The announcement that the musical Glory Days would close after only one official performance isn't just a blow to the musical's creative team, including its wet-behind-the-ears creators (24-year-old librettist James Gardiner and 23-year-old songwriter Nick Blaemire). It also might mean the show's Tony chances — not just for the thin Best Musical race, where some thought the show might have a shot, but for technical categories as well — are nil. Does it have a chance?

Certainly it is tough for a show that gets panned by the Times to get nominated, though it's not at all unheard of. Glory Days wasn't Moose Murders; its reviews were gentle pans, not scathing, vicious diatribes. Certainly closing early doesn't send a good message to Tony voters, but shows that didn't do well commercially have been nominated before. But the buzz in Broadway chat rooms is that Glory Days may be out of luck for a simple reason — closing after a single performance means that most members of the Tony nominating committee may not have even had a chance to see the show. In fact, one All That Chat commenter claims that the show isn't even eligible:

The rules state that the producers have to invite the Tony Voters to at least eight performances, at least one of which must actually take place before the show closes, in order to be eligible. The GLORY DAYS invitation clearly states "any performance between May 8 and June 12" so although they fulfilled the first part of the rule by inviting us, they did not give any performances to which we were invited to that makes them ineligible.

Glory Days' closing may be the best thing that ever happened to Xanadu; that show was viewed by many as battling it out with Glory Days and big-budget behemoth Young Frankenstein for the final two nominations. (It seems nearly certain that critical faves In the Heights and Passing Strange will be nominated.) Now Xanadu, against all odds, may be roller-skating onto national TV on Tony night.

Earlier: ‘Glory Days’ Has Its Glory Day