Tony Awards
The award ceremony is broadcast on television, and includes songs from the nominated musicals.
Winning a Tony award in a major category--best new play, best new musical, best play revival, best musical revival, or best actor or actress--can dramatically increase a show's ticket sales. A shortlist for the award is published several weeks before the award ceremony; between then and the announcement of the winners, plays advertise how many Tonys they have been nominated for.
The awards are named after Antoinette Perry, a founder of the American Theater Wing.
Eligibility for the awards is restricted to shows playing on Broadway during the season in question. (Having closed does not make a show ineligible, though the voters generally favor shows that are still running when the awards are given.) For the purposes of the award, a "new" play or musical is one that has not previously been produced on Broadway. Shows transferred from Off-Broadway or London are eligible as new; so are productions based closely on movies.
In 2003, awards were given in the following categories:
- Tony Award for Best Play
- Tony Award for Best Musical
- Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical
- Tony Award for Best Original Score
- Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play
- Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical
- Tony Award for Best Special Theatrical Event
- Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Play
- Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Play
- Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Musical
- Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical
- Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play
- Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play
- Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical
- Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical
- Tony Award for Best Scenic Design
- Tony Award for Best Costume Design
- Tony Award for Best Lighting Design
- Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play
- Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical
- Tony Award for Best Choreography
- Tony Award for Best Orchestrations
- special categories:
- Regional Theatre Tony Award
- Tony Honors for Excellence in Theatre (in categories not otherwise covered)
- Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre
- Tony Award for Best Revival
- Tony Award for Best Director
- Tony Award for Best Conductor and Musical Director
- Tony Award for Best Peformance By Newcomers
- Tony Award for Best Stage Technician
For more info see www.tonyawards.com