by Zach Raffio. @zachraffio.
NEW YORK, NY - The 2019 Tony Award nominees were released this morning after much anticipation, and while many of the recognized names were not surprises within their field, one major snub has the theater community talking, as the puppet from the musical “King Kong” was somehow not nominated for “Best Big Ol’ Monkey Puppet.”
“It doesn’t make much sense, but I guess we have to trust the voters,” states Tony’s chair David Henry Hwang. “I personally believe that Kong displayed one of the best big monkey puppet performances of the last few years - there’s no denying that, from curtain up to curtain down, he was a big freakin’ monkey puppet. But hey, that’s part of the fun behind these awards. You just never know.”
Some of the names who did make the cut include Adam Driver for “Burn This” and “Hadestown” star Eva Noblezada, neither of which are big monkey puppets, which only adds to the controversy. At press time, Kong was skeptical to comment, but luckily obliged.
“I’ve worked hard to get to this point, and sure it would have been nice to be recognized, but at the end of the day, I’m proud. I don’t need anyone else to justify that pride,” he said, his big goddamn monkey puppet eyes swelling with tears. “I… I just…. I’m sorry I have to go” he said, before the 15 people who operate him began to move his big monkey puppet body out of the building and in to an Uber that just isn’t made for big fucking monkey puppets.
The Tony’s were not without additional controversy.
Jeff Daniels, receiving acclaim for his role in Aaron Sorkin’s “To Kill A Mockingbird”, was snubbed in the always competitive “Best ‘Dumb & Dumber’ Cast Member Now Doing Plays” category, while the new “They Should Really Be In School” category was filled with only members of “Be More Chill”.