The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), 130 of the 144 extant and extinct Broadway venues use (used) the spelling ''Th ...
. The awards are presented by the
American Theatre Wing and
The Broadway League
The Broadway League, formerly the League of American Theatres and Producers and League of New York Theatres and Producers, is the national trade association for the Broadway theatre industry based in New York, New York. Its members include thea ...
at an annual ceremony in
Midtown Manhattan
Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan and serves as the city's primary central business district. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Buildin ...
.
The awards are given for Broadway productions and performances. One is also given for
regional theatre. Several discretionary non-competitive awards are given as well, including a
Special Tony Award
The Special Tony Award category includes the Lifetime Achievement Tony Award and the Special Tony Award. These are non-competitive honorary awards, and the titles have changed over the years. The Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre ...
, the
Tony Honors for Excellence in Theatre, and the
Isabelle Stevenson Award
The Isabelle Stevenson Award is a non-competitive philanthropic award presented as part of the Tony Awards to "recognize an individual from the theatre community who has made a substantial contribution of volunteered time and effort on behalf of o ...
.
The awards were founded by theatre producer and director
Brock Pemberton and are named after
Antoinette "Tony" Perry, an actress, producer and theatre director who was co-founder and secretary of the American Theatre Wing. The trophy consists of a spinnable medallion, with faces portraying an adaptation of the comedy and tragedy masks, mounted on a black base with a pewter swivel.
The rules for the Tony Awards are set forth in the official document "Rules and Regulations of The American Theatre Wing's Tony Awards", which applies for that season only.
["Tony Awards Rules and Regulations for 2013–14 season"]
tonyawards.com, accessed June 12, 2014 The Tony Awards are the New York theatre industry's equivalent to the
Emmy Award
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
s for television, the
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...
s for music, and the
Academy Awards
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
(Oscars) for film, and a person who has won all four is said to have won the
EGOT. The Tony Awards are the U.S. equivalent of the United Kingdom's
Laurence Olivier Awards
The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply the Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre in London at an annual ceremony in the capital. The awards were originally known as ...
and France's
Molière Award
The Molière Award recognises achievement in live French theatre and is the national theatre award of France. The awards are presented and decided by the ''Association professionnelle et artistique du théâtre'' (APAT) and supported by the Min ...
s.
The
75th annual ceremony was held on June 12, 2022, at
Radio City Music Hall
Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue and Theater (structure), theater at 1260 Sixth Avenue (Manhattan), Avenue of the Americas, within Rockefeller Center, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Nicknamed "The Showplac ...
in New York City and was broadcast live on
CBS, as well as the
Paramount+ streaming service.
Ariana DeBose
Ariana DeBose (; born January 25, 1991) is an American actress, dancer, and singer. She has received multiple accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Golden Globe Award and a nomination for a Tony Award. In 2022, ...
served as the host.
Award categories
, there were 26 categories of awards, in addition to several special awards. Starting with 11 awards in 1947, the names and number of categories have changed over the years. Some examples: the category Best Book of a Musical was originally called "Best Author (Musical)." The category of Best Costume Design was one of the original awards. For two years, in 1960 and 1961, this category was split into Best Costume Designer (Dramatic) and Best Costume Designer (Musical). It then went to a single category, but in 2005 it was divided again. For the category of Best Director of a Play, a single category was for directors of plays and musicals prior to 1960.
A newly established non-competitive award, The
Isabelle Stevenson Award
The Isabelle Stevenson Award is a non-competitive philanthropic award presented as part of the Tony Awards to "recognize an individual from the theatre community who has made a substantial contribution of volunteered time and effort on behalf of o ...
, was given for the first time at the awards ceremony in 2009. The award is for an individual who has made a "substantial contribution of volunteered time and effort on behalf of one or more humanitarian, social service or charitable organizations."
The category of
Best Special Theatrical Event was retired as of the 2009–2010 season. The categories of Best Sound Design of a Play and Best Sound Design of a Musical were retired as of the 2014–2015 season. On April 24, 2017, the Tony Awards administration committee announced that the Sound Design Award would be reintroduced for the 2017–2018 season.
[American Theatre Editors (April 24, 2017)]
"Tony Awards to Reinstate Sound Design Categories"
''American Theatre
Theater in the United States is part of the old European theatrical tradition and has been heavily influenced by the British theater. The central hub of the American theater scene is Manhattan, with its divisions of Broadway, Off-Broadway, and ...
'' Retrieved April 27, 2017.
Performance categories
*
Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play
*
Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play
*
Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical
*
Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical
*
Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play
*
Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play
*
Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical
*
Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical
Show and technical categories
*
Best Musical
*
Best Revival of a Musical
*
Best Direction of a Musical
*
Best Book of a Musical
*
Best Original Score
*
Best Orchestrations
*
Best Choreography
The MTV Video Music Award for Best Choreography is a craft award given to the artist, the artist's manager, and choreographer of the music video. From 1984 to 2007, the full name of the award was Best Choreography in a Video. The biggest winner ...
*
Best Scenic Design in a Musical
*
Best Costume Design in a Musical
*
Best Lighting Design in a Musical
*
Best Sound Design of a Musical
*
Best Play
*
Best Revival of a Play
*
Best Direction of a Play
*
Best Scenic Design in a Play
*
Best Costume Design in a Play
*
Best Lighting Design in a Play
*
Best Sound Design of a Play
Special awards
*
Regional Theatre Tony Award
*
Special Tony Award
The Special Tony Award category includes the Lifetime Achievement Tony Award and the Special Tony Award. These are non-competitive honorary awards, and the titles have changed over the years. The Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre ...
(includes Lifetime Achievement Award)
*
Tony Honors for Excellence in Theatre
*
Isabelle Stevenson Award
The Isabelle Stevenson Award is a non-competitive philanthropic award presented as part of the Tony Awards to "recognize an individual from the theatre community who has made a substantial contribution of volunteered time and effort on behalf of o ...
Retired awards
*
Best Author
*
Best Conductor and Musical Director
*
Best Costume Design (split into two categories: Best Costume Design in a Musical and Best Costume Design in a Play)
*
Best Lighting Design (split into two categories: Best Lighting Design in a Musical and Best Lighting Design in a Play)
*
Best Newcomer
*
Best Revival (split into two categories: Best Revival of a Musical and Best Revival of a Play)
*
Best Scenic Design (split into two categories: Best Scenic Design in a Musical and Best Scenic Design in a Play)
*
Best Stage Technician
*
Best Special Theatrical Event
*
Best Director Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to:
Film awards
* AACTA Award for Best Direction
* Academy Award for Best Director
* BA ...
(split into two categories: Best Direction of a Musical and Best Direction of a Play)
History
The award was founded in 1947 by a committee of the
American Theatre Wing (ATW) headed by Brock Pemberton. The award is named after Antoinette Perry, nicknamed Tony, an actress, director, producer and co-founder of the American Theatre Wing, who died in 1946. As her official biography at the Tony Awards website states, "At
/nowiki>Warner Bros. story editor">Warner_Bros..html" ;"title="/nowiki>Warner Bros.">/nowiki>Warner Bros. story editorJacob Wilk's suggestion, [Pemberton">Warner Bros.">/nowiki>Warner Bros. story editor">Warner_Bros..html" ;"title="/nowiki>Warner Bros.">/nowiki>Warner Bros. story editorJacob Wilk's suggestion, [Pembertonproposed an award in her honor for distinguished stage acting and technical achievement. At the initial event in 1947, as he handed out an award, he called it a Tony. The name stuck." Nevertheless, the awards were sometimes referred to as the "Perry Awards" in their early years.
The 1st Tony Awards was held on April 6, 1947, at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York City. The first prizes were "a scroll, cigarette lighter and articles of jewelry such as 14-carat gold compacts and bracelets for the women, and money clips for the men". ATW co-founder Louise Heims Beck was responsible for over seeing the organization of the first awards. It was not until the third awards ceremony in 1949 that the first Tony medallion was given to award winners.[
Since 1967, the award ceremony has been broadcast on U.S. national television and includes songs from the nominated musicals, and occasionally has included video clips of, or presentations about, nominated plays. The American Theatre Wing and ]The Broadway League
The Broadway League, formerly the League of American Theatres and Producers and League of New York Theatres and Producers, is the national trade association for the Broadway theatre industry based in New York, New York. Its members include thea ...
jointly present and administer the awards. Audience size for the telecast is generally well below that of the Academy Awards shows, but the program reaches an affluent audience, which is prized by advertisers. According to a June 2003 article in ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'': "What the Tony broadcast does have, say CBS officials, is an all-important demographic: rich and smart. Jack Sussman, CBS's senior vice president in charge of specials, said the Tony show sold almost all its advertising slots shortly after CBS announced it would present the three hours. 'It draws upscale premium viewers who are attractive to upscale premium advertisers,' Mr. Sussman said..." The viewership has declined from the early years of its broadcast history (for example, the number of viewers in 1974 was 20 million; in 1999, 9.2 million) but has settled into between six and eight million viewers for most of the decade of the 2000s. In contrast, the 2009 Oscar telecast had 36.3 million viewers.
Medallion
The Tony Award medallion was designed by art director
Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games.
It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and ...
Herman Rosse and is a mix of mostly brass
Brass is an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), in proportions which can be varied to achieve different mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other with ...
and a little bronze
Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...
, with a nickel plating on the outside; a black acrylic glass base, and the nickel-plated pewter swivel. The face of the medallion portrays an adaptation of the comedy and tragedy masks. Originally, the reverse side had a relief profile of Antoinette Perry; this later was changed to contain the winner's name, award category, production and year. The medallion has been mounted on a black base since 1967.
A larger base was introduced in time for the 2010 award ceremony. The new base is slightly taller , up from and heavier , up from . This change was implemented to make the award "feel more substantial" and easier to handle at the moment the award is presented to the winners. According to Howard Sherman, the executive director of the American Theatre Wing:
For the specific Tony Awards presented to a Broadway production, awards are given to the author and up to two of the producers free of charge. All other members of the above-the-title producing team are eligible to purchase the physical award. Sums collected are designed to help defray the cost of the Tony Awards ceremony itself. An award cost $400 as of at least 2000, $750 as of at least 2009, and, as of 2013, had been $2,500 "for several years", according to Tony Award Productions.
Details of the Tony Awards
''Source: Tony Awards Official Site, Rules[Staff (undated)]
"Rules & Voting"
tonyawards.com. Retrieved September 13, 2013.''
Rules for a new play or musical
For the purposes of the award, a new play or musical is one that has not previously been produced on Broadway and is not "determined… to be a 'classic' or in the historical or popular repertoire", as determined by the Administration Committee (per Section (2g) of the Rules and Regulations).[ The rule about "classic" productions was instituted by the Tony Award Administration Committee in 2002, and stated (in summary) "A play or musical that is determined ... to be a 'classic' or in the historical or popular repertoire shall not be eligible for an award in the Best Play or Best Musical Category but may be eligible in that appropriate Best Revival category." Shows transferred from ]Off-Broadway
An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...
or the West End are eligible as "new", as are productions based closely on films.
This rule has been the subject of some controversy, as some shows, such as '' Hedwig and the Angry Inch'' and ''Violet
Violet may refer to:
Common meanings
* Violet (color), a spectral color with wavelengths shorter than blue
* One of a list of plants known as violet, particularly:
** ''Viola'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants
Places United States
* Viol ...
'', have been ruled ineligible for the "new" category, meaning that their authors did not have a chance to win the important awards of Best Play or Best Musical (or Best Score or Best Book for musicals). On the other hand, some people feel that allowing plays and musicals that have been frequently produced to be eligible as "new" gives them an unfair advantage because they will have benefited from additional development time as well as additional familiarity with the Tony voters.
Committees and voters
The Tony Awards Administration Committee has twenty-four members: ten designated by the American Theatre Wing, ten by The Broadway League, and one each by the Dramatists Guild, Actors' Equity Association, United Scenic Artists and the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers. This committee, among other duties, determines eligibility for nominations in all awards categories.
The Tony Awards Nominating Committee makes the nominations for the various categories. This rotating group of theatre professionals is selected by the Tony Awards Administration Committee. Nominators serve three-year terms and are asked to see every new Broadway production.[Gans, Andrew]
50-Member Tony Awards Nominating Committee Announced for 2014–15 Season"
playbill.com, June 11, 2014 The Nominating Committee for the 2012–13 Broadway season (named in June 2012) had 42 members; the Nominating Committee for the 2014–2015 season has 50 members and was appointed in June 2014.[
There are approximately 868 eligible Tony Award voters (as of 2014),][ a number that changes slightly from year to year. The number was decreased in 2009 when the first-night critics were excluded as voters. That decision was changed, and members of the New York Drama Critics' Circle were invited to be Tony voters beginning in the 2010–2011 season.
The eligible Tony voters include the board of directors and designated members of the advisory committee of the American Theatre Wing, members of the governing boards of Actors' Equity Association, the Dramatists Guild, the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers, United Scenic Artists, and the Association of Theatrical Press Agents and Managers, members of the Theatrical Council of the Casting Society of America and voting members of The Broadway League (in 2000, what was then The League of American Theaters and Producers changed membership eligibility and Tony voting status from a lifetime honor to all above-the-title producers, to ones who had been active in the previous 10 years. This action disenfranchised scores of Tony voters, including Gail Berman, ]Harve Brosten
Harve Brosten (born May 15, 1943, in Chicago, Illinois) is an American Emmy Award-winning screenwriter for television. Brosten is best known for working on ''All in the Family'', a sitcom from the mid-1970s.
Credits
*''All in the Family'' (TV s ...
, Dick Button, Tony Lo Bianco, and Raymond Serra
Raymond Serra (born Aurelio Lacagnina; August 13, 1936 – June 20, 2003) was an American character actor known for his many supporting roles in film and television over a 30-year career. He and his wife, Gayle, had four children.
Select film ...
).
Eligibility date (Season)
To be eligible for Tony Award consideration, a production must have officially opened on Broadway by the eligibility date that the Management Committee establishes each year. For example, the cut-off date for eligibility the 2013–2014 season was April 24, 2014. The season for Tony Award eligibility is defined in the Rules and Regulations.
In 2020, the 74th Annual Tony Awards were postponed due to the COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
pandemic. On August 21, 2020, it was announced that the 74th Annual Tony Awards would take place digitally later in 2020.
Broadway theatre
A Broadway theatre is defined as having 500 or more seats, among other requirements. While the rules define a Broadway theatre in terms of its size, not its geographical location, the list of Broadway theatres is determined solely by the Tony Awards Administration Committee. As of the 2016–2017 season, the list consisted solely of 41 theaters: 40 located in the vicinity of Times Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway, Seventh Avenue, and 42nd Street. Together with adjacent ...
in New York City and Lincoln Center
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 millio ...
's Vivian Beaumont Theater.
Criticism
While the theatre-going public may consider the Tony Awards to be the Oscars of live theatre, critics have suggested that the Tony Awards are primarily a promotional vehicle for a small number of large production companies and theatre owners 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 ...
. In a 2014 ''Playbill
''Playbill'' is an American monthly magazine for theatergoers. Although there is a subscription issue available for home delivery, most copies of ''Playbill'' are printed for particular productions and distributed at the door as the show's pr ...
'' article, Robert Simonson
Robert Simonson (born September 11, 1964) is an American journalist and author.
Personal life
Robert Simonson was born in Wisconsin; he has lived in Brooklyn since 1988.
Career
Robert Simonson began writing about cocktails, spirits and bars for ...
wrote that "Who gets to perform on the Tony Awards broadcast, what they get to perform, and for how long, have long been politically charged questions in the Broadway theatre community..." The producers "accept the situation ... because just as much as actually winning a Tony, a performance that lands well with the viewing public can translate into big box-office sales." Producer Robyn Goodman noted that, if the presentation at the ceremony shows well and the show wins a Tony, "you’re going to spike at the box office".
The awards met further criticism when they eliminated the sound design awards in 2014. In 2014, a petition calling for the return of the Sound Design categories received more than 30,000 signatures. Addressing their previous concerns over Tony voters in the category, it was announced that upon the awards' return for the 2017–2018 season, they would be decided by a subset of voters based on their expertise.
Some advocates of gender equality
Gender equality, also known as sexual equality or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making; and the state of valuing d ...
and non-binary people have criticized the separation of male and female acting categories in the Tony Awards, Academy Awards, and Emmy Awards. Though some commentators worry that gender discrimination
Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but it primarily affects women and girls.There is a clear and broad consensus among academic scholars in multiple fields that sexism refers primaril ...
would cause men to dominate unsegregated categories, other categories are unsegregated. The Grammy Awards
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...
went gender-neutral in 2012, while the Daytime Emmy Awards introduced a single Outstanding Younger Performer in a Drama Series category in 2019 to replace their two gender-specific younger actor and actress categories.
Award milestones
Some notable records and facts about the Tony Awards include the following:
Productions
* Nominations: The most Tony nominations ever received by a single production was the musical ''Hamilton Hamilton may refer to:
People
* Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname
** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland
** Lord Hamilt ...
'' (2016) with 16 nominations in 13 categories, narrowly passing the previous holders of this record, '' The Producers'' (2001; 15 nominations in 12 categories) and '' Billy Elliot'' (2009; 15 nominations in 13 categories). The most Tony nominations for a non-musical play was ''Slave Play
''Slave Play'' is a three-act play by Jeremy O. Harris about race, sex, power relations, trauma, and interracial relationships.Lapacazo Sandoval, Contributing Writer. Slave Play' by Jeremy O. Harris a Real Look at Racism in America —Opening o ...
'' (2020; 12 nominations in 10 categories).
* Wins: The most Tony Awards ever received by a single production was the musical '' The Producers'' (2001) with 12 awards, including Best Musical.
* Non-musical wins: The most Tonys ever received by a non-musical play was '' The Coast of Utopia'' (2007) with 7 awards, including Best Play.
* Most nominations with fewest wins: Musicals '' The Scottsboro Boys'' (2011) and '' Mean Girls'' (2018), as well as non-musical play ''Slave Play
''Slave Play'' is a three-act play by Jeremy O. Harris about race, sex, power relations, trauma, and interracial relationships.Lapacazo Sandoval, Contributing Writer. Slave Play' by Jeremy O. Harris a Real Look at Racism in America —Opening o ...
'' (2020) are tied: all three were nominated for 12 Tony Awards but did not win any.
*Four musicals have won all "big six" awards for original musicals: '' South Pacific'' (1950 awards), '' Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street'' (1979 awards), ''Hairspray
Hairspray may refer to:
* Hair spray, a personal grooming product that keeps hair protected from humidity and wind
* ''Hairspray'' (1988 film), a film by John Waters
** ''Hairspray'' (1988 soundtrack), the film's soundtrack album
** ''Hairspray ...
'' (2003 awards) and ''The Band's Visit
''The Band's Visit'' ( he, ביקור התזמורת, Bikur Ha-Tizmoret) is a 2007 comedy-drama film, directed and written by Eran Kolirin, and starring Saleh Bakri, Ronit Elkabetz, Sasson Gabai and Uri Gavriel. It is an international co-pro ...
'' (2018 awards); each won the Best Musical, Best Score, Best Book, Best Performance by a Leading Actor, Best Performance by a Leading Actress, and Best Direction
The MTV Video Music Award for Best Direction is an award given to the artist, the artist's manager, and the director of the music video. From 1984 to 2006, the full name of the award was Best Direction in a Video, and in 2007, it was briefly rename ...
awards.
**Two Plays have won all "big four" awards for original plays: '' Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' (1963 awards) and '' The Real Thing'' (1984 awards); both won the Best Play, Best Performance by a Leading Actor, Best Performance by a Leading Actress, and Best Direction
The MTV Video Music Award for Best Direction is an award given to the artist, the artist's manager, and the director of the music video. From 1984 to 2006, the full name of the award was Best Direction in a Video, and in 2007, it was briefly rename ...
awards.
* Acting Awards: Only one production, '' South Pacific'' (1950 awards), has won all four of the acting awards in a single year.
* Words and Music: Only seven musicals have won the Tony Award for Best Musical when a person had (co-)written the Book (non-sung dialogue and storyline) and the Score (music and lyrics): 1958 winner ''The Music Man
''The Music Man'' is a musical with book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Willson, based on a story by Willson and Franklin Lacey. The plot concerns con man Harold Hill, who poses as a boys' band organizer and leader and sells band instruments and ...
'' (Meredith Willson
Robert Reiniger Meredith Willson (May 18, 1902 – June 15, 1984) was an American flutist, composer, conductor, musical arranger, bandleader, playwright, and writer. He is perhaps best known for writing the book, music, and lyrics for the 195 ...
– award for Book and Score did not exist that year), 1986 winner '' The Mystery of Edwin Drood'' ( Rupert Holmes – who also won for Book and Score), 1996 winner ''Rent
Rent may refer to:
Economics
*Renting, an agreement where a payment is made for the temporary use of a good, service or property
*Economic rent, any payment in excess of the cost of production
*Rent-seeking, attempting to increase one's share of e ...
'' (Jonathan Larson
Jonathan David Larson (February 4, 1960 – January 25, 1996) was an American composer, lyricist and playwright most famous for writing the musicals ''Rent'' and '' Tick, Tick... Boom!'', which explored the social issues of multiculturalism, ...
posthumously – who also won for Book and Score), 2011 winner '' The Book of Mormon'' ( Trey Parker, Robert Lopez, and Matt Stone also won for Book and Score), 2016 winner ''Hamilton'' ( Lin-Manuel Miranda also won for Book and Score), 2019 winner ''Hadestown
''Hadestown'' is a musical with music, lyrics, and book by Anaïs Mitchell. It tells a version of the ancient Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. Eurydice, a young girl looking for something to eat, goes to work in a hellish industrial underworld ...
'' ( Anaïs Mitchell also won for Score), and 2022 winner '' A Strange Loop'' ( Michael R Jackson also won for Book)
* Design Awards: Eleven shows have swept the Design Awards (original 3 of Best Scenic Design, Best Costume Design, Best Lighting Design – joined by Best Sound Design starting in 2008): ''Follies'' (1972), ''The Phantom of the Opera'' (1986), ''The Lion King'' (1998), ''The Producers'' (2001), ''The Light in the Piazza'' (2005), ''The Coast of Utopia'' (2007), the 2008 revival of ''South Pacific'' (first to sweep the expanded four awards for Creative Arts), ''Peter and the Starcatcher
''Peter and the Starcatcher'' is a play based on the 2004 novel ''Peter and the Starcatchers'' by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, adapted for the stage by Rick Elice. The play provides a backstory for the characters of Peter Pan, Mrs Darling, Tink ...
'' (first straight play to sweep the expanded four awards for Creative Arts) (2012), '' Harry Potter and the Cursed Child'' (2018), ''A Christmas Carol
''A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas'', commonly known as ''A Christmas Carol'', is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843 and illustrated by John Leech. ''A Christmas C ...
'' and ''Moulin Rouge!
''Moulin Rouge!'' (, ) is a 2001 jukebox musical romantic drama film directed, co-produced, and co-written by Baz Luhrmann. It follows a young English poet, Christian, who falls in love with the star of the Moulin Rouge, cabaret actress and cour ...
'' (both 2020).
* Revivals: '' Death of a Salesman'' by Arthur Miller in 2012 became the first show (play or musical) to win as Best Production in four different years, Best Play at the 1949 awards, Best Revival at the 1984 awards (before the Best Revival award was split into two categories for Play and Musical in 1994), and Best Revival of a Play at the 1999 and 2012 awards. ''La Cage aux Folles'' made history as the first musical to win as Best Production in three different years, Best Musical at the 1984 awards and Best Revival of a Musical at both the 2005 awards and the 2010 awards. ''The King and I
''The King and I'' is the fifth musical by the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. It is based on Margaret Landon's novel '' Anna and the King of Siam'' (1944), which is in turn derived from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, governess to the childre ...
'' has also garnered three Tony Awards, one for each time it has been produced on Broadway, first as Best Musical and then twice as Best Revival of a Musical. ''Company
A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of people, whether Natural person, natural, Legal person, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common p ...
'' has also won three Tony Awards, first as Best Musical in 1971, followed by Best Revival of a Musical in 2007 and 2022.
Individuals
* Wins: Harold Prince
Harold Smith Prince (born Harold Smith; January 30, 1928 – July 31, 2019), commonly known as Hal Prince, was an American theatre director and producer known for his work in musical theatre.
One of the foremost figures in 20th century America ...
has received 21 Tony Awards, more than anyone else, including eight for Best Direction of a Musical, eight for Best Musical, two for Best Producer of a Musical, and three special Tony Awards. Tommy Tune has received ten Tony Awards including three for direction, four for choreography, two for performing, and one special Tony Award. Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Joshua Sondheim (; March 22, 1930November 26, 2021) was an American composer and lyricist. One of the most important figures in twentieth-century musical theater, Sondheim is credited for having "reinvented the American musical" with sho ...
has won more music Tony Awards than any other individual, with eight awards (six for Best Original Score, one for Best Composer, and one for Best Lyricist). Bob Fosse has won the most Tonys for choreography, also eight. Oliver Smith has won a record eight scenic design Tony Awards. Jules Fisher has won the most lighting design awards, with nine. Audra McDonald
Audra Ann McDonald (born July 3, 1970) is an American actress and singer. Primarily known for her work on the Broadway stage, she has won six Tony Awards, more performance wins than any other actor, and is the only person to win in all four act ...
has the most performance Tony Awards with six. 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," ...
and Tom Stoppard
Sir Tom Stoppard (born , 3 July 1937) is a Czech born British playwright and screenwriter. He has written for film, radio, stage, and television, finding prominence with plays. His work covers the themes of human rights, censorship, and politi ...
are the most awarded writers with four Tonys each; McNally has won Best Play twice and Best Book of a Musical twice, while Stoppard has won Best Play four times.
* Most nominations: Julie Harris and Chita Rivera have been nominated more often than any other performer, ten apiece.
* Performers in two categories: Six performers have been nominated in two acting categories in the same year: Amanda Plummer, Dana Ivey
Dana Robins Ivey (born August 12, 1941) is an American actress. She is a five-time Tony Award nominee for her work on Broadway, and won the 1997 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play for her work in both ''Sex and Longing' ...
, Kate Burton, Jan Maxwell
Janice Elaine Maxwell (November 20, 1956 – February 11, 2018) was an American stage and television actress. She was a five-time Tony Award nominee and two-time Drama Desk Award winner. In a career spanning over thirty years, Maxwell was one ...
, Mark Rylance
Sir David Mark Rylance Waters (born 18 January 1960) is a British actor, playwright and theatre director. He is known for his roles on stage and screen having received numerous awards including an Academy Award, three BAFTA Awards, two Laurenc ...
, and Jeremy Pope
Jeremy Pope (born July 9, 1992) is an American actor and singer. Pope is the sixth person in Tony Award history to be nominated in two categories for separate performances during the same year, when he received nominations for Best Actor in a ...
. Plummer in 1982 was nominated for Best Actress in a Play for ''A Taste of Honey
''A Taste of Honey'' is the first play by the British dramatist Shelagh Delaney, written when she was 19. It was intended as a novel, but she turned it into a play because she hoped to revitalise British theatre and address social issues that ...
'' and Best Featured Actress in a Play for ''Agnes of God
''Agnes of God'' is a 1979 play by American playwright John Pielmeier which tells the story of a novice nun who gives birth and insists that the child was the result of a virgin conception. A psychiatrist and the mother superior of the convent cl ...
,'' for which she won. Ivey in 1984 was nominated as Best Featured Actress in Musical for ''Sunday in the Park with George
''Sunday in the Park with George'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. It was inspired by the French pointillist painter Georges Seurat's painting ''A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatt ...
'' and Best Featured Actress in a Play for ''Heartbreak House
''Heartbreak House: A Fantasia in the Russian Manner on English Themes'' is a play written by George Bernard Shaw, first published in 1919 and first played at the Garrick Theatre in November 1920. According to A. C. Ward, the work argues that "cul ...
.'' In 2002, Burton was nominated for Best Actress in Play for '' Hedda Gabler'' and Best Featured Actress in a Play for ''The Elephant Man
Joseph Carey Merrick (5 August 1862 – 11 April 1890), often erroneously called John Merrick, was an English man known for having severe deformities. He was first exhibited at a freak show under the stage name "the Elephant Man" and then wen ...
''. Maxwell was nominated in 2010 for Best Actress in a Play for ''The Royal Family
A royal family is the immediate family of kings/queens, emirs/emiras, sultans/ sultanas, or raja/ rani and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term ...
'' and Best Featured Actress in a Play for '' Lend Me a Tenor''. Rylance was nominated in 2014 for Best Actor in a Play for ''Richard III
Richard III (2 October 145222 August 1485) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. His defeat and death at the Battl ...
'' and Best Featured Actor in a Play for ''Twelfth Night
''Twelfth Night'', or ''What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night's entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Vio ...
'', for which he won. Pope was nominated in 2019 for Best Actor in a Play for '' Choir Boy'' and Best Featured Actor in a Musical for ''Ain't Too Proud
''Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations'' is a 2018 jukebox musical with music and lyrics by The Temptations and a book by Dominique Morisseau. Based on the story of The Temptations, the musical had a series of regional produc ...
''.
* Performers in all categories: Five performers have been nominated for all four performance awards for which a performer is eligible.
** Boyd Gaines
Boyd Payne Gaines (born May 11, 1953) is an American actor. During his career, he has won four Tony Awards and three Drama Desk Awards. Gaines is best known for playing Mark Royer on '' One Day at a Time'' (1981-1984).
Early life and education
H ...
was the first performer to be nominated for each of Best Featured Actor in a Play in ''The Heidi Chronicles
''The Heidi Chronicles'' is a 1988 play by Wendy Wasserstein. The play won the 1989 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
Production history
A workshop production at Seattle Repertory Theatre was held in April 1988, directed by Daniel J. Sullivan, starrin ...
'' (1989), Best Actor in a Musical for ''She Loves Me
''She Loves Me'' is a musical with a book by Joe Masteroff, music by Jerry Bock, and lyrics by Sheldon Harnick.
The musical is the third adaptation of the 1937 play '' Parfumerie'' by Hungarian playwright Miklós László, following the 1940 fil ...
'' (1994), Best Featured Actor in a Musical for ''Contact
Contact may refer to:
Interaction Physical interaction
* Contact (geology), a common geological feature
* Contact lens or contact, a lens placed on the eye
* Contact sport, a sport in which players make contact with other players or objects
* ...
'' (2000) and ''Gypsy
The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sign ...
'' (2008) and Best Actor in a Play for ''Journey's End
''Journey's End'' is a 1928 dramatic play by English playwright R. C. Sherriff, set in the trenches near Saint-Quentin, Aisne, towards the end of the First World War. The story plays out in the officers' dugout of a British Army infantry comp ...
'' (2007). Gaines won in three of the categories (and four of the five nominations), missing only for the performance in ''Journey's End''.
** Raúl Esparza
Raúl Eduardo Esparza (born October 24, 1970) is an American stage, screen, and voice actor. Considered one of Broadway's leading men since the 2000s, he is best known for his Tony Award-nominated performance as Bobby in the 2006 Broadway reviva ...
was the second performer to be nominated in all four categories (no wins), achieving this over a mere six seasons: Best Featured Actor in a Musical for ''Taboo
A taboo or tabu is a social group's ban, prohibition, or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, sacred, or allowed only for certain persons.''Encyclopædia Britannica ...
'' (2004), Best Actor in a Musical for ''Company
A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of people, whether Natural person, natural, Legal person, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common p ...
'' (2007), Best Featured Actor in a Play for '' The Homecoming'' (2008), and Best Actor in a Play for ''Speed-the-Plow
''Speed-the-Plow'' is a 1988 play by David Mamet that is a satirical dissection of the American movie business. As stated in ''The Producer's Perspective'', "this is a theme Mamet would revisit in his later films ''Wag the Dog'' (1997) and ''St ...
'' (2009).
** Angela Lansbury
Dame Angela Brigid Lansbury (October 16, 1925 – October 11, 2022) was an Irish-British and American film, stage, and television actress. Her career spanned eight decades, much of it in the United States, and her work received a great deal ...
was the third performer to be nominated for all four performance awards. She won Best Actress in a Musical for '' Mame'' (1966), '' Dear World'' (1969), ''Gypsy
The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sign ...
'' (1975), and '' Sweeney Todd'' (1979). She was nominated for Best Actress in a Play for ''Deuce
Deuce, Deuces, or The Deuce may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Fictional characters
* Deuce, in the ''Danger Girl'' comic book series
* Deuce, a character in ''Shake It Up''
* Deuce, in the ''Wild Cards'' science fiction universe
* Deuce Biga ...
'' (2007). She won Best Featured Actress in a Play for ''Blithe Spirit Blithe Spirit may refer to:
* ''Blithe Spirit'' (play), a 1941 comic play written by Noël Coward
* ''Blithe Spirit'' (1945 film), a British comedy film based on the play
* ''Blithe Spirit'' (2020 film), a British-American comedy film based on th ...
'' (2009). She was nominated for Featured Actress in a Musical for '' A Little Night Music'' (2010).
** Jan Maxwell
Janice Elaine Maxwell (November 20, 1956 – February 11, 2018) was an American stage and television actress. She was a five-time Tony Award nominee and two-time Drama Desk Award winner. In a career spanning over thirty years, Maxwell was one ...
became the fourth performer to achieve this distinction by being nominated (no wins) for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for ''Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
''Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'' is a 1968 musical-fantasy film directed by Ken Hughes with a screenplay co-written by Roald Dahl and Hughes, loosely based on Ian Fleming's novel '' Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang: The Magical Car'' (1964). The film stars ...
'' (2005), Best Featured Actress in a Play for ''Coram Boy
''Coram Boy'' is a 2000 children's novel by Jamila Gavin. It won Gavin a Whitbread Prize, Whitbread Children's Book Award.
Stage adaptation
The book was adapted for the stage by Helen Edmundson, with music by Adrian Sutton, and played for two ...
'' (2007) and '' Lend Me a Tenor'' (2010), Best Actress in a Play for ''The Royal Family
A royal family is the immediate family of kings/queens, emirs/emiras, sultans/ sultanas, or raja/ rani and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term ...
'' (2010), and Best Actress in a Musical for '' Follies'' (2012).
** Audra McDonald
Audra Ann McDonald (born July 3, 1970) is an American actress and singer. Primarily known for her work on the Broadway stage, she has won six Tony Awards, more performance wins than any other actor, and is the only person to win in all four act ...
became the fifth performer to accomplish the feat and the first to win in all four categories, winning Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical for ''Carousel
A carousel or carrousel (mainly North American English), merry-go-round (List of sovereign states, international), roundabout (British English), or hurdy-gurdy (an old term in Australian English, in South Australia, SA) is a type of amusement ...
'' (1994) and ''Ragtime
Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that flourished from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers such as Scott ...
'' (1998), Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play for ''Master Class
A master class is a Class (education), class given to students of a particular Academic discipline, discipline by an expert of that discipline—usually music, but also science, painting, drama, games, or on any other occasion where skills are b ...
'' (1996) and '' A Raisin in the Sun'' (2004), Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical for ''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 ...
'' (2012), and Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play for ''Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill
''Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill'' is a musical with music by Lanie Robertson, recounting some events in the life of Billie Holiday. The play premiered in 1986 at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia, and soon played Off-Broadway. The p ...
'' (2014). She was nominated for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical for '' Marie Christine'' (2000) and ''110 in the Shade
''110 in the Shade'' is a musical with a book by N. Richard Nash, lyrics by Tom Jones, and music by Harvey Schmidt.
Based on Nash's 1954 play '' The Rainmaker'', it focuses on Lizzie Curry, a spinster living on a ranch in the American southwest ...
'' (2007) and for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play for '' Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune'' (2020/21).
* Performers Playing Opposite Sex: While several performers have won Tonys for roles that have involved cross-dressing, only four have won for playing a character of the opposite sex: Mary Martin
Mary Virginia Martin (December 1, 1913 – November 3, 1990) was an American actress and singer. A muse of Rodgers and Hammerstein, she originated many leading roles on stage over her career, including Nellie Forbush in '' South Pacific'' (194 ...
in the title role of ''Peter Pan'' (1955), Harvey Fierstein as Edna Turnblad in ''Hairspray'' (2003), Mark Rylance
Sir David Mark Rylance Waters (born 18 January 1960) is a British actor, playwright and theatre director. He is known for his roles on stage and screen having received numerous awards including an Academy Award, three BAFTA Awards, two Laurenc ...
as Olivia in ''Twelfth Night
''Twelfth Night'', or ''What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night's entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Vio ...
'' (2014), and Lena Hall as Yitzhak in ''Hedwig and the Angry Inch'' (2014). In 2000, Australian actor Barry Humphries won the Special Tony Award for a live theatrical event at the 55th Annual Tony Awards for ''Dame Edna: The Royal Tour''.
* Shared Performances: All three of the young actors who shared the duties of performing the lead character in '' Billy Elliot the Musical'' (2009 awards) David Alvarez, Trent Kowalik
Trent Matthias Kowalik (born February 22, 1995) is an American actor, singer and dancer. After making his theatrical debut as Billy in 2007 in the West End production of ''Billy Elliot the Musical'', he went on to co-originate the same role in t ...
and Kiril Kulish also shared a single nomination, then shared the win, for Best Actor in a Musical. Previously, the only prior joint winners were John Kani and Winston Ntshona, who shared the Best Actor in a Play award in 1975 for '' Sizwe Banzi is Dead'' and ''The Island The Island(s) may refer to:
Places
* Any of various islands around the world, see the list of islands
* The Island (Cache County, Utah), an island on the Bear River, Utah
* The Island, Chennai, a river island in India
* The Island, Chicago, a n ...
'', two plays they co-wrote and co-starred in.
* Two genders for one role: Ben Vereen and Patina Miller both won, respectively, Best Actor in a Musical in 1972 and Best Actress in a Musical in 2013 for the role of the Leading Player in '' Pippin'', marking the first time the same role has been won by both a man and a woman in a Broadway production.
* Writing and performing: Two people have won Tonys as an author and as a performer. Harvey Fierstein won Best Play and Best Lead Actor in a Play for ''Torch Song Trilogy'' (1983), Best Book of a Musical for '' La Cage aux Folles'', and Best Lead Actor in a Musical for ''Hairspray
Hairspray may refer to:
* Hair spray, a personal grooming product that keeps hair protected from humidity and wind
* ''Hairspray'' (1988 film), a film by John Waters
** ''Hairspray'' (1988 soundtrack), the film's soundtrack album
** ''Hairspray ...
''. Tracy Letts
Tracy S. Letts (born July 4, 1965) is an American actor, playwright, and screenwriter. He started his career at the Steppenwolf Theatre before making his Broadway debut as a playwright for '' August: Osage County'' (2007), for which he received ...
, the author of 2008 Best Play ''August: Osage County'', won Best Lead Actor in a Play for ''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' (2013).
* Youngest and oldest winners of Best Score or Best Book: Lin-Manuel Miranda is the youngest person to win the award; he was 28 when he won for '' In The Heights''. If T. S. Eliot
Thomas Stearns Eliot (26 September 18884 January 1965) was a poet, essayist, publisher, playwright, literary critic and editor.Bush, Ronald. "T. S. Eliot's Life and Career", in John A Garraty and Mark C. Carnes (eds), ''American National Biogr ...
had been alive when he won for ''Cats
The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of t ...
'', he would have been 94. Eliot is one of two people to receive the award posthumously, the other being Jonathan Larson
Jonathan David Larson (February 4, 1960 – January 25, 1996) was an American composer, lyricist and playwright most famous for writing the musicals ''Rent'' and '' Tick, Tick... Boom!'', which explored the social issues of multiculturalism, ...
, who won for ''Rent
Rent may refer to:
Economics
*Renting, an agreement where a payment is made for the temporary use of a good, service or property
*Economic rent, any payment in excess of the cost of production
*Rent-seeking, attempting to increase one's share of e ...
''. He would have been 36.
*Youngest and oldest actors to win: Frank Langella
Frank A. Langella Jr. (; born January 1, 1938) is an American stage and film actor. He has won four Tony Awards: two for Best Leading Actor in a Play for his performance as Richard Nixon in Peter Morgan's '' Frost/Nixon'' and as André in Flori ...
is the oldest actor to win a Tony, for his performance in '' The Father'' (won at age 78), and Lois Smith holds the record for oldest actress for her performance in '' The Inheritance'' (won at age 90). The youngest actor to win a Tony Award, at age 11, was Frankie Michaels
Francis Michael Chernesky (5 May 1955 – 30 March 2016), known professionally as Frankie Michaels, was an American actor and singer. In 1966, he won a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for playing young Patrick Dennis in the origin ...
, in 1966, for his featured performance in '' Mame'', a record which still stands today. Twenty-five years later, at 11 and a half years old, Daisy Eagan
Daisy Eagan is an American actress.
Early life
Eagan was born in Brooklyn to a Jewish family. Her mother, Andrea Boroff Eagan, was a medical writer; she died when Eagan was 13. Her father, Richard Eagan, is a visual and performing artist. Dai ...
took home a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her performance in ''The Secret Garden
''The Secret Garden'' is a novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett first published in book form in 1911, after serialisation in ''The American Magazine'' (November 1910 – August 1911). Set in England, it is one of Burnett's most popular novels and ...
'', cementing her place in Tony history as the youngest woman to win the award.
*Youngest and oldest winners for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical: Liza Minelli is the youngest actress to win the award, for her performance in '' Flora the Red Menace'' (won at age 19). Bette Midler
Bette Midler (;''Inside the Actors Studio'', 2004 born December 1, 1945) is an American singer, actress, comedian and author. Throughout her career, which spans over five decades, Midler has received List of awards and nominations received by Be ...
is the oldest actress to win the award, for her performance in '' Hello, Dolly!'' (won at age 71).
*In 2013, the four girls who alternated for the title role in ''Matilda the Musical
''Roald Dahl's Matilda'', simply known as ''Matilda'' or ''Matilda the Musical'', is a stage musical with music and lyrics by Tim Minchin and a book by Dennis Kelly, based on the 1988 novel ''Matilda'' by Roald Dahl. The musical's narrative c ...
'' (Sophia Gennusa
Sophia Elizabeth Gennusa (born October 20, 2003) is an American actress most known for playing the titular role of Matilda Wormwood, in the original Broadway cast of '' Matilda the Musical'', and Hannah Shepherd in '' The Enemy Within''.
Career ...
, aged 9; Bailey Ryon
Bailey Ryon (born May 20, 2002) is a child actress from Southern Pennsylvania. She is known for originating the role of Matilda in Matilda the Musical on Broadway with fellow actresses Milly Shapiro, Oona Laurence, and Sophia Gennusa. She perfor ...
, aged 10; Oona Laurence
Oona Laurence (born August 1, 2002) is an American actress. She is best known for the role of Matilda Wormwood in ''Matilda'' on Broadway alongside Bailey Ryon, Milly Shapiro, and Sophia Gennusa. She began her career as a New York City-based ch ...
, aged 10; and Milly Shapiro
Milly Shapiro is an American actress and singer. She starred in the 2018 horror film '' Hereditary'' and the 2013 Broadway production of ''Matilda the Musical'' playing the role of Matilda Wormwood. She also played Sally Brown in an Off-Broadwa ...
, aged 10) won a joint Tony Honors award, making Gennusa the youngest to ever receive a Tony, albeit a non-competitive one.
Firsts
* First African-American to win Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical: Juanita Hall for '' South Pacific'' in 1950.
* First African-American to win Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical: Harry Belafonte
Harry Belafonte (born Harold George Bellanfanti Jr.; March 1, 1927) is an American singer, activist, and actor. As arguably the most successful Jamaican-American pop star, he popularized the Trinbagonian Caribbean musical style with an interna ...
for ''John Murray Anderson's Almanac
''John Murray Anderson's Almanac'' is a musical revue, featuring the music of the songwriting team of Richard Adler and Jerry Ross, as well as other composers. It was conceived by John Murray Anderson.
Productions
''John Murray Anderson's Almanac ...
'' in 1954.
* First female author to win Best Play: Frances Goodrich with her partner (and husband) Albert Hackett for ''The Diary of Anne Frank
''The Diary of a Young Girl'', also known as ''The Diary of Anne Frank'', is a book of the writings from the Dutch-language diary kept by Anne Frank while she was in hiding for two years with her family during the Nazi occupation of the Netherl ...
'' in 1956.
* First African-American to win Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical: Diahann Carroll
Diahann Carroll (; born Carol Diann Johnson; July 17, 1935 – October 4, 2019) was an American actress, singer, model, and activist. She rose to prominence in some of the earliest major studio films to feature black casts, including ''Car ...
for '' No Strings'' in 1962.
* First African-American to win Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play: James Earl Jones
James Earl Jones (born January 17, 1931) is an American actor. He has been described as "one of America's most distinguished and versatile" actors for his performances in film, television, and theater, and "one of the greatest actors in America ...
for '' The Great White Hope'' in 1969.
* First African-American to win Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical: Cleavon Little for '' Purlie'' in 1970.
* First African-American author to win Best Play: Joseph A. Walker
Joseph Albert Walker (February 20, 1921 – June 8, 1966) (Capt, USAF) was an American World War II pilot, experimental physicist, NASA test pilot, and astronaut who was the first person to fly an airplane to space. He was one of twelve pilots ...
for '' The River Niger'' in 1974.
* First African-American composer to solely win Tony Award for Best Score
The Tony Award for Best Original Score is the Tony Award given to the composers and lyricists of the best original score written for a musical theatre, musical or Play (theatre), play in that year. The score consists of music and/or lyrics. To be ...
: Charlie Smalls for '' The Wiz'' in 1975.
* First female to win Tony Award for Best Score
The Tony Award for Best Original Score is the Tony Award given to the composers and lyricists of the best original score written for a musical theatre, musical or Play (theatre), play in that year. The score consists of music and/or lyrics. To be ...
: Betty Comden for '' On the Twentieth Century'' in 1978. (In 1968, she became the first female to win the previous version of the Best Score Award, the Tony Award for Best Composer And Lyricist for '' Hallelujah, Baby!'')
* First Asian-American author to win Best Play: David Henry Hwang
David Henry Hwang (born August 11, 1957) is an American playwright, librettist, screenwriter, and theater professor at Columbia University in New York City. He has won three Obie Awards for his plays '' FOB'', '' Golden Child'', and '' Yellow ...
for ''M Butterfly
''M. Butterfly'' is a play by David Henry Hwang. The story, while entwined with that of the opera ''Madama Butterfly'', is based most directly on the relationship between French diplomat Bernard Boursicot and Shi Pei Pu, a Peking opera singer. T ...
'' in 1988.
* First Asian-American to win Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play: BD Wong for ''M Butterfly
''M. Butterfly'' is a play by David Henry Hwang. The story, while entwined with that of the opera ''Madama Butterfly'', is based most directly on the relationship between French diplomat Bernard Boursicot and Shi Pei Pu, a Peking opera singer. T ...
'' in 1988.
* First female author to solely win Best Play: Wendy Wasserstein for ''The Heidi Chronicles
''The Heidi Chronicles'' is a 1988 play by Wendy Wasserstein. The play won the 1989 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
Production history
A workshop production at Seattle Repertory Theatre was held in April 1988, directed by Daniel J. Sullivan, starrin ...
'' in 1989.
* First Asian to win Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical: Lea Salonga
Maria Lea Carmen Imutan Salonga (; born February 22, 1971), known professionally as Lea Salonga, is a Filipino singer, actress, and columnist. Nicknamed "Pride of the Philippines," she is best known for her roles in musical theatre, for supplyin ...
for ''Miss Saigon
''Miss Saigon'' is a stage musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, with lyrics by Boublil and Richard Maltby Jr. It is based on Giacomo Puccini's 1904 opera ''Madame Butterfly'', and similarly tells the tragic tale of a doomed rom ...
'' in 1991.
* First female to win Best Direction of a Musical: Julie Taymor for ''The Lion King
''The Lion King'' is a 1994 American animated musical drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The 32nd Disney animated feature film and the fifth produced during the Disney Renaissance, it ...
'' in 1998.
* First female to win Best Direction of a Play: Garry Hynes for '' The Beauty Queen of Leenane'' in 1998.
* First African-American to win Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play: Phylicia Rashad
Phylicia Rashad ( ) (née Ayers-Allen; born June 19, 1948) is an American actress, singer and director who is dean of the College of Fine Arts at Howard University. She is best known for her role as Clair Huxtable on the NBC sitcom ''The Cosby S ...
for '' A Raisin in the Sun'' in 2004.
*First Brazilian to win Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical: Paulo Szot for '' South Pacific'' in 2008.
* First female to solely win Tony Award for Best Score
The Tony Award for Best Original Score is the Tony Award given to the composers and lyricists of the best original score written for a musical theatre, musical or Play (theatre), play in that year. The score consists of music and/or lyrics. To be ...
: Cyndi Lauper for '' Kinky Boots'' in 2013.
* First Asian-American to win Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical: Ruthie Ann Miles for ''The King and I
''The King and I'' is the fifth musical by the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. It is based on Margaret Landon's novel '' Anna and the King of Siam'' (1944), which is in turn derived from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, governess to the childre ...
'' in 2015.
* First female team to win Tony Award for Best Score
The Tony Award for Best Original Score is the Tony Award given to the composers and lyricists of the best original score written for a musical theatre, musical or Play (theatre), play in that year. The score consists of music and/or lyrics. To be ...
and Tony Award for Best Book
The Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical is awarded to librettists of the spoken, non-sung dialogue, and storyline of a musical play. Eligibility is restricted to works with original narrative framework; plotless revues and revivals are ineligib ...
: Jeanine Tesori
Jeanine Tesori (known earlier in her career as Jeanine Levenson) is an American composer and musical arranger best known for her work in the theater. She is the most prolific and honored female theatrical composer in history, with five Broadway mu ...
& Lisa Kron
Elizabeth S. "Lisa" Kron (born May 20, 1961) is an American actress and playwright. She is best known for writing the lyrics and book to the musical ''Fun Home'' for which she won both the Tony Award for Best Original Score and the Tony Award for ...
for ''Fun Home'' in 2015.
*First Latiné playwright to win Tony Award for Best Play
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) play on Broadway, as determined by Tony Award voters. There was no award in the Tonys' first year ...
: Matthew López for ''The Inheritance'' in 2020.
* First Lebanese-American to win Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical: Tony Shalhoub for ''The Band's Visit
''The Band's Visit'' ( he, ביקור התזמורת, Bikur Ha-Tizmoret) is a 2007 comedy-drama film, directed and written by Eran Kolirin, and starring Saleh Bakri, Ronit Elkabetz, Sasson Gabai and Uri Gavriel. It is an international co-pro ...
'' in 2018.
* First Yemeni-American to win : Ari'el Stachel
Ari'el Stachel (born July 29, 1991) is an American actor. He won the 2018 Tony Award for Featured Actor in a Musical for his role in ''The Band's Visit''.
Early life
Stachel was born and raised in Berkeley, California. His father, Aaron Yeshay ...
for ''The Band's Visit
''The Band's Visit'' ( he, ביקור התזמורת, Bikur Ha-Tizmoret) is a 2007 comedy-drama film, directed and written by Eran Kolirin, and starring Saleh Bakri, Ronit Elkabetz, Sasson Gabai and Uri Gavriel. It is an international co-pro ...
'' in 2018.
* First person who uses a wheelchair to be nominated for and to receive a Tony Award for acting: Ali Stroker with the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical
The Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical has been presented since 1950. The award was not given at the first three Tony Award ceremonies. Nominees were not announced publicly until 1956.
Winners and nominees
1950s
...
for '' Oklahoma!'' in 2019.
* First female to be nominated for and to win Best Sound Design of a Musical: Jessica Paz for ''Hadestown
''Hadestown'' is a musical with music, lyrics, and book by Anaïs Mitchell. It tells a version of the ancient Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. Eurydice, a young girl looking for something to eat, goes to work in a hellish industrial underworld ...
'' in 2019.
* First openly trans performer to be nominated for a Tony Award: L Morgan Lee
L Morgan Lee is an American actress and singer. She was nominated for the 2022 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical for her performance in ''A Strange Loop'' on Broadway, making history as the first openly transgen ...
with the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical
The Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical has been presented since 1950. The award was not given at the first three Tony Award ceremonies. Nominees were not announced publicly until 1956.
Winners and nominees
1950s
...
for '' A Strange Loop'' in 2022.
See also
* African-American Tony nominees and winners
This is a list of Black creatives who have been nominated for a Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are pre ...
* Drama Desk Award
The Drama Desk Award is an annual prize recognizing excellence in New York theatre. First bestowed in 1955 as the Vernon Rice Award, the prize initially honored Off-Broadway productions, as well as Off-off-Broadway, and those in the vicinity. Fo ...
* Helpmann Awards
The Helpmann Awards are accolades for live entertainment and performing arts in Australia, presented by industry group Live Live Performance Australia (LPA) since 2001.
The annual awards recognise achievements in the disciplines of musical t ...
* Laurence Olivier Awards
The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply the Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre in London at an annual ceremony in the capital. The awards were originally known as ...
* LGBT culture in New York City
New York City is home to one of the largest LGBTQ populations in the world and the most prominent. Brian Silverman, the author of ''Frommer's New York City from $90 a Day,'' wrote the city has "one of the world's largest, loudest, and most power ...
* List of Tony Awards ceremonies
This is a list of Tony Awards ceremonies.Staff (undated)."Who's Who" tonyawards.com. Retrieved September 13, 2013.
This list is current as of the 75th Tony Awards ceremony held on June 12, 2022.
Venues
* 1947–53, 1957–59, 1961–62: Wa ...
* Obie Award
The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards originally given by ''The Village Voice'' newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City. In September 2014, the awards were jointly presented and administered with the A ...
* Society of London Theatre
* Theatre World Award
References
External links
* ''Tony Award ® Productions''
*
*
*
*
Tony Awards (CBS official broadcast website)
American Theatre Wing (official website)
The Broadway League (official website)
{{authority control
American theater awards
Performing arts trophies
Annual events in New York City
American annual television specials
Broadway theatre
CBS television specials
Competitions in New York City
Radio City Music Hall
Awards established in 1947
1947 establishments in New York City
1947 in New York City