56th Tony Awards
| 56th Tony Awards | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Official poster for the 56th annual Tony Awards | ||||
| Date | June 2, 2002 | |||
| Location | Radio City Music Hall, New York City, New York | |||
| Host |
Bernadette Peters Gregory Hines | |||
| Television coverage | ||||
| Network | CBS | |||
| ||||
The 56th Annual Tony Awards ceremony was held at Radio City Music Hall on June 2, 2002 and broadcast by CBS. "The First Ten" awards ceremony was telecast on PBS television. The event was co-hosted by Bernadette Peters and Gregory Hines.[1]
The ceremony
The show opened with a tribute to Richard Rodgers, featuring a medley of his songs performed by Marvin Hamlisch, Harry Connick Jr, Michele Lee, Mos Def, Lea Salonga, Peter Gallagher, John Raitt, Bernadette Peters, Gregory Hines, and the company of Oklahoma! A Broadway/New York song medley was performed by Bernadette Peters and Gregory Hines.[2]
Presentations from nominated musicals:[2]
- Into the Woods, "Children Will Listen", "Ever After" and "Into the Woods" - Vanessa Williams, John McMartin and company;
- Mamma Mia!, Medley;
- Thoroughly Modern Millie, "Forget About the Boy"/"Thoroughly Modern Millie" - Sutton Foster, Anne L. Nathan, Casey Nicholaw, Noah Racey and company;
- Sweet Smell of Success, "Dirt" - John Lithgow and company;
- Urinetown The Musical, "Run, Freedom, Run" - Hunter Foster, Spencer Kayden, Jeff McCarthy, and company;
- Oklahoma!, "The Farmer and the Cowman" - Company.
The First Ten awards were presented prior to the full ceremony and broadcast on PBS. The awards presented were: Best Direction of a Play, Direction of a Musical, Book of a Musical, Original Score, Choreography, Costume Design, Lighting Design and Scenic Design. There were also interviews and "rehearsal and performance clips from the nominated shows."[3]
The broadcast won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program; the director was Glenn Weiss.[4]
Winners and nominees
Winners are in bold
Special awards
- Regional Theater Tony Award
- Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre
- Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre
References
- ↑ Gans, Andrew."Tony News: Musical Numbers and Likely Presenters for the June 2 Broadcast" playbill.com, May 23, 2002
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Year by Year 2002" tonyawards.com, accessed April 28, 2011
- ↑ Gans, Andrew."Together Again: PBS and CBS Will Televise Tony 2002 Awards" playbill.com, March 7, 2002
- ↑ Gans, Andrew."2002 Tony Awards Telecast Wins an Emmy" playbill.com, September 22, 2003