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 ceremony in Midtown Manhattan.
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 Tony Honors for Excellence in Theatre, and the Isabelle Stevenson Award.
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 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. The Tony Awards are considered the highest U.S. theatre honor, the New York theatre industry's equivalent to the Academy Awards (Oscars) for film, the Emmy Awards (daytime/primetime) for television, and the Grammy Awards for music. It also forms the fourth spoke in the EGOT, that is, someone who has won all four major annual American entertainment awards. The Tony Awards are also considered the equivalent of the Laurence Olivier Awards in the United Kingdom and the Molière Awards in France.
Ceremonies[]
All ceremonies are held in venues located in New York City, New York, U.S.
| Edition | Date | Venue | Host(s) | Broadcaster(s) | Best Musical winner | Best Play winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | April 6, 1947 | Waldorf Astoria New York | Brock Pemberton | WOR Mutual |
N/A | N/A |
| 2nd | March 28, 1948 | Bert Lytell, Hiram Sherman and Harry Hirshfield | Mister Roberts | |||
| 3rd | April 24, 1949 | Brock Pemberton and James Sauter | Kiss Me, Kate | Death of a Salesman | ||
| 4th | April 9, 1950 | none | South Pacific | The Cocktail Party | ||
| 5th | March 25, 1951 | James Sauter | Guys and Dolls | The Rose Tattoo | ||
| 6th | March 30, 1952 | Helen Hayes | The King and I | The Fourposter | ||
| 7th | March 29, 1953 | Faye Emerson | NBC Radio | Wonderful Town | The Crucible | |
| 8th | March 28, 1954 | Plaza Hotel | James Sauter | NBC | Kismet | The Teahouse of the August Moon |
| 9th | March 27, 1955 | Helen Hayes | The Pajama Game | The Desperate Hours | ||
| 10th | April 1, 1956 | Jack Carter | DuMont | Damn Yankees | The Diary of Anne Frank | |
| 11th | April 21, 1957 | Waldorf Astoria New York | Bud Collyer | N/A | My Fair Lady | Long Day's Journey into Night |
| 12th | April 13, 1958 | The Music Man | Sunrise at Campobello | |||
| 13th | April 12, 1959 | WCBS-TV | Redhead | J.B. | ||
| 14th | April 24, 1960 | Hotel Astor | Eddie Albert | The Sound of Music and Fiorello! | The Miracle Worker | |
| 15th | April 16, 1961 | Waldorf Astoria New York | Phil Silvers | Bye Bye Birdie | Becket | |
| 16th | April 29, 1962 | Ray Bolger and Robert Preston | How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying | A Man for All Seasons | ||
| 17th | April 28, 1963 | Hotel Americana | Abe Burrows and Robert Morse | WWOR-TV | A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum | Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? |
| 18th | May 24, 1964 | New York Hilton Midtown | Sidney Blackmer | Hello, Dolly! | Luther | |
| 19th | June 13, 1965 | Hotel Astor | Tom Bosley, José Ferrer and Van Johnson | Fiddler on the Roof | The Subject Was Roses | |
| 20th | June 16, 1966 | Rainbow Room, Rockefeller Center | George Abbott and Ginger Rogers | CBS Radio | Man of La Mancha | Marat/Sade |
| 21st | March 26, 1967 | Shubert Theatre | Mary Martin and Robert Preston | ABC | Cabaret | The Homecoming |
| 22nd | April 21, 1968 | Angela Lansbury and Peter Ustinov | NBC | Hallelujah, Baby! | Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead | |
| 23rd | April 20, 1969 | Mark Hellinger Theatre | Diahann Carroll and Alan King | 1776 | The Great White Hope | |
| 24th | April 19, 1970 | Julie Andrews, Shirley MacLaine and Walter Matthau | Applause | Borstal Boy | ||
| 25th | March 28, 1971 | Palace Theatre | Lauren Bacall, Angela Lansbury, Anthony Quayle and Anthony Quinn | ABC | Company | Sleuth |
| 26th | April 23, 1972 | Broadway Theatre | Henry Fonda, Deborah Kerr and Peter Ustinov | Two Gentlemen of Verona | Sticks and Bones | |
| 27th | March 25, 1973 | Imperial Theatre | Rex Harrison and Celeste Holm | A Little Night Music | That Championship Season | |
| 28th | April 21, 1974 | Shubert Theatre | Peter Falk, Florence Henderson, Robert Preston and Cicely Tyson | Raisin | The River Niger | |
| 29th | April 20, 1975 | Winter Garden Theatre | Larry Blyden, George S. Irving, Larry Kert, Carol Lawrence, Michele Lee, Bernadette Peters and Bobby Van | The Wiz | Equus | |
| 30th | April 18, 1976 | Shubert Theatre | Eddie Albert, Richard Burton, Jane Fonda, Diana Rigg, George C. Scott and Trish Van Devere | A Chorus Line | Travesties | |
| 31st | June 5, 1977 | Jack Albertson, Bea Arthur, Buddy Ebsen, Damon Evans, Jean Stapleton and Leslie Uggams | Annie | The Shadow Box | ||
| 32nd | June 4, 1978 | none | CBS | Ain't Misbehavin' | Da | |
| 33rd | June 3, 1979 | Jane Alexander, Henry Fonda and Liv Ullmann | Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street | The Elephant Man | ||
| 34th | June 8, 1980 | Mark Hellinger Theatre | Mary Tyler Moore and Jason Robards | Evita | Children of a Lesser God | |
| 35th | June 7, 1981 | Ellen Burstyn and Richard Chamberlain | 42nd Street | Amadeus | ||
| 36th | June 6, 1982 | Imperial Theatre | Tony Randall | Nine | The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby | |
| 37th | June 5, 1983 | Gershwin Theatre | Richard Burton, Lena Horne and Jack Lemmon | Cats | Torch Song Trilogy | |
| 38th | June 3, 1984 | Julie Andrews and Robert Preston | La Cage aux Folles | The Real Thing | ||
| 39th | June 2, 1985 | Shubert Theatre | none | Big River | Biloxi Blues | |
| 40th | June 1, 1986 | Minksoff Theatre | The Mystery of Edwin Drood | I'm Not Rappaport | ||
| 41st | June 7, 1987 | Mark Hellinger Theatre | Angela Lansbury | Les Misérables | Fences | |
| 42nd | June 5, 1988 | Minksoff Theatre | The Phantom of the Opera | M. Butterfly | ||
| 43rd | June 4, 1989 | Lunt-Fontanne Theatre | Jerome Robbins' Broadway | The Heidi Chronicles | ||
| 44th | June 3, 1990 | Kathleen Turner | City of Angels | The Grapes of Wrath | ||
| 45th | June 2, 1991 | Minksoff Theatre | Julie Andrews and Jeremy Irons | The Will Rogers Follies | Lost in Yonkers | |
| 46th | May 31, 1992 | Gershwin Theatre | Glenn Close | Crazy for You | Dancing at Lughnasa | |
| 47th | June 6, 1993 | Liza Minnelli | Kiss of the Spider Woman | Angels in America: Millennium Approaches | ||
| 48th | June 12, 1994 | Anthony Hopkins and Amy Irving | Passion | Angels in America: Perestroika | ||
| 49th | June 4, 1995 | Minksoff Theatre | Nathan Lane, Glenn Close and Gregory Hines | Sunset Boulevard | Love! Valour! Compassion! | |
| 50th | June 2, 1996 | Majestic Theatre | Nathan Lane | Rent | Master Class | |
| 51st | June 1, 1997 | Radio City Music Hall | Rosie O'Donnell | Titanic | The Last Night of Ballyhoo | |
| 52nd | June 7, 1998 | The Lion King | Art | |||
| 53rd | June 6, 1999 | Gershwin Theatre | none | Fosse | Side Man | |
| 54th | June 4, 2000 | Radio City Music Hall | Rosie O'Donnell and Nathan Lane | Contact | Copenhagen | |
| 55th | June 3, 2001 | Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick | The Producers | Proof | ||
| 56th | June 2, 2002 | Bernadette Peters and Gregory Hines | Thoroughly Modern Millie | The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia? | ||
| 57th | June 8, 2003 | Hugh Jackman | Hairspray | Take Me Out | ||
| 58th | June 6, 2004 | Avenue Q | I Am My Own Wife | |||
| 59th | June 5, 2005 | Monty Python's Spamalot | Doubt: A Parable | |||
| 60th | June 11, 2006 | none | Jersey Boys | The History Boys | ||
| 61st | June 10, 2007 | Spring Awakening | The Coast of Utopia | |||
| 62nd | June 15, 2008 | Whoopi Goldberg | In the Heights | August: Osage County | ||
| 63rd | June 7, 2009 | Neil Patrick Harris | Billy Elliot the Musical | God of Carnage | ||
| 64th | June 13, 2010 | Sean Hayes | Memphis | Red | ||
| 65th | June 12, 2011 | Beacon Theatre | Neil Patrick Harris | The Book of Mormon | War Horse | |
| 66th | June 10, 2012 | Once | Clybourne Park | |||
| 67th | June 9, 2013 | Radio City Music Hall | Kinky Boots | Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike | ||
| 68th | June 8, 2014 | Hugh Jackman | A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder | All the Way | ||
| 69th | June 7, 2015 | Kristin Chenoweth and Alan Cumming | Fun Home | The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time | ||
| 70th | June 12, 2016 | Beacon Theatre | James Corden | Hamilton | The Humans | |
| 71st | June 11, 2017 | Radio City Music Hall | Kevin Spacey | Dear Evan Hansen | Oslo | |
| 72nd | June 10, 2018 | Sara Bareilles and Josh Groban | The Band's Visit | Harry Potter and the Cursed Child | ||
| 73rd | June 9, 2019 | James Corden | Hadestown | The Ferryman | ||
| 74th | September 26, 2021 | Winter Garden Theatre | Audra McDonald (ceremony) | Paramount+ | Moulin Rouge! | The Inheritance |
| Leslie Odom Jr. (Broadway's Back!) | CBS | |||||
| 75th | June 12, 2022 | Radio City Music Hall | Ariana DeBose (ceremony) | CBS Paramount+ |
A Strange Loop | The Lehman Trilogy |
| Darren Criss and Julianne Hough (pre-show) | Paramount+ | |||||
| 76th | June 11, 2023 | United Palace | Ariana DeBose (ceremony) | CBS Paramount+ |
Kimberly Akimbo | Leopoldstadt |
| Skylar Astin and Julianne Hough (pre-show) | Pluto TV | |||||
| 77th | June 16, 2024 | David H. Koch Theater | Ariana DeBose (ceremony) | CBS, Paramount+ | The Outsiders | Stereophonic |
| Julianne Hough and Utkarsh Ambudkar (pre-show) | Pluto TV | |||||
| 78th | June 8, 2025 | Radio City Music Hall | Cynthia Erivo | CBS, Paramount+ | Maybe Happy Ending | Purpose |
| Darren Criss and Renée Elise Goldsberry (pre-show) | Pluto TV |