Not to mention that he also played classic roles on the main stem such as John in Miss Saigon, Billy Flynn in Chicago, and Javert in Les Misérables. In fact, when Norm first got invited to participate with this production of Porgy & Bess in particular, he assumed the creative team wanted him for the featured role of Sportin' Life as that character is usually played by a traditional musical theatre performer in the opera. However, they were crafting a version that would be more accessible to be performed by musical theatre talent. So he got to play the male lead of Porgy.
Leading up to the Tonys, Norm had nominations from the Outer Critics Circle, Drama League, and Drama Desk Awards. The Times' aforementioned survey mentioned that "Mr. Lewis is extolled by some voters for his restraint as Porgy in the Gershwin revival." The performances by him as well as his leading lady, Audra McDonald, reportedly "earned devotion among some Tony voters." The production did manage to win Best Revival of a Musical that year over the presumed frontrunner, Follies. Audra McDonald also prevailed in her category. In another year, Norm probably would've been a lot more competitive for the win. Yet, the top three contenders in this category seemed to have had more going for them in their favors. Though nonetheless, this nomination appeared to have opened a lot of doors for Norm Lewis as an actor. Following his run in Porgy & Bess, he went on to have a recurring role as Edison Davis on the Kerry Washington-led ABC drama series, Scandal, become the first African American to have ever played the title character in The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway, and had a supporting role in Spike Lee's 2020 Academy Award nominated Netflix film, Da 5 Bloods.
3. Jeremy Jordan-Newsies
In this stage adaptation of Disney's 1992 live action movie musical of the same name, which in turn was inspired by the real-life newsboys strike of 1899 in New York City, Jeremy Jordan played Jack Kelly, a rebellious newsboy with a heart of gold. He also happens to be an orphaned dreamer and artist who yearns to get out of the crowded streets of New York and make a better life for himself out West. Fiercely protective of his best friend, Crutchie, and strongly loyal, Jack isn’t afraid to use his voice to attain better conditions for his fellow newsboys. While living on the streets has given him a tough-guy exterior, Jack has a big heart and can demonstrate a sweet vulnerability, especially when it comes to bantering with Katherine Plummer, a young female reporter. Though when titans of publishing raise distribution prices at the newsboys’ expense, Jack rallies newsies from across the city to strike against the unfair conditions and fight for what's right.
This was the first and only Tony nomination for Jeremy Jordan. Prior to getting involved with Newsies, he had previously appeared on Broadway as a swing in the original cast of Rock of Ages and spent 10 months as an alternate for the role of Tony in the 2009 revival of West Side Story. Not to mention that the 2011-12 season was quite a busy one for Jeremy. After starring in the world premiere production of Newsies at Paper Mill Playhouse, he immediately went on to star on Broadway as Clyde Barrow in Frank Wildhorn's musicalization of Bonnie and Clyde. Yet, when that show ended up closing after a month in New York, he became available for the main stem production of Newsies. In fact, both of those shows had the same director, Jeff Calhoun.
Leading up to the Tonys, Jeremy had nominations from the Outer Critics Circle, Drama League, and Drama Desk Awards. Predictors at the time saw him as a threat to win for a couple reasons. Newsies was a big commercial hit as well as a top tier contender for Best Musical (which you can read more about here). Jeremy's overall visibility within the past few months at that point made him one of the biggest breakout stars of the 2011-12 Broadway season. Yet, the competitive nature of the top two contenders probably led to him finishing in third place at best. It just goes to show how strong of a category Best Lead Actor in a Musical was that year. Although this nomination appeared to have opened a lot of doors for Jeremy Jordan as an actor. Following his run in Newsies, he became a series regular on the second (and final) season of NBC's Broadway centric show, Smash, starred opposite Anna Kendrick in an independent film adaptation of Jason Robert Brown's beloved cult musical, The Last Five Years, and appeared as Winn Schott in The CW's comic book/superhero show, Supergirl. Most recently, Jeremy starred as Seymour in the current Off-Broadway revival of Little Shop of Horrors.
2. Danny Burstein-Follies
This was the first and only Tony nomination for Jeremy Jordan. Prior to getting involved with Newsies, he had previously appeared on Broadway as a swing in the original cast of Rock of Ages and spent 10 months as an alternate for the role of Tony in the 2009 revival of West Side Story. Not to mention that the 2011-12 season was quite a busy one for Jeremy. After starring in the world premiere production of Newsies at Paper Mill Playhouse, he immediately went on to star on Broadway as Clyde Barrow in Frank Wildhorn's musicalization of Bonnie and Clyde. Yet, when that show ended up closing after a month in New York, he became available for the main stem production of Newsies. In fact, both of those shows had the same director, Jeff Calhoun.
Leading up to the Tonys, Jeremy had nominations from the Outer Critics Circle, Drama League, and Drama Desk Awards. Predictors at the time saw him as a threat to win for a couple reasons. Newsies was a big commercial hit as well as a top tier contender for Best Musical (which you can read more about here). Jeremy's overall visibility within the past few months at that point made him one of the biggest breakout stars of the 2011-12 Broadway season. Yet, the competitive nature of the top two contenders probably led to him finishing in third place at best. It just goes to show how strong of a category Best Lead Actor in a Musical was that year. Although this nomination appeared to have opened a lot of doors for Jeremy Jordan as an actor. Following his run in Newsies, he became a series regular on the second (and final) season of NBC's Broadway centric show, Smash, starred opposite Anna Kendrick in an independent film adaptation of Jason Robert Brown's beloved cult musical, The Last Five Years, and appeared as Winn Schott in The CW's comic book/superhero show, Supergirl. Most recently, Jeremy starred as Seymour in the current Off-Broadway revival of Little Shop of Horrors.
2. Danny Burstein-Follies
In Follies, Danny Burstein played Buddy Plummer, a traveling salesman in his early 50s who may appear to be appealing and lively, but his smiles cover inner disappointment. He is stuck in a broken marriage with Sally Durant Plummer, and has had multiple affairs. Though together, they attend the Weismann's Follies reunion.
This was the third Tony nomination for Danny Burstein. At that point, he was previously nominated for his performances in featured roles such as Aldolpho in The Drowsy Chaperone (2006) and Luther Billis in Lincoln Center Theater's revival of South Pacific (2008). Although Follies not only marked the celebrated character actor's first lead acting bid, but also his first leading role on Broadway. Here, he was a co-lead with Bernadette Peters (who played his wife), Jan Maxwell, and the aforementioned Ron Raines. Danny went on to achieve an even greater milestone in his career when he was given his first starring role on the main stem as Tevye in the 2015-16 revival of Fiddler on the Roof.
Leading up to the Tonys, he had wins from the Outer Critics Circle and Drama Desk Awards. When I saw the results from those precursors, I questioned if Danny could actually repeat with the American Theatre Wing. Follies had completed its limited run in New York about almost 5 months prior to the ceremony, and I at that point knew how hard it is for closed shows to win Tonys. The New York Times' survey said that "Danny Burstein is a Broadway baby, beloved by his peers" and that he narrowly led this race with the eventual winner. As I mentioned earlier, Follies was the frontrunner to win Best Revival of a Musical despite it being long gone from New York by the time the Tonys took place. So it made sense that predictors were thinking Danny would win here because on paper, it looked like he had a great path towards victory. What happened in the end?
1. Steve Kazee-Once
This was the third Tony nomination for Danny Burstein. At that point, he was previously nominated for his performances in featured roles such as Aldolpho in The Drowsy Chaperone (2006) and Luther Billis in Lincoln Center Theater's revival of South Pacific (2008). Although Follies not only marked the celebrated character actor's first lead acting bid, but also his first leading role on Broadway. Here, he was a co-lead with Bernadette Peters (who played his wife), Jan Maxwell, and the aforementioned Ron Raines. Danny went on to achieve an even greater milestone in his career when he was given his first starring role on the main stem as Tevye in the 2015-16 revival of Fiddler on the Roof.
Leading up to the Tonys, he had wins from the Outer Critics Circle and Drama Desk Awards. When I saw the results from those precursors, I questioned if Danny could actually repeat with the American Theatre Wing. Follies had completed its limited run in New York about almost 5 months prior to the ceremony, and I at that point knew how hard it is for closed shows to win Tonys. The New York Times' survey said that "Danny Burstein is a Broadway baby, beloved by his peers" and that he narrowly led this race with the eventual winner. As I mentioned earlier, Follies was the frontrunner to win Best Revival of a Musical despite it being long gone from New York by the time the Tonys took place. So it made sense that predictors were thinking Danny would win here because on paper, it looked like he had a great path towards victory. What happened in the end?
1. Steve Kazee-Once
In Enda Walsh's stage adaptation of John Carney's 2007 Academy Award-winning Irish film musical of the same name, Steve Kazee played a character known only to the audience as Guy, a thirty-something year old down-on-his-luck musician in Dublin. Lovesick and lost, he loves writing songs and playing guitar, but is ready to give up. That is until he becomes drawn to a Czech immigrant due to their shared love of music. Over the course of one fateful week, an unexpected friendship and collaboration quickly evolves into a powerful but complicated love story.
This was the first and only Tony nomination for Steve Kazee. Prior to getting involved with Once, he was this journeyman actor who had previously appeared on Broadway as an understudy in the 2005 revival of Edward Albee's Seascape, Sir Lancelot in Spamalot (taking over for Hank Azaria) for 6 months in 2006, Bill Starbuck in Roundabout Theatre Company's 2007 revival of 110 in the Shade starring Audra McDonald, and Sobinsky in Manhattan Theatre Club's 2008 presentation of Nick Whitby's stage adaptation of the 1942 film, To Be or Not to Be. Leading up to the Tonys, Steve had nominations from the Outer Critics Circle and Drama League Awards.
So How Did Steve Kazee Win?: It seemed that there were several factors at play here. To this day, the last time that a closed musical ended up winning a Tony for acting was in 1999 when Martin Short prevailed in this category for Little Me. So that stat certainly did not bode well for Danny Burstein's chances. Meanwhile, Once was one of the more recent shows to have opened in the season, thus it was peaking at just the right time with Tony voters. It had already won all of the Best Musical prizes at the precursors. When New York Post columnist Michael Riedel gave his final predictions, he brought up a profile the New York Times did on Steve Kazee about how he grew up in a trailer park in Appalachia. Riedel felt that won him "sympathy-and votes."
Back then, I wasn't following the Tonys to the extent that I am now, so I wasn't really aware of what people's predictions were. Going into the awards, I based my guesses off of the precursors, and figured Danny Burstein would win here with Jeremy Jordan being the alternative. By the time Best Lead Actor in a Musical was presented on the telecast, Candice Bergen had the honors of reading out each of the five nominees before announcing Steve Kazee as the winner.
This was the first and only Tony nomination for Steve Kazee. Prior to getting involved with Once, he was this journeyman actor who had previously appeared on Broadway as an understudy in the 2005 revival of Edward Albee's Seascape, Sir Lancelot in Spamalot (taking over for Hank Azaria) for 6 months in 2006, Bill Starbuck in Roundabout Theatre Company's 2007 revival of 110 in the Shade starring Audra McDonald, and Sobinsky in Manhattan Theatre Club's 2008 presentation of Nick Whitby's stage adaptation of the 1942 film, To Be or Not to Be. Leading up to the Tonys, Steve had nominations from the Outer Critics Circle and Drama League Awards.
So How Did Steve Kazee Win?: It seemed that there were several factors at play here. To this day, the last time that a closed musical ended up winning a Tony for acting was in 1999 when Martin Short prevailed in this category for Little Me. So that stat certainly did not bode well for Danny Burstein's chances. Meanwhile, Once was one of the more recent shows to have opened in the season, thus it was peaking at just the right time with Tony voters. It had already won all of the Best Musical prizes at the precursors. When New York Post columnist Michael Riedel gave his final predictions, he brought up a profile the New York Times did on Steve Kazee about how he grew up in a trailer park in Appalachia. Riedel felt that won him "sympathy-and votes."
Back then, I wasn't following the Tonys to the extent that I am now, so I wasn't really aware of what people's predictions were. Going into the awards, I based my guesses off of the precursors, and figured Danny Burstein would win here with Jeremy Jordan being the alternative. By the time Best Lead Actor in a Musical was presented on the telecast, Candice Bergen had the honors of reading out each of the five nominees before announcing Steve Kazee as the winner.
His win made a lot of sense because Once literally dominated the Tonys with 8 accolades overall. Not to mention that when Steve won, he gave such a heartfelt acceptance speech, even dedicating the award to his at the time recently deceased mother. Since then, he went on to appear on several TV shows such as Elementary, Shameless, Nashville, Blindspot, The Walking Dead, and The Rookie. Steve Kazee was set to return to Broadway in 2018 as Edward Lewis in the stage musical adaptation of Pretty Woman, but ended up leaving after the out-of-town tryout in Chicago due to "family reasons." So Andy Karl took over for him when the show made it to New York. As of now, Steve is currently engaged to actress/dancer Jenna Dewan, with whom he has a son with who was born on March 6th, 2020.
Meanwhile, Buddy in Follies has to this day not only been seen as one of Danny Burstein's best performances (if not, his very best), but a number of people who saw it feel "How the hell did he not win for that?!". In 2015, a blog page titled Broadway Etc. did a post on productions and/or performances he personally felt should've won the Tony, and Danny in Follies was absolutely one of them. He said "One of our greatest character actors, Burstein is equally at home in musicals and plays, whether they are comedic or dramatic, and Follies is arguably the greatest showcase he has ever had. Burstein took the least interesting of Sondheim's four leads and made him a fascinatingly complex and tragic character who remains unable to impress the one woman he truly loves. Burstein's performance was largely on the fringes during the musical's first act, but the one-two punch of 'The Right Girl' and 'The God-Why-Don't-You-Love-Me Blues' in Act II was revelatory for both the character and the production. Steve Kazee was perfectly charming (if a bit shout-y) as the lovelorn Guy in Once, but his performance was ultimately a lot less interesting and layered than Burstein's superlative work."
This does lead to an interesting question, which is if Follies was running on Broadway in the middle of Tony season that year, would Danny Burstein have won? I think he at least would've had a better shot. In that scenario, the revival wouldn't have peaked too early, and every single voter certainly would have been able to see it. While the production did play a limited run in Los Angeles for a month (with a majority of the Broadway cast, including Danny, reprising their roles) during final voting, there is the question of if any Tony voters who didn't catch it in New York even flew out West to see the show. I'm not sure how that would've been possible given all the productions that were currently running on Broadway at the time that they needed to catch up with. Then again, if the rules that were put into place in 2019 where only those who've confirmed to have seen all the nominees in a specific category can vote for the winner had existed back then, maybe that would've helped. Although I have a feeling that Steve Kazee would probably still win in the end given how strong Once was with the industry.
With all of that being said, you should never let your own personal opinions regarding awards get in the way of how much you appreciate (or don't appreciate) a creative talent. Sometimes, people lose out on prizes for projects their fans felt they should've won for. Other times, they win for projects their fans felt that should not have won for. Which goes back to a quote legendary actress Katharine Hepburn once said that went “The right actors win Oscars, but for the wrong roles.” I think what should matter most is that the creative talent you happen to be fond of still continues to put in great work as their careers go on. With or without accolades, a great talent is still a great talent.
Meanwhile, Buddy in Follies has to this day not only been seen as one of Danny Burstein's best performances (if not, his very best), but a number of people who saw it feel "How the hell did he not win for that?!". In 2015, a blog page titled Broadway Etc. did a post on productions and/or performances he personally felt should've won the Tony, and Danny in Follies was absolutely one of them. He said "One of our greatest character actors, Burstein is equally at home in musicals and plays, whether they are comedic or dramatic, and Follies is arguably the greatest showcase he has ever had. Burstein took the least interesting of Sondheim's four leads and made him a fascinatingly complex and tragic character who remains unable to impress the one woman he truly loves. Burstein's performance was largely on the fringes during the musical's first act, but the one-two punch of 'The Right Girl' and 'The God-Why-Don't-You-Love-Me Blues' in Act II was revelatory for both the character and the production. Steve Kazee was perfectly charming (if a bit shout-y) as the lovelorn Guy in Once, but his performance was ultimately a lot less interesting and layered than Burstein's superlative work."
This does lead to an interesting question, which is if Follies was running on Broadway in the middle of Tony season that year, would Danny Burstein have won? I think he at least would've had a better shot. In that scenario, the revival wouldn't have peaked too early, and every single voter certainly would have been able to see it. While the production did play a limited run in Los Angeles for a month (with a majority of the Broadway cast, including Danny, reprising their roles) during final voting, there is the question of if any Tony voters who didn't catch it in New York even flew out West to see the show. I'm not sure how that would've been possible given all the productions that were currently running on Broadway at the time that they needed to catch up with. Then again, if the rules that were put into place in 2019 where only those who've confirmed to have seen all the nominees in a specific category can vote for the winner had existed back then, maybe that would've helped. Although I have a feeling that Steve Kazee would probably still win in the end given how strong Once was with the industry.
With all of that being said, you should never let your own personal opinions regarding awards get in the way of how much you appreciate (or don't appreciate) a creative talent. Sometimes, people lose out on prizes for projects their fans felt they should've won for. Other times, they win for projects their fans felt that should not have won for. Which goes back to a quote legendary actress Katharine Hepburn once said that went “The right actors win Oscars, but for the wrong roles.” I think what should matter most is that the creative talent you happen to be fond of still continues to put in great work as their careers go on. With or without accolades, a great talent is still a great talent.