39th Tony Awards
The 39th Annual Tony Awards was broadcast by CBS television on June 2, 1985 from the Shubert Theatre. Instead of a formal host, there was a group of performers/presenters. Some paid tribute to the songs of Jule Styne, Cy Coleman, Andrew Lloyd Webber, with these composers ending the broadcast by playing songs from their respective new shows. Mary Martin introduced the Special Award for Yul Brynner.[1]
For the first time in Tony history, awards were not presented for lead actor and actress in a musical and choreography.[2]As Ken Mandelbaum noted:"1985: Things get bad enough musically to require the elimination of the Best Musical Actor and Actress categories, as well as the choreography prize."[3] The Associated Press wrote: "For the first time in the Tony's 39-year history, awards in three categories _ best actor and actress in a musical and best choreography _ were scrapped because of a lack of candidates."[4] In a further report, the Associated Press noted: "The award for best actress, musical was eliminated this season because there was only one eligible candidate. The nominating committee declined to give nominations in the leading actor in a musical and choreography categories because they did not consider any of the performances or choreography outstanding or excellent."[5]
Musicals represented:[6]
- Big River ("Muddy Water"/" River in the Rain"- Daniel Jenkins, Ron Richardson and Company);
- Grind ( "This Must Be the Place" - Ben Vereen and company);
- Leader of the Pack (Medley - Company)
Presenters and Performers: Danny Aiello, Susan Anton, Hinton Battle, Deborah Bauers, Deborah Burrell, Terry Burrell, Jim Dale, Loretta Devine, Jackie Gleason, Julie Harris, Rex Harrison, George Hearn, Van Johnson, Raul Julia, Rosetta LeNoire, Mary Martin, Millicent Martin, Maureen McGovern, Rita Moreno, Mike Nichols, Stefanie Powers, Juliet Prowse, Tony Randall, Lee Roy Reams, Lynn Redgrave, Chita Rivera, Wanda Richert, Tony Roberts, Rex Smith, Leslie Uggams, Dick Van Dyke, Ben Vereen, Tom Wopat.
Winners and nominees
Winners are in bold
Production
- Biloxi Blues by Neil Simon. (Produced by Emanuel Azenberg, and the Center Theater Group/Ahmanson Theatre, Los Angeles)
- As Is by William M. Hoffman. (Produced by John Glines/Lawrence Lane, Lucille Lortel, and The Shubert Organization)
- Hurlyburly by David Rabe. (Produced by Icarus Productions, Frederick M. Zollo, Ivan Bloch and ERB Productions)
- Ma Rainey's Black Bottom by August Wilson. (Produced by Ivan Bloch, Robert Cole, and Frederick M. Zollo)
- Big River (Produced by Rocco Landesman, Heidi Landesman, Rick Steiner, M. Anthony Fisher, and Dodger Productions)
- Grind (Produced by Kenneth D. Greenblatt, John J. Pomerantz, Mary Lea Johnson, Martin Richards, James M. Nederlander, Harold Prince, Michael Frazier, Susan Madden Samson, and Jonathan Farkas)
- Leader of the Pack (musical) (Produced by Elizabeth I. McCann, Nelle Nugent, Francine LeFrak, Clive Davis, John Hart Associates, Inc., Rodger Hess, and Richard Kagan)
- Quilters (Produced by The Denver Center for the Performing Arts, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, The American National Theatre and Academy, and Brockman Seawell)
Reproduction (Play or Musical)
- A Day in the Death of Joe Egg (Produced by The Shubert Organization, Emanuel Azenberg, Roger Berlind, Ivan Bloch and MTM Enterprises, Inc.)
- Cyrano de Bergerac (Produced by James M. Nederlander, Elizabeth I. McCann, Nelle Nugent, Cynthia Wood, Dale Duffy, and Allan Carr)
- Much Ado about Nothing (Produced by James M. Nederlander, Elizabeth I. McCann, Nelle Nugent, Cynthia Wood, Dale Duffy and Allan Carr)
- Strange Interlude (Produced by Robert Michael Geisler, John Roberdeau, Douglas Urbanski, James M. Nederlander, Duncan C. Weldon, Paul Gregg, Lionel Becker and Jerome Minskoff)
Performance
NONE
NONE
Craft
NONE
- Big River (William Hauptman)
- Grind (Fay Kanin)
- Harrigan 'n Hart (Michael Stewart)
- Quilters (Molly Newman and Barbara Damashek)
- Big River (Music and lyrics by Roger Miller)
- Grind (Music by Larry Grossman, and lyrics by Ellen Fitzhugh)
- Quilters (Music and lyrics by Barbara Damashek)
- Heidi Landesman (Big River)
- Clarke Dunham (Grind)
- Ralph Koltai (Much Ado About Nothing)
- Voytek and Michael Levine (Strange Interlude)
- Florence Klotz (Grind)
- Patricia McGourty (Big River)
- Alexander Reid (Cyrano de Bergerac)
- Alexander Reid (Much Ado about Nothing)
- Richard Riddell (Big River)
- Terry Hands (Cyrano de Bergerac)
- Terry Hands (Much Ado About Nothing)
- Allen Lee Hughes (Strange Interlude)
Special awards
See also
Tony Awards
References
- ^ O'Connor, John J. "TV Reviews;'Tony Awards' On CBS, Live From Shubert", New York Times, June 4, 1985, p.C13
- ^ Freedman, Samuel G. New York Times, June 3, 1985, p.C15
- ^ Mandelbaum, Ken."Ken Mandelbaum's AISLE VIEW: Tony Highs And Lows" playbill.com, May 11, 1997
- ^ Kuchwara, Michael, "Neil Simon Wins First Best Play Tony; 'Big River' Captures Seven Awards", The Associated Press, June 3, 1985, Domestic News (no page number)
- ^ (no author). "List of Winners of 1985 Tony Awards", The Associated Press, June 3, 1985, Domestic News (no page number)
- ^ "1985 - 39th Annual Tony Awards" tonyawards.com, accessed April 30, 2011
External links
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