A List Of Things Thrown Five Minutes Ago

JUST KIDDING, GUYS: The Tonys giveth and the Tonys taketh away. Without ever having awarded the new prize for Best Performance by an Actor or Actress Recreating a Role, the Tonys people have eliminated the category, citing practical difficulties in adjudicating the award. I suspect I understand the issue -- this category would require the Tony folks to see an entirely separate set of shows than they need to see to come up with nominations and votes in every other category, and how many times does one need to see Phantom of the Opera in a single lifetime? -- it's a shame nonetheless. Setting aside the folks like Jonathan Pryce who completely recreate a role in a highly publicized way when they step into someone else's shoes, there is a whole universe of replacement actors who go unrecognized year after year despite their excellent work. One who leaps to mind is Burke Moses, who took over the Sky Masterson role from Peter Gallagher a number of years ago as well as the Fred Graham/Petruchio role from Brian Stokes Mitchell. Or Carolee Carmelo, who has played Penelope Pennywise, Lilli Vanessi/Katharine, and Abigail Adams (among others), all on a replacement basis.