50 YEARS OF A VERY TONY AWARD : A HISTORY OF DRAMAS ON STAGE, OFF.Byline: Ken Mandelbaum Ken Mandelbaum is an American columnist, critic, and author whose primary field of expertise is theatre. Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Mandelbaum was introduced to Broadway musical theatre by his parents and grandparents at an early age. The New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of Times When the Tonys are broadcast tonight (9 p.m. on KCBS KCBS Kansas City Barbecue Society KCBS Korea Christian Book Service (now called KCB; Seoul, Korea) KCBS Kerala Catholic Bible Society (Kerala, India) , Channel 2), Broadway will be celebrating more than the 50-year anniversary of the awards ceremony and excellence in theater. The broadcast itself, hosted by current Broadway and film darling Nathan Lane Nathan Lane (born February 3, 1956) is a Tony Award- and Emmy Award-winning actor of the stage and screen. Biography Early life Lane was born Joseph Lane in Jersey City, New Jersey, the son of Irish American Catholic parents. , will be more of a Tony nostalgia show than a recounting of the current season. Here's a look at some of the highlights - and lowlights - of Tony's half-century. 1947: Scene: The Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, where the first Tony Awards ceremony takes place. Amazingly, there is no best musical prize, although ``Brigadoon,'' ``Street Scene'' and ``Finian's Rainbow'' had opened that season. Winners receive tasteful scrolls and a compact or cigarette lighter. 1948: Depending on the kindness of nearsighted near·sight·ed adj. Unable to see distant objects clearly; myopic. voters, ``Mister Roberts'' beats ``A Streetcar Named Desire A Streetcar Named Desire may refer to:
1949: Gower Champion Gower Champion (June 22 1919 - August 25 1980) was a Tony Award-winning American theatre director, choreographer, and dancer. Born Gower Carlyle Champion in Geneva, Illinois, he was raised in Los Angeles, California, where he graduated from Fairfax High School [1]. receives his first Tony for the choreography of ``Lend an Ear,'' which introduces a new set of eyelashes: Carol Channing's. Fifteen years later, he will direct her in the show that keeps on giving - ``Hello, Dolly!'' 1950: Channing gets her first star vehicle: ``Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.'' But her gold-digging Lorelei Lee can't trump Mary Martin's wholesome Nellie Forbush in ``South Pacific.'' 1951: Ethel Merman Noun 1. Ethel Merman - United States singer who appeared in several musical comedies (1909-1984) Merman wins her only Tony for a role: Mrs. Sally Adams in ``Call Me Madam.'' Had there been Tonys in the first 17 years of her Broadway career, she would almost certainly have won four or five. 1952: Because he is billed below the title, Yul Brynner is eligible only as a supporting musical performer (he won) for ``The King and I.'' When Brynner plays the role again on Broadway in the '70s and '80s, he is not only above the title but the lady playing ``I'' isn't. (Tonight's ``King and I'' nominees, Donna Murphy Donna Murphy (born March 7, 1958) is an American actress. Murphy was born in Corona, New York, the daughter of Jean (Fink) and Robert Murphy, an aerospace engineer.[1] and Lou Diamond Master Gunnery Sergeant Leland "Lou" Diamond USMC (May 30 1890 – September 20 1951) is famous within the US Marine Corps as the classic example of the "Old Breed" - tough, hard-fighting career Marines who served in the Corps in the years between World War I and World War II. Phillips, share above-the-title billing.) 1953: Thomas Mitchell Major Sir Thomas Livingston Mitchell (June 16, 1792-1855), surveyor and explorer of south-eastern Australia, was born at Grangemouth in Stirlingshire, Scotland. He was educated at the University of Edinburgh, but the poverty of his family following his father's death led him to wins the Tony for best actor in a musical in ``Hazel Flagg'' even though he doesn't sing in it. 1954: Dolores Dolores (or Delores) was a common given name (until the 1960s in the USA); it is cognate with the English word "dolorous" (meaning sorrowful) and equivalent in meaning. Gray gets the best musical actress prize for ``Carnival in Flanders Carnival in Flanders may refer to:
1955: The musical ``The Pajama Game'' reigns triumphant, and it gives producer Hal Prince Hal Prince (born January 30 1928) is an American theatrical producer and director associated with many of the best-known Broadway musical productions of the past half-century. and choreographer Bob Fosse their first Tonys. Carol Haney Carol Haney (December 24, 1924 – May 10, 1964) was an American dancer and actress. Born in New Bedford, Massachusetts, she opened a dancing school when she was fifteen years old. , the dancer and comedian, runs away with the show's reviews, then tears a ligament. (Her understudy, Shirley MacLaine, will get a Hollywood contract as a result.) 1956: The year of the first Tony telecast (in the New York area only), and the first time that the names of all the nominees (not just the winners) are made public. 1957: ``My Fair Lady'' arrives, and everything else fades away. Julie Andrews Dame Julie Elizabeth Andrews, DBE (born Julia Elizabeth Wells[1] on 1 October 1935[2]) is an award-winning English actress, singer, author and cultural icon. receives her first Tony nomination but loses to Judy Holliday Judy Holliday (June 21, 1921–June 7, 1965) was an Academy- and Tony Award-winning American actress. Biography Early life Born Judith Tuvim ("Tuvim" is Yiddish for "Holiday") in New York City, she was the only child of Abe and Helen Tuvim, Jewish in ``Bells Are Ringing.'' 1958: This time it's the year of ``The Music Man,'' so ``West Side Story'' must be content with only two awards: Oliver Smith Oliver Smith may refer to:
1959: For ``Redhead'' (perhaps the least likely of all best musical winners to be revived), Gwen Verdon wins her fourth Tony in six seasons. Although she does not win again, no musical actress has ever won more. 1960: ``Gypsy,'' now considered by many to be the finest Broadway musical, loses the best musical prize to not one but two shows when ``Fiorello '' and ``The Sound of Music'' share the award. 1961: Julie Andrews receives her second Tony nomination (for ``Camelot''). Her fellow nominees for best musical actress include Carol Channing and Nancy Walker. The winner, however, is the now-forgotten Elizabeth Seal for ``Irma la Douce a. 1. Sweet; pleasant. 2. Sober; prudent; sedate; modest. And this is a douce, honest man. - Sir W. Scott. .'' 1962: Barbra Streisand steals her debut show ``I Can Get It for You Wholesale'' but loses the prize for supporting musical actress to Phyllis Newman in the flop ``Subways Are for Sleeping.'' 1963: For his first full Broadway score, for ``A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum,'' Stephen Sondheim is not nominated for best composer-lyricist. But the songwriters of ``Bravo Giovanni'' are. 1964: ``Hello, Dolly!'' takes the most (10) Tony Awards any musical has ever received. Barbra Streisand loses again, her sensational ``Funny Girl'' performance beaten by Carol Channing's Mrs. Levi. Streisand gets revenge by taking Channing's role in the ``Hello, Dolly!'' film. (Who really got revenge remains debatable.) 1965: Most inexplicable category (it was never used again): ``Best Author (Dramatic).'' Neil Simon wins it for ``The Odd Couple,'' but ``The Odd Couple'' loses best play to ``The Subject Was Roses.'' 1966: Zoe Caldwell makes a splash in a Tennessee Williams flop called ``Slapstick slapstick Comedy characterized by broad humour, absurd situations, and vigorous, often violent action. It took its name from a paddlelike device, probably introduced by 16th-century commedia dell'arte troupes, that produced a resounding whack when one comic actor used it to Tragedy'' and receives her first of three Tonys. (She could make it four tonight.) 1967: Alexander H. Cohen Alexander H. Cohen (July 24, 1920 - April 22, 2000) was a prolific American theatrical producer who mounted more than one hundred productions. Although several major theatrical producers have worked on both sides of the Atlantic (mounting Broadway productions in New York City and produces the first national Tony telecast for ABC ABC in full American Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. television network. It began when the expanding national radio network NBC split into the separate Red and Blue networks in 1928. , during which Barbara Harris, the best musical actress winner (``The Apple Tree''), is visibly shaken when a professional gate-crasher, Stan Berman, takes to the stage and plants a kiss on her cheek. 1968: In a weak season for musicals, the shuttered ``Hallelujah Hallelujah (hăl'əl  `yə) or Alleluia (ăl–) [Heb.,=praise the Lord], joyful expression used in Hebrew worship; cf. Pss. , Baby '' grabs the prize. Its composer, Jule Styne, whose shows already included ``Gypsy,'' ``Bells Are Ringing,'' ``Funny Girl'' and ``Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,'' finally wins a Tony. 1969: Because actors billed below the title are still relegated to supporting categories, William Daniels declines a supporting actor nomination for his starring role as John Adams in the musical ``1776.'' This allows a genuine supporting performance, Ronald Holgate's in ``1776,'' to win. 1970: The Lunts and Noel Coward, theater royalty, make themselves at home on Cecil Beaton's elegant set for the musical ``Coco'' - from which the show is televised this year. The nominees for best musical actress are Lauren Bacall (the victor for ``Applause''), Katharine Hepburn (``Coco'') and Dilys Watling (remember her in ``Georgy''?). 1971: At the 25th-anniversary Tony show, stars like Yul Brynner, Robert Preston, Carol Channing and Zero Mostel re-create their famous numbers and bring down the house. 1972: Ethel Merman is given a special award and repays the honor by performing a 15-minute salute to herself. 1973: ``Musicals Around the World'' is the Tony show theme. Video clips are the order of the evening as excerpts from ``Show Boat'' in London, ``West Side Story'' in Vienna, ``Hello, Dolly!'' in Paris and ``The King and I'' in Tokyo are shown. Only enough time is found to include a live excerpt from ``Pippin Pippin. For Frankish rulers thus named, use Pepin. A multimedia game and Internet machine from Apple that used the PowerPC architecture and a limited version of the Mac OS. ,'' one of the best musical nominees. The winner, ``A Little Night Music,'' is shut out of the program. 1974: The Tony theme ``Welcome Home'' calls for just about every current television star who ever appeared on the New York stage to re-create something they performed in a musical. The concept backfires when the telecast swells to a record three hours plus; the crowd is so hostile that catcalling greets a long acceptance speech by the producer of the musical ``Raisin.'' 1975: Accepting her Tony for best featured actress in a play for Terrence McNally's ``The Ritz,'' Rita Moreno declares that she isn't a supporting actress and that the only thing in the show she supports is her beads. 1976: The year of ``A Chorus Line'': No other musical need apply. The top-notch ``Chicago'' loses in 11 categories. 1977: Julie Harris becomes the first and only five-time winning actress, with ``The Belle of Amherst.'' 1978: The infamous ``Bonnie Franklin Tonys'': Everything is seen through the eyes of the sitcom star, who narrates in voice-over while sitting in an orchestra seat. Some say the ratings never recovered. 1979: When Len Cariou delivers his acceptance speech as best musical actor for ``Sweeney Todd,'' his date, seated in the audience and shown on camera, is identified as ``Mrs. Len Cariou.'' She is Glenn Close, who has never been Mrs. Cariou. 1980: Ann Miller, whose tax return at the time reportedly listed her occupation as ``Star,'' receives her only Tony nomination, for ``Sugar Babies.'' She loses to a new star: Patti LuPone in ``Evita.'' 1981: Gower Champion, who died on the opening night of ``42nd Street,'' gets a posthumous Tony. 1982: In a close race, ``Nine'' beats ``Dreamgirls'' as best musical, confirming the desirability of opening a show on the last possible night of Tony eligibility. This approach has endured ever since. 1983: With his prize for best musical actor in ``My One and Only,'' Tommy Tune becomes the first person to have Tonys in four categories. 1984: Broadway breathes a sigh of relief as Chita Rivera, after five unsuccessful tries, wins a Tony, for ``The Rink.'' 1985: Musically, things are so bad this year that the awards for best musical actor and actress are eliminated. So is the choreography prize. 1986: A weak year for musicals sees ``Tango Argentino'' up for the prize, and perhaps the worst-ever best score nominee, ``The News.'' 1987: Sore-winner category: Accepting the prize for his ``Les Miserables'' sets, John Napier demands to know why his ``Starlight Express'' sets didn't get a nomination. 1988: It's Stephen Sondheim vs. Andrew Lloyd Webber Noun 1. Andrew Lloyd Webber - English composer of many successful musicals (some in collaboration with Sir Tim Rice) (born in 1948) Baron Lloyd Webber of Sydmonton, Lloyd Webber . ``The Phantom of the Opera'' wins best musical, but Sondheim's score and James Lapine's book for ``Into the Woods'' beat those of ``Phantom.'' 1989: The worst season ever for new musicals sees two revues - ``Black and Blue'' and the winning ``Jerome Robbins' Broadway'' - competing against what is arguably the worst-ever nominee for best musical: ``Starmites.'' 1990: Tyne Daly becomes the second star (Angela Lansbury was the first, in 1975) to win a Tony for the role of Rose in ``Gypsy'' that its creator, Ethel Merman, was denied. 1991: Anthony Quinn makes a memorable Tony gaffe when, presenting the award for best musical director, he is handed bad information and announces the winner of the best play (Neil Simon for ``Lost in Yonkers'') 20 minutes early. 1992: No one is surprised when the winsome win·some adj. Charming, often in a childlike or naive way. [Middle English winsum, from Old English wynsum : from wynn, joy; see wen-1 Faith Prince wins for her Adelaide in ``Guys and Dolls.'' 1993: ``Anna Karenina,'' a short-lived musical few bothered to catch, is nominated for its score and book. Neither makes it. 1994: It's new-kid-on-the-block Disney vs. Stephen Sondheim in a musical race: ``Beauty and the Beast'' loses to ``Passion,'' but ``Beauty'' flourishes while ``Passion'' soon wanes. 1995: A musical has only to open on Broadway to get a nomination. This year there are two candidates: ``Sunset Boulevard'' and ``Smokey Joe's Cafe.'' Because ``Sunset'' is the only one with a book and a new score, it takes the prize. MEMO: Ken Mandelbaum is the author of `` `A Chorus Line' and the Musicals of Michael Bennett'' and ``Not Since `Carrie': 40 Years of Broadway Musical Flops.'' CAPTION(S): 7 Photos Photo: (1) Current star of stage (``Forum'') and screen(``The Birdcage'') Nathan Lane hosts tonight's Tony Awards telecast. Knight-Ridder Tribune Photo Service (2) Yul Brynner ruled Broadway in 1952, but because he was billed below the title of ``The King and I,'' he was eligible only as a supporting musical performer. (3) Stephen Sondheim moved from an early slight over ``Forum'' to wins for such shows as ``Follies'' and ``Sweeney Todd.'' (4) In 1980, Patti LuPone's performance in ``Evita,'' opposite Bob Gunton, clobbered Ann Miller's in ``Sugar Babies.'' (5) In 1991, Anthony Quinn's ``Lost in Yonkers'' gaffe merely made the evening more colorful for the show's big winners: Neil Simon, left, Kevin Spacey spac·ey adj. Slang Variant of spacy. Adj. 1. spacey - stupefied by (or as if by) some narcotic drug spaced-out, spacy unconventional - not conventional or conformist; "unconventional life styles" , Mercedes Ruehl and producer Emanuel Azenberg. Associated Press (6) Julie Andrews has never received a Tony Award, even for such memorable roles as Eliza Doolittle in ``My Fair Lady.'' (7) Through the years, Gwen Verdon picked up four musical performance awards - more than any other actress. |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion