How Aaron Tveit Could Still Lose a Tony Despite Being the Only Nominee

Aaron Tveit received his first ever Tony nomination on Thursday morning, and looked very likely to win the category too.

After COVID-19 pretty much decimated the entire Broadway season, the “Moulin Rouge!” star was literally the only nominee in the Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical category.

Many fans on Twitter expressed delight at the well-deserved nomination, bemusement at the fact he was the only one, and dismay that his first win would be by default.

But not necessarily so; according to Broadway World, the 36-year-old could be in the very unusual position of losing in a category in which he is the only possible winner.

The site dug out the official Tony Awards Rules, which indeed states in black and white:

“Single Nomination in a Category: If the Tony Awards Nominating Committee has determined that if there is only one nominee in a category listed in Paragraph 4(a) above, such category shall be submitted to the Tony Voters which may, by the affirmative vote of sixty (60%) percent of the total ballots cast, grant an Award in that category.”

So should the 40 per cent of voters, for whatever reason, decide the 36-year-old does not deserve the honor, the eventual Tony’s ceremony could have the most awkward segment in the history of awards shows.

Of course, with mostly glowing reviews for the musical, based on the 2001 Baz Luhrmann masterpiece, a Tveit win seems likely, competitors or not.

The New Yorker’s Broadway resume also includes Frank Abagnale Jr. in “Catch Me If You Can”, Link Larkin in “Hairspray” and Fiyero Tigelaar in “Wicked”; he also played Danny Zuko in the TV production of Grease Live, and Tripp Van der Bilt in Gossip Girl.

While nobody disagreed with his nomination, many on Twitter were unhappy Chris McCarrell, who played the lead in the “The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical” had been snubbed, especially since he was literally the only other possible contender.