The Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical is awarded to the actor who was voted as the best actor in a musical play, whether a new production or a revival. The award has been given since 1948, but the nominees who did not win have only been publicly announced since 1956.
[edit] Award winners
- 1948: Paul Hartman – Angel in the Wings as various characters
|
|
[edit] Award records
[edit] Winners
- 2 wins
[edit] Nominees
- 4 nominations
- 3 nominations
|
- 2 nominations
|
- The lead role of Pseudolus in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum has earned the Tony Award for the three different actors who have performed the character:
- In 1989, Jason Alexander won the award for portraying several characters in Jerome Robbins' Broadway, amongst them, the role of Pseudolus.
- Three other male roles have produced multiple Tony Award winners: J. Pierrepont Finch in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying:
- Emile de Beque in South Pacific:
- and Albin in La Cage Aux Folles:
- Two actors have won for their performances in My Fair Lady, each for a different character:
- The lead role with most nominations is Tevye, in Fiddler on the Roof. Four actors have been nominated for their portrayals, with one win:
- The lead role of Sweeney Todd from Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street has received 3 nominations, though only Len Cariou has won the award for playing the role, which he originated.
- Three actors were nominated in this category for roles that had previously been classified as Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical. George Rose won the 1976 Best Actor Award for playing Alfred P. Doolitle in My Fair Lady whereas Stanley Holloway was nominated in the featured category for playing the part in 1956. Similarly, Lou Diamond Phillips was nominated for Best Actor for playing the King of Siam in The King and I in 1996 while Yul Brynner won the Best Featured Actor Tony for the same role in 1951. Also, Alan Cumming won for his role as the Master of Ceremonies in Cabaret in 1998, which Joel Grey won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor for in 1966.
- Harvey Fierstein is the only actor to win the award by portraying a female character, for his 2003 performance as Edna Turnblad in Hairspray.
- There have never been consecutive victories, and only four actors have managed, over the decades, to score consecutive nominations: Gregory Hines (1980/1981), George Hearn (1983/1984), Patrick Wilson (2001/2002) and Michael Cerveris (2006/2007).
- In 2009, David Alvarez, Trent Kowalik, and Kiril Kulish were jointly nominated for the award for their performances in Billy Elliot the Musical as the titular character. They won the award, marking the first time three actors have received it.
- The oldest performer to win in this category is Bert Lahr who was 68 when he won for Foxy in 1964. The youngest winner is Trent Kowalik who won for Billy Elliott at age 14. He shared the award with David Alvarez and Kiril Kulish - both 15 at the time.
[edit] External links
|
Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical
|
|
| 1948–1975 |
|
|
| 1976–2000 |
|
|
| 2001–present |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Play |
|
|
| Musical |
|
|
| Special (non-competitive) |
|
|
| Retired |
|
|
| Ceremonies |
|
|
