30th Tony Awards

The 30th Annual Tony Awards was held at the Shubert Theatre on April 18, 1976 and broadcast by ABC television. Hosts were Eddie Albert, Richard Burton, Jane Fonda, Diana Rigg, George C. Scott, and Trish Van Devere.^[1]

Presenters: Alan Arkin, Clifton Davis, Bonnie Franklin, Celeste Holm, Cloris Leachman, Michele Lee, Jerry Lewis, Hal Linden, Mary Martin, Mike Nichols, Christopher Plummer, Vanessa Redgrave, Marlo Thomas, Leslie Uggams.^[1]

The theme of the show was "The Ones That Got Away," a medley of memorable songs from past musicals that did not win the Tony. Richard Burton performed a scene from Hamlet.^[1]

Musicals represented:^[1] A Chorus Line ("I Hope I Get It"/"One" - Company); Bubbling Brown Sugar ("Sweet Georgia Brown" - Vivian Reed, Lonnie McNeil, Newton Winters); Chicago ("All I Care About" - Jerry Orbach and Company); Pacific Overtures ("Advantages of Floating in the Middle of the Sea" - Mako and Company.

Winners and nominees

Source:BroadwayWorld^[2]

Winners are in bold

Production

Best Play

• Travesties by Tom Stoppard. Produced by David Merrick, Doris Cole Abrahams, and Burry Fredrik in association with S. Spencer Davids and Eddie Kulukundis
• The First Breeze of Summer by Leslie Lee. Produced by Negro Ensemble Co., Inc.
• Knock Knock by Jules Feiffer. Produced by Harry Rigby and Terry Allen Kramer
• Lamppost Reunion by Louis La Russo II. Produced by Joe Garofalo

Best Musical

• A Chorus Line Produced by Joseph Papp, New York Shakespeare Festival
• Bubbling Brown Sugar. Produced by J. Lloyd Grant, Richard Bell, Robert M. Cooper, and Ashton Springer in association with Moe Septee, Inc.
• Chicago. Produced by Robert Fryer and James Cresson
• Pacific Overtures. Produced by Harold Prince in association with Ruth Mitchell

Performance

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play

• John Wood (Travesties)
• Moses Gunn (The Poison Tree)
• George C. Scott (Death of a Salesman)
• Donald Sinden (Habeas Corpus)

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play

• Irene Worth (Sweet Bird of Youth)
• Tovah Feldshuh (Yentl)
• Rosemary Harris (The Royal Family)
• Lynn Redgrave (Mrs. Warren's Profession)

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical

• George Rose (My Fair Lady)
• Mako (Pacific Overtures)
• Jerry Orbach (Chicago)
• Ian Richardson (My Fair Lady)

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical

• Donna McKechnie (A Chorus Line)
• Vivian Reed (Bubbling Brown Sugar)
• Chita Rivera (Chicago)
• Gwen Verdon (Chicago)

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play

• Edward Herrmann (Mrs. Warren's Profession)
• Barry Bostwick (They Knew What They Wanted)
• Gabriel Dell (Lamppost Reunion)
• Daniel Seltzer (Knock Knock)

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play

• Shirley Knight (Kennedy's Children)
• Mary Beth Hurt (Trelawny of the Wells)
• Lois Nettleton (They Knew What They Wanted)
• Meryl Streep (27 Wagons Full of Cotton)

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical

• Sammy Williams (A Chorus Line)
• Robert LuPone (A Chorus Line)
• Charles Repole (Very Good Eddie)
• Isao Sato (Pacific Overtures)

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical

• Kelly Bishop (A Chorus Line)
• Priscilla Lopez (A Chorus Line)
• Patti LuPone (The Robber Bridegroom)
• Virginia Seidel (Very Good Eddie)

Craft

Best Direction of a Play

• Ellis Rabb (The Royal Family)
• Arvin Brown (Ah Wilderness)
• Marshall W. Mason (Knock Knock)
• Peter Wood (Travesties)

Best Direction of a Musical

• Michael Bennett (A Chorus Line)
• Bob Fosse (Chicago)
• Bill Gile (Very Good Eddie)
• Harold Prince (Pacific Overtures)

Best Choreography

• Michael Bennet and Bob Avian (A Chorus Line)
• Patricia Birch (Pacific Overtures)
• Bob Fosse (Chicago)
• Billy Wilson (Bubbling Brown Sugar)

Best Book of a Musical

• A Chorus Line by James Kirkwood and Nicholas Dante
• Chicago by Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse
• Pacific Overtures by John Weidman
• The Robber Bridegroom by Alfred Uhry

Best Original Score Written for the Theatre

• A Chorus Line. Music by Marvin Hamlisch, lyrics by Edward Kleban
• Chicago. Music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb
• Pacific Overtures. Music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
• Treemonisha. Music and lyrics by Scott Joplin

Best Scenic Design

• Boris Aronson (Pacific Overtures)
• Ben Edwards (A Matter of Gravity)
• David Mitchell (Trelawny of the Wells)
• Tony Walton (Chicago)

Tony Award for Best Costume Design

• Florence Klotz (Pacific Overtures)
• Theoni V. Aldredge (A Chorus Line)
• Ann Roth (The Royal Family)
• Patricia Zipprodt (Chicago)

Tony Award for Best Lighting Designer

• Tharon Musser (A Chorus Line)
• Ian Calderon (Trelawny of the Wells)
• Jules Fisher (Chicago)
• Tharon Musser (Pacific Overtures)

Special awards

• Lawrence Langner Award Winner (Lifetime Achievement in Theatre) - George Abbott
• Regional Theatre Award - The Arena Stage, Washington, D.C. (This award takes note of the company's balanced program of distinguished revivals and a broad spectrum of new works and American premieres of important foreign plays.)
• Mathilde Pincus, for outstanding service to the Broadway musical theatre
• Thomas H. Fitzgerald, to the gifted lighting technician of countless Broadway shows and many Tony telecasts. (Posthumous)
• Circle in the Square, for twenty-five continuous years of quality productions.
• Richard Burton

See also

Tony awards

References

External links

• Tony Awards Official Site