The Glass Menagerie received critics praise for being an exceptional revival. The Tony nominators honored Cherry Jones, Celia Keenan-Bolger, and Brian J. Smith for their performances but forgot about Zachary Quinto. Though the race was tight, Quinto, who got the Brantley stamp of approval, could have squeaked into the fifth spot.
What may have been the most polarizing play of the season, nominators sacrificed daring for traditional. Will Eno's star-studded play couldn't even grab the fifth spot in the newly allowed five play race in the considerably weak season. The aftermath of its lack of inclusion has been quite the buzz, but press is press!
The Twelfth Night domination forced a lot of strong performances to be forgotten, one of which was Brandon J. Dirden's turn as Martin Luther King Jr. in All the Way. Perhaps had three out of five nominees not been from the same show Dirden's star turn could have been the sleeper in the category.
4. LaChanze for Best Featured Actress in a Musical If/Then was a confusing cacoffiny of a story, but there was a performance that was memorable. And that performance came from LaChanze. Though Idina Menzel's performance was honored, she was usually upstaged most of the time she shared it with LaChanze who brought life and spunk to the show. But for a musical that garnered little love, there was little chance for a LaChanze nomination.
This would have been a long shot, but Cass Morgan's performance in The Bridges of Madison County was one of the very few highlights. Cass Morgan brought the perfect amount of heart and comedy to the drama despite her big solo being cut off for the newly icon number of the show.