41st Tony Awards

The 41st Annual Tony Awards was held on June 7, 1987 at the Mark Hellinger Theatre and broadcast by CBS television. Angela Lansbury was the host for the third time (she was the host in 1968, 1971, and 1987, and also in 1988 and 1989). This broadcast was awarded the 1987 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series.^[1]

The Ceremony

Presenters and performers: Jane Alexander, Bea Arthur, Richard Chamberlain, Glenn Close, Charles "Honi" Coles, Barbara Cook, Hume Cronyn, Bob Fosse, Mark Hamill, Helen Hayes, William Hurt, Bill Irwin, Judy Kuhn, Swoosie Kurtz, Dick Latessa, John Lithgow, Mary Martin, Walter Matthau, Andrea McArdle, Mary Tyler Moore, Bernadette Peters, Lynn Redgrave Chita Rivera, George Rose, Jessica Tandy, Tommy Tune, Kathleen Turner.^[2]

Musicals and plays that were represented:^[2]

• Broadway Bound -- scene with Linda Lavin and Jonathan Silverman;
• Coastal Disturbances -- scene with Annette Bening and Timothy Daly;
• Fences -- scene with James Earl Jones and Courtney B. Vance;
• Les Liaisons Dangereuses -- scene with Lindsay Duncan and Alan Rickman;
• Rags -- "Rags" - Judy Kuhn and Dick Latessa;
• Les Misérables -- "At the End of the Day"/"One Day More" - Company;
• Me and My Girl -- "The Lambeth Walk" - Robert Lindsay and Company;
• Starlight Express -- "Starlight Express"/"Light at the End of the Tunnel" - Greg Mowry, Steve Fowler and Company;

There were several special performances and tributes. The song "Bosom Buddies" from Mame was performed by former cast-mates Angela Lansbury and Bea Arthur.^[2] There was a special salute to Robert Preston, who died in March 1987. Bernadette Peters sang Time Heals Everything from Mack and Mabel, Barbara Cook sang Till There Was You from The Music Man, and Mary Martin sang "I Do! I Do!".^[3] Finally, A tribute to George Abbott was introduced by Helen Hayes, with songs from Flora the Red Menace, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, The Boys from Syracuse, Damn Yankees, Where's Charley?, and The Pajama Game.^[2]

Winners and nominees

Winners are in bold

Production

Best Play

• Fences by August Wilson (Winner)
• Broadway Bound by Neil Simon
• Coastal Disturbances by Tina Howe
• Les Liaisons Dangereuses by Christopher Hampton

Best Musical

• Les Misérables Produced by Cameron Mackintosh (Winner)
• Me and My Girl Produced by Richard Armitage, Terry Allen Kramer, James M. Nederlander, Stage Promotions Limited & Co.
• Rags Produced by Lee Guber, Martin Heinfling, Marvin A. Krauss
• Starlight Express Produced by Martin Starger and Lord Grade

Best Revival

• All My Sons Produced by Jay H. Fuchs, Steven Warnick, and Charles Patsos Winner
• The Front Page Produced by Lincoln Center Theatre, Gregory Mosher, and Bernard Gersten
• The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby Produced by The Shubert Organization, Three Knights, Ltd., and Robert Fox, Ltd.
• Pygmalion Produced by The Shubert Organization, Jerome Minskoff, and Duncan C. Weldon

Performance

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play

• James Earl Jones (Fences)
• Philip Bosco (You Never Can Tell)
• Richard Kiley (All My Sons)
• Alan Rickman (Les Liaisons Dangereuses)

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play

• Linda Lavin (Broadway Bound)
• Lindsay Duncan (Les Liaisons Dangereuses)
• Geraldine Page (Blithe Spirit)
• Amanda Plummer (Pygmalion)

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical

• Robert Lindsay (Me and My Girl)
• Roderick Cook (Oh Coward!)
• Terrence Mann (Les Misérables)
• Colm Wilkinson (Les Misérables)

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical

• Maryann Plunkett (Me and My Girl)
• Catherine Cox (Oh Coward!)
• Teresa Stratas (Rags)

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play

• John Randolph (Broadway Bound)
• Frankie R. Faison (Fences)
• Jamey Sheridan (All My Sons)
• Courtney B. Vance (Fences)

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play

• Mary Alice (Fences)
• Annette Bening (Coastal Disturbances)
• Phyllis Newman (Broadway Bound)
• Carole Shelley (Stepping Out)

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical

• Michael Maguire for Les Misérables
• George S. Irving (Me and My Girl)
• Timothy Jerome (Me and My Girl)
• Robert Torti (Starlight Express)

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical

• Frances Ruffelle (Les Misérables)
• Jane Connell (Me and My Girl)
• Judy Kuhn (Les Misérables)
• Jane Summerhays (Me and My Girl)

Craft

Best Direction of a Play

• Lloyd Richards (Fences)
• Howard Davies (Les Liaisons Dangereuses)
• Mbongeni Ngema (Asinamali!)
• Carole Rothman (Coastal Disturbances)

Best Direction of a Musical

• Trevor Nunn and John Caird (Les Misérables)
• Brian Macdonald (The Mikado)
• Trevor Nunn (Starlight Express)
• Mike Ockrent (Me and My Girl)

Best Choreography

• Gillian Gregory (Me and My Girl)
• Ron Field (Rags)
• Brian Macdonald (The Mikado)
• Arlene Phillips (Starlight Express)

Best Book of a Musical

• Les Misérables by Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schonberg
• Me and My Girl by L. Arthur Rose, Douglas Furber, Stephen Fry, and Mike Ockrent
• Rags by Joseph Stein
• Smile by Howard Ashman

Best Original Score Written for the Theatre

• Les Misérables Music by Claude-Michel Schonberg, lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer and Alain Boublil
• Me and My Girl Music by Noel Gay, lyrics by L. Arthur Rose and Douglas Furber
• Rags Music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Stephen Schwartz
• Starlight Express Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, lyrics by Richard Stilgoe

Best Scenic Design

• John Napier for Les Misérables
• Bob Crowley (Les Liaisons Dangereuses)
• Martin Johns (Me and My Girl)
• Tony Walton (The Front Page)

Tony Award for Best Costume Design

• John Napier (Starlight Express)
• Bob Crowley (Les Liaisons Dangereuses)
• Ann Curtis (Me and My Girl)
• Andreane Neofitou (Les Misérables)

Tony Award for Best Lighting Design

• David Hersey (Les Misérables)
• Martin Aronstein (Wild Honey)
• David Hersey (Starlight Express)
• Beverly Emmons and Chris Parry (Les Liaisons Dangereuses)

Special awards

• Regional Theatre Award - San Francisco Mime Troupe
• George Abbott, on the occasion of his 100th birthday
• Jackie Mason, for The World According to Me

See also

Tony Awards

References

External links

• Official site Tony Awards