Production with the most nominations
Hamilton: An American Musical (2016) — 16. Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical went on to win 11 awards. The play with the most nominations is Stereophonic (2024) – 13.
Broadway’s biggest night, the Tony Awards, is almost here. It all gets underway Sunday, June 16, at 6:30 p.m. PT/3:30 p.m. PT with The Tony Awards: Act One, co-hosted by Julianne Hough and Utkarsh Ambudkar. That 90-minute pre-show, where many of the technical awards are presented, streams on Pluto TV (click on the “ET” channel).
Immediately following, at 8:00 p.m. PT/5 p.m. PT, CBS will air the 77th Annual Tony Awards, with Ariana DeBose hosting for the third year in a row. The three-hour show will also stream on Paramount+ in the U.S. Both shows will be held at the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City.
The Tony telecast is set to include performances from all five nominees for best musical (Hell’s Kitchen, Illinoise, The Outsiders, Suffs and Water for Elephants) and from three of the four nominees for best revival of a musical (Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club, Merrily We Roll Along and The Who’s Tommy). The Tonys will not include a performance from the fourth nominee for best revival of a musical, Gutenberg! The Musical!, which closed on Jan. 28.
The telecast is also set to feature a performance from Stereophonic, the “play with music” written by Will Butler, formerly of Arcade Fire. Stereophonic tied with Hell’s Kitchen, a musical based on the music of Alicia Keys, for the most nominations of any production this year (13).
To get you primed for Sunday’s show, here’s a list of 25 Tony Awards record-holders.
Hamilton: An American Musical (2016) — 16. Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical went on to win 11 awards. The play with the most nominations is Stereophonic (2024) – 13.
The Producers, the new Mel Brooks musical (2001) — 12.
Rodgers and Hammerstein’s South Pacific — 17. The original 1949 production won 10 Tonys. The 2008 revival won seven. (Bonus facts: The original is the only show in Broadway history to sweep all four acting categories. The 2008 production won more Tonys than any other musical revival in history.)
The Scottsboro Boys (2011) and Mean Girls (2018). In addition, one play went 0-12 on Tony night: Slave Play (2020).
Trey Parker for The Book of Mormon (2011). Parker won for best book of a musical, best score, best direction and (under the name Important Musicals LLC, a company he headed with his partner, Matt Stone) best musical.
The Mystery of Edwin Drood (1986, Rupert Holmes). Holmes is known to music fans for topping the Billboard Hot 100 as both artist and songwriter in 1979 with “Escape (The Pina Colada Song).” Four subsequent best musical winners have equaled this feat: Rent (1996, Jonathan Larson); Hamilton: An American Musical (2016, Lin-Manuel Miranda); Hadestown (2019, Anaïs Mitchell) and A Strange Loop (2022, Michael R. Jackson).
Fun Home (2015). Lisa Kron wrote the book and lyrics. Jeanine Tesori composed the music.
The Sound of Music and Fiorello! (1960). The Sound of Music is far more famous today, but Fiorello!, about Fiorello La Guardia, mayor of New York City from 1934-46, won a Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
Passion (1994), with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, closed after just 280 performances.
Hallelujah, Baby! (1968). The show, which starred Leslie Uggams, won the Tony on April 21. It had closed on Jan. 13.
Liza Minnelli was the youngest. The second-generation star was just 19 in 1965 when she won her first Tony for Flora, the Red Menace. Bette Midler was the oldest. She was 71 in 2017 when she won for a revival of Hello, Dolly!
Audra McDonald (six). McDonald’s awards are split evenly between plays and musicals.
Angela Lansbury (four). She won for Mame (1966), Dear World (1969), Gypsy (1975) and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (1979). In addition, Lansbury has hosted more Tony telecasts than anyone else—five between 1968-89.
Lin-Manuel Miranda was just 28 when he won for In the Heights.
Charlie Smalls for The Wiz (1975). The score yielded such enduring songs as “Ease on Down the Road” and “Home.” The only previous Black winner in the category was poet Langston Hughes, who wrote the lyrics for the first winner, Street Scene (1947), which was composed by Kurt Weill.
Diahann Carroll in No Strings (1962) and Cleavon Little in Purlie (1970), respectively.
Lea Salonga in Miss Saigon (1991). Salonga was born in the Philippines.
Harvey Fierstein for playing Edna Turnblad in Hairspray (2003).
Neil Patrick Harris for playing Hedwig in Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2014). Harris has hosted the Tonys four times, winning a Primetime Emmy each time.
Stephen Sondheim (six). The Tonys didn’t have a best score category in 1971, but Sondheim won both for best music and best lyrics for Company, so we’re counting it. Most by a woman: Betty Comden (three).
John Kander and Fred Ebb for Kiss of the Spider Woman and Pete Townshend for The Who’s Tommy (1993).
T.S. Eliot for Cats (1983) and Jonathan Larson for Rent (1996). Eliot had died in 1965; Larson, earlier in 1996.
Cyndi Lauper for Kinky Boots (2013). Lauper topped the Hot 100 twice as both artist and songwriter, with “Time After Time” (1984) and “True Colors” (1986).
Harold Prince (eight). First woman to win in that category — Julie Taymor for The Lion King (1998).
Bob Fosse (eight). Most by a woman: Susan Stroman (four).