40th Tony Awards

40th Tony Awards
40th Tony Awards
Date	June 1, 1986
Location	Minskoff Theatre, New York City
Television/radio coverage
Network	CBS
	← 39th; Tony Awards; 41st →;

The 40th Annual Tony Awards ceremony was held on June 1, 1986, at the Minskoff Theatre and was broadcast by CBS television.

The ceremony[]

The opening number was "Wanna Sing A Show Tune". The special number was "Forty Years of Broadway Show Music", which included songs from musicals including Annie, Big River, Finian's Rainbow, Hello, Dolly!, Fiddler on the Roof, La Cage aux Folles, and Sweet Charity. The finale was the company singing "Give My Regards to Broadway".^[1]^[2]

There were also vignettes from past Tony Award-winning plays.^[1]^[2]^[3]

The presenters and performers were: Debbie Allen, Susan Anton, Bea Arthur, Nell Carter, Agnes de Mille, José Ferrer, Sandy Duncan, Phyllis Frelich, Helen Hayes, Michael Kidd, Cleo Laine, Jack Lemmon, Hal Linden, John V. Lindsay, Dorothy Loudon, Karen Morrow, Bernadette Peters, Stefanie Powers, Juliet Prowse, Tony Randall, Lee Roy Reams, Ann Reinking, Lee Remick, Alfonso Ribeiro, Chita Rivera, John Rubinstein, Rex Smith, Marlo Thomas, Leslie Uggams, Lily Tomlin, Sam Waterston, Ben Vereen, David Wayne, Tom Wopat.^[2]^[4]

Musicals that performed were Big Deal ("Beat Me Daddy Eight to the Bar" - Company); Song & Dance ("Unexpected Song" - Bernadette Peters); Tango Argentino (Dance Excerpts - Company); and The Mystery of Edwin Drood ("There You Are"/"Don't Quit While You're Ahead" - George Rose and Company).^[2]^[1]

Winners and nominees[]

Winners are in bold

Best Play	Best Musical
I'm Not Rappaport – Herb Gardner Benefactors – Michael Frayn Blood Knot – Athol Fugard The House of Blue Leaves – John Guare	The Mystery of Edwin Drood Big Deal Song and Dance Tango Argentino
Best Revival	Best Book of a Musical
Sweet Charity Hay Fever The Iceman Cometh Loot	Rupert Holmes - The Mystery of Edwin Drood Bob Fosse - Big Deal Betty Comden and Adolph Green - Singin' in the Rain Jane Iredale - Wind in the Willows
Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play	Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play
*Judd Hirsch – I'm Not Rappaport* as Nat** Hume Cronyn – The Petition as General Sir Edmund Milne Ed Harris – Precious Sons as Fred Jack Lemmon – Long Day's Journey into Night as James Tyrone	*Lily Tomlin – The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe* as Various Characters** Rosemary Harris – Hay Fever as Judith Bliss Mary Beth Hurt – Benefactors as Sheila Jessica Tandy – The Petition as Lady Elizabeth Milne
Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical	Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical
*George Rose – The Mystery of Edwin Drood* as Mayor Thomas Sapsea/Mr. William Cartwright** Don Correia – Singin' in the Rain as Don Lockwood Cleavant Derricks – Big Deal as Charley Maurice Hines – Uptown…It's Hot! as Performer	*Bernadette Peters – Song and Dance* as Emma** Debbie Allen – Sweet Charity as Charity Cleo Laine – The Mystery of Edwin Drood as The Princess Puffer/Miss Angela Prysock Chita Rivera – Jerry's Girls as Performer
Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play	Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play
*John Mahoney – The House of Blue Leaves* as Artie Shaughnessy** Peter Gallagher – Long Day's Journey into Night as Edmund Tyrone Charles Keating – Loot as McLeavy Joseph Maher – Loot as Truscott	*Swoosie Kurtz – The House of Blue Leaves* as Bananas Shaughnessy** Stockard Channing – The House of Blue Leaves as Bunny Flingus Bethel Leslie – Long Day's Journey into Night as Mary Cavan Tyrone Zoë Wanamaker – Loot as Fay
Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical	Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical
*Michael Rupert – Sweet Charity* as Oscar** Christopher d'Amboise – Song and Dance as Joe John Herrera – The Mystery of Edwin Drood as Neville Landless/Mr. Victor Grinstead Howard McGillin – The Mystery of Edwin Drood as John Jasper/Mr. Clive Paget	*Bebe Neuwirth – Sweet Charity* as Nickie** Patti Cohenour – The Mystery of Edwin Drood as Rosa Bud/Miss Deirdre Peregrine Jana Schneider – The Mystery of Edwin Drood as Helena Landless/Miss Janet Conover Elisabeth Welch – Jerome Kern Goes to Hollywood as Performer
Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre	Best Choreography
The Mystery of Edwin Drood – Rupert Holmes (music and lyrics) The News – Paul Schierhorn (music and lyrics) Song and Dance – Andrew Lloyd Webber (music), Don Black (lyrics) and Richard Maltby Jr. (additional lyrics) Wind in the Willows – William P. Perry (music) and Roger McGough (lyrics)	Bob Fosse – Big Deal Graciela Daniele – The Mystery of Edwin Drood Peter Martins – Song and Dance Tango Argentino Dancers – Tango Argentino
Best Direction of a Play	Best Direction of a Musical
Jerry Zaks – The House of Blue Leaves Jonathan Miller – Long Day's Journey into Night José Quintero – The Iceman Cometh John Tillinger – Loot	Wilford Leach – The Mystery of Edwin Drood Bob Fosse – Big Deal Richard Maltby Jr. – Song and Dance Claudio Segovia and Hector Orezzoli – Tango Argentino
Best Scenic Design	Best Costume Design
Tony Walton – The House of Blue Leaves Ben Edwards – The Iceman Cometh David Mitchell – The Boys in Winter Beni Montresor – The Marriage of Figaro	Patricia Zipprodt – Sweet Charity Willa Kim – Song and Dance Beni Montresor – The Marriage of Figaro Ann Roth – The House of Blue Leaves
Best Lighting Design
Pat Collins – I'm Not Rappaport Jules Fisher – Song and Dance Paul Gallo – The House of Blue Leaves Thomas R. Skelton – The Iceman Cometh

Special award[]

Regional Theatre Award - American Repertory Theater, Cambridge, Massachusetts

Multiple nominations and awards[]

These productions had multiple nominations:

11 nominations: The Mystery of Edwin Drood
8 nominations: The House of Blue Leaves and Song and Dance
5 nominations: Big Deal, Loot and Sweet Charity
4 nominations: The Iceman Cometh and Long Day's Journey into Night
3 nominations: I'm Not Rappaport and Tango Argentino
2 nominations: Benefactors, Hay Fever, The Marriage of Figaro, The Petition, Singin' in the Rain and Wind in the Willows

The following productions received multiple awards.

5 wins: The Mystery of Edwin Drood
4 wins: The House of Blue Leaves and Sweet Charity
3 wins: I'm Not Rappaport

References[]

^ ^a ^b ^c "Ceremony, 1986" Archived 2018-07-17 at the Wayback Machine tonyawards.com, accessed June 2, 2016
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Gans, Andrew. "DIVA TALK: A Backwards Glance—the 1986 Tony Awards PLUS McDonald and 'Evita' Recordings" Playbill, July 21, 2006, accessed June 2, 2016
^ Nemy, Enid. "Five Tonys Are Won By 'Drood'", The New York Times, June 2, 1986, p.C13
^ "The 40th Annual Tony Awards-1986" PlaybillVault, accessed June 2, 2016

External links[]

Tony Awards official site

[ceremony-1] "Ceremony, 1986" Archived 2018-07-17 at the Wayback Machine tonyawards.com, accessed June 2, 2016

[detail-2] Gans, Andrew. "DIVA TALK: A Backwards Glance—the 1986 Tony Awards PLUS McDonald and 'Evita' Recordings" Playbill, July 21, 2006, accessed June 2, 2016

[3] Nemy, Enid. "Five Tonys Are Won By 'Drood'", The New York Times, June 2, 1986, p.C13

[4] "The 40th Annual Tony Awards-1986" PlaybillVault, accessed June 2, 2016

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

v t Tony Awards
American Theatre Wing The Broadway League EGOT Triple Crown of Acting
Play	Best Play Best Direction of a Play Best Leading Actor in a Play Best Leading Actress in a Play Best Featured Actor in a Play Best Featured Actress in a Play Best Costume Design in a Play Best Lighting Design in a Play Best Revival of a Play Best Scenic Design in a Play Best Sound Design of a Play
Musical	Best Musical Best Direction of a Musical Best Leading Actor in a Musical Best Leading Actress in a Musical Best Featured Actor in a Musical Best Featured Actress in a Musical Best Book of a Musical Best Choreography Best Costume Design in a Musical Best Lighting Design in a Musical Best Orchestrations Best Original Score Best Revival of a Musical Best Scenic Design in a Musical Best Sound Design of a Musical
Special (non-competitive)	Regional Theatre Tony Award Special Tony Award Tony Honors for Excellence in Theatre Isabelle Stevenson Award
Retired	Best Author Best Conductor and Musical Director Best Costume Design Best Director Best Lighting Design Best Newcomer Best Revival Best Scenic Design Best Special Theatrical Event Best Stage Technician
Ceremonies	1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 ~~2020~~ 2021 2022