Did Aaron Tveit Win A Tony By Default? ‘Moulin Rouge’ Star Still Needs Votes

The competition isn’t exactly steep for the 2020 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical. The nominations, announced Thursday, revealed that Aaron Tveit is the only actor nominated in the category, but he hasn’t won by default yet.

With the nominations announcement, the Tony Awards noted that voters must still choose the “Moulin Rouge!” leading man on their ballots.

“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,” the statement said.

That means if voters skip the category altogether, Tveit could still lose the statue despite absolutely no competition. Still, that seems unlikely. Expect Tveit to become a Tony Award winner at the virtual ceremony, which still doesn’t have a date.

Many Broadway fans were surprised and excited by the news. Tveit made his Broadway debut in 2006, and he has never won a Tony despite appearing in popular musicals such as “Next to Normal” and “Catch Me If You Can.” Many fans are in disbelief that the actor is so close to finally getting a Tony, but there’s still a chance he could lose the coveted statue.

Still, most seem to be congratulating the actor already with the assumption that he’s going to win the 2020 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical.

“Moulin Rouge!” was one of only 18 new Broadway shows that started before the Great White Way shut down (34 were eligible for Tonys in 2019). The show, based on the 2001 movie, officially opened in July 2019 and was still running until the lockdown started.