American theatre award for Broadway actors
The Tony Award forBest Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical is an honor presented at theTony Awards , a ceremony established in 1947 as the Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, to actors for quality leading roles in amusical play , whether a new production or a revival. The awards are named afterAntoinette Perry , an American actress who died in 1946.
Honors in several categories are presented at the ceremony annually by the Tony Award Productions, a joint venture ofThe Broadway League and theAmerican Theatre Wing , to "honor the best performances and stage productions of the previous year."[ 1]
The award was originally called theTony Award for Actors—Musical . It was first presented toPaul Hartman at the2nd Tony Awards for his portrayal of various characters inAngel in the Wings 1956 , nominees' names were not made public;[ 2] [ 3]
Nine actors hold the record for having the most wins in this category, with a total of two.John Cullum ,Brian d'Arcy James andRaul Julia are tied with the most nominations, with a total of four.Pseudolus inA Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum Tevye inFiddler on the Roof is the most nominated character in this category, with five nominations.
Winners and nominees [ edit ] indicates the winner
Ray Bolger won forWhere's Charley? (1949)Phil Silvers won twice forTop Banana (1952) andA Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1972)Thomas Mitchell won forHazel Flagg (1953)Rex Harrison forMy Fair Lady (1957)Robert Preston won twice forThe Music Man (1958) andI Do! I Do! (1967)Jackie Gleason won forTake Me Along (1960)Richard Burton won forCamelot (1961)Robert Morse won forHow to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1962)Zero Mostel won twice forA Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1963) andFiddler on the Roof (1965)Robert Goulet won forThe Happy Time (1968)Jerry Orbach won forPromises, Promises (1969)Cleavon Little won forPurlie (1970)Christopher Plummer won forCyrano (1974)Len Cariou won forSweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (1979)Kevin Kline won forThe Pirates of Penzance (1981)Tommy Tune won forMy One and Only (1983)Jason Alexander won forJerome Robbins' Broadway (1989)Jonathan Pryce won forMiss Saigon (1991)Gregory Hines won forJelly's Last Jam (1992)Matthew Broderick won forHow to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1996)Nathan Lane won twice forA Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1996) andThe Producers (2001)Alan Cumming won forCabaret (1998)Martin Short won forLittle Me (1999)Brian Stokes Mitchell won forKiss, Me Kate (2000)John Lithgow won forSweet Smell of Success (2002)Harvey Fierstein wonHairspray (2003)Hugh Jackman won forThe Boy from Oz (2004)Norbert Leo Butz won forDirty Rotten Scoundrels (2004) and forCatch Me If You Can (2011)David Hyde Pierce won forCurtains (2007)Billy Porter won forKinky Boots (2013)Neil Patrick Harris won forHedwig and Angry Inch (2014)Leslie Odom Jr. won forHamilton Ben Platt won forDear Evan Hansen (2017)Tony Shalhoub won forThe Band's Visit (2018)Aaron Tveit won forMoulin Rouge! (2020)J. Harrison Ghee won forSome Like it Hot (2023)Jonathan Groff won forMerrily We Roll Along (2024)Darren Criss won forMaybe Happy Ending (2025)^ The category was not given due to an insufficient number of musicals during the season. 2 wins 4 nominations 3 nominations 2 nominations Character win total [ edit ] 3 wins 2 wins Character nomination total [ edit ] 5 nominations 4 nominations 3 nominations 2 nominations † – Most of the leading male characters inLittle Me are played by the same actor, but the actual roles vary. In the original 1962 Broadway production and the 1998 revival,Sid Caesar andMartin Short (respectively) played Noble Eggleston, Amos Pinchley, Val du Val, Fred Poitrine, Otto Schnitzler, and Prince Cherney. Caesar also played Noble Junior. In the 1981 revival, the lead roles were split amongJames Coco andVictor Garber with Garber playing Noble Eggleston, Val du Val, Fred Poitrine, and Noble Junior.
Productions with multiple nominations [ edit ] boldface =winner
Multiple awards and nominations [ edit ] Actors who have been nominated multiple times in any acting categories The lead role of Pseudolus inA Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum Three other male roles have produced multiple Tony Award winners: J. Pierrepont Finch inHow to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying Emile de Beque inSouth Pacific and Albin inLa Cage Aux Folles Two actors have won for their performances inMy Fair Lady The lead role with most nominations isTevye , inFiddler on the Roof Take Me Along Jackie Gleason (winner),Robert Morse andWalter Pidgeon .The lead role ofSweeney Todd fromSweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street Len Cariou has won the award for playing the role, which he originated. Actors have won Tonys for bothBest Actor in a Play and "Best Actor in a Musical" for playingCyrano de Bergerac :Jose Ferrer inCyrano de Bergerac Christopher Plummer inCyrano Four roles have been nominated in this category that have also been classified in the categoryBest Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical .George Rose won the 1976 Best Actor Award for playing Alfred P. Doolittle inMy Fair Lady Stanley Holloway andNorbert Leo Butz were nominated in the featured category for playing the part in 1956 and 2018, respectively. Similarly,Lou Diamond Phillips andKen Watanabe were nominated for Best Actor for playing the King of Siam inThe King and I Yul Brynner won the Best Featured Actor Tony for the same role in 1951.Alan Cumming won andEddie Redmayne was nominated in Best Actor for playing the Master of Ceremonies inCabaret Joel Grey won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor for the role in 1966. Also,Jack Gilford was nominated for Best Actor for playing Herr Schultz inCabaret , a role for which four actors have subsequently been nominated for Best Featured Actor. Harvey Fierstein was the first actor to win the award for portraying a female character, for his 2003 performance as Edna Turnblad inHairspray Neil Patrick Harris won in 2014 for his performance as Hedwig, a genderqueer woman inHedwig and the Angry Inch There have never been consecutive victories, and only five actors have managed, over the decades, to score consecutive nominations:Gregory Hines (1980/1981),George Hearn (1983/1984),Patrick Wilson (2001/2002),Michael Cerveris (2006/2007), andJonathan Groff (2024/2025). In 2009,David Álvarez ,Trent Kowalik , andKiril Kulish were jointly nominated for the award for their performances inBilly Elliot the Musical The oldest performer to win in this category isBert Lahr who was 68 when he won forFoxy in 1964. The youngest winner isTrent Kowalik who won forBilly Elliot at age 14. He shared the award withDavid Álvarez andKiril Kulish – both 15 at the time. The role of The Leading Player inPippin Ben Vereen won in 1972, whilePatina Miller won in the leading actress category for the 2013 revival. Darren Criss became the first Asian American actor to win in this category for his performance as Oliver inMaybe Happy Ending ^ Kirkley, Donald (April 21, 1968)."Operation Frenzy Before the Tony Awards" .The Baltimore Sun . RetrievedDecember 24, 2011 . (subscription required) ^ Simons, Linda Keir (1994).The Performing Arts: a Guide to the Reference Literature ABC-CLIO . p. 137.ISBN 978-0-87287-982-9 Archived from the original on 2013-06-22. Retrieved2012-01-14 . ^ Gelb, Arthur (April 1, 1956)."Popularizing the Tony Awards" .The New York Times . RetrievedJanuary 14, 2011 . (subscription required) ^ "1956 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "1957 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "1958 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "1959 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "1960 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "1961 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "1962 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "1963 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "1964 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "1965 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "1966 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "1967 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "1968 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "1969 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "1970 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "1971 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "1972 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "1973 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "1974 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "1975 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "1976 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "1977 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "1978 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "1979 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "1980 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "1981 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "1982 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "1983 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "1984 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ Winship, Frederick M. (1985-06-03)." .UPI . Retrieved2016-12-03 . ^ "1986 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "1987 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "1988 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "1989 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "1990 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "1991 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "1992 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "1993 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "1994 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "1995 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "1996 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "1997 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "1998 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "1999 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "2000 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "2001 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "2002 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "2003 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "2004 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "2005 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "2006 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "2007 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "2008 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "2009 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "2010 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 10, 2023 .^ "2011 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 10, 2023 .^ "2012 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 10, 2023 .^ "2013 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 10, 2023 .^ "2014 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 10, 2023 .^ "Tony Nominations 2015: Full List" .Variety . April 28, 2015. RetrievedAugust 10, 2023 .^ "2016 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 10, 2023 .^ "2017 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 10, 2023 .^ "2018 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 10, 2023 .^ "2019 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 10, 2023 .^ Garvey, Marianne (September 26, 2021)."See who won at the Tony Awards" .CNN . RetrievedSeptember 27, 2021 . ^ "2022 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 10, 2023 .^ "2023 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . May 2, 2023. RetrievedAugust 10, 2023 .^ Nordyke, Kimberly (June 16, 2024)."Tony Awards: Winners List" .The Hollywood Reporter . RetrievedJune 17, 2024 . ^ "Tony Awards 2025: The Full List of Winners" .Playbill . RetrievedJune 18, 2025 .
1948–1975 1976–2000 2001–present
Play Musical Special (non-competitive) Retired Ceremonies Nominee demographics * Divided into separate awards for plays and musicals
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