In 1993-4 ANGELS IN AMERICA was considered to be two plays.
In 1993, Millenium Approchaes, Ron Liebman won Best Actor as Roy Cohn, Stephen Spinella won best featured actor for Prior Walter, and Joe Mantello was nominated for best featured actor as Louis.
In 1994, Part II of the same play was treated as a separate play. Stephen Spinella won Best Actor for Prior Walter, the same role he had won the Featured actor Tony for the year prior
In 1993-4 the billing never changed. No actor was above the title, though Ron Leibman was after an AND, and was in all caps. And yet the Tony Committee moved the category that Spinella was in.
Flash fprward to 2018
No actor is above the title - but in non Alpha Order, Andrew Garfield and Nathan Lane have top billing
And yet - Garfield is nominated (and wins) as Best Actor, and yet Nathan Lane is nominated, inexplicably, for Best Featured Actor. So in 93-94, Prior Walter goes fro ma featured role to a leading role between parts 1 and 2. And Roy Cohn is demoted in 2018 to a Featured Role. Why? I assume producer (successful) arm twisting, so they wouldn't be up against each other. The old boys club at work. |
