Why Aaron Tveit won’t automatically win a Tony despite being the only nominee

With 2020 (in 2021) Tony Awards nominations revealed, there have been plenty of questions about Aaron Tveit.

The talented Broadway star has been nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical for his role in Moulin Rouge! The Musical.

Tveit is the only nominee in the category, which had just the two eligible performances due to the Broadway shutdown last March.

But it does NOT mean that Tveit has won the award just yet.

Despite being the only person nominated, the category is still put to Tony Award voters with at least 60% needing to vote to award the Tony.

The rules state: “If the Tony Awards Nominating Committee has determined that if there is only one nominee in a category listed, 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 for now Tveit will have to wait for the Tony Awards night along with all the other nominees.

You can see the full list of Tony Awards 2020/2021 nominations here with Jagged Little Pill and Moulin Rouge! The Musical leading the way with 15 and 14 nominations respectively.

Originally due to be held in June 2020, the 74th Tony Awards ceremony was postponed after pandemic forced theatres to shutdown some 18 months ago now.

With theatres in New York reopening, the Tony Awards will take place on Sunday, 26 September 2021 streaming on Paramount+ in the US. Audra McDonald will host the ceremony.

They will be followed by a special concert event, The Tony Awards Present: Broadway’s Back! hosted by Leslie Odom Jr.