Below is a list of some theater artists who did not get a Tony nomination but I feel deserve some recognition. This is not a compilation of “snubs.” As is the case every year, the Broadway season was crowded with talent (even with far fewer shows to choose from this time around — 30 this year, compared to 42 last year); the Tony nominators had some difficult choices to make . (Here’s the complete list of those that were nominated.)

I simply want the artists I list below to know that they are appreciated. (Three of the shows on which they worked were among the eligible shows that received no nominations today — another reason to feature them.) I was impressed enough to single these particular artists out in my reviews. They are listed more or less alphabetically (some are paired together.)

LJ Benet in “The Lost Boys“
The Lost Boys was not deprived of Tony love: it received 12 nominations, tying with Schmigadoon for the greatest number.  I was especially partial to LJ Benet, making a captivating Broadway debut, who sang the musical number I found most memorable, with convincing adolescent angst, and did it while falling slowly from the top of the train bridge in mid-air to the foggy netherworld on the stage far below.

Adrien Brody in “The Fear of 13”
Inspired by a documentary about an innocent man on Death Row, told entirely by the man himself, Nick Yarris, The play expands to a twelve member cast, but the focus largely stays on Nick. How could it be otherwise, given Adrien Brody’s skill in embodying the storyteller’s gifts of passion, precision, and charm?  Brody has won two Oscars for portraying intense characters of great resilience and endurance in the face of unimaginable brutality, but he has also exhibited a dry sense of humor in a series of Wes Anderson’s quirky comedies.  He brings all this to bear in a performance that goes beyond the thrill of seeing a movie star’s first time on stage.

Cedric The Entertainer and Taraji P. Henson in “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone”
In this production of August Wilson’s play (which received three nominations, but not including Best Revival of a Play), Cedric The Entertainer and Taraji P. Henson portray the stable long-time married couple Seth and Bertha Holly, who run a boarding house where everybody else are transients; some brutalized, some haunted, some simply searching.  All of the characters have a story to tell, and the play is really a portrait of a time and place. Henson, making her Broadway debut, seems to understand this, and keeps in the background, allowing the others to shine, as Bertha herself does, a warmhearted presence who feeds and comforts the boarders and tries to keep her curmudgeonly husband from bothering them. Cedric the Entertainer is terrific in capturing the unique rhythms of Wilson’s monologues.

Laurie Metcalf and Micah Stock in “Little Bear Ridge Road“
Laurie Metcalf was nominated for featured actress in “Death of a Salesman”, and she was unlikely to have been nominated for two different roles. But I was more taken with her performance in this play that marked Samuel D. Hunter Broadway debut, which she commissioned him to write. Metcalf and Stock portray estranged aunt and nephew who get to know one another, as we get to know them. They take their time — to  look at the screen on their smart phone, or vacuum the floor,  in silence — the way an actual person might, rather than keep up the pace of the dialogue, as a character would.

Michaela Jaé Rodriguez in “The Rocky Horror Show”
A standout as Columbia, Rodriguez, making her Broadway debut, not only puts her all into the role of the lost, jilted lover, making her one of the few characters who seem to have a soul; she also puts the real-life trans into Transsexual, the planet where the characters come from.

Jean Smart in “Call Me Izzy“
Smart, in her first Broadway role in 25 years, portrayed an abused trailer park wife in rural Louisiana in this play that received no nominations. Her character was very different from her Emmy-winning role as a wealthy comedian on “Hacks,”  but what was even better evidence of her versatility as an actress – and easy to forget, since the play ran way back in June, 2025 – she was the only cast member in a play with multiple characters.

Kara Young in “Proof“
Kara Young is not lacking in proven admiration from the theater community. She has been nominated for a Tony in all four of the plays in which she has performed on Broadway, and won twice.  But her performance in “Proof” (which was one of the five eligible shows that did not receive any Tony nominations) had a surprising effect on the revival.  Young plays Claire, the bossy older sister of Catherine, who is supposed to be the character around which David Auburn’s play revolves. But such is Young’s talent that the play started to seem to be about sisters – which was all the more remarkable because she was cast in the role shortly before performances began, when the original cast member suddenly had to drop out.

Ray Wetmore and JR Goodman for “Queen of Versailles“
The musical is not just shut out of the Tonys, but easily has the dubious distinction of being the most reviled eligible show of the season. But these two guys, in charge of props (and past Drama Desk winners in outstanding puppetry for “Water for Elephants”), were masterful members of the sumptuous design team, producing a painting of Marie Antoinette with Jackie Siegel’s face plastered on it, and a warehouse’s worth of Jackie’s ludicrous purchases, such as a giant birthday cake “that someone can jump out of” and a full-sized guillotine. (Perhaps needless to say, there is no Tony category for props.)