Theatre Critics Lose Their Vote in the Tony Awards

Julie's Notes:

Theatre critics and journalists have been licking their wounds from a lot of battles lately. The most recent tussle comes as a result of a memo announcing their removal (as a field) from the rolls of eligible voters for Broadway's Tony Awards. Until now, critics made up 1/8 of Tony voters.

Some critics claim the Tony will lose its credibility without the influence of the journalists. Others argue that productions will lose reviewers (and thus attention) because critics do not need to attend the full seasons any longer, since they aren't allowed to cast votes for the awards. With fewer critics attending, does this mean a decline in publication and marketing for Broadway? If so, what does that mean for Off Bway, Off Off Bway, Showcase, Fringe, etc? Do they benefit from spillover?

Ilana's addition:

What does it mean for the Tonys that it will now be primarily an artist-driven honor, rather than one bestowed because of a semblance of critical agreement on what's worthy? What do we lose when we cut the critics out of the conversation?

This gets to a larger question which probably merits its own post: can the theatre makers and theatre critics find a place of mutual growth and purpose? Or is all hope lost?