Tony Award for Best Musical facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids Tony Award for Best Musical
Presented by	American Theatre Wing, The Broadway League
Location	New York City
Currently held by	Maybe Happy Ending (2025)

The Tony Award for Best Musical is a special prize given out every year to the best new musical on Broadway. Broadway is a famous area in New York City known for its amazing theaters. The award is decided by a group of voters who are experts in theater.

This award has been given out since 1949, making it one of the oldest Tony Awards. The prize goes to the producers, who are the people that help pay for and organize the show. To be considered for Best Musical, a show must be brand new to Broadway. If it's an older show being brought back, it might compete for the Best Revival of a Musical award instead.

The Best Musical award is the last and most exciting prize given at the Tony Awards ceremony. Before the winner is announced, you can usually see performances from all the nominated musicals. This article lists all the winners and nominees for this famous award.

Winners and Nominees
- 1940s
- 1950s
- 1960s
- 1970s
- 2010s
- 2020s
Fun Facts and Records
See also

Winners and Nominees

This is a list of the musicals that have won or were nominated for the Tony Award for Best Musical. The winners are highlighted in blue.

1940s

Year	Musical	Producer(s)
1949 (3rd)
1949 (3rd)	Kiss Me, Kate	Saint Subber and Lemuel Ayers

1950s

Year	Musical	Producer(s)
1950 (4th)
1950 (4th)	South Pacific	Leland Hayward, Joshua Logan, Rodgers and Hammerstein
1951 (5th)
1951 (5th)	Guys and Dolls	Cy Feuer & Ernest H. Martin
1952 (6th)
1952 (6th)	The King and I	Rodgers and Hammerstein
1953 (7th)
1953 (7th)	Wonderful Town	Robert Fryer
1954 (8th)
1954 (8th)	Kismet	Charles Lederer
1955 (9th)
1955 (9th)	The Pajama Game	Frederick Brisson, Robert E. Griffith, & Harold Prince
1956 (10th)
	... Yankees	Frederick Brisson, Robert E. Griffith, & Harold Prince in association with Albert B. Taylor
	Pipe Dream	Rodgers and Hammerstein
1957 (11th)
	My Fair Lady	Herman Levin
	Bells Are Ringing	The Theatre Guild
	Candide	Ethel Linder Reiner in association with Lester Osterman Jr.
	The Most Happy Fella	Kermit Bloomgarden and Lynn Loesser
1958 (12th)
	The Music Man	Kermit Bloomgarden and Herbert Greene in association with Frank Productions
	Jamaica	David Merrick
	New Girl in Town	Robert E. Griffith and Harold Prince
	Oh, Captain!	Howard Merrill and Theatre Corporation of America
	West Side Story	Robert E. Griffiths and Harold Prince
1959 (13th)
	Redhead	Robert Fryer and Lawrence Carr
	Flower Drum Song	Joseph Fields, Oscar Hammerstein II, and Richard Rodgers
	La Plume de Ma Tante	David Merrick and Joseph Kipness, present the Jack Hylton Production

1960s

Year	Musical	Producer(s)
1960 (14th)
	The Sound of Music	Leland Hayward, Richard Halliday, Richard Rodgers, & Oscar Hammerstein II (posthumous)
	Fiorello!	Robert E. Griffith & Harold Prince
	Gypsy	David Merrick and Leland Hayward
	Once Upon a Mattress	T. Edward Hambleton, Norris Houghton, William and Jean Eckart
	Take Me Along	David Merrick
1961 (15th)
	Bye Bye Birdie	Edward Padula in association with L. Slade Brown
	Do Re Mi	David Merrick
	Irma La Douce	David Merrick in association with Donald Albery, H. M. Tennent Ltd.
1962 (16th)
	How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying	Cy Feuer & Ernest H. Martin
	Carnival!	David Merrick
	Milk and Honey	Gerard Oestreicher
	No Strings	Richard Rodgers in association with Samuel Taylor
1963 (17th)
	A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum	Harold Prince
	Little Me	Cy Feuer & Ernest H. Martin
	Oliver!	David Merrick and Donald Albery
	Stop the World – I Want to Get Off	David Merrick in association with Bernard Delfont
1964 (18th)
	Hello, Dolly!	David Merrick
	Funny Girl	Ray Stark
	High Spirits	Lester Osterman, Robert Fletcher, and Richard Horner
	She Loves Me	Harold Prince in association with Lawrence Kasha and Philip C. McKenna
1965 (19th)
	Fiddler on the Roof	Harold Prince
	Golden Boy	Hillard Elkins
	Half a Sixpence	Allen Hodgdon, Stevens Productions, Harold Fielding
	Oh, What a Lovely War!	David Merrick and Gerry Raffles
1966 (20th)
	Man of La Mancha	Albert W. Seldon and Hal James
	Mame	Sylvia and Joseph Harris, Robert Fryer and Lawrence Carr
	Skyscraper	Cy Feuer & Ernest H. Martin
	Sweet Charity	Sylvia and Joseph Harris, Robert Fryer and Lawrence Carr
1967 (21st)
	Cabaret	Harold Prince in association with Ruth Mitchell
	I Do! I Do!	David Merrick
	The Apple Tree	Stuart Ostrow
	Walking Happy	Cy Feuer & Ernest H. Martin
1968 (22nd)
	Hallelujah, Baby!	Albert Selden, Hal James, Jane C. Nusbaum and Harry Rigby
	The Happy Time	David Merrick
	How Now, Dow Jones	David Merrick
	Illya Darling	Kermit Bloomgarden
1969 (23rd)
	1776	Stuart Ostrow
	Hair	Michael Butler
	Promises, Promises	David Merrick
	Zorba	Harold Prince

1970s

Year	Musical	Producer(s)
1970 (24th)
	Applause	Joseph Kipness and Lawrence Kasha
	Coco	Frederick Brisson
	Purlie	Philip Rose
1971 (25th)
	Company	Harold Prince
	The Me Nobody Knows	Jeff Britton
	The Rothschilds	Lester Osterman and Hillard Elkins
1972 (26th)
	Two Gentlemen of Verona	New York Shakespeare Festival and Joseph Papp
	Ain't Supposed to Die a Natural Death	Eugene V. Wolsk, Charles Blackwell, Emanuel Azenberg, and Robert Malina
	Follies	Harold Prince
	Grease	Kenneth Waissman and Maxine Fox
1973 (27th)
	A Little Night Music	Harold Prince
	Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope	Edward Padula and Arch Lustberg
	Pippin	Stuart Ostrow
	Sugar	David Merrick
1974 (28th)
	Raisin	Robert B. Nemiroff
	Over Here!	Kenneth Waissman and Maxine Fox
	Seesaw	Joseph Kipness, Lawrence Kasha, James M. Nederlander, George Steinbrenner and Lorin E. Price
1975 (29th)
	The Wiz	Ken Harper
	Mack and Mabel	David Merrick
	The Lieutenant	Joseph S. Kutrzeba and Spofford Beadle
	Shenandoah	Philip Rose, Gloria and Louis K. Sher
1976 (30th)
	A Chorus Line	Joseph Papp and New York Shakespeare Festival
	Bubbling Brown Sugar	J. Lloyd Grant, Richard Bell, Robert M. Cooper, Ashton Springer in association with Moe Septee, Inc.
	Chicago	Robert Fryer and James Cresson
	Pacific Overtures	Harold Prince in association with Ruth Mitchell
1977 (31st)
	Annie	Lewis Allen, Mike Nichols, Irwin Meyer, and Stephen R. Friedman
	Happy End	Michael Harvey, The Chelsea Theatre Center
	I Love My Wife	Terry Allen Kramer and Harry Rigby in association with Joseph Kipness
	Side by Side by Sondheim	Harold Prince in association with Ruth Mitchell
1978 (32nd)
	Ain't Misbehavin'	Emanuel Azenberg, Dasha Epstein, The Shubert Organization, Jane Gaynor and Ron Dante
	Dancin'	Jules Fisher, The Shubert Organization and Columbia Pictures
	On the Twentieth Century	The Producers Circle 2 Inc. (Robert Fryer, Mary Lea Johnson, James Cresson and Martin Richards), Joseph Harris and Ira Bernstein
	Runaways	Joseph Papp
1979 (33rd)
	Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street	Richard Barr, Charles Woodward, Robert Fryer, Mary Lea Johnson and Martin Richards
	Ballroom	Michael Bennett, Bob Avian, Bernard Gersten and Susan MacNair
	The Best Little ... in Texas	Universal Pictures
	They're Playing Our Song	Emanuel Azenberg

2010s

Year	Musical	Producer(s)
2010 (64th)
	Memphis	Junkyard Dog Productions, Richard Winkler, et al.
	American Idiot	Tom Hulce & Ira Pittelman, Vivek J. Tiwary,Berkeley Repertory Theatre, et al.
	Fela!	Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter, Will and Jada Pinkett Smith, Sony Pictures Entertainment, et al.
	Million Dollar Quartet	Relevant Theatricals, John Cossette Productions, American Pop Anthology, Broadway Across America and James L. Nederlander
2011 (65th)
	The Book of Mormon	Anne Garefino, Scott Rudin, Roger Berlind, Jean Doumanian, Sonia Friedman Productions, et al.
	Catch Me If You Can	Margo Lion, The Araca Group, Richard Winkler, Jamie deRoy, et al.
	The Scottsboro Boys	Barry and Fran Weissler, The Shubert Organization, Catherine Schreiber, et al.
	Sister Act	Whoopi Goldberg and Stage Entertainment, The Shubert Organization and Disney Theatrical Productions
2012 (66th)
	Once	Barbara Broccoli, The Shubert Organization, New York Theatre Workshop, et al.
	Leap of Faith	Michael Manheim, Center Theatre Group, Jujamcyn Theaters, et al.
	Newsies	Disney Theatrical Productions and Thomas Schumacher
	Nice Work If You Can Get It	Scott Landis, Roger Berlind, Sonia Friedman Productions, Candy Spelling, William Berlind, Emanuel Azenberg, The Shubert Organization, et al.
2013 (67th)
	Kinky Boots	Daryl Roth, James L. Nederlander, Ken Davenport, Jim Kierstead, Jujamcyn Theaters, et al.
	Bring It On: The Musical	Universal Pictures Stage Productions / Glenn Ross, et al.
	A Christmas Story: The Musical	Gerald Goehring, et al.
	Matilda the Musical	Royal Shakespeare Company and The Dodgers
2014 (68th)
	A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder	Joey Parnes, Jhett Tolentino, Jamie deRoy, Stewart F. Lane and Bonnie Comley, Joseph Sirola, et al.
	After Midnight	Scott Sanders Productions, Candy Spelling, James L. Nederlander, Tom Kirdahy, et al.
	Aladdin	Disney Theatrical Productions and Thomas Schumacher
	Beautiful: The Carole King Musical	Paul Blake, et al.
2015 (69th)
	Fun Home	Fox Theatricals, Carole Shorenstein Hays, The Public Theater, Oskar Eustis, et al.
	An American in Paris	Stuart Oken, Roger Berlind, et al.
	Something Rotten!	Kevin McCollum, Robert Greenblatt, Jujamcyn Theaters, et al.
	The Visit	Tom Kirdahy, Ken Davenport, The Shubert Organization, Williamstown Theatre Festival, et al.
2016 (70th)
	Hamilton	Jeffrey Seller, Sander Jacobs, Jill Furman and The Public Theater
	Bright Star	Joey Parnes, Len Blavatnik, James L. Nederlander, The Shubert Organization, Jamie deRoy / Catherine Adler, et al.
	School of Rock: The Musical	Andrew Lloyd Webber, The Really Useful Group, The Shubert Organization and The Nederlander Organization, et al.
	Shuffle Along, or, the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed	Scott Rudin, Center Theatre Group, Roger Berlind, William Berlind, The Araca Group, Sonia Friedman, Eli Bush, Len Blavatnik, et al.
	Waitress	Barry and Fran Weissler, American Repertory Theater, et al.
2017 (71st)
	Dear Evan Hansen	Stacey Mindich, Roger and William Berlind, Colin Callender,Robert Greenblatt, Arielle Tepper Madover, Ambassador Theatre Group, The Shubert Organization, Second Stage Theater, et al.
	Come from Away	Junkyard Dog Productions, Richard Winkler, The Shubert Organization, Corey Brunish, et al.
	Groundhog Day	Whistle Pig, The Araca Group, Len Blavatnik, Ken Davenport, John Gore Organization, Sonia Friedman Productions, Jujamcyn Theaters, et al.
	Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812	Howard and Janet Kagan, Carole Shorenstein Hays, Jim Kierstead, American Repertory Theater, Ars Nova, et al.
2018 (72nd)
	The Band's Visit	Orin Wolf, Atlantic Theater Company, Barbara Broccoli, Marc Platt, The Shubert Organization, FilmNation Entertainment, John Gore Organization, et al.
	Frozen	Disney Theatrical Productions and Thomas Schumacher
	Mean Girls	Lorne Michaels, Sonia Friedman, Paramount Pictures, Robert Greenblatt, John Gore Organization, James L. Nederlander, Universal Theatrical Group, et al.
	SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical	Nickelodeon, The Araca Group, Sony Music Masterworks and Kelp on the Road
2019 (73rd)
	Hadestown	Mara Isaacs, Tom Kirdahy, Craig Balsam, Jujamcyn Theaters, National Theatre, New York Theatre Workshop, et al.
	Ain't Too Proud	Ira Pittelman & Tom Hulce, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, David Binder, John Gore Organization, Universal Music Theatrical, et al.
	Beetlejuice	Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures, Jeffrey Richards, James L. Nederlander, Mark S. Golub, John Gore Organization, et al.
	The Prom	Bill Damaschke, Seth A. Goldstein, John Gore Organization, The Shubert Organization, et al.
	Tootsie	Scott Sanders, James L. Nederlander, Robert Greenblatt, Candy Spelling, Jamie deRoy / Catherine Adler John Gore Organization, et al.

2020s

Year	Musical	Producer(s)
2020/2021 (74th)
	Moulin Rouge!	Carmen Pavlovic, Bill Damaschke, Len Blavatnik, John Gore Organization, Eric Falkenstein, Candy Spelling, Jujamcyn Theaters, et al.
	Jagged Little Pill	Vivek J. Tiwary, James L. Nederlander, Len Blavatnik, Universal Music Publishing Group, Jujamcyn Theaters, et al.
	Tina	Stage Entertainment, James L. Nederlander, Jamie deRoy, John Gore Organization, Catherine Adler, Candy Spelling, Universal Music Publishing Group, Tina Turner, et al.
2022 (75th)
	A Strange Loop	Barbara Whitman, Benj Pasek & Justin Paul, Alex Levy, Don Cheadle, Annapurna Theatre, Frank Marshall, Maximum Effort Productions Inc., Marc Platt, Debra Martin Chase, Laurie Tisch, Cody Renard Richard, John Gore Organization, James L. Nederlander, The Shubert Organization, RuPaul Charles, Alan Cumming, Ilana Glazer, Jennifer Hudson, Mindy Kaling, Billy Porter, Playwrights Horizons, et al.
	Girl from the North Country	Tristan Baker and Charlie Parsons for Runaway Entertainment, Len Blavatnik, John Gore Organization, The Old Vic, Matthew Warchus, The Public Theater, Oskar Eustis, et al.
	MJ	Lia Vollack, Sony Pictures Entertainment, James L. Nederlander, Candy Spelling, John Gore Organization, Estate of Michael Jackson, et al.
	Mr. Saturday Night	James L. Nederlander, Jamie deRoy, John Gore Organization, The Shubert Organization, Barry and Fran Weissler, et al.
	Paradise Square	Garth H. Drabinsky, Len Blavatnik, The Shubert Organization, Henry R. Muñoz III, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, et al.
	Six	Kenny Wax, Wendy & Andy Barnes, George Stiles, Kevin McCollum, Chicago Shakespeare Theater
2023 (76th)
	Kimberly Akimbo	David Stone, Atlantic Theater Company, James L. Nederlander, LaChanze, John Gore, et al.
	& Juliet	Max Martin & Tim Headington, Martin Dodd, Lukasz Gottwald, Shellback, Barry Weiss, John Gore Organization, et al.
	New York, New York	Sonia Friedman Productions, Tom Kirdahy, Ambassador Theatre Group, Colin Callender, Craig Balsam, Concord Theatricals, John Gore Organization, MGM on Stage, James L. Nederlander, Jamie deRoy, Henry R. Muñoz III, Ron Simons, et al.
	Shucked	Mike Bosner, Jason Owen, Gary Gersh, James L. Nederlander, Sony Music Entertainment, John Gore Organization, et al.
	Some Like It Hot	The Shubert Organization, Neil Meron, MGM on Stage, Robert Greenblatt, James L. Nederlander, Kenny Leon, John Gore Organization, Ambassador Theatre Group Productions, The Araca Group, Concord Theatricals, Jujamcyn Theaters, Henry R. Muñoz III, Mariah Carey, et al.
2024 (77th)
	The Outsiders	The Araca Group, Angelina Jolie, The Shubert Organization, LaChanze, Sony Music Masterworks, Jamestown Revival Theater, Geffen Playhouse, James L. Nederlander, Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures, La Jolla Playhouse, et al.
	Hell's Kitchen	Roc Nation, Julie Yorn, The Jacobs Family, John Gore Organization, James L. Nederlander, Candy Spelling, Clara Wu Tsai, Universal Music Publishing, TodayTix ARGU, The Public Theater, Oskar Eustis, et al.
	Illinoise	David Binder, Susan Rose, Jon B. Platt, John Gore Organization, James L. Nederlander, Park Avenue Armory, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, et al.
	Suffs	Jill Furman, Rachel Sussman, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Malala Yousafzai, Tom D'Angora, Ruth Ann Harnisch, John Gore Organization, Nederlander Presentations, Candy Spelling, Craig Balsam, The Shubert Organization, The Public Theater, Oskar Eustis, et al.
	Water for Elephants	Peter Schneider, Frank Marshall, Isaac Robert Hurwitz, Seth A. Goldstein, John H. Tyson, John Gore Organization, Larry Lelli, The Shubert Organization, Nancy Gibbs, Steven Spielberg & Kate Capshaw, et al.
2025 (78th)
	Maybe Happy Ending	Jeffrey Richards, Darren Criss, John Gore Organization, James L. Nederlander, The Shubert Organization, The Public Theater, Will Aronson and Hue Park, et al.
	Buena Vista Social Club	Orin Wolf, John Styles, Jr, Barbara Broccoli, Atlantic Theatre Company, LaChanze, The Shubert Organization, John Gore Organization, Nederlander Presentations Inc., Marco Ramirez, et al.
	Dead Outlaw	Lia Vollack Productions, Sonia Friedman Productions, John Gore Organization, James L. Nederlander, The Broadway’s Investor Club, Audible, et al.
	Death Becomes Her	Universal Theatrical Club, James L. Nederlander, Steven Spielberg and Kate Capshaw, John Gore Organization, Jason Blum and James Wan, Debra Martin Chase, John Gore Organization & Marc Platt
	Operation Mincemeat	Avalon Entertainment; produced in association with SpitLip (David Cumming, Felix Hagan, Natasha Hodgson & Zoë Roberts), The Shubert Organization, John Gore Organization, Concord Theatricals, The Broadway’s Investor Club, et al.

Fun Facts and Records

Most Wins: The Producers holds the record for the most Tony Awards ever won by a single show. It won 12 awards, including Best Musical.
Most Nominations: Hamilton is the most-nominated show in Tony history, with 16 nominations in total.
A Tie! In 1960, The Sound of Music and Fiorello! both won the award for Best Musical. This is the only time a tie has ever happened in this category.
Longest Running: The Phantom of the Opera is the longest-running show to win Best Musical. It has been performed on Broadway over 13,981 times!
One-Person Creations: Some musicals that won were written entirely by one person. These include The Mystery of Edwin Drood by Rupert Holmes, Rent by Jonathan Larson, Hamilton by Lin-Manuel Miranda, and A Strange Loop by Michael R. Jackson.
Winning Women: Hadestown was the first winner to be written completely by a woman, Anaïs Mitchell. Fun Home was the first winner written by an all-female team.