Tony Awards Fast Facts
CNN Editorial Research
Here’s a look at the Tony Awards which honor achievements on Broadway.
June 11, 2023 – The 76th Tony Awards are scheduled to take place.
Facts
The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League.
Only productions staged in designated Broadway theatres are eligible for nominations.
The musical that holds the record for most Tony Awards is “The Producers,” in 2001. It won 12 awards out of 15 nominations.
The hip-hop infused musical “Hamilton” earned a record-setting 16 Tony nominations on May 3, 2016, including Best Musical and Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical for playwright/star Lin-Manuel Miranda.
Producer/director Harold “Hal” Prince has won the most Tony Awards overall (21).
Actress Audra McDonald has won the most Tony awards as a performer (six).
The Tonys are named after Antoinette Perry, a Broadway actress and director who died in 1946. Her charitable work with the American Theatre Wing during WWII inspired the Broadway community to create an award in her honor.
The American Theatre Wing became famous for the “Stage Door Canteens,” in which GIs could drop in and be entertained by famous Hollywood and Broadway stars.
If there is only one nominee, the category is submitted to the Tony Voters. An affirmative vote of 60% of the total ballots cast will grant an Award in that category.
Timeline
April 6, 1947 – The first Tony Awards are presented at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York.
The first “Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play” award is a tie with Ingrid Bergman for “Joan of Lorraine” and Helen Hayes for “Happy Birthday.”
The first “Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play ” award is also a tie, between Jose Ferrer for “Cyrano de Bergerac” and Fredric March for “Years Ago.”
1956 – The Tony Awards are broadcast on television for the first time, on the Dumont Network.
2023 Tony Award Nominees (selected)
Best Play
“Ain’t No Mo'”
“Between Riverside and Crazy”
“Cost of Living”
“Fat Ham”
“Leopoldstadt”
Best Musical
“& Juliet”
“Kimberly Akimbo”
“New York, New York”
“Shucked”
“Some Like It Hot”
Best Revival of a Play
“A Doll’s House”
“The Piano Lesson”
“The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window”
“Topdog/Underdog”
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play
Corey Hawkins, “Topdog/Underdog”
Sean Hayes, “Good Night, Oscar”
Stephen McKinley Henderson, “Between Riverside and Crazy”
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, “Topdog/Underdog”
Wendell Pierce, “Death of a Salesman”
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play
Jessica Chastain, “A Doll’s House”
Jodie Comer, “Prima Facie”
Jessica Hecht, “Summer, 1976”
Audra McDonald, “Ohio State Murders”
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical
Christian Borle, “Some Like It Hot”
J. Harrison Ghee, “Some Like It Hot”
Josh Groban, “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”
Brian D’Arcy James, “Into the Woods”
Ben Platt, “Parade”
Colton Ryan, “New York, New York”
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical
Annaleigh Ashford, “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”
Sara Bareilles, “Into the Woods”
Victoria Clark, “Kimberly Akimbo”
Lorna Courtney, “& Juliet”
Micaela Diamond, “Parade”
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