Defining a Revival: When New Broadway Runs Are Still Revivals
This season, plays such as Becky Shaw, Every Brilliant Thing, Marjorie Prime, and Bug are considered revivals despite making their Broadway debuts. So, what exactly classifies a production as a revival?
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Is a' Best Revival' Tony nominee always an old show? We're breaking down the rules.
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The 2025/26 Broadway season has come to a close, leaving theater fans in high anticipation for the 2026 Tony Awards nominations. This season welcomed 34 total productions ; 17 were new shows and 15 were revivals.
While plays like Becky Shaw, Every Brilliant Thing, Marjorie Prime, and Bug, made their Broadway debuts this season, all four will be considered revivals. So what exacatly makes a show a revival?
Whether a show fits into the Best Play/Musical category or the Best Revival of a Play/Musical category is ultimately decided by the Tony Awards Administration committee. Typically, productions are categorized as revivals if they are considered a “classic” or part of the established theatrical canon.
For example, Becky Shaw, Every Brilliant Thing, Marjorie Prime, and Bug have all previously run off-Broadway or regionally years (and in some cases, decades) leading up to their Broadway debuts, making them already established pieces of theatre. They are therefore considered revivals by the Tony Awards Nominating Committee.
New shows, like The Fear of 13, Liberation, Giant, and Little Bear Ridge Road, have already debuted off-Broadway or regionally, but have done so recently, and mostly with original production elements/team in tact. They are therefore considered new plays by the Tony Awards Nominating Committee.
Authors of revivals do not necessarily miss out on their opportunity for a Tony Award. If the show did not have any prior presentation in an eligible Broadway theatre, and if they are living at the time that the production receives this determination, they are eligible along with the producers of the production. They can also be elligible if they substantially re-work the play or musical.
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_Originally reported by [BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/What-Makes-a-Revival-20260503)._
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