Tony Award: What is It?
The Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Awards, recognize achievement in live American theatre and are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are for Broadway productions and performances, as well as discretionary non-competitive Special Tony Awards and the Regional Theatre Tony Award, and the Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre. The awards are named after Antoinette Perry, co-founder of the American Theatre Wing.
The rules for the Tony Awards are set forth in the official document “Rules and Regulations of The American Theatre Wing’s Tony Awards”, which applies for each season only.
In British theatre, the equivalent of the Tony award is the Olivier Award, and a number of the world’s longest-running and most successful shows have been successful in receiving award nominations for both West End theatre and Broadway productions and a number of leading actors, choreographer and designers have also been successful in receiving award nominations on both sides of the Atlantic. The Tony are considered the highest theatre honor, the U.S. theatre industry’s equivalent to the Academy Awards (Oscars) for motion pictures.
The 2008 Tony Awards ceremony was held at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on June 15, 2008, and broadcast on CBS television, with the nominations having been announced on May 13.
The 63rd Tony Awards will be held on June 7, 2009, with a three-hour broadcast on CBS television. The cut-off for nomination eligibility for the 2008-2009 Broadway season will be April 30, 2009.
