Named after an actress from the 1940's, the Tony Awards have come to be one of the biggest events for live theatre. It's a time to celebrate new performances, old shows, new presentation, lighting, sound, costumes, music, and the endless amount of time and talent it takes to make eight shows a week.
This years award show - the 70th annual - had a few returning shows, and some new ones that knocked it out of the park. While I could go on and on about the current season, let's take a delve back into the origins of the ceremony.
When the Tony's first began, it wasn't a big song and dance, televised spectacular.
The first award night was a gala dinner in New York with barely around 1,000 people in attendance.
The next 18 years the venue would change to include the ballrooms of the Plaza, the Waldorf Astoria, and the Aston.
Back then the awards were broadcast over the radio - television coverage wouldn't begin until 1956, when it was first cast locally.
During it's first few years on TV entertainment was provided by various artists including: Joan Crawford, Shirley Booth, Carol Channing, Joan Fontaine, Paul Newman, Sidney Poitier, Robert Goulet, and Henry Fonda.
Rough waters were ahead when the chairwoman, Helen Menken, passed away before the 1966 awards. Instead of a lavish affair, it was a simple ceremony in the Rainbow room.
When Isabelle Stevenson assumed the reigns the following year the ceremony went back to being a lavish gala - but there was a new difference.
Not only would the gala resume, continuing to be broadcast on live television, but the League of New York Theatres (now known as The Broadway League), were invited to co-present the awards in 1867.
By today's standards an award ceremony of any kind is at least three hours, not including the Red carpet walk.
Fun Fact: the first combined broadcast of the Tony's was only ONE HOUR long.
One hour! Can you believe that?
CBS didn't start carrying the ceremony until 1978 - and has claimed the Tony's as it's own ever since then.
In 1997 it was aired beneath a unique partnership with PBS. A PBS special covered 10 awards, followed closely by the CBS broadcast.
Beginning in 2003 - CBS gave an entire three-hour time slot to the Tony's (which still isn't enough because my DVR decided to cut anything after that mark this past week - meaning I missed the last quarter of the awards. I'm not bitter. .... mostly.)
There was a milestone for the Tony's in 1997 - when the ceremony moved away from Broadway for the first time in three decades. All but one years between 1997 and 2010 was held at the Radio City Music Hall.
Since 2011, however, it had either been held at Radio City Music Hall, or the Beacon Theatre on Manhattan's Upper West Side (which is a small venue compared tot he Radio City Music Hall).
In 2000 IBM joined the game and launched TonyAwards.com - which became a definitive resource for information about the Awards.
The last thing I'm going to go over for you is the brief history of the Medallion - the award - the statue with a spinning disc that so enthralled Cyndi Lauper back in 2013 for "Kinky Boots".
Now - when we first started there was no official "Tony Award". It was a scroll with either a gold money clip for the gents, or a compact for the gals. Nothing too fancy.
In 1949 the United Scenic Artists sponsored a contest for a more suitable award.
The winning award is the one we see today - designed by Herman Rosse. The Medallion depicts the Greek comedy and tragedy masks on one side, and the profile of our wonderful lady who inspired the awards - Antoinette Perry - on the other.
Since 1967 - the medallion has been mounted on a black pedestal with a curved armature.
After the ceremony is over, and before all the parties begin, each one of the awards is numbered for tracking purposes, and engraved with the winner's name.
I hope you enjoyed our little trip into the world of the Tony Awards. Now for your viewing pleasure, some videos of my favorite performances (in no specific order as that would be too much to decide):
From the novel that gave us, "You've Got Mail", the musical that it also inspired!
From Ghosts of Tony's Past!
Ooooo, didn't mean for that before this one.......okay, maybe.
And - from the people who brought you, "Into the Heights", I give you, "Hamilton"
Note: I am not paid for any name dropping, reference, or anything like that. (Wish I was though.)
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