Is it war between Harvey Weinstein and Broadway?
The Tony nominators fired a big old cannonball into Weinstein’s Peter Pan musical, “Finding Neverland,” on Tuesday, by denying it a single nomination.
Late Wednesday, it appeared that Harvey had returned fire by rescinding invitations to Tony voters.
Producers generally send out invites before the nominations are announced, and many voters book their tickets early, thinking that at least something from the show will be up for a nomination.
But voters whose tickets had been confirmed by a Weinstein flunky received the following ice-cold email from “Finding Neverland” Wednesday night:
“We are no longer providing Tony-voter tickets. If you are interested in purchasing house seats, please email your request.”
“They’ve rescinded my tickets!” one voter yelped to me right after he was notified.
It’s rare to claw back Tony tickets. “It makes you look like a sore loser,” says a veteran producer.
There was, in the fog of battle yesterday, considerable confusion as to what was going on.
As best as I can piece together, Harvey’s minions rescinded the tickets without telling him. When they found out I was nosing around, they panicked.
“Someone’s going to get thrown under a bus!” one of them said to me in a voice full of fear.
(I love this business. Especially when I’m driving the bus.)
Weinstein staffers scrambled to clarify their position Thursday. “Finding Neverland” will honor Tony voters who have already booked their tickets.
“A blanket email went out Wednesday night to all Tony voters, which was a mistake,” a Weinstein source said.
A rep for the show added: “The Tony-voter invite . . . went out April 15, and we’ve had approximately 100 voters in to see it since. We’re also more than pleased [to honor] the reservations made prior to the nominations.”
The policy is the same at Larry David’s “Fish in the Dark,” which was also shut out of the Tonys.
“We have honored 400 Tony-voter tickets so far, and have another 150 outstanding,” a “Fish” source says. “We would never dream of rescinding the invitations.”
If you’re a Tony voter who hasn’t yet booked for both “Finding Neverland” and “Fish in the Dark,” you’re out of luck.
But there’s a consolation prize — “Doctor Zhivago”!
It, too, was snubbed by the nominators.
But a spokesman says: “The producers want the Tony voters and road presenters across the country to know they’re invited to see the show while they’re in town.”
I am always moved by the sight of producers holding their heads high on the way to the grave.
This just in: Harvey Weinstein tells me all Tony voters are welcome to “Finding Neverland”! He writes: “Unfortunately, the left-hand wasn’t watching the right-hand … and I had no idea the decision to not accommodate Tony voters was made. However, this is no excuse. As you pointed out, Michael, I’m a newbie in this industry — yet thrilled to be a part of it — and still learning the lay of the land. We will be honored to have all of the Tony voters see ‘Finding Neverland’ between now and the end of June. These people are our friends and colleagues.”