Seeking to influence a Tony Awards committee meeting on Thursday, Broadway sound designers have submitted a petition with 32,495 signatures urging the committee to reverse its decision to eliminate the Tonys for best sound design for a play and for a musical. Among the signatories are the Tony winners Hugh Jackman, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Diane Paulus and Stephen Sondheim.
The Tony Awards Administration Committee voted in June to eliminate the two awards, which had been given since 2008. No official reason was given, but committee members cited three factors at the time: Few of the 800 Tony voters, whose ballots determine the sound design winners, know what sound design is or how to judge it; a large number of them forgo voting for sound design at all because of this lack of expertise; and some administration committee members believe that sound design is more of a technical craft than a theatrical art form. In place of the sound design Tonys, the committee is expected to award special Tony Awards in future years for exceptional sound design work.
John Gromada, a Tony-nominated sound designer who is working on this fall’s Broadway revival of “The Elephant Man,” said he and his colleagues were hoping the committee would restore the two Tony categories and then work with designers on ways to prepare Tony voters to assess sound design.
“People may not think they have the skills to judge sound design, but we think they do if they’re clearly told what to look and listen for,” Mr. Gromada said. “Let’s at least give that a try first before getting rid of the awards,” he added, saying that designers were considering recording videos to post on YouTube explaining the ins and outs of sound design.
Mr. Gromada said he and other designers had lobbied several of the artists and producers on the committee about reversing its decision. Mr. Gromada said he had spoken to William Ivey Long, a Tony-winning costume designer who is chairman of the American Theater Wing, which helps run the Tonys, and Mr. Long expressed sympathy for the sound designers. It was not clear if Mr. Long, a prominent committee member, would push to reverse the decision, Mr. Gromada said. Mr. Long did not reply to a request for comment on Wednesday, and his spokesman declined to comment.
A spokeswoman for the committee declined to comment on the agenda for Thursday’s meeting or whether the petition would be discussed. Even if the sound design awards were restored, they would almost certainly not be in contention for the 2014-15 season because some Tony-eligible shows have already opened and closed and Tony voters were not expected to assess them with sound design in mind.