Tony Award for Best Play
Tony Award for Best Play | |
---|---|
Awarded for | Best Play |
Location | New York City |
Presented by | American Theatre Wing The Broadway League |
Currently held by | The Inheritance by Matthew Lopez (2020) |
Website | TonyAwards.com |
The Tony Award for Best Play (formally, the Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre) is an annual award given to the best new (non-musical) play on Broadway, as determined by Tony Award voters. There was no award in the Tonys' first year. All My Sons has been incorrectly categorized as the Best Play of 1947, but it won the Best Author award for Arthur Miller. The following year Mister Roberts received the first Tony Award as Best Play. The award goes to the authors and the producers of the play.[1] Plays that have appeared in previous Broadway productions are instead eligible for Best Revival of a Play.
Award winners[]
Legend:
1940s[]
Year | Production | Author |
---|---|---|
1948 2nd Tony Awards | ||
Mister Roberts | Thomas Heggen & Joshua Logan | |
1949 3rd Tony Awards | ||
Death of a Salesman | Arthur Miller |
1950s[]
Year | Production | Author |
---|---|---|
1950 4th Tony Awards | ||
The Cocktail Party | T. S. Eliot | |
1951 5th Tony Awards | ||
The Rose Tattoo | Tennessee Williams | |
1952 6th Tony Awards | ||
The Fourposter | Jan de Hartog | |
1953 7th Tony Awards | ||
The Crucible | Arthur Miller | |
1954 8th Tony Awards | ||
The Teahouse of the August Moon | John Patrick | |
1955 9th Tony Awards | ||
The Desperate Hours | Joseph Hayes | |
1956 10th Tony Awards | ||
The Diary of Anne Frank | Frances Goodrich & Albert Hackett | |
Bus Stop | William Inge | |
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof | Tennessee Williams | |
Tiger at the Gates | Jean Giraudoux | |
The Chalk Garden | Enid Bagnold | |
1957 11th Tony Awards | ||
Long Day's Journey into Night | Eugene O'Neill | |
Separate Tables | Terence Rattigan | |
The Potting Shed | Graham Greene | |
The Waltz of the Toreadors | Jean Anouilh | |
1958 12th Tony Awards | ||
Sunrise at Campobello | Dore Schary | |
Look Back in Anger | John Osborne | |
Look Homeward, Angel | Ketti Frings | |
Romanoff and Juliet | Peter Ustinov | |
The Dark at the Top of the Stairs | William Inge | |
The Rope Dancers | Morton Wishengrad | |
Time Remembered | Jean Anouilh | |
Two for the Seesaw | William Gibson | |
1959 13th Tony Awards | ||
J.B. | Archibald MacLeish | |
A Touch of the Poet | Eugene O'Neill | |
Epitaph for George Dillon | John Osborne | |
The Disenchanted | Harvey Breit & Budd Schulberg | |
The Visit | Friedrich Dürrenmatt |
1960s[]
Year | Production | Author |
---|---|---|
1960 14th Tony Awards | ||
The Miracle Worker | William Gibson | |
A Raisin in the Sun | Lorraine Hansberry | |
The Best Man | Gore Vidal | |
The Tenth Man | Paddy Chayefsky | |
Toys in the Attic | Lillian Hellman | |
1961 15th Tony Awards | ||
Becket | Jean Anouilh | |
All the Way Home | Tad Mosel | |
The Devil's Advocate | Dore Schary | |
The Hostage | Brendan Behan | |
1962 16th Tony Awards | ||
A Man for All Seasons | Robert Bolt | |
Gideon | Paddy Chayefsky | |
The Caretaker | Harold Pinter | |
The Night of the Iguana | Tennessee Williams | |
1963 17th Tony Awards | ||
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? | Edward Albee | |
A Thousand Clowns | Herb Gardner | |
Mother Courage and Her Children | Bertolt Brecht | |
Tchin-Tchin | Sidney Michaels | |
1964 18th Tony Awards | ||
Luther | John Osborne | |
Barefoot in the Park | Neil Simon | |
Dylan | Sidney Michaels | |
The Ballad of the Sad Cafe | Edward Albee | |
1965 19th Tony Awards | ||
The Subject Was Roses | Frank D. Gilroy | |
Luv | Murray Schisgal | |
The Odd Couple | Neil Simon | |
Tiny Alice | Edward Albee | |
1966 20th Tony Awards | ||
Marat/Sade | Peter Weiss | |
Inadmissible Evidence | John Osborne | |
Philadelphia, Here I Come! | Brian Friel | |
The Right Honourable Gentleman | Michael Dyne | |
1967 21st Tony Awards | ||
The Homecoming | Harold Pinter | |
A Delicate Balance | Edward Albee | |
Black Comedy | Peter Shaffer | |
The Killing of Sister George | Frank Marcus | |
1968 22nd Tony Awards | ||
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead | Tom Stoppard | |
A Day in the Death of Joe Egg | Peter Nichols | |
Plaza Suite | Neil Simon | |
The Price | Arthur Miller | |
1969 23rd Tony Awards | ||
The Great White Hope | Howard Sackler | |
Hadrian VII | Peter Luke | |
Lovers | Brian Friel | |
The Man in the Glass Booth | Robert Shaw |
1970s[]
Year | Production | Author |
---|---|---|
1970 24th Tony Awards | ||
Borstal Boy | Frank McMahon | |
Child's Play | Robert Marasco | |
Indians | Arthur Kopit | |
The Last of the Red Hot Lovers | Neil Simon | |
1971 25th Tony Awards | ||
Sleuth | Anthony Shaffer | |
Home | David Storey | |
Paul Sills' Story Theatre | Paul Sills | |
The Philanthropist | Christopher Hampton | |
1972 26th Tony Awards | ||
Sticks and Bones | David Rabe | |
Old Times | Harold Pinter | |
The Prisoner of Second Avenue | Neil Simon | |
Vivat! Vivat Regina! | Robert Bolt | |
1973 27th Tony Awards | ||
That Championship Season | Jason Miller | |
Butley | Simon Gray | |
The Changing Room | David Storey | |
The Sunshine Boys | Neil Simon | |
1974 28th Tony Awards | ||
The River Niger | Joseph A. Walker | |
In the Boom Boom Room | David Rabe | |
The Au Pair Man | Hugh Leonard | |
Ulysses in Nighttown | Marjorie Barkentin | |
1975 29th Tony Awards | ||
Equus | Peter Shaffer | |
Same Time, Next Year | Bernard Slade | |
Seascape | Edward Albee | |
Short Eyes | Miguel Pinero | |
Sizwe Banzi Is Dead / The Island | Athol Fugard, John Kani & Winston Ntshona | |
The National Health | Peter Nichols | |
1976 30th Tony Awards | ||
Travesties | Tom Stoppard | |
Knock Knock | Jules Feiffer | |
Lamppost Reunion | Louis La Russo | |
The First Breeze of Summer | Leslie Lee | |
1977 31st Tony Awards | ||
The Shadow Box | Michael Cristofer | |
For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf | Ntozake Shange | |
Otherwise Engaged | Simon Gray | |
Streamers | David Rabe | |
1978 32nd Tony Awards | ||
Da | Hugh Leonard | |
Chapter Two | Neil Simon | |
Deathtrap | Ira Levin | |
The Gin Game | Donald L. Coburn | |
1979 33rd Tony Awards | ||
The Elephant Man | Bernard Pomerance | |
Bedroom Farce | Alan Ayckbourn | |
Whose Life Is It Anyway? | Brian Clark | |
Wings | Arthur Kopit |
1980s[]
Year | Production | Author |
---|---|---|
1980 34th Tony Awards | ||
Children of a Lesser God | Mark Medoff | |
Bent | Martin Sherman | |
Home | Samm-Art Williams | |
Talley's Folly | Lanford Wilson | |
1981 35th Tony Awards | ||
Amadeus | Peter Shaffer | |
A Lesson from Aloes | Athol Fugard | |
A Life | Hugh Leonard | |
Fifth of July | Lanford Wilson | |
1982 36th Tony Awards | ||
The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby | David Edgar | |
Crimes of the Heart | Beth Henley | |
"Master Harold"...and the Boys | Athol Fugard | |
The Dresser | Ronald Harwood | |
1983 37th Tony Awards | ||
Torch Song Trilogy | Harvey Fierstein | |
Angels Fall | Lanford Wilson | |
Plenty | David Hare | |
'night, Mother | Marsha Norman | |
1984 38th Tony Awards | ||
The Real Thing | Tom Stoppard | |
Glengarry Glen Ross | David Mamet | |
Noises Off | Michael Frayn | |
Play Memory | Joanna Glass | |
1985 39th Tony Awards | ||
Biloxi Blues | Neil Simon | |
As Is | William M. Hoffman | |
Hurlyburly | David Rabe | |
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom | August Wilson | |
1986 40th Tony Awards | ||
I'm Not Rappaport | Herb Gardner | |
Benefactors | Michael Frayn | |
Blood Knot | Athol Fugard | |
The House of Blue Leaves | John Guare | |
1987 41st Tony Awards | ||
Fences | August Wilson | |
Broadway Bound | Neil Simon | |
Coastal Disturbances | Tina Howe | |
Les Liaisons Dangereuses | Christopher Hampton | |
1988 42nd Tony Awards | ||
M. Butterfly | David Henry Hwang | |
A Walk in the Woods | Lee Blessing | |
Joe Turner's Come and Gone | August Wilson | |
Speed-the-Plow | David Mamet | |
1989 43rd Tony Awards | ||
The Heidi Chronicles | Wendy Wasserstein | |
Largely New York | Bill Irwin | |
Lend Me a Tenor | Ken Ludwig | |
Shirley Valentine | Willy Russell |
1990s[]
Year | Production | Author |
---|---|---|
1990 44th Tony Awards | ||
The Grapes of Wrath | Frank Galati | |
Lettice and Lovage | Peter Shaffer | |
Prelude to a Kiss | Craig Lucas | |
The Piano Lesson | August Wilson | |
1991 45th Tony Awards | ||
Lost in Yonkers | Neil Simon | |
Our Country's Good | Timberlake Wertenbaker | |
Shadowlands | William Nicholson | |
Six Degrees of Separation | John Guare | |
1992 46th Tony Awards | ||
Dancing at Lughnasa | Brian Friel | |
Four Baboons Adoring the Sun | John Guare | |
Two Shakespearean Actors | Richard Nelson | |
Two Trains Running | August Wilson | |
1993 47th Tony Awards | ||
Angels in America: Millennium Approaches | Tony Kushner | |
Someone Who'll Watch Over Me | Frank McGuinness | |
The Sisters Rosensweig | Wendy Wasserstein | |
The Song of Jacob Zulu | Tug Yourgrau | |
1994 48th Tony Awards | ||
Angels in America: Perestroika | Tony Kushner | |
Broken Glass | Arthur Miller | |
The Kentucky Cycle | Robert Schenkkan | |
Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992 | Anna Deavere Smith | |
1995 49th Tony Awards | ||
Love! Valour! Compassion! | Terrence McNally | |
Arcadia | Tom Stoppard | |
Having Our Say | Emily Mann | |
Indiscretions | Jean Cocteau | |
1996 50th Tony Awards | ||
Master Class | Terrence McNally | |
Buried Child | Sam Shepard | |
Racing Demon | David Hare | |
Seven Guitars | August Wilson | |
1997 51st Tony Awards | ||
The Last Night of Ballyhoo | Alfred Uhry | |
Skylight | David Hare | |
Stanley | Pam Gems | |
The Young Man From Atlanta | Horton Foote | |
1998 52nd Tony Awards | ||
'Art' | Yasmina Reza | |
Freak | John Leguizamo | |
Golden Child | David Henry Hwang | |
The Beauty Queen of Leenane | Martin McDonagh | |
1999 53rd Tony Awards | ||
Side Man | Warren Leight | |
Closer | Patrick Marber | |
Not About Nightingales | Tennessee Williams | |
The Lonesome West | Martin McDonagh |
2000s[]
Year | Production | Author |
---|---|---|
2000 54th Tony Awards | ||
Copenhagen | Michael Frayn | |
Dirty Blonde | Claudia Shear | |
The Ride Down Mt. Morgan | Arthur Miller | |
True West | Sam Shepard | |
2001 55th Tony Awards | ||
Proof | David Auburn | |
King Hedley II | August Wilson | |
The Invention of Love | Tom Stoppard | |
The Tale of the Allergist's Wife | Charles Busch | |
2002 56th Tony Awards | ||
The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia? | Edward Albee | |
Fortune's Fool | Mike Poulton | |
Metamorphoses | Mary Zimmerman | |
Topdog/Underdog | Suzan-Lori Parks | |
2003 57th Tony Awards | ||
Take Me Out | Richard Greenberg | |
Enchanted April | Matthew Barber | |
Say Goodnight, Gracie | Rupert Holmes | |
Vincent in Brixton | Nicholas Wright | |
2004 58th Tony Awards | ||
I Am My Own Wife | Doug Wright | |
Anna in the Tropics | Nilo Cruz | |
Frozen | Bryony Lavery | |
The Retreat from Moscow | William Nicholson | |
2005 59th Tony Awards | ||
Doubt | John Patrick Shanley | |
Democracy | Michael Frayn | |
Gem of the Ocean | August Wilson | |
The Pillowman | Martin McDonagh | |
2006 60th Tony Awards | ||
The History Boys | Alan Bennett | |
Rabbit Hole | David Lindsay-Abaire | |
Shining City | Conor McPherson | |
The Lieutenant of Inishmore | Martin McDonagh | |
2007 61st Tony Awards | ||
The Coast of Utopia | Tom Stoppard | |
Frost/Nixon | Peter Morgan | |
The Little Dog Laughed | Douglas Carter Beane | |
Radio Golf | August Wilson | |
2008 62nd Tony Awards | ||
August: Osage County | Tracy Letts | |
Rock 'n' Roll | Tom Stoppard | |
The 39 Steps | Patrick Barlow | |
The Seafarer | Conor McPherson | |
2009 63rd Tony Awards | ||
God of Carnage | Yasmina Reza | |
33 Variations | Moisés Kaufman | |
Dividing the Estate | Horton Foote | |
reasons to be pretty | Neil LaBute |
2010s[]
Year | Production | Author |
---|---|---|
2010 64th Tony Awards | ||
Red | John Logan | |
In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play) | Sarah Ruhl | |
Next Fall | Geoffrey Nauffts | |
Time Stands Still | Donald Margulies | |
2011 65th Tony Awards | ||
War Horse | Nick Stafford | |
Good People | David Lindsay-Abaire | |
Jerusalem | Jez Butterworth | |
The Motherfucker with the Hat | Stephen Adly Guirgis | |
2012 66th Tony Awards | ||
Clybourne Park | Bruce Norris | |
Other Desert Cities | Jon Robin Baitz | |
Peter and the Starcatcher | Rick Elice | |
Venus in Fur | David Ives | |
2013 67th Tony Awards | ||
Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike | Christopher Durang | |
Lucky Guy | Nora Ephron | |
The Assembled Parties | Richard Greenberg | |
The Testament of Mary | Colm Toibin | |
2014 68th Tony Awards | ||
All the Way | Robert Schenkkan | |
Act One | James Lapine | |
Casa Valentina | Harvey Fierstein | |
Mothers and Sons | Terrence McNally | |
Outside Mullingar | John Patrick Shanley | |
2015 69th Tony Awards | ||
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time | Simon Stephens | |
Disgraced | Ayad Akhtar | |
Hand to God | Robert Askins | |
Wolf Hall, Parts One & Two | Hilary Mantel & Mike Poulton | |
2016 70th Tony Awards | ||
The Humans | Stephen Karam | |
Eclipsed | Danai Gurira | |
King Charles III | Mike Bartlett | |
The Father | Florian Zeller | |
2017 71st Tony Awards | ||
Oslo | J. T. Rogers | |
A Doll's House, Part 2 | Lucas Hnath | |
Indecent | Paula Vogel | |
Sweat | Lynn Nottage | |
2018 72nd Tony Awards | ||
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child | Jack Thorne, John Tiffany & J. K. Rowling | |
The Children | Lucy Kirkwood | |
Farinelli and the King | Claire van Kampen | |
Junk | Ayad Akhtar | |
Latin History for Morons | John Leguizamo | |
2019 73rd Tony Awards | ||
The Ferryman | Jez Butterworth | |
Choir Boy | Tarell Alvin McCraney | |
Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus | Taylor Mac | |
Ink | James Graham | |
What the Constitution Means to Me | Heidi Schreck |
2020s[]
Year | Production | Author |
---|---|---|
2020 74th Tony Awards | ||
The Inheritance | Matthew Lopez | |
Grand Horizons | Bess Wohl | |
Sea Wall/A Life | Simon Stephens and Nick Payne | |
Slave Play | Jeremy O. Harris | |
The Sound Inside | Adam Rapp |
Award records[]
Multiple awards and nominations[]
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Superlatives[]
British writer Tom Stoppard has won this award four times, more than any other playwright. Only seven other writers (Arthur Miller, Terrence McNally, Tony Kushner, Edward Albee, Neil Simon, Yasmina Reza and Peter Shaffer) have won the award more than once, each winning twice.
With ten nominations, Neil Simon has been nominated for the award more than any other playwright. August Wilson, with nine nominations, comes in second, followed by Tom Stoppard (seven nominations), Edward Albee (six nominations), and Arthur Miller (five nominations).
In 1994, Tony Kushner became the first playwright to win consecutive Tony Awards for his two-part Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes. Terrence McNally repeated this feat the following two years with his plays Love! Valour! Compassion! and Master Class.
See also[]
- Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play
- Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play
- Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Play
- List of Tony Award and Olivier Award winning plays
References[]
- "Tony Award: Play". Internet Broadway Database. 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-21.
External links[]
- Tony Awards
- Awards established in 1948
- 1948 establishments in the United States