74th Tony Awards

Originally scheduled to be held on June 7, 2020, at Radio City Music Hall in New York City and televised by CBS, the ceremony was postponed indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2020/10/tony-awards-nominations-2020-date-time-1234593627/|title=Tony Awards Nominations Coming Next Week|work=Deadline Hollywood|author=Patrick Hipes|date=October 8, 2020|access-date=October 8, 2020}} Nominations were originally scheduled to be announced on April 28, 2020. Various receptions were scheduled to be held, including the Meet the Nominees Press reception (April 30) and Tony Nominees luncheon (May 19). At the Tony Honors reception, the Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre award was to be presented.{{cite web|url=https://www.playbill.com/article/tony-awards-reveal-2020-calendar-of-events|title=Tony Awards Reveal 2020 Calendar of Events|work=Playbill|author=Andrew Gans|date=February 18, 2020|access-date=March 25, 2020}} On March 25, 2020, it was announced that the ceremony and all associated events had been postponed indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. New York had ordered the closure of all Broadway theatres on March 12 due to restrictions on gatherings.{{cite web|url=https://www.playbill.com/article/2020-tony-awards-put-on-hold-as-coronavirus-pandemic-causes-broadway-shutdown|title=2020 Tony Awards Put on Hold as Coronavirus Pandemic Causes Broadway Shutdown|work=Playbill|author=Ryan McPhee|date=March 25, 2020|access-date=March 25, 2020}} The ceremony's broadcaster CBS aired a sing-along version of the film adaptation of Grease on the Tony Awards' originally-scheduled night.{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2020/05/cbs-brings-back-sunday-movie-night-coronavirus-pandemic-paramount-titanic-indiana-jones-mission-impossible-forrest-gump-1202902688/|title=CBS Adds Grease Sing-A-Long To Its Sunday Night Movies Schedule; Watch The Trailer – Update|work=Deadline Hollywood|author=Nellie Andreeva|date=May 14, 2020|access-date=July 16, 2020}}{{cite magazine|url=https://ew.com/movies/grease-singalong-cbs/|title=Grease singalong to replace Tony Awards broadcast on CBS|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|author=Joey Nolfi|date=May 15, 2020|access-date=May 15, 2020}}

On August 21, 2020, it was announced that the ceremony would be held virtually later in the year, with further details to be announced at a later date. No subsequent date in the year was ever set. The nominations were announced on October 15, 2020, by James Monroe Iglehart.{{cite web|url=https://www.tonyawards.com/news/74th-annual-tony-awards-nominations-be-announced-thursday-october-15th/|title=The 74th Annual Tony Awards Nominations to Be Announced on Thursday, October 15th|publisher=Tony Awards|date=October 8, 2020|access-date=October 8, 2020}}{{cite web|url=https://www.playbill.com/article/the-2020-tony-awards-to-be-held-digitally-this-fall|title=The 2020 Tony Awards to Be Held Digitally This Fall|work=Playbill|author=Ryan McPhee|date=August 21, 2020|access-date=August 21, 2020}}{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2020/08/tony-awards-2020-virtual-ceremony-confirmed-1203019736/|title=Tony Awards Will Go Virtual In Fall; No Date Set Yet|work=Deadline Hollywood|author=Patrick Hipes|date=August 21, 2020|access-date=August 21, 2020}} Voting for the Tony Awards was held from March 1–15, 2021, and the ceremony was announced to be held in conjunction with the reopening of Broadway.{{cite web|url=https://www.playbill.com/article/tony-awards-voting-will-begin-in-march-though-still-no-date-for-ceremony|title=Tony Awards Voting Will Begin in March, Though Still No Date for Ceremony|work=Playbill|author=Ryan McPhee|date=January 29, 2021|access-date=June 22, 2021}} Jagged Little Pill led the nominations with fifteen, and Slave Play{{'}}s twelve nominations broke the record for most nominations for a non-musical play (11) set by Angels in America at the 2018 ceremony.{{cite news|url = https://www.goldderby.com/article/2020/slave-play-tony-nominations-record/|title = 'Slave Play' breaks Tony nominations record for a play with a staggering 12 bids|last = Buchanan|first = David|date = October 15, 2020|accessdate = September 27, 2021|work = Gold Derby}}

On May 26, 2021, it was announced that the ceremony would be held on September 26 of that year in a format that differed from previous years. Paramount+ first streamed a two-hour ceremony at 7:00 p.m. ET with presentations of the awards for individual categories. CBS then aired a two-hour primetime special, The Tony Awards Present: Broadway's Back!, presented as a concert to "celebrate the joy and magic of live theatre". The special included performances of "beloved classics" and the three Best Musical nominees, and the presentation of the awards for Best Musical, Best Revival of a Play, and Best Play.{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2021/05/tony-awards-date-september-26-paramount-livestream-broadways-back-concert-event-cbs-1234764324/|title=Tony Awards Sets Date To Stream On Paramount+ Followed By Two-Hour Concert Event On CBS|work=Deadline Hollywood|author=Greg Evans|date=May 26, 2021|access-date=May 26, 2021}}{{cite press release|url=http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news/2021/05/26/the-tony-awards-present-broadways-back-a-multi-platform-celebration-of-the-best-of-broadway-sunday-sept-26-on-cbs-and-paramountplus-469115/20210526cbs03/|title="The Tony Awards(R) Present: Broadway's Back!" A Multi-Platform Celebration of the Best of Broadway, Sunday, Sept. 26 on CBS and Paramount+|publisher=CBS|via=The Futon Critic|date=May 26, 2021|access-date=May 27, 2021}} On September 13, Audra McDonald and Leslie Odom Jr. were announced as hosts of the Tony Awards ceremony and Broadway's Back! special respectively.{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2021/09/tony-awards-hosts-audra-mcdonald-leslie-odom-jr-return-to-broadway-concert-1234832116/|title=Tony Awards Names Hosts Of Sept. 26 Ceremony & Special Concert Celebration|work=Deadline Hollywood|author=Greg Evans|date=September 13, 2021|access-date=September 13, 2021}}

In explaining the decision to split the ceremony between two platforms, producers Ricky Kirshner and Glenn Weiss said that allowed for a four-hour ceremony in total, as opposed to the typical three-hour limit imposed on a television-exclusive broadcast. Kirshner said that this also gave the chance to air complete acceptance speeches for winners in all categories, saying "In the past, a lot of these awards have been in a pre-show where they got a 10 second blurb on the air. Now they get their full award on the air."{{cite news|url = https://variety.com/2021/tv/awards/tony-awards-2021-cbs-paramount-plus-producers-1235073923/|title = As CBS and Paramount Plus Expand and Split This Year's Tony Awards, Execs and Producers Explain Why|last = Schneider|first = Michael|date = September 24, 2021|accessdate = September 27, 2021|work = Variety}}

{{col-begin}}

{{col-2}}

• "You Can't Stop the Beat" (from Hairspray) – Marissa Jaret Winokur, Matthew Morrison, Kerry Butler, Chester Gregory & Darlene Love{{cite news|url = https://www.playbill.com/article/9-memorable-moments-from-the-74th-annual-tony-awards-celebration|title = 9 Memorable Moments From the 74th Annual Tony Awards Celebration|work = Playbill|date = September 27, 2021|accessdate = September 27, 2021|last1 = Meyer|first1 = Dan|last2 = Culwell-Block|first2 = Logan}}
• "What I Did for Love" (from A Chorus Line) – Ali Stroker
• "Anyone Can Whistle" (from the musical of the same name) – Jennifer Nettles
• "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" (from Dreamgirls) – Jennifer Holliday{{cite news|url = https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/jennifer-holliday-brings-tonys-feet-020728365.html|title = Jennifer Holliday Brings Tonys To Its Feet With Powerhouse 'Dreamgirls' Performance|work = HuffPost|date = September 26, 2021|accessdate = September 27, 2021|last = Delbyck|first = Cole}}

{{col-2}}

Source:{{cite news|url = https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/VIDEOS-Watch-All-of-the-Performances-From-THE-TONY-AWARDS-PRESENT-BROADWAYS-BACK-20210926|title = Watch All of the Performances From THE TONY AWARDS PRESENT: BROADWAY'S BACK!|work = Broadway World|date = September 26, 2021|accessdate = September 27, 2021}}

• "Broadway's Back Tonight!" (opening number) – Leslie Odom Jr.
• "Burning Down the House" – American Utopia
• "My Girl" / "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" – John Legend and the cast of Ain't Too Proud
• "Lady Marmalade" / "Because We Can" – Moulin Rouge!
• Broadway Advocacy Coalition
• "Move On" (from Sunday in the Park with George) – Ben Platt & Anika Noni Rose
• "Ironic" / "All I Really Want" – Jagged Little Pill
• "Beautiful City" (from Godspell) – Josh Groban & Odom
• "The Impossible Dream (The Quest)" (from Man of La Mancha) – Brian Stokes Mitchell
• "Somewhere" (from West Side Story) – Norm Lewis & Kelli O'Hara
• "We Don't Need Another Hero (Thunderdome)" / "The Best" / "Proud Mary" – Tina
• "It Takes Two" (from Into the Woods) – Tituss Burgess & Andrew Rannells
• "You Matter to Me" (from Waitress) – Odom & Nicolette Robinson
• "For Good" (from Wicked) – Kristin Chenoweth & Idina Menzel
• "What You Own" (from Rent) – Adam Pascal & Anthony Rapp
• "Wheels of a Dream" (from Ragtime) – Audra McDonald & Mitchell
• Freestyle Love Supreme

{{col-end}}

The official eligibility cut-off date for Broadway productions opening in the 2019–20 season was originally to have been April 23, 2020.{{cite web|url=https://www.tonyawards.com/news/date-set-2020-tony-awards-june-7-cbs/|title=Date Set for 2020 Tony Awards – June 7 on CBS|publisher=Tony Awards|date=September 19, 2019|access-date=March 25, 2020}}{{cite web|url=https://www.tonyawards.com/news/tony-awards-eligibility-for-2020-part-1/|title=Tony Awards Eligibility for 2020 – Part 1|publisher=Tony Awards|date=October 24, 2019|access-date=March 25, 2020}}{{cite web|url=https://www.tonyawards.com/news/tony-awards-eligibility-for-2020-part-2/|title=Tony Awards Eligibility for 2020 – Part 2|publisher=Tony Awards|date=January 30, 2020|access-date=March 25, 2020}} As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic cutting the 2019–20 theatre season short, on August 21, 2020, it was announced that only the 18 shows that opened before February 19, 2020, would be considered eligible.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/21/theater/tony-awards-ceremony-online.html|title=Tony Awards Ceremony Will Go Ahead, Online|work=The New York Times|author=Michael Paulson|date=August 21, 2020|access-date=August 23, 2020}}{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2020/08/tony-awards-eligibility-eighteen-productions-announcement-2020-coronavirus-shutdown-1203025792/|title=Tony Awards Committee Confirms 18 Broadway Productions Eligible For 2020 Nominations|work=Deadline Hollywood|author=Greg Evans|date=August 28, 2020|access-date=August 15, 2021}} A revival of West Side Story that opened February 20, 2020 and the new musical Girl from the North Country, which opened March 5, 2020, were thus not considered eligible because too few nominators and voters saw them before Broadway shut down on March 12, 2020. This meant that for the first time since 1993, there was no award for Best Revival of a Musical given out, as there were no eligible productions. Girl From the North Country was nominated the following year.

{{col-begin}}

{{col-3}}

;Original Plays

• A Christmas Carol
• Grand Horizons
• The Great Society
• The Height of the Storm
• The Inheritance
• Linda Vista
• My Name Is Lucy Barton
• Sea Wall/A Life
• Slave Play
• The Sound Inside

{{col-3}}

;Original Musicals

• Jagged Little Pill
• The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical
• Moulin Rouge!
• Tina

{{col-3}}

;Play Revivals

• Betrayal
• Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune
• The Rose Tattoo
• A Soldier's Play

{{col-end}}

Special Tony Awards were given to the following:{{cite web|url=https://www.playbill.com/article/special-tony-award-honors-will-go-to-broadway-advocacy-coalition-american-utopia-freestyle-love-supreme|title=Special Tony Award Honors Will Go to Broadway Advocacy Coalition, American Utopia, Freestyle Love Supreme|work=Playbill|author=Ryan McPhee|date=June 22, 2021|access-date=June 22, 2021}}

• The Broadway Advocacy Coalition
• David Byrne's American Utopia
• Freestyle Love Supreme

The award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre was given to Graciela Daniele.{{cite web|url=https://www.playbill.com/article/graciela-daniele-to-receive-special-tony-award-for-lifetime-achievement-in-the-theatre|title=Graciela Daniele to Receive Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre|work=Playbill|author=Andrew Gans|date=July 29, 2021|access-date=July 30, 2021}} Julie Halston received the Isabelle Stevenson Award.{{cite web|url=https://playbill.com/article/julie-halston-to-receive-2020-isabelle-stevenson-tony-award|title=Julie Halston to Receive 2020 Isabelle Stevenson Tony Award|work=Playbill|author=Andrew Gans|date=July 28, 2021|access-date=July 30, 2021}}

Winners are listed first, and are highlighted in boldface:{{cite news|url = https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/26/entertainment/tony-awards-2021-full-list/index.html|title = See who won at the Tony Awards|last = Garvey|first = Marianne|date = September 26, 2021|accessdate = September 27, 2021|work = CNN}}

‡ The award is presented to the producer(s) of the musical or play.

{{Col-begin|width=80%}}{{Col-1-of-2}}

{{Col-2-of-2}}

{{Col-end}}

Greg Evans of Deadline Hollywood called the show "truly excellent television", and praised the two-part format, writing "The no-nonsense presentation of award announcements and acceptance speeches was followed by a lively special that impressively showcased contemporary Broadway musicals on their home turfs and classic reunions that felt fresh and welcome." However, he criticized the program's emphasis on musicals, commenting, "the non-musical plays got unforgivably short shrift."{{cite news|url = https://deadline.com/2021/09/2021-tony-awards-review-1234844692/|title = Tony Awards Review: Broadway Teaches TV A Lesson With Livestream-Broadcast Hybrid|last = Evans|first = Greg|date = September 27, 2021|accessdate = September 27, 2021|work = Deadline Hollywood}} In Variety, Clayton Davis praised it as "a sensational awards ceremony" and described the show as "a near flawless and detailed blueprint on how [other awards ceremonies] should assemble their future ceremonies to bring forth an inviting place for people of all backgrounds, and an impeccable pace to keep your attention." He also commended the show's tone, concluding, "The Tonys were pure, not shy about the times we were in — and they sent a signal of hope for our futures."{{cite news|url = https://variety.com/2021/awards/awards/2021-tonys-awards-review-audra-mcdonald-leslie-odom-jr-wicked-rent-moulin-rouge-1235074755/|title = Tonys Review: Broadway's Back (Finally!) With a Pitch Perfect, Inclusive Celebration of Theater|last = Davis|first = Clayton|date = September 27, 2021|accessdate = September 27, 2021|work = Variety}}

Conversely, however, Tim Teeman of The Daily Beast dismissed the Broadway's Back! portion of the show as "a purely commercial exercise based on telling people who kind of like theater that Broadway was back, and needs their financial support" and accused the ceremony at large of sending "mixed messages" about its industry, contrasting calls for diversity from winners and presenters with Slave Play, a work which addresses racism as a central theme, failing to win a single award. He also criticized the decision to present the vast majority of awards on the Paramount+ livestream, instead of on the CBS telecast, writing "A Tonys-themed song and dance show may suit ratings-counters at the network [...] But if you're going to show an awards show, show an awards show."{{cite news|url = https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-tony-awards-was-a-night-of-extremely-mixed-messages-about-broadway-theater|title = The Tony Awards Was a Night of Extremely Mixed Messages About Broadway|work = The Daily Beast|date = September 27, 2021|accessdate = September 27, 2021|last = Teeman|first = Tim}}

The Broadway's Back! special received 2.8 million viewers during its CBS telecast, an approximate 50% decline in viewership from the 73rd Tony Awards in 2019. Rick Porter of The Hollywood Reporter said that the loss may have been attributable to certain mitigating factors, such as most awards being handed out during the Paramount+ portion of the program, and the ceremony taking place in September, as opposed to its usual June date, putting it in conflict with the fall television season.

• Drama Desk Awards
• 2020 Laurence Olivier Awards – equivalent awards for West End theatre productions
• Obie Award
• New York Drama Critics' Circle
• Theatre World Award
• Lucille Lortel Awards

{{Reflist}}

• {{Official website|http://www.tonyawards.com/}}

{{Tony Awards}}

{{COVID-19 pandemic in the United States}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tony Awards, 74}}

Category:2020s in Manhattan

Category:2021 awards in the United States

Category:2021 in New York City

Category:2021 theatre awards

Category:Tony Awards ceremonies

Category:Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on television

Category:Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the performing arts

Category:Events postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic

Category:September 2021 in the United States

Category:Television shows directed by Glenn Weiss