Waitress and Beetlejuice both returned to Broadway after supposedly closing permanently either before the onset of the pandemic in the US (Waitress) or as a result of the loss of their theater amidst the pandemic (Beetlejuice). In each instance the show made plans to open in a new theater. The new 2021 productions of Slave Play, American Utopia, and Springsteen On Broadway are in the same situation. But these productions are not being considered revivals and are not eligible for Tony Awards.
So why is this?
Basically, as both of these productions are replicating the original production, in terms of set, choreography, creative teams, and even including similar casts, they are not being considered new productions that would be in contention for Tony Awards.
Typically the Tonys has rules that people and productions can't win Tonys for the same show twice. This even being a possibility has been a rarity, but not without some notable instances. One worth mentioning would be how Alan Cumming was not eligible for a Tony in his appearance in the 2014 revival of Cabaret as he played the same role in a previous revival.
The most similar situation to these two shows return to Broadway occurred with Motown The Musical. This show had a Broadway run from 2013 to 2015, but the tour of the show also ended with a limited run on Broadway. Similarly it was not eligible for Tonys as it was largely a replica of the 2013 Broadway production.
This is a unique set of circumstances largely resulting from the pandemic that has created a large number of productions that does not fit within the typical awards eligibility of the industry.
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