The First Tony Awards, more formally known as the

Antoinette Perry Mary Antoinette "Tony" Perry (June 27, 1888June 28, 1946) was an American actress and director, and co-founder of the American Theatre Wing. She is the eponym of the Tony Awards. Early life Born in Denver, Colorado, she spent her childhood asp ...

Awards for Excellence in Theatre, were held on April 6, 1947, in the Grand Ballroom of the

Waldorf-Astoria Hotel The Waldorf Astoria New York is a luxury hotel and condominium residence in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. The structure, at 301 Park Avenue between 49th and 50th Streets, is a 47-story Art Deco landmark designed by architects Schultze ...

in New York City."History. An Award for Excellence"
tonyawards.com, accessed May 28, 2016 Perry was a co-founder of the revived and revised version the

American Theatre Wing The American Theatre Wing (the Wing for short) is a New York City–based non-profit organization "dedicated to supporting excellence and education in theatre", according to its mission statement. Originally known as the Stage Women's War Relief ...

(ATW) in 1940, and the award were established by the ATW in her memory after her death in 1946. Fellow ATW co-founder

Louise Heims Beck Louise Payton Heims Beck (1889 – March 16, 1978), sometimes referred to as Mrs. Martin Beck, was an American librarian who became a vaudeville performer and the wife of theatre impresario Martin Beck. She assisted her husband in his theatrical ...

was responsible for overseeing the organization of the 1st Tony Awards.

Background and ceremony

Presented by the ATW, the Awards celebrated "outstanding contributions to the current

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 ...

season." According to ''

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 ...

'', these awards "do not designate their recipients as 'best' or 'first' but the classifications in which they are given will be elastic from year to year." The ceremony, hosted by

Brock Pemberton Brock Pemberton (December 14, 1885 – March 11, 1950) was an American theatrical producer, director and founder of the Tony Awards. He was the professional partner of Antoinette Perry, co-founder of the American Theatre Wing, and he was also a m ...

, was broadcast on radio station WOR and the

Mutual Network The Mutual Broadcasting System (commonly referred to simply as Mutual; sometimes referred to as MBS, Mutual Radio or the Mutual Radio Network) was an American commercial radio network in operation from 1934 to 1999. In the golden age of U.S. rad ...

. The awards got their nickname, "

Tonys 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 presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual c ...

", during the ceremony itself when Pemberton handed out an award and called it a "Toni", referring to the nickname of Antoinette Perry, co-founder of the American Theatre Wing. Musicals represented at the ceremony were '' Street Scene'', ''

Brigadoon ''Brigadoon'' is a musical with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner, and music by Frederick Loewe. The song " Almost Like Being in Love", from the musical, has become a standard. It features two American tourists who stumble upon Brigadoon, a ...

'' and ''

Finian's Rainbow ''Finian's Rainbow'' is a musical with a book by E. Y. Harburg and Fred Saidy, lyrics by Harburg, and music by Burton Lane, produced by Lee Sabinson. The original 1947 Broadway production ran for 725 performances, while a film version was re ...

''. ''

Oklahoma! ''Oklahoma!'' is the first musical theater, musical written by the duo of Rodgers and Hammerstein. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs' 1931 play, ''Green Grow the Lilacs (play), Green Grow the Lilacs''. Set in farm country outside the town of ...

'' and ''

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 ...

'' could not be nominated because, while although still playing their original runs at the time of the awards, they had opened too soon to qualify for the awards (''Oklahoma!'' had opened in 1943, and ''Carousel'' in 1945). The award itself was a

scroll A scroll (from the Old French ''escroe'' or ''escroue''), also known as a roll, is a roll of papyrus, parchment, or paper containing writing. Structure A scroll is usually partitioned into pages, which are sometimes separate sheets of papyrus ...

, an initialed sterling silver compact case for the women, and an engraved gold bill clip or cigarette lighter for the men.

Winners

''Note: nominees are not shown''

Performance

Craft

Special awards

Source: ''The New York Times'' * Dora Chamberlain - "unfailing courtesy as treasurer of the Martin Beck Theatre" *Mr. and Mrs. Ira Katzenberg - "for enthusiasm as inveterate first-nighters" * Jules Leventhal - "the season's most prolific backer and producer" *P.A. MacDonald - "intricate construction for the production of 'If the Shoe Fits'" *

Burns Mantle Robert Burns Mantle (December 23, 1873February 9, 1948) was an American theater critic. He founded the ''Best Plays'' annual publication in 1920.Chansky, Dorothy (2011)"Burns Mantle and the American Theatregoing Public" in ''Theatre History Stu ...

- "for his annual publication" *

Arthur Miller Arthur Asher Miller (October 17, 1915 – February 10, 2005) was an American playwright, essayist and screenwriter in the 20th-century American theater. Among his most popular plays are '' All My Sons'' (1947), ''Death of a Salesman'' ( ...

- author of '' All My Sons'' *

Vincent Sardi Sr. Vincent Sardi Sr. (December 23, 1885 – November 19, 1969) was an American restaurateur. He served as the original founder of the restaurant Sardi's for more than 50 years. Sardi was honored the Special Tony Award at the 1st Tony Awards. He die ...

- "for providing a transient home and comfort station for theatre folk at Sardi's for twenty years"

Multiple nominations and awards

The following productions received multiple awards. *''2 wins:'' '' All My Sons'', ''

Another Part of the Forest ''Another Part of the Forest'' is a 1946 play by Lillian Hellman, a prequel to her 1939 drama ''The Little Foxes''. Plot synopsis Set in the fictional town of Bowden, Alabama, in June 1880, the plot focuses on the wealthy, ruthless, and innatel ...

'', ''

'' and '' Happy Birthday''

References

External links

Tony Awards official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tony Awards, 01 Tony Awards ceremonies 1947 in theatre 1947 awards 1947 in the United States 1947 in New York City