New York Theatre Guide at the Tony Awards

On this page you'll find all you need to know about Broadway's biggest night of the year - The Tony Awards!

The 2020 Tony Awards will take place on Sept. 26, 2021. Find out more about the 2020 Tony Awards here.

Founded in 1947 and named after Antoinette Perry, an actress, director, producer and co-founder of the American Theatre Wing, who had died the previous year, the Tonys honor the highest level of achievement in Broadway Theatre. Presented by The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing, the ceremony has been broadcast live on CBS since 1967. 

The 74th Annual Tony Awards ceremony were originally scheduled to be held on Sunday, June 7, 2020 at Radio City Music Hall, but has now been postponed due to the COVID-19 global pandemic. The cut-off date for eligibility for next year's awards was intended for Thursday, April 23, 2020, and the nominees were to be announced on Tuesday, April 28, 2020.  

The 73rd Annual Tony Awards were held on Sunday, June 9, 2019 at Radio City Music Hall. On March 19, 2019, it was confirmed that Tony and 7-time Emmy Award winner James Corden would return to host the 2019 ceremony, previously hosting in 2016.

Alongside a special performance by 2016 Tony Award winner Cynthia Erivo, who sang a touching rendition of "Can You Feel the Love Tonight?" from Disney's The Lion King during the 'In Memoriam' section of the ceremony, the casts of no less than nine Broadway productions also performed during the 2019 ceremony. These included (in alphabetical order) Ain’t Too Proud – The Life and Times of the Temptations; Beetlejuice; The Cher Show; Choir Boy; Hadestown; Kiss Me, Kate; Oklahoma!; The Prom and Tootsie.

In addition, the following stars all made special appearances during The 73rd Annual Tony Awards ceremony: Sara Bareilles, Laura Benanti, Abigail Breslin, Kristin Chenoweth, Darren Criss, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Tina Fey, Sutton Foster, Josh Groban, Danai Gurira, Jake Gyllenhaal, Christopher Jackson, Samuel L. Jackson, Shirley Jones, Regina King, Jane Krakowski, Isabelle Stevenson Award recipient Judith Light, Laura Linney, Lucy Liu, Aasif Mandvi, Audra McDonald,  Sienna Miller, Catherine O’Hara, Tony Nominee Kelli O’Hara, Ben Platt, Billy Porter, Anthony Ramos, Andrew Rannells, LaTanya Richardson Jackson, Michael Shannon, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Marisa Tomei, Samira Wiley and BeBe Winans.

And the pre-telecast Creative Arts Awards was co-hosted by Moulin Rouge! The Musical stars Karen Olivo, Aaron Tveit and Danny Burstein.

The nominations for The 73rd Annual Tony Awards were announced on Tuesday, April 30, 2019 at 8:30am (ET) by two-time Tony Award winner Bebe Neuwirth and two-time Tony Award nominee Brandon Victor Dixon from the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center, which was broadcast live on "CBS This Morning". 

The 2019 Tony Award winners (and nominees) by category were:

BEST PLAY

Choir Boy - Author: Tarell Alvin McCraney
The Ferryman - Author: Jez Butterworth
Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus - Author: Taylor Mac
Ink - Author: James Graham
What the Constitution Means to Me - Author: Heidi Schreck

BEST MUSICAL

Ain't Too Proud - The Life and Times of the Temptations
Beetlejuice
Hadestown
The Prom
Tootsie

BEST REVIVAL OF A PLAY

Arthur Miller's All My Sons
The Boys in the Band
Lanford WIlson's Burn This
Harvey Fierstein's Torch Song
The Waverly Gallery - Author: Kenneth Lonergan

BEST REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL

Kiss Me, Kate
Rodgers & Hammerstein's Oklahoma! 

BEST BOOK OF A MUSICAL

Ain't Too Proud - The Life and Times of the Temptations - Dominique Morisseau 
Beetlejuice - Scott Brown & Anthony King
Hadestown - Anaïs Mitchell
The Prom - Bob Martin & Chad Beguelin
Tootsie - Robert Horn 

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE (MUSIC AND/OR LYRICS) WRITTEN FOR THE THEATRE

Be More Chill - Music & Lyrics: Joe Iconis
Beetlejuice - Music & Lyrics: Eddie Perfect
Hadestown - Music & Lyrics: Anaïs Mitchell
The Prom - Music: Matthew Sklar, Lyrics: Chad Beguelin
To Kill a Mockingbird - Music: Adam Guettel
Tootsie - Music & Lyrics: David Yazbek

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE IN A PLAY

Paddy Considine, The Ferryman
Bryan Cranston, Network 
Jeff Daniels, To Kill a Mockingbird
Adam Driver, Burn This
Jeremy Pope, Choir Boy

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE IN A PLAY

Annette Bening, Arthur Miller's All My Sons
Laura Donnelly, The Ferryman
Elaine May, The Waverly Gallery
Janet McTeer, Bernhardt/Hamlet
Laurie Metcalf, Hillary and Clinton
Heidi Schreck, What the Constitution Means to Me

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE IN A MUSICAL

Brooks Ashmanskas, The Prom
Derrick Baskin, Ain't Too Proud - The Life and Times of the Temptations
Alex Brightman, Beetlejuice
Damon Daunno, Rodgers & Hammerstein's Oklahoma!
Santino Fontana, Tootsie

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE IN A MUSICAL

Stephanie J. Block, The Cher Show
Caitlin Kinnunen, The Prom
Beth Leavel, The Prom
Eva Noblezada, Hadestown
Kelli O'Hara, Kiss Me, Kate

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A FEATURED ROLE IN A PLAY

Bertie Carvel, Ink
Robin De Jesús, The Boys in the Band
Gideon Glick, To Kill a Mockingbird
Brandon Uranowitz, Burn This
Benjamin Walker, Arthur Miller's All My Sons

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A FEATURED ROLE IN A PLAY

Fionnula Flanagan, The Ferryman
Celia Keenan-Bolger, To Kill a Mockingbird
Kristine Nielsen, Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus
Julie White, Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus
Ruth Wilson, King Lear

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A FEATURED ROLE IN A MUSICAL

André De Shields, Hadestown
Andy Grotelueschen, Tootsie
Patrick Page, Hadestown
Jeremy Pope, Ain't Too Proud - The Life and Times of the Temptations
Ephraim Sykes, Ain't Too Proud - The Life and Times of the Temptations

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A FEATURED ROLE IN A MUSICAL

Lilli Cooper, Tootsie
Amber Gray, Hadestown
Sarah Stiles, Tootsie
Ali Stroker, Rodgers & Hammerstein's Oklahoma!
Mary Testa, Rodgers & Hammerstein's Oklahoma!

BEST DIRECTION OF A PLAY

Rupert Goold, Ink
Sam Mendes, The Ferryman
Bartlett Sher, To Kill a Mockingbird
Ivo van Hove, Network
George C. Wolfe, Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus

BEST DIRECTION OF A MUSICAL

Rachel Chavkin, Hadestown 
Scott Ellis, Tootsie
Daniel Fish, Rodgers & Hammerstein's Oklahoma!
Des McAnuff, Ain't Too Proud - The Life and Times of the Temptations
Casey Nicholaw, The Prom

BEST CHOREOGRAPHY

Camille A. Brown, Choir Boy
Warren Carlyle, Kiss Me, Kate
Denis Jones, Tootsie
David Neumann, Hadestown
Sergio Trujillo, Ain't Too Proud - The Life and Times of the Temptations

BEST ORCHESTRATIONS

Michael Chorney and Todd Sickafoose, Hadestown
Simon Hale, Tootsie
Larry Hochman, Kiss Me, Kate
Daniel Kluger, Rodgers & Hammerstein's Oklahoma!
Harold Wheeler, Ain't Too Proud - The Life and Times of the Temptations

BEST SCENIC DESIGN OF A PLAY

Miriam Buether, To Kill a Mockingbird
Bunny Christie, Ink
Rob Howell, The Ferryman
Santo Loquasto, Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus
Jan Versweyveld, Network

BEST SCENIC DESIGN OF A MUSICAL

Robert Brill and Peter Nigrini, Ain't Too Proud - The Life and Times of the Temptations
Peter England, King Kong
Rachel Hauck, Hadestown
Laura Jellinek, Rodgers & Hammerstein's Oklahoma!
David Korins, Beetlejuice

BEST COSTUME DESIGN OF A PLAY

Rob Howell, The Ferryman
Toni-Leslie James, Bernhardt/Hamlet
Clint Ramos, Torch Song
Ann Roth, Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus
Ann Roth, To Kill a Mockingbird

BEST COSTUME DESIGN OF A MUSICAL

Michael Krass, Hadestown
William Ivey Long, Beetlejuice
William Ivey Long, Tootsie
Bob Mackie, The Cher Show
Paul Tazewell, Ain't Too Proud - The Life and Times of the Temptations

BEST LIGHTING DESIGN OF A PLAY

Neil Austin, Ink
Jules Fisher + Peggy Eisenhauer, Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus
Peter Mumford, The Ferryman
Jennifer Tipton, To Kill a Mockingbird
Jan Versweyveld and Tal Yarden, Network

BEST LIGHTING DESIGN OF A MUSICAL

Kevin Adams, The Cher Show
Howell Binkley, Ain't Too Proud - The Life and Times of the Temptations
Bradley King, Hadestown
Peter Mumford, King Kong
Kenneth Posner and Peter Nigrini, Beetlejuice

BEST SOUND DESIGN OF A PLAY

Adam Cork, Ink
Scott Lehrer, To Kill a Mockingbird
Fitz Patton, Choir Boy
Nick Powell, The Ferryman
Eric Sleichim, Network

BEST SOUND DESIGN OF A MUSICAL

Peter Hylenski, Beetlejuice
Peter Hylenski, King Kong
Steve Canyon Kennedy, Ain't Too Proud - The Life and Times of the Temptations
Drew Levy, Rodgers & Hammerstein's Oklahoma!
Nevin Steinberg and Jessica Paz, Hadestown 

As always, there were also be a number of Special Recognition awards presented at this year's ceremony. Here is a list of all the non-competitive categories and their respective recipients:

The Special Tony Awards for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre 2019 recipients were Tony Award-winning actress Rosemary Harris, four-time Tony Award-winning playwright Terrence McNally, and six-time Tony-nominated composer and musician Harold Wheeler.

The 2019 Isabelle Stevenson Tony Award recipient was two-time Tony Award-winning actress Judith Light, in recognition of her impassioned advocacy to end HIV/AIDS and her support for LGBTQ+ and human rights.

Special Tony Awards recipients also included the late three-time Tony-nominated actress Marin Mazzie, for her outstanding contributions to the theatre and community, and Sonny Tilders and Creature Technology Company, who are the creators of the 20 feet tall, 2,000 pound puppet at the center of the Broadway premiere of King Kong.

Musical director and arranger Jason Michael Webb, who provided the glorious arrangements that were heard this season in Manhattan Theatre Club's Broadway premiere of Choir Boy, was also a 2019 Special Tony Award recipient.

The 2019 Regional Theatre Tony Award went to TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, who also received a grant of $25,000, and the 2019 Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre went to Broadway Inspirational Voices (founded by Michael McElroy), Peter Entin, retired Vice President of Theatre Operations for the Shubert Organization, Joseph Blakely Forbes, Founder and President of Scenic Art Studios, Inc. and FDNY - Engine 54 / Ladder 4 / Battalion 9.