The 31st Annual Tony Awards was broadcast by ABC television on June 5, 1977, from the Shubert Theatre in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

The ceremony

Hosts-Performers-Presenters were

Jack Albertson Harold Albertson (June 16, 1907 – November 25, 1981), known professionally as Jack Albertson, was an American actor, comedian, dancer and singer who also performed in variety. Albertson was a Tony, Oscar, and Emmy winning actor. For his perfor ...

Beatrice Arthur Beatrice Arthur (born Bernice Frankel; May 13, 1922 – April 25, 2009) was an American actress and comedian. Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York City, Arthur began her career on stage in 1947, attracting critical acclaim before achieving ...

Buddy Ebsen Buddy Ebsen (born Christian Ludolf Ebsen Jr., April 2, 1908 – July 6, 2003), also known as Frank "Buddy" Ebsen, was an American actor and dancer, whose career spanned seven decades. One of his most famous roles was as Jed Clampett in the CBS ...

, Damon Evans,

Jean Stapleton Jean Stapleton (born Jeanne Murray; January 19, 1923 – May 31, 2013) was an American character actor, character actress of stage, television and film. Stapleton was best known for playing Edith Bunker, the perpetually optimistic and dev ...

, and

Leslie Uggams Leslie Marian Uggams (born May 25, 1943) is an American actress and singer. Beginning her career as a child in the early 1950s, Uggams is recognized for portraying Kizzy Reynolds in the television miniseries ''Roots'' (1977), earning Golden Glob ...

. Additional presenters-performers were

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups o ...

Jane Alexander Jane Alexander (née Quigley; born October 28, 1939) is an American actress and author. She is the recipient of two Primetime Emmy Awards, a Tony Award, and nominations for four Academy Awards, and three Golden Globe Awards. From 1993 to 1997 ...

Alan Arkin Alan Wolf Arkin (born March 26, 1934) is an American actor, director and screenwriter known for his performances on stage and screen. Throughout his career spanning over six decades, he has received various accolades, including an Academy Award ...

Lauren Bacall Lauren Bacall (; born Betty Joan Perske; September 16, 1924 – August 12, 2014) was an American actress. She was named the 20th-greatest female star of classic Hollywood cinema by the American Film Institute and received an Academy Honorary Aw ...

Valerie Harper Valerie Kathryn Harper (August 22, 1939 – August 30, 2019) was an American actress. She began her career as a dancer on Broadway, making her debut as a replacement in the musical ''Li'l Abner''. She is best remembered for her role as Rhod ...

Barry Manilow Barry Manilow (born Barry Alan Pincus; June 17, 1943) is an American singer and songwriter with a career that spans seven decades. His hit recordings include "Could It Be Magic", " Somewhere Down the Road", " Mandy", "I Write the Songs", " Can ...

, Robert Preston,

Tony Randall Anthony Leonard Randall (born Aryeh Leonard Rosenberg; February 26, 1920 – May 17, 2004) was an American actor. He is best known for portraying the role of Felix Unger in a television adaptation of the 1965 play ''The Odd Couple'' by Neil Sim ...

, and

Lily Tomlin Mary Jean "Lily" Tomlin (born September 1, 1939) is an American actress, comedian, writer, singer, and producer. She started her career as a stand-up comedian as well as performing off-Broadway during the 1960s. Her breakout role was on the vari ...

. The theme of the show was survival; each host performed a solo, with songs of determination and perseverance, including "I'm Still Here", "Before the Parade Passes By", "

Don't Rain On My Parade "Don't Rain on My Parade" is a popular song from the 1964 musical '' Funny Girl''. It was also featured in the 1968 movie version of the musical. The song was written by Bob Merrill and Jule Styne. Both the movie and stage versions feature Barbra ...

", "

September Song "September Song" is an American standard popular song composed by Kurt Weill with lyrics by Maxwell Anderson. It was introduced by Walter Huston in the 1938 Broadway musical production ''Knickerbocker Holiday.'' The song has been recorded by nu ...

", "

You'll Never Walk Alone "You'll Never Walk Alone" is a show tune from the 1945 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical ''Carousel''. In the second act of the musical, Nettie Fowler, the cousin of the protagonist Julie Jordan, sings "You'll Never Walk Alone" to comfort and enco ...

", "New York City Rhythm", "

Climb Ev'ry Mountain "Climb Ev'ry Mountain" is a show tune from the 1959 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical ''The Sound of Music.'' It is sung at the close of the first act by the Mother Abbess. It is themed as an inspirational piece, to encourage people to take every s ...

" and "

Being Alive "Being Alive" is a song from the musical '' Company'' by George Furth with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. The song appears at the end of act two and is sung by the main character, Robert, a 35-year-old bachelor who at the show's end "...r ...

". Musicals represented: * ''

Annie Annie may refer to: People and fictional characters * Annie (given name), a given name and a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Annie (actress) (born 1975), Indian actress * Annie (singer) (born 1977), Norwegian singer The ...

'' ("You're Never Fully Dressed Without A Smile"/"Easy Street"/"Tomorrow" - Andrea McArdle, Dorothy Loudon and Company) * '' Happy End'' ("Bilbao Song" - Company) * ''

I Love My Wife ''I Love My Wife'' is a musical with a book and lyrics by Michael Stewart and music by Cy Coleman, based on a play by Luis Rego. A satire of the sexual revolution of the 1970s, the musical takes place on Christmas Eve in suburban Trenton, New ...

'' ("I Love My Wife"/"Married Couple Seeks Married Couple"/"Hey There, Good Times" - Company) * ''

Side by Side by Sondheim ''Side by Side by Sondheim'' is a musical revue featuring the songs of Broadway and film composer Stephen Sondheim. Its title is derived from the song "Side by Side by Side" from ''Company''. History The musical had its origins when David Kerna ...

'' ("I'm Still Here" - Millicent Martin)

Winners and nominees

''Winners are in bold''

Special awards

* Regional Theatre Award –

Mark Taper Forum The Mark Taper Forum is a 739-seat thrust stage at the Los Angeles Music Center designed by Welton Becket and Associates on the Bunker Hill section of Downtown Los Angeles. Named for real estate developer Mark Taper, the Forum, the neighboring ...

*Lawrence Langner Award –

Cheryl Crawford Cheryl Crawford (September 24, 1902 – October 7, 1986) was an American theatre producer and director. Biography Born in Akron, Ohio, Crawford majored in drama at Smith College. Following graduation in 1925, she moved to New York City and ...

for

An Evening with Diana Ross ''An Evening with Diana Ross'' is a 1977 live double album released by American singer Diana Ross on the Motown label. It was recorded live at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles in December 1976 during the international tour of Ross' one-woman s ...

*National Theatre For the Deaf *Equity Library Theatre

Multiple nominations and awards

These productions had multiple nominations: *''10 nominations:'' ''

'' *''6 nominations:'' ''

'' and ''

Porgy and Bess ''Porgy and Bess'' () is an English-language opera by American composer George Gershwin, with a libretto written by author DuBose Heyward and lyricist Ira Gershwin. It was adapted from Dorothy Heyward and DuBose Heyward's play '' Porgy'', itse ...

'' *''5 nominations:'' ''

The Cherry Orchard ''The Cherry Orchard'' (russian: Вишнёвый сад, translit=Vishnyovyi sad) is the last play by Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. Written in 1903, it was first published by ''Znaniye'' (Book Two, 1904), and came out as a separate edition ...

'', ''

The Shadow Box ''The Shadow Box'' is a play written by actor Michael Cristofer. The play made its Broadway debut on March 31, 1977. It is the winner of the 1977 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and Tony Award for Best Play. The play was made into a telefilm, directed ...

'', ''

'' and ''

The Threepenny Opera ''The Threepenny Opera'' ( ) is a "play with music" by Bertolt Brecht, adapted from a translation by Elisabeth Hauptmann of John Gay's 18th-century English ballad opera, ''The Beggar's Opera'', and four ballads by François Villon, with music ...

'' *''4 nominations:'' ''

Your Arms Too Short to Box with God ''Your Arms Too Short to Box with God: A Soaring Celebration in Song and Dance'' is a Broadway musical based on the Biblical Book of Matthew, with music and lyrics by Alex Bradford and a book by Vinnette Carroll, who also directed. Micki Grant was ...

'' *''3 nominations:'' ''

Guys and Dolls ''Guys and Dolls'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. It is based on "The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" (1933) and "Blood Pressure", which are two short stories by Damon Runyon, and also bo ...

'' and '' Happy End'' *''2 nominations:'' ''

American Buffalo American Buffalo may refer to: *American Buffalo (play), ''American Buffalo'' (play), a play by David Mamet *American Buffalo (film), ''American Buffalo'' (film), a 1996 film of Mamet's play directed by Michael Corrente *American Buffalo (coin), a ...

'', ''

Anna Christie ''Anna Christie'' is a play in four acts by Eugene O'Neill. It made its Broadway debut at the Vanderbilt Theatre on November 2, 1921. O'Neill received the 1922 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for this work. According to historian Paul Avrich, the orig ...

'', ''

The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel ''The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel'' is a play by David Rabe. Rabe's first play in his Vietnam War trilogy that continued with '' Sticks and Bones'' and '' Streamers'', its story is bracketed by scenes depicting the death of the everyman-like ti ...

'', ''

Comedians A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting foolish (as in slapstick), or employing prop comedy. A comedian who addresses an audience dir ...

'', ''

For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf ''for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf'' is Ntozake Shange's first work and most acclaimed theater piece, which premiered in 1976. It consists of a series of poetic monologues to be accompanied by dance moveme ...

'', ''

Otherwise Engaged ''Otherwise Engaged'' is a bleakly comic play by English playwright Simon Gray. The play previewed at the Oxford Playhouse and the Richmond Theatre, and then opened at the Queen's Theatre in London on 10 July 1975, with Alan Bates as the star ...

'', ''

No Man's Land No man's land is waste or unowned land or an uninhabited or desolate area that may be under dispute between parties who leave it unoccupied out of fear or uncertainty. The term was originally used to define a contested territory or a dump ...

'', '' Streamers'' and ''

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? ''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' is a play by Edward Albee first staged in October 1962. It examines the complexities of the marriage of a middle-aged couple, Martha and George. Late one evening, after a university faculty party, they receive ...

'' The following productions received multiple awards. *''7 wins:'' ''

'' *''2 wins:'' ''

'', ''

'' and ''

External links

Tony Awards Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tony Awards, 31 Tony Awards ceremonies 1977 theatre awards

Tony Tony may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer * Motu Tony (born 1981), New Zealand international rugby leagu ...

1977 in New York City 1970s in Manhattan

The ceremony

Winners and nominees

Special awards

Multiple nominations and awards

See also

External links