The Tony Awards are fast approaching and for theater lovers, it is the award show we look forward to every year! This year, the show will be hosted by Kevin Spacey at the Radio City Music Hall in New York.

On today’s post, we’ll take a look at some cool facts from previous Tony Award shows as we await for theater’s big night!

Mike Nichols has won more Tony Awards for Best Direction of a Play than anyone else! This includes: Barefoot in the Park, Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, The Real Thing, and The Prisoner of Second Avenue!

Bob Fosse continues to be the only director to win a Tony, an Oscar, and an Emmy all in the same year of 1973. He won an Oscar for Cabaret, Emmy for Liza with a Z and two Tony’s for Pippin.

In 1995, despite having nine nominations, Indiscretions had the worst Tony night, winning no awards.

Angela Lansbury has hosted and co-hosted more Tony telecasts than any individual including five telecast (1968, 1971, 1987, 1988, and 1989). Neil Patrick Harris and Hugh Jackman follow suit.

Amanda Plummer is still the only Tony Award winner whose parents both won Tonys. Amana won a Tony for Best Featured Actress in a Play for Agnes of God. Christopher Plummer, her father, won Best Actor in a Musical for Cyrano and her mother, Tammy Grimes, won as Featured Actress in a Musical for The Unsinkable Molly Brown.

Frank Langella and Boyd Gaines are both male performers with the most Tony Awards in acting categories, both winning four to date.

There are nine performers who have won a Tony and then an Oscar for the same role:

   – José Ferrer in Cyrano de Bergerac, won a Tony in 1947, Oscar in 1950.

   –  Jack Albertson in The Subject Was Roses, won a Tony in 1965, Oscar in 1968.

   – Joel Grey in Cabaret, won a Tony in 1967, Oscar in 1973.

   – Viola Davis in Fences, won a Tony in 2010, an Oscar in 2017.

   – Paul Scofield in A Man for All Seasons, won a Tony in 1962, an Oscar in 1966.

   – Rex Harrison in My Fair Lady, won a Tony in 1957, an oscar in 1964.

 

The 1978 play, Da, was the Tony Award-winning play with the shortest title!