54th Tony Awards
The 54th Annual Tony Awards was held at Radio City Music Hall on June 4, 2000 and broadcast by CBS. "The First Ten" awards ceremony was telecast on PBS television. The event was hosted, for the 3rd time since 1997, by Rosie O'Donnell, with special guest Nathan Lane.
| 54th Tony Awards | |
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 Official poster for the 54th annual Tony Awards | |
| Date | June 4, 2000 |
| Location | Radio City Music Hall, New York City, New York |
| Hosted by | Rosie O'Donnell, Nathan Lane |
| Website | tonyawards |
| Television/radio coverage | |
| Network | CBS |
Eligibility
Shows that opened on Broadway during the 1999–2000 season before May 2, 2000 are eligible.
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The Ceremony
The opening number was "A Tony Opening", performed by Rosie O'Donnell, Jane Krakowski, Jesse L. Martin, and Megan Mullally.[1]
Production numbers from musicals included Contact, Boyd Gaines and the Girl in the Yellow Dress, Deborah Yates; Kiss Me, Kate, "Too Darn Hot"; Jesus Christ Superstar, "Superstar" and "Gethsemane"; The Music Man, Craig Bierko in "Seventy-Six Trombones" ; The Wild Party, medley from Mandy Patinkin, Eartha Kitt and Toni Collette; Swing!, medley from company and Ann Hampton Callaway and Laura Benanti; and James Joyce's The Dead, "Parnell's Plight."[2]
Ten awards were presented prior to the main ceremony and were broadcast on Public Television in a show titled "The First 10 Awards: Tonys 2000." The show had interviews and showed clips from the season's productions, and presented the awards: Direction (Play and Musical), Choreography, Original Score, Book of a Musical, Costume Design, Scenic Design, Orchestration, Lighting Design and Regional Theater.[2] Michael Blakemore is the only director to win Tony Awards as Best Director of a Play and Best Director of a Musical in the same year. He won this year for Copenhagen (play) and Kiss Me, Kate (musical).
The television ratings for this broadcast were 7.2, down from the 1999 Tony Award broadcast of 7.9. In prior years in which O'Donnell hosted, the program had ratings of 11.2 (1997) and 10.3 (1998).[3]
Contact controversy
The winner of the award for Best Musical, Contact, raised controversy about what constitutes a musical, as it is a dance musical with no singing and minimal dialogue; and instead of original music, it uses pre-recorded music and songs. As a result of the controversy, a new category was created for the Tony Awards: Best Special Theatrical Event.[4]
Winners and nominees
Winners are in bold
Special awards
Regional Theatre Award
Special Lifetime Achievement Tony Award
- T. Edward Hambleton
Special Tony Award For a Live Theatrical Presentation
- Dame Edna: The Royal Tour
Tony Honors for Excellence in Theatre
- Eileen Heckart
- Sylvia Herscher
- City Center Encores!
Multiple nominations and awards
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These productions had multiple nominations:
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The following productions received multiple awards.
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See also
- Drama Desk Awards
- 2000 Laurence Olivier Awards – equivalent awards for West End theatre productions
- Obie Award
- New York Drama Critics' Circle
- Theatre World Award
- Lucille Lortel Awards
References
- Lefkowitz, David."1999-2000 Tony Awards" Archived 2012-10-20 at the Wayback Machine playbill.com, June 5, 2000
- Lefkowitz, David."Putting It Together For PBS: How the First Tony Hour Is Created" Archived 2012-10-21 at the Wayback Machine playbill.com, June 2, 2000
- Lefkowitz, David.Tony Award TV Ratings Down Again; Overnights Bested by Regis and B-Ball" Archived 2012-10-21 at the Wayback Machine playbill.com, June 5, 2000
- Hofler, Robert. "Legit lightning strikes twice". Variety.com, May. 1, 2006, accessed April 27, 2011