The
Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre,
more commonly known as the Tony Awards, recognize
achievement in live American
theatre and are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual
ceremony in New York
City
. The awards are for Broadway
productions
and performances, and an award is given for regional
theatre. A discretionary non-competitive
Special Tony Award and the
Tony Honors for Excellence
in Theatre are also given. The awards are named after
Antoinette Perry, co-founder of the
American Theatre Wing.
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 each season only. The Tony Awards are
considered the highest U.S. theatre honor, the U.S. theatre
industry's equivalent to the
Academy
Awards (Oscars) for
motion pictures. In
British theatre, the equivalent of the Tony Award is the
Laurence Olivier Award.
Since
1997, the Tony Awards ceremony has generally been held at Radio City Music
Hall
in New York City in June and broadcast live on CBS
television. The
63rd Tony
Awards ceremony was held on June 7, 2009, at Radio City Music
Hall, with a three-hour broadcast on CBS.
History
The award was founded by the
American Theatre Wing in 1947 at the
suggestion of a committee of theatrical producers headed by
Brock Pemberton, but it was not
until the third awards ceremony in 1949 that the first Tony
medallion was given to award winners. The award is named for
Antoinette Perry, an actress,
director, producer and co-founder of the American Theatre Wing, who
had recently died. The first awards ceremony was held on April 6,
1947, at the
Waldorf Astoria hotel
in New York City.
Since 1997, the Tony Awards ceremony has been
held at Radio City Music
Hall in New York City in June and broadcast live on CBS
television, except in 1999, when it was held at the Gershwin Theatre.
Awarded by a panel of approximately 700 judges from various areas
of the
entertainment industry
and press, the Tony Award is generally regarded as the theatre's
equivalent to the
Oscars, for excellence in
film; the
Grammys for the
music industry, and the
Emmys for excellence in television. In British
theatre, the equivalent of the Tony Award is the
Laurence Olivier Award. A number of
the world's longest-running and most successful shows, as well as
some actors, directors, choreographers and designers, have been
successful in receiving both Tony Awards and Olivier Awards.
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 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 an article in
The New York Times: "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..."
For example, the 2008 Tony Awards telecast had 6.2 million viewers,
the same as the 2007 telecast but down from 2006, which had 7.79
million. In contrast, the 2009 Oscar telecast had 36.3 million
viewers.
The Tony Award trophy consists of a medallion, a mix of mostly
brass and a little bronze, with a nickel plating on the outside; a
black acrylic glass base, and the nickel-plated pewter
swivel.
Details of the Tony Awards
Note: all information are from: "Tony Rules and Regulations", accessed June 1,
2009
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 'classic' or in the historical or popular repertoire", as
determined by the Administration Committee, (per Section (2g)of the
Rules and Regulations). This phrase has been the subject of some
controversy, as some shows have been ruled ineligible for the "new"
categories, meaning that their authors did not have a chance to win
the marquee 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.
Shows recently
transferred from Off-Broadway or the
West
End
are eligible as new, as are productions based
closely on movies.
Committees and voters
The
Administration Committee has 24 members: 10 designated
by the American Wing, 10 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
Nominating Committee makes the nominations for the
various categories. This rotating group of up to 30 theatre
professionals is selected by the Tony Awards Administration
Committee. Nominators serve three-year terms and are asked to see
every new Broadway production.
There are approximately 700 eligible Tony Award voters, a number
that changes slightly from year to year and was decreased in 2009
when the first-night critics were excluded as voters. These 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.
Eligibility date ("Season"); "Broadway" theatre
To be eligible for Tony Award consideration, a production must have
officially opened by the "eligibility date" that the Management
Committee establishes each year. For example, the cut-off date for
eligibility the 2008-09 season was April 30, 2009. The "Season" for
Tony Award eligibility is defined in the Rules and
Regulations.
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, and as of the 2008-2009 season, the list
consists solely of theaters located in the vicinity of Times Square in New York City (plus one at Lincoln Center
).
Award categories
There are presently 26 categories of awards, plus several special
awards. Starting with 11 awards in 1947, the names and number of
categories have changed over the years; a complete history of each
award category was published in 2005.
A newly established non-competitive award, The Isabelle Stevenson
Award, 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 Special Theatrical Event was "retired" as of the
2009-2010 season.
Special categories
Retired awards
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.
Only shows playing in one of 40 large "Broadway" theatres
designated by the Tony Awards Management Committee are eligible for
the Tony Awards. Only a portion of the Broadway theatres feature a
"new" production in any given season, and there are 27 award
categories, so most new shows receive one or more
nominations.
However, producers say that the Tony Award is the only award that
sells tickets. "Winning best musical or best play, they say, means
money in the bank."
Award milestones
Some notable records and facts about the Tony Awards include the
following:
- Productions
- The most Tony Awards ever received by a musical was
The Producers with
12 awards, including best musical. The most Tonys ever received by
a non-musical was The Coast of
Utopia with seven awards, including best play, in 2007.
The musicals that fared the worst on Tony night were Chicago (1976, losing in many
categories to A Chorus Line)
and Steel Pier (1997),
both of which received 11 nominations, but won no awards.
Ironically, Steel Pier lost in several categories to the
revival of Chicago. Coincidentally, both Chicago
and Steel Pier have scores by Kander and Ebb. The play
Indiscretions (1995), was nominated for nine awards but
did not win any.
- Three musicals have won all "big six" awards for Best Musical, score, book, leading
actor,
actress and direction:
South Pacific,
Sweeney
Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street and Hairspray.
- South Pacific
(1950) is the only show (play or musical) to win Best Production
(Musical), Actor (Ezio Pinza), Actress (Mary Martin), Featured
Actor (Myron McCormick), Featured Actress (Juanita Hall) and
Direction (Joshua Logan).
- Three musicals have won the Tony Award for Best Musical
while the book, music and lyrics were written by one person:
The Music Man (Meredith Willson), The
Mystery of Edwin Drood (Rupert
Holmes) and Rent (Jonathan Larson). RENT and The
Mystery of Edwin Drood also won the Tony Awards for Best Book
and Best Score, while the categories did not exist in 1957 when
The Music Man was eligible.
- Seven shows have won the design awards for sets, costumes and
lighting: 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) and the revival of South
Pacific (2008). The 2008 revival of South Pacific is
the only production to have won all four Creative Arts Tony Awards
in Best Scenic Design, Best Costume Design, Best Lighting Design
and Best Sound Design.
- Individuals
- Harold Prince has won 21 Tony
Awards, more than anyone else, including eight for directing, eight
for producing, two as producer of the year's Best Musical, and
three special Tony Awards.
- Stephen Sondheim has won more
Tony Awards than any other composer, with eight. Bob Fosse has won the most Tonys for choreography,
also eight.
- Julie Harris and Angela Lansbury tie for the most performance
Tony Awards with five each. Harris also has been nominated more
often than any other performer, a total of ten times.
- Three actresses have been nominated in two acting categories in
the same year: Amanda Plummer,
Dana Ivey and Kate Burton. Plummer in 1982 was
nominated for best actress in a play for A Taste of Honey and best featured
actress in a play for Agnes of
God, for which she won. Ivey in 1984 was nominated as best
featured actress in a musical for Sunday in the Park with
George and best featured actress in a play for
Heartbreak House,and
Burton in 2002 was nominated for best actress in play for
Hedda Gabler and best featured
actress in a play for The Elephant
Man.
- Boyd Gaines was the first performer
to be nominated for all four performance awards for which a
performer is eligible: Best Featured Actor in a Play in 1989 for
The Heidi Chronicles,
Best Actor in a Musical in 1994 for She
Loves Me, Best Featured Actor in a Musical in 2000 for
Contact, Best Actor in a
Play in 2007 for Journey's
End, and again for Best Featured Actor in a Musical in
2008 for Gypsy. The only
time Gaines was nominated but did not win was for Journey's
End. Raúl Esparza was the
second performer to be nominated in all four categories, achieving
this over a mere six seasons: Best Featured Actor in a Musical in
2004 for Taboo, Best Actor
in a Musical in 2007 for Company, Best Featured Actor in a
Play in 2008 for The
Homecoming, and Best Actor in a Play in 2009 for
Speed-the-Plow. He has yet
to win.
- While several performers have won Tonys for roles that have
involved cross dressing, only two have won for playing a character
of the opposite sex: Mary Martin in the
title role of Peter Pan (1955) and Harvey Fierstein as Edna Turnblad in
Hairspray (2003).
- Oliver Smith has won a
record eight scenic design Tony Awards, and Jules Fisher has won the most lighting design
awards, also eight. Fisher has received 19 nominations as a
lighting designer and one as a producer.
- The First time that three lead actors were nominated and won in
the same catergory were David Alvarez,
Trent Kowalik, and Kiril Kulish for Billy
Elliot.
References in media
- In the Seinfeld episode
"The Summer of George", Jerry
and Kramer are at the Tonys and Kramer is seen carrying a Tony for
the fictional play, Scarsdale Surprise, that he took along
with him. Unfortunately, after a beatdown by Raquel Welch, his Tony is smashed to bits.
- In the musical [title of
show], the two main characters imagine what it would be
like to win a Tony with "The Tony Award Song".
References
- The League of American Theatres and Producers was renamed "The
Broadway League", see Gans, Andrew. "League of American Theatres and Producers Announces Name
Change",playbill.com, December 18, 2007
- Tony Homepage and "About the Tonys: Who We Are"
- "Tony Awards Rules and Regulations for 2008-09
season",tonyawards.com, accessed June 1, 2009
- "Tony Awards Archive", tonyawards.com, accessed
May 31, 2009
- McKinley, Jesse. "THE TONY AWARDS; Is There a Tony Doctor in the
House,"The New York Times, June 1, 2003
- Tony Homepagetonyawards.com
- Hernandez, Ernio. "Sports Beats Songs: 2008 Tony Awards Bested by Basketball
and Golf in Sunday Ratings",playbill.com, June 16, 2008
- Bierly, Mandi. "Ratings: Oscars up, 'Dollhouse'
down",hollywoodinsider.ew.com, February 23, 2009
- Pincus-Roth, Zachary. "ASK PLAYBILL.COM: Tony Statuettes",playbill.com, May
22, 2008
- "American Theatre Wing's Tony Awards Administration
Committee 2008-2009", TonyAwards.com
- 2008-2009 Tony Awards Nominating Committee,
TonyAwards.com
- Healy, Patrick. "Tony Awards Committee Trims List of Voters, Citing
Conflicts", The New York Times, July 15, 2009.
- Pincus-Roth, Zachary. "ASK PLAYBILL.COM: Broadway or Off-Broadway—Part
I",playbill.com, February 7, 2008
- History of Tony categories
- Gans, Andrew. "Tony Awards to Present Isabelle Stevenson Award in May
2009",playbill.com, October 8, 2008
- Gans, Andrew. "Tony Awards Retire Special Theatrical Event
Category,"playbill.com, June 18, 2009
- Did You Know, Official Tony Website
See also
External links
Wikis
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