The
Tony Award for Best Play (formally, the
Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre) is an annual award given to the best new (non-
musical
Musical is the adjective of music.
Musical may also refer to:
* Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance
* Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...
) play on
Broadway, as determined by Tony Award voters. There was no award in the Tonys' first year. ''
Mister Roberts'' received the first Tony Award as Best Play. The award goes to the authors and the producers of the play. Plays that have appeared in previous Broadway productions are instead eligible for
Best Revival of a Play.
Award winners
Legend:
1940s
1950s
1960s
1970s
1980s
1990s
2000s
2010s
2020s
Award records
Multiple awards and nominations
Superlatives
British writer
Tom Stoppard has won this award four times, more than any other playwright. Only seven other writers (
Arthur Miller, Terrence McNally, Tony Kushner,
Edward Albee,
Neil Simon, Yasmina Reza and
Peter Shaffer) have won the award more than once, each winning twice.
With ten nominations,
Neil Simon has been nominated for the award more than any other playwright.
August Wilson, with nine nominations, comes in second, followed by
Tom Stoppard (seven nominations),
Edward Albee (six nominations),
Arthur Miller (five nominations), and
Martin McDonagh
Martin Faranan McDonagh (; born 26 March 1970) is a British-Irish playwright, screenwriter, producer, and director. Born and brought up in London, he is the son of Irish parents. He is known as one of the most acclaimed modern playwrights whose ...
(five nominations).
In 1994,
Tony Kushner became the first playwright to win consecutive Tony Awards for his two-part ''
Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes''.
Terrence McNally
Terrence McNally (November 3, 1938 – March 24, 2020) was an American playwright, librettist, and screenwriter.
Described as "the bard of American theater" and "one of the greatest contemporary playwrights the theater world has yet produced," ...
repeated this feat the following two years with his plays ''
Love! Valour! Compassion!'' and ''
Master Class''.
See also
*
Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play
*
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play
*
Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Play
*
List of Tony Award and Olivier Award winning plays
The following is a list of plays that have won the Tony Award or Laurence Olivier Award for Best Play. Highlighted shows are currently running on either Broadway or West End
West End most commonly refers to:
* West End of London, an area of ...
References
External links
The American Theatre Wing's Tony Awards official website
{{Tony Awards
Tony Awards
Awards established in 1948
1948 establishments in the United States