33rd Tony Awards

The 33rd Annual Tony Awards was broadcast by CBS television on June 3, 1979 from the Shubert Theatre in New York City.^[1] The hosts were Jane Alexander, Henry Fonda, and Liv Ullmann.

The presenters were Tom Bosley, Barry Bostwick, Ellen Burstyn, Georgia Engel, Jane Fonda, Celeste Holm, John Houseman, Barnard Hughes, Angela Lansbury, Ron Leibman, Jack Lemmon, Hal Linden, Jean Marsh, Al Pacino, and Dick Van Dyke.

The theme of the ceremony was theatrical superstitions, and various other showbusiness beliefs.

Henry Fonda received a Special Award, which was presented by his daughter Jane Fonda. Walter Cronkite presented Richard Rodgers with his Special Award.^[1]

Musicals represented: Ballroom ("Fifty Percent" - Dorothy Loudon); The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas ("The Aggie Song" - Company); Eubie ("Hot Feet" - Gregory Hines); I Remember Mama ("A Little Bit More" - Liv Ullmann, George Hearn and Company); Sweeney Todd ("The Worst Pies in London" - Angela Lansbury); They're Playing Our Song ("They're Playing Our Song" - Robert Klein and Lucie Arnaz).

Winners and nominees

Winners are in bold

Production

Best Play

• The Elephant Man by Bernard Pomerance. Produced by Richmond Crinkley, Elizabeth I. McCann, and Nelle Nugent
• Bedroom Farce by Alan Ayckbourn. Produced by Robert Whitehead, Roger L. Stevens, George W. George, and Frank Milton
• Whose Life Is It Anyway? by Brian Clark. Produced by Emanuel Azenberg, James Nederlander, and Ray Cooney
• Wings by Arthur Kopit. Produced by the Kennedy Center

Best Musical

• Sweeney Todd. Produced by Richard Barr, Charles Woodward, Robert Fryer, Mary Lea Johnson, and Martin Richards
• Ballroom. Produced by Michael Bennett, Bob Avian, Bernard Gersten, and Susan MacNair
• The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. Produced by Universal Pictures
• They're Playing Our Song. Produced by Emanuel Azenberg

Performance

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play

• Tom Conti (Whose Life Is It Anyway?)
• Philip Anglim (The Elephant Man)
• Jack Lemmon (Tribute)
• Alec McCowen (St. Mark's Gospel)

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play

• Constance Cummings (Wings)(tie)
• Carole Shelley (The Elephant Man)(tie)
• Jane Alexander (First Monday in October)
• Constance Cummings (Wings)
• Frances Sternhagen (On Golden Pond)

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical

• Len Cariou (Sweeney Todd)
• Vincent Gardenia (Ballroom)
• Joel Grey (The Grand Tour)
• Robert Klein (They're Playing Our Song)

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical

• Angela Lansbury (Sweeney Todd)
• Tovah Feldshuh (Sarava)
• Dorothy Loudon (Ballroom)
• Alexis Smith (Platinum)

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play

• Michael Gough (Bedroom Farce)
• Bob Balaban (The Inspector General)
• Joseph Maher (Spokesong)
• Edward James Olmos (Zoot Suit)

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play

• Joan Hickson (Bedroom Farce)
• Laurie Kennedy (Man and Superman)
• Susan Littler (Bedroom Farce)
• Mary-Joan Negro (Wings)

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical

• Henderson Forsythe (The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas)
• Richard Cox (Platinum)
• Gregory Hines (Eubie!)
• Ron Holgate (The Grand Tour)

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical

• Carlin Glynn (The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas)
• Joan Ellis (The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas)
• Millicent Martin (King of Hearts)
• Maxine Sullivan (My Old Friends)

Craft

Best Direction of a Play

• Jack Hofsiss (The Elephant Man)
• Alan Ayckbourn and Peter Hall (Bedroom Farce)
• Paul Giovanni (The Crucifer of Blood)
• Michael Lindsay-Hogg (Whose Life Is It Anyway?)

Best Direction of a Musical

• Harold Prince (Sweeney Todd)
• Michael Bennett (Ballroom)
• Peter Masterson and Tommy Tune (The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas)
• Robert Moore (They're Playing Our Song)]

Best Choreography

• Michael Bennett and Bob Avian (Ballroom)
• Henry LeTang and Billy Wilson (Eubie!)
• Dan Siretta (Whoopee!)
• Tommy Tune (The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas)

Best Book of a Musical

• Sweeney Todd by Hugh Wheeler
• Ballroom by Jerome Kass
• The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas by Larry L. King and Peter Masterson
• They're Playing Our Song by Neil Simon

Best Original Score Written for the Theatre

• Sweeney Todd. Music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
• Carmelina. Music by Burton Lane, lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner
• Eubie! Music by Eubie Blake, lyrics by Noble Sissle, Andy Razaf, F. E. Miller, Johnny Brandon, and Jim Europe
• The Grand Tour. Music and lyrics by Jerry Herman

Best Scenic Design

• Eugene Lee (Sweeney Todd)
• Karl Eigsti (Knockout)
• David Jenkins (The Elephant Man)
• John Wulp (The Crucifer of Blood)

Tony Award for Best Costume Design

• Franne Lee (Sweeney Todd)
• Theoni V. Aldredge (Ballroom)
• Ann Roth (The Crucifer of Blood)
• Julie Weiss (The Elephant Man)

Tony Award for Best Lighting Designer

• Roger Morgan (The Crucifer of Blood)
• Ken Billington (Sweeney Todd)
• Beverly Emmons (The Elephant Man)
• Tharon Musser (Ballroom)

Special awards

• Lawrence Langner Memorial Award for Distinguished Lifetime Achievement in the American Theatre - Richard Rodgers

• Regional Theatre Award - American Conservatory Theater, San Francisco, California

• Henry Fonda
• Walter F. Diehl, International President of Theatrical Stage Employees and Moving Picture Operators, has been an active force in advancing the well-being of the Broadway theatre and of theatre nationally.
• Eugene O'Neill Memorial Theatre Center, Waterford, Connecticut

See also

Tony awards

References

External links

• Tony Awards Official Site